It feels very weird putting the Spartans this low in the conference rankings, but losing Adreian Payne, Gary Harris, and Keith Appling will do that. Michigan State has suffered heavy and significant defections before, but this time the holdovers and replacements aren't strong enough to bring Sparty back to the top of the conference. They should still be in the mix for an NCAA bid and will likely get one, it'll just be more of a struggle than years past when it was basically locked up by February, especially since Kenny Kaminski was dismissed from the team, leaving Sparty extremely thin in the bigs department.
Without Kaminski the big men are Branden Dawson, who is awesome, Matt Costello, who isn't, and Gavin Schillling, who is untested at best but being Shane Schilling's brother doesn't bode well for him, and that's it. Dawsen they don't have to worry about assuming he doesn't break his hand punching a wall again or doing something else stupid. Usually when a player is thrust into a position to go from supporting player to go-to guy like Dawsen I'd consider it a big question, but Dawsen is totally awesome and should be a monster this year. It would probably help if he could develop any kind of jump shot, but he'll be just fine and be in the running for conference player of the year. Beyond him? It's dicey.
Matt Costello is the leading returnee at 14.7 minutes per game last year, and he was pretty productive in that time averaging 4.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 60% from the field. He doesn't seem like the type to blossom into a star, but the Big Ten specializes in the whole Big White Stiff to Star transformation - look no further than Frank Kaminsky last year - so nothing would really surprise me. The other legit option in the front court is Gavin Schilling, younger brother of Shane and Cody He played sparingly last year, just 238 total minutes. He gives them size (6-9, 240) and a complete inability to make free throws (11-21 last year) if nothing else. Other than that the only size is a collection of unknowns, most of which are pretty underwhelming, though freshman Marvin Clark is at least interesting, in a hasn't been disappointing yet way.
As unsettled as the bigs are, the littles are in about as good of shape as they could be after losing both starting guards. Travis Trice is back and should be able to slide into Appling's role with no issue whatsoever. He's a better shooter than Appling was, if not quite as good a creator. Should be an easy transition. Denzel Valentine is also back on the wing, and he's one of the more underrated all around players in the conference, probably because he's so depressingly ugly. He averaged 8 points, 6 rebs, nearly 4 assists, and 1 steal per game last year and I'm guessing there wouldn't be more than a handful of players who hit all those marks last season. Fun Fact: In our Fantasy Big Ten league he finished third in the league in scoring among returning players behind Frank Kaminsky and Rayvonte Rice, and he should better his numbers with more opportunity this year. Sparty also adds two interesting freshmen on the perimeter on Lourawls Nairn (traitor) and Javon Bess, and has almost Gopher Alvin Ellis who looked good in a limited role last year, so the perimeter is really not a concern.
Michigan State has as many unanswered questions as anybody in the conference this year, yet I saw one magazine preview had them ranked as high as second in the conference. That makes no sense to me, and I have pretty close to blind faith in Izzo, but somewhere from 5-8 feels about right. That should put them in line to pick up a bid with a low single digit seed and then inevitably march to the Elite 8 because Izzo is a complete wizard in March. Hate him.
OTHER PREVIEWS
#8 IOWA HAWKEYES
#9 MARYLAND TERRAPINS
#10 INDIANA HOOSIERS
#11 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
#12 NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS
#13 PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
#14 RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS
Showing posts with label Branden Dawson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Branden Dawson. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Hoops Preview: Gophers vs. Michigan State
Well here we go. The next four games see the Gophers playing at Michigan State (#9 team per kenpom), home to Ohio State (#1), at Iowa (#13) and home to Wisconsin (#3). Things get easier after that, but if the Gophers can come out of this stretch with even one win it will be a success. Unfortunately, this first game in East Lansing is going to be the toughest game to get.
Sparty is 14-1, with their only loss against giant killler but get beat by crappy teams North Carolina. That was a home game, so it's not like Michigan State is invincible at the Breslin Center, but pretty much they are. This team is good at basically everything. They shoot over 40% from three, they shoot 52% from two, they don't turn the ball over much and they will turn you over. They rebound well, although their offensive rebounding is only so-so, but against the Gophers I'm guessing they'll do just fine. They share the basketball incredibly well (assists on 62% of their made baskets, 12th best in the country) and have four players averaging double figures in points per game. They like to attack the rim and get the ball into the post. Their only weakness is they don't get to the free throw line often and don't shoot well when they get there. Well, that and their overall depth.
Michigan State has four really incredible players in guards Keith Appling and Gary Harris, forward Branden Dawson, and center Adreian Payne. Then they have two pretty good players in swingman Denzel Valentine and guard Travis Trice. And that's it. Only one other player (forward Matt Costello) outside of those six plays more than nine minutes per game. Trice missed last game with an illness, so the Gophers best hope would be that whatever that illness was spreads like wildfire through the Spartan locker room and knocks out at least two of the four studs for the game. Or control the tempo and get Sparty running and hope they get tuckered. Or something.
