Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins
Top Two Lines
Of the four teams left in the playoffs, these two teams have the best top two forward lines. Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, Sidney Crosby, James Neal, Evgeni Malkin, and Jarome Iginla for the Pittsburgh Penguins; Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Nathan Horton, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Jaromir Jagr (possibly Tyler Seguin if he steps his game up) for the Boston Bruins. Yeah, stacked. Crosby and Dupuis are tied for the league lead in goals for this postseason. The line of Horton, Krejci, and Lucic are ranked one, two, and three respectively for plus/minus rating. All twelve of these players produce big time numbers in big time games.
While there's always a possibility that someone from the third or fourth line will step up, I believe that this series will be decided between these players. The Bruins saw first hand what happens when top lines don't step up when they rolled past the New York Rangers as the Rick Nash-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan line was held relatively in check. A let down from any of these lines, giving their opponents the advantage, could be costly in this series.
Bruins' Young Defense
It's actually very surprising the Bruins made it through the Rangers series so quickly with the inexperience on defense. Certainly having Zdeno Chara back there helps, but during their epic Game 7 comeback against Toronto in the first round, they lost their other experienced defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to injury. So now they were stuck with Dougie Hamilton (19 years old), Torey Krug (22), and Matt Bartkowski (24). Although Hamilton had played nearly every game in the regular season for the Bruins, Krug and Bartkowski had a combined 23 appearances for the Bruins over the past three years. They performed admirably against the Rangers, but now face much stiffer competition.
Seidenberg was able to play in the final game of the Rangers series and given the time off between that series and the upcoming Pittsburgh one, he should be at full health. That's good news for Bruins fans as Chara and Seidenberg should be able to provide decent resistance against the Penguins' big guns. That being said, it is likely that one of these young defensemen will be out there against Crosby or Malkin at some point so it will be interesting to see how they perform. They will need to keep their growing pains to a minimum if the Bruins are to win this series.
Dark Horse Difference Maker: Brandon Sutter
Sitting behind the top two lines, Sutter centers the Penguins third line and gets some power play time as well. Coming over from Carolina as part of the Jordan Staal trade, Sutter put up decent numbers in the lockout shortened season (11 goals, 8 assists), but was inconsistent. While he only has two points this post season, he certainly has the skill to get more. The Penguins power play is deadly so he should have his chance to make a difference in this series. Due to the matchups, it might be Sutter, and not the top lines, that takes advantage of the youth the Bruins have on defense.
Prediction: Penguins in five
A bit of a bold prediction here picking them in only five games, but the Penguins just don't seem to have a significant glaring weakness. The Bruins were pushed by a young Toronto team in the first round and, all things considered, probably should have lost that Game 7. Then they faced a Rangers team that was really a one man show in Henrik Lundqvist, and dispatched them in five.
The Pens beat an offensively gifted Islanders team in the first round in six, and it could be argued that they may have beat them sooner had Tomas Vokoun been in net in the first four games of that series. Then they faced a talented Senators team that was finally healthy and, by the end of the series, had Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson, and Jason Spezza all playing again. Despite this, they crushed the Sens, beating them in five games including a 7-3 Game 4 in Ottawa, and a 6-2 Game 5 to close it out.
I think the offensive firepower of the Penguins prevails, though I think every game will be close. The Bruins will take one at home, but the Pens should be able to win in five, six at most.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings
Goalies
Contrary to the Eastern Conference Final, I believe that this series will be dictated by defense rather than offense, particularly the play of the two net minders. For the Kings, Jonathan Quick continues to be a brick wall between the pipes. Coming off a tremendous playoffs and Stanley Cup win from last year, he is arguably playing even better this year. He has a better save percentage than last year (.948) and already has as many shut outs as he did during last year's Stanley Cup run (3). He's done all this under pressure as only two of the Kings' eight wins have come by more than one goal. He's already made some spectacular saves and has stonewalled the likes of David Backes, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture. Add in All-Star defenseman Drew Doughty and the Hawks will find it very difficult to score goals this series.
On the other side is Corey Crawford for the Hawks. Chastised for his less than stellar play during last year's playoffs, he has certainly silenced many critics, me included, with his play during the Hawks' run this year. While his numbers aren't as good as Quick's, he has gotten the job done and came up with some huge saves in the series with Detroit, and was a significant reason why the Hawks were able to come back from 3-1. He's moving much better in net this year and isn't prone to those "soft" goals that he gave up previously in his career. Despite his progress, this is still the first year that he has made it past the first round. This is a huge series for Crawford from a perception standpoint. It's you against one of the best goalies in the league. Time to step up and prove you're worthy of fan's trust and unworthy of the critics' hate.
Physical Play
This is where I think the Hawks could be in trouble. In case you missed the Kings' series with either the St. Louis Blues or the San Jose Sharks, let me just tell you that they like to hit. A lot. Their hit totals from the past series with the Sharks were 39, 38, 34, 53, 51, 41, and 39. Ironically, their lowest hit total also came from the only game that went to overtime (Game 3). By comparison, the Red Wings only topped 30 hits twice in the Hawks entire seven game series. I'm not saying the Hawks and Wings don't have tough guys on their teams, but both teams are more finesse than physical in their approach to the game. Who wouldn't be with guys like Pavel Datsyuk, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane?
