Wisconsin Badgers 2007 Football Preview: the Defense and Special Teams

The season looms ... time runs short ... not much time for a preview. Sorry.

Your starting defensive tackles: Jason Chapman, Mike Newkirk, and Nick Hayden. On the depth chart, Chapman and Hayden are listed as the starters, but these three will rotate in throughout the course of the game. They will batter running backs who dare test them and will rush the passer with furious aplomb. A fearsome unit last year, the DTs will improve, hopefully when it comes to penetrating the opposing line. Backing up the starting rotation are two guys who've never seen the field as Badgers, redshirt freshman Brandon Hoey and redshirt sophomore Jeff Stehle. Hopefully Chapman, Newkirk, and Hayden stay healthy. (This will become a theme on defense, as you'll see.)

Your starting defensive ends: Kurt Ware and Matt Shaughnessy. Shaughnessy is a rising star, picking up second-team All Big Ten honors last season, his sophomore year. Shaughnessy started seven games as a freshman and has been impressing ever since. Ware, on the other hand, is a fifth-year senior whose story was supposed to be about overcoming injuries and valiantly winning his position in the face of adversity. Then Jamal Cooper got kicked off the team and the keys were simply handed over to Ware. The fact that he has recently recovered from knee surgery is disturbing. After the starters, the cupboard is pretty bare; note this article, which has Mike Newkirk stepping in as backup end. Ouch.

Your starting linebackers: Jonathan Casillas, Elijah Hodge, and DeAndre Levy. Another damn fine unit, these guys will be fun to watch this season. Casillas plays on the weakside and was an all-conference pick last year, making 83 tackles (12.5 for a loss) and being fast fast fast. Levy, a junior, led the team in sacks last season with six last season. Hodge is the spottiest of the starters but only because the position he takes over (middle linebacker) was capably filled by Mark Zalewski last season -- he wasn't plugged in with great frequency.

Again, the backup situation is not promising, with true freshman Blake Sorenson the primary backup on the strongside, unused Culmer St. Jean backing up Hodge, and unproven junior Jaevery McFadden filling in behind Casillas. Maybe one or more of these guys will prove themselves as the season goes along, but an early injury to one of the starters might prove disastrous.

Your starting cornerbacks: Allen Langford and Jack Ikegwuonu. Again, you know these guys. Ikegwuonu was All-Everything last year, exactly the sort of corner you don't want to go up against, and one of the primary reasons Wisconsin had the #1 defense against the pass in the nation (imagine Brandt from the "Big Lebowski" saying that last part). Allen Langford broke out last year after having been merely average, doing well enough to pick up honorable mention when the all-conference awards came out. Coverage is expected to be good this season. And, mirabile dictu, we have experienced backups at the position; fifth-year senior Ben Strickland and true sophomore Josh Nettles will spell Jack and Allen, and the depth chart actually lists true freshman Aaron Henry as Langford's primary backup, so he must be pretty solid.

Your starting safeties: Shane Carter and Aubrey Pleasant. And now we come to the sketchy part of the defense. Both of these guys were hurt last year and will be thrown into the fire early. This will be the first significant action Carter and Pleasant will have seen in their careers. Evidently they both outplayed the (slightly) more experienced Kim Royston, which might be an indication that the backups aren't quite ready for prime time either. I fear for this unit.

Your specialists: kicker Taylor Mehlhaff and punter Ken DeBauche. What can I say, both are great at what they do. Mehlhaff was 15-for-20 on field goal attempts and made all 47 PATs he tried. DeBauche averaged over 41 yards per punt. There is no need to worry about this unit. The return game is not yet set, but look for lots of contributions from the receiving corps -- Jefferson, Swan, Gilreath -- and look for them to improve upon last year's efforts.

Preseason bong hits with Kirk Herbstreit

Lighter? Check. Peyote? Check. List-makin' pen? Double check! LET'S DO THIS!

Ol' Kirk is handing out the Herbies today; let's run down his list:

• Travis Beckum is rated as the fourth-best tight end nationwide.


• Jonathon Casillas finds his way to #5 on the outside linebackers list, subtitled "all over the field."


• John Clay is on the Top True Freshmen list.


• Bret Bielema is already rated the 7th-best game-day coach. (Read that, Nittany Lions? People LOVE that clock-killing maneuver. LOVE. IT.)

Not bad, eh? A little love for the Badgers.

Except ...

• P.J. Hill doesn't crack the top twelve list for running backs. Don't worry Kirk, no need to put the Big Ten's leading rusher for 2006 on your list!


• Anthony Morelli is projected to be the most improved QB in the game. By itself, not a bad thing to say, but ...


• Pick to win the Big Ten: Penn State. Um, great. Sez Herb: "If Anthony Morelli plays the way he did in the Outback Bowl, the Lions are BCS bowl bound." Big "if" there, bucko.


• Sleeper pick to with the Big Ten: Iowa. Ohhhhh...kayyy??? Here's the rationale: they don't play Michigan or Ohio State, and they're "flying under the radar." Why didn't I think of that!?


• Wisconsin doesn't crack the top ten Game Day Locations. Herbstreit puts Ohio State at #1 (I wonder why?) and includes Iowa (!?) on the list. I've been to Iowa for game day, and let me tell you: it is no Madison, WI. Hell, it's not even Ann Arbor. Iowa City is definitely in the bottom half of football destinations in the Big Ten, and it's certainly not the #8 place in the nation.

Finally, Wisconsin doesn't crack the top five student sections, and although we're a loud and obnoxious bunch I agree in this case. See the rationale in the 2005 Herbies:

Wisconsin has always been one of my favorite places, but it lost serious points lately. Lighten up on the beer bongs. Have a little more respect for your opponents; and remember, there are kids around, too, so maybe yelling profanities in every other chant isn't such a good idea.

And that's not to mention the mild-mannered, generally non-controversial Chris Fowler's take (from 2004):

Writing to UW students, he said, “You guys are great. For energy, boisterousness, originality, you get A’s … But the constant, collective F-bombs are lame and tired … [and] it’s beneath you.”

Fowler also criticized compact discs thrown by some students during the game, as well as their tardiness to the game versus Penn State Saturday.

“The students got an “F” for punctuality. The [student] section was about 20 percent full at kickoff!” Fowler wrote, adding, although seats filled to capacity quickly, it was not good enough for the undefeated Badgers’ Big Ten opener on national television.

