Category: College Football (Page 183 of 296)

      An early look at the running back class for the ’09 NFL Draft

      January 15, 2009 /

      LeSean “Shady” McCoy has decided to forego his final two years of eligibility at the University of Pittsburgh and enter April’s NFL draft.

      So how does McCoy stack up against the likes of Knowshon Moreno (Georgia), Chris “Beanie” Wells (Ohio State), Donald Brown (Connecticut), P.J. Hill (Wisconsin) and Shonn Greene (Iowa)? Let’s take a look.

      Even though he had a major setback earlier in the year when he injured his foot/toe in the Buckeyes’ first game of season, Beanie Wells has all of the intangibles NFL teams look for in a back. He’s big (6’1” 237 pounds), fast (he should run in the 4.5-range for the forty at the combine) and might even grade out better than Darren McFadden, who was selected No. 4 overall a year ago. He has had some durability issues, but after watching him over the course of the second half of the season, it didn’t look like he was suffering any lingering effects from the injury. Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel believes that Beanie is a top-5 pick and when you look at the entire package, it’s hard to disagree.

      Knowshon Moreno will probably go somewhere in the first round, but it’s hard to speculate at this point whether or not he’ll go in the top 15 or fall in the 20-25 range. He doesn’t have a ton of experience (he only played two seasons at UGA), but that also means he has fresh legs and he was incredible the two years he played at Georgia. He is being compared to Thomas Jones and Cadillac Williams in that he’s a grinder who doesn’t necessarily have great top-end speed, but makes up for it with outstanding instincts and vision. If he falls past the top 15 picks, he’s going to be a steal for whichever team grabs him.

      At 5’11, 210 pounds, Shady McCoy isn’t the biggest back in the draft, but his change-of-direction skills are unrivaled. After what the Texans’ Steve Slaton (a similar back with great speed) was able to accomplish in his rookie season, as well as the growing popularity of the “Wildcat” formation in the NFL, a lot of teams are going to value McCoy’s versatility and athleticism. His ability to make people miss will certainly separate him come draft time and he should run a forty in the 4.4-range at the combine.

      Shonn Greene is perhaps the most intriguing back in this draft because his stock couldn’t be higher after rushing for 1,850 yards and 20 touchdowns for the streaking Hawkeyes. He also won the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation’s top running back and given his powerful running style, he might be a sleeper pick in the top three rounds. He’s overshadowed by Wells, Moreno and McCoy, but his skill set is outstanding.

      Donald Brown rushed for 2,083 yards at Connecticut this season and will likely draw comparisons to Kevin Smith of the Lions come April. Like Smith, Brown racked up a ton of yardage at the collegiate level, but doesn’t have elite speed or athleticism. Instead he excels because of his vision and creativity and unlike Smith (who played at Central Florida), Brown faced some decent defenses in the Big East so the “weak competition” knock shouldn’t be applied come draft day.

      P.J. Hill will be a late round pick given his durability issues at Wisconsin and the fact that he’s not much of a pass-catcher. He’s a bowling ball of a runner, but won’t draw much consideration in the top three rounds.

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Clearly Sam Bradford does not want to be a Lion, but maybe Mark Sanchez does

      January 14, 2009 /

      The Oklahoma Sooners will have the quarterback the led them to the national championship back under center next year as Sam Bradford has decided not to enter April’s NFL draft.

      The USC Trojans, however, might not be as fortunate. Word has it that quarterback Mark Sanchez will forgo his senior season and turn pro next year.

      USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has said that he would monitor the decisions of other top draft-eligible quarterbacks as he pondered whether to return to USC for his final season of eligibility or make himself available for the NFL draft.

      Thursday is the deadline to declare for the April draft.

      Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, is the third high-profile quarterback to announce he was staying in school, possibly increasing the chances that Sanchez will opt to turn pro.

      Texas’ Colt McCoy said during he season that he would back. Florida’s Tim Tebow and Bradford have since said they would remain in school.

      It would be hard to pass up that much money, but I think it’s Sanchez’s case, he would benefit from another year at USC. The Trojans’ offense didn’t hit their stride until late in the season and at times, Sanchez was highly inconsistent. Of course if he does leave, he’s doing so on a high note because his Rose Bowl performance was the best of the year. It’ll be interesting to see not only if he decides to come out, but what round he’ll be selected in.

      As for Bradford, his decision to stay at Oklahoma was clearly a calculated risk. He figures that if Matthew Stafford of Georgia comes out, there’s a good chance that the Lions will take him with their No. 1 pick and Sam will bypass the mess that is Detroit. Well played, Sam – well played.

