Best Draft: St. Louis Rams
Just a news flash for those on the 49ers and Seahawks bandwagons, there was only one team that went undefeated in the NFC West last year. It was these St. Louis Rams (tied one time against the 49ers). Their big name pick was trading up to get WR Tavon Austin out of West Virginia. A ridiculously quick player and part of the reason why Geno Smith was drafted so high, Austin will provide a great target for Sam Bradford now that Danny Amendola is out of town. On top of that they added Austin's teammate Stedman Bailey, another WR, as well as Alec Ogletree who, in my opinion, is the best linebacker in this draft.
The main reason why Ogletree dropped was because of off the field issues, mainly an arrest in 2010 and 2013, but with Jeff Fisher, a no nonsense kind of coach, I think he'll be able to put it together. When he was on the field, he was dominant in a strong Georgia defense. Add in Barrett Jones, the center for Alabama's National Title team, and you have a tremendous draft. With the acquisition of Jake Long in free agency, this team should contend, if not win, the NFC West.
Worst Draft: Cleveland Browns
There were a few teams that could be up for this category, but I went with the Browns because of their lack to fill needs. While I like a couple of their players they selected, I did not like how they seemed to completely ignore the offensive side of the ball. They didn't draft an offensive player until the 7th round, and it was an offensive lineman. I actually really like defensive end Barkevious Mingo, not just for his name, but because he made plays at LSU and will really help any unit he's with. The problem is that defense is not the problem. They already added linebacker Paul Kruger in free agency and took a safety, corner, and another defensive end in the draft. They also have Joe Haden, one of the best corners in the league.
This was a defense that finished 23rd out of 32 teams in total defense. Certainly not desirable, but better than New England, Indianapolis, and Washington; all teams that made the playoffs last year. They also only had Haden available for 11 games. On the offensive side, they finished 25th overall with Trent Richardson having a phenomenal rookie year. Can he do that again? Is Brandon Weeden really the answer? Their current backup is Jason Campbell. Given how far some of these QBs fell, it would have been wise to take one, as well as a backup for Richardson. Their WRs strike fear into the hearts of no one with the likes of Greg Little, Josh Cooper, and Josh Gordon. Some kind of skill position offensive player (WR, RB, or TE) would have been a better choice than one of these defensive players.
What To Make of the QBs
I think everyone, except those in the Bills' front office were shocked when Buffalo selected EJ Manuel with the 16th pick in the first round, and only QB taken in the first round. Many believed it would be either Geno Smith (highest rated QB by many) or Ryan Nassib (solid QB who was coached in college by Buffalo's head coach). Instead, they took a player with a cannon for an arm, but is wildly inconsistent and has been outperformed in his career by Mike Glennon and Landry Jones, two QBs taken after him. He has an ideal football body and is very athletic, but I would not be too confident in this pick if I was a Bills fan.
Smith is going to a crazy situation in New York, where they have way too many quarterbacks. Someone is going to have to go and early rumblings are, due to his contract and cap space, that Mark Sanchez will be the one to go. While I don't consider Sanchez an elite QB, is Smith really going to step in and be that much better? They did draft three offensive linemen, but they were in the third, fifth, and sixth round. They lost their starting RB in Shonn Greene as well as their most reliable target in the passing game in Dustin Keller. Santonio Holmes will be returning, but he's not getting any younger. They finished sixth worst in the league in sacks allowed, and that's the last thing a rookie QB needs. I think this situation in New York, even if Smith gets the starts, is bad news for this kid.
The other notables were Matt Barkley going to the Eagles, Mike Glennon going to the Bucs, Nassib going to the Giants, and Landry going to the Steelers. Glennon, Nassib, and Landry all have certified starters in front of them (could make a case that Josh Freeman doesn't have the job totally secured in Tampa) so I'll focus on Barkley. The fact that he went 98th overall is a joke. He was projected last year to be behind Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. He was a possible top 10 pick, and certainly wasn't getting out of the first round. While his production wasn't as good this year, he still passed for over 3,000 yards with a 36 to 15 touchdown to interception ratio. The knock on him has been a lack of a big arm like Manuel, but in Chip Kelly's system, there's not a need for that. Now he'll have play makers all around him (LeSean McCoy, Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin) and will have a realistic shot to start given Michael Vick's injury history and age. I think Barkley could make a real impact, even in his rookie season, despite playing in a tough division.
Tyrann Mathieu
Forget the weed, forget getting kicked off the team, this dude can play some football. Whether it's making a strip, laying the lumber, or returning a kick, he is a certified game changer and there's no arguing that. Now he gets to go to Arizona and will be reunited with Patrick Peterson, whom he played college ball with at LSU. He'll also have Larry Fitzgerald, one of the most professional guys in the league. Similar to Ogletree, if Mathieu can stay clean off the field, he can be a beast on the field. He now has a support system in place and joins a defense that finished 12th overall last year in a tough division. They were also third in the league in takeaways, and that number should only increase with Mathieu on the field. It will be interesting to see which LSU player Arizona selects to return kicks, but both are highly dangerous. I thought this was an awesome pick for the Cardinals and could turn their defense into the best, yes the best, defense in the league. If Carson Palmer can play like he did in Cincy, look out for the Cards to be in the playoffs this upcoming year.
Manti Te'o
Yes, it's the obligatory Manti Te'o section. There seem to be two sides when it comes to Te'o. One side looks at the Alabama game and says that is proof he doesn't belong in the NFL. 'Bama had as close to a NFL offensive line as you can get in college, and he underperformed in that game. No question there. The other side, however, will contend that he shouldn't be judged simply based on that game, and will point out that he was the anchor in a defense that wasn't supposed to be good. This side will also point out that Ray Lewis was not so good at getting off blocks, but once they got some big uglies up front, Ray was able to get to the QB and ball carriers with little resistance. Then, he would let his skill take over.
While I don't think he will be Ray Lewis, I do tend to side with the latter opinion. Yes his game against Alabama was terrible, but I bet you could look at anyone's draft tape and find at least one bad game. Maybe two. Heck, Geno Smith struggled the entire second half of the season. People forget that prior to last year, the Notre Dame program was not projected to do well. They were coming off a mediocre 8-5 season and started the year unranked. The fact that they even reached the title game was amazing. Keep in mind that this defense had to go up against Denard Robinson of Michigan, Landry Jones of Oklahoma, and Matt Barkley of USC. Against those teams, the Irish allowed six, 13, and 13 points, respectively.
I felt like after the cat fishing incident, everyone got on his case. I don't even consider that an issue and wouldn't consider it a factor when evaluating him. But then people began acting like he had never made a tackle before in his life. This guy has a high football IQ, can certainly tackle, and has great leadership qualities. I think San Diego is a nice fit for him because he is closer to his home of Hawaii and joins a defense that finished 9th overall last year. I think he'll be under the microscope, especially his first year, but should turn out to be a solid pro. Maybe not a Pro Bowler, but certainly a starter for a NFL team.