“Be there on time! The beer bong will still be sitting there when you get back after the game,” he continued.

It IS beneath us. Badgers are way smarter and way classier than constant F-bombs. This is simply embarrassing (obviously, don't click if you don't want to hear profanity):



I love a loud football crowd. I love taunting the opponents. I love well-channeled malice, used to create an intimidating atmosphere. But I don't love swearing just to swear, and I don't love the attitude that "We party so much that we CAN'T be on time for the game!!!" Screw that; wake up 15 minutes earlier and get yourself to your seat on time for kickoff.

Badgers release updated two-deep roster

Coach Bielema has made up his mind -- here is how the 9th-ranked Badgers will look going into the Washington State game:

Offense

QUARTERBACK
12 Tyler Donovan, Sr., 6-1, 185
4 Allan Evridge, Jr., 6-2, 226

TAILBACK
39 P.J. Hill, So., 5-11, 227
5 Lance Smith, So., 5-10, 203

FULLBACK
44 Chris Pressley, Jr., 6-1, 259
34 Bill Rentmeester, Jr., 6-1, 246

TIGHT END (H-BACK)
9 Travis Beckum, Jr., 6-4, 224
89 Garrett Graham, So., 6-4, 227

TIGHT END
43 Andy Crooks, Sr., 6-3, 269
36 Mickey Turner, So., 6-4, 237

WIDE RECEIVER
1 Luke Swan, Sr., 6-1, 190
2 Xavier Harris, So., 5-11, 175

WIDE RECEIVER
19 Paul Hubbard, Sr., 6-4, 213
14 Kyle Jefferson, Fr., 6-5, 195

LEFT TACKLE
68 Gabe Carimi, Fr., 6-8, 292
64 Danny Kaye, Sr., 6-8, 323

LEFT GUARD
75 Andy Kemp, Jr., 6-6, 324
74 John Moffitt, Fr., 6-4, 307

CENTER
65 Marcus Coleman, Sr., 6-6, 295
64 Danny Kaye, Sr., 6-8, 323 OR
58 Brad Thorson, Fr., 6-4, 287

RIGHT GUARD
63 Kraig Urbik, Jr., 6-6, 332
76 Bill Nagy, Fr., 6-4, 292

RIGHT TACKLE
71 Eric Vanden Heuvel, Jr., 6-7, 325
78 Jake Bscherer, So., 6-7, 297

Defense

LEFT END
5 Jamal Cooper, Sr., 6-4, 214
34 Kurt Ware, Sr., 6-4, 268

LEFT TACKLE
91 Jason Chapman, Jr., 6-4, 285 OR
54 Mike Newkirk, Jr., 6-3, 268
79 Jeff Stehle, So., 6-6, 297

RIGHT TACKLE
96 Nick Hayden, Sr., 6-5, 301 OR
54 Mike Newkirk, Jr., 6-3, 268
59 Brandon Hoey, Fr., 6-5, 292

RIGHT END
92 Matt Shaughnessy, Jr., 6-6, 247
99 Kirk DeCremer, Fr., 6-5, 238

SAM LINEBACKER
11 DeAndre Levy, Jr., 6-3, 230
27 Blake Sorensen, Fr., 6-1, 204

MIKE LINEBACKER
52 Elijah Hodge, So., 6-1, 235
15 Culmer St. Jean, Fr., 6-1, 226

WILL LINEBACKER
2 Jonathan Casillas, Jr., 6-2, 220
47 Jaevery McFadden, So., 6-2, 225

LEFT CORNERBACK
17 Allen Langford, Jr., 5-11, 197
7 Aaron Henry, Fr., 6-0, 169 OR
28 Josh Nettles, So., 5-10, 179

STRONG SAFETY
8 Aubrey Pleasant, So., 6-1, 194
26 Jay Valai, Fr., 5-9, 191

FREE SAFETY
25 Shane Carter, So., 6-2, 206
21 Kim Royston, So., 5-11, 185

RIGHT CORNERBACK
6 Jack Ikegwuonu, Jr., 6-1, 193
3 Ben Strickland, Sr., 5-9, 172

Special Teams

PUNTER
94 Ken DeBauche, Sr., 6-2, 214
97 Paul Standring, Sr., 6-1, 212

KICKER
10 Taylor Mehlhaff, Sr., 5-11, 184
96 Matt Fischer, So., 5-11, 181

PUNT RETURNER
1 Luke Swan, Sr., 6-1, 190
85 David Gilreath, Fr., 5-11, 160

KICK RETURNERS
28 Josh Nettles, So., 5-10, 179
85 David Gilreath, Fr., 5-11, 160

14 Kyle Jefferson, Fr., 6-5, 195
13 Marcus Randle El, Jr., 5-10, 193

First and foremost, we have Donovan over Evridge. Not much of a surprise. Congrats to Tyler, and best of luck.

The WSJ ran an article yesterday where they suggested that David Gilreath might be the primary returner in all situations, and from the article, it appears that sure-handedness was a trait to which Bielema was giving top priority:

"I think the guys that jumped out to me (as returners) are the new guys," UW coach Bret Bielema said after Tuesday's practice. "Marcus put a couple on the ground.

The article didn't mention Swan, who is listed as the top punt returner. Whatever happens, hopefully we won't have a repeat of last year's Adventures of Zach Hampton everytime the opposing punter jogs out.

Also of note is Chris Pressley leapfrogging Bill Rentmeester for the starting fullback position. One would have to think that this is due to Chris Pressley's ability to do this:

BIG NEWS: John Clay eligible to play, practices with team

Depth at tailback is ours!

"I checked with the NCAA, the school, everybody gave me documented paperwork, which I wanted all along," Bielema said. "There weren't rumors or sources, pure information, (we) got our guy out there to play."

Awesome.

"Great effort," Bielema said. "I think the reason we recruited him, as well as everybody else in the country recruited him, (is) he's a good person. He's a good football player. He stands for what's right. He worked very hard to get to where he is right now.

"I think the biggest thing he's got to learn to take forward from here is, it didn't come about in a normal way, as clean as everybody else and he can definitely learn from that past experience."

I love -- just love -- this attitude from Bret Bielema. John Clay made the grade, but hopefully the extra work he had to do to get to campus is something he won't forget.

An injured walk-on, defensive back Tony Megna, vacated his roster spot, a necessary step before Clay could join the team.