      College Football, NFL

      Gator fan pays tribute to her team the only way she knows how — on the pole

      January 14, 2009 /

      This video is bizarre and (sort of) sports related, so I had to post it. Apparently, this woman is a big fan of the Florida Gators, and in order to pay tribute to their national championship victory, she donned a blue and orange bikini and hit the pole.

      One observation — and let’s assume that this woman is a student at UF. Imagine that you’re her dad, and you and your wife pay a surprise visit to her off-campus apartment. And when you walk in, there’s a flipping POLE IN THE LIVING ROOM. Would you shoot yourself in the head immediately or wait until you got home?

      College Football, Humor, Video, Women

      Picking the 2009 NBA All-Stars

      January 12, 2009 /

      The NBA All-Star Game is part meritocracy and part popularity contest. First, the fans vote, and the top five vote getters – two guards, two forwards and a center – from each conference are the starters. Then the coaches vote on the remaining seven reserves for each team.

      The current vote count can be seen here, but I thought I’d put together my own list – five starters and seven reserves – for each team. To me, when it comes to naming All-Stars a winning record is just as important as great stats, so given two players with similar numbers, I’m probably going to give the nod to the guy on the better team. I’ll list the player’s Player Efficiency Rating, which gives a nice overview of the guy’s per-minute statistical production this season.

      And off we go…

      EASTERN CONFERENCE STARTERS

      Dwyane Wade, Heat
      PER: 29.14
      D-Wade is back with a vengeance. He’s averaging 29.0 points, 7.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds, and is (almost) single-handedly keeping the Heat in the playoff hunt. With 24% accuracy, I don’t know why he’s shooting so many threes (3.0 per game), but that’s just nitpicking. He’s third in the league in steals (2.25).

      Joe Johnson, Hawks
      PER: 19.84
      JJ is averaging 22.3 points, 6.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds, and has the Hawks in a battle for the #4 spot in the East. His three-point shooting is down two points, but his overall FG% is up a point. Remember when everyone laughed at the Hawks for giving up future MIP Boris Diaw and two first round picks for him?

      LeBron James, Cavs
      PER: 32.04
      LeBron is the front-runner for the MVP thus far. He’s posting 27.7 points, 6.6 assists and 6.6 rebounds a game. His numbers are down, but that’s because the Cavs can afford to rest him an additional four minutes per game. It’s great to see his FG% over 50% (50.8%) and FT% approaching 80% (78.8%). LeBron has always been a statistical stud, but it’s the Cavs’ stellar record that has him leading the MVP race.

      Kevin Garnett, Celtics
      PER: 20.87
      KG’s scoring is down, but given the Raptors’ struggles, he’s still the most deserving PF (over Chris Bosh) in the East. His numbers are virtually identical to last season other than a mysterious drop in free throw attempts per game (-2.1). Is KG still taking the ball to the hole?

      Dwight Howard, Magic
      PER: 25.71
      I’d like to see Howard’s free throw accuracy (57.3%) improve, but it’s hard to argue with Orlando’s success this season. Howard is averaging 20.1 points and leads the league in rebounding with 13.8 per game. He also leads the league in blocks (3.28).

      EASTERN CONFERENCE RESERVES

      Devin Harris, Nets
      PER: 24.88
      From a statistical standpoint, Harris is outplaying all other Eastern Conference guards save for Dwyane Wade, so he is deserving of a spot in the starting lineup. However, Joe Johnson’s Hawks are playing quite a bit better, so Harris will have to settle for a spot on the bench.

      Chris Bosh, Raptors
      PER: 23.37
      The Raptors are struggling this season but it’s not the fault of Bosh, whose numbers are virtually identical to last season. He has averaged at least 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in each of the last four years.

      Paul Pierce, Celtics
      PER: 18.32
      Despite the Celtics recent struggles, The Truth is still a no-brainer All-Star pick. He’s averaging 19.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists and while his FG% is down a smidgen, he’s over 40% from long range for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

      Danny Granger, Pacers
      PER: 21.93
      Granger is clearly one of the league’s best young small forwards. He’s averaging 26.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists, while shooting a solid 46% from the field. The Pacers aren’t great, but they’re competitive, and Granger is the main reason why. Moreover, he’s averaging an eye-popping 33.3 points per game in January.

      Tayshaun Prince, Pistons
      PER: 16.37
      The Pistons have the fifth-best record in the East right now and deserve to have a player on the All-Star team. Prince’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he averages 7.3 points per game and contributes in all areas despite having to cover the opponent’s best perimeter player every night.