Really though, when your press and half court defense have just been shredded by Purdue and Penn State and you're about to take a big step up in class of opponent things really aren't pretty. I have been trying to think of how the Gophers could win this game, and outside of the illness thing or insanely hot three point shooting I can't come up with anything. Even their fifth guy, Valentine, is perfect to go up against the Gophers because he's a great passer for a wing player and should be able to shred the Gophers' zone when he gets the ball at the free throw line. North Carolina beat Michigan State by holding them to a horrendous shooting night and attacking the paint on offense. They used their depth in the front court to bully the Spartans' thin front court on both ends of the court. Unfotunately, the Gophers can't copy that game plan, and I can't come up with a good one. Maybe they'll overlook the Gophers after their monster win over Ohio State. I don't know. I'm stumped. Fortunately, Richard Pitino is smarter than me (probs). I just don't know that it's possible.
Michigan State 84, Minnesota 67
Sparty is 14-1, with their only loss against giant killler but get beat by crappy teams North Carolina. That was a home game, so it's not like Michigan State is invincible at the Breslin Center, but pretty much they are. This team is good at basically everything. They shoot over 40% from three, they shoot 52% from two, they don't turn the ball over much and they will turn you over. They rebound well, although their offensive rebounding is only so-so, but against the Gophers I'm guessing they'll do just fine. They share the basketball incredibly well (assists on 62% of their made baskets, 12th best in the country) and have four players averaging double figures in points per game. They like to attack the rim and get the ball into the post. Their only weakness is they don't get to the free throw line often and don't shoot well when they get there. Well, that and their overall depth.
Michigan State has four really incredible players in guards Keith Appling and Gary Harris, forward Branden Dawson, and center Adreian Payne. Then they have two pretty good players in swingman Denzel Valentine and guard Travis Trice. And that's it. Only one other player (forward Matt Costello) outside of those six plays more than nine minutes per game. Trice missed last game with an illness, so the Gophers best hope would be that whatever that illness was spreads like wildfire through the Spartan locker room and knocks out at least two of the four studs for the game. Or control the tempo and get Sparty running and hope they get tuckered. Or something.
Really though, when your press and half court defense have just been shredded by Purdue and Penn State and you're about to take a big step up in class of opponent things really aren't pretty. I have been trying to think of how the Gophers could win this game, and outside of the illness thing or insanely hot three point shooting I can't come up with anything. Even their fifth guy, Valentine, is perfect to go up against the Gophers because he's a great passer for a wing player and should be able to shred the Gophers' zone when he gets the ball at the free throw line. North Carolina beat Michigan State by holding them to a horrendous shooting night and attacking the paint on offense. They used their depth in the front court to bully the Spartans' thin front court on both ends of the court. Unfotunately, the Gophers can't copy that game plan, and I can't come up with a good one. Maybe they'll overlook the Gophers after their monster win over Ohio State. I don't know. I'm stumped. Fortunately, Richard Pitino is smarter than me (probs). I just don't know that it's possible.
Michigan State 84, Minnesota 67
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Game Preview: Gophers vs. Michigan State
Well, this is it. Michigan State at home is the absolute perfect test to let us know just how good this Gopher team is this year. A good, but not great, team at home. The kind of game that a Sweet 16 (or better) contender should be able to handle without much of an issue. Not that the game shouldn't be close or anything like that, just that you should always have the impression that the Gophers are the ones controlling the game and they should come out on top, and not in last second fashion. Am I crazy? Well, kenpom has the Gophers as a 6-point winner. That's about what I'd hope for/expect. But it's not going to be easy.
Mainly because these teams are almost completely mirror images of each other. Both are very good defensive teams (Minnesota 17th, Michigan State 12th in D Efficiency), with their main strength keeping teams from getting easy buckets and forcing long jump shots which translates to very good metrics against 2-point shots (Minn's opponents shoot 41% from 2, 23rd best in the country, MSU's shoot 38%, 7th best in the country). Both teams also block a lot of shots (MN ranks 7th, MSU 44th) and get a lot of steals (MN 6th, MSU 30th) and are good but not great defending the 3 (MN 77th, MSU 87th). Offensively both teams get the vast majority of their points from 2-pointers and shoot well from inside the line (MN 56th, MSU 23rd) but struggle from deep (MN 207th, MSU 223rd), crash the offensive glass big time (MN 1st, MSU 43rd) and turn the ball over way too much (MN 204th, MSU 275th). These are two incredibly similar teams. There are, however, a couple of key differences.
First, although the Gophers pound the glass on the offensive end they are weak on the defensive end, while Michigan State is outstanding on both ends of the court. The Gophers allow their opponents to grab offensive rebounds on 35.5% of their misses, a number so poor it ranks 272nd in the country. Meanwhile Sparty, led by Branden Dawson, Adreian Payne, and Derrick Nix, is one of the better teams in the nation at grabbing their misses. This is where the Gophers are most vulnerable. The last time Michigan State played a team with a similar talent level who also sucked on the defensive glass they grabbed 17 offensive rebounds against UCONN. If the Gophers allow double digit offensive rebounds to the Spartans it's going to make it tough to win - tough but not impossible, because while Sparty has one clear advantage the Gophers have two.