Chicago Bears
The Bears had a pretty solid draft. I really liked their first two picks with offensive lineman Kyle Long and inside linebacker Jonathan Bostic out of Florida. Position wise, they certainly fill two needs but it will be interesting to see how they fit with the Bears. Long was part of the Oregon up-tempo style of play and will now have to adjust to a more traditional offense with Jay Cutler being anything but a running threat. I certainly think he can do it considering Oregon's offense was so explosive, but it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to protecting a strictly pocket QB. Bostic now has big shoes to fill as he comes in as a middle linebacker in Chicago. With Urlacher out of town, Bostic might be expected to come in and perform right away, which is a bit unfair. He is quicker and more athletic than Urlacher, especially at both of their ages, but certainly smaller. He should be good in coverage and getting to the outside, but stuffing the middle of the line will be an interesting venture.
The one gripe that I have is their failure to address the offensive skill positions. At WR, Brandon Marshall is a beast of course, but then who? Alshon Jeffery? Devin Hester? They've both shown flashes, but I'm not sold on either. They were able to snag one in the seventh round, but I feel like Cutler needs more weapons. Although they acquired Martellus Bennett in the off season, I felt they could have taken a tight end as well. Prior to his best season last year in New York, Bennett struggled to do well in the pros in Dallas. Despite his production, he did have four games with only a single reception last year. I think tight end will be a crucial position for the Bears as Cutler desperately missed the presence of a Greg Olsen this past year. It'll be a tough go this year, especially with the Vikings and Packers having sensational drafts, but the Bears have put themselves in a position to contend.
Super Bowl Winner...As Of Now: 49ers
The draft didn't change my choice, but rather enforced it. The 49ers lost two key players in the off season in safety Dashon Goldson and tight end Delanie Walker but immediately addressed these losses in the draft by selecting safety Eric Reid 18th overall and tight end Vance McDonald 55th overall. Don't know much about McDonald, and he probably won't be expected to do much right away with Vernon Davis also on the roster, but Reid is a definite starter this year. He will join arguably the best defense in the league on a team that now has a solidified quarterback and offensive weapons. I also really, really liked the Marcus Lattimore pick in the fourth round. This is a guy that has top five talent, but has injury concerns. With Frank Gore and LaMichael James already in the backfield, Lattimore won't be required to carry the load like he did at South Carolina. The thought of a healthy Lattimore getting about seven or eight carries a game is scary, considering he can go for six anytime. Kaepernick will be at the helm for a full year in 2013 and, even though the division is daunting, this team should be on everyone's short list for Super Bowl favorite.
Matty O.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Sports Video Games
I love sports and have played my share of sports video games. From NFL Quarterback Club 96 for the Gameboy to Blitz for the N64 to Madden for the Xbox 360. The reason for writing this blog piece was because of recent developments in the courts regarding EA Sports and their football video games. EA is being sued for allegedly having a monopoly over the football simulation games market, allowing them to overcharge their customers for games. If you have bought an NCAA Football or Madden game since 2005 click that link. It's free money. Seriously. If the settlement is approved, then people that have filed a claim will be eligible to get money based on the games they bought. So do it.
This lawsuit, in my opinion, is long overdue. Let's just focus on the Madden franchise for now, and I'll get to other sports later. Since 2004, EA Sports has had exclusive rights to the NFL for video games. This is a problem and the overall argument of the lawsuit. Competition, whether in sports or video game making, is crucial to success. Without competition, you get too comfortable in your situation and simply coast by. This is why you will occasionally see top seeded teams get down early to lower seeded ones because there is no perception of competition. This is the trap that I think Madden has fallen into.
While I was looking through the different Maddens to file my claim correctly, I realized that after Madden 2005 (Ray Lewis cover and the last one to be in direct competition with the 2K series) I did not purchase another one until Madden 2010 (Larry Fitz and Troy Polamalu). And for good reason. Games were going for $50 at the time (now $60 on the new systems), but the improvements they made were minimal at best. The AI still is below average, and honestly has been a problem throughout the series. Lead blockers decide to run up the field to get that pesky safety, rather than blocking the linebacker that is about to reduce your tailback to dust. Offensive linemen stand around as though stuck in a trance rather than blocking their assignments. Greg Jennings can break his leg, not lose stride, and score a TD. Ok, that last point was really put in there just so you can view that video, but still.
Let's take a look at this past year's Madden. It boasted that defenders would be smarter, Kinect was a feature, and now the commentators could be seen in the booth! Oh boy! EA Sports, either out of stupidity or drunkeness, also decided it would be an awesome idea to completely take out the fantasy draft option in franchise mode. This at a time when fantasy sports in general is on the rise. That would be like Apple removing the touch screen option on the iPhone 5 even though every other phone had it. I just wonder who it was on the development team that decided that would be a good idea? Then, you're telling me that seeing Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in the booth is a feature? I could honestly care less. There also is no create a team, even though this has been a staple of sports games in general for the past few years. The graphics improvement has been...well there hasn't really been improvement. Here's a shot from Madden 11 and here's a shot from Madden 13. Apart from the Nike logo replacing the Reebok one, is there any difference? And they had two whole years in between these games.
Despite my shortcomings about Madden, I will give EA a few breaks. For starters, I've never made a video game nor know exactly what goes into developing one. Since sports games are released yearly rather than others that can be pushed back, I can understand that there is sometimes a time crunch. Maybe changing graphics drastically takes more than a couple years. This also isn't to say that EA is incapable of creating good Madden games. Madden 2004 (Vick cover) was an awesome game and actually won Spike TV's Game of the Year award. That's Game of the Year, not Sports Game of the Year. Can you imagine Madden 13 being even nominated for that? Didn't think so. To this day, as far as an overall package (obviously the current game's graphics are better), Madden 2004 is the best football game I've played; Vick rule still in effect (if you don't know what that is, go play someone in that game against the Falcons).
2004 featured the ability to direct receivers if your QB was rolling out and call out blocks when running, a ridiculously deep owner mode where you could adjust everything down to how much a hot dog costs, training camp drills, build your own stadium, and play creator (not playbook, PLAY). This should be the description for a game nowadays. The fact that EA had to battle 2K benefited both parties as EA was able to release games like 2004 and NFL 2K5 is still widely considered one of the best football games made. Now, EA actually highlights the addition of hand towels for players as a legit "feature" in the game. Hopefully 2K can get some kind of NFL licensing in the future so that football games can go back to being good. Until then, I'll gladly save my $60 and maybe go buy a version from two years ago for $5. It's almost as good.
