Offseason Roundtable #4

In an effort to not only increase our chatter about the Cards, but to also increase some reader participation, Edge, RV, and Alan will be doing these roundtables every other week or so? Love the answers? Want to post your own thoughts? Of course you do. And you can do so in the Comments section. Because remember, dear readers, a smarmy sarcastic blog about Ball State athletics is only as good as its small yet powerful reader base. Have at it, boys and girls...

1.) The big news this week is that Greg Paulus, Duke's former point guard, is looking to enroll at Syracuse this fall and play QB for the Orange. Buy or sell this being a successful move for Paulus or Syracuse?
Edge:Yawn. Anyone else tired of this? Look, I've said it before: it makes for good a good story if this works out for him. But other than that, it's getting annoying. Ok, he's not big enough, he's had 4 years off, and he's got one year of eligibility. As far as Syracuse, it's probably a better fit than Michigan. I know fans in Ann Arbor who are nauseated with this whole scenario. But I can imagine Syracuse fans are in the "hell, why not" mode. Let's say, for the sake of putting this story to bed, I'll say it's a buy for Syracuse and a push for Paulus.

RV: I'm not sure how that is big news. All I know is that Paulus has already said he was going to compete for the starting job at Michigan. So...evidently he has no clue what the hell he is going to do, how can we expect him to do anything at Syracuse? That's a sell for all parties involved. Move on to bigger and better things or stop trying to create headlines. Nonstory.

Alan: Well, let's see... for Paulus, he's out of options. He doesn't have NBA potential, he isn't going to play in the NFL, and his only hope is to take the Wojo route and be an assistant coach for Coach K. And let's not kid ourselves, Paulus was an outstanding high school QB, and Syracuse sucks. It gives the Orange and new coach Doug Marrone some publicity and press. So really, this is sort of a marriage of convenience and desperation rather than love, but I buy it. For both.


2.) Much was made about the assistant coach shake ups that occurred in the transition from Brady Hoke to Stan Parrish. Who are you most excited to have as a new member of the Cardinal family?
Edge: Joey Lynch. Yep. Joey Lynch. You didn't forget we hired him, did you?

RV: Joey Lynch. Anytime we can have someone who understands the pressures that come with being a successful Ball State Cardinal...well, that's a plus in my book. But seriously...I prefer young, former players to really build up a specific unit. Let's hope this Lynch is nothing like THAT Lynch.

Alan: Joey Lynch? Really?! Are you kidding me? The correct answer is Daryl Dixon, if not because he has an exceptionally talented secondary to work with, but because the guy is a young up and coming coach. Dixon went to Florida, coached with the Zookster at Illinois, and knows what it's like to win championships. And he's probably fast because he's from the SEC!!


3.) Who of the incoming recruits are you most looking forward to seeing play in Cardinal and White next fall?
Edge: Uh, how about Matthew Page, the dude selected to play for USA Football’s 2009 Junior National Team? Granted, he probably won't play much, but he's a real talent. I'm extremely excited to see how he develops. Plus his picture looks like he'd come right out of it and bust your ass. Gotta love that.

RV: Matthew Page. First off, he's patriotic. I can't even begin to describe the things he's done to bring down the Taliban. Second off, he's gigantic and after playing for America I feel that he'll personally take on all teams from Michigan...you know, because Michigan is a Canadian province. Right?

Alan: Well let's all take a small step back and refrain from messing our pants over Mr. Page before he even gets on campus. Seth White will be the heir apparent to one Dante Love, as he fills the role of slightly undersized athletic as hell kid that can make plays all over the field. Incidentally though, I also agree that Matthew Page looks like he drank an entire Big Gulp of whoop ass.


4.) BSU plays two fairly weak openers in North Texas and New Hampshire, before Army and Auburn, both on the road. Thoughts on the Cardinals schedule early? Productive? Waste of time?
Edge: Not overly productive, but not a waste of time. Warm-up gigs all around. It's like seeing a band the first few shows of a tour. Takes a while to knock the rust off and take advantage of some solid chemistry. Plus they're early home games, so it'll be (hopefully) great weather. And what gets you going more than a couple W's heading into Army and Auburn? They won't be too hard to win, but a) it's football, and b) it's Ball State football!

RV: Waste of time. Playing teams like North Texas and New Hampshire does nothing to prepare the team except let them know they can beat shitty teams. Auburn is a great game to have on the schedule because it provides opportunity. If Ball State had a major team on their schedule last year outside of MAC play, they would've been even more hyped and Nate would've had even MORE fumbles.

Alan: It sounds elitist and arrogant, but frankly, I approach games like this sort of the same way Steve Spurrier did... "Give 'em a check, and save 'em the trip". The possibility of injury, or worse, a loss, is just too great to even risk. Having said that, this offense will need some time to gel. That's what these little warm up games are for. So in the words of Mitch Hedberg, "I'm for 'em!"


5.) You are given the green light to cast a feature film about the Cardinals last season. Whom do you cast for which key roles?
Edge: Tough to say... what kind of movie? Is it drama? Comedy? Or horror? In any case, to take the easy way out, I'd probably cast a bunch of unknowns. Not only does it get me off the hook from this question, but I could save some serious cash. Then who's complaining when I'm buying the rounds at Scotty's? Huh? Huh?? Just find the cast of The Program and see if Mike Golic wants to be Hoke. Game, set, match, catch ya on the flip-flop.

RV: Nate Davis - Insert actor who played someone who can't read. MiQuale Lewis - Bobb'e J. Thompson. Dante Love - Wood Harris. Brady Hoke - Benedict Arnold.

Alan: Luckily for me, I'm going last in this little convo and also have the luxury of publishing the post whenever I'm ready. So I get to add fancy pictures, but I want to recognize a great pick up by Edge for Brady Hoke. Off we go with Alan's choices for central casting...

For Brady Hoke... Jeff Garlin



For Nate Davis... Chris Brown



For MiQuale Lewis... Eddie Griffin



For Jason Whitlock... Jabba the Hut



For JoAnn Gora... Skeletor



Have at it, dear readers, in the comment section.