First - free throws. While neither team commits an atrocious amount of fouls, the Gophers excel at getting to the line while the Spartans don't. The Gophers struggle at times to make their foul shots, but they should have plenty of opportunities given their skills and Big 10 refs notorious for home cooking. They should end up getting to the line for probably double the attempts Michigan State gets - if they can make them it's going to be a significant advantage.
Second - turnovers. Both teams suck at taking care of the basketball (likely related to both teams using a scorer as their primary ball-handler and lack of a quality back-up) but while Michigan State doesn't create turnovers (143rd in the NCAA), the Gophers certainly do (29th). The Gophers cause a turnover on nearly 25% of their opponents possessions, and with nearly everybody on the Spartans outside of Gary Harris quite turnover prone the Gophers will have a heavy advantage in the extremely important turnover battle. For example, Joe Coleman is the worst Gopher on a TO per possession basis, turning the ball over 26% of the time - Michigan State has four guys worse than that. This is where the Gophers can do a lot of damage and really control the game.
PLAYERS:
PG - Keith Appling. Despite being a pretty horrendous outside shooter Appling has really stepped up and given Michigan State the scoring they needed with Draymond Green and Brandon Wood gone. He does it by being lightning quick and getting into the lane. Despite that skill set he's not much of a play maker, averaging just north of 4 assists per game but mostly by default. He's going to be quite a test for Dre Hollins to handle, and will be a good litmus test to see just how good Hollins has become.
SG - Gary Harris. Although he's second on the team in scoring (12.4 per to Appling's 14.9), Harris is the guy who really scares me. Ultra athletic but in control at all times (as evidenced by his team best turnover rate, awfully impressive for a freshman), Harris can beat you from the perimeter, in the mid-range, or getting to the rim, although his 0.9 assists per game this year tell you once he puts the ball on the floor he's likely getting his shot. As good as Austin Hollins has become as a defender it's impossible to keep a guy like Harris from getting his shots off. All you can do is force him to take bad shots, so if Harris is settling for deep jumpers early you might as well pencil this in as a Gopher W.
SF - Denzel Valentine. Another freshman like Harris, but without nearly as much polish, Valentine has been a turnover machine this year. He doesn't do anything particularly well, but he's not awful at most things either (other than you know, the turnover thing). He actually had a game where he registered 10 pts, 10 rebs, and 6 assists against a not-horrible Oakland team, but as of now he's mostly just biding his time until Harris bolts to the NBA after this year.
PF - Branden Dawson. Like Mbakwe for the Gophers, Dawson is returning just a year after destroying his knee, which Dawson did in March. Also like Mbakwe, at this point in the return you can't really tell he's recently had a major knee surgery, at least not by looking at the numbers. That being said, the plan was always for this to be Dawson's team this season after Green left. He had the pedigree, the ability, and the talent and that hasn't happened this season (averaging 9.8 pts and 6.2 rebs) so maybe it is still the knee thing. I really wish I'd paid closer attention to him the couple of times I've watched Michigan State this year.
C - Derrick Nix. If you remember Nix you remember him as a big giant fat person. He's not exactly svelte now at 6-9, 270 lbs. but compared to where he used to be it's a big improvement and his game shows the changes. He's still not a scoring machine, but he's upped his rebounding average from 3.8 per game last season to 7.8 this year and can show a scoring burst when necessary (put up 25 against Texas). He's a huge load and an excellent rebounder, and if you still have any questions about Mbakwe's knee and how "back" he is, watch him go against Nix. A healthy Mbakwe will own him.
BENCH - Two players worth mentioning: PG Travis Trice and C Adreian Payne. Trice actually gives the Spartans a quality back-up pass first point guard, but he's only played in 8 games this year since he suffered a concussion in their opener vs. UCONN. He seems to be back at this point, playing 25 minutes in Sparty's last game vs. Texas, so we can expect to see a lot of him. He's an absolutely terrible defender, and if he ends up in the game guarding Dre Hollins at any point Dre should be fined and suspended if he doesn't immediately drive to the rack. Payne is a defensive and rebounding stud who's offensive game still hasn't come together in Year 3. He shoots an incredibly high percentage because he pretty much does nothing but attempt lay-ups and dunks, but he's a great defender.
Overall, this should be a pretty good game. These teams are so similar it's going to come down to who can exploit their advantages. The Gophers are at home, I believe they're the better team, and the Fargo-Moorehead Acro Team is in town....what could possibly go wrong?
Gophers 65, Michigan State 62.