Despite EA's shortcomings in Madden, I think their FIFA and NHL series are great. NHL has gotten a bit stagnant lately and still needs a lot of work on AI (particularly defense and goalies), but the strides have been significant. FIFA continues to amaze year in and year out. Heck, that team should just design all of the sports games. They seem to listen to the fans' complaints and address them in the following game. The control scheme is great and it is definitely rewarding when you score a goal. It used to be more arcade-y, but now I've noticed that people who are knowledgeable or have played soccer in real life will crush those that just press buttons. The game plays similar to its real life counterpart; not perfect, but probably the closest you'll find among sports.
As far as 2K is concerned, their basketball series is great. So great, in fact, that I believe it led to the cancellation of the EA Sports NBA Live series. Unlike the football scenario where both companies thrived under shared rights, 2K just took over. Since their games started receiving critical acclaim, EA has cancelled two planned basketball games in NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13. Although both were cited as development problems, I'm sure part of it had to do with the fact that 2K was getting such magnificent reviews. Personally, unless one of those games by EA was ground breaking, I would not have ditched it for the 2K series. Even without direct competition, 2K has continued to make improvements and has released game after game that have consistently gotten praised on nearly every gaming site.
Despite their NBA prowess, their MLB games leave much to be desired. Mediocre graphics for today's day and age along with questionable game play mechanics and limited options leads to an okay package. Their pitching system is great, forcing the player to make the motion of the ball and time it right to get velocity and placement. The newest version, however, has been called simply a copy and paste version of MLB 2K12. This series, much like Madden, lacks direct competition which results in poor efforts from year to year. Playstation has MLB The Show, which I've heard is pretty great. Still, as far as the last great baseball game I played, we have to go all the way back to EA Sport's MVP Baseball 2005 (Manny Ramirez).
MVP 2005 had everything you could want. Just like the Madden series, it had owner mode which allowed you to set all kinds of prices as well as a stadium editor to make your ballpark into the next Fenway or Wrigley. This game had all the major and minor league teams, good fielding, pitching, and batting controls, as well as a really fun hitting mode where there were ramps and objects to hit in the field of play (don't remember what it was called but I'm sure some of my readers remember that mode). It also was the result of direct competition as it battled MLB 2006, which would eventually become the series MLB The Show. Both games did well, but EA lost the rights in part due to their acquisition of the NFL rights so they have not made an MLB game since.
In conclusion, it should be clear that competition is needed for sports games. It drives developers to add more features, listen to the community, and care about the games they release. This competition doesn't need to destroy the other one's series (like in the NBA series), but should actually serve to enhance each one. If they were to do exclusives, however, I would prefer for EA to do baseball, soccer, and hockey, with football and basketball regulated to 2K. Hopefully this was a trip down memory lane for some of you, and don't forget to file your claim. I'm looking forward to the day when one of these developers wakes up and makes a great NFL game again.
Matty O
This lawsuit, in my opinion, is long overdue. Let's just focus on the Madden franchise for now, and I'll get to other sports later. Since 2004, EA Sports has had exclusive rights to the NFL for video games. This is a problem and the overall argument of the lawsuit. Competition, whether in sports or video game making, is crucial to success. Without competition, you get too comfortable in your situation and simply coast by. This is why you will occasionally see top seeded teams get down early to lower seeded ones because there is no perception of competition. This is the trap that I think Madden has fallen into.
While I was looking through the different Maddens to file my claim correctly, I realized that after Madden 2005 (Ray Lewis cover and the last one to be in direct competition with the 2K series) I did not purchase another one until Madden 2010 (Larry Fitz and Troy Polamalu). And for good reason. Games were going for $50 at the time (now $60 on the new systems), but the improvements they made were minimal at best. The AI still is below average, and honestly has been a problem throughout the series. Lead blockers decide to run up the field to get that pesky safety, rather than blocking the linebacker that is about to reduce your tailback to dust. Offensive linemen stand around as though stuck in a trance rather than blocking their assignments. Greg Jennings can break his leg, not lose stride, and score a TD. Ok, that last point was really put in there just so you can view that video, but still.
Let's take a look at this past year's Madden. It boasted that defenders would be smarter, Kinect was a feature, and now the commentators could be seen in the booth! Oh boy! EA Sports, either out of stupidity or drunkeness, also decided it would be an awesome idea to completely take out the fantasy draft option in franchise mode. This at a time when fantasy sports in general is on the rise. That would be like Apple removing the touch screen option on the iPhone 5 even though every other phone had it. I just wonder who it was on the development team that decided that would be a good idea? Then, you're telling me that seeing Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in the booth is a feature? I could honestly care less. There also is no create a team, even though this has been a staple of sports games in general for the past few years. The graphics improvement has been...well there hasn't really been improvement. Here's a shot from Madden 11 and here's a shot from Madden 13. Apart from the Nike logo replacing the Reebok one, is there any difference? And they had two whole years in between these games.
Despite my shortcomings about Madden, I will give EA a few breaks. For starters, I've never made a video game nor know exactly what goes into developing one. Since sports games are released yearly rather than others that can be pushed back, I can understand that there is sometimes a time crunch. Maybe changing graphics drastically takes more than a couple years. This also isn't to say that EA is incapable of creating good Madden games. Madden 2004 (Vick cover) was an awesome game and actually won Spike TV's Game of the Year award. That's Game of the Year, not Sports Game of the Year. Can you imagine Madden 13 being even nominated for that? Didn't think so. To this day, as far as an overall package (obviously the current game's graphics are better), Madden 2004 is the best football game I've played; Vick rule still in effect (if you don't know what that is, go play someone in that game against the Falcons).
2004 featured the ability to direct receivers if your QB was rolling out and call out blocks when running, a ridiculously deep owner mode where you could adjust everything down to how much a hot dog costs, training camp drills, build your own stadium, and play creator (not playbook, PLAY). This should be the description for a game nowadays. The fact that EA had to battle 2K benefited both parties as EA was able to release games like 2004 and NFL 2K5 is still widely considered one of the best football games made. Now, EA actually highlights the addition of hand towels for players as a legit "feature" in the game. Hopefully 2K can get some kind of NFL licensing in the future so that football games can go back to being good. Until then, I'll gladly save my $60 and maybe go buy a version from two years ago for $5. It's almost as good.
Despite EA's shortcomings in Madden, I think their FIFA and NHL series are great. NHL has gotten a bit stagnant lately and still needs a lot of work on AI (particularly defense and goalies), but the strides have been significant. FIFA continues to amaze year in and year out. Heck, that team should just design all of the sports games. They seem to listen to the fans' complaints and address them in the following game. The control scheme is great and it is definitely rewarding when you score a goal. It used to be more arcade-y, but now I've noticed that people who are knowledgeable or have played soccer in real life will crush those that just press buttons. The game plays similar to its real life counterpart; not perfect, but probably the closest you'll find among sports.