It will certainly be a point of emphasis to target and hit the Hawks' star players. Their response to the Kings' physical play will be a key factor in the outcome of this series. The Kings actually caught a break due to scheduling as they have one more day of rest than the Hawks do because their seven game series with the Sharks finished on Tuesday. They certainly needed it after the first two rounds, but they should be refreshed and ready to go against the Hawks in Game 1. The Hawks will need to have their head on a swivel, lest they have another Hossa-Raffi Torres situation.
Dark Horse Difference Maker: Slava Voynov
Voynov tends to get overlooked as a defenseman because everyone thinks of Doughty immediately when they think about the Kings' defense. Heck, Voynov isn't even on the top pairing with Doughty, as that spot is occupied by Rob Scuderi. When he is out there, though, he is a difference maker. He already has seven points in 13 playoff games, which is tremendous for a second pair defenseman as only one of those points came on the power play. The more important stat for this series, however, will be his plus/minus. He will most likely be matched up against the Kane and Sharp line, and will probably see some of Toews and Hossa at some point. It will be up to Voynov to help out Quick when Doughty is not on the ice. If he can neutralize one of those lines, then the Kings will be in great shape.
Prediction: Kings in six
Uh-oh, I can already predict Hawks' fans anger as they just read that statement. When it comes right down to it, I'm picking the Kings because they actually remind me of the Red Wings (skill wise, not style of play) except a bit better in all areas, and they are unbeatable at home this post season. Literally. They haven't lost at Staples Center yet. If they take one in Chicago, which Detroit was able to do, and win all their home games, then that would equal a win in six. That's the minor point. The major point is that they are a better version of a Red Wings team that had the Hawks on the brink and pushed them to seven games.
As I mentioned before, Quick is a beast and is definitely an improvement over Jimmy Howard. Doughty is a better version of Niklas Kronwall. The Zetterberg-Datsyuk center combo might be better than the Kings' Anze Kopitar-Mike Richards center combo, but the Kings have stud wingers in Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, and Justin Williams that Detroit didn't have. Their depth at defense is better with Voynov and potential other Dark Horse Difference Maker, Jake Muzzin. I think it is this defense that wins out as the Kings' offense scores just enough to win four games. Quick will be the MVP of this series as he leads the Kings back to the Finals for a title defense.
Matty O
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Importance of a Title
The Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Stanley Cup. The Commissioner's Trophy. The Larry O'Brien Trophy. Those are the prizes awarded for the winners each year in the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA, respectively. This is every team and player's end goal at the start of each year. Regular season performances are great and will get you front page headlines, but the postseason is where legends are made and history is made.
There have been plenty of greats who have never won a title. Dan Marino, Barry Sanders, Charles Barkley to name a few. Their play will always be remembered and their achievements cannot be overlooked. Despite this, many people still measure a player's worth by how many titles he or she has won. When deciding who is best in a sport, a championship ring acts as the key to even get into the discussion. Below are four players who have never won a title, but definitely need to. Whether it is their skill set, hype at a young age, or trying to follow in history's footsteps, these four players need to win a title to justify their greatness. If not, they could leave everyone wondering how great they truly were.
NHL: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals, 27 years old, eighth year in the league)
Ovechkin, like the other players on this list, came into the league with a tremendous amount of hype. Stats wise, he has certainly lived up to it. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 2006, scoring 52 goals and registering 54 assists. He's topped 100 points in four out of his eight seasons. He has scored at least 32 goals in each of his eight seasons including this year's shortened 48 game schedule. He won the Art Ross Trophy for the most points scored in 2008, which earned him an MVP award. He followed that up in 2009 with a second consecutive MVP award. He was an NHL First Team All-Star from 2006-2010. He has led his team to the playoffs six times, with the Capitals earning no worse than a three seed, except for 2012 when they were a seven. That's the good news.
The bad news is that, despite his success, the Capitals have never made it out of the second round of the playoffs with Ovechkin on the team. This includes the 2010 season where they lost in the first round as a number one seed, as well as the 2011 season where they were swept in the second round as the one seed again. This isn't to say he hasn't shown up for the playoffs before. In the 2009 Cup playoffs, he scored 21 points in 14 games and finished with a ridiculous +10 rating. Recent performances, however, tell a different tale. This past series against the Rangers was especially disappointing as he scored a mere two points in the seven game series. This, after finishing the regular season on a tear and scoring the most regular season goals.
