Month: September 2009 (Page 8 of 66)

Kobe learns from Olajuwon

MyFoxHouston reports that Kobe Bryant worked out for two hours with Hakeem Olajuwon, trying to learn the post and mid-post moves that made “The Dream” such a nightmare on the block.

Olajuwon said Bryant reached out to him for help with his moves in the post.

“He gave me the biggest compliment,” Olajuwon said. “(He said) You are the best (at the) mid-post and post move.

“He wanted me to show my moves to him.”

Olajuwon said his style of play in the paint is really suited for a guy like Bryant.

“In my mind most of my moves for a guy (with) that agility can use it better than the big guy,” Olajuwon said. “Because my moves are not really for the big guy.

“It’s for the guards and small forwards. So he would benefit most on the post because of his agility.

“It was so much fun because how he picks it up. I worked with him for two hours, step by step.”

Kobe is nothing if not smart. He knows he’s getting older and wants to pick his spots when attacking the basket. Michael Jordan developed a devastating post up game in the back half of his career and it’s no surprise that Kobe would want extend his effectiveness in the same way. Look for Bryant to spend more time on the block this season as he incorporates these post moves into his game.

Fantasy Fallout, Week 3: TEs

– Vernon Davis (7-96-2) had a huge game, but I doubt there were too many fantasy owners that had the balls to start him.

– Tony Gonzalez (1-16) was a non-factor on Sunday.

– Brent Celek (8-104-1) is looking like an every week starter at TE. He has good hands and the Eagles need a good second receiving option after DeSean Jackson.

– Greg Olsen (5-44-1) rewarded those owners that stuck with him after a couple of shaky outings.

– I like Zach Miller (2-17), but JaMarcus Russell is so inconsistent at QB that it’s tough to start Miller in any given week.

– With the way that Indy feeds the ball to Dallas Clark (7-62-1), it wouldn’t be at all surprising if he finishes the season as fantasy’s TE1, assuming he can stay healthy.

See below for links to the QB, RB and WR positions.

NFL Morning After Reactions: Rams, Jets, Redskins & more

Here’s a look at what local NFL beat writers and columnists have to say following their teams’ performance on Sunday.

– Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that the Vikings got their first glimpse of Brett Favre’s legend in Minnesota’s last-second win over San Francisco.

– After 19 straight losses, Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press says that there’s finally relief for the lowly Lions.

– After getting a taste of action in a win over the Chiefs on Sunday, Ashley Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Michael Vick is fine with his role with the Eagles, for now.

– Steve Serby of the New York Post says that Jets’ rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez uses his head to make history.

– Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe notes that the 2-1 Patriots are still a work in progress despite their 26-10 win over the Falcons at Foxboro.

– David Climer of the Tennessean says that the 0-3 Titans buried their playoff hopes with a loss to the Jets on Sunday.

– Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes that the Redskins’ focused disappeared long ago.

– Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ably points out that the brutal Rams are now the new Lions.

– David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune writes that Johnny Knox and the Bears’ wideouts are making quarterback Jay Cutler look good.

– Will Leitch of the New York Magazine says that the contract extension Eli Manning signed in the offseason might be a bargain with how well he’s playing so far this season.

Fantasy Fallout, Week 3: WRs

– Santana Moss finally had a big game (9-172-1) and rewarded those owners with the balls (or the desperation) to stick with him after two bad outings.

– Laurent Robinson (2-26) and Donnie Avery (3-12) were very quiet against the Packers even though the Rams trailed most of the game. Robinson may be seriously hurt, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. If he has an MCL injury, he could be out for a while.

– There doesn’t seem to be a clear WR1 in Minnesota as Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin each had four catches.

– With Wes Welker out, I was expecting a big PPR game for Julian Edelman (3-20), but he didn’t deliver.

– The Pats did a nice job of taking away Roddy White (4-24), which is something they’ve been doing well all season.

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Zorn to keep his job for now

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter via his Twitter page, Redskins head coach Jim Zorn’s job is safe for now. Schefter says that Zorn calls the plays, works well with Jason Campbell and would be too much to replace in the middle of the season.

Zorn’s ability to win in the NFL was already questioned last year after the Skins lost six of their last eight games. But a 1-2 start this season with an ugly home win over the Rams in Week 2 and an embarrassing loss to the Lions on Sunday has put his job on life support.

There’s really no excuse for Washington to be 1-2 when two of the three opponents on their schedule to start the season were the Rams and the Lions. Ironically, the only game in which they looked halfway decent was against the undefeated Giants in Week 1.

The Skins host the 0-3 Bucs in Week 4, travel to Carolina to play the Panthers in Week 5 and then host the Chiefs in Week 6. Those are three winnable games for Washington and if they aren’t at least competitive, one would imagine that Daniel Snyder wouldn’t hesitate to make a midseason move by firing Zorn.

But as Schefter reports, the problem is that Snyder would not only be replacing a head coach, but an offensive play caller as well. Chances are that even if he wanted to replace Zorn, he doesn’t have all the pieces to pull off a move like that right now.

This next three weeks are going to be crucial for Zorn and it’ll be interesting to see if he can save his job.

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