Thursday, September 27, 2007
Football highlights at Kansas have almost always come with fine print, kind of like those weight-loss commercials. Players like Carl Nesmith, Charles Gordon and June Henley would make the occasional big play. But every time an exciting play of theirs flashed on the big screen, audiences could half expect the small letters to appear saying “Results not typical.”
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
That’s how it’s been for the past 10 years. No Jayhawk has been consistently spectacular. Nesmith’s “Butcher’s Block” fan section busted when the team went 4-7 his senior year. Gordon morphed from punt returner extraordinaire to an over-hyped has-been who elicited cheers on name recognition alone. And Henley? His off-field legal problems were more riveting than his on-field runs.
Let’s face it. KU football has been about as exciting as Chevy Chase’s memoirs. Until now.
Now, Kansas has Aqib Talib, a player with no fine print attached. He’s special. Really special. He’s a drive-thru-window fast, Michael Flatley-nimble scorer who loves to talk about his accomplishments. Kansas has never had a player as electrifying and entertaining as Talib.
OK, anyone above the age of 60 is probably screaming Gale Sayers. But no one who’s at school now saw Sayers play. When most KU students think of Sayers, they probably picture an overacting Mekhi Phifer whimpering out a tearful “I love Brian Piccolo” in the “Brian’s Song” remade-for-TV flop.
Sayers may be a Hall of Famer, but he wasn’t as exciting as Talib. The statistics prove it. Talib’s a threat to gain major yardage and score every time he touches the ball.
This year, he’s caught six passes as a wide receiver for an average of 28 yards per catch. He’s gained more than 36 yards three times. Oh, and he has three receiving touchdowns.
Talib also has two interceptions. He scored on one of them. Add up his catches and interceptions, and it comes to a total of eight touches for an average of 35 yards per touch and four TDs. That means Talib scores 50 percent of the time he touches the ball.
Fifty percent of the time?! NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe can’t even speak in complete sentences 50 percent of the time.
Sayers doesn’t compare. He only had 19 touchdowns his entire career. Talib is on pace to score 12 this season with plenty fewer touches than Sayers ever had. Nolan Cromwell, Tony Sands, Gordon, — name any former exciting football player — none of them scored 50 percent of the time or averaged 35 yards per touch.
Sure, Talib doesn’t get the ball as much as some of those guys, but his use as a special weapon makes him all the more entertaining. Fans never know when he’ll line up as a wide receiver. They never know when a quarterback will make the worst decision of his life and throw to Talib’s side of the field. All they know is that when one of those scenarios does happen, something exciting will follow.
Take Saturday night for example. The Jayhawks looked ordinary for the first time this season. Brandon McAnderson fumbled twice. Marcus Henry caught only two passes. Raimond Pendleton played as scared as someone who’s seen himself on YouTube with his intimidating coach screaming at him. The luster from previous victories was missing.
Talib changed that. He intercepted a pass two-yards deep in the end zone at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Plenty of KU football players would have taken a knee and celebrated the interception. The most exciting player in KU history didn’t. Talib instead sprinted for a 100-yard TD run.
Talib’s play gave fans a reason to get excited. Everyone left after the return. There was no reason to stay. They had just seen Aqib Talib do what he does better than any Kansas football player before him — provide entertainment.
— Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
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Comments
Headline: Talib consistently captivates Jayhawk fans
Why do you guys like to down your own players from the past? I don't get this mentality! Compare Talib to other players in the Big-12, from other teams! Don't disscredit your former great contributing football players...All of the players mentioned above were "great" players, including Talib! Mark, grow up!
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