Jonathan Baldwin Is No Larry Fitzgerald

Jonathan Baldwin's gotten a lot of hype during the offseason.  While he's one of the best receivers in college football, I'm not necessarily ready to compare him to Fitz:

"I was at that game scouting Stull and [tight end Dorin] Dickerson," said one scout in attendance. "I knew who Baldwin was, but I had never seen him play in person. That drive was impressive, and it really showed how dominant he could be on the big stage. But, that catch he made in the end zone, against a pretty good defender, brought back memories of Larry Fitzgerald."

Fitz was too special of a player. I'll have to see a lot more out of Baldwin before I annoint him to anywhere near that level.  As great as JB has been, let's keep in mind his career high for yards came last season - 'only' 57 catches for 1,111 yards.  That, of course, is a pretty good year.  But it's not Heisman-worthy as Fitz' best season was - 92 for 1,672.

And as I've pointed out before, Baldwin had several games where he disappeared last year:

- 1 catch for 17 yards vs. Rutgers

- 1 catch for 5 yards vs. Syracuse

- 4 catches for 44 yards vs. Buffalo

That won't get it done if you're trying to slide next to the greatest wideout in school history.

Sticking with Baldwin but moving onto...fantasy college football?  My thoughts on that are another issue for another time, but here's one guy who isn't sold on Baldwin putting up big numbers:

Let someone else reach for...

Jonathan Baldwin. Sure he's one of the more physically gifted wide receivers in the country, but I'm not sold on the Panther offense in 2010. Only two offensive linemen return, Tino Sunseri has some big shoes to fill, and this will remain a run-first and run-second offense. I'm not telling you to avoid Baldwin, just that there are reasons to doubt that he'll match his 57-1111-8 from 2009.

I think the new line and QB will hurt Baldwin, but I think the running game will be enough of a threat to warrant a lot of looks his way.  So with that said, I expect him to improve upon his numbers from last season.

Camp Kikakee With Larry Fitzgerald

If Camp Kikakee has no meaning for you, then you're either too old or too young.  At any rate, Larry Fitzgerald apparently has a football camp - and it's not for kids:

Now entering his seventh NFL season, Fitzgerald has turned into the mentor and turned his hometown into the place to be for professional pass catchers in the weeks before training camp begins in August. With a star-studded list of instructors, Fitzgerald invites players of varying experience to train with him at the University of Minnesota.

What started as a group of about five or six players a few years ago has swelled to about 40 athletes, all working on an efficient and demanding routine that lasts for three weeks.

Greg Jennings, Brandon Marshall and Sidney Rice have participated in the past. On Tuesday, Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley, Seattle rookie Golden Tate, New Orleans defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, St. Louis linebacker James Laurinaitis and Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson were among those in the group, which changes from week to week.

True, it might seem a little odd that Fitzgerald is training fellow NFL veterans, but he's got some help:

Legends like Jerry Rice, Carter and Irvin stop in to help teach youngsters like Tate and Denver rookie Eric Decker(notes) the tricks of the trade. One of Irvin’s lessons, for instance, was for receivers to anticipate the snap count rather than waiting to hear it from the quarterback to gain a split-second in the never-ending search for an edge.

It also sounds as if the camp is more like a training camp than it is for show:

The mornings are basically on-field chalkboard sessions. Ideas are shared and compared. But let there be no doubt, the workouts are as demanding physically as they are enlightening mentally. Different days are devoted to different things, be it improving speed, agility, strength, technique. One of the mornings concluded with the players running 16 110-yard sprints, with limited rest in between. It was enough to make an onlooker feel like he was going to lose his breakfast.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think guys are out there going until they hurl.  But as the article states, to get guys to go before training camp during some of their last days of freedom....to Minnesota?  Yeah, Fitz has some serious pull.

Kind of cool to see him doing this at such a young age.  Most NFL stars are busy running camps for high school kids, but how many are running them for their peers?  That so many NFL players would think there's value here and come out for these is just another testament to his ability as a player.  Having guys like Jerry Rice as instructors can't hurt, either.

Pitt's NFL Impact

ESPN.com recently had a bracket to determine a 'champion' for the NCAA school best at getting quality players to the NFL. Pitt not only made the list of 16, but got into the Final Four.

Apparently, Mark Schlabach thought that Pitt was a bit overrated in this field:

Based on recent history, it’s a surprise the Panthers are still standing.

Next to college football’s teams of the 1980s (Miami), 1990s (FSU) and 2000s (USC), the Panthers stick out as much as Lane Kiffin sitting at a table of Hall of Fame coaches.

But here’s a brief history lesson to bring you up to speed on Pittsburgh football:

In the early 1980s, there probably wasn’t a better NFL factory than the Steel City’s university. Quarterback Dan Marino played there, along with fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers Russ Grimm and Rickey Jackson.

Who can forget Pitt’s stellar offensive linemen like Mark May, Jimbo Covert, Ruben Brown and Bill Fralic or its menacing defensive linemen such as Hugh Green, Chris Doleman and Sean Gilbert? Former NFL running backs Curtis Martin and Craig “Iron Head” Heyward played for the Panthers. More recently, Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald and cornerback Darrelle Revis starred at Pitt.

But if the survey were based on the last 10 to 15 years -- instead of the last three decades -- the Panthers wouldn’t have a seat at the front table.

Um, maybe so. However, the survey was based on the past 30 years, so that's kind of a silly point. Mr. Schlabach, normally a pretty bright guy, will play the role of town idiot today.

Let's take a look at Pitt's past 15 years since that's what Schlabach seems to take exception with.

