good advice for journalists trying to gently introduce readers to better basketball stats
Unverified Voracity Steals Painter
What?
I don't know. And maybe that should be Justin Siller?
That leaves Siller as the only healthy body at quarterback. Even if Painter is able to play, Tiller expects Siller to take plenty of snaps.
"We're preparing as if we're not going to have Curtis," said Tiller, his Boilers 2-6, 0-4 in the Big Ten. "We're putting in packages for both Justin and Curtis, so we'll be ready."
Not us. MD CB Travis Hawkins is deciding today between Penn State, Oregon, Michigan, and Maryland. This guy thinks it's Maryland. Tom VanHaaren thinks it's Oregon, and so do I. One thing everyone agrees on: it's not Michigan.
What I am saying. I knew I wasn't the only one who noticed Ohio State offensive linemen tackling the hell out of Penn State players late in that Saturday night game. Black Shoe Diaries did, and so did Eleven Warriors, and now you get double-nested:
One thing we all came out of Saturday night complaining about was the obvious holding calls the referees were ignoring all night. Even the Ohio State fans couldn't help but notice their guys were getting away with it.
What about the performance by the refs last night? Disclaimer: I don’t think the zebras had anything to do with the outcome - I just think they sucked. Browning got away with at least three holds...
Kevin went back and looked at the tape of Ohio State's final drive and the blatant holds, tackles, and pushes from behind are astonishing.
This goes back to the quality of officiating in the league: low, low, low.
Obsession obsession. I admit it: I am officially obsessed with the always-incorrect Gary Danielson's obsession with the spread offense. Via Burnt Orange Nation I stumble on this wicked diss (yo) of Heisman front-runner and guy-completing-80-percent-of-his-passes Colt McCoy:
I'll take Stafford [over Colt McCoy]. He's a 235-pound player; more of a pro. If Stafford played in one of those junk offenses, he'd be putting up numbers just like McCoy. I think he's more the pro body-type, he's more Matt Ryan. I think he's just a brilliant football player, I really do. He's gonna be an NFL franchise quarterback.
Junk! Texas's offense, which has been held under 38 points once, is ninth in total offense, fifth in scoring, and second in pass efficiency, is "junk"!
HEAD ASPLODE.
It's like Max Headroom… on steroids. The excellent Cal blog weirdly named "Cal Golden Blogs" has a Picture Pages-like feature with awesome MS Paint additions and, like, vectors. Check it:
This a safety taking a poor angle; I recommend it highly. Not the poor angle, the post.
Etc.: Razorback Expats talks about pass interference, which reminded me of that Harrison penalty last week; my girlfriend caught this Paterno montage from the end of the OSU game in a bar and asked me if JoePa was dead. Answer: "not really."
October 30th, 2008 at 12:04 PM | 
you did ask..
you did ask..
October 30th, 2008 at 12:12 PM |
Danielson
Danielson
is right about one thing - Stafford is going to be a franchise qb in the NFL, McCoy will be lucky to carry a clipboard.
Not taking anything away from McCoy, he is having an amazing year, but he has no pro potential. Think of him as a more mobile spread version of Ken Dorsey.
http://twitter.com/#!/JHScramble
October 30th, 2008 at 12:36 PM |
Sadly
Sadly
The Lions won't have the balls to draft Stafford with the number one overall pick.
"I'm Leslie E. Miles and I approve of this message."
October 30th, 2008 at 12:49 PM |
Can't wait for the draft
Can't wait for the draft
Can't wait for the draft preview analysis.
DETROIT LIONS:
Needs: Defense, Offense, Special Teams, Coach
Strengths: Cool video board in the stadium, Red Wings season starts midseason to distract from Lions crapitude
October 30th, 2008 at 1:02 PM |
Really
Really
hope you meant - the Lions would be stupid enough to take a QB with their first overall pick. Last I checked the Titans were undefeated in the NFL because they have built their lines up. Yeah Stafford will be really good throwing form his back.........
GO BLUE!
October 30th, 2008 at 1:18 PM |
Supposedly...
Supposedly...
the Sporting News has us taking Stafford and Maclin in the first round.
October 30th, 2008 at 1:39 PM |
Heh, another receiver. Maybe
Heh, another receiver. Maybe
Heh, another receiver. Maybe they should just go full retard and switch it to Crabtree and Maclin.
October 30th, 2008 at 2:38 PM |
Never go full retard.
Never go full retard.
Never go full retard.
October 30th, 2008 at 8:02 PM |
Bengals have half a game lead
Bengals have half a game lead
I can see the Lions teasing us with a couple of wins, maybe even a strong finish to keep Marinelli's job for another year (although I doubt it). The Bengals are one of the few allegedly professional football organizations which might be more inept than the Lions. I think it's going to go down to the last game of the season. The Lions get the Packers, who might be resting their starters before the playoffs, too.
Where's Charlie Bauman when you need him?
October 30th, 2008 at 12:13 PM |
officiating
officiating
agreed that the quality is low, but saying "i must be right, the penn state fans are bitching" isn't exactly a winner...they're the reason i can't quite bring myself to complain about it.
