SN's Bethlehem Shoals previewed the Bobcats yesterday and one particular line stuck out, "Felton's a distant third to Paul and Williams, but third nonetheless.' Now, it seems more and more like he's darn lucky, through an accident of history, to still get discussed in those terms." Felton certainly benefits from being in the same breath with two of the best PGs in the game (who wouldn't accept a bronze in that race), but there are two sides to the proximity coin as has been illustrated over and over in sports.
Ryan Leaf has become the ultimate straw man for NFL busts, but not solely due to his nearly 1:3 touchdown to interception ratio, but also because of who he was drafted immediately behind. The NFL draft was just beginning to receive widespread attention when the Colts selected Peyton Manning, who would go on to win 3 MVPs (edit: 4 if you read this after February 2010) and a Super Bowl instead of a guy whose most notable contribution was his "Don't Talk to Me" rant. Because of the debate of who to pick and how laughable it has become in hindsight Leaf remains at the forefront of people's minds when discussing busts. In actuality, Alex Smith and (based on his current career arc) JaMarcus Russell could easily be considered bigger busts because of the financial investment the Bay area teams made in both young men. Perhaps as these young men finish up their careers we'll look back on them as the biggest busts, but Art Schlichter and Heath Shuler suggest they will fade away into the sea of failed draft selections. While Smith, Russell, Schlichter and Shuler were all top five picks, none have the stigma of being drafted ahead of or in close proximity of a great. With the other quarterbacks selected around them having largely negligible careers, they too become forgettable. Donovan McNabb and to a lesser extent Daunte Culpepper have had solid careers but not on par with Manning and so as a result the three QB busts: Tim Couch, Akili Smith, and Cade McNown largely get a pass for their failings. Smith's 5 touchdowns and 13 interceptions are right on pace with Leaf's 14 and 36 respectively, but due to a lack of proximity to greatness Smith avoids the spotlight.
This proximity to greatness or lack there of can also create the illusion of an inflated performance level. There's always a kid who's the most athletic in the neighborhood, but if your cul-de-sac is occupied by pudgy, slow kids, how good they are on the greater scale can be skewed greatly. Look at NBA drafts of the early 2000's. There were so many high schoolers selected because they looked tremendous competing against inferior competition. Consider this the Darius Miles effect. After a solid rookie season, GM's convinced themselves that diamonds in the rough were all over the place, in high schools, international leagues and small colleges. The 2001 draft stands as a beacon of overrated talent with eight international and high school players taken in the first round as well as players from UNC-Charlotte, Okaloosa-Walton Community College, Southern Methodist and Pepperdine. Of those twelve only Pau Gasol and Tony Parker lived up to their draft position (with all due respect to Tyson Chandler who is a distant third). This is not to suggest that great players cannot come from high schools, over seas or small schools, but the lack of great players around them can make them artificially more appealing. Players from powerhouse schools also enjoy a benefit from playing not just against but with superior talent. As a result, many have been drafted much higher than they deserved. I'm looking at you 2005 national championship team. Marvin Williams, Sean May, Rashad McCants and to bring things full circle, Raymond Felton were all drafted high by virtue of playing together.
Some will remember Chris Webber's running mate in Sacramento, fewer will recall Reggie Miller's in Indiana, but everyone remembers MJ's running mate in Chicago. That's the effect of being in the proximity of greatness. We remember the best of the best and being linked to them can be a blessing or a curse. Just ask Wally Pipp, Burt Ward, or Pete Myers.
Wednesday, October 7
Proximity is Everything
Wednesday Links
I am not sure how many people tuned in for the marathon game between the Tigers and Twins last night, but after 4 hours of baseball it turned out to be a pretty darn good game. The Tigers blew many opportunities to close the Twins out which mirrored their run through September. The Metrodome fans seemed a little exhausted after going through the Favre Bowl the night before but the Homer Hankies were still being waved. In the infinite wisdom of MLB, the Twins now have to hop on a flight to New York and play the Yankees less than 24 hours after securing the AL Central. [SI]
Braylon Edwards will be dropping passes in New York from now on. Glazer again gets the first scoop and says Edwards was dealt for LB Jason Trusnik and receiver Chansi Stuckey. [Foxsports]
In other WR news, Michael Crabtree has finally inked a deal it is reportedly 6 years in length and MC Hammer helped him finally get signed. I bet you think I was going to make some kind of old school Hammer song reference like "Can't Touch This" or "Too Legit to Quit" but I maintain "Pumps and a Bump" to be his best work. [TBL]
Favre Bowl has largest Cable audience ever. Thank you ratings system for enabling more ESPN Favre fellating. [Awful Announcing]
So um...this high school shirt..well just see for yourselves. [Sportress of Blogitude]
It's trivia Wednesday. Did you know Steve Young was the first left-handed QB inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Well we didn't last week and it cost us the game. If you are a glutton for punishment, try this BCS quiz. [Sporcle]
Tuesday, October 6
College Football Officials Out To Create Race Of Endzone Cyborgs
I believe it was the great governor of California that said "Desire is irrelevant, I am a machine." When it comes to college football players, the officials would like to see the same emotionless reaction when a young man and his teammates score a touchdown that could potentially be game-winning in a contest that the schools and the conference are making millions on through television rights and advertisements and millions of dollars is being gambled on.