The other thing that is pressuring Ovechkin to win a Cup is the hype. He was taken first overall in the 2004 draft, one spot ahead of Evgeni Malkin who has already won a Stanley Cup. Rather than compare Ovechkin to Malkin, however, he has been constantly been compared against Malkin's teammate Sidney Crosby. Crosby, drafted a year after Ovechkin, came into the league at the same time as Ovechkin due to the 2005 lockout. Since then, they have put up similar numbers with Crosby winning the Art Ross Trophy and MVP award in 2007, and looks to have the 2013 MVP award in his sights as well. Crosby, however, has been to two Stanley Cup Finals, winning the latter of the two against the Detroit Red Wings. Crosby's Penguins defeated the Capitals during their 2009 run in the playoffs on the way to the title. Just like RG3 will always be compared to Andrew Luck, Ovechkin and Crosby will always be tied to each other due to their high skill and when they came into the league. Ovechkin needs a title not only to equal the comparison to Crosby, but to prove that he's more than just a regular season scorer.
NFL: Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys, 33 years old, tenth year in the league)
Romo has two things going against him. The first thing is his poor playoff performance. Similar to Ovechkin, Romo is a regular season stud. He's passed for more than 4,000 yards four times in the seven seasons that he has started. His 2009 season would probably be considered his best in terms of efficiency as he threw for 4,483 yards, 26 TDs, and only nine interceptions. Not bad for an undrafted kid out of Eastern Illinois. Once the playoffs hit, however, everything goes haywire. His most memorable flub came in a 2006 game against Seattle when he dropped the snap to hold the ball for a field goal that would have given the Cowboys the lead late in the game. He has since gone 1-3 in the playoffs and has faltered down the stretch in December as well.
The second thing going against him is the history of the team. Unlike Ovechkin, whose Capitals have only appeared in one Stanley Cup Finals, the Cowboys are a team with a history of success. They have five Super Bowl Championships, legendary coaches, legendary players, and are always in the spotlight. After Troy Aikman left, the Cowboys have been searching for a quarterback and it seemed like Romo was the answer. That's a tall order to live up to, however, as Aikman won three Super Bowls in the 90s with a Hall of Fame running back and wide receiver. There is an expectation to win in Dallas, perhaps unlike anywhere else in the NFL. I believe that if Romo were playing in Jacksonville and had the same exact things happen to him, he would get a pass. Instead, he is scrutinized every time he throws a pick or fumbles the ball or dates a different girl.
If he does manage to win just a single title, I think all things will be forgiven. His early success had people predicting multiple championships, but after everything that has happened, I think Dallas fans and Jerry Jones will be happy with one at this point. He still has a lot left in his career and just signed a juicy six year contract to keep him in Dallas. Jason Witten should still hang around and Dez Bryant has the potential to be a superstar. If he fails to win a title, then no matter what numbers he puts up, he will never be mentioned among the Aikmans and Roger Staubachs of the world.
NBA: Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks, 28 years old, tenth year in the league)
While Anthony has yet to win a title in the NBA, he has won on other levels. He carried the Syracuse Orangemen to the 2003 NCAA title and has also won two gold medals for Team USA at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012. He is arguably one of the best pure scorers of all time and has never averaged less than 20 points per game in a season. He has made it to the postseason every year he has been in the league; seven times with Denver and three times with the New York Knicks. Despite averaging 25 points per game for his career in the playoffs, he was never able to get very far, often losing in the first round. Although the series is still 3-1, it looks like it will be another early exit for Melo again this year as the Pacers are simply pounding the Knicks right now.
The pressure for Anthony mainly has to do with the draft class he was in. As I mentioned before, athletes coming into the league at the same time will always be judged against each other. Whether or not that is fair is up for debate. What is not up for debate was how good Anthony's 2003 draft class was. Lebron James, Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh were four out of the first five picks. Due to the Big Three forming in Miami, James, Wade, and Bosh have won a title, though Wade already won one prior to that formation with Shaq. Anthony has never even been able to sniff the Finals.
This year looked like the one where he could do it. He had a veteran point guard in Jason Kidd who somehow discovered a jumper this year. J.R. Smith was shooting lights out during the season and you had the experience and girth of Tyson Chandler down low. Add in a great coach in Mike Woodson and the stage was set for a deep playoff run in Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, it looks like those plans are being put on hold by the Indiana Pacers and the Knicks won't even get a shot at title favorites the Miami Heat. It's still not over, but the way the Pacers dominated last night made it seem like it's a matter of "when" not "if" the Knicks lose this series. Melo will no doubt go down as a great player and probably in the top five all time if you were to choose someone to win a game of one on one. Without a ring, however, his name will be lost among Lebron, D-Wade, and Bryant.
MLB: Stephen Strasburg (Washington Nationals, 24 years old, 4th year in the league)
I have to admit, it was hard thinking of someone for baseball. Every player I could think of has either won a ring, never had the hype to win one in the first place, or retired. For this one, I'll cheat a bit and go with Strasburg even though I'm aware it's unfair to him this early in his career. But here's the deal. Like all these guys, the hype factor was high, perhaps higher than Anthony, Romo, or Ovechkin. He was taken first overall by the Washington Nationals and was touted as a pitcher that would go down in the history books. And, he did. Opening day. He struck out a franchise record 14 batters on his way to a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, after only 12 starts and 92 strikeouts, he tore his ulnar collateral ligament and needed Tommy John surgery.