- Curtis Martin was an All-Pro and with 14,000+ yards, will be a Hall of Famer.

- Larry Fitzgerald is a good pick for best receiver in the game right now and by all indications, should be a Hall of Famer assuming he stays healthy.

- Ruben Brown is a nine-time Pro Bowler and one of the best offensive linemen in the 90s. Fringe Hall of Fame type player.

- Darrelle Revis is young, but regarded by many as the best cover corner in the NFL today. He has already been an All-Pro and Pro Bowler. Way too young to declare him a Hall of Famer, but being the best in your position in only your third season is a nice way to start.

- Andy Lee is also young, but an All-Pro punter and two-time Pro Bowler already.

- Kevan Barlow was a 1,000 yard rusher.

- Antonio Bryant was a 1,000 yard receiver.

- Recent high-round draft picks are already Lesean McCoy and Jeff Otah should be very good players in the years to come.

- Plus some draft boards are projecting 2-4 FIRST ROUND picks for Pitt next year alone. The future is bright for the school.

- In addition, Pitt has had numerous very productive NFL players in recent memory such as H.B. Blades, Gerald Hayes, Clint Session, Hank Poteat, Torrie Cox, Lousaka Polite, and Shawntae Spencer. I would expect that at least some of those guys will get to the Pro Bowl during their career.

- Then you've got guys like Kris Wilson, Anthony Dorsett, Jr., Nick Goings, and Tom Tumulty that have had fairly long careers including playing as starters for at least a full season.

And if you even just go back to 1990, you see that Pitt had eight guys with careers of ten years of more. Pro Bowlers Sean Gilbert, Bill Maas, and Jeff Christy along with other good players such as Tony Siragusa.

That's not even counting guys with nice careers like Keith Hamilton and Alex Van Pelt.

I think Schlabach is way off base in saying that Pitt has no business in this argument. There may be a few schools that have been better, but to say Pitt sticks out like a sore thumb is just foolish. This is a perfect example of someone looking at a team like Pitt who hasn't competed for a National Championship in recent memory and somehow extrapolating that and concluding that the school couldn't possibly be producing quality NFL talent.

I'd be interested to know how many other schools can boast not only the amount of flat out stars, but also the type of quality depth throughout.

Football Notes

With the Georgetown game out of the way, time to get caught up on a bunch of miscellaneous stories floating around:

Dorin Dickerson, Aaron Berry, and Nate Byham will all be playing in senior games to showcase their skills before the draft.

Meanwhile, Mel Kiper has his 2011 (yes, 2011) draft board up already. In it, Greg Romeus ranks as the #3 DE and Jason Pinkston the #5 OT. I don't know if Romeus can repeat the kind of success he had this year. With the loss of Mick Williams, more attention will probably be paid to him. But if he can, he could be a first-rounder.

Focusing on the NFL, here's a fairly unique article/slideshow of the top Big East players currently in the NFL - Pitt has three of them including the top two.

Brian Bennett breaks down the top ten Big East games of the year and Pitt lands in three of them...including, unfortunately for Pitt fans, the #1 game against that Ohio team that shall remain nameless. The game also ranked 3rd in the Big East games of the decade and a certain upset from 2007 was #4.

Bennett also rates Pitt as the #4 Big East team in the decade. I would have probably bumped them ahead of Virginia Tech, but maybe that's just me. And sticking with Bennett and this whole decade theme, he ranks Dave Wannstedt as the #10 coach of the Big East.

Moving from Bennett, Bill Conley of Scouts, Inc. says Pitt's 2010 class is better than its 2009 one.

GoPittfootball.com, the school's satellite site for football, has a nice video recapping 2009 season highlights.

Mark Schlabach at ESPN.com says Larry Fitzgerald was the top college wideout of the decade and the #9 overall player. Along those same lines, Paul Zeise throws out some options for Pitt player of the decade and also goes over yet more coaching changes including the departure of Joe Tumpkin and addition of former Pitt QB Luke Getsy.

But getting back to the original thought about player of the decade. Using his list, I'd rank the top five as follows:

1. Larry Fitzgerald
2. Lesean McCoy
3. Darrelle Revis
4. Rod Rutherford
5. (tie) H.B. Blades
5. (tie) Antonio Bryant
5. (tie) Scott McKillop

The last three were too close to call in my opinion.

Fitz Wins an ESPY...Hooray.

Sorry, but I just can't get more excited about this. I love sports, but hate the ESPYs on every level. No interest at all.

That said, always good when former Pitt players are involved.

So, congrats to Larry for winning the ESPY for Best NFL Player. A pretty big achievement if you consider all of the players in the league.

Help Fitz

I am not a fan of the ESPYs, so it's with a grain of salt that I mention this. But....

Larry Fitzgerald is up for some awards including Best NFL Player and Best Record-Breaking Performance.

You can vote here....voting ends July 11.

Football Bits

Brian Bennett of ESPN.com points out the former Pitt Panthers that are in the NFL Conference Championship games this week.

He also mentions Jonathan Baldwin as the #7 potential star for the Big East in 2009 if the QB can find a way to get him the ball.

I agree - if they can get the ball in his hands (and that's a huge if based on the quarterback play this year), he could really have a breakout year and really be one of the top offensive threats in the league. With the departure of Shady, they'll probably be relying a little more on the passing game.

Let's just hope we see more quick slants and mid-range passes rather than those questionable fade passes down the sideline.

On a final note, it's good to see Larry Fitzgerald have success in the NFL. He's turned into arguably the top wideout in the league and today, he tied the conference championship record for TD catches and also broke a long-standing record held by the best of all-time, Jerry Rice. Congratulations Fitz.