And finally, there's this:

"In this situation, things were out there prematurely that didn't need to be out there," Bielema said. "I just hope the same amount of space given to him when the story broke that he wasn't going to be eligible, is given to him now that he is eligible."

Yep, there's egg on my face over this one ... even moreso here. Mea culpa, Coach, and sorry, John. I was 100%, completely wrong. And I'm so glad I was.

Badger links for moving day

It's moving day here in Madison, which means chaos in the streets. It's also pretty funny, since (a) it's raining and (b) I don't have to move, so ... HA HA!

Also, it looks like UW-Madison is going to get a little more annoying, as they're making the place more accessible to parents:

Amy Smith is anxious. She's known for years this time would come, but now the day when she and her husband, Stan, will deliver Alynna, their oldest child, to UW-Madison for the first time is almost upon them.

"We're sending our child into unknown territory," said Smith, of Darlington. "She's been under my wing. I know all of her friends, I know what she's doing during the day, I know what she's doing at night. We're very close."

Uncharted territory indeed -- except to the 356 THOUSAND LIVING ALUMNI OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. Get a grip.

Anyway, onto the sports. That's why you're here, right?

* Tom Dienhart of the Sporting News can't wait to see Bret Bielema match coaching wits with Penn State's Joe Paterno. He doesn't specify whether the Joe Paterno he speaks of is the one who actually coached the team a decade and a half ago or the one who appears on the sidelines today.

* The WSJ reports that Allan Evridge still isn't fully comfortable with his role on the team yet. Evidently, though he was comfortable enough to smoke the defense in practice on Monday, turning the tables on that unit from this weekend's action.

* It's probably nothing, but Travis Beckum, Jack Ikegwuonu, and DeAndre Levy sat out of practice on Monday and Tuesday due to minor injuries.

Devastating defense ...

... or a devastated offense?

That's one of the great things about scrimmages: it's freakin' impossible to tell. We have this much to go on:

Reserve cornerback Ben Strickland intercepted one pass and broke up another.

Freshman linebacker Blake Sorensen showed effort and athletic ability to break up a pass near the goal line.

Cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu saved a touchdown with a break-up.

Even reserve defensive tackle Jeff Stehle got in on the action with an interception.

Those were most of the memorable plays from an extended red-zone session during the University of Wisconsin football team's fourth pre-season practice Thursday.

Lots of defense, which is excellent and to be expected, until you realize that:

The offense did not score a touchdown until its 14th play, on a 3-yard completion from Allan Evridge to Travis Beckum.

Tyler Donovan missed his first six passes and was sacked in the No. 1 offense's first seven plays. It included a drop by Hill in the end zone.

Fourteen tries? Holy cow. It's still early, thank goodness, but fourteen tries? Seriously.

Allan Evridge and Dustin Sherer enjoyed the most success of the quarterbacks.

Evridge had the first score, a 3-yard strike to tight end Travis Beckum. He fired arguably the best pass of the day, a 15-yard bullet to Xavier Harris for a touchdown.

Sherer fired a 12-yard touchdown strike to Beckum.

Tyler Donovan should have had a touchdown throw in the first segment, but tailback P.J. Hill was unable to hang on to the ball in the end zone.

P.J.'s hands were one of his assets last year. I'm sure he'll be back in rhythm in short order.

And finally ... well, let's just say that this would be fun as a change of pace:

Donovan and Evridge, both gifted runners, began running the option. "It's just playing to players' strengths," Bielema said, adding that UW's defense would face some option this season.

If they got good, I mean really good at this, wouldn't it be ridiculous to see them come out during a stalemate or even when the Badgers were behind and run the option? Get a big play out of that, move into a no-huddle, go for a quick strike, try a direct snap to Hill or a reverse to Hubbard or a flea flicker ... the mind boggles. Bielema's got a lot of potential to work with here; some creativity on offensive coordinator Paul Chryst's part, and the offense could be just as dangerous as the D.

A bit of Ikegwuonu clarification

Yesterday's post about Jack Ikegwuonu's non-statements to the media was pretty widely linked. Before I move on to addressing the fact that OMG OMG ONLY THREE WEEKS TILL FOOTBALL I feel like I ought to talk about a couple of things.

First and foremost, Andy Baggot had a good column in the Wisconsin State Journal about how the student-athlete discipline process appears to work:

A vital member of the UW football team is arrested. He is suspended by the school in accordance with its student-athlete discipline policy. He is reinstated just in time to suit up for the next big on-field assignment.

It's happened three times since last September, which makes you wonder: The powers-that-be at UW have to know how this looks, don't they?

It looks calculated and dubious. It looks like powerful people are playing the privacy angles, all in the name of making sure UW Athletics runs at optimal speed.

And importantly, we get commentary from Barry Alvarez on the issue:

UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said he isn't worried about how it looks to us.

"I know the facts," he said. "We're not making the decision (based) on timing or concerned about how it appears. We're doing what we think is right and what we think is fair for the kid."

Baggot goes on to list the details of the incidents involving Elijah Hodge, Jack Ikegwuonu, and Lance Smith. And here's "how it appears:" it appears that the police were involved every single time!

Now, Barry's been around the game a long time, and one thing he ought to know is that appearances matter. They matter a whole hell of a lot! College football is mostly about the results on the field, yes, but it's also in large part a fashion show. Remember back in 2004 when Auburn was left out of the title game? Why was that? In part, because their preseason ranking did not compare well to that of USC or Oklahoma ... it was all perception.

And what about the case of a recruit who's considering Wisconsin? Is the concerned parent of a star player going to want his or her son to attend UW if it looks like the players can get away with whatever they want? Or is the parent of a middling recruit going to hesitate when they see that the star players get off easy, but if their son makes a mistake that the coaching staff might just sell them out?

Anyway, the whole situation stinks. It reeks of "Just Win, Baby," and that's not what college football -- and in particular, Badger football -- ought to be about.

My other post received a couple comments earlier today; they make good points, so I'm going to address them:

Ummm.... no. Here's what I predict is going to happen. The charges against Ikegwuonu are going to be dropped after he wins a suppression hearing. He and his brother are good students. I'm almost positive this was some big misunderstanding.

Lance will enter some first offender program, complete a bunch of counseling and community service, and his charges will also be dropped.

Compare this to Florida's offseason. I think they've had three or four people arrested for things like DUIs and bar fights.