With his 2011 season essentially thrown away, the Nationals decided to play it safe with Strasburg and limit his innings in 2012, shutting him down for the end of the regular season and playoffs. Despite earning the number one seed in the National League, the Nationals lost to the Cardinals in the NLDS 3-2. Although I know it wasn't his decision, I think he and Nationals fans the world over will always ponder what if. It's hard to tell what would have happened considering the Cardinals were a solid team and the Giants' pitching last year was scary. Still, with one more ace, it wouldn't be that shocking to me if that Nationals team went all the way.
Fortunately for Strasburg, he's still very young. He'll have plenty of time to try and have postseason success, as it seems the Nationals organization has done a fine job of getting young talent on that ball club. A player with his level of hype, however, deserves a title. Needs a title. His immediate success has been great, but as the players above have demonstrated, before you know it your career is halfway over and you still don't have that title.
Maybe this article is coming too prematurely. After all, the only player over 30 on here is Romo, but he has a spot on the roster for another six years. Maybe all four will win a title with their respective teams. Still, only one team wins a title each year. The door on a sports career closes faster than players think. Add in injury risk, coaching changes, and off the field issues, and it's not difficult to imagine any of these guys not winning a title. So whether they need to wait for a superstar teammate, leave for another team, or do it themselves, these four players need to prove they can win it all before they are considered among the greatest in their sport.
There have been plenty of greats who have never won a title. Dan Marino, Barry Sanders, Charles Barkley to name a few. Their play will always be remembered and their achievements cannot be overlooked. Despite this, many people still measure a player's worth by how many titles he or she has won. When deciding who is best in a sport, a championship ring acts as the key to even get into the discussion. Below are four players who have never won a title, but definitely need to. Whether it is their skill set, hype at a young age, or trying to follow in history's footsteps, these four players need to win a title to justify their greatness. If not, they could leave everyone wondering how great they truly were.
NHL: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals, 27 years old, eighth year in the league)
Ovechkin, like the other players on this list, came into the league with a tremendous amount of hype. Stats wise, he has certainly lived up to it. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 2006, scoring 52 goals and registering 54 assists. He's topped 100 points in four out of his eight seasons. He has scored at least 32 goals in each of his eight seasons including this year's shortened 48 game schedule. He won the Art Ross Trophy for the most points scored in 2008, which earned him an MVP award. He followed that up in 2009 with a second consecutive MVP award. He was an NHL First Team All-Star from 2006-2010. He has led his team to the playoffs six times, with the Capitals earning no worse than a three seed, except for 2012 when they were a seven. That's the good news.
The bad news is that, despite his success, the Capitals have never made it out of the second round of the playoffs with Ovechkin on the team. This includes the 2010 season where they lost in the first round as a number one seed, as well as the 2011 season where they were swept in the second round as the one seed again. This isn't to say he hasn't shown up for the playoffs before. In the 2009 Cup playoffs, he scored 21 points in 14 games and finished with a ridiculous +10 rating. Recent performances, however, tell a different tale. This past series against the Rangers was especially disappointing as he scored a mere two points in the seven game series. This, after finishing the regular season on a tear and scoring the most regular season goals.
The other thing that is pressuring Ovechkin to win a Cup is the hype. He was taken first overall in the 2004 draft, one spot ahead of Evgeni Malkin who has already won a Stanley Cup. Rather than compare Ovechkin to Malkin, however, he has been constantly been compared against Malkin's teammate Sidney Crosby. Crosby, drafted a year after Ovechkin, came into the league at the same time as Ovechkin due to the 2005 lockout. Since then, they have put up similar numbers with Crosby winning the Art Ross Trophy and MVP award in 2007, and looks to have the 2013 MVP award in his sights as well. Crosby, however, has been to two Stanley Cup Finals, winning the latter of the two against the Detroit Red Wings. Crosby's Penguins defeated the Capitals during their 2009 run in the playoffs on the way to the title. Just like RG3 will always be compared to Andrew Luck, Ovechkin and Crosby will always be tied to each other due to their high skill and when they came into the league. Ovechkin needs a title not only to equal the comparison to Crosby, but to prove that he's more than just a regular season scorer.
NFL: Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys, 33 years old, tenth year in the league)
Romo has two things going against him. The first thing is his poor playoff performance. Similar to Ovechkin, Romo is a regular season stud. He's passed for more than 4,000 yards four times in the seven seasons that he has started. His 2009 season would probably be considered his best in terms of efficiency as he threw for 4,483 yards, 26 TDs, and only nine interceptions. Not bad for an undrafted kid out of Eastern Illinois. Once the playoffs hit, however, everything goes haywire. His most memorable flub came in a 2006 game against Seattle when he dropped the snap to hold the ball for a field goal that would have given the Cowboys the lead late in the game. He has since gone 1-3 in the playoffs and has faltered down the stretch in December as well.
