C.J. Anderson To Undergo Surgery

Chad Wilson

Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson suffered a torn meniscus last week, and is expected to undergo surgery to repair the tear in his knee. While the injury won’t affect NFL betting odds, it will make the Broncos short-handed at the running back position for a while.

According to reports, the procedure will be performed by Dr. Arthur Ting in California, and could lead to Anderson missing the rest of the regular season. The Broncos however are holding out hope that he can return in time for the playoffs.

Due to the injury, which has an estimated recovery time of 8-12 weeks, the Denver Broncos will place Anderson on the injured reserve list and can be reactivated to rejoin the team after eight weeks.

Ting is a respected sports surgeon that has performed surgery on athletes like Barry Bonds.

Anderson’s in jury occurred on the last play of the first quarter in the team’s victory over the Houston Texans on Monday night. The running back cut right after an 11 yard run and stayed on the ground after he was tackled, clutching his knee. The tackle was a clean hit and there was no contact in the knee area when it buckled.

Despite the injury and the obvious pain he was in, Anderson stayed in the game and gained 84 more yards and a touchdown before exiting for good. He finished the game with 107 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries.

After the game, head coach Gary Kubiak said Anderson was selected as the team’s offensive MVP by his teammates.

Anderson iced his knees after the game, but started feeling discomfort on Tuesday, leading him to go to the team’s facilities to consult with the team’s doctors.

The Broncos medical staff made Anderson undergo an MRI, which revealed that he had the type of meniscus tear that required surgery. Anderson sought a second opinion after the team doctors told him about the tear, hoping he could rehab the injury without surgery.

He had another MRI on Wednesday in the Bay Area, which confirmed the initial diagnosis made by the Broncos’ medical staff.

Before his surgery, which was scheduled for Thursday, doctors asked Anderson to come in for one more test because it was unusual that he was walking around without discomfort or a limp.

The Broncos are going to be hoping their backup running backs pick up the slack in Anderson’s absence because he was the team’s leading rusher with 437 yards. Rookie running back Devontae Booker, who had 83 yards on 17 carries on Monday, will likely start in Anderson’s place.

Kapri Bibbs, who has mainly played on special teams so far, will likely be Booker’s backup. Bibbs spent his first two seasons in the NFL on the Denver practice squad before making the 53 man roster this year. For the season, he has four carries for 21 yards and one catch for six yards.

While he was at Utah, Booker rushed for 2,800 yards in two seasons, but he slid in the draft because of a meniscus injury. He has 51 carries this season for 244 yards. He also has nine catches for 69 yards.

Falcons, Vikings, Cowboys Make Gains in Super Bowl 51 Odds

Chad Wilson

The season is fast approaching the halfway mark; and with Week 7 just around the corner, some changes have emerged in the Super Bowl lines and odds. Specific teams are slowly cementing their positions as true contenders while a few favorites have begun to struggle.

The Dallas Cowboys smacked the Green Bay packers around in Lambeau Field, which isn’t something most teams can do. Dak Prescott is the quarterback that everyone is talking about.

Coming in as Tony Romo’s replacement, Prescott has proven his naysayers wrong, helping the team achieve their 5-1 start. Of course, that introduces a whole new problem for the Cowboys who must decide whether or not to go back to Romo when he recovers and makes his return.

They would have a good reason for choosing to stick with Dak, a rookie that is exceeding all expectations. The Cowboys have made notable gains in the Super bowl betting odds. And they are not the only team whose great start is making waves. You also have the Vikings and the Falcons have taken the NFL by storm.

No one thought Minnesota would go so far, not without All-Pro Running Back Adrian Peterson or even Teddy Bridgewater. Yet, the Vikings are going into Week 7 without having tasted defeat. Their 5-0 record puts them at the head of the NFC North, having only given up 62points so far.

As things stand, there are very few teams out there capable of truly contending with the Vikings. Someone really needs to step up and slow down the Vikings defense; sure, it is still a little early in the season for anyone to make any final predictions.

However, if the Vikings continue down their present path, they could very well become the team to beat in the NFC. Some of the success the Vikings have seen can be directly imputed to the presence of quarterback Sam Bradford.

Bradford came into the Vikings late, and it wasn’t that hard to understand why so many people were skeptical about his appearance. Being a late acquisition, Bradford had to learn the Vikings playbook on the fly, so naturally, some fans were a little nervous about his ability to perform.

Bradford was traded from the Eagles as recently as September 3rd, and he was thrown into his first game for the Vikings by the 11th of that same month. To get Bradford, the Vikings had to give the Eagles their first round pick (2017) and fourth round pick (2018), a trade that many thought dubious. Though, it is easy to see why the Vikings would make such hasty moves; their offense was very slow at the time.