      Jameer Nelson, Magic
      PER: 19.91
      Given that Orlando has virtually the same personnel as last season, it’s a bit of a surprise at how much better Nelson is playing. His ppg jumped from 10.9 to 16.4 and his FG% jumped from 46.9% to 50.4%, which is tremendous for a guard. His three-point shooting (43.8%) is outstanding. Rashard Lewis (PER: 18.05) may get the nod, but I think Nelson is more deserving.

      Vince Carter, Nets
      PER: 21.89
      I’m not a huge fan of Vinsanity, but he’s averaging 22.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting better than 40% from long range. Truthfully, this spot could go to a number of guys from better teams – Rajon Rondo, Mo Williams, Allen Iverson, Mike Bibby, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Rashard Lewis – but Carter smokes them all numbers-wise.

      Bubbling under: Rajon Rondo, Mo Williams, Allen Iverson, Caron Butler, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mike Bibby, Jose Calderon, Rashard Lewis

      WESTERN CONFERENCE STARTERS

      Chris Paul, Hornets
      PER: 30.53
      After a rough 5-5 start, Paul has the Hornets back in the thick of the hunt for the #2 playoff spot in the West. He has the second-highest PER in the league and is averaging 20.4 points and 11.3 assists per game. He also leads the league in steals (2.82) and is on the short list of serious MVP candidates.

      Kobe Bryant, Lakers
      PER: 25.48
      Kobe’s minutes are down 3.0 per game, which explains why his numbers have taken a bit of a dip. Still, he’s averaging 27.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists, and his FG% is up over 48% for the first time in his career. The Lakers have the best record in the West and Kobe would be favored to win his second consecutive MVP if not for the Cavs’ winning ways.

      Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
      PER: 23.78
      If Carmelo Anthony hadn’t gotten injured, he might have earned this spot, but Dirk’s Mavs are just three games back of the Nuggets in the standings and he’s having another great season. He is averaging 25.3 points and 8.4 rebounds, and is shooting better than 40% from the field.

      Tim Duncan, Spurs
      PER: 24.33
      Two words: sustained excellence. TD is averaging 20.4 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting almost 52% from the field. Plus, he’s one of the best (if not the best) defensive big men in the game.

      Yao Ming, Rockets
      PER: 22.67
      Yao has had to play without Tracy McGrady for a good portion of the season, but the Rockets are right in the thick of the playoff hunt in the West. He leads the Rockets in scoring, rebounding, blocks and is shooting almost 87% from the free throw line.

      WESTERN CONFERENCE RESERVES

      Brandon Roy, Blazers
      PER: 25.06
      Roy’s scoring is up to 22.8 points per game this season (from 19.1 ppg last season) in no small part due to his increased accuracy (+2.1%) from the field. The Blazers look like a playoff team and Roy is a big reason why.

      Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
      PER: 18.18
      ‘Melo’s Nuggets are playing well even though his FG% has taken a dive to 43.7% this season. His scoring is down, but he’s rebounding well (7.3) and his three-point accuracy is up to 42%, which is a huge improvement.

      Tony Parker, Spurs
      PER: 23.23
      Parker is setting career highs in points (21.3) and assists (6.7), he’s never been more accurate from long range (40.0%) or from the charity stripe (81.5%). Manu Ginobili has been solid, but Parker is the second-most deserving Spur this season.

      Pau Gasol, Lakers
      PER: 22.49
      Despite the return of Andrew Bynum, Gasol’s rebounding (9.4) as well as he ever has, and he’s continuing to thrive in his role as Kobe’s sidekick. He’s averaging 17.8 points and is shooting over 55% from the field.

      Amare Stoudemire, Suns
      PER: 22.44
      Stoudemire is averaging 21.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, and is shooting almost 55% from the field. Even though the Suns have slowed the pace down, Stoudemire’s numbers are still stellar.

      Chauncey Billups, Nuggets
      PER: 20.98
      Billups is averaging 18.7 points and 6.8 assists for the Nuggets, but more importantly he has brought a defensive culture to Denver (and that’s not easy to do).

      Shaquille O’Neal, Suns
      PER: 23.75
      A revitalized Shaq is producing 17.4 points and 9.0 rebounds in just 30.1 minutes. There are a number of players that could replace him on the All-Star team, but I think everyone around the league recognizes just how good Shaq is when he’s motivated.

      Bubbling under: Manu Ginobili, Al Jefferson, David West, Paul Millsap, LaMarcus Aldridge, Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur

      Voting continues at NBA.com through January 19th.

      1/22/09 Update: The starters have been announced.

      College Football, NBA

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