Mainly because these teams are almost completely mirror images of each other. Both are very good defensive teams (Minnesota 17th, Michigan State 12th in D Efficiency), with their main strength keeping teams from getting easy buckets and forcing long jump shots which translates to very good metrics against 2-point shots (Minn's opponents shoot 41% from 2, 23rd best in the country, MSU's shoot 38%, 7th best in the country). Both teams also block a lot of shots (MN ranks 7th, MSU 44th) and get a lot of steals (MN 6th, MSU 30th) and are good but not great defending the 3 (MN 77th, MSU 87th). Offensively both teams get the vast majority of their points from 2-pointers and shoot well from inside the line (MN 56th, MSU 23rd) but struggle from deep (MN 207th, MSU 223rd), crash the offensive glass big time (MN 1st, MSU 43rd) and turn the ball over way too much (MN 204th, MSU 275th). These are two incredibly similar teams. There are, however, a couple of key differences.
First, although the Gophers pound the glass on the offensive end they are weak on the defensive end, while Michigan State is outstanding on both ends of the court. The Gophers allow their opponents to grab offensive rebounds on 35.5% of their misses, a number so poor it ranks 272nd in the country. Meanwhile Sparty, led by Branden Dawson, Adreian Payne, and Derrick Nix, is one of the better teams in the nation at grabbing their misses. This is where the Gophers are most vulnerable. The last time Michigan State played a team with a similar talent level who also sucked on the defensive glass they grabbed 17 offensive rebounds against UCONN. If the Gophers allow double digit offensive rebounds to the Spartans it's going to make it tough to win - tough but not impossible, because while Sparty has one clear advantage the Gophers have two.
First - free throws. While neither team commits an atrocious amount of fouls, the Gophers excel at getting to the line while the Spartans don't. The Gophers struggle at times to make their foul shots, but they should have plenty of opportunities given their skills and Big 10 refs notorious for home cooking. They should end up getting to the line for probably double the attempts Michigan State gets - if they can make them it's going to be a significant advantage.
Second - turnovers. Both teams suck at taking care of the basketball (likely related to both teams using a scorer as their primary ball-handler and lack of a quality back-up) but while Michigan State doesn't create turnovers (143rd in the NCAA), the Gophers certainly do (29th). The Gophers cause a turnover on nearly 25% of their opponents possessions, and with nearly everybody on the Spartans outside of Gary Harris quite turnover prone the Gophers will have a heavy advantage in the extremely important turnover battle. For example, Joe Coleman is the worst Gopher on a TO per possession basis, turning the ball over 26% of the time - Michigan State has four guys worse than that. This is where the Gophers can do a lot of damage and really control the game.
PLAYERS:
PG - Keith Appling. Despite being a pretty horrendous outside shooter Appling has really stepped up and given Michigan State the scoring they needed with Draymond Green and Brandon Wood gone. He does it by being lightning quick and getting into the lane. Despite that skill set he's not much of a play maker, averaging just north of 4 assists per game but mostly by default. He's going to be quite a test for Dre Hollins to handle, and will be a good litmus test to see just how good Hollins has become.
SG - Gary Harris. Although he's second on the team in scoring (12.4 per to Appling's 14.9), Harris is the guy who really scares me. Ultra athletic but in control at all times (as evidenced by his team best turnover rate, awfully impressive for a freshman), Harris can beat you from the perimeter, in the mid-range, or getting to the rim, although his 0.9 assists per game this year tell you once he puts the ball on the floor he's likely getting his shot. As good as Austin Hollins has become as a defender it's impossible to keep a guy like Harris from getting his shots off. All you can do is force him to take bad shots, so if Harris is settling for deep jumpers early you might as well pencil this in as a Gopher W.
SF - Denzel Valentine. Another freshman like Harris, but without nearly as much polish, Valentine has been a turnover machine this year. He doesn't do anything particularly well, but he's not awful at most things either (other than you know, the turnover thing). He actually had a game where he registered 10 pts, 10 rebs, and 6 assists against a not-horrible Oakland team, but as of now he's mostly just biding his time until Harris bolts to the NBA after this year.
PF - Branden Dawson. Like Mbakwe for the Gophers, Dawson is returning just a year after destroying his knee, which Dawson did in March. Also like Mbakwe, at this point in the return you can't really tell he's recently had a major knee surgery, at least not by looking at the numbers. That being said, the plan was always for this to be Dawson's team this season after Green left. He had the pedigree, the ability, and the talent and that hasn't happened this season (averaging 9.8 pts and 6.2 rebs) so maybe it is still the knee thing. I really wish I'd paid closer attention to him the couple of times I've watched Michigan State this year.
C - Derrick Nix. If you remember Nix you remember him as a big giant fat person. He's not exactly svelte now at 6-9, 270 lbs. but compared to where he used to be it's a big improvement and his game shows the changes. He's still not a scoring machine, but he's upped his rebounding average from 3.8 per game last season to 7.8 this year and can show a scoring burst when necessary (put up 25 against Texas). He's a huge load and an excellent rebounder, and if you still have any questions about Mbakwe's knee and how "back" he is, watch him go against Nix. A healthy Mbakwe will own him.