As far as 2K is concerned, their basketball series is great. So great, in fact, that I believe it led to the cancellation of the EA Sports NBA Live series. Unlike the football scenario where both companies thrived under shared rights, 2K just took over. Since their games started receiving critical acclaim, EA has cancelled two planned basketball games in NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13. Although both were cited as development problems, I'm sure part of it had to do with the fact that 2K was getting such magnificent reviews. Personally, unless one of those games by EA was ground breaking, I would not have ditched it for the 2K series. Even without direct competition, 2K has continued to make improvements and has released game after game that have consistently gotten praised on nearly every gaming site.
Despite their NBA prowess, their MLB games leave much to be desired. Mediocre graphics for today's day and age along with questionable game play mechanics and limited options leads to an okay package. Their pitching system is great, forcing the player to make the motion of the ball and time it right to get velocity and placement. The newest version, however, has been called simply a copy and paste version of MLB 2K12. This series, much like Madden, lacks direct competition which results in poor efforts from year to year. Playstation has MLB The Show, which I've heard is pretty great. Still, as far as the last great baseball game I played, we have to go all the way back to EA Sport's MVP Baseball 2005 (Manny Ramirez).
MVP 2005 had everything you could want. Just like the Madden series, it had owner mode which allowed you to set all kinds of prices as well as a stadium editor to make your ballpark into the next Fenway or Wrigley. This game had all the major and minor league teams, good fielding, pitching, and batting controls, as well as a really fun hitting mode where there were ramps and objects to hit in the field of play (don't remember what it was called but I'm sure some of my readers remember that mode). It also was the result of direct competition as it battled MLB 2006, which would eventually become the series MLB The Show. Both games did well, but EA lost the rights in part due to their acquisition of the NFL rights so they have not made an MLB game since.
In conclusion, it should be clear that competition is needed for sports games. It drives developers to add more features, listen to the community, and care about the games they release. This competition doesn't need to destroy the other one's series (like in the NBA series), but should actually serve to enhance each one. If they were to do exclusives, however, I would prefer for EA to do baseball, soccer, and hockey, with football and basketball regulated to 2K. Hopefully this was a trip down memory lane for some of you, and don't forget to file your claim. I'm looking forward to the day when one of these developers wakes up and makes a great NFL game again.
Matty O
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
2013 NCAA Tournament Recap: I Wish I Would Have Known...
And just like that, the college basketball season comes to an end. A tremendous year and exciting tournament was capped off by an entertaining title game which saw Louisville become national champions. On the other end of the success spectrum is my bracket. Filled out in late March, I thought I had all the answers (don't we all). This was the year I was going to have that perfect bracket. There was no way these picks could be wrong. Well, they were. While the opening Thursday brought wins and calmness, the following Friday brought upsets and despair. Despite all the research and expert opinions, there's no way, especially in this tournament, to predict all the games. The following, however, are things I wish I would have known prior to the tourney starting.
I wish I would have known...how badly the Big Ten would perform.
Some of you may have read that and said, "C'mon man, Michigan was in the title game and Ohio State was in the elite eight." Yes, that's nice. But not when you have seven teams in the field, along with four that could have won it (Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana). I don't think it would have surprised anyone if those four teams would have represented their respective regions in the Final Four. That's how good the Big Ten was this year. Ironically, Michigan's region was the only one that I didn't have a Big Ten team reaching the Final Four. I predicted an all Big 10 title game as well featuring Indiana and Ohio State. So what happens?
Minnesota blows out a short handed UCLA team, then gets blown out by the Gators. Illinois did what I thought they would do, and that was beat Colorado and make the Miami game much closer than people thought it would be. Those two teams get off the hook. People could make a case for letting Wisconsin off the hook, but I'm not going to do that. Yes, they were facing a hot team coming off a SEC tournament title, and yes the 12-5 matchups are always a toss up. But this was a team suited to beat a run and gun team like Ole Miss. Despite taking a lead into halftime, the Badgers allowed the Rebels to drop 35 on them in the second half and lost by 11.
Indiana looked like they had never seen a 2-3 zone in their life, as Syracuse held them to a season low 50 points. Ohio State blew a golden opportunity in their region as the one, three, four, and five seeds were all out by the end of the opening weekend. They wound up being the last team the Shockers would shock. Michigan State, meanwhile, had blown out their first two opponents and looked strong against Duke in the first half. Alas, they allowed Duke to pull away and lost in the Sweet 16. Michigan gets full props for making it to the title game, but after the year the Big 10 had, it is disappointing to see a Big East member as champion.
...how right my gut was.
It is easy to say this retrospectively, but there were honestly a handful of upsets that happened that my gut said would. I didn't put them in my breakdowns because there would really be no evidence to back it up. There was just something about the matchup where I said, "Ya know, this game could be trouble for (insert high seed here)." The Harvard upset over New Mexico was one. There's still nothing to suggest Harvard should have won. It was mainly my distrust in Mountain West teams in the tournament. This hunch was correct as UNM lost, Boise State didn't make it out of the first four, UNLV got upset by Cal, and San Diego State lost in the second round to Florida Gulf Coast.
Speaking of which, FGCU was another of my gut ones. In my final bracket I had Georgetown going to the Final Four, and the only reason that made me hesitant was their first round game. Seriously. I still believe if they had beaten FGCU that they would have made a deep run. With most of these lower seeds (16, 15, 14, 13) you don't really have much to go on. They probably played a couple powerhouses during the year and were beaten handily. FGCU, however, had beaten Miami earlier in the year who was now a number two seed. I figured if they had done it before, they could do it again. Well, I wound up going with the Hoyas because one win over Miami doesn't make up for the mediocrity in between. Of course FGCU winds up winning and makes it all the way to the Sweet 16. After two 15 seeds won last year, and a 15 seed won two games this year, you can bet I'll be picking at least one 15 seed next year..
...how wrong my gut was.
Despite ignoring my gut for the above picks which turned out to be correct, I listened to my gut for the following picks which turned out to be wrong. South Dakota State was my most significant miss. I was really all-in on Nate Wolters, future NBA draft pick. I mentioned how I thought they could even reach the Sweet 16. Wolters didn't even reach 16 points as the Wolverines blew by the Jackrabbits. This seemed tailor made for a Stephen Curry-like Davidson run where an unknown player from an unknown school leads his team deep into the tourney. Unfortunately, that moment never came.
The other one I went with that was incorrect was St. Louis. Since they were a four seed, it's hard to justify this as an extraordinary prediction, but I had them making the Elite Eight. Despite being a four seed, they were from a mid major, albeit a very strong Atlantic 10, but a mid major nonetheless. To get to the Elite Eight, they would have to beat New Mexico State, Oregon, and Louisville. The latter two had won their conference tournaments and were peaking at the right time. I thought St. Louis' fundamentals and sound basketball would triumph over speed and skill. They wound up not even making it to the second weekend as they lost to Oregon. I think SLU would have been a tougher matchup for Louisville had they gotten there, but we'll never know.