The second thing going against him is the history of the team. Unlike Ovechkin, whose Capitals have only appeared in one Stanley Cup Finals, the Cowboys are a team with a history of success. They have five Super Bowl Championships, legendary coaches, legendary players, and are always in the spotlight. After Troy Aikman left, the Cowboys have been searching for a quarterback and it seemed like Romo was the answer. That's a tall order to live up to, however, as Aikman won three Super Bowls in the 90s with a Hall of Fame running back and wide receiver. There is an expectation to win in Dallas, perhaps unlike anywhere else in the NFL. I believe that if Romo were playing in Jacksonville and had the same exact things happen to him, he would get a pass. Instead, he is scrutinized every time he throws a pick or fumbles the ball or dates a different girl.
If he does manage to win just a single title, I think all things will be forgiven. His early success had people predicting multiple championships, but after everything that has happened, I think Dallas fans and Jerry Jones will be happy with one at this point. He still has a lot left in his career and just signed a juicy six year contract to keep him in Dallas. Jason Witten should still hang around and Dez Bryant has the potential to be a superstar. If he fails to win a title, then no matter what numbers he puts up, he will never be mentioned among the Aikmans and Roger Staubachs of the world.
NBA: Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks, 28 years old, tenth year in the league)
While Anthony has yet to win a title in the NBA, he has won on other levels. He carried the Syracuse Orangemen to the 2003 NCAA title and has also won two gold medals for Team USA at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012. He is arguably one of the best pure scorers of all time and has never averaged less than 20 points per game in a season. He has made it to the postseason every year he has been in the league; seven times with Denver and three times with the New York Knicks. Despite averaging 25 points per game for his career in the playoffs, he was never able to get very far, often losing in the first round. Although the series is still 3-1, it looks like it will be another early exit for Melo again this year as the Pacers are simply pounding the Knicks right now.
The pressure for Anthony mainly has to do with the draft class he was in. As I mentioned before, athletes coming into the league at the same time will always be judged against each other. Whether or not that is fair is up for debate. What is not up for debate was how good Anthony's 2003 draft class was. Lebron James, Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh were four out of the first five picks. Due to the Big Three forming in Miami, James, Wade, and Bosh have won a title, though Wade already won one prior to that formation with Shaq. Anthony has never even been able to sniff the Finals.
This year looked like the one where he could do it. He had a veteran point guard in Jason Kidd who somehow discovered a jumper this year. J.R. Smith was shooting lights out during the season and you had the experience and girth of Tyson Chandler down low. Add in a great coach in Mike Woodson and the stage was set for a deep playoff run in Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, it looks like those plans are being put on hold by the Indiana Pacers and the Knicks won't even get a shot at title favorites the Miami Heat. It's still not over, but the way the Pacers dominated last night made it seem like it's a matter of "when" not "if" the Knicks lose this series. Melo will no doubt go down as a great player and probably in the top five all time if you were to choose someone to win a game of one on one. Without a ring, however, his name will be lost among Lebron, D-Wade, and Bryant.
MLB: Stephen Strasburg (Washington Nationals, 24 years old, 4th year in the league)
I have to admit, it was hard thinking of someone for baseball. Every player I could think of has either won a ring, never had the hype to win one in the first place, or retired. For this one, I'll cheat a bit and go with Strasburg even though I'm aware it's unfair to him this early in his career. But here's the deal. Like all these guys, the hype factor was high, perhaps higher than Anthony, Romo, or Ovechkin. He was taken first overall by the Washington Nationals and was touted as a pitcher that would go down in the history books. And, he did. Opening day. He struck out a franchise record 14 batters on his way to a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, after only 12 starts and 92 strikeouts, he tore his ulnar collateral ligament and needed Tommy John surgery.
With his 2011 season essentially thrown away, the Nationals decided to play it safe with Strasburg and limit his innings in 2012, shutting him down for the end of the regular season and playoffs. Despite earning the number one seed in the National League, the Nationals lost to the Cardinals in the NLDS 3-2. Although I know it wasn't his decision, I think he and Nationals fans the world over will always ponder what if. It's hard to tell what would have happened considering the Cardinals were a solid team and the Giants' pitching last year was scary. Still, with one more ace, it wouldn't be that shocking to me if that Nationals team went all the way.
Fortunately for Strasburg, he's still very young. He'll have plenty of time to try and have postseason success, as it seems the Nationals organization has done a fine job of getting young talent on that ball club. A player with his level of hype, however, deserves a title. Needs a title. His immediate success has been great, but as the players above have demonstrated, before you know it your career is halfway over and you still don't have that title.