BENCH - Two players worth mentioning: PG Travis Trice and C Adreian Payne. Trice actually gives the Spartans a quality back-up pass first point guard, but he's only played in 8 games this year since he suffered a concussion in their opener vs. UCONN. He seems to be back at this point, playing 25 minutes in Sparty's last game vs. Texas, so we can expect to see a lot of him. He's an absolutely terrible defender, and if he ends up in the game guarding Dre Hollins at any point Dre should be fined and suspended if he doesn't immediately drive to the rack. Payne is a defensive and rebounding stud who's offensive game still hasn't come together in Year 3. He shoots an incredibly high percentage because he pretty much does nothing but attempt lay-ups and dunks, but he's a great defender.
Overall, this should be a pretty good game. These teams are so similar it's going to come down to who can exploit their advantages. The Gophers are at home, I believe they're the better team, and the Fargo-Moorehead Acro Team is in town....what could possibly go wrong?
Gophers 65, Michigan State 62.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Week in Review - 10/31/2011
You know you've missed it.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Gopher football. Awesome is probably a bit strong, but when the team is looking, convincingly, like they're unlikely to win another football game all year and there's no reason to root for them to lose because, it turns out, there's no draft picks in college football, this win is a bit of a relief, and the fact that it comes against Iowa, even in a down year for them, makes it all the sweeter. I thought the storming of the field was a bit much and kind of embarrassing, but I'm probably not the right person to make that judgement (full disclosure: I watched maybe 10 minutes of the game). For those sickos that live and die with the Gopher football squadron, perhaps this was a "storm the field" worthy event. Too each is own, even the weird psychos.
2. Case Keenum. You know the drill with Houston QBs by now - or at least you should - and Keenum is the latest big numbers Cougar QB, and Thursday against Rice might have been his magnum opus as he threw for 534 yards and 9, yes 9, touchdowns, an NCAA record, all while setting the all-time record for career TD passes. So yeah, he puts up huge numbers, no doubt. But there's a reason Andre Ware and David Klingler flamed out in the NFL and Kevin Kolb seems to be heading in that direction. There's a reason Timmy Change and Colt Brennan and Graham Harrell aren't playing on Sundays and Ty Detmer was a career back-up. Gimmicky offenses can put up big numbers and even win games when you aren't playing great teams, but NFL success is certainly not tied to it - and may even be inversely proportional. That being said, Houston has perfected this system and used it for years, and it's god damn fun to watch.
3. Justin Blackmon. Oklahoma State has a big-time offense. They're third in the NCAA in total offense, fourth in passing offense, and second in points scored. So yeah, they're putting up big numbers. That's why when one player accounts for over half the team's catches and more than 62% of their passing yards, which Blackmon did with his 13 catch-172 yard-2 TD game in a 59-24 win over Baylor, it's worth mentioning. Of course, it's not like this is out of the ordinary for Blackmon, who is top-3 in the Big 12 in catches, yards, and touchdowns and is 4th, 14th, and 2nd in all of NCAA D-I. He's an interesting case because he clearly is in a class above college d-backs, but scouts say he lacks the true speed that a top flight NFL receiver needs and the stats bare that out - his ypc of 11.3 is 28th in the B12 and 275th in D-I. He could end up an NFL star, a possession receiver, or even a complete washout and I wouldn't be surprised at this point. If I had to bet I'd lean star, but those ypc and 4-time measurements are a concern. For now though, he's nearly unstoppable.
4. Cam Newton. It's not often that I admit I'm wrong - mainly because it hardly ever happens - but I missed the boat on Newton big-time. I thought Auburn tailored their offense to fit his talents so much that he wouldn't have a shot at transitioning to an NFL scheme because you actually have to make more than one read. Even after he burst on the scene with that 400 yard passing game I figured it was just fluky, and still was in that camp when he did it a second time. All season he's put up good numbers and I've convinced myself it was fake somehow, but after watching him on Sunday there's no doubt in my mind that he's got a real shot to be a star, and at worst will be a quality NFL QB. I suppose there's still a chance he ends up more Kordell Stewart than Randall Cunningham (because we can only compare black QBs to black QBs, you see), but he is already one hell of a QB.
5. Steven Jackson. The Rams picked up their first win of the season on Sunday and did it in pretty impressive fashion, taking out an awfully good Saints team 31-21 and doing it with A.J. Feeley playing quarterback. Of course the reason they were able to pull it off had very little to do with Feeley, and mainly happened because Jackson pulled a Kirby Puckett moment and put the whole team on his back. Jackson rushed for 159 yards and 2 TDs and added 32 more yards receiving, all of which means he ended up accounting for over half the Rams yards in the game. I don't really have anything interesting to add, just thought it was notable because I've had Jackson on a couple of my fantasy teams and he's been pissing me off all year. Nice to see him do something. Jerk.
