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      Do the Cardinals even need Boldin?

      January 15, 2010 /

      Listen, how about you sit this one out, Q?

      According to Adam Schefter via his Twitter page, the Cardinals don’t expect wideout Anquan Boldin (ankle/knee) to play against the Saints on Saturday.

      As crazy as it sounds, Arizona might be better off.

      The mere thought that the Cardinals are better without Boldin in the lineup sounds ridiculous. He’s an underrated playmaker that makes teams pay for double-teaming Larry Fitzgerald. He has the size and speed to win one-on-one matchups with a defender of any size and he’s a load to bring down in open space. Of course the Cardinals are better with him.

      That said, over the last two seasons the Cards are 6-1 when Boldin didn’t play. And as the Wall Street Journal points out, they’ve averaged 33.9 points per game without him in the lineup, compared to the 24.5 PPG and 17-13 record with him. They also racked up 41 points in the one regular season game (vs. the Bears) that he missed this season and 51 points last week against the Packers, so the numbers would indicate that they’re better off without him.

      But this is one of those times when numbers can be misleading. Arizona has survived without Boldin because they have an abundance of depth at the wideout position. Steve Breaston has shown the ability to be a playmaker when he starts and Early Doucet showed last week that he could be a star in the making. Fitzgerald aids both receivers by commanding double-teams, and having a quarterback in Kurt Warner that can deliver the ball in a timely manner so his wideouts can make the catch in stride and pick up yards after the catch is critical as well.

      Can the Cardinals win without Boldin? Absolutely – and they’ve proven it. But are they better? That’s debatable. The numbers would suggest that they are, but teams are always better when they have their full complement of weapons, especially during the postseason.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Rams to take a chance on Vick?

      January 15, 2010 /

      Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch speculates that the Rams might make a move to acquire Michael Vick from the Eagles this offseason. Thomas sites the fact that GM Bill Devaney worked for the Falcons when Vick was in Atlanta and even visited the troubled QB in prison.

      Devaney worked for the Atlanta Falcons before coming to St. Louis, so he’s very familiar with Vick. In fact, Devaney visited Vick in prison while Vick was serving 18 months for running a dogfighting operation.

      In St. Louis, Vick could bring sizzle to an offense that was among the league’s worst in ’09. As one long-time NFL coach told the Post-Dispatch: “That team lacks perimeter players. They can’t play straight up (on offense) and win. They need to create explosiveness where it’s not.”

      Vick would be a solid fit for the Rams. He’s lost some burst as a runner and considering he hasn’t been a starter in three years, he’ll be rusty as a passer when he does get under center full time. But he’s worth a shot for a team like the Rams, who are in desperate need of overall speed and talent.

      St. Louis isn’t a team that’s on the verge of making a deep run in the playoffs, so taking a chance on a player like Vick is a less risky proposition for them then it would be another team that’s counting on a quarterback to get them over the hump. Vick isn’t magically going to transform into the electrifying player he once was, but he would upgrade the Rams’ quarterback position and would give them a chance to acquire Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh with the No. 1 pick in April.

      I know this is just speculation on Thomas’ part, but I like the thinking.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Lucas: Cavs tanked to get LeBron

      January 14, 2010 /

      Former Cavs coach John Lucas claims that the franchise tanked the 2002-03 season to try to get LeBron James.

      “They trade all our guys away and we go real young, and the goal was to get LeBron and also to sell the team,” Lucas told AOL FanHouse. “I didn’t have a chance. … You can’t fault the Cavaliers for wanting to get LeBron. It was hard to get free agents to come there.”

      The Cavaliers finished the 2002-03 season with a 17-65 record, tied with the Denver Nuggets for the worst record in the NBA. Cleveland won the NBA’s draft lottery and selected James with the No. 1 pick. Lucas was fired midway through that season.

      Gordon Gund, who was then the team’s principal owner but is now a minority owner of the Cavs, denied Lucas’ claims. He also told the Web site that the Cavaliers weren’t for sale during that season. The team didn’t get sold until 2005.

      “You don’t try to get the No. 1 pick,” Gund told AOL Fanhouse. “That’s why the lottery was designed. To not allow that. We had a young team that we were developing. … We did not tank the season. … To lose to get LeBron James, we would never do that. I wouldn’t do that. I couldn’t do that.

      “In the very last game of the season, we had nothing to gain and we were in sole possession of last place [in the NBA]. But we beat [the Toronto Raptors] and that left us tied with Denver [at 17-65]. … The chances of getting the first pick were only [22.5 percent].”