As Orson of EDSB put it: "...mostly white, middle-aged men judging the intent of young black men’s pantomime following emotional and exhilarating moments in sporting competition." But lo! What is this? The SEC has now come out and said he should not have thrown the flag. You know,the officials have a hard enough time calling the plays on the field correctly so maybe a little leeway should be granted to a player that scores a possible game-changing touchdown. It's enough to make you sick, even if you are LSU.
The officials were more than willing to allow Notre Dame self-congratulate to "excess" after they tied it up against Washington late,even after they blew the call of Hughes' knee being down before he crossed the goal line on the 2 point conversion. Washington still drove the ball down and sent the game into overtime which many people point to as the crux of the Georgia game. The Bulldogs still allowed a long return by Holliday and the touchdown scamper by Charles Scott. I wonder how Washington fans feel after the bad call and the no call from celebrating considering Jake Locker was penalized for his display of happiness last year against BYU.
“Tom and I we’ve been friends for years. There’s no other person, no other football player maybe other than Junior Seau that I have more respect for. “I texted Tom and told him, ‘Hey Tom, I’m going to bust your chops a little bit at halftime.’ It was a joke, and everyone’s getting all bent out of shape,” Harrison explained. “This guy’s directly responsible for me having two Super Bowl rings on my fingers, and you think I’m going to call him out? It’s one thing to criticize a guy out if he’s not playing well. But to question a guy like Tom Brady, who I feel like is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever been around … It’s totally absurd, ridiculous, that people would actually think that I would take a shot at Tom Brady. I’ve had some 30 text messages and 30 e-mails [saying], ‘Some of the Patriots fans are kind of upset at you,’ ” Harrison added. “The one thing I do stand by: I felt the call was not a good call… as far as when I jokingly took a shot at Tom Brady, if it’s something that I truly meant, I would stand by it. But I didn’t mean it that way. And Tom knows that. We’re good friends. … It’s just ridiculous that people would think that.”
Rodney Harrison on some people thinking his knock on Brady on NBC was not a joke.
via Barstool Sports Continue reading...
Week 4 NFL De-Cleeting
Ernie Hudson is one of my favorite actors. Whether it was his role on the show Oz or his performance as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movies Ernie always delivers. Watching the NFL this weekend reminded me of line from a Hudson movie. That is just how twisted my mind is. The line is from the movie, The Substitute, which stars Tom Berenger as a mercenary who takes a substituting job in a Miami public school to stop a drug ring that involves a group of students led by....you guessed it Marc Anthony who now is a part owner of the Dolphins. Forgive the digression, but when Berenger first enters the school he meets Hudson, who plays the principal, and learns how he keeps the students in line. "Power perceived is power achieved." Well that might work when you are fighting an inner city high school drug ring, but in the NFL perception does nothing to help you win football games. After those teams which did not get their bye week are a quadrant through the season, the reality is either far worse or far better than it was laid out for them before the season began.
Titans 0-4
Remember the Titans? The ones that have made the playoffs the last two years and won the AFC South last year. Despite losing Albert Haynesworth and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz the Titans were expected to keep up their winning ways but their 37-17 blowout at the hands of the Jaguars has them winless and facing 4-0 Indy this Sunday night. The Titans lead the league in scoring defense last year but aside from their opening week loss 13-10 to Pittsburgh they have not been able to stop teams from getting into the endzone. With 3 losses already in the division it is likely the Titans will not be in contention for the AFC South this year and if they continue to play like this they will not even make it to .500.
