In about a month and a half, Florida State will officially hit the practice fields. To help make the wait go a little quicker for college football fans the first preseason college football magazines are finding their way into bookstores. As Warchant.com has done for the past eight years, we will review the most popular publications and tell you what they are saying about the 2008 Seminoles.
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When it comes to preview magazines, there are several choices and they are all of varying quality and accuracy. For next few weeks we will break down some of the most popular publications. Our second review is Phil Steele's National Edition.
Phil Steele's College Football Preview - National Edition
Total pages: 328
Price: $8.95
Total pages devoted to FSU: 2
Published: Cleveland, Ohio
Web site: www.philsteele.com
If you are a football fanatic, and want to get your hands on a preseason magazine, it's hard to beat Phil Steele's publication. Instead of tons of ads, photos, and multi-page features, Steele utilizes a no nonsense approach to previewing the college football season. While he had a few gaffs last year, including ranking FSU No. 8 in his top 40, over the long haul no preseason magazine has been more accurate.
What is really impressive is how much bang you get for your buck. Steele packs in 328 pages full of material with very few ads (5 & 1/2 pages) and just a few small photos. The magazine packs in so much content that there are abbreviations and acronyms everywhere. By comparison, Athlon's 2008 ACC edition has over a dozen large photos and over 42 pages of ads in just 176 pages. If you are a comparison shopper, Steele costs 2.8 cents per non-ad page, while Athlon is nearly double at 5.2 cents per page.
And it's not only the amount of content that makes this magazine the best buy on the market; it's the unique way Steele delivers it.
Unlike Lindy's, Athlon and the most other preseason publications, Steele previews the upcoming season based on facts including each team's past history, statistics, recruiting and coaching. As a result, you usually get more objective opinions and predictions.
Magazine Highlights - FSU:
Player Rankings:
The following FSU players showed up in Steele's position rakings:
Drew Weatherford - #21 QB
Antone Smith - #18 RB
Greg Carr - #6 WR (2nd team All-American)
Preston Parker - #29 WR
Rodney Hudson - #33 OT
Ryan McMahon - #17 C
Everette Brown - #9 DE
Neefy Moffett - #59 DE
Derek Nicholson - #9 MLB
Dekoda Watson - #62 OLB
Patrick Robinson - #10 CB
Tony Carter - #18 CB
Myron Rolle - #4 S (4th team All-American)
Graham Gano - #18 P
Preston Parker - #19 PR
Comment: It's hard to disagree with too many of Steele's player rankings. However, there's no way there are 61 outside linebackers better than Dekoda Watson. He may be a little raw because he played primarily defensive end in high school (and at the start of his college career) but he has a huge upside and is a smart player. By the end of the year I expect him to be considered one of the top 20 OLBs in the nation. The rankings for Myron Rolle and Greg Carr seem a bit generous based on last year's performances but there's no doubt that both possess a ton of talent and could be All-American candidates if they live up to their potential.
Unit Rankings:
Running back - #13
Wide receiver - #5
Defensive line - #7
Linebacker - #4
Defensive back - #8
Comment: Steele is pretty optimistic about FSU across the board especially at wide receiver, defensive line and linebacker. With the additions of Corey Surrency and Jarmon Fortson to go along with Greg Carr, Preston Parker, Bert Reed, Taiwan Easterling, etc. there is a ton of talent at wide receiver. But for several years this unit has underachieved greatly. This year will be a good test to see if Lawrence Dawsey can turn this unit around. With the losses of Andre Fluellen, Letroy Guion and Alex Boston, who were effectively all starters last season, there are some pretty big holes to fill on the defensive line and very little depth. If the unit stays healthy and can get contributions from some newcomers there's a chance it could be a top 10 unit by the end of the year. Finally, linebacker lost two potential starters - Geno Hayes to the NFL and Marcus Ball leaving the team - and there isn't much experience to fall back on. Outside of Derek Nicholson and Dekoda Watson, who will likely miss the first three games due to suspension, there is practically no experience here. Again, the potential is there but the unit must gel quickly and the two experienced players must stay healthy for this to be a top five group.
Most Improved Teams:
Comment: Only a couple surprises here. Considering how pathetic Notre Dame was last season, picking them as the No. 1 most improved team in 2008 makes sense. And having North Carolina, who has had couple good recruiting classes under Butch Davis, at No. 2 isn't a bad pick either. But I'm not sure how Miami, at No. 7, is going to show a great deal of improvement over last season.
