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      Love ‘Em & Leave ‘Em: Week 15

      December 16, 2010 /
      ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 21: Quarterback Jon Kitna of the Dallas Cowboys scrambles with the ball against tackle Sammie Hill of the Detroit Lions at Cowboys Stadium on November 21, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys beat the Lions 35-19. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

      Every week, I highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t suggest you bench Drew Brees or Arian Foster because they have tough matchups – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances.

      As usual, I’ll discuss these players within the context of my weekly positional rankings, so remember — everything is relative.

      Jon Kitna has played pretty well since taking over for Tony Romo, and this week he has a nice matchup with the Redskins, who have struggled mightily against the pass this season…Josh Freeman should continue to put up solid fantasy lines the rest of the way. This week he has the Lions, who did play well against Aaron Rodgers for a half last week. Still, this is a secondary that has given up 20+ to Jon Kitna, Donovan McNabb and Mark Sanchez in the last eight weeks, so Freeman should finish with good stats…Jason Campbell is probably available on your waiver wire (or was earlier in the week) and has a terrific matchup with a reeling Broncos defense that has given up 1.8 pass TDs per game this season.

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      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Assessing blame for Tarvaris Jackson’s lack of development

      December 16, 2010 /
      GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 14: Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson #7 of the Minnesota Vikings runs with the ball during their NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on December 14, 2008 in Glendale, Arizona. The Vikings defeated the Cardinals 35-14. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

      To the 12 people that watched the Vikings-Giants game on Monday night, it was apparent that Tarvaris Jackson hasn’t grown as a quarterback. Granted, he hasn’t had much time to grow while watching Brett Favre play over the last two years, but he’s been in the league since 2006 and yet you would swear he’s still a rookie.

      The Vikings placed quarterback Jackson on injured reserve Thursday with turf toe, effectively ending his season and most likely his tenure in Minnesota. Brad Childress wanted a “diamond in the rough” when he selected Jackson with the last pick in the second round of the ‘06 NFL Draft and he got one in Jackson, although he never wound up polishing it.

      Part of the blame for that falls on Childress, who was too busy chasing Brett Favre on his ranch in Mississippi to develop the former small school product. Or maybe Childress knew that Jackson was a mistake and that’s why he took painstaking measures to ensure Lord Fave would grace Minnesota with his presence. Either way, somebody failed Jackson along the way.

      The former Alabama State product was projected to go in the later rounds of the ’06 draft but as we all know, projections mean very little. The truth is that other teams wanted Jackson that year too but the Vikings were the ones who got aggressive in the end. Hindsight is always 20/20 and while many people thought it was a reach to take Jackson in the second round, the bottom line is that Childress wasn’t the only one who saw a raw but talented athlete.

      The draft is littered with success stories about quarterbacks who weren’t taken in the top 10. Tom Brady is one – Drew Brees is another. Jackson didn’t play against top competition while at Alabama State but that’s not the only mark of a college quarterback. Given the right amount of time and coaching, there were plenty of people who thought they could turn Jackson into a bona fide NFL starter and Childress was one of them.

      Alas, it didn’t happen. Maybe Jackson just needs a change of scenery and a coach who won’t spend all of his time sucking face with a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Some players take a long time to develop and maybe that fits Jackson.

      Or maybe he’ll never develop. After all, the draft is littered with plenty of those cases, too.

      External Sports, NFL

      Inconsistency could eventually doom Chad Henne, Dolphins

      December 16, 2010 /
      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 12: Chad Henne of the Miami Dolphins drops back to pass against the New York Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium on December 12, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

      When taking their final three matchups into account, it’s not a stretch to think the 7-6 Dolphins can still make the playoffs. They host the Bills and Lions these next two weeks before traveling to New England to play a Patriots team that may be resting starters by that point.

      But the thought of everything resting on quarterback Chad Henne’s shoulders is enough to make some fans puke and others simply shrug their shoulders and say, “Hey, if he plays like he did against the Raiders then we still have a shot!”

      The only consistent part of Henne’s game right now is inconsistency. For every 307-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Raiders, there’s a 174-yard, three-interception game against the Browns. (Or worse, a 55-yard, 5-for-18 day against the Jets.)

      While some fans want him gone next year no matter how the 2010 season plays out, the numbers suggest that he hasn’t regressed like many think. He’s thrown one more interception through 12 games this year than he did in 14 last year, but he’s also thrown one more touchdown pass in two less games as well. His completion percentage is roughly the same (60.8 last year compared to 60.5 this year), but he’s also throwing for more yards-per-pass attempt (7.0 compared to 6.4 in ’09).

      According to Pro Football Reference.com, his passing touchdown percentage, sack percentage, passer rating, yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, adjusted yards per attempt and adjusted net yards per attempt are all higher than last year, too. So while it would appear as though the on field product has been worse, it’s actually been slightly better on a whole in most categories.

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      External Sports, NFL

      Mark Cuban seeks to create college football playoff

      December 16, 2010 /
      April 10, 2010: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban during the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks at Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA. Ben Munn/CSM.

      After two failed bids to buy a baseball team, Mavs owner Mark Cuban has now set his sights on fixing the college football postseason.

      “The more I think about it, the more sense it makes as opposed to buying a baseball team,” said Cuban, who tried to buy the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers within the last few years. “You can do something the whole country wants done.”

      Cuban said he envisions either a 12- or 16-team playoff field with the higher seeds getting homefield advantage. The homefield advantage, Cuban said, would ensure the college football regular-season games would not lose any importance.

      The bowl games could still exist under Cuban’s plan, but he said he would make it more profitable for programs to make the playoffs than a bowl.

      “Put $500 million in the bank and go to all the schools and pay them money as an option,” Cuban said. “Say, ‘Look, I’m going to give you X amount every five years. In exchange, you say if you’re picked for the playoff system, you’ll go.’ “

      I think 12 or 16 teams is too aggressive too early. In my proposed eight-team playoff, all of the teams that would miss the playoffs (Michigan State, LSU, Arkansas) had an opportunity to seal a bid earlier in the year, but failed to do so. This ensures the regular season keeps its importance, which is something that BCS apologists bring up every time they attempt to defend their flawed system.

      Other than that, I’m glad to see Cuban focusing his efforts on this, because a college football playoff seems to be going nowhere fast. Maybe throwing money at the problem will convince schools to go to the playoff instead of the BCS, but it’s going to take a lot of convincing.

      College Football, External Sports

      Manu Ginobili hits game-winner against the Bucks [video]

      December 16, 2010 /

      My beloved Bucks, coming off of a surprising win in Dallas to snap the Mavs’ 12-game winning streak, gave the Spurs one hell of a run before Manu Ginobili hit this game winner at the buzzer.

      The Bucks had a chance to take the lead, but failed to get a good look at the hoop. It’s a situation where Brandon Jennings has to create his own shot, but he ended up picking up his dribble and giving the ball to Luc Mbah a Moute, who tried to draw the foul on an airborne player.

      Ginobili had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win. Chris Douglas-Roberts (21 points) and Drew Gooden (20 points) led the Bucks in scoring, but it was Andrew Bogut (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and SEVEN BLOCKS) who was the player of the game for Milwaukee. I sure hope he gets a long, hard look for the All-Star team, but Al Horford, Shaquille O’Neal, Roy Hibbert and Brook Lopez might have something to say about that. None of those players are the defensive presence that Bogut is, however.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Video

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