Maybe this article is coming too prematurely. After all, the only player over 30 on here is Romo, but he has a spot on the roster for another six years. Maybe all four will win a title with their respective teams. Still, only one team wins a title each year. The door on a sports career closes faster than players think. Add in injury risk, coaching changes, and off the field issues, and it's not difficult to imagine any of these guys not winning a title. So whether they need to wait for a superstar teammate, leave for another team, or do it themselves, these four players need to prove they can win it all before they are considered among the greatest in their sport.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
NHL Playoffs: Second Round Preview
Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers
Why the Bruins could win: Their top two lines
While the Bruins lack depth at the offensive and defensive end, their top two lines are stacked with talent, especially upfront. David Krejci and Nathan Horton seemed to finally wake up in the first round after having a sub par regular season. Krejci led all NHL players in the first round with 13 points, while the sharpshooting Horton netted four goals. If these two can play like this, the way they're expected to, then Boston will be a very dangerous team. Milan Lucic, the other winger on this first line, always provides a big body up front and will be needed to cause havoc in front of Henrik Lundqvist. Their second line boasts an equally impressive threesome with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Tyler Seguin. Marchand, otherwise known as the "little ball of hate," is a pesky competitor who led the Bruins in points and goals during the regular season. Bergeron, while only putting up four points in the first round, came up big in Game 7 with two goals and an assist including the overtime game winner. Seguin struggled in the first round, registering a mere one point. He did finish second on the team with 29 shots and, given his ability, should find the back of the net more often if he keeps it up.
Why the Rangers could win: Rick Nash
After spending years being a one man show in Columbus, Nash finally got the opportunity to play for a true contender as he joined the Rangers at the start of this year. He was everything the Rangers wanted in the regular season, playing at almost a point per game pace, finishing with 42 in 44 games. Unfortunately, the knock against Nash is his lack of playoff experience and performance in the playoffs. Columbus only managed to reach the playoffs one time while Nash was there and, despite being "the man" in Columbus, he finished with three points, and a minus four in four games. This first round series against the Capitals did nothing to silence critics. Despite averaging nearly 20 minutes in ice time, Nash managed only two points in seven games with no goals. Nash's skill level is unquestioned, and when he's on, he's one of the best players in the league. He's a big body with speed, stick handles, and the ability to score. If he can get going, the Rangers could start putting up goals in bunches, instead of having to rely on Lundqvist to save the day every game.
Prediction: Bruins in seven
Close call between these two teams, but I think the Bruins' top heavy talent wins out. This will be a hard fought and exciting series. Despite my prediction, I still think everything hinges on Nash's play. If he plays up to his ability, the Rangers could win this thing in six or less. If he only plays average, the Bruins got it.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators
Why the Penguins could win: Offense
The offensive firepower on this team is truly ridiculous. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are the two household names on this team, yet it was Pascal Dupuis who led the team in goals in the first round. I thought their acquisition of Jarome Iginla from Calgary was a phenomenal pick up, and he answered the bell in the first round, finishing tied for second on the team with nine points. This team lives by the phrase the best defense is a good offense. As long as they can score in bunches, they could care less who is in goal. The duo of Crosby and Malkin alone is enough to strike fear in the heart of any opponent. Add in the likes of James Neal, Chris Kunitz, and Kris Letang, and you have an offensive juggernaut that will be difficult for anyone to stop.
Why the Senators could win: Goal tending
This doesn't just mean the Senators' goal tending, but the Penguins' as well. Those that followed the Pens-Islanders first round series know all too well about the Penguins issue with their goalies. Marc Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh's starting goalie, struggled in the opening round finishing with a 3.4 goals against average and splitting his four starts going 2-2. The nail in the coffin was a Casey Cizikas goal late in Game 4, sealing a 6-4 victory for the Isles. It was a soft goal to let up, as Fleury looked out of position and frustrated on the bench once he was pulled for the extra skater. Now the Pens must put their faith in backup Tomas Vokoun, who played fantastic in the final two games of the first round, resulting in a series win. Despite his strong play so far, if Vokoun struggles, then what? It could be a dangerous situation developing in Pittsburgh
On the flip side, the Sens' Craig Anderson had a great first round. He held a potent Montreal attack to nine total goals in five games. Although Pittsburgh will bring more offensive firepower than the Canadiens, it is a good sign that Anderson played solid after missing a significant portion of the regular season with an injury. Add in injury buddy Erik Karlsson and you have a formidable pair to stop, or at least slow down, the Pittsburgh attack.
Prediction: Penguins in five
Despite having a stronger defense and goalie than the Islanders, the Senators also have a lesser offense. There is no John Tavares-like player on the Sens that can take over a game by himself. I think the offense will keep clicking for the Pens and they win this series with time to rest, although the games themselves will be close.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings
Why the Hawks could win: Depth
The Hawks' depth can be summed up just by looking at their opening round with Minnesota. Despite Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane finishing with a combined zero goals in the first round, they still dispatched the Wild in five games. Instead, they got goals from the likes of Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger, and Johnny Oduya. Even when their top lines aren't producing, they still are getting contributions from their third and fourth ones. While this help is nice, the Hawks will certainly need their stars to step up in this round and beyond if they want to hoist the cup. Fortunately, the Wings lack the kind of production that the Hawks are able to get at the back end. If the Hawks can neutralize the line(s) that Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterburg are on, it will give them a significant advantage in the series.
