- Benson not as good as Jones. Although they share similar stats this season (3,2 ypa for Benson and 3,5 ypa for Jones) Benson just doesn't look like a lead back and was essentially benched vs Dallas for fumbling the ball.
- TO unstoppable again. 16 receptions for 329 yards, 20.6 average (best in football) and 3 TDs in 3 games.
- Green Bay Packers are winning again and they’re doing it without a ground attack. Kudos to Favre, GB defense, the special teams and the coaches. Good job guys.
- Buffalo Bills are falling apart. Poorly coached with too many injuries on defense and now JP Lossman goes down (and when that’s a bad thing for your ballclub you know you’ve got problems). This is a lost season for the Bills.
- Mike Tomlin sure looks cool manning the sidelines with dark sunglasses and chewing gum. Lots of style points there. In other news, Steelers are playing smashmouth football again with an improved aerial attack. Unfortunately they won’t really be tested until week 14 at New England (sure they face Cincy twice and also Baltimore and Seattle at home and go to Denver all before New England but one can make a case against all these teams being the NFL’s elite).
- Alex Smith is a bust. Just watch him in his third year as a staring QB. Or better yet - don't!
- What a game by Donovan McNabb! Oh man! He should do more HBO interviews.
"That was one of the things we were going to rally behind,'' Westbrook said. ”Donovan took some shots this week, and we rallied behind him. We told him that we had his back, and any shots that he was taking we are going to take together as a team.” Just quit it guys! You just beat the Detroit Lions. It’s not like you beat a real team or anything. - Marty Schottenheimer sure looks good now don’t he? I know LDT (I’m siding with the Sports guy on this one – the only LT I know is Lawrence Taylor) is still the same player he was a year ago and the Chargers are still the most talented team in the NFL. But there’s one thing different – The Head Coach.
- How brilliant is the Patriots OL? Brady has been sacked just three times and he’s completed almost 80 % of his passes cuz he’s got so much time to throw the ball. Have I mentioned they have the best receiver in football? This team is as sharp as a razorblade. Randy Moss runs like a gazelle. Wikipedia says: “Gazelles are known as swift animals; they are able to reach high speeds for long periods of time. Gazelles are mostly found in the grasslands and savannas of Africa.” Fits the description right?
- Matt Schaub looks really good at QB. Never mind the two INT on Sunday. He was playing without his 2 best receivers and his two best backs, and they continued to fight back. Houston has looked good so far.
- Tampa Bay looks well prepared with an improving defense, steady QB play and a decent rushing attack but they still seem like a team that can’t compete on the road. We’ll see in the next couple of weeks.
September 26, 2007
NFL tidbits
We interrupt our regular programming for these bullets:
Bad News Bears
It's time, Coach.
You know what you have to do. We've all known since his first game this season. It was the Bad Rex again. He's not your QB.
I can see why you were so enamored with him. The guy's got a big arm. Lots of potential. And on a good day he can hang with the best of them. We just haven't seen his good day in a long time.
I can understand the rationale behind your decision not to bench him. There's no going back afterwards. And you didn't wanna give up on all that potential. You kept hoping he'd reappear. The Good Rex, that is. But he's not coming back. No one can say you didn't try Coach.
Now repeat after me "Rex Grossman is not our starting QB"
You know what you have to do. We've all known since his first game this season. It was the Bad Rex again. He's not your QB.
I can see why you were so enamored with him. The guy's got a big arm. Lots of potential. And on a good day he can hang with the best of them. We just haven't seen his good day in a long time.
I can understand the rationale behind your decision not to bench him. There's no going back afterwards. And you didn't wanna give up on all that potential. You kept hoping he'd reappear. The Good Rex, that is. But he's not coming back. No one can say you didn't try Coach.
Now repeat after me "Rex Grossman is not our starting QB"
September 22, 2007
Eastern Conference, continued
Today we tackle the central division.