...how good Syracuse's 2-3 zone was.
I already mentioned how great it was against Indiana, but it was that way throughout the tournament. Here were the points against for Syracuse from the first round to the Final Four when they were eliminated: 34, 60, 50, 39, and 61. That 39 was not a typo. 39 points against in an Elite Eight game against a team in Marquette that had scored 74 on the Orange in a game earlier in the year. Even Michigan's 61 was low considering they had averaged about 75 points per game during the regular season. Their run took me completely by surprise as I thought Indiana had that region gift wrapped for them to win. It just goes to show how committed and strong that 2-3 zone is at Syracuse and how effective it can be in a tournament setting.
...how gruesome Kevin Ware's injury was.
I actually didn't get to see this game live because it was on Easter Sunday, but when I checked my Facebook during the evening, there were multiple posts about how bad of an injury it was. Of course I had to go check it out on Youtube. Let me just say that is in the top three sports injuries I have ever seen. The other two would have to be Marcus Lattimore's injury this past year and Willis Mcgahee's injury in the National Title game in 2002. When I saw his leg flop like jello, I had the same reaction as his teammates on the bench and couldn't really believe what I saw. I was actually amazed that Louisville was able to collect themselves after that incident and went on to blow Duke out of the water. I'm sure Ware's leg felt much better last night after seeing his team win that title, but that injury was painful to see.
...how bad the officiating was this year.
Maybe I'm biased against referees or am simply magnifying bad calls, but I thought there were some key calls that were made or not made throughout the tournament. While I can't recall specifics from earlier in the tourney, there were certainly ones last night. I remember there was a three play sequence that I thought the refs blew each time. Two no calls and one against Louisville. The first was a Glenn Robinson jumper where he was clearly fouled on the elbow. Even the announcers Steve Kerr and Clark Kellogg said that it was a foul before the people at home got to see the slow motion instant replay where the evidence was there. Robinson actually made the shot, but it should have been an and one, instead of just the two point basket.
During Michigan's next possession while they were bringing it up the court, Peyton Siva, who plays a tremendously aggressive style of defense, stole the ball cleanly and had an easy layup. That chance was denied, however, by a foul call on Siva. Replay showed he got all ball and watching it while it was happening, it looked clean. Michigan got the ball out of bounds, ran a play, and got Trey Burke open for three. He appeared to be fouled on the play as well, but nothing was called. Just like Robinson he wound up making it, but he should have gotten a chance for one more.
The last, most atrocious officiating call came towards the end of the game. Here's the video, you make the call. When I saw it live, I thought it was a clean block. If Michigan would have won the title, this was going to be the play that everyone was talking about. People are talking about it, but for the wrong reason. I understand that the refs don't have the benefit of slow mo instant replay, but that was about as clean of a block as you can get. As you can see in the video, there was about five minutes left, with Louisville up by three. The Cardinals were rolling at this point and despite needing points, the Wolverines needed a big defensive stop or play even more. This was it. The best player in the country blocking Louisville's leader. The momentum shift would have been tremendous.
In the end, the ref ended up calling a foul as Siva made both the free throws. While I won't say one play alone wins or loses a game, this one was critical. Not only from a scoreboard standpoint, but momentum as well. Some people might say that Michigan got cheated in this game, but as I mentioned earlier with the Siva foul, not all the calls went the Wolverines way. Even if Burke and Robinson make their respective additional free throws and Burke's block goes down as a block and Siva doesn't get those two free throws, Louisville still wins by two. The Wolverines' main problem was their rebounding, especially on the defensive end allowing the Cardinals to snag 15 offensive boards. While the outcome might have been different had these calls been made, Louisville was still the team that made the plays they needed to down the stretch to win the title.
...how quickly this would all end.
In my opinion, the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament is the best time of the year in sports. The best. Not opening day in baseball, not the Super Bowl, but that opening Thursday through Sunday. Heck, we could even narrow it down to the opening Thursday and Friday. Starting at around 11am central time, there's at least one game on throughout the rest of the day. Hopefully your school is one of the 64 in the field and you get the chance to justify why your 15th seeded team is going to go to the sweet 16 and why the number one seed is going to lose by 40 in their first game. It is when upsets happen and brackets are broken. The unpredictability is what makes it so awesome. Memorable moments are made, as names and teams become known throughout households nationwide. Three weekends and a Monday and poof, it's all over.
There's still NBA and NHL action to satisfy the sport fan. Baseball just got underway, but how much can you really care about a game in early April? The NBA and NHL playoffs could be good, although it seems like people have already crowned teams champions (Heat in the NBA, Hawks in the NHL). March Madness is one and done. Lebron has an off night, only goes for 15 points, and the Heat lose game one. Eh, so what? It's not like the Bucks can beat them three more times. In the NCAA tournament, Otto Porter Jr. has an off night, only goes for 13, and the Hoyas lose to a 15 seed and their season is over. Goodbye, thanks for playing. Don't get me wrong, the playoffs for the NBA and NHL are still exciting, and a Game 7 in any sport acts like a tournament game with the loser going home for good. Still, the moments, history, excitement, and uncertainty all combine to create the greatest event in sports: March Madness.
Matty O
I wish I would have known...how badly the Big Ten would perform.
Some of you may have read that and said, "C'mon man, Michigan was in the title game and Ohio State was in the elite eight." Yes, that's nice. But not when you have seven teams in the field, along with four that could have won it (Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana). I don't think it would have surprised anyone if those four teams would have represented their respective regions in the Final Four. That's how good the Big Ten was this year. Ironically, Michigan's region was the only one that I didn't have a Big Ten team reaching the Final Four. I predicted an all Big 10 title game as well featuring Indiana and Ohio State. So what happens?
Minnesota blows out a short handed UCLA team, then gets blown out by the Gators. Illinois did what I thought they would do, and that was beat Colorado and make the Miami game much closer than people thought it would be. Those two teams get off the hook. People could make a case for letting Wisconsin off the hook, but I'm not going to do that. Yes, they were facing a hot team coming off a SEC tournament title, and yes the 12-5 matchups are always a toss up. But this was a team suited to beat a run and gun team like Ole Miss. Despite taking a lead into halftime, the Badgers allowed the Rebels to drop 35 on them in the second half and lost by 11.
Indiana looked like they had never seen a 2-3 zone in their life, as Syracuse held them to a season low 50 points. Ohio State blew a golden opportunity in their region as the one, three, four, and five seeds were all out by the end of the opening weekend. They wound up being the last team the Shockers would shock. Michigan State, meanwhile, had blown out their first two opponents and looked strong against Duke in the first half. Alas, they allowed Duke to pull away and lost in the Sweet 16. Michigan gets full props for making it to the title game, but after the year the Big 10 had, it is disappointing to see a Big East member as champion.