Surprise Teams:
Comment: There are a few more shockers with Steele's "surprise teams". At No. 1 he picks USF but I call Bull on this one. As soon as USF cracked the top five they suffered three straight setbacks including embarrassing losses to Connecticut and Cincinnati. Every year there is at least one Cinderella team that ESPN touts as a new football powerhouse when they win a few games and pull off a couple upsets, but nine times out of ten these teams are a flashe in the pan. The Bulls return several players from last year's squad but my guess is that the magic won't return in 2008 and they will be slightly better than a .500 team. And Clemson at No. 2? Most people are picking them around the top 10 so I'm not sure how they can they be a surprise. Maybe if the Tigers win a national championship that might be considered a "surprise" but Clemson has yet to win a big game under Tommy Bowden when a lot is on the line. Virginia Tech at No. 6 is another surprise for a "surprise team". Frank Beamer lost a ton of key players and while a top 20 finish is not out of the question, that's hardly a surprise considering that Tech usually finishes in the top 20. And Steele is still on the FSU bandwagon picking the 'Noles as his No. 8 surprise team. If FSU wins nine, or even ten, games it would be a nice improvement for the program but I'm not sure that's worthy of a top 10 "surprise". In case you forgot, Steele didn't have a whole lot of luck picking surprise teams last year since he had Florida State tagged No. 1.
Top 10 & rankings of note:
1. Florida
2. Ohio State
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Clemson
6. West Virginia
7. Missouri
8. USF
9. Georgia
10. Penn State
16. Virginia Tech
24. Florida State
27. Wake Forest
33. Maryland
38. North Carolina
Comment: As I noted in the Athlon review, I don't buy having the Gators ranked No. 1. And again, I think Steele has USF drastically overrated, and Clemson will have to play with a lot more heart to finish with a top five ranking. Ranking FSU at No. 24 is a bit on the high side compared to other rankings, but not totally out of whack - From a survey of 15 preseason polls FSU's average ranking is 29.
Highlights from the ACC section
Preseason all-ACC team:
First team - Gregg Carr, Derek Nicholson
Second team - Drew Weatherford, Antone Smith, Rodney Hudson, Preston Parker, Everette Brown, Patrick Robinson, Myron Rolle, Tony Carter
Third team - Ryan McMahon, Graham Gano
Florida State section
As with the ACC section, there isn't a whole lot of detail in the team section since Steele previews all 120 Division I programs. As a result, the Florida State breakdown is only two pages but there are a couple interesting tidbits. For one, he notes that FSU was among the "leaders in missed starts (35)" last year because of injury. Also, he says that FSU's 15 returning starters are the most since the 1999 season and have the third fewest lettermen lost in the ACC. In conclusion, Steele says "I give them a great shot at finally returning to a double digit win year." If that prediction comes true it would certainly make most of Seminole Nation happy.
Of Note:
- No Florida State players are picked in his "top eligible players for the 2009 NFL Draft" (32 players ranked).
- According to Steele, teams that have the worst luck in injuries tend to bounce back with better records the following year. He ranked FSU No. 8 in the injury department from the 2007 season.
- Unlike past years when FSU has typically had very difficult schedules, Steele says the Noles' have the 50th toughest schedule in 2008. That's down from No. 31 in 2007.
- Steele predicts that FSU will average 29.3 points per game in 2008, up from 23.3 in 2007. For the defense, he says Mickey Andrews' squad will give up 17.4 points per game, up from 22.9 in 2007.
- While he isn't mentioned as a favorite or a contender for a Heisman Trophy, Drew Weatherford is listed as a "possibility" for college football's top individual honor. Antone Smith checks in as a darkhorse. Wow on both accounts.
To buy or not to buy?
Once again, Steele a definite buy for the die hard college football fan. But a warning - if you aren't into detailed stats and prefer feature type stories and eye-catching photos this magazine is not for you. It's all about hard numbers, with a bunch of rankings and a few predictions thrown in.
Gene Williams is the founder and administrator of Warchant.com and writes stories and features covering all of FSU's sports with an emphasis on football and football recruiting. For seven years, Williams hosted a weekly sports radio show in Tallahassee. He currently appears as a weekly guest on 1010 XL Sports Radio in Jacksonville and 1270 The Team in Tallahassee during football season. Williams is also a former ACC correspondent for College Football News (weekly national newspaper), and contributes to The Osceola. Story about Gene Williams & Warchant.comClick Look for another publication review coming soon.Here to view this Link..