WHO SUCKED
1. Ron Washington. I don't know how else to say it, but this guy is a terrible game manager, more married to old school ways than even Ron Gardenhire, which is extra funny because he was actually a coach on those Oakland A's teams when Moneyball was written. And even if you forget all about his constant infatuation with sacrifice bunts and stealing bases/hit and runs, he made some just horrible calls. After the rainout he could have saved Derek Holland and pitched him in Game 7 - following up his nearly complete game shutout in Game 4 - but instead used him in relief (instead of Mike Adams or Mike Gonzalez, relief specialists they traded for at the deadline) and used a shaky Matt Harrison in Game 7 instead. Then there's the constant use of Alexi Ogando out of the pen despite the clear evidence that he was gassed, Esteban German being used as a pinch-hitter more than Mitch Moreland, and Mike Adams pitching fewer innings than Darren Oliver. I wouldn't blame him for the Rangers losing, after all they have to play the games and it's not like he can run for Ian Kinsler or tie a rope around his waist to keep him from getting picked off like those weird parents who put their kids on leashes and they make them all cute like a monkey backpack but we all know it's a leash you weirdo, but he sure didn't help.
2. Wisconsin. It's so sweet. The dirty dirtball Badgers, looking by all rights to be a legit contender to make the BCS National Championship game (where they would have no doubt gotten embarrassed) just straight blew everything to hell. Two weeks ago they lost at Michigan State on that hail mary which was sweet as your mom's ass and knocked them pretty much out of national title contention, and just to make sure this season goes down as a complete disaster in Sconnietown they lost on Saturday against a super crappy Ohio State team. That, of course, gives them two losses and essentially knocks them completely out of any kind of BCS bowl contention. All that has to happen now is Green Bay to not win the Super Bowl and the Badger hoop team to miss the tournament and you gotta call it a pretty good year. Yes, apparently it's come to this.
3. Kevin Kolb. Oh my god this guy is terrible. I mean, he's just awful. I got to see a little bit of the Zona/Baltimore game and he holds the ball too long and then makes terrible decisions/throws when he does finally get rid of it. Even worse, when Peyton went down I needed a QB for my keeper league team and after getting snaked on Stafford I ended up going for Kolb as my "QB of the future." Christ on a cracker that isn't working out. I've since traded for Sam Bradford but since he's been in a walking boot (I don't even know what that means - as Nancy Sinatra said all boots are made for walkin') for two weeks I've actually started Christian Ponder over Kolb. And now, after finally getting to watch him, he's about to be cut and we're going to roll with Ponder until Bradford gets unhurt. WHAT A GREAT DRAFT PICK BY ME THAT WAS!
4. Tony Romo. Is it just me, or does Romo play well against crappy teams and then always fall on his dick whenever he's playing anybody good or in a big game? This goes all the way back to the time he dropped that snap in the playoff game, but he might have saved his best for tonight against the Eagles, a prime time that was supposed to be a big chance for Dallas to make a statement - and I suppose they did. He was just garbage. Other than a bunch of late, garbage-time yards and a fluky 70-yard touchdown he did nothing, and he's killing Dez Bryant, maybe the most talented receiver in the game. I almost hope they somehow manage to make the playoffs just so we can watch Romo destroy all Cowboy fans' hopes and dreams. Because that's always fun.
5. Tim Tebow. This experiment can't go on for too much longer, can it? He's just terrible. I get the allure, both from a skills standpoint as well as a PR/publicity/marketing standpoint and there are an enormous amount of people out there (and Jesus) who desperately want him to succeed. But it's just not going to happen. He's terrible. He's what I thought Cam Newton was going to be. His accuracy on his throws is far below Michael freaking Vick, and I'm pretty sure if he and Terrelle Pryor had an "accuracy-off" Pryor would actually win, probably the only person in America he could beat. There's basically no chance the Broncos win another game if they stick with him.
And I will always be thankful to sports jesus, who makes sure that just as the World Series is ending and you feel all sad about it, you don't have long to feel bad because the only other sport that matters, college basketball, is already here. Yeah, that's right. You might not even be aware of it, but both Michigan State and Missouri played (and won) exhibition games on Sunday heralding the beginning of the college hoops season. (NOTE: I'm sure other teams played too, these are just the two I am aware of). Of Note: MSU's freshman power forward Branden Dawson had a nice debut, leading the team with 15 points and 9 rebounds (and 14 field goal attempts) while Draymond Green seems already settled in the dude they run the offense through, going for 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists, which shouldn't really be a surprise because he's awfully damn good. Seriously, we're gonna see at least a couple triple-doubles out of him this year. With no real point guard he's going to basically run that team. You could do a lot worse.