...how right my gut was.
It is easy to say this retrospectively, but there were honestly a handful of upsets that happened that my gut said would. I didn't put them in my breakdowns because there would really be no evidence to back it up. There was just something about the matchup where I said, "Ya know, this game could be trouble for (insert high seed here)." The Harvard upset over New Mexico was one. There's still nothing to suggest Harvard should have won. It was mainly my distrust in Mountain West teams in the tournament. This hunch was correct as UNM lost, Boise State didn't make it out of the first four, UNLV got upset by Cal, and San Diego State lost in the second round to Florida Gulf Coast.
Speaking of which, FGCU was another of my gut ones. In my final bracket I had Georgetown going to the Final Four, and the only reason that made me hesitant was their first round game. Seriously. I still believe if they had beaten FGCU that they would have made a deep run. With most of these lower seeds (16, 15, 14, 13) you don't really have much to go on. They probably played a couple powerhouses during the year and were beaten handily. FGCU, however, had beaten Miami earlier in the year who was now a number two seed. I figured if they had done it before, they could do it again. Well, I wound up going with the Hoyas because one win over Miami doesn't make up for the mediocrity in between. Of course FGCU winds up winning and makes it all the way to the Sweet 16. After two 15 seeds won last year, and a 15 seed won two games this year, you can bet I'll be picking at least one 15 seed next year..
...how wrong my gut was.
Despite ignoring my gut for the above picks which turned out to be correct, I listened to my gut for the following picks which turned out to be wrong. South Dakota State was my most significant miss. I was really all-in on Nate Wolters, future NBA draft pick. I mentioned how I thought they could even reach the Sweet 16. Wolters didn't even reach 16 points as the Wolverines blew by the Jackrabbits. This seemed tailor made for a Stephen Curry-like Davidson run where an unknown player from an unknown school leads his team deep into the tourney. Unfortunately, that moment never came.
The other one I went with that was incorrect was St. Louis. Since they were a four seed, it's hard to justify this as an extraordinary prediction, but I had them making the Elite Eight. Despite being a four seed, they were from a mid major, albeit a very strong Atlantic 10, but a mid major nonetheless. To get to the Elite Eight, they would have to beat New Mexico State, Oregon, and Louisville. The latter two had won their conference tournaments and were peaking at the right time. I thought St. Louis' fundamentals and sound basketball would triumph over speed and skill. They wound up not even making it to the second weekend as they lost to Oregon. I think SLU would have been a tougher matchup for Louisville had they gotten there, but we'll never know.
...how good Syracuse's 2-3 zone was.
I already mentioned how great it was against Indiana, but it was that way throughout the tournament. Here were the points against for Syracuse from the first round to the Final Four when they were eliminated: 34, 60, 50, 39, and 61. That 39 was not a typo. 39 points against in an Elite Eight game against a team in Marquette that had scored 74 on the Orange in a game earlier in the year. Even Michigan's 61 was low considering they had averaged about 75 points per game during the regular season. Their run took me completely by surprise as I thought Indiana had that region gift wrapped for them to win. It just goes to show how committed and strong that 2-3 zone is at Syracuse and how effective it can be in a tournament setting.
...how gruesome Kevin Ware's injury was.
I actually didn't get to see this game live because it was on Easter Sunday, but when I checked my Facebook during the evening, there were multiple posts about how bad of an injury it was. Of course I had to go check it out on Youtube. Let me just say that is in the top three sports injuries I have ever seen. The other two would have to be Marcus Lattimore's injury this past year and Willis Mcgahee's injury in the National Title game in 2002. When I saw his leg flop like jello, I had the same reaction as his teammates on the bench and couldn't really believe what I saw. I was actually amazed that Louisville was able to collect themselves after that incident and went on to blow Duke out of the water. I'm sure Ware's leg felt much better last night after seeing his team win that title, but that injury was painful to see.
...how bad the officiating was this year.
Maybe I'm biased against referees or am simply magnifying bad calls, but I thought there were some key calls that were made or not made throughout the tournament. While I can't recall specifics from earlier in the tourney, there were certainly ones last night. I remember there was a three play sequence that I thought the refs blew each time. Two no calls and one against Louisville. The first was a Glenn Robinson jumper where he was clearly fouled on the elbow. Even the announcers Steve Kerr and Clark Kellogg said that it was a foul before the people at home got to see the slow motion instant replay where the evidence was there. Robinson actually made the shot, but it should have been an and one, instead of just the two point basket.
During Michigan's next possession while they were bringing it up the court, Peyton Siva, who plays a tremendously aggressive style of defense, stole the ball cleanly and had an easy layup. That chance was denied, however, by a foul call on Siva. Replay showed he got all ball and watching it while it was happening, it looked clean. Michigan got the ball out of bounds, ran a play, and got Trey Burke open for three. He appeared to be fouled on the play as well, but nothing was called. Just like Robinson he wound up making it, but he should have gotten a chance for one more.
The last, most atrocious officiating call came towards the end of the game. Here's the video, you make the call. When I saw it live, I thought it was a clean block. If Michigan would have won the title, this was going to be the play that everyone was talking about. People are talking about it, but for the wrong reason. I understand that the refs don't have the benefit of slow mo instant replay, but that was about as clean of a block as you can get. As you can see in the video, there was about five minutes left, with Louisville up by three. The Cardinals were rolling at this point and despite needing points, the Wolverines needed a big defensive stop or play even more. This was it. The best player in the country blocking Louisville's leader. The momentum shift would have been tremendous.
In the end, the ref ended up calling a foul as Siva made both the free throws. While I won't say one play alone wins or loses a game, this one was critical. Not only from a scoreboard standpoint, but momentum as well. Some people might say that Michigan got cheated in this game, but as I mentioned earlier with the Siva foul, not all the calls went the Wolverines way. Even if Burke and Robinson make their respective additional free throws and Burke's block goes down as a block and Siva doesn't get those two free throws, Louisville still wins by two. The Wolverines' main problem was their rebounding, especially on the defensive end allowing the Cardinals to snag 15 offensive boards. While the outcome might have been different had these calls been made, Louisville was still the team that made the plays they needed to down the stretch to win the title.
...how quickly this would all end.
In my opinion, the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament is the best time of the year in sports. The best. Not opening day in baseball, not the Super Bowl, but that opening Thursday through Sunday. Heck, we could even narrow it down to the opening Thursday and Friday. Starting at around 11am central time, there's at least one game on throughout the rest of the day. Hopefully your school is one of the 64 in the field and you get the chance to justify why your 15th seeded team is going to go to the sweet 16 and why the number one seed is going to lose by 40 in their first game. It is when upsets happen and brackets are broken. The unpredictability is what makes it so awesome. Memorable moments are made, as names and teams become known throughout households nationwide. Three weekends and a Monday and poof, it's all over.