Jack and his brother Bill (also arrested on the criminal trespass charges) might well be good students and are probably very good people. I have only minimal doubts about this. Good people do stupid things. Some very good people are capable of doing very stupid things. If this was just a matter of Ikegwuonu being in someone's apartment, I can see it just being a "big misunderstanding." But the dude had an Xbox in his hands. That looks like attempted theft, and that's not good. Additionally, if this had been a "big misunderstanding," I severely doubt that it would still be a legal matter. Finally, there is no joy in winning a suppression hearing. Woohoo, he was sprung on a technicality! Validation at last!

And of course, it is unwise to to talk to the press about active legal proceedings. But there's a right way and a wrong way to address the situation. The wrong way is what Bielema did: to be antagonistic and standoffish to the press, lecturing them about what they can and cannot ask, acting like there is something to hide. What Bielema did goes way beyond the laudable goal of protecting a player. The right way is to prep Ikegwuonu before his media time, telling him, "You know the off-the-field stuff is going to come up. Tell them it's an unfortunate situation, it's not going to affect your preparation for the season, and you can't comment because the legal proceedings are ongoing."

As for Smith, it's clear he did what he did. Nobody was seriously hurt, and in the end, what's the worst that happens? The girlfriend breaks up with him? He'll do community service, he'll undergo counseling, he's issued a public apology and seems sincerely sorry. That's all very good. So sit the guy for a while. Get by without him against Washington State, at least for the first half. Give the appearance of propriety if you're not committed to propriety itself.

Then there's this comment:

Didn't Coach Bielema kick Booker Stanley off the team as one of his first orders of business when he became HC? That's a hell of a lot more than five downs.

Let me be clear about something: Bielema's booting of Stanley seemed staged at the time and it looks even more so now. What I mean is that this was such an obvious move that Coach deserves almost no credit for doing it. Call me a cynic, but it almost looks like Alvarez kept Stanley on the team just so Bielema could kick him off. Kind of a "you can't fire me, I quit!" scenario in reverse. Of course I don't know whether that's the truth or not. But based on the type of disciplinarian Bielema has appeared to be since then, is it that much of a stretch?

Bielema is a very smart, savvy man. He showed this with the offsides kickoffs against Penn State; he was going to take advantage of a stupid rule and win based on that. He knows the number in W column is what most fans are going to remember long after the season is done. What he's expecting fans to forget is that his backup RB hit his girlfriend. And most of them will. Hell, most of the people in Camp Randall on game day will never even know that happened. They won't remember the final score of the game. But they will remember that the game was a Badger victory ... and that Bret Bielema was choreographing said victory on the sidelines.

Finally, this action has caused a Michigan fan to call Bielema unlikeable and a Penn State fan to declare him a disgrace. Remember, these are teams who have bigger fish to fry, usually, than Wisconsin. They don't care about Wisconsin football. They're not supposed to care about Wisconsin football. And if they do think about Wisconsin football, generally it's with a certain admiration; after all Barry Alvarez built this program from the ground up, did it with class and deference, and won three Rose Bowls. People love that! Bielema doesn't have the luxury of becoming a "builder." He must be a "sustainer." And thus far, he's getting the victories -- he's sustaining the program's success. But the image is starting to fade, at least among fans who once saw Badger football in a positive light. Hopefully that stops.

Ikegwuonu meets the press

... and I have to say, it's monumentally frustrating. From the Wisconsin State Journal:

Reporters were warned by Bielema not to ask questions about Ikegwuonu's off-field problems. He has a hearing set for Aug. 24 in Sycamore, Ill., to deal with a motion filed by his attorney to suppress statements made by Ikegwuonu to police, on the grounds he was not read his Miranda rights.

Bielema told Ikegwuonu to answer "no comment," to a first question about his case, then walk away if there was a second question.

From the Journal-Sentinel:

Before Ikegwuonu was made available to reporters Wednesday, Bielema made it clear neither the players nor coaches would answer questions about the case.

Hey Coach, the case is something we want to know about. We want to make sure that our team and our school's reputation aren't being sold out because a kid is both a criminal and a shutdown corner. We want to be reassured that the ability to run down Darren McFadden from behind doesn't become a Get Out of Jail Free card.

And secrecy isn't helping that.

The five major disciplinary problems that have arisen in the Bielema era have combined for a combined loss of five downs of football for those involved. All those missed downs came against Bowling Green. Are we truly becoming, as my brother-in-law put it, Miami North?

Thursday Badger Bullets

Four quick ones:

* I was contacted by the Big Ten Network to interview its president, Mark Silverman, but I declined. I honestly couldn't formulate any intelligent questions at all (I know what the programming's going to be, I'm very much in favor of being able to watch the station, and they don't have a deal with Charter yet, which pretty much makes up the entire spectrum of my concerns.) However, Brian of the oft-linked Mgoblog did, and flaunts his acumen here. Very much worth a read, including a list of stations that charge a whole lot more per subscriber than the Big Ten Network does (BTN is looking for $1.10 per customer, which was deemed ludicrous by some, including myself ... but then, I didn't know that Comcast Sports Chicago pulls an amazing $3.75 per!) And of course, your headquarters for this type of knowledge has always been the Hoosier Report, which, given the state of Indiana athletics, has managed to avoid the seemingly-inevitable hydrocodone addiction such fanship would bring by instead focusing on media matters.

* Bret Bielema does some good, promoting the Restoring Hope Transplant House in a new PSA. His personal experience with the importance of organ donation adds an incredible amount to this message. We're proud of you, Coach.

* Wisconsin has picked up a wide receiver transfer, but it's not something to get overly excited about yet: Chris Maragos is transferring from Western Michigan, where he walked on. He is leaving because he did not receive a scholarship from the Broncos. Who knows, maybe he'll be the next Jim Leonhard-esque story of triumph for the Badgers. Here's hoping.

* The predictions continue to pour in; this one, from the Prognostication Station, sees the Badgers finishing third in the Big Ten -- tied with Michigan. They believe Penn State and Ohio State will be co-champs, citing Michigan's weak run defense and an overwhelming road schedule for the Badgers. For what it's worth, they predict an undefeated home slate for UW, which means a win over the Wolverines, but I don't know how much weight I'd give a prediction that predicts a conference title for Penn State based on its favorable home schedule and one for Ohio State by virtue of the fact that "Tressel owns Carr."

