Category: NFL (Page 833 of 1282)

      Is it better to draft a wide receiver from a small school?

      January 6, 2009 /

      It seems like an inordinate number of small-school wideouts star in the NFL. This isn’t a new trend — six of the top 10 players who lead in all-time receiving yards are from non-BCS schools: Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), Isaac Bruce (Memphis), Terrell Owens (Tennessee-Chattanooga), Henry Ellard (Fresno State), Randy Moss (Marshall) and Andre Reed (Kutztown Pennsylvania). Here’s a list of the top 30 fantasy receivers of 2008, the school they went to, and the round they were drafted by their NFL team. (I used point-per-reception fantasy stats because they give a nice overall view of a player’s total production — catches, yards and TDs.)

      Andre Johnson (Miami) 1
      Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh) 1
      Anquan Boldin (Florida State) 2
      Brandon Marshall (Central Florida) 4
      Roddy White (UAB) 1
      Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech) 1
      Greg Jennings (Western Michigan) 2
      Wes Welker (Texas Tech) U
      Antonio Bryant (Pittsburgh) 2
      Steve Smith (Utah) 3
      Randy Moss (Marshall) 1
      Reggie Wayne (Miami) 1
      Terrell Owens (Tennessee-Chattanooga) 3
      Santana Moss (Miami) 1
      Hines Ward (Georgia) 3
      Eddie Royal (Virginia Tech) 2
      Dwayne Bowe (LSU) 1
      Vincent Jackson (Northern Colorado) 2
      T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Oregon State) 7
      Derrick Mason (Michigan State) 4
      Lance Moore (Toledo) U
      Kevin Walter (Eastern Michigan) 7
      Donald Driver (Alcorn State) 7
      Isaac Bruce (Memphis) 2
      Jerricho Cotchery (North Carolina State) 4
      DeSean Jackson (California) 2
      Laveranues Coles (Florida State) 3
      Bernard Berrian (Fresno State) 3
      Steve Breaston (Michigan) 5
      Lee Evans (Wisconsin) 1

      Notes:
      – Eighteen players were from the so-called “power conferences” (BCS schools), while 12 were from non-BCS schools.
      – There were nine 1st rounders, seven 2nd rounders, five 3rd rounders, three 4th rounders, one 5th rounder, zero 6th rounders, three 7th rounders and two undrafted players.
      – Two players that most people would agree are amongst the top 30 WRs in the league — Marques Colston (Hofstra, 7th round) and Plaxico Burress (Michigan State, 1st round) — each missed half the season with injury.

      So 40% of the top 30 fantasy wideouts are from non-BCS schools. Does this seem about right, or is it proportionately high when compared to other positions? If it’s the latter, is there something about the position that lends itself to players from small schools succeeding in the NFL?

      Fantasy Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      If NFL teams want better defenses, they better build outdoors

      January 6, 2009 /

      Georgia DomeLast Sunday a couple friends and I were watching the Ravens-Dolphins playoff game and we were talking about how good both Baltimore and Miami’s defenses were this season. Then we started to gab about other top defenses in the league and the thought dawned on me – all the good defensive teams play outdoors.

      Think about it. What teams had the best defenses in 2008? Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington and the Giants all ranked in the top five – all outdoors teams. Granted, Minnesota was No. 6, but the next dome team was Indianapolis at No. 11.

      Out of the eight dome teams (I’ll count both Dallas and Arizona as dome teams), five of them (Arizona, Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis and Detroit) finished in the bottom half of the league in total defense. In 2007, six of the eight teams finished in the bottom half. In 2006, five teams finished in the bottom half. In 2005, four of the seven dome teams (Arizona was outdoors before 2006) finished in the bottom half and in 2004, six of the seven dome teams ranked in the bottom half defensively.

      Here’s a breakdown of how each dome team has done defensively since 2002:

      Arizona 2006-2008: 29th; 17th; 19th
      Atlanta 2002-2008: 19th; 32nd; 14th; 22nd; 22nd; 29th; 24th
      Dallas 2002-2008: 18th; 1st; 16th; 10th; 20th; 13th; 9th; 8th
      Detroit 2002-2008: 31st; 24th; 22nd; 28th; 32nd; 32nd
      Indianapolis 2002-2008: 8th; 11th; 29th; 11th; 21st; 11th;
      Minnesota 2002-2008: 26th; 23rd; 28th; 21st; 8th; 20th; 3rd; 6th
      New Orleans 2002-2008: 27th; 18th; 32nd; 14th; 11th; 26th; 23rd
      St. Louis 2002-2008: 13th; 16th; 17th; 30th; 23rd; 21st; 28th

      Let’s recap:

      – Of the eight dome teams, only three of them have ever finished in the top 10 in total defense since 2002.
      – Only two of them (Dallas and Minnesota) have ever finished in the top 5 in total defense since 2002.
      – All of them have finished in the bottom half of the league in total defense at least once.
      – Atlanta, Detroit, New Orleans and St. Louis haven’t cracked the top 10 in total defense once since 2002.

      Granted, there are several huge factors that work against the theory that dome teams are worse off defensively than those that play outdoors. First and foremost, there’s a larger sample size of outdoors teams than dome, so of course they’re going to have better overall defensive rankings. Secondly, 2002 to 2008 might not be a long enough time period to definitively say that dome teams are worse defensively.

      But think about it – when has a dome team ever had a consistently good defense? Chicago, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New England have always been known for their defense. Outside of the “Purple People Eaters” when has a dome team ever been known for its defense? Never. And this plays into the fact that dome teams struggle to make Super Bowl appearances.

      Why? It can’t be that these teams have ignored their defenses over the years or have just had terrible luck in the drafts. Free agency has allowed teams to rebuild in just one offseason, so it’s not like these teams haven’t had the opportunity to re-tool their defensive units.