There's still NBA and NHL action to satisfy the sport fan. Baseball just got underway, but how much can you really care about a game in early April? The NBA and NHL playoffs could be good, although it seems like people have already crowned teams champions (Heat in the NBA, Hawks in the NHL). March Madness is one and done. Lebron has an off night, only goes for 15 points, and the Heat lose game one. Eh, so what? It's not like the Bucks can beat them three more times. In the NCAA tournament, Otto Porter Jr. has an off night, only goes for 13, and the Hoyas lose to a 15 seed and their season is over. Goodbye, thanks for playing. Don't get me wrong, the playoffs for the NBA and NHL are still exciting, and a Game 7 in any sport acts like a tournament game with the loser going home for good. Still, the moments, history, excitement, and uncertainty all combine to create the greatest event in sports: March Madness.
Matty O
Thursday, April 4, 2013
You Paid Him What?!
$120.6 million over 6 years. That's $20.1 million a year. There are few people on this Earth who deserve that kind of money. Joe Flacco is not someone that I would consider worthy of that pay. He is currently the NFL's highest paid player who rode the momentum of the Super Bowl win and MVP right into the negotiation room. While those accolades are nothing to sneeze at, his contract tells me that the NFL, money wise, believes he is the most valuable player in the league. To me, that is ridiculous.
Consider the following quarterbacks: Tony Romo, Eli and Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers. Would you take Flacco over any of those guys to quarterback your favorite team? Well, you should. Romo, though known to choke in the clutch, has put up phenomenal numbers since he became the starter for the Cowboys. He actually has the fifth best QB rating all time in the regular season amongst QBs with at least 2500 regular season pass attempts. Peyton Manning has also won a Super Bowl and MVP, while little brother Eli has doubled him up in both categories. Rodgers also has the Super Bowl win/MVP combo and puts up video game-like numbers. Brees could run for and win mayor in New Orleans after what he did with the Saints following Katrina. He also holds the record for the most passing yards in a single season with 5,476 in 2011 (Flacco's highest yard total was 3,817 this past year). Big Ben has two Super Bowl rings and consistently puts up better numbers than Flacco. Brady is Brady, no explanation needed. Even Rivers should be considered given the amount of yards and touchdowns he has thrown for. He was terrible this year, yet threw for only 211 yards less than Flacco this year.
Those are just the QBs that have accolades to their name. I didn't even include Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, and Matt Ryan, all of whom have a chance to be better and accomplish more than Flacco. The thing that concerns me is that contracts may spiral out of control.
I think it is universally accepted that the best person at their position should get paid the most. Brad Pitt should get paid more than Jonah Hill. David Letterman should get paid more than Craig Ferguson. So what in the world justifies Flacco getting this much money? Nothing, from what I can see. An average regular season quarterback with a Super Bowl win. Congrats. NFL Total QBR is a stat used to measure a quarterback's overall performance. Flacco's highest season rating all time puts him in 63rd place. That is behind the likes of Carson Palmer with Oakland, Jeff Garcia, Alex Smith, Vince Young, and even Chicago's own Jay Cutler. Not exactly a Hall of Fame bunch right there. Looking at single game performances is even worse. Flacco has the sixth worse QBR for a game ever, checking in at 0.3 out of 100. I will repeat that. 0.3 out of 100! He threw for one TD, two interceptions, and averaged 3.4 yards per pass. What's worse? It happened this past year in a business that is predicated on what have you done for me lately. You're telling me we're going to break the bank for this guy?
Since he got his deal, the Ravens, having to clear up financial space, have lost a good number of good players to free agency. Ed Reed left for Houston. Anquan Boldin got traded to my Super Bowl pick for next year, the San Francisco 49ers. Ray Lewis went into retirement. On top of that, they lost two other standout linebackers in Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger who signed with the Dolphins and Browns, respectively. There was nothing they could do about Ray, and it is easy to say that Reed and Boldin were let go because of their age. But Kruger and Ellerbe (both 27)? These are young, talented players that perform on the side of the ball that gave the Ravens an identity, defense. Why give that away for Flacco?
The last thing that puzzles me about this move is the way the team is structured. Remember that Ray Rice guy? Yea, he's on this team too. Not only is he a three time pro bowler, but he is arguably the best pass catching back in the NFL. Make no mistake, he has no problem acting like a traditional back, but the plays he makes on the check downs and screens are his specialty. They also have, in my opinion, the best fullback in the league in Vonta Leach. Leach is also a three time pro bowler who came over from Houston after paving the way for Arian Foster. Now he gets to lead Ray Rice behind a monster of an offensive line. So, why are we passing the ball? All this tells me is that we need to run the ball, and have a QB that can hand a ball off and toss some screens.
Remember the names of those great QBs listed above? Most of them were not blessed with a Pro Bowl running back or fullback to help pave the way. Obviously there are some exceptions with the likes of Tomlinson and Rivers, Peyton Manning and Edgerin James, and Big Ben and Jerome Bettis, but most didn't have one because they didn't need one. You could argue back and forth all day about whether a good receiver makes the QB good or a good QB makes a receiver good. However you see it, management saw the talent in their QBs and realized they had something special and surrounded them with talented receivers, not backs.
Romo has had Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, and T.O. (say what you will, the man put up stats). Eli has had Victor Cruz, Plaxico Burress, and Amani Toomer. Peyton has gone from Marvin Harrison to Reggie Wayne, with some Dwight Clark thrown in for good measure. A-Rod has had Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Brees has had Antonio Gates, Marques Colston, and Joe Horn. Big Ben has had Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, and Mike Wallace. Brady has had Wes Welker, Randy Moss, and the Gronk. Rivers, probably the most aided by his running back situation, had Gates and Vincent Jackson. Flacco has, Torrey Smith?
The thing that concerns me is that a lot of people think that athletes are overpaid to start with. I would agree with that statement. Contracts are certainly ballooning out of control. Still, when I see Justin Verlander get his huge deal, I don't have a problem with it. He is arguably the best at his position and certainly top three. He is a five time All Star, has won an AL MVP, Cy Young Award, and pitched two no hitters.
Now, in order to justify being paid more, players will have to outperform the bar that he has set. To be honest, Flacco has set the bar ridiculously low. A-Rod is up to get a long term deal and, given what Flacco got, he should get a fortune. The Super Bowl win and MVPs cancel out. Looking at raw numbers then, it is not even close. Rodgers' numbers tower over Flacco's across the board. The man should get paid. But now, if, or rather when, he gets his deal, a significantly high number would not surprise or upset me. If $120.6 million over 6 years is what you get for Flacco's body of work, then it only stands to reason that a handful of QBs should be paid even more. Do I think they're being overpaid? Yes, of course. There are a lot of people out there that work harder than football players do on a daily basis who will never make that much money in their lifetime, much less over six years. If these teams are willing to shell out this kind of cash though, then you better be willing to pay up when your player performs.