Trev Alberts fails to impress me

I'll lead off today's post with a link to a Q&A with Trev Alberts (the real Trev, not the awesome one). He's asked whether it's Michigan vs. Wisconsin for the Big Ten title, and mirabile dictu, he doesn't think so:

I say it's Michigan with an outside shot of Ohio State winning ... I still think they're going to have a terrific defense. They'll be just as good of a team, and have a worse record, with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State on the schedule.

The above is a reasonable prediction, but where that ellipsis appears Trev offers the tired boilerplate we've been hearing over and again since last December: they only beat Michigan, Stocco was a caretaker, Bielema had beginner's luck. But then he goes on -- and maybe I'm reading this incorrectly, I don't know -- to say that the Badgers are clearly the fourth-best team in the conference (emphasis mine):

The two other teams after Michigan are Ohio State and Penn State. The Nittany Lions could be a little more surprising than some people think with Anthony Morelli. I know the Buckeyes lost some guys, but they have a lot of talent. They seem to be able to find some players. Remember how last year we were talking about Ohio State losing nine starters on defense?

I do, in fact, remember that. But they still had Troy Smith. Remember, the guy who got that funny little statue in New York before the bowl games? I know, and everyone knows by now, that it's patently unintelligent to count out Michigan or Ohio State under any circumstances (cue the "rebuilding vs. reloading" guy), and being a fan of a program that has seen the likes of Brooks Bollinger and John Stocco not only suffice but excel, I guess the fact that Morelli hasn't impressed me yet doesn't mean he never will. So who knows.

The bottom line here? Predicting things is stupid. Also, finding this article allowed me to get inside the Brain of Trev, which helped confirm everything I'd intuited by watching him for way too many Saturdays ... remember the days before ESPN wised up and canned his smarmy ass?

I've read that the Cover 2 is the ideal defense to use against college quarterbacks. Do you agree with that and if not, what is the best defense to use in the college game? - Jaime Lears, California

I think I know what article you're referencing, but I would caution against placing too much credence on a writer rather than having a former coach or current coach write that article.

Full disclosure: I'm not a former or current coach. Sorry for wasting teh internets with my know-nothing drivel. But let's continue:

Let me tell you, as someone who's been out there, that Cover 2 is not always the best coverage, period. If that was the case, that's the only coverage you would ever see.

The fact is there's no one coverage that's going to be the end-all. Football is too sophisticated. Cover 2 is an important, but small part of coverage.

So much of what you do depends on your personnel.

If you don't have safeties who can show you range of motion or stand in the box when needed, you have no coverage. And if you have great lock-down corners, Cover 2 nullifies their talents. If you're going to play Cover 2 for four quarters, you're going to get beat in the college game.

I'll give the poor owl a rest here.

Cover 2 has weaknesses. That's why good defensive coordinators run a whole lot of different coverages.

It's a good thing Trev's been there and done that. I certainly couldn't have gone all that in-depth.

Honestly now ... this guy's just looking for a default defense when he's playing NCAA 2008. Do you think he hasn't noticed that there are several available schemes? He's just asking, "What's best?" Which is a better question on any day of the week than "Who's Now?"

Tuesday Badger Bullets

* Bret Bielema will be singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley next week. And after last night's Brewer meltdown (with the bases loaded in the 11th, Johnny Estrada grounded into a 3-2-3 double play; the Brew Crew lost in the 12th), can you blame him?

* Ron Dayne mentions that he'd like to be on the Badgers' coaching staff when he finishes his NFL career. How dumb would the Badgers have to be to deny him that chance?

* Ohio RB/LB Brandon Beachum praises Bret Bielema in this article, which states that he'll be announcing where he'll go to school on July 29. He also speaks highly of Bobby Bowden, and although he's been offered by Penn State and UW, when asked about academics he most approves of -- wait for it -- Nebraska.

Other people's previews, part 2

The Badgers find their way into the countdown: Rivals.com says Wisconsin is the #8 team in the nation, and while they very astutely single out the receiving corps for praise, declaring Paul Hubbard "underrated," they also take P. J. Hill down a peg, saying he's the most overrated player on the team. Maybe that's not a bad thing -- after all, someone has to be the "most overrated" -- but I think what gets me is that they knock him for being injured toward the end of last season. Is that really a basis for deciding a player is overrated? I'd probably have singled out Elijah Hodge for that dubious award myself -- seems to me he's riding the name recognition of his widely-praised brother a wee bit. One of the things I most appreciate about the Rivals preview is that they leave the door open for a Badger BCS berth without a conference title; most people give me the impression that they believe that UW will need the automatic berth to get invited to one of the big-money bowls, probably fueled by lingering memories of last year's "snub." Overall, this is an excellent preview.

Penn State blog There Is No Name On My Jersey, whose name celebrates the Nittany Lions' tradition of being either too lazy or too cheap to hire a seamstress, insists on making fatal mistakes of judgment and re-tasting the sour grapes of the season gone bye:

Bielema and Wisconsin are on my shitlist for the abuse of the clock in last years game. It was a close game and the wasting of the clock was not in the spirit of the game. Yes it was cheating. Yes, it still pisses me off.

Incorrect! It was not cheating, and it was just as much "in the spirit of the game" as taking a knee is. Perhaps there's a little bitterness because Wisconsin has a young coach who continues to innovate within the rules where PSU has a living legend who, despite his considerable accomplishments, should've been gently "retired" a decade ago? Possibly.

How do I know it's not cheating? Because the NCAA rulebook (PDF) includes this provision, in Rule 3, Section 4, under the heading "Unfair Clock Management:"

ARTICLE 3. The referee shall order the game clock started or stopped whenever either team conserves or consumes playing time by tactics obviously unfair. This includes starting the clock on the snap if the foul is by the team ahead in the score. The clock will start on the ready-for-play signal after an illegal forward or backward pass that conserves time for Team A.

The officiating crew had the power to stop this if they thought it was an illegal tactic. But they didn't. So it wasn't. And EDSBS thought it was a ballsy enough move to declare Bret Bielema Person of the Year, and you know how Orson and Stranko aren't generally prone to hyperbole. (Some have also claimed that Bielema's tactic may have hastened the death of the hated clock rules, giving us more football to watch. Penn State fans, you're welcome.)

That said, their Badger preview fails to find P. J. Hill overrated; indeed, he is compared to a grotesque, overly-muscular dog, which is something. Go and read.