October 30th, 2008 at 12:19 PM |
I think the NFL scouts agree
I think the NFL scouts agree
I think the NFL scouts agree with Danielson at least insofar as taking Stafford over McCoy as a pro prospect. Mainly due to size and arm strength. But Stafford wouldn't be putting up the same numbers in the Texas offense. McCoy has always been a far more accurate passer than Stafford. Danielson, as always, is wrong.
Stafford could turn into a decent traditional-style NFL QB if his accuracy and decision-making continue to improve (comparisons to Ryan don't work for me as Ryan had vastly inferior talent around him compared to what Stafford has at Georgia -- Ryan was basically the BC offense, Stafford has good receivers and of course, Knowshon). The thing is, I could see McCoy turning into a Garcia/Brees type NFL QB. As long as his arm is strong enough (i.e. not Colt Brennan or John David Booty), accuracy plus some mobility is also a very workable NFL QB type depending on the offensive scheme. And I don't care what the scheme is, 82% completion rate is going to get noticed because that's simply spectacular. Especially when it isn't all dink-and-dunk cheapo stuff.
October 30th, 2008 at 12:41 PM |
Agreed
Agreed
Ryan did more than Stafford with less to work with in college. I got to see this first hand in MSU's bowl game - the only thing that kept us in it was that BC receivers dropped about a dozen passes that hit them in the numbers. And 82% completion is absurd even if you're throwing mostly screens; Texas has a vertical passing game and he's still hitting obscene numbers.
Danielson does have a point that Stafford's numbers would probably be better in Texas than they are at Georgia; Big XII teams don't play much defense (although given the way LSU just got destroyed twice in a row, maybe the SEC doesn't either), and without Knowshon he would probably be relied on to pass more. But there's no way he'd be hitting 80%. Stafford may be a better pro prospect, but Colt is easily the better college QB.
October 30th, 2008 at 12:27 PM |
Stafford vs McCoy
Stafford vs McCoy
While an interesting debate, for sure, but it should be noted that 2009 mock drafts have Sam Bradford higher than either.....of course that depends if Bradford comes out....but the NFL scouts are drooling over.
He kinds runs a pass first spread, i mean, junk offense, though.....lol
October 30th, 2008 at 12:34 PM |
"Pushing from behind"
"Pushing from behind"
I don't know who wrote the PSU/OSU quoted section:
Kevin went back and looked at the tape of Ohio State's final drive and
the blatant holds, tackles, and pushes from behind are astonishing.
... but the part that I highlighted seems wrong to me. I'm pretty sure that pushing from behind in the trenches is quite legal. The NCAA rulebook says, about scrimmage plays:
A player in the rectangular area may not block an opponent with the force of the initial contact from behind and at or below the knee.
It's fine to nail someone from behind... just not behind AND low. (Otherwise it would be a genius move to have all the defensive line face away from the line of scrimmage and run backward into the offensive line. They'd be untouchable!)
October 30th, 2008 at 12:44 PM |
That's mentioned in the
That's mentioned in the
That's mentioned in the comments there as well. Makes sense, in part because of spin moves. (Also, if the defender turns his back into the contact, it's legal no matter where it is on the field.)
October 30th, 2008 at 1:25 PM |
I think that first picture
I think that first picture
I think that first picture might be the worst photoshop that I have ever seen.
October 30th, 2008 at 1:31 PM |
Correct.
Correct.
Totally unbelievable. You can tell by the people in the background that the picture is from UCLA's campus, not Purdue's.
October 30th, 2008 at 1:33 PM |
That Paterno montage was
That Paterno montage was
That Paterno montage was incredibly bizarre; I had much the same reaction to it. I figured they would have said something had he died during the second half, but I still had just a moment where I thought he was dead.
Sportscenter.com raves: Sgt. Wolverine, "Michigan's biggest fan"!
October 30th, 2008 at 2:33 PM |
First?
First?
Sorry- it's been awhile.
October 30th, 2008 at 2:34 PM |
uh........
uh........
...or seventeenth. That's kinda close, right?
October 30th, 2008 at 3:47 PM |
WolvinLA, I'm not even sure
WolvinLA, I'm not even sure
WolvinLA, I'm not even sure what that means, but I'm tempted to get a t-shirt with it emblazoned across the chest.
October 30th, 2008 at 5:27 PM |
You clearly haven't seen
You clearly haven't seen
You clearly haven't seen Tropic Thunder.
October 31st, 2008 at 8:25 AM |
Small gimicky spread QBs
Small gimicky spread QBs
Small gimicky spread QBs never make it in the NFL, just ask Drew Brees.
Earlier you asked, in light of worst season ever, what people thought you should do with that blogging and everything. If that was rhetorical then whatever. I think it would be interesting to look at the progression of the team and play calling over the course of the season looking for improvement or lack there of. In many ways the offense shows improvement without actually improving in that scoring thing. Peripherally, the defense appears to be regressing. Maybe that is a low sample size or play calling issue. I suspect there are larger themes such as alterations in philosophy which reflect reality rather than preconceived notions which may develop.
Give it to Wheatley!