Based on Bradford’s performance so far, the Vikings trade, when analyzed at the end of the season, might prove to be biggest the 2016 season has seen. Minnesota’s odds are quite high (8 to 1), having spiked since the preseason. They look as good as the 2015 Panthers team.

Atlanta, on the other hand, has one of the best offenses in the NFL. With a 3-1 record on the road, the Falcons have only lost to Seattle so far; their 80 to 1 long shot odds of winning have since climbed to 20 to 1.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals, the New York Giants, and the Carolina Panthers have seen all their odds of winning the Super Bowl take a serious dive.

Talentless Hack Clay Travis Is At It Again. Brain Not Included

Chad Wilson

By: Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

There have been a boatload of opinions, accusations and insults hurled in the SEC this week regarding the LSU vs. Florida game that has been postponed.  Rising to the forefront of the brainless is none other that fake Rush Limbaugh blogger Clay Travis, who, by the way, is a Tennessee native.

On his radio show (yes they gave him a radio show),  Travis takes aim at the University of Florida for the game not being rescheduled between  the two clubs and saw it fit to put it out there publicly because controversy is his only talent.  Travis suggests that Florida had a meeting of the minds and said that we can be inflexible about this game and give our QB a chance to get healthier. Mind you LSU’s Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette was ruled out for this game but what’s facts amongst geniuses.  Basically, Mr. Travis suggests that Florida is scared to play LSU and used Hurricane Matthew to dodge LSU and use the rulebook to advance to the SEC Championship Game.  Travis, a Tennessee native who was once a Virgin Island’s attorney (lol) has much skin in the game as a Volunteer fan.  Tennessee stands to lose if they fall twice in SEC play and Florida wins out. Such an occurrence would send Florida to Atlanta for the SEC championship game instead of Travis’ beloved Tennessee Volunteers.  There’s no doubt that the LSU game is one that Florida could lose as they were listed as a 3 point underdog going into the contest.  However,  it was LSU who cried foul when Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley stated on Wednesday that the game would be played at it’s scheduled time of 12 noon Saturday in Gainesville.  It was LSU who had their state senate representative David Ritter,  who is no stranger to controversy (Google him) write a letter, devoid of professional tact and send it to the University of Florida.

In his letter, Ritter made a number of wholesome suggestions and was kind of enough to make one of those,  moving the game to Baton Rouge.  How nice of him.  After carefully considering moving a home game against an arch rival from their home stadium to the rivals home stadium,  Florida declined.  I am sure that deliberation lasted all of 2.5 seconds.  Thanks LSU for the offer but no.  Considerations for moving the game to a later time on Saturday were made. However,  hurricane tracks can be unpredictable.  Late Thursday,  Hurricane Matthew’s track took it on a course of impact higher up on the coast of Florida with a more direct impact on the city of Gainesville.  Moving the game to Sunday under those circumstances became eliminated as an option.  Anyone with small portions of a brain and or common sense could realize this.  However,  fandom can delete the previous installed version of wisdom.  I have witnessed this phenomenon time and again.  When super fans like Travis, who are masquerading as journalist grab their rifle and run into battle,  I must take umbrage.

Travis is the pitchfork wielding leader of a Volunteer social media fan base that has been cranky ever since their 38-28 win over Florida two weeks ago.  It is as though the Volunteer fans speaking out have little faith in their team’s continued success.  The suggestion was made that Florida and LSU buy out their FCS opponents during SEC bully week November 19th and play the game in Gainesville then.  LSU is scheduled to play South Alabama at home on that date and Florida has a home date with Presbyterian.  This idea was quickly shot down by LSU.  I have a brain,  unlike many others I have witnessed on Twitter over the last 24 hours.  I don’t blame LSU for declining such an arrangement.  For one,  they would be losing the revenue of a home game.  Secondly,  LSU would be faced with a four game stretch that features, Alabama at home, Arkansas on the road, FLORIDA on the road and then Texas A&M on the road five days later on November 24th.  I can’t blame them for saying no to that set-up.  You see how having a brain works Knoxville?

The bottom line here is that Travis, foolishly believes that he can use some old school yard tactics of calling out Florida to make them act.  Sorry Clay,  your momma named you Clay,  you’re not that guy.  For now,  focus your efforts on first, acquiring some talent and second, putting your collective energy behind the Vols to spur them onto victory in at least one of the two next games vs. SEC opponents Texas A&M and Alabama.

Travis’ blog is entitled Outkick the Coverage.  In view of his journalistic career,  it seems the most worthy thing he has come up with is his appropriately named blog.  Get clicks, likes and retweets are nice but at some point integrity has to matter.  Oh my bad,  it’s 2016.

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Map of US Shows What States NFL Players Hail From

Chad Wilson

By: Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

The NFL recent released the hometowns of all of the players on active opening day rosters and the results are in.  We are sure that the map will spark many debates as state residents bicker over which state has the best football, produces the most NFL talent and has the best athletes.