Why the Red Wings could win: Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg
It will be interesting to see how coach Mike Babcock deploys these two superstars. For most of the first round series against the Ducks, he had them paired on the same line. In game 7, however, he split them up which resulted in a goal and an assist for Zetterberg in a 3-2 Wings win. On paper, the Wings look outmatched in this series, but the same could have been said when they faced the Ducks in the opening round. Zetterburg and Datsyuk carried the team on their respective backs finishing one-two on the team for points scored in the first round. The challenge will be even stiffer against the Blackhawks, but with two highly skilled players and Jimmy Howard playing arguably the best hockey of his career, the Wings have a shot to make this a series.
Prediction: Hawks in six
They say that you can throw out the records when rivals meet and this series is no different. This will be the last time they meet as divisional foes, so you can bet the crowds will be rocking and passions will be running high. The tipping point for this series will be the goalies. Both are playing well, despite being criticized for their play in the past. If Howard begins to struggle, this series could turn into a sweep. If Corey Crawford plays like he did against Phoenix last year, the Hawks could succumb to the Presidents' Trophy curse.
Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks
Why the Kings could win: Jonathan Quick
Quick, who had his coming out party last year, stood tall in the first round and finished with a 1.58 goals against average including a Game 3 1-0 shutout. This was done against a very talented St. Louis Blues team. San Jose benefited from the revolving door that is the Vancouver Canuck goalie position, as neither Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider could establish their presence in net. Quick gives the Kings a consistent anchor on defense behind Drew Doughty. The Sharks will find the Kings much tougher to score on than their porous round one opponent.
Why the Sharks could win: Matchups
The Sharks, similar to the Bruins, have top heavy talent. Unlike the Bruins, the Sharks tend to spread their talent out with their three star centers, Joe Thorton, Logan Couture, and Joe Pavelski, all on different lines. This can create match up nightmares against other team's defensemen. It will be interesting to see who Drew Doughty is matched up against. Normally, he takes the first line no questions asked, but that will be difficult to determine with three potent lines. The Kings have seen Jake Muzzin and Slava Voynov perform well at times this season, and they will need them to step up in this series to contain this Shark attack.
Prediction: Sharks in seven
I'll go with the upset here given the star power of the Sharks as well as the rest they got. They swept away Vancouver in the first round, while the Kings were engaged in an extremely physical series with the Blues. I think those effects will start to show from Game 5 on. If Quick stands on his head, the Kings could win, but I think the Sharks' offensive balance wins out.
Matty O
Why the Bruins could win: Their top two lines
While the Bruins lack depth at the offensive and defensive end, their top two lines are stacked with talent, especially upfront. David Krejci and Nathan Horton seemed to finally wake up in the first round after having a sub par regular season. Krejci led all NHL players in the first round with 13 points, while the sharpshooting Horton netted four goals. If these two can play like this, the way they're expected to, then Boston will be a very dangerous team. Milan Lucic, the other winger on this first line, always provides a big body up front and will be needed to cause havoc in front of Henrik Lundqvist. Their second line boasts an equally impressive threesome with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Tyler Seguin. Marchand, otherwise known as the "little ball of hate," is a pesky competitor who led the Bruins in points and goals during the regular season. Bergeron, while only putting up four points in the first round, came up big in Game 7 with two goals and an assist including the overtime game winner. Seguin struggled in the first round, registering a mere one point. He did finish second on the team with 29 shots and, given his ability, should find the back of the net more often if he keeps it up.
Why the Rangers could win: Rick Nash
After spending years being a one man show in Columbus, Nash finally got the opportunity to play for a true contender as he joined the Rangers at the start of this year. He was everything the Rangers wanted in the regular season, playing at almost a point per game pace, finishing with 42 in 44 games. Unfortunately, the knock against Nash is his lack of playoff experience and performance in the playoffs. Columbus only managed to reach the playoffs one time while Nash was there and, despite being "the man" in Columbus, he finished with three points, and a minus four in four games. This first round series against the Capitals did nothing to silence critics. Despite averaging nearly 20 minutes in ice time, Nash managed only two points in seven games with no goals. Nash's skill level is unquestioned, and when he's on, he's one of the best players in the league. He's a big body with speed, stick handles, and the ability to score. If he can get going, the Rangers could start putting up goals in bunches, instead of having to rely on Lundqvist to save the day every game.
Prediction: Bruins in seven
Close call between these two teams, but I think the Bruins' top heavy talent wins out. This will be a hard fought and exciting series. Despite my prediction, I still think everything hinges on Nash's play. If he plays up to his ability, the Rangers could win this thing in six or less. If he only plays average, the Bruins got it.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators
Why the Penguins could win: Offense
The offensive firepower on this team is truly ridiculous. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are the two household names on this team, yet it was Pascal Dupuis who led the team in goals in the first round. I thought their acquisition of Jarome Iginla from Calgary was a phenomenal pick up, and he answered the bell in the first round, finishing tied for second on the team with nine points. This team lives by the phrase the best defense is a good offense. As long as they can score in bunches, they could care less who is in goal. The duo of Crosby and Malkin alone is enough to strike fear in the heart of any opponent. Add in the likes of James Neal, Chris Kunitz, and Kris Letang, and you have an offensive juggernaut that will be difficult for anyone to stop.