Chicago Bulls – This is how you build a team. And not just any team but a team that has a good chance to be a contender for years to come. You draft well and develop the young guys, sign a couple of veterans to provide leadership and experience and if you can add a star player … someone like Pau Gasol, you got it made. Oh, they didn’t add the last piece? Oh well, the East is still weak. Joe Smith will do. But seriously, I think this is the year Tyrus Thomas steps up and makes a name for himself, so they won’t be lacking at PF.
So you let that mix stew for a few years and suddenly they’re sweeping Miami in the playoffs. This team is ready for big things.
Cleveland Cavaliers – You get LeBron for another three years. Enjoy it while you can Cleveland fans cause I promise you this kid is not staying in Cleveland longer than he has to. He’s been carrying a poorly assembled Cleveland team on his back for two years now. Now he gets to do that for another three seasons.
Oh, joy!
Z and Snow (don’t they sound like a rap tandem?) have contracts running through 2009 (just one year less than LBJ). Donyell Marshal and Damon Jones, too. And Larry Hughes is just killing them – both on and off the court with his poor play and hefty contract. Basically they’re paying a bunch of guys a lot of dinero to perform poorly and ruin LeBron’s will to live.
He can’t become a global icon in Cleveland anyway.
Detroit Pistons – This is a team in decline. They have no one to play center (McDyess and Muhamed? I don’t think so), they got Flip and Sheed, a bunch of no name guys off the bench, an aging, complacent roster that doesn’t play their trademark defense anymore and a head coach name Flip. It doesn’t get much better than that. 2nd round exit.
Indiana Pacers – Now, this roster is in shambles. Can we blame it all on Ron Artest? Or does the Basketball Jesus get some blame too? Just look at some of these guys (and their bloated contracts) :
Jermaine O'Neal - $19,710,000
Troy Murphy - $9,206,349
Mike Dunleavy - $8,219,008
Marquis Daniels - $6,370,000
Jamaal Tinsley - $6,300,000
Jeff Foster - $5,700,000
Except for J. O’Neal, Ike Diogu and Danny Granger there isn’t anyone on this roster with enough talent to play for Euroleage powerhouses Barcelona or CSKA, let alone an NBA team. I mean, who decided that it’d be a good idea to pay Marquis Daniels almost $ 7 mill per season? Are NBA GM’s on drugs? Or Mike Dunleavy averaging $ 9,5 mill over the next four years? Insane, I tell ya!
Indiana will challenge the Knicks and the 76ers for the coveted “worst team in the East and thereby in the NBA” award.
Milwaukee Bucks - The Bucks have a lot of potential if they somehow manage to stay healthy. Just look at the roster and tell me they’re not ready to do some damage in the East:
PG - Mo Williams, Charlie Bell (who can also play SG)
SG - Michael Redd,
SF - Bobby Simmons, Desmond Mason (can play some SG too)
PF - Charlie Villanueva, Yi Jianlian
C - Andrew Bogut, Dan Gadzuric
See? Told ya!
Chicago Bulls – This is how you build a team. And not just any team but a team that has a good chance to be a contender for years to come. You draft well and develop the young guys, sign a couple of veterans to provide leadership and experience and if you can add a star player … someone like Pau Gasol, you got it made. Oh, they didn’t add the last piece? Oh well, the East is still weak. Joe Smith will do. But seriously, I think this is the year Tyrus Thomas steps up and makes a name for himself, so they won’t be lacking at PF.
So you let that mix stew for a few years and suddenly they’re sweeping Miami in the playoffs. This team is ready for big things.
Cleveland Cavaliers – You get LeBron for another three years. Enjoy it while you can Cleveland fans cause I promise you this kid is not staying in Cleveland longer than he has to. He’s been carrying a poorly assembled Cleveland team on his back for two years now. Now he gets to do that for another three seasons.
Oh, joy!
Z and Snow (don’t they sound like a rap tandem?) have contracts running through 2009 (just one year less than LBJ). Donyell Marshal and Damon Jones, too. And Larry Hughes is just killing them – both on and off the court with his poor play and hefty contract. Basically they’re paying a bunch of guys a lot of dinero to perform poorly and ruin LeBron’s will to live.
He can’t become a global icon in Cleveland anyway.