This Flacco contract has started a slippery slope. At what point does the pay become too much? Is there even a such thing as too much? If I have two Super Bowl rings, ten franchise records, and an MVP award, why shouldn't I get paid more than Flacco? This becomes even more precarious when you consider how much of a team game football is. Will it get to the point where you can only afford a top level QB, but surround him with a bunch of bums? I believe that the Ravens will go through these growing pains this year. They will find out that putting all your eggs in one basket, especially the Flacco basket, is not the best idea.
Matty O
Consider the following quarterbacks: Tony Romo, Eli and Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers. Would you take Flacco over any of those guys to quarterback your favorite team? Well, you should. Romo, though known to choke in the clutch, has put up phenomenal numbers since he became the starter for the Cowboys. He actually has the fifth best QB rating all time in the regular season amongst QBs with at least 2500 regular season pass attempts. Peyton Manning has also won a Super Bowl and MVP, while little brother Eli has doubled him up in both categories. Rodgers also has the Super Bowl win/MVP combo and puts up video game-like numbers. Brees could run for and win mayor in New Orleans after what he did with the Saints following Katrina. He also holds the record for the most passing yards in a single season with 5,476 in 2011 (Flacco's highest yard total was 3,817 this past year). Big Ben has two Super Bowl rings and consistently puts up better numbers than Flacco. Brady is Brady, no explanation needed. Even Rivers should be considered given the amount of yards and touchdowns he has thrown for. He was terrible this year, yet threw for only 211 yards less than Flacco this year.
Those are just the QBs that have accolades to their name. I didn't even include Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, and Matt Ryan, all of whom have a chance to be better and accomplish more than Flacco. The thing that concerns me is that contracts may spiral out of control.
I think it is universally accepted that the best person at their position should get paid the most. Brad Pitt should get paid more than Jonah Hill. David Letterman should get paid more than Craig Ferguson. So what in the world justifies Flacco getting this much money? Nothing, from what I can see. An average regular season quarterback with a Super Bowl win. Congrats. NFL Total QBR is a stat used to measure a quarterback's overall performance. Flacco's highest season rating all time puts him in 63rd place. That is behind the likes of Carson Palmer with Oakland, Jeff Garcia, Alex Smith, Vince Young, and even Chicago's own Jay Cutler. Not exactly a Hall of Fame bunch right there. Looking at single game performances is even worse. Flacco has the sixth worse QBR for a game ever, checking in at 0.3 out of 100. I will repeat that. 0.3 out of 100! He threw for one TD, two interceptions, and averaged 3.4 yards per pass. What's worse? It happened this past year in a business that is predicated on what have you done for me lately. You're telling me we're going to break the bank for this guy?
Since he got his deal, the Ravens, having to clear up financial space, have lost a good number of good players to free agency. Ed Reed left for Houston. Anquan Boldin got traded to my Super Bowl pick for next year, the San Francisco 49ers. Ray Lewis went into retirement. On top of that, they lost two other standout linebackers in Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger who signed with the Dolphins and Browns, respectively. There was nothing they could do about Ray, and it is easy to say that Reed and Boldin were let go because of their age. But Kruger and Ellerbe (both 27)? These are young, talented players that perform on the side of the ball that gave the Ravens an identity, defense. Why give that away for Flacco?
The last thing that puzzles me about this move is the way the team is structured. Remember that Ray Rice guy? Yea, he's on this team too. Not only is he a three time pro bowler, but he is arguably the best pass catching back in the NFL. Make no mistake, he has no problem acting like a traditional back, but the plays he makes on the check downs and screens are his specialty. They also have, in my opinion, the best fullback in the league in Vonta Leach. Leach is also a three time pro bowler who came over from Houston after paving the way for Arian Foster. Now he gets to lead Ray Rice behind a monster of an offensive line. So, why are we passing the ball? All this tells me is that we need to run the ball, and have a QB that can hand a ball off and toss some screens.
Remember the names of those great QBs listed above? Most of them were not blessed with a Pro Bowl running back or fullback to help pave the way. Obviously there are some exceptions with the likes of Tomlinson and Rivers, Peyton Manning and Edgerin James, and Big Ben and Jerome Bettis, but most didn't have one because they didn't need one. You could argue back and forth all day about whether a good receiver makes the QB good or a good QB makes a receiver good. However you see it, management saw the talent in their QBs and realized they had something special and surrounded them with talented receivers, not backs.
Romo has had Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, and T.O. (say what you will, the man put up stats). Eli has had Victor Cruz, Plaxico Burress, and Amani Toomer. Peyton has gone from Marvin Harrison to Reggie Wayne, with some Dwight Clark thrown in for good measure. A-Rod has had Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Brees has had Antonio Gates, Marques Colston, and Joe Horn. Big Ben has had Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, and Mike Wallace. Brady has had Wes Welker, Randy Moss, and the Gronk. Rivers, probably the most aided by his running back situation, had Gates and Vincent Jackson. Flacco has, Torrey Smith?
The thing that concerns me is that a lot of people think that athletes are overpaid to start with. I would agree with that statement. Contracts are certainly ballooning out of control. Still, when I see Justin Verlander get his huge deal, I don't have a problem with it. He is arguably the best at his position and certainly top three. He is a five time All Star, has won an AL MVP, Cy Young Award, and pitched two no hitters.
Now, in order to justify being paid more, players will have to outperform the bar that he has set. To be honest, Flacco has set the bar ridiculously low. A-Rod is up to get a long term deal and, given what Flacco got, he should get a fortune. The Super Bowl win and MVPs cancel out. Looking at raw numbers then, it is not even close. Rodgers' numbers tower over Flacco's across the board. The man should get paid. But now, if, or rather when, he gets his deal, a significantly high number would not surprise or upset me. If $120.6 million over 6 years is what you get for Flacco's body of work, then it only stands to reason that a handful of QBs should be paid even more. Do I think they're being overpaid? Yes, of course. There are a lot of people out there that work harder than football players do on a daily basis who will never make that much money in their lifetime, much less over six years. If these teams are willing to shell out this kind of cash though, then you better be willing to pay up when your player performs.
This Flacco contract has started a slippery slope. At what point does the pay become too much? Is there even a such thing as too much? If I have two Super Bowl rings, ten franchise records, and an MVP award, why shouldn't I get paid more than Flacco? This becomes even more precarious when you consider how much of a team game football is. Will it get to the point where you can only afford a top level QB, but surround him with a bunch of bums? I believe that the Ravens will go through these growing pains this year. They will find out that putting all your eggs in one basket, especially the Flacco basket, is not the best idea.
Matty O
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