The Diag has a preview of the quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Obviously, Chad Henne finds himself in the #1 spot (does anyone have a preview where Chad Henne isn't declared the best QB in the Big Ten? Because that preview is insane), and coming in second place is, of course, Kellen Lewis of the Indiana Hoosiers.

Now, I admit that I didn't watch enough Indiana or Illinois football last year, but I did watch the Badgers play both teams, and let me tell you: Juice Williams impresses me a whole hell of a lot more than Lewis. For one, Lewis-to-Hardy is something opposing defenses picked up on about 18 months ago, and it's unlikely that anyone is going to disregard it this year. Meanwhile, Zook has been picking up considerable talent, and the role players around Williams will likely make the Illini offense more formidable than their Hoosier counterparts. (Of course, Zook has never really been the type of guy who actually develops the talent he snares, so the whole point is likely moot, but you see what I'm saying here.)

The Wisconsin QBs check in at #5 on the list, just ahead of Juice and right behind turnover machine Curtis Painter of Purdue and the oft-contused Anthony Morelli of Penn State. I expect the UW quarterback to eventually find himself at #2 or #3 in the conference, just as long as we don't have to bust out the unfortunate nickname I just made up ("Allan Average") midway through the season. Whoever lines up under center for Wisconsin will have Hubbard and Swan as go-to guys and Travis Beckum as probably the best safety valve in the entire nation. With Hill keeping the pressure off, the guy who winds up chucking the ball has a good chance at success.

Finally, the mgoblog preview of Penn State is up, and toward the end this snippet of commentary is offered:

Even though I am deeply skeptical about Morelli and the Nit offensive line, the comparison that is foremost in my mind is Wisconsin. The teams were virtually identical in 2006, stiff defenses coupled with mediocre or worse offenses heavily reliant on running the ball.

The Badgers are a trendy pick for Big Ten champs based on their 12-1 2006, but replace Bowling Green with Notre Dame and rejigger the Big Ten schedule to include Ohio State and you're probably looking at 10-3 and more reasonable expectations for a team that didn't prove all that much last year. Unit by unit on offense:

* QB: PSU. Even if Morelli was meh, he has a year of experience over Donovan/Everidge.
* RB: Wisconsin, but they have similar depth issues and Scott has one-year wonder upside.
* WR/TE: Penn State. Beckum is all the Badgers have; Penn State has Quarless, two guys who would be fine #2/#3 players, and at least the hope Williams lives up to his potential, plus Bell.
* OL: Maybe a push based on the similarities -- uninspiring starters returning from last year's team; top ten LT off to NFL -- but Bob Palcic fought in 'Nam and Wisconsin doesn't have a failed LG playing LT this year.

I figure the defenses will be near mirror images. The secondaries are a wash if not a slight PSU advantage -- more faith in AJ Wallace than Allen Langford -- and the presumed Wisconsin advantage on the D-line is offset by what should be one of the nation's premier linebacking units. If you consider the skill positions even, you're picking between the Wisconsin OL's advantage over PSU's line and Morelli's advantage over whoever Wisconsin throws out there.

My point is this: if you're looking for a darkhorse challenger to consensus favorite Michigan in the Big Ten, this is probably your team. I kind of hate saying that what with JayPa and all, but there it is. The differences between UW and PSU last year laid mostly in the quality of their opponents. The defenses will both be stout, intimidating things; if you made me pick between the offenses I would wince and take the Nittany Lions.

That wincing would be justified; I agree for the most part with the above assessment but find Brian's lack of faith in the Wisconsin receiving corps disturbing. I don't blame him for underrating them, as UW and Michigan locked horns in the conference opener last year, and he probably didn't see much of the progress made by Hubbard and Swan as the season went forward. The fact that Hill and Beckum had more than half of the Badgers' receiving yardage in that game also makes the actual receivers seem all the more suspect. I realize that Brian is a lot more circumspect than this, but our perception of other teams' strengths and weaknesses are tinted by the games our own teams played against them.

Bottom line: I expect the Badger offense to be better than Penn State's, the defenses will be a wash, and a very strong coaching edge has to go to Bielema and his not-yet-past-the-expiration-date nepotism-free bevy of assistants. The Badgers will be the better team next year, have no doubt; it's the venue and the timing that frightens me about the Penn State game, and I think there's a better than 50% chance that the Badgers lose that game. However, I think the smart money is on Wisconsin if you're picking between them and the Lions for a Big Ten championship.

Another Badger running back finds ignominy

I guess I'm going to have to create some original content so that we can be rid of all the doom and gloom around here. Evidently Lance Smith thought his girlfriend owed him $10 in cab fare; she thought she owed $5. So, he shoved her down, then told her to go into a convenience store and break the $20 bill she had. She went in, he followed her, and apparently pushed her down again. She dropped the money, and he allegedly picked it up.

Real nice. Great way to settle a dispute about five freakin' dollars. Lance Smith will evidently shove a woman for the low, low price of $2.50. As you can imagine, EDSBS is adding this to the Fulmer Cup standings.

Importantly, Coach Bielema is supposed to comment on the incident at some point today. With Clay (presumably) out, it'll be interesting to see whether any suspension Smith may face will stick. I bet you can't guess what I think will happen.

And just for good measure, Badger alum and Miami Dolphin Chris Chambers has been arrested for driving while impaired. U-rah-rah.

Reaction to John Clay

Ironclad College Football Rumor Rule #1: If there's a rumor floating about and the coach takes the time and effort to go out and publicly deny said rumor, it's absolutely guaranteed that the rumor is true. See you in 2008, John. Maybe.

The situation has not escaped Mike, the writer of Penn State blog and Badger Sports Fan favorite Black Shoe Diaries. Sez he:

Wisconsin freshman running back John Clay has been ruled acedemically ineligible. Brett Bielema says not so fast my friend. You know, I'm slowly losing respect for Brett Bielema. Players seem to keep avoiding suspensions. Guys who try to rip off opposing players legs and he does nothing. And we all know about his antics making a mockery of the rule books and good sportsmanship as he paces up and down the sideline with that smug grin on his face all proud of himself as if he just got away with stealing the teacher's apple right off her desk. You're on notice, Brett Bielema...not that I'm bitter or anything.