Finally, because I haven't talked nearly enough cooking lately and with college hoops firing up I probably won't, here's a pretty stellar Jamaican Jerk rub I used over the weekend:
1 T Coriander
1 T Brown Sugar
1 T Ginger
1/2 T Onion Powder
1/2 T Garlic Powder
1/2 T Salt
1/2 T Cayenne Pepper
1 t Black Pepper
1 t Thyme
1/2 t Cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t cloves
Combine, throw it in a baggie/bowl with some wings or drumsticks and coat, then toss in a crockpot on low for 3-5 hours. The ginger smells really strongly and you'll end up worrying you're making ginger wings, but they end up just fine. Give 'her a shot.
Also Happy Halloween, jerks! I hope at least one of you gets hit by a truck.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Gopher football. Awesome is probably a bit strong, but when the team is looking, convincingly, like they're unlikely to win another football game all year and there's no reason to root for them to lose because, it turns out, there's no draft picks in college football, this win is a bit of a relief, and the fact that it comes against Iowa, even in a down year for them, makes it all the sweeter. I thought the storming of the field was a bit much and kind of embarrassing, but I'm probably not the right person to make that judgement (full disclosure: I watched maybe 10 minutes of the game). For those sickos that live and die with the Gopher football squadron, perhaps this was a "storm the field" worthy event. Too each is own, even the weird psychos.
2. Case Keenum. You know the drill with Houston QBs by now - or at least you should - and Keenum is the latest big numbers Cougar QB, and Thursday against Rice might have been his magnum opus as he threw for 534 yards and 9, yes 9, touchdowns, an NCAA record, all while setting the all-time record for career TD passes. So yeah, he puts up huge numbers, no doubt. But there's a reason Andre Ware and David Klingler flamed out in the NFL and Kevin Kolb seems to be heading in that direction. There's a reason Timmy Change and Colt Brennan and Graham Harrell aren't playing on Sundays and Ty Detmer was a career back-up. Gimmicky offenses can put up big numbers and even win games when you aren't playing great teams, but NFL success is certainly not tied to it - and may even be inversely proportional. That being said, Houston has perfected this system and used it for years, and it's god damn fun to watch.
3. Justin Blackmon. Oklahoma State has a big-time offense. They're third in the NCAA in total offense, fourth in passing offense, and second in points scored. So yeah, they're putting up big numbers. That's why when one player accounts for over half the team's catches and more than 62% of their passing yards, which Blackmon did with his 13 catch-172 yard-2 TD game in a 59-24 win over Baylor, it's worth mentioning. Of course, it's not like this is out of the ordinary for Blackmon, who is top-3 in the Big 12 in catches, yards, and touchdowns and is 4th, 14th, and 2nd in all of NCAA D-I. He's an interesting case because he clearly is in a class above college d-backs, but scouts say he lacks the true speed that a top flight NFL receiver needs and the stats bare that out - his ypc of 11.3 is 28th in the B12 and 275th in D-I. He could end up an NFL star, a possession receiver, or even a complete washout and I wouldn't be surprised at this point. If I had to bet I'd lean star, but those ypc and 4-time measurements are a concern. For now though, he's nearly unstoppable.
4. Cam Newton. It's not often that I admit I'm wrong - mainly because it hardly ever happens - but I missed the boat on Newton big-time. I thought Auburn tailored their offense to fit his talents so much that he wouldn't have a shot at transitioning to an NFL scheme because you actually have to make more than one read. Even after he burst on the scene with that 400 yard passing game I figured it was just fluky, and still was in that camp when he did it a second time. All season he's put up good numbers and I've convinced myself it was fake somehow, but after watching him on Sunday there's no doubt in my mind that he's got a real shot to be a star, and at worst will be a quality NFL QB. I suppose there's still a chance he ends up more Kordell Stewart than Randall Cunningham (because we can only compare black QBs to black QBs, you see), but he is already one hell of a QB.
5. Steven Jackson. The Rams picked up their first win of the season on Sunday and did it in pretty impressive fashion, taking out an awfully good Saints team 31-21 and doing it with A.J. Feeley playing quarterback. Of course the reason they were able to pull it off had very little to do with Feeley, and mainly happened because Jackson pulled a Kirby Puckett moment and put the whole team on his back. Jackson rushed for 159 yards and 2 TDs and added 32 more yards receiving, all of which means he ended up accounting for over half the Rams yards in the game. I don't really have anything interesting to add, just thought it was notable because I've had Jackson on a couple of my fantasy teams and he's been pissing me off all year. Nice to see him do something. Jerk.
