Bolt Up - Madden 25

[TomBrady]

AP Poll: Alabama, Ohio State headline first preseason rankings

By Zac Ellis

Bring on more polls! The Associated Press unveiled its preseason college football poll on Saturday, the latest rankings released to unofficially signal the countdown to kickoff. The USA Today Coaches’ Poll and SI.com’s preseason top 25 were released earlier this month.

Alabama claimed the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll with 58 of the 60 possible first-place votes (No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Georgia split the other two). Oregon, Stanford and Georgia rounded out the top five.

The full AP poll is below, with first-place votes in parentheses:

1. Alabama (58)
2. Ohio State (1)
3. Oregon
4. Stanford
5. Georgia (1)
6. South Carolina
7. Texas A&M
8. Clemson
9. Louisville
10. Florida
11. Florida State
12. LSU
13. Oklahoma State
14. Notre Dame
15. Texas
16. Oklahoma
17. Michigan
18. Nebraska
19. Boise State
20. TCU
21. UCLA
22. Northwestern
23. Wisconsin
24. USC
25. Oregon State

Others receiving votes: Michigan St. 95, Baylor 92, Virginia Tech 86, Miami 85, Arizona St. 53, Kansas St. 43, Fresno St. 36, Vanderbilt 19, Washington 17, N. Illinois 16, Mississippi 11, Utah St. 8, Georgia Tech 6, Arizona 3, Cincinnati 3, North Carolina 3, Penn St. 2, BYU 1.

Notes:

• Alabama is the preseason No. 1 for the fourth time in school history. The Crimson Tide’s 58 first-place votes matched Florida in 2009 for the highest percentage of first-place votes in the preseason poll’s history. Alabama, you might recall, has claimed three of the last four BCS titles and is vying to win its third straight, the first for any program. But history actually does not favor the Tide: Since the AP rankings began in 1950, only 10 of the 63 teams who began the season No. 1 went on to win the national championship. The most recent? USC in 2004.

• Much like the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, the SEC asserted its dominance with six teams in the AP Poll: Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Florida and LSU. Five of the AP’s top 10 were SEC teams, which were more than all but three conferences had in the entire poll. The Big Ten and Pac-12 each had five teams ranked, with the Big 12 landing four and the ACC two.

• The AP Poll mirrored the Coaches Poll by including three teams outside the Power Five conferences: Louisville (No. 9), Notre Dame (14) and Boise State (19). This was Louisville’s best preseason rankings in program history. The Cardinals and Broncos might become mainstays in the polls with their weak schedules: Neither team will play a game against another AP preseason top 25 team this season.

• The distribution of first-place votes is intriguing. It comes as no surprise that Alabama landed the vast majority of first-place love, but an AP voter actually gave Georgia one of the other two votes for the top spot. In SI.com’s preseason top 25, Georgia didn’t even crack the top 10, coming in at No. 12. SI’s staff put its stock elsewhere in the SEC, ranking South Carolina (No. 6) and Texas A&M (No. 3) ahead of the Bulldogs. The coaches failed to have as much faith in Georgia, as well, with sixth-ranked Texas A&M and No. 2 Ohio State receiving the other first-place votes in the Coaches’ Poll.

• Get ready for a battle at the top of the Pac-12 this season. Oregon (No. 3) and Stanford (No. 4) represent the highest-ranked conference duo in the poll.

• The AP Poll features the exact same 25 teams as the Coaches’ Poll, and 19 of them earned the same ranking. There are no changes in Nos. 15-25 between the two polls.

• Per Brett McMurphy of ESPN, this poll marked the first time since 1992 that the Big 12 failed to have a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll. Oklahoma State (13) and Texas (15) were closest, with Oklahoma (16) and TCU (20) rounding out the league’s representation. Those four teams also missed the top 10 in the Coaches’ Poll, with No. 14 OSU grabbing the highest spot for the conference. Texas reached its peak with a No. 11 ranking in SI’s poll, but Oklahoma State — the favorite to win the Big 12 by some — didn’t even crack the staff’s top 25.

[TomBrady]

Philip Rivers: I don't need to be 'fixed'

Philip Rivers: I don't need to be 'fixed'
ESPN.com

San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers says he's perplexed by the notion that his game needs fixing.

This is despite the fact he has turned the ball over 47 times the past two seasons. Only beleaguered New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, with 52, has more turnovers in that span.

Rivers, a four-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL in passing yards in 2010 with 4,710, says he knows some of his turnovers have contributed to the Chargers' struggles recently but scoffs at the idea that his game needs an overhaul.

"The thing that's gotten to me this offseason is, 'Who's going to fix Philip?'" Rivers told The Los Angeles Times. "That phrase, I almost laugh it off. That drives me nuts, really.

"There's no question I'm responsible for some of the plays and some of the games we haven't won. I'm not going to shy away from that. But we can go sit in there and watch a lot of tape from last year, and I'll ask you, 'What do you want to fix?' It's just about eliminating some of the bad plays."

Rivers, 31, also has had to deal with a lack of protection from his offensive line the last two seasons, having been sacked an AFC-worst 49 times in 2012 and 79 times over the last two seasons.

The Chargers have missed the postseason the past three seasons, which led to the dismissal of coach Norv Turner and the hiring of Mike McCoy, who together with offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt has installed a new offseason scheme. The Chargers were 7-9 in 2012, their first losing season since 2003. Rivers told The Times it was the first losing season of his football career.

[TomBrady]

Is Danny Woodhead the new Darren Sproles?

Is Danny Woodhead the new Darren Sproles?
sportsoutwest.com

San Diego Chargers running back Danny Woodhead is one of the main reasons the Bolts are comfortable moving to a running-back-by-committee approach for the 2013 season.

He looks a lot like the last undersized tailback who used to throw defenses off with his ability to change the pace of the running game.

Darren Sproles gave the Chargers a different look from LaDainian Tomlinson and Ryan Mathews for five seasons, and was especially adept at catching the ball and making big plays out in space. He parlayed his success with the Bolts into a $7.283 million payday as a backup and then a multi-year deal with the New Orleans Saints.

For that team, he was worth every penny, and so too, is Woodhead to the 2013 squad. The fifth-year pro has cemented himself as a valuable NFL asset, and he’s the reason the Chargers are comfortable giving him a healthy dose of touches and alleviating some of the heavy burden on the fragile shoulders of Mathews. The league as a whole is largely headed in the direction of having multiple backs share the workload rather than have a traditional workhorse.

Mike McCoy has a weapon that will make things easier for everyone to transition to a new offense and has proven himself to be capable in any role when called upon. Not only can he build on his career-high 40 catches out of the backfield in 2012, but he’s strong in pass protection. That makes him available in any situation,

[TomBrady]

Preview: Week 1, 2013
Houston Texans @ San Diego Chargers

[TomBrady]

2013 San Diego Chargers Season: A Game-by-Game Preview
http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2013...season-outlook

[PadresFan]

Bro... The layout and designs are awesome. Great work!

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

[TomBrady]

Just finished the Texans game, and what a game it was. Decided to roll with the amazing looking all white AFC throwbacks. Game recap coming tomorrow.

[TomBrady]

Next page.