Is Mike'l Severe feeling ok? Burkhead vs. Ball

[tschu]

A talk radio show host made a semi-outlandish claim? NOO WAAAAYYY!

[tschu]

Ball is better than Burkhead, but not by a lot. Rex behind that O-line would fare very well too.

[darkhorse85]

They're both very good players. It would be interesting to see them in reversed roles. Ball behind our line and Burkhead behind Wisconsin's line and then see what their numbers are.

[HSKR]

BTN had a little highlight clip from this season of Ball the other night and most of the holes he had to run through my grandma could have got 10 yards out of it. He is good but didn't have to work half as hard to get what he did compared to Rex. If you were a coach and got to have one one your team, I would take Rex every time.

[knapplc]

Mike'l Severe on Unsportsmanlike Conduct just said that he thought that Montee Ball was WAAAAYYY better then Burkhead (This was after Sipple suggested he wasn't). Montee Ball had that 30+ TDs, but a lot of those were from the goal-line. Like McKweon tweeted a week or so ago. Ball did nothing (Goal-line TDs), that 20 other backs in the country couldn't do. You give me a choice between Ball, and Burkhead. Give me Burkhead everytime.

 

Its his job to rile people up and be a contrarian. Just like its knapplc's job to administrate this forum and wash my car every other tuesday.

 

Don't have time to wash your car. I'm off riding the waves in your motorboat.

[Excel]

Ball > Burkhead.

 

Not to say Burkhead isn't good I'm just saying Ball is better...all you have to do is look at the body of work.

[Haspula]

Ball has a better supporting cast then Burkhead who has one of the worst o-line in college football. Burkhead is better than Ball

[Blaze1up]

Superman all the way

[Excel]

Ball has a better supporting cast then Burkhead who has one of the worst o-line in college football. Burkhead is better than Ball

The numbers say different...and pound for pound NU's line is almost as big if not as big as UW's, there's no reason Burkhead can't put up Ball type numbers other than the fact that he's just not as good as Ball.

[The Maudfather]

I think ball is the better back, but I wouldn't say that he is head and shoulders above Burkhead. They're two different types of backs. Rex is your one-cut, consistent, workhorse, but isn't much of a homerun threat. Ball is a guy that has the breakaway speed to take it to the farm anytime he touches it.

[PaulCrewe]

I love Rex, but Ball gets a slight edge. Yes, Ball's line is better, and he does have a bunch of short TD's but a lot of those are results of rewarding him for getting the Badgers in the position to score.

 

My only beef with Ball is the TD record. This shouldn't be a discussion. Barry Sanders scored his "39" TDs in 12 games. And when you throw in his monster performance in the Holiday Bowl his total is 44. That SHOULD be the NCAA record. They count the bowl games now in season stats, so personally they should add on all the bowl performances that weren't counted back in the day to records.

[BIG ERN]

I've never understood why people get so excited about touchdowns whether it's a QB or RB. -- OVERRATED stat

[MasterPulverizer]

How many of his TD's were actually from 5 yards or less?

[JJ Husker]

My gut tells me that, running behind UW's line, Burkhead would be every bit as good as Ball in all the measurables. But until he actually has that opportunity, I've got to say that Ball is a little better. I love Rex and wouldn't trade him for Ball for anything but that Ball kid is also a damn fine back. I would trade O lines with UW though.

[jsneb83]

Ball has a better supporting cast then Burkhead who has one of the worst o-line in college football. Burkhead is better than Ball

The numbers say different...and pound for pound NU's line is almost as big if not as big as UW's, there's no reason Burkhead can't put up Ball type numbers other than the fact that he's just not as good as Ball.

Weight means jack crap if you lack fundamentals and solid footwork. I saw countless times where someone whiffed on a blocked or got pushed backed into the hole or the backfield blowing up the play. From what I've seen from your line and ours, although they may be about the same weight wise, your line is definitely better. It also doesn't hurt when the defense is respecting the pass, fewer guys in the box that way. Now I'm not making the case that Burkhead is better than Ball, because I think Ball is slightly better. It's just whether you want to believe it or not, your o-line and head and shoulders above ours.