Detroit Pistons – This is a team in decline. They have no one to play center (McDyess and Muhamed? I don’t think so), they got Flip and Sheed, a bunch of no name guys off the bench, an aging, complacent roster that doesn’t play their trademark defense anymore and a head coach name Flip. It doesn’t get much better than that. 2nd round exit.
Indiana Pacers – Now, this roster is in shambles. Can we blame it all on Ron Artest? Or does the Basketball Jesus get some blame too? Just look at some of these guys (and their bloated contracts) :
Jermaine O'Neal - $19,710,000
Troy Murphy - $9,206,349
Mike Dunleavy - $8,219,008
Marquis Daniels - $6,370,000
Jamaal Tinsley - $6,300,000
Jeff Foster - $5,700,000
Except for J. O’Neal, Ike Diogu and Danny Granger there isn’t anyone on this roster with enough talent to play for Euroleage powerhouses Barcelona or CSKA, let alone an NBA team. I mean, who decided that it’d be a good idea to pay Marquis Daniels almost $ 7 mill per season? Are NBA GM’s on drugs? Or Mike Dunleavy averaging $ 9,5 mill over the next four years? Insane, I tell ya!
Indiana will challenge the Knicks and the 76ers for the coveted “worst team in the East and thereby in the NBA” award.
Milwaukee Bucks - The Bucks have a lot of potential if they somehow manage to stay healthy. Just look at the roster and tell me they’re not ready to do some damage in the East:
PG - Mo Williams, Charlie Bell (who can also play SG)
SG - Michael Redd,
SF - Bobby Simmons, Desmond Mason (can play some SG too)
PF - Charlie Villanueva, Yi Jianlian
C - Andrew Bogut, Dan Gadzuric
See? Told ya!
September 17, 2007
A look at the Eastern Conference
Starting with southeast -
1. Atlanta – Some say Zaza Pachulia is a serviceable center. Sure, when he’s playing alongside KG. Or Amare Stoudemire. But that’s never gonna happen. They actually had a chance to get Amare. But the owners were busy battling in court so they passed. Idiots. Hey, at least they took another forward in the draft.
This is their team for the next season:
1. Acie Law/ Anthony Johnson/ Tyronn Lue/ Speedy Claxton
2. Joe Johnson/ Salim Stoudamire
3. Marvin Williams/ Josh Childress
4. Josh Smith/ Al Horford/ Shelden Williams
5. Zaza Pachulia / Lorenzen Wright/
They’re still young, lots of potential, they may pan out … around 2011. Maybe.
2. Charlotte Bobcats – Now, this team is loaded. Just look at them:
1. Raymond Felton/ Jeff McInnis
2. Jason Richardson/ Matt Carroll
3. Gerald Wallace/ Walter Hermann / Adam Morrison
4. Sean May /Othella Harrington/ Jared Dudley
5. Emeka Okafor/ Primoz Brezec
Yes I believe they should use Emeka as their starting center, especially if Sean May ever gets through a season without injuries. The league has become faster and well, shorter. We see a bunch of PF playing center nowadays (Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire, KG to name a few).
The only problem I see with this team is the back-up PG position. McInnis hasn’t been effective in ages. And they had a good back-up in Brevin Knight. I will never understand why they released him. They should just jettison Adam Morrison for a capable back-up PG, if there are any takers. I guess they can fool someone into taking him with the ol’ story about potential. They’re pretty much set at SF with Wallace and Hermann (who by the way played brilliantly last season).
3. Miami – Celtics got KG and Allen, Orlando got Lewis, NY got Zach Randolph, even Milwaukee got Yi and Desmond Mason. And who did Miami get? That’s right – they got Smush Parker. Plan a championship parade in Miami, now.
4. Orlando – not much to feel giddy about this season except for Stan the Man and an improved Dwight Howard. They have stiffs at center (Foyle and Battie), 3 average point guards (Arroyo, Dooling and Nelson) and no one at shooting guard unless JJ Reddick explodes. In a good way, I mean.
