Alright damn it!  I need closure.  I need to hand out some post season awards to the football guys before the season gets officially archived from my brain.  With the recruiting frenzy in high gear and the hoops team on a magic carpet ride, it’s high time to finish of the 2009 Football season.  Our boy Sean over at Nunes attempted to get this off the ground, but it collapsed like a house of cards, much like the real season ending awards banquet.  Well despite some pokes and prods, ok, just two emails about a month and a half ago, we still don’t have any love for the gridders.  So here are my official votes, along with comments that I made at that time.  Agree, disagree, or go back to tracking our wondrous cagers quest for another crown.  I’ll come out of hibernation again after this recruiting class is officially inked and we get a 12th opponent for next season – whichever allows me to procrastinate more.

MVP – Greg Paulus

Tough call here between Paulus, DC3 and Derell Smith.  DC3 gets props for cracking 1000 yards with a patchwork line and Smith became the unquestioned leader of the defense.  However, Paulus proved that his one year experiment was no joke.  He has set records for completions and completion percentage that may not be broken anytime soon.  He was an exemplary leader and never complained about splitting reps with Ryan Nassib.  He made me like a Dukie and for that, I think he deserves the MVP award.

LVP – Donte Davis

I’m not sure who really fits this bill the best, but I chose Davis because he was the #1 receiver a year ago and should have had some openings with Mike Williams back.  Instead he was supplanted by both Marcus Sales and Alec Lemon.  He never had the impact that I think he was capable of having.  Hopefully next year he steps his game back up to where it needs to be.

Most Surprising Player – Doug Hogue

Doug Hogue’s springtime move to LB was really a no brainer. That unit was lacking speed and playmaking ability.  We knew Doug had the speed and he was recruited by several schools as a LBer.  What impressed me the most was that he made plays.  Alot of them.  He rarely seemed out of position or took bad angles.  He and D-bone Smith were instrumental in the improvement of the run defense.  And when Smith went out with an injury, Hogue played even better. The tackle on Tom Savage where he timed the snap perfectly was just the most obvious example of the talent he displayed.

Best Freshman – Shamarko Thomas

First off I want to say I classified players based on their eligibility not by their school class.

Alec Lemon played well, but I had to go with Shamarko Thomas as top Frosh.  The kid made an immediate impact on defense.  He went from nickel to LBer to corner to safety.  He hit hard and you felt his impact on the field.  He got better as the season progressed.  He is going to be a dynamic defender in the next several years.  He was a wonderful steal along with classmate Brandon Sharpe from Louisville.  If you could blueprint immediate impacter from a recruiting standpoint, Shamarko is the template.

Best Sophomore – Cody Catalina

This is another kid who gets it.  He easily transitioned from quarterback to TE.  He’s the type of blue collar player every team needs.  My favorite play of his was of him ripping the ball away from a Northwestern player, preventing a sure turnover.  He just wanted it more.  That’s pretty much how Catalina approaches the game.  He wants to on the field – more than you..

Best Junior – Derrell Smith

With all due respects to Delone Carter, who ran like an absolute beast, D Bone was the unquestioned ace of a class that is filled with talented players.  Smith took to the Mike backer spot like a fish to water.  He was everywhere on the field, making tackles, recovering fumbles and wreaking havoc in the backfield.  He really excelled in Coach Shafer’s defensive scheme.  I liked his attitude towards the dog bone award – he wanted it every week.

Best Senior – Art Jones

No one had more faith in Coach Marrone than Art Jones.  He could have easily went to the NFL but decided to stick it out.  For his efforts he got a pulled pectoral muscle, which he overcame, and then a tear of his mcl.  Through it all he engaged everyone with his patented smile and professed his love of Syracuse University.  Oh and did I mention that he consumed double teams like… well Art Jones consumes lobsters!  He is a rare breed in today’s me first generation.  Art will be missed for sure.

Biggest Villain – Randy Edsall

I was going to give this to MWill for bailing on us, but I didn’t want him garnering anymore SOBs than necessary.  Edsall fits the bill for his attempt at rivalry building with his score run-up in the season finale.  He’ll be reminded of this egregious act for years to come, as I am quite sure that “The Plan” now has an extra section titled “Paybacks”.

Best Game of the Year – Rutgers

Easily the most satisfying game of the year.  When was the last time we pounded a team from start to finish?  Rutgers just expected us to roll over and instead got rolled.  The defense sacked Tom Savage 9 times.  Repeat 9 times!  It was nice to see Shady put in his place, as well as the blowhard Rutgers fans who clearly have an overinflated sense of where their program is at.  This win clearly has the chance to build what is emerging as a clear rivalry – or maybe its the start of the reclamation of what things should be, looking at this game as an auto W.

Worst Game of the Year – Louisville

Attended this game in person, so the pain was a bit more intense. The stagnating offense, clearly now the final stand of Rob Spence, and special teams cost us what should have been a dominating win.  I turned down at least 10 tickets so interest in the ‘ville as clearly lacking.  My kids only lasted until halftime and one of my little boys was clearly distressed as he kept saying over and over, “It’s STILL zero to zero!?”  My thoughts exactly son.  I can only imagine what he would have said if he had seen our special teams play in the 2nd half.

Best Moment of the Year – Game winning FG by Ryan Lichtenstein versus Northwestern

Before Coach Casullo’s special teams went to hell, we got the special moment that culminated the first victory of the Marrone Era.  A perfectly executed run by Paulus set up Ryan’s clock draining kick.  In hindsight, the win was impressive given Northwestern’s 8 wins.  At the moment, the win marked the promise of the future and hope for a possible bowl run and confirmation that our head coach indeed knows what he’s doing.

Worst Moment of the Year – Andrew Tiller’s car crash.

Maybe things were going to work out the way they worked out, but it was a crushing blow for the team to lose their biggest playmaker over an incident that should have been avoided.  You never know if we could have pulled an upset against, WV, Cincy or Pitt; but the possibilty was all but erased after this incident.  The offense lost its identity and it easily cost us one game in the standings. I will always wonder what kind of numbers Williams should have had this season.

Best Doug Marrone Quote -

“So can I take the lobsters? Strategically, if I wanted to…yes. I start out with a lobster just plain. Later on, I switch to the butter. The butter will go down a little smoother. So I’m up for any challenge or any competition.”

Sean bagged the single biggest quote from Doug Marrone.  It exemplifies DM in alot of ways.  It seems in every phase in life he has a plan.  Even in taking down lobsters.  And he won’t back down from a challenge.

Best Player Quote – “ITS NOT QUITTING IF YOUR NOT WANTED ITS MOVING ON REMEMBER THAT!”  Mike Williams

No quote best sums up the career of Mike Williams than this one.  And judging by the fun the various blogs have had embellishing this statement, it’s clear we won’t be forgetting this one anytime soon.

Best Photo/Image – SU/Penn St goal line photo (http://photos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2009/09/syracuse_vs_penn_state_footbal_5.html)

I was looking for the shot that best categorized this Orange team.  I think the goal line stand photo does it best.  The strides that this defense made this season was nothing short of amazing.  The guys didn’t quit, they brought their hard hats every week. If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that we would be one of the best teams against the run in the nation, I would have told you to put down the Kool-Aid.

Best Video – the Opening Montage before the team takes the field: 

I’ve seen this at other college (Lousiville) and pro (Bengals) games.  This one is easily the best one.  It’s classy, historic, well made and if it doesn’t give you goose bumps then you aren’t alive.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 6:48 pm by LvilleOrange . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.