      While tanking at the end of the season is rather commonplace in the NBA, tanking an entire season has been, to this point, unheard of. Even the worst franchises would like to make the playoffs for the first half of the season. It’s not until after the All-Star Game that we generally start seeing teams give up trying to win.

      Gund has a point about the Cavs winning the final game of the season, but I’d bet that the Cleveland front office was upset after that victory, as it decreased the chances that the team would win the lottery. It’s not like the GM tells the players to lose games. The players go out and try to win. Like Herm Edwards says, “You PLAY to WIN the GAME!” When teams tank, the front office simply puts the team in the worst position to win. They shut down semi-injured stars and they start giving minutes to young players so they can “evaluate what they have.” They don’t go in the locker room and tell the players to lose the game.

      Don’t kid yourself, we’re going to see tanking at the end of this season. John Wall is far and away the best prospect in this summer’s draft, and teams that are out of the playoff hunt will be tripping over each other trying to lose to increase the chances that they’ll win the #1 overall pick in the lottery. The lottery is supposed to eliminate tanking, but even though the chances of winning the #1 pick only increase incrementally with every loss, they still increase. There is still incentive to lose, so teams will lose.

      For the ’03 Cavs, there was no upside to winning games late in the season. Every loss meant that they were that much closer to getting LeBron. This is why the lottery system is broken.

      The only way to fix it is to give every non-playoff team an equal shot at the #1 pick. This is the way that it used to be, and under such a system, a fringe playoff team will sometimes win the lottery. So be it. Why are we so focused on rewarding incompetence?

      NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

      2010 NFL Playoffs Fan Battle: Ravens vs. Colts Preview

      January 14, 2010 /

      To get you ready for the Ravens-Colts’ Divisional Round battle in Indy this Saturday, here’s a preview of the game via a mock dialogue between two fans.

      Colts Fan: If you think the Colts are going to be as disinterested in playing the Ravens as the Patriots were last week, then you’re delusional.

      Ravens Fan: Oh, I see – the Patriots lost, but the Ravens didn’t win. Do I have that right? Face it, the better team won last weekend in Foxboro. We came prepared to play and they couldn’t match our intensity. And if I were you, I’d be highly concerned that the Colts haven’t played in three weeks.

      Colt Fan: No, the starters haven’t played in three weeks – there’s a difference. But Peyton Manning, ahem, the MVP this year, will be ready to go as always. And if anyone should be concerned, it should be Baltimore’s pass defense.

      Raven Fan: Have you even been watching lately? The Ravens are tied for eighth in passing yards allowed per game with 207.3. Our total defense ranks third in the NFL and we’re allowing just 16.3 points per game. Plus, we almost beat you in the regular season.

      Colt Fan: There’s no prize for “almost,” my friend. Plus, that game was in Baltimore; now you have to travel to Indy this time. Had Jim Caldwell not pulled the starters in the second half against the Jets, we would have easily gone undefeated at home this season.

      Raven Fan: Now who’s talking about whoulda, coulda, shouldas? Speaking of Caldwell pulling the starters, that same philosophy has hurt the Colts in the past. Bill Polian insists that momentum means nothing for teams heading into the playoffs but he must be trying to block out all the times that his team has choked after resting starters before.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      South Florida player wants apology from Leavitt

      January 14, 2010 /

      The player who claims Jim Leavitt slapped him twice is seeking an apology from the recently fired South Florida head coach.

      From SI.com:

      The attorney for Joel Miller said Thursday that the sophomore walk-on is not interested in filing a lawsuit, but could if Leavitt doesn’t “man up” and admit wrongdoing in the locker room incident that cost the coach his job.

      Leavitt was fired last week after a university investigation concluded he grabbed Miller during halftime of a game, slapped the player twice in the face and then lied about it. The coach strongly denies the accusation and wants his job back.

      “We’re ready for a fight,” said Barry Cohen, Miller’s attorney. “We don’t want a fight. We don’t want a lawsuit. We don’t want to pursue any criminal cases. We just want you to say, I made a mistake.”

      “He grabbed me by the neck and he hit me twice,” said Miller, flanked by Cohen and sitting in front of his parents.

      “Everyone knows the truth inside that locker room. All the players know the truth. All the coaches know the truth. … I covered it up, and then it got to be where it was too big for me to handle any more. All I want is for the truth to come out, and I want coach Leavitt to just admit that he did grab me and did hit me twice.”

      If I were this young man’s parent, I’d probably recommend him to move on and concentrate on his playing career. But the eye-for-an-eye in me applauds Miller for seeking an apology. If Leavitt did hit him, then he deserves to suffer some public embarrassment for what transpired.

      Either way, I think Miller will be waiting a while to get that apology. Leavitt isn’t going to admit to anything and further damage his reputation.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

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