Broncos 4-0
Well well well everybody was just so quick to put down the Broncos and how Josh McDaniels had not control over the team and what a joke Kyle Orton is your quarterback. Ok, I was one of them. I thought the Broncos would be a laughing stock this year and while they may not go wire to wire into the playoffs, they have shut a lot of people up. Granted, two of their games have been against Oakland and Cleveland but a win in this league is a win. The Broncos toppled the Cowboys at home 17-10. The Neckbeard Kyle Orton is just being himself out there, not too spectacular but not turning the ball over. Did you know that Orton is 17-2 as a starter when he plays at home? He has not thrown a pick yet this season, although he has come close. Brandon Marshall has put his temper tantrum and slipping on McDonalds wrappers behind him. The defense is allowing 6.5 points per game. A lot of credit should go to defensive coordinator Mike Nolan forgetting the defense to play like it is. Credit all around to the Broncos who have to be feeling pretty good looking at the way the rest of their division is playing. Many thought San Diego was the easy pick for this division but it turns out the perception might be wrong.
Rams 0-4
One situation where a team was perceived to have no power and turned out to be true was in St. Louis. The Rams are bad, so bad the winless predictions are starting to come in. In 4 games the Rams have scored 24 points and have been shutout twice. They lost to the 49ers 35-0 in San Fran and looked horrible doing it. With Bulger hurt(again) Kyle Boller barely made it over 100 yards passing. The Rams play Detroit November 1 in what might be their most winnable game. We are far cry from "Ram It".
Random Thoughts
-I know this issue has been beat to death in Carolina but let's compare Jared Allen and Julius Peppers for a moment.
Allen has 18 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles so far this year.
Peppers has 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble in 3 games.
-Catfish made a great point last night: What if the Chargers had had the stones to let LT go and keep Michael Turner? That being said the Chargers offense is not necessarily the problem. Shawn Merriman's stats so far this season: 8 tackles, 0 sacks, 0 everything else.
-I completely understand Ray Lewis being upset over the roughing the passer calls in the game against New England. However, I am not going to shed too many tears. The Patriots got a roughing call of their own and if Clayton had not dropped that 4th and 3 pass who knows what would have happened. There are three certainties in life; death, taxes, and bad officiating. All that being said I do not blame Brady for his initial reaction to the way Suggs came flying in. If you had a repaired knee you would be a little skiddish as well.
Friday, October 2
It's Friday
14 seconds of Ed Reed pumps me up more than 37 of Tebow doing his Jonathan Moxon impersonation.
Thursday, October 1
Thursday Links
Hockey season is back! Ok I'm not the biggest hockey fan in the world and they do start their season in the midst of football season where nearly all the teams still are worth watching but that is the great thing about hockey, they keep plugging along no matter how bad the timing is. In case you missed it Wayne Gretzky got out as Phoenix head coach and while The Great One may have a little egg on his face, we know Superfan 99 will always be behind him, even if his head is bleeding.
Kimbo lost in a horribly dull match on the ultimate fighter last night. Nelson just kind of laid on him like a beached whale once he realized he had no chance to throw hands with Slice. Kimbo is not going anywhere though because White knows people will still tune in to see him. [Cagewriter]
Brady Quinn is out as Cleveland starter, must now eat his EAS from the sidelines while holding a clipboard. [Rumors and Rants]
Rio de Janeiro is rumored to be the favorite to take home the 2016 Olympic bid, even with the president making his way to Denmark. [Sporting Blog]
This preview of the New Jersey Devils was custom-made for our friend Walter Peckas it features a conversation with Admiral Ackbar, and that he is a Devils fan. [Melt Your Face Off]
Texas Tech is not quite the BCS darling they were a year ago. [Wizard of Odds]
More Hockey! Mats Sundin has been playing hockey since I was 8, but now the Bruce Willis clone is calling it quits. [Pension Plan Puppets]
Wednesday, September 30
Larry Coker Returns to College Football
Larry Coker is making his return to college coaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is not inheriting a program of tradition and championships, he is building a program from scratch. UT-San Antonio will begin playing FCS football in 2011 with hopes to move on to FBS a few years after that. The Roadrunners have brought back Coker to coaching in the hopes he will ignite college football in a big city in a state where football is king. Coker and San Antonio hope that he can rekindle that magic he had for a few years in Coral Gables.
