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      Anquan Boldin to be an Eagle?

      March 11, 2009 /

      SI.com’s Peter King believes that Anquan Boldin won’t be a Cardinal next season and that the Giants and Eagles are possible trade partners with Arizona.

      The Eagles and Giants, two receiver-needy teams, are in position to deal for Anquan Boldin, who I continue to say will not be a Cardinal by July. Philly has 21, 28 and 53, the Giants 29, 45 and 60. I find it hard to believe the Eagles won’t trade for Boldin. Very hard. He’s a perfect fit, and they’ve got the cap room to sign him.

      Less than a month ago, Philly GM Tom Heckert said that the Eagles were set at receiver with DeSean Jackson and that’s why the team didn’t pursue free agent T.J. Houshmandzadeh. But Housh is also three years older than Boldin and if the Eagles have had their sights on Anquan this entire time, then Heckert’s comments could have been a smokescreen. As King notes, Philadelphia is certainly in position to offer Arizona decent compensation for Boldin, who could team with Jackson to give Donovan McNabb a quality receiving corps.

      NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      Genius post at ESPN

      March 11, 2009 /

      Lately, I’ve been hitting the Joe Lunardi bracketology page over at ESPN on a daily basis — the guy knows his stuff. But I scrolled down and found myself intrigued by one of the comments (by EliSilverman):

      Here’s some math to prove just how much better the Big East is than any other conference. The Big East has the lowest average projected seed amongst the top conferences (3.7), surpassing the ACC (4.2), Big 12 (5.5), PAC 10 (6.4), SEC (8.0) and Big 10 (8.1). Now, here’s a bit more math….I predict there’s a 75% chance that the semi-finalists of the Big East tournament also become the Final Four in the Big Dance.

      All right, I’m not a math major — I just have an engineering degree — but in order to prove conference strength, it’s not accurate to only average the projected seeds of the teams that get in the tournament. By that logic, Conference USA is the strongest conference because its average projected seed is 2.0 (Memphis).

      Eli might say, “Everyone knows that C-USA isn’t the toughest conference because it only has one team in the tournament.” Well, by that logic, the Big 10 is the strongest conference because Lunardi projects that it will get eight tourney bids, one more than the Big East. You can’t have it both ways.

      What makes the strongest conference? Is it the quality of the teams at the top? Or is it the strength of the conference from top to bottom. If it’s the former, then the Big East has a great argument. Pitt, UConn and Louisville are legitimate Final Four threats (and are all ranked in the top 5), while the ACC, Big 10 and Big 12 only have one team ranked in the top 7. If you’re going by total conference strength, then it’s hard to beat the Big 10 since it looks like eight of its 11 teams (73%) could get bids. (I know, it’s dumb to have 11 teams in a conference called the Big 10, but that’s another post.) The Big East has 16 teams (a fact glossed over by Big East supporters), so seven bids out of 16 teams (44%) isn’t quite as impressive.

      Personally, I go by Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings. The guy knows his stuff, so if he says that the ACC is the strongest conference top-to-bottom, then I believe him. And if he says that the Big 10 is second, then I’ll believe that too.

      And as for the “more math” part of Eli’s post, where he says there is a 75% chance that the Big East semifinalists will make up the Final Four, I’d take that bet any day. First, that’s not “math,” that’s a prediction, and an arbitrary one at that. Second, for that prediction to come true, Pitt, UConn, Louisville and a fourth Final Four team (Villanova/Marquette/Syracuse/West Virginia) all have to be in separate regions. It’s likely that Pitt, UConn and Louisville will be split up, but I’d say that the chances of all three making the Final Four (PLUS a fourth Big East team emerging from the fourth region) aren’t quite 75%. Maybe 5%, and that’s being generous.

      College Basketball, Humor, March Madness

      Rams to draft a tackle at No. 2?

      March 11, 2009 /

      Peter King of SI.com believes that the Rams will likely select an offensive tackle with the No. 2 overall pick in next month’s NFL draft.

      Orlando PaceNow that St. Louis has released Orlando Pace, there’s very little doubt the Rams will use either pick number three or pick 35 at the top of the second round to pick into the teeth of a tackle-rich draft.

      Well, King’s notion certainly makes sense considering the Rams now have a Grand Canyon-sized hole at left tackle. And this is certainly the draft to take a tackle with Baylor’s Jason Smith and Virginia’s Eugene Monroe both being viewed as top 10 picks, if not top 5.

      But the wild card in this situation is Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, who would also fill a need for the Rams and appears to be the best prospect in the entire draft. If the Lions don’t take him, St. Louis could pull the trigger and make a solid, safe selection in the versatile linebacker.

      NFL, NFL Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      Did the Falcons snub Keith Brooking?

      March 11, 2009 /

      So I’m watching ESPN News the other day and this scrolls at the bottom of the screen: Falcons sign LB Mike Peterson.

      Not a bad move.

      Considering they lost Keith Brooking and Michael Boley to other teams in free agency, the Falcons were in desperate need of linebackers and Peterson is familiar with head coach Mike Smith and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder from their days in Jacksonville. Plus, Peterson surely came cheaper than Brooking, which was part of the reason Atlanta GM Thomas Dimitroff allowed him to walk when he became a free agent last week. (Brooking wanted to re-sign with Atlanta, but eventually signed a three-year, $6 million contract with the Cowboys when it was clear the Falcons wanted to go in another direction.)

      Then I read the details of Peterson’s contract: Two years, $6.5 million.

      So the Falcons didn’t want Brooking back because he’s a 33-year old linebacker with deteriorating skills and is weak in coverage. Yet they signed Peterson (for more money mind you), who is a 32-year old linebacker with deteriorating skills, is weak in coverage and was suspended one game for pissing off his head coach (Jack Del Rio) last season?

      Ooooookay.

      I’m not criticizing the Falcons for allowing Brooking to walk. His best days are clearly in the rear view mirror (see the Falcons’ playoff game against the Cardinals last year as proof) and he wasn’t going to be part of the long-term picture in Atlanta even if the team did re-sign him. But he would have given his left testicle to the Falcons at the drop of a hat and throughout his entire career he never complained once despite being asked to play multiple linebacker positions in multiple schemes.

      Nothing against Peterson, but he’s probably only a small upgrade over Brooking at this stage of his career, yet the Falcons were willing to hand him more money (not a lot more money, but more money nevertheless). I get that Peterson has ties to Smith and maybe he’ll be rejuvenated after reuniting with a familiar face, but were those ties greater than the ones that Brooking had with the Falcons? (Brooking played 11 seasons in Atlanta, led the team in tackles for most of those years and was the last member of the 1998 Super Bowl team.)

      In the end, this won’t be an issue. Brooking would never say the Falcons snubbed him (they did hold a fair-well presser for him after all) and truth be told, both linebackers will probably be backups in 2010 anyway. But I just found it a little interesting that Atlanta wanted to revamp the defense (and maybe they still will by adding young linebackers via the draft), so they let Brooking walk and give more money to a similar player to take his spot.

      NFL

      Cleveland State upsets #17 Butler, gobbles up an at-large bid

      March 11, 2009 /

      Tuesday brought some bad news for the bubble teams — 17th-ranked Butler lost in the Horizon League final, 57-54, and since Butler is getting in regardless, there is one fewer at-large bid to be had.

      This makes things tougher for bubble teams like South Carolina, Penn State, Arizona, San Diego State, Creighton, Saint Mary’s, Florida and Miami — Joe Lunardi’s “Last Four In” and “First Four Out.”

      College Basketball, March Madness

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