Month: April 2008 (Page 13 of 30)

King’s “insights” on the draft

April 21, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

In his latest Monday Morning Quarterback Column, SI.com’s Peter King has some interesting notes on this weekend’s NFL draft:

• Miami has a real chance of getting Jake Long signed as the No. 1 pick.
• St. Louis doesn’t want Vernon Gholston; so if Long does go to Miami, Gholston could slide.
• This one really surprises me, and at first I didn’t think it was true, but New Orleans is serious about trading into the top four — preferably for LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey but not only for Dorsey. Wish I could tell you the other apple of their eye, but I don’t know who he is.
• I have been saying Dorsey to Atlanta for a month. I heard two things this weekend that are shifting me northward, to Matt Ryan.
• The Jets love Matt Ryan. If I were Kellen Clemens, that would be a worrisome thing.
• If Ryan is sitting there at six or seven, I expect Detroit, Carolina and Chicago to inquire about trading up.

Ryan still seems to be the mystery of this year’s draft. King makes an interesting point in his mock draft by noting that the Falcons have been overly obvious lately in their affection for Dorsey. Normally that’s a sure sign that a team won’t go with that prospect and therefore King’s thoughts about Atlanta taking Ryan aren’t far-fetched

Hmm…

Photo Courtesy of Flickr

NFL, NFL Draft

Steinbrenner meddling with Joba’s role?

April 21, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

New York Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner wants setup man Job Chamberlain to be in the starting rotation, like, yesterday.

“I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now,” Steinbrenner said Sunday by telephone. “There is no question about it, you don’t have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don’t do that. You have to be an idiot to do that.”

This is good news for Joba fantasy owners. If the new boss wants to see Chamberlain out there every five days, more than likely the Yankees’ coaching staff is going to oblige. This kid has nasty stuff and everyone is waiting on pins and needles to see what he can do as a starter.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB

Random thoughts from the NBA playoffs: Day 2

April 21, 2008 / John Paulsen

Orlando 114, Toronto 100
Orlando is a year or two and a good shooting guard away from seriously contending in the East. J.J. Redick was supposed to be that guy, but he hasn’t been able to crack the rotation. Magic fans have to be sick of watching Keith Bogans and Maurice Evans bricking threes. They bring some defense, but the team needs a penetrating scoring guard who can create opportunities for the team’s perimeter shooters and knock down the occasional three himself. Corey Maggette immediately springs to mind and the Magic have the cap flexibility to make something happen this offseason…Speaking of the Clippers, Mike Dunleavy called today’s game. Doesn’t he have a draft to get ready for? It doesn’t seem like he should be out moonlighting after the season his team just had…I don’t usually second-guess a Van Gundy, but I’d put Dwight Howard on Chris Bosh and Rashard Lewis on Rasho Nesterovic defensively. Bosh plays more in the post and Rasho on the perimeter, and I wouldn’t want Howard responsible for closing out on Nesterovic 18 feet from the basket. That said, Howard had five blocks, so covering Rasho didn’t really hurt his ability to defend the rim.

Lakers 128, Nuggets 114
Pau Gasol’s playoff debut for the Lakers was a beauty. He posted 36 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. Maybe he should be MVP…It’s still early in the series, but it just doesn’t look like Denver has the discipline or chemistry to hang with the Lakers…Is it just me, or is Denver the league’s most tattooed team? ‘Melo, AI, K-Mart and Marcus Camby all have some serious ink. I wonder how many hours they collectively spent in tattoo parlors over the years.

Celtics 104, Hawks 81
A somewhat competitive game in the first half, this one got out of hand in the third quarter…Al Horford, my pick for ROY, had 20/10 on 7-10 shooting from the field…Mike Bibby shot 2-10, scoring five points with just one assist. He has averaged 14.7 points and 6.8 assists since the All-Star break but is shooting less than 42% from the field. Every time I look at Atlanta, I wonder how good they would be if they had drafted Chris Paul instead of Marvin Williams three years ago. Imagine running Paul out there with Joe Johnson, Josh Childress, Josh Smith and Horford. (Of course, they probably wouldn’t have had a shot at Horford if Paul were running the team last season.)

Sixers 90, Pistons 86
I recorded the fourth quarter of this one just in case it was close. I’m glad I did. The Pistons had their chances – Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace all missed bunnies in the closing minutes, allowing the Sixers to steal a win…Reggie Evans was huge off the Philly bench with 14 rebounds (expected) and 11 points (unexpected), including a few huge buckets down the stretch…The Sixers are playing so well that this one could go six or seven games.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

Paolantonio makes excellent point about NFL cornerbacks

April 20, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

ESPN.com’s Sal Paolantonio had several terrific points about NFL teams currently overspending for average cornerbacks and thus having their salary caps ruined with no positive gains on the field. His prime example was how the Raiders just traded for former Falcons’ corner DeAngelo Hall and paid him $70 million in the process.

Hall, who has been to two Pro Bowls, possesses many of the qualities great cornerbacks have. Great speed. Remarkable athleticism. Terrific leaping ability. Huge ego.
In reality, Hall is an average cornerback who takes needless chances, gives up a staggering number of big plays, has never helped his team win anything and wore out his welcome with the franchise that drafted him in just four years.
In three of Hall’s four seasons in Atlanta, the Falcons ranked 22nd or worse in pass defense, and only once did they manage a winning season: in his rookie year (2004), when he was a part-time starter. So don’t expect Hall’s presence to improve the Raiders’ pass defense dramatically in 2008.

Hall may be overrated and he does make costly mental and physical mistakes, but there’s no denying he’s coming off a great season. With that said, however, Paolantonio makes a great point later in his column by noting that teams would be better served to pony up for a pass rush than a cover corner. Given that the rules are designed to benefit wide receivers more than DBs, it doesn’t make sense to kill your cap by signing cornerbacks to megabucks if the QB is going to have 10 seconds to throw the ball anyway. Paolantonio used a great example of this point later in his column:

The New York Giants proved that. Did you watch their Super Bowl XLII victory over the New England Patriots ?”
In case you were one of the few Americans who missed it, that was indeed the most prolific offense in NFL history shut down by Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. And guess what? Spags had no shutdown corners.
So, it didn’t take big-name corners with big contracts to shut down Randy Moss and the most productive passing game in the history of pro football.

Excellent points.

NFL

Baldy on McFadden: ‘Colossal bust’

April 20, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

In case anyone was wondering (and surely, there are many of you), FOX football analyst Brian Baldinger isn’t a huge fan of running back prospect Darren McFadden.

“I think he’s the colossal bust in this draft,” said Baldinger, now an analyst for Fox, the NFL Network and Sporting News Radio. “He doesn’t run with patience. He’s a very incomplete back who tries to run you over. If he gets a crease, he can take it to the house. But he doesn’t break tackles and he fumbles. I’m not impressed.”
But Baldinger isn’t the only one expressing doubt about McFadden.
“I can’t believe how skinny his calves and his shins are,” one scout said of McFadden. “It’s almost scary. It’s like a skinny wide receiver. At the running back position, you want a guy who’s a little wider on his base is built on top, but he’s got a very skinny base. I think that’s a little bit of a concern.”

Some draft enthusiasts want to note how McFadden is this year’s Adrian Peterson, but many share Baldinger’s point of view that he’s got bust written all over him. I’m not sure how the size of a running back’s calves translates into NFL success, but one thing is for sure, McFadden is absolutely explosive.