Coker had been a lifetime assistant at schools like Oklahoma, Ohio State, and was the offensive coordinator at Miami under Butch Davis. When Davis left for the Cleveland Browns following the 2000 season, the players lobbied for Coker to get the job. At that point how could the administration argue with the players' desires? The 2001 Hurricane team is regarded by many as the best college football team of all time. Coker led the Canes to an undefeated season and national championship. He went 31-1 to start his head coaching career. It started to go downhill from there however. The recruiting slipped, losses mounted, and Coker began to feel the heat. In his final season, 2006, the Canes lossed defensive player Bryan Pata to murder and had an on-the-field brawl with FIU. The brawl is one of the first things people point to when they accuse the U of being "thugs". Coker was fired after the final game of the regular season after amassing a 60-15 record (that's an .800 win percentage).
I firmly believe that Coker got a bad shake of things. Current head coach Randy Shannon was the defensive coordinator on the team but the problem was with the offense. Coker never found a suitable replacement for himself, and the Miami offense turned anemic. Shannon was drowning in the same predicament until he hired Mark Whipple in the offseason. The Canes offense has seen a resurgence so far this year. It is hard to gauge how Coker is remembered by the Miami faithful. He should be remembered for guiding the ship to success after Butch Davis fled. Yet most will see him as the coach who let Miami slip into mediocrity in the middle part of this decade.
When I was at Miami and waiting on line for tickets to the 2003 Fiesta Bowl Coker came by and thanked the fans and provided pizza for us who were waiting in the rain. No one ever doubted Coker as a person and that will be a big strength for him as he builds the program. I will be rooting for the Roadrunners when they start their program up in 2011.
The hiring of Coker is similar to what Georgia State is doing with their start-up football team. They begin play next year with NFL and college coaching veteran Bill Curry at the helm. What better way to introduce football to these big urban areas than by bringing in a coach with the experience and credentials to succeed. Many more programs are entering the football fray in these instances, like Charlotte who will begin their college football in 2013. The addition of these big names might bring along bigger expectations from teams that are coming out of nowhere, but Jim Leavitt has been able to bring South Florida out of obscurity to rankings in the polls so the future may be coming quick.
Coker, Who Won It All at Miami, Starts Over With Nothing [NYT]
H/T TBL
Tuesday, September 29
When Should Tebow Be In The Game?
There are two questions surrounding Tim Tebow's concussion. Neither involve Conan O'Brien's concussion but here's hoping he gets well also. The most important one is when he should return. Fortunately the Gators have a bye week before heading down the Baton Rouge to face the Tigers, at night. But is that enough time for Tebow's halo-encompassed cranium to proerly heal? Orson over at EDSBS does not think so (the comments section has some good info and perspectives as well). The main argument is that when someone suffers an injury like this they are more likely to suffer it again. Considering that Tebow has been rushing the ball quite often the last few games, one has to think Florida is going to curtail his rumbling.
Now Tebow being the great competitor that he is (that is said without sarcasm, the dude is a gamer) is going to most likely lobby for the status quo when it comes to playcalling. Add to the fact that the UF receivers have shown a sliver of the ability that Harvin and Murphy provided last year and it seems that Tebow will again be charging into opposing defenses. We have seen NFL quarterbacks take these shots again and again which led to their retirement. Troy Aikman, Steve Young, and most recently Trent Edwards. There is no replacing or repairing the noggin and when it gets rattled, it is serious trouble. Maybe even a more appropriate example is former Carolina linebacker Dan Morgan. Morgan suffered repeated concussion and was forced to retire before his Pro Bowl career reached its fulfillment. The way Tebow runs makes him more alike to Morgan that the others mentioned.
I am positive that Florida's medical staff is working around the clock to ensure Tebow is ready and cleared to play against LSU but the decision will ultimately be up to Tebow and I think we all know what he will choose. Although I rip Tebow for the media hype that surrounds him, it is unfortunate that he is injured and if this affects how the college season plays out. On the flip side, a worse scenario is him returning and the Gators winning it all in which he will be instantly canonized as a living deity and his concussion MRI is installed on a plaque outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The second question to answer is more hindsight in nature and has already been bantered on at length but: WTF was Tebow doing in the game at that point? If you take away the fact that Florida was dominating the game and it was late in the 3rd quarter, Tebow was ill before the game even started. All day long TWWL's bottom line informed me that Tim was suffering from a "respiratory illness" and flew on a separate plane to Kentucky. When he was carted off it suddenly became a possible case of the flu. Bottom line, he was not fully healthy so why extend him in a game that was already secure. Put Brantley in,have him hand it off and get out of Dodge. Not everyone agrees on this point but I think the Tebow illness beforehand should have made the decision. If it is pertinent enough to be a headline, then I am sure it was a concern for Florida before the game took place.