You know it's bad when a Penn State fan gets upset about the shabby treatment of a Michigan player. He then posts this, which makes me think he's actually referring to different guy named Bielema:



And speaking of Michigan, here's MGoBlog's one-sentence take on the situation:

anyone wondering why we didn't recruit this guy, here's your answer

Uhh ... OK. You don't think a star tailback like Clay is worth taking a chance on? You think he's too much of a project for your academic advisors? That's just like, your opinion, man.

The unfortunate thing is that John Clay is supposed to represent the Bielema difference: when there is a potential superstar playing football in the state of Wisconsin, don't bother recruiting him, because he's gonna be a Badger. Wisconsin fans aren't just excited about Clay because he could be a star tailback at a school that lives and dies by the run, but because he's symbolic of what a great football program should be doing -- that is, beating out Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Michigan for a talented in-state recruit.

To be fair, Michigan wasn't in the game late for Clay, but they showed interest early in the process. They may have been spooked by the academics, sure. But the fact of the matter is that UW beat out other extraordinary schools to get this guy on board (and Ohio State said they would offer him, making the situation even more significant).

Instead, what we may be looking at is the first in a string of great football players with shaky off-the-field situations that UW tries to bring in, only to have some embarrassing situation arise as a result. I hope that's not the case, but it's a possibility. (Also embarrassing: check out what John Clay might mean in Japanese. Ugh.)

So what's it going to be? I'm hoping for great things but bracing for ugly. Either way, I think you can bank on John Clay missing the 2007 season -- but only because Bret Bielema said he might not.

Badger Football: 2007 Storylines

2006 is long gone. After walloping non-conference cupcakes and dropping a single conference decision, the John Stocco-led Badgers defeated 2007 Heisman candidate Darren McFadden and the Arkansas Razorbacks for their second Citrus/Capital One Bowl victory in two years.

In the end, we saw a new coach, the irrepressible Bret Bielema, make a splash, starting his career with a 12-1 record (good for a .923 winning percentage!) We saw John Stocco become one of the most poised senior quarterbacks in the Big Ten, coming back strong after an injury sidelined him midway through the season. We witnessed a freshman, the tubby P. J. Hill, become the clear frontrunner in one of the most wide-open RB races in Wisconsin history. His path was cleared by big Joe Thomas, the lineman who wound up being the third overall pick in the NFL draft. On the other side of the ball, cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu became the leader of a unit that yielded just 12 points per game ... better than both the heralded Michigan and Ohio State defenses.

All in all, it was a very satisfying season. Thanks to a seamless coaching transition and a dozen victories, 2006 helped make the case that with Badger football, the sky ought to be the limit. Although the Bielema era is just a season old, it appears that we can discard any lingering fears of a return to the sub-mediocrity that preceded Barry Alvarez's tenure. At the very least, this program's going to be trekking to warm-weather destinations every year around Christmastime. But we're not interested in the very least; there's a not-insignificant portion of the Badger fanbase that believes that one of these years, a national championship should be on the radar -- and that year should be coming sooner rather than later.

I can't quite say I'm in that camp just yet. But I do think that Wisconsin fans have the right to expect big things this season. That should become clear as I outline what I believe to be the major storylines to watch for in the 2007 Wisconsin Badger season.

1. Settling the quarterback controversy

It's a rare year when Badger fans don't know who their starting QB will be to begin a season. And yet, here we are. This uncertainty is a luxury, though, as I'm not sure how optimistic people would be if we knew that 2007 meant a full year of 6'1", 187-pound Tyler Donovan backed up by the (by all accounts) raw Dustin Sherer. It's a little worrying to have such a small guy in a key position when every team, at least in the Big Ten, is going to have defenders orders of magnitude larger than that bent on destroying the QB every single down. Donovan is a mobile quarterback, definitely the exception for the Big Ten and Wisconsin in particular, but even as a fifth-year senior, as Jeff Potrykus puts it, "his overall play continues to be marred by curious decisions and errant throws."

Donovan is game-tested, having filled in marvelously during the Iowa game after John Stocco was hurt and, well, I guess I don't feel comfortable with calling the Buffalo game "game experience." You'd think that would be in his favor, but the guy who's competing for his job has actually played in more games. Allan Evridge sat out last year and joins the team as a junior, transferring from Kansas State after the departure of head coach Bill Snyder prior to the 2006 season. I'm not concerned by the middling numbers he put up as a Wildcat, as even good players but up so-so numbers when surrounded by mediocre talent. What you lose in mobility when going from Donovan to Evridge you gain in bulk, and probably arm strength and, eventually, poise. For now though, Evridge has struggled in spring practices.

For now, I think Donovan will be the starter -- but he'll be kept on a very short leash. I don't know an incredible amount about Bret Bielema, but I don't think he's the kind of guy who'll put Donovan out there just because he's been a Badger for five years now; his job is to win football games, and he's going to play the guy who is most likely to help him finish that job. I think that the years of experience that Donovan has had with essentially the same offense is going to be the determining factor in this quarterback race, but if he's not performing, look for Evridge -- maybe before the Big Ten season begins.

2. Picking up where the 2006 team left off

Eleven regular season wins, one loss, and an ugly, gritty victory over Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl. The question before this Badgers is this: was 2006 a stepping stone to an even more spectacular season, or is 12-1 a high water mark for the program?

Several things have to go right for the Badgers this year. They need the quarterback controversy settled, period; that's the single biggest issue for this team. Following that, everyone needs to pitch in and do his part. P.J. Hill needs to be the leader of the offense, even though he's just a sophomore; on an average play, more than half the guys out on the field will be blocking for him, stalling for time so he can use his bulk and his eyes to pick up chunks of yardage. The receiving corps, including Luke Swan and Paul Hubbard, grew up before our very eyes last season and need to continue to improve; the best medicine for a raw quarterback is a WR who can make plays on his own. Travis Beckum at tight end is already being hailed as Wisconsin's best pro prospect; he's a guy other teams will have to worry about.

As for the defense, they need to keep on keeping on. The cornerbacks should be fine, with Jack Ikegwuonu leading the way, and evidently the safety position, while questionable, has found a couple of nice surprises in the persons of Shane Carter and Aubrey Pleasant (who, incidentally, judging by their first names, might actually be girls. They are not helped by being backed up by Kim Royston.) With any luck, the linebackers will stay strong, and the defensive line will continue to improve in rushing the quarterback.

The bottom line for the team is to learn from where they've been and replace the guys who've had to depart.