      The simple explanation is that teams can obviously move the ball better when they don’t have to deal with weather conditions, so therefore dome teams are more susceptible to giving up more yardage and points. But is that it? So dome teams are just doomed defensively for the end of time? They best they can do on a consistent basis is finish 11-16 in total defense?

      Obviously this research is largely incomplete, but it’s an interesting topic.

      NFL

      Top 10 Worst Acting Performances by Athletes

      January 6, 2009 /

      RealClearSports.com put together a top 10 ranking of the worst acting performances by athletes:

      2. Shaquille O’Neal
      Shaquille O’Neal has a great personality, is well-liked and in general, is a pretty funny guy (plus, hey, he Twitters). But, for all his good qualities, he struggles in the entertainment industry. He is not a great rapper, and he’s an even worse actor. He was good in Blue Chips, but his role called for him to essentially just play basketball. He was not so good in Steel, where he played a military scientist, or in Kazaam, when he was…wait for it… a rapping Genie.

      10. Dennis Rodman
      Dennis Rodman loved attention during his days as an All-Star forward for the Pistons, Spurs, and Bulls, so it was only natural for him to try his hand at acting. Unfortunately for him (but awesome for those who love to mock), he was better at grabbing rebounds than making movies. Notable failures include his role in Double Team, with Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the rather atrocious Simon Sez (Fun Fact: Rodman’s co-star is none other than everyone’s favorite overrated comedian, Dane Cook).

      How does Rodman’s movie not making it higher than 10? I never saw it, but just judging by the trailer Simon Sez looks like it could be one of the greatest movies of all-time…

      General Sports, Humor, MLB, NBA, NFL, Video

      Packers fire six coaches, including DC

      January 5, 2009 /

      Let the retooling begin…

      The Green Bay Packers have fired defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and five assistant coaches, four on defense.

      In addition to Sanders, defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn, defensive ends coach Carl Hairston, secondary coach Kurt Schottenheimer, cornerbacks coach Lionel Washington.

      The only defensive coaches who were retained was assistant head coach / linebackers Winston Moss and quality control assistant Joe Whitt Jr.

      McCarthy also fired strength and conditioning coach Rock Gullickson.

      The move suggests that coach Mike McCarthy will hire a defensive coordinator who will have a say in which assistants he brings with him. The leading candidate would be former San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan, who hired McCarthy as his offensive coordinator in 2005 and is close to the current Packers coach.

      The defense really struggled this season. The Packers were 20th in total yards allowed, 22nd in points allowed and 26th against the run. Last season, they were 11th, 6th and 14th in those categories, respectively. Consistent pass rush was always a problem and the Packers just could not stop the run when they needed to. They were second (to Houston) in points allowed in the fourth quarter, which explains why they went 0-7 in games decided by four points or less.

      He looked like a genius in 2007, but if not for that, there would be a strong possibility that McCarthy should be shown the door as well. One more season like this and he’ll be gone too.

      I like the idea of bringing Mike Nolan in to run the defense. The 49ers weren’t terribly good when he was there, but the defense was solid and my guess is that Nolan is hungry to rehab his reputation as a top defensive mind.

      NFL

      Matt Millen’s explanation not nearly good enough

      January 5, 2009 /

      If you tuned into the NBC pregame show on Saturday, you would have seen a Matt Millen interview. Yes, the Matt Millen who steered the Detroit Lions to a 31-84 record — 31-97 if you count the losses after his dismissal. Dan Patrick asked him a few questions and he took the blame for the team’s performance. He didn’t go into much detail or offer any specifics, so it was kind of a waste of time. He simply looked like a guy who was trying to rehab his image. He knows that a job as an executive in the NFL is probably out of the question, but he could return as an analyst, which is kind of a joke in itself, considering that a big part of a GM’s job is analyzing players and coaches. Really, why should we listen to anything this guy has to say?

      Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press had a few pointed comments about Millen’s appearance…

      But when he broke his public silence Saturday during the network’s “Football Night in America” show, he told NBC’s Dan Patrick that it wasn’t as easy as merely blaming himself.

      “There’s a lot more to it than that,” Millen told Patrick. “I could give you excuses. I could give you reasons. To me, that’s just an excuse after the fact. You take the hit and move on.”

      Millen blew it again. Detroit deserves a detailed explanation for what went so horribly wrong from those who perpetrated the deed. Simply saying that you’re responsible for the disaster doesn’t make you accountable. That requires serving a penance. If Millen truly seeks atonement, he must delve deeper into those additional “reasons” of which he spoke.

      Was there a lack of uniformity between Millen and his front office, Millen and his coaches? Was there an even greater lack of organizational confidence within the locker room than what already has been documented? Did ownership interfere even more than what already has been reported?

      I’m really tired of the Lions’ “There’s nothing more to say” defense regarding past failures.

      I have an idea — Millen should write a book. Imagine this: an insider’s account of the worst franchise in the NFL. He could go into detail about every bad (and good) decision that he made, along with the conflicts he had with players, coaches and ownership. I, for one, find the whole GM game fascinating and would love to read a tell-all about the Lions. It would be a moneymaker for Millen (not that he really needs the dough) and would be cathartic for Lions fans everywhere.

      But to promote a book, he’d eventually have to appear in front of (real) members of the media. Patrick probably had his hands tied (and for that, NBC is to blame), but Sharp is right — Millen went into zero detail about what went wrong.

      One of Sharp’s lines really stands out…

      Simply saying that you’re responsible for the disaster doesn’t make you accountable.

      Truer words have never been spoken. The fans in Detroit deserve an explanation — a real one.

      Here’s the interview…

      NFL, NFL Draft, Television, Video

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