So unless they go small ball and start Howard at the 5, Lewis at the 4, Hedo at the 3 (his natural position), somebody at the 2 (JJ or one of the point guards I guess) and Nelson/Arroyo at the 1 - I really don’t see them doing much damage in the East.
5. Washington – same old wizards. No defense, 2 stiffs at center who hate each other, no defense, not enough Darious Songaila and no defense yet again.
Smile, we got throught the worst.
1. Atlanta – Some say Zaza Pachulia is a serviceable center. Sure, when he’s playing alongside KG. Or Amare Stoudemire. But that’s never gonna happen. They actually had a chance to get Amare. But the owners were busy battling in court so they passed. Idiots. Hey, at least they took another forward in the draft.
This is their team for the next season:
1. Acie Law/ Anthony Johnson/ Tyronn Lue/ Speedy Claxton
2. Joe Johnson/ Salim Stoudamire
3. Marvin Williams/ Josh Childress
4. Josh Smith/ Al Horford/ Shelden Williams
5. Zaza Pachulia / Lorenzen Wright/
They’re still young, lots of potential, they may pan out … around 2011. Maybe.
2. Charlotte Bobcats – Now, this team is loaded. Just look at them:
1. Raymond Felton/ Jeff McInnis
2. Jason Richardson/ Matt Carroll
3. Gerald Wallace/ Walter Hermann / Adam Morrison
4. Sean May /Othella Harrington/ Jared Dudley
5. Emeka Okafor/ Primoz Brezec
Yes I believe they should use Emeka as their starting center, especially if Sean May ever gets through a season without injuries. The league has become faster and well, shorter. We see a bunch of PF playing center nowadays (Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire, KG to name a few).
The only problem I see with this team is the back-up PG position. McInnis hasn’t been effective in ages. And they had a good back-up in Brevin Knight. I will never understand why they released him. They should just jettison Adam Morrison for a capable back-up PG, if there are any takers. I guess they can fool someone into taking him with the ol’ story about potential. They’re pretty much set at SF with Wallace and Hermann (who by the way played brilliantly last season).
3. Miami – Celtics got KG and Allen, Orlando got Lewis, NY got Zach Randolph, even Milwaukee got Yi and Desmond Mason. And who did Miami get? That’s right – they got Smush Parker. Plan a championship parade in Miami, now.
4. Orlando – not much to feel giddy about this season except for Stan the Man and an improved Dwight Howard. They have stiffs at center (Foyle and Battie), 3 average point guards (Arroyo, Dooling and Nelson) and no one at shooting guard unless JJ Reddick explodes. In a good way, I mean.
So unless they go small ball and start Howard at the 5, Lewis at the 4, Hedo at the 3 (his natural position), somebody at the 2 (JJ or one of the point guards I guess) and Nelson/Arroyo at the 1 - I really don’t see them doing much damage in the East.
5. Washington – same old wizards. No defense, 2 stiffs at center who hate each other, no defense, not enough Darious Songaila and no defense yet again.
Smile, we got throught the worst.
European view
You're probably wondering who the hell am I, right? I mean, right? Well, here's the truth - I'm just an aspiring 29 year old sports writer (hey, I can aspire at the tender age of 29). And European. And white. And, most importantly, an obsessive NFL and NBA fan.
So it's safe for you to assume that you'll be reading American football and professional basketball analysis in this blog, all from a European perspective. There are a lot of my countrymen playing in the NBA (most notably Peja Stojakovic (New Orleans Hornets), Vlada Radmanovic (LA Lakers), Nenad Krstic (New Jersey Nets)) but you'll find my writing objective nevertheless.
Of course you'll probably find much of my writing misspelled. Heavily.
Hey, at least it'll be refreshing.
So it's safe for you to assume that you'll be reading American football and professional basketball analysis in this blog, all from a European perspective. There are a lot of my countrymen playing in the NBA (most notably Peja Stojakovic (New Orleans Hornets), Vlada Radmanovic (LA Lakers), Nenad Krstic (New Jersey Nets)) but you'll find my writing objective nevertheless.
Of course you'll probably find much of my writing misspelled. Heavily.
Hey, at least it'll be refreshing.
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