3. Defining Bret Bielema

After a couple seasons as defensive coordinator and one season as head coach, we know a little bit about who Bret Bielema is. In being picked by Barry Alvarez as the heir to the UW coaching throne, Bielema was pegged as a star, and after the enormous raise he received a few months back, it appears that UW is gunning to keep him here for a very long time indeed.

He's a winner, that's for sure; indeed, he was the first Badger head coach to amass seven wins in his rookie season since the venerable William Juneau managed the feat in 1912. He's a hard-nosed recruiter who can close a deal with a high school kid; he played a major role in recruiting at Kansas State and before he landed the head job in Madison.

Still, we don't know a lot about the guy. It will be interesting to see how he handles the Donovan/Evridge situation; my gut feeling is that he'll be very interested in building continuity, and keeping Evridge for two years is more likely to pay off than a one-and-done stint for Donovan. I also feel that he's a loyal guy, which would seem to bode well for the fifth-year senior, but he's more loyal to a winning game plan than to individual players.

Another area of interest will be that of discipline and academics. Big-time recruit John Clay, the running back out of Racine, is confirmed as having some issues to work out before the season begins; those issues are rumored to be academic in nature, with one source saying that Clay hasn't even been admitted to UW yet. As for discipline, Bielema is in the unenviable position of having his star cornerback working his way through the legal system. Ikegwuonu was arrested in Novemeber but played in the bowl game, which seems to be a pattern for Badgers accused of doing wrong thus far; both Jamal Cooper and Elijah Hodge were suspended from the team last season (Cooper for academic reasons; Hodge had actually been arrested), only to be reinstated immediately before the next game, and James Kamoku received no public reprimand for a vicious, unnecessary twist to the leg of Michigan's Steve Breaston on a special teams play. This is something I addressed previously:

Wrong, coach. You're the new guy on the block so you make an example out of someone who makes an obviously dirty play. End of story. Kamoku needs to be out against Indiana. Even if he is, though, the opportunity to show the conference the type of disciplinarian you are has gone out the window.

I didn't like the reinstatement of Cooper right before the season started. I didn't like the fact that I saw Hodge in the game on Saturday. I don't like the fact anything less than singling out and making an example of Kamoku was the course of action taken in this instance. But what I really, really don't like is the pattern that's emerging. That pattern, so far, indicates that Bret Bielema wants to win football games -- and he's not particularly interested in how that happens or the character of his athletes. Any positive vibe I had from the dismissal of Booker Stanley has dissipated.

Thus far, it would appear that either every Badger is innocent or that Bielema is lax when it comes to discipline. Hopefully Jack Ikegwuonu has to face the consequences of his actions. I like our teams to win, but I dread watching UW become a place where thugs run wild.

4. Racing toward a conference title

It's a wonderful thing to force oneself to be realistic and still see the possibility of a Big Ten title on the horizon. If the quarterback situation is sorted out (big if, I know), UW could be looking at a championship year. The Badgers miss Purdue and Northwestern this year, which is just as well since these are teams that have provided inexplicable struggles for Wisconsin through the years. The two tough road games will be at Penn State and at Ohio State, and unless my predictions are way off, I expect the Badgers to walk out of those two venues victorious. Even though Ohio State always has truckloads of talent, it seems like everyone with game experience chased the NFL money last year (as opposed to that sweet, sweet Ohio State money) and I think they'll be a little bit depleted. As for Penn State, if we can mount any kind of a pass rush, Anthony Morelli is going to be rattled; I really don't think he has what it takes to win the Big Ten. The date to circle is going to be November 10 when Michigan invades Camp Randall; with their all-star offense, Michigan is going to be putting up 40 points a game, but with their utter lack of defense, they might be giving up 40 as well. Mark it -- that game is for the Big Ten title, or at least a share of it.

Blogs to watch

Before I begin to get into football gear in earnest, I'd like to call your attention to a few other places around the internets that might be of some use to you. (For those who are already looking for Badger football stuff, here's a little something: John Clay! Allan Evridge! Tyler Donovan! Bret Bielema! Waaaugh!!)

We'll begin with the creme de la creme, which obviously means the Badger blogs:

* Wisconsin Badger Sports Fan has a fantastic name and has been live since February. Look for all things UW from this site.

* Online since May, Midseason Forum covers much more than just Badger sports. Check out his recent work regarding the impending NBA draft.

* Literally born yesterday(!), Bucky's Faithful is off to a strong start. Get over there and encourage Fest to stick with the blog project!

On to the others ...

* Death Cab for Woody is an Ohio State blog that's full of snark and is touchably soft.

* There are many reasons that you're going to want to look to Hawkeye State for your Big Ten previews this season, not the least of which will be because I once again have no idea what to make of the 2007 Hawkeyes.

* Anything Hoosier, which is possibly actually entitled "IU Sports," makes mention not only of basketball but also Indiana football. Come for the Hoosierdom, stay for the early preseason basketball picks that keep Wisconsin out of the top 5 in the Big Ten!

* Defend the Rock is also a Hoosier blog and has far less to do with Sean Connery than one would suppose.

And finally, there are the Gopher blogs. At this time last year, you couldn't find a single blog devoted to Gopher football, but lately they've been popping up all over. If any more show up, I'll be tempted to go out back with a rake and crack their tiny skulls open. One imagines that this has to do with the Dynamic Duo of Tim Brewster and Tubby Smith. These blogs are all high-quality, which makes me believe that more Wisconsin residents are taking advantage of that whole reciprocity deal than I previously thought.

* Paging Jim Shikenjanski sets the standard for the new Gopher uprising. With 57 posts under his belt since May 16, PJS is sallying forth at a torrid pace. Check this site every day.

* Down with Goldy is down with the Gophers, but not down with Goldy the Gopher. Got it?

* Gopher Gal writes Minnesota Golden Gophers with brevity and aplomb. Good tidbits to be found here.

* The posts at Gopher Nation are thorough and are generally long enough to be enjoyable reads. Plus, if you need a laugh, you can always scroll up to the blog's subtitle, which reads, "We're going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena!"

Bret Bielema Arm Candy Watch

The fact that the Wisconsin State Journal ran this story on Bret Bielema and his date, one Sabrina Holtzman (don't Google-stalk her, you'll just get her half-marathon time), at the 2007 Frostiball (read: prom for upper-middle-class-and-better adults who live in the Madison area) makes it acceptable -- nay, it obligates me! -- to post about it.