Why the Senators could win: Goal tending
This doesn't just mean the Senators' goal tending, but the Penguins' as well. Those that followed the Pens-Islanders first round series know all too well about the Penguins issue with their goalies. Marc Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh's starting goalie, struggled in the opening round finishing with a 3.4 goals against average and splitting his four starts going 2-2. The nail in the coffin was a Casey Cizikas goal late in Game 4, sealing a 6-4 victory for the Isles. It was a soft goal to let up, as Fleury looked out of position and frustrated on the bench once he was pulled for the extra skater. Now the Pens must put their faith in backup Tomas Vokoun, who played fantastic in the final two games of the first round, resulting in a series win. Despite his strong play so far, if Vokoun struggles, then what? It could be a dangerous situation developing in Pittsburgh
On the flip side, the Sens' Craig Anderson had a great first round. He held a potent Montreal attack to nine total goals in five games. Although Pittsburgh will bring more offensive firepower than the Canadiens, it is a good sign that Anderson played solid after missing a significant portion of the regular season with an injury. Add in injury buddy Erik Karlsson and you have a formidable pair to stop, or at least slow down, the Pittsburgh attack.
Prediction: Penguins in five
Despite having a stronger defense and goalie than the Islanders, the Senators also have a lesser offense. There is no John Tavares-like player on the Sens that can take over a game by himself. I think the offense will keep clicking for the Pens and they win this series with time to rest, although the games themselves will be close.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings
Why the Hawks could win: Depth
The Hawks' depth can be summed up just by looking at their opening round with Minnesota. Despite Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane finishing with a combined zero goals in the first round, they still dispatched the Wild in five games. Instead, they got goals from the likes of Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger, and Johnny Oduya. Even when their top lines aren't producing, they still are getting contributions from their third and fourth ones. While this help is nice, the Hawks will certainly need their stars to step up in this round and beyond if they want to hoist the cup. Fortunately, the Wings lack the kind of production that the Hawks are able to get at the back end. If the Hawks can neutralize the line(s) that Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterburg are on, it will give them a significant advantage in the series.
Why the Red Wings could win: Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg
It will be interesting to see how coach Mike Babcock deploys these two superstars. For most of the first round series against the Ducks, he had them paired on the same line. In game 7, however, he split them up which resulted in a goal and an assist for Zetterberg in a 3-2 Wings win. On paper, the Wings look outmatched in this series, but the same could have been said when they faced the Ducks in the opening round. Zetterburg and Datsyuk carried the team on their respective backs finishing one-two on the team for points scored in the first round. The challenge will be even stiffer against the Blackhawks, but with two highly skilled players and Jimmy Howard playing arguably the best hockey of his career, the Wings have a shot to make this a series.
Prediction: Hawks in six
They say that you can throw out the records when rivals meet and this series is no different. This will be the last time they meet as divisional foes, so you can bet the crowds will be rocking and passions will be running high. The tipping point for this series will be the goalies. Both are playing well, despite being criticized for their play in the past. If Howard begins to struggle, this series could turn into a sweep. If Corey Crawford plays like he did against Phoenix last year, the Hawks could succumb to the Presidents' Trophy curse.
Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks
Why the Kings could win: Jonathan Quick
Quick, who had his coming out party last year, stood tall in the first round and finished with a 1.58 goals against average including a Game 3 1-0 shutout. This was done against a very talented St. Louis Blues team. San Jose benefited from the revolving door that is the Vancouver Canuck goalie position, as neither Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider could establish their presence in net. Quick gives the Kings a consistent anchor on defense behind Drew Doughty. The Sharks will find the Kings much tougher to score on than their porous round one opponent.
Why the Sharks could win: Matchups
The Sharks, similar to the Bruins, have top heavy talent. Unlike the Bruins, the Sharks tend to spread their talent out with their three star centers, Joe Thorton, Logan Couture, and Joe Pavelski, all on different lines. This can create match up nightmares against other team's defensemen. It will be interesting to see who Drew Doughty is matched up against. Normally, he takes the first line no questions asked, but that will be difficult to determine with three potent lines. The Kings have seen Jake Muzzin and Slava Voynov perform well at times this season, and they will need them to step up in this series to contain this Shark attack.
Prediction: Sharks in seven
I'll go with the upset here given the star power of the Sharks as well as the rest they got. They swept away Vancouver in the first round, while the Kings were engaged in an extremely physical series with the Blues. I think those effects will start to show from Game 5 on. If Quick stands on his head, the Kings could win, but I think the Sharks' offensive balance wins out.
Matty O
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Draft Recap
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.
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.
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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