In terms of pure numbers,  the state of Florida takes the crown for 2016 as 239 NFL players come from the Sunshine State.  Coming in second was California with 220 and Texas is third at 214.  Florida, California and Texas benefit from size and excellent year round weather to help bolster their numbers.  In terms of smaller states that pack a punch, states like Louisiana (62), North Carolina (60), South Carolina (57) and Ohio (94) have some impressive numbers as well.

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In terms of dry land for NFL talent, six states have produced two or fewer NFL players and those states are Alaska (0), Maine (0), Wyoming (1), West Virginia (2), Rhode Island (1) and New Hampshire (2).

Enjoy the map and let the debates begin.

High School Football Players Broadcast Their Accomplishments on GridironStuds App

Chad Wilson

IMG_0376By: Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

The 2016 high school football season is finally here.  Some schools have already played two games and some take to the field for the first time this week.  By Monday morning,  every high school football team in the country would have gotten at least one football game under their belt for the new season.

Amidst the shuffle of all the wins and losses in the on field battles,  the battle still remains in another area and that is recruiting.  There’s no way around it,  recruiting is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the high school football game with each passing calendar year.  The word “exposure” has become a part of every young high schoolers vocabulary.  Now,  more than ever,  there are many ways for an athlete to get exposure.   However,  there is a catch-22 to the increase in ways to broadcast your talent.  The more ways to get exposure,  the harder it is to be seen.  Now,  virtually everyone can get their highlights on social media outlets where some coaches may have the opportunity to see it but the more videos that are available for coaches to see on social media,  the less of a chance they have to see yours.

The GridironStuds App was created,  in part,  to help with the exposure quandary.  GridironStuds created the app to allow high school football players to control their own flow of information.  The athletes enter their profile details, add images and most importantly,  add their highlight video.  Through relationships built over the last decade,  I have been able to send college coaches to the app to find the athletes they want to attend their university.  Most every high school player wants the opportunity to play football at the next level.  The GridironStuds App was created to increase the chances of that happening by allowing the players to present their information to key decision makers in the college football scholarship process,  the coaches.

If you are a high school football player and you have not yet,  downloaded and created a profile on the GridironStuds App,  you are behind in the process.  Take a moment now,  to download the app (which is only available for iPhone and iPad users) by clicking on the following link.  GridironStuds App in the App Store.  If you are an Android user,  we do have a modified version of our site in the Google Play Store that you can use to create a profile, add images and your highlight video.  Download that app here.  If you are on a desktop,  you can visit our site,  GridironStuds.com and create your profile there.  Over 900 high school football players have downloaded and created a profile on the GridironStuds App in the four months since the app was launched.  Make sure you are the next one to do so.

GridironStuds Show Predicts 4 Teams In 2016 College Football Playoff

Chad Wilson

By: GridironStuds Staff
Twitter: @GridironStuds

As they do every year,  the GridironStuds Show released their college football conference by conference predictions along with predictions on which teams will make the college football playoff and win the championship.

Co-hosts of the GridironStuds Show,  Chad Wilson and Emil Calomino have been pretty adept in years past picking the playoff participants and while there weren’t a ton of surprises in this year’s show,  each host had a bit of a surprise finisher in their top 4.  Both hosts also agreed on which school would be hold up the trophy at year’s end.  It should be noted that neither host discuss their selections prior to doing the show making their unanimous decision as to who would be champion a bit  unusual.

Host Chad Wilson,  who runs the website GridironStuds.com picked Alabama to win the SEC, Clemson to win the ACC and Ohio St. to win the Big Ten.  He also picked those three schools to be in the college football playoff tournament at the end of the season.  The bit of a surprise pick to join those three schools was Notre Dame.  The Fighting Irish have not been on the short list of many national writers and commentators to make it to the playoff despite their preseason ranking of 10 in the AP Poll and #9 in the coach’s poll.  Perhaps more of a surprise was Wilson’s prediction that Notre Dame would make it all the way to the final game and take on Ohio St.

Emil Calomino agreed with Wilson on three of his four selections for the playoff as he picked Ohio St. to win the Big Ten,  Clemson to win the ACC and thinks Notre Dame will make it in as an independent or bastard member of the ACC.  What shocked listeners was Calomino picking the Florida Gators to win the SEC and make the college football playoff.  Florida surprised everyone last year winning 10 games and making it to the SEC championship game before getting beat by Alabama.  Calomino believes they build off of that and make it all the way to the championship game.  Like Wilson though,  Calomino thinks Ohio St. triumphs in the end with a win over Florida.  Ohio St. vs. Florida?  Think of all of the storylines in such a meeting.

You can listen to Wilson and Calomino break down their reasons why for their four participants in the college football playoff when you listen to the GridironStuds Show Predictions broadcast, click here.