WHO SUCKED
1. Ron Washington. I don't know how else to say it, but this guy is a terrible game manager, more married to old school ways than even Ron Gardenhire, which is extra funny because he was actually a coach on those Oakland A's teams when Moneyball was written. And even if you forget all about his constant infatuation with sacrifice bunts and stealing bases/hit and runs, he made some just horrible calls. After the rainout he could have saved Derek Holland and pitched him in Game 7 - following up his nearly complete game shutout in Game 4 - but instead used him in relief (instead of Mike Adams or Mike Gonzalez, relief specialists they traded for at the deadline) and used a shaky Matt Harrison in Game 7 instead. Then there's the constant use of Alexi Ogando out of the pen despite the clear evidence that he was gassed, Esteban German being used as a pinch-hitter more than Mitch Moreland, and Mike Adams pitching fewer innings than Darren Oliver. I wouldn't blame him for the Rangers losing, after all they have to play the games and it's not like he can run for Ian Kinsler or tie a rope around his waist to keep him from getting picked off like those weird parents who put their kids on leashes and they make them all cute like a monkey backpack but we all know it's a leash you weirdo, but he sure didn't help.
2. Wisconsin. It's so sweet. The dirty dirtball Badgers, looking by all rights to be a legit contender to make the BCS National Championship game (where they would have no doubt gotten embarrassed) just straight blew everything to hell. Two weeks ago they lost at Michigan State on that hail mary which was sweet as your mom's ass and knocked them pretty much out of national title contention, and just to make sure this season goes down as a complete disaster in Sconnietown they lost on Saturday against a super crappy Ohio State team. That, of course, gives them two losses and essentially knocks them completely out of any kind of BCS bowl contention. All that has to happen now is Green Bay to not win the Super Bowl and the Badger hoop team to miss the tournament and you gotta call it a pretty good year. Yes, apparently it's come to this.
3. Kevin Kolb. Oh my god this guy is terrible. I mean, he's just awful. I got to see a little bit of the Zona/Baltimore game and he holds the ball too long and then makes terrible decisions/throws when he does finally get rid of it. Even worse, when Peyton went down I needed a QB for my keeper league team and after getting snaked on Stafford I ended up going for Kolb as my "QB of the future." Christ on a cracker that isn't working out. I've since traded for Sam Bradford but since he's been in a walking boot (I don't even know what that means - as Nancy Sinatra said all boots are made for walkin') for two weeks I've actually started Christian Ponder over Kolb. And now, after finally getting to watch him, he's about to be cut and we're going to roll with Ponder until Bradford gets unhurt. WHAT A GREAT DRAFT PICK BY ME THAT WAS!
4. Tony Romo. Is it just me, or does Romo play well against crappy teams and then always fall on his dick whenever he's playing anybody good or in a big game? This goes all the way back to the time he dropped that snap in the playoff game, but he might have saved his best for tonight against the Eagles, a prime time that was supposed to be a big chance for Dallas to make a statement - and I suppose they did. He was just garbage. Other than a bunch of late, garbage-time yards and a fluky 70-yard touchdown he did nothing, and he's killing Dez Bryant, maybe the most talented receiver in the game. I almost hope they somehow manage to make the playoffs just so we can watch Romo destroy all Cowboy fans' hopes and dreams. Because that's always fun.
5. Tim Tebow. This experiment can't go on for too much longer, can it? He's just terrible. I get the allure, both from a skills standpoint as well as a PR/publicity/marketing standpoint and there are an enormous amount of people out there (and Jesus) who desperately want him to succeed. But it's just not going to happen. He's terrible. He's what I thought Cam Newton was going to be. His accuracy on his throws is far below Michael freaking Vick, and I'm pretty sure if he and Terrelle Pryor had an "accuracy-off" Pryor would actually win, probably the only person in America he could beat. There's basically no chance the Broncos win another game if they stick with him.
And I will always be thankful to sports jesus, who makes sure that just as the World Series is ending and you feel all sad about it, you don't have long to feel bad because the only other sport that matters, college basketball, is already here. Yeah, that's right. You might not even be aware of it, but both Michigan State and Missouri played (and won) exhibition games on Sunday heralding the beginning of the college hoops season. (NOTE: I'm sure other teams played too, these are just the two I am aware of). Of Note: MSU's freshman power forward Branden Dawson had a nice debut, leading the team with 15 points and 9 rebounds (and 14 field goal attempts) while Draymond Green seems already settled in the dude they run the offense through, going for 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists, which shouldn't really be a surprise because he's awfully damn good. Seriously, we're gonna see at least a couple triple-doubles out of him this year. With no real point guard he's going to basically run that team. You could do a lot worse.
Finally, because I haven't talked nearly enough cooking lately and with college hoops firing up I probably won't, here's a pretty stellar Jamaican Jerk rub I used over the weekend:
1 T Coriander
1 T Brown Sugar
1 T Ginger
1/2 T Onion Powder
1/2 T Garlic Powder
1/2 T Salt
1/2 T Cayenne Pepper
1 t Black Pepper
1 t Thyme
1/2 t Cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t cloves
Combine, throw it in a baggie/bowl with some wings or drumsticks and coat, then toss in a crockpot on low for 3-5 hours. The ginger smells really strongly and you'll end up worrying you're making ginger wings, but they end up just fine. Give 'her a shot.
Also Happy Halloween, jerks! I hope at least one of you gets hit by a truck.
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