You make the call on what the writer actually thinks:
I would argue that they did in a young man who is a sturdy 6’5", 268-pound, defensive end who is more of a 3-4 base, 5-technique, and lacks the bend to corner the edge against solid tackles in the league.
His name is Niko Lalos, and he comes from the Ivy League school of Dartmouth. His skill set has tweener vibes between a defensive tackle and an edge, and I question how his athletic ability stacks up at the NFL level.
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Cincinnati.com ranks the chances of 10 undrafted free agents making the Bengal roster and has Isiah Swann at No. 8. (LINK)
Another story has Swann in an eight-way race for the final two cornerback slots on the team. (LINK)
Green Alert Take: These are truly the dog days of summer if you are a football fan and that being the case, keep in mind that writers have to write and readers choose to read what they write. That's fine but don't take stories like this as gospel. It's a virtual guarantee that the authors of these stories never saw Swann or Lalos play in person and are making their calls on watching YouTube highlights, on height and weight, and on a general and probably misguided impression of Ivy League football. We'll fine out in due time where the two Dartmouth grads fit in.
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Speaking of players on the Ivy championship Dartmouth team, Boston College is not in Zach Sammartino's grad transfer future (LINK) but Baylor might be. (LINK)
Sammartino continues to work toward another year of college football:
Easy easy 500 today pic.twitter.com/1586GCcCdO— Zach Sammartino (@zsammartino1) July 24, 2020
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Jared Gerbino, who helped quarterback Dartmouth to the 2019 Ivy League title did a far-ranging interview in the "Answers Only" YouTube podcast:
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Marist is the last school on Dartmouth's football schedule still intending to play this fall but if it does, there won't be any fans in the stands at its little facility in Poughkeepsie. From ESPN (LINK):
Colleges and universities in New York can play football and other sports this fall, but they will have to do so without fans in the stands because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday.
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Here we go (LINK):
Friday marked the start of the enhanced summer access period for college football teams, which allows up to eight hours each week for weight training, conditioning and film review, and one hour per day for both meetings and a walk-through in which the football can be used.
And now the craziness:
Michigan State's entire football team will quarantine or self-isolate for 14 days after a second staff member and one athlete tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Friday.
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Out in Iowa, meanwhile, the state high school athletic association has come up with this:
Due to the potential of positive COVID-19 cases forcing players and teams to miss games in the 2020 regular season, the revised plan does not penalize teams with a loss or forfeit due to state, county, or local health department determinations. A missed game due to COVID-19 will be considered a “no contest” and will not be made up. Teams may work with the IHSAA and new possible opponents should they have open dates due to scheduled opponents missing games.
Green Alert Take: This is turning into an "Emperor's New Clothes" deal. Isn't it time someone stand up and tell the football world what we can all see "right before very our eyes" about the advisability and even possibility of playing football at any level this fall?
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My post on Tommy Keane Invitational golf tournament site today revolves around former Dartmouth athletic director Seaver Peters and the role he played in starting and supporting the event. (LINK)
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EXTRA POINT
Long before the 24 hours of A Christmas Story I had heard all about the Little Orphan Annie Decoder Pin, kid brother Randy, Flick, Schwartz, Farkus and the rest as a devoted listener to Jean Shepherd's radio monologues on WOR radio. The free-range program could and did go just about anywhere, but for me the best stories were always about when he was growing up in Indiana with his group of friends.
True story – I actually got my tongue briefly stuck on the metal pole after hearing Shep tell that story when I was in junior high school. It was after hearing him tuning a shortwave radio on the air that I got my own as a birthday present. When I was in college a group of us went to see him give a talk and I still remember how gracious he was when we chatted with him after his program.
Just hearing his theme music puts a smile on my face:
Jean Shepherd, who passed away at age 78, would have turned 99 today.
