The Castle

My thoughts on todays game, updated each quarter:

1st:

- Palmer is a little off, and I’ve seen that happen to him before. The Broncos game last year was a perfect example.

- Anderson is VERY streaky. Hes going to turn it over any second….he was VERY luck in the first quarter.

I’m not convinced with the score. I’m still expecting a Bengals win, bigtime.

2nd:

Wow

- I still think Anderson is getting lucky. Hes due for a turnover very soon. The Edwards catch was very lucky.

- Cribbs can have another big return if the Browns can get away with more holds.

This games been a ton of fun to watch. The sad thing is, just imagine if Quinn was in. They’d be tearing it up and he’d have the job locked up for the rest of the year.

Still think the Bengals win this. Anderson isn’t consistent enough.

3rd:

Can I say Wow again? Anderson threw a pick early as I predicted, but he recovered well.

Leon Hall has been burned twice for TDs, I say ths because I labeled him as a bust pre-draft.

Both defenses are doing absolutely nothing. Its like playing Madden on rookie where the CPU doesn’t use turbo. Palmer has been scary consistent.

I still think the Browns lose this game.

4th:

Every dog has their day right?  The Bengals played a horrific game on defense and with their timeout management and challenges.  It was awesome to see Braylon, Jamal, and Kellen have the games they did.  I could feel the joy from Braylon when he scored.  You can tell he wants to be a star in the league.  I’m still not convinced about Anderson though.  He threw a couple of passes that really should’ve been picked off.

If only Quinn had started today though.  He would’ve torn things up like Anderson, and Browns fans would be united behind him after a big game.  Regardless though, it was an extremely fun and entertaining game to watch.   Chad Johnson going into the dog pound was hilarious.  It was nice to Braylon and company have a huge game, although I hope he isn’t hurt to bad.

They went from getting blown out to scoring 51 points.  The team is all over the place.  I can’t wait ’til next week.

2007 Browns Record: 1-1

Everyone is freaking out over their week 1 performance, but its important to not get caught up in the moment. Frye was traded two days ago. The team deserves to be criticized for the way they handled the starting QB job. For all 5 weeks of the preseason, they evaluated him, and eventually decided he was going to be the starter. He gets pulled after 1 1/2 quarters of football (a low sample size), then gets traded two days later. He went from their #1 guy, to benched, to traded, in a matter of two days. Thats very poor talent evaluation on the part of the Browns.

As for Quinn, I wouldn’t be opposed to starting him against the Bengals, a team with a low end defense. I think he can play every bit as well as Derek Anderson could. The Bengals are a matchup nightmare for the Browns, and I expect to get beaten pretty badly by them. In the first game last year, Palmer had almost 300 yards passing in the first half. If the team is going to lose and struggle anyway, whats wrong with starting a rookie at QB? Its not like his counterparts are any better than he is.

As for the Steelers game, the team looked very poor on offense. People have been saying the defense looked better, but there were still a ton of big plays given up. The team looks as bad as it did at the end of last year when it lost to the Bucs and Texans. If Crennel has any chance at all of keeping his job, he needs to somehow win on Sunday - good luck.

Sorry for the lack of posts, I’ve been very busy with school, and its hard to find time to write.

Sorry for the lack of updates, school has started for me, and I have been very busy lately.  I will try to get some more posts soon.

Try as I might, nothing really grabs my attention at the moment in the Sports World. The Yankees are getting hammered by the Angels, Pre-Season football approaches its third week, I start school again soon. Heres whats going on in my realm of sports:

MLB:

Yankees: Its Crunch time for them, and as always, they’re getting beat by the Angels. Arggh. Seattle is playing very well and they need to start losing. Arggh. Boston is playing Tampa Bay. Arrghh

Brewers: I follow them casually and watch a game of theirs every now and then. I jumped on their bandwagon this year because its the first time they’ve mattered in a quarter-decade. They’ve been playing pretty terribly in August, but have won their last two games.

*Side note: I’ve been spending some time playing as the Devil Rays in MVP ‘05 (with updates rosters and portraits) and Baseball Mogul. The D-Rays have a TON of talent and my team is young and lethally talented. Good times. To bad they’re awful right now.

NFL:

Browns: Crennel continues to make terrible decisions about the quarterback situation. Can I hope for a midseason firing? Please? Brady Quinn is going to be the major story for the team this year.

Redskins: Campbell going down terrified me. Yikes. That could’ve been Palmer bad.

*Note: I’m not very into the preseason. Its wayyyyyyy to long and theres wayyyy to much garbage time in it. Why do I want to watch third and fourth string players? Its NFLE (RIP) quality play. It frustrates me to no end to see players go down in preseason.

NBA:

Cavaliers: Yes, indeed! I do follow the NBA. Not a lot of action from the Cavaliers. To many bad contracts and poor players going around.

NCAA Football:

I don’t have a team I like in college football. Its a lot of fun to watch, and I’m more into individual players due to my large interest in the NFL Draft.

NHL:

?????: I used to follow the NHL, but I lost interest after the lockout. I hope to follow it more this next season. Also, can they please make a new NHL Hitz? Hitz 2002 was one of the best sports game ever made.

Last night against the Lions, Brady Quinn played in his first preseason game. He entered the game in the 4th quarter with his team trailing 23-7, and promptly threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns.

The immediate reaction to this is - START BRADDDYY!!! While his performance was indeed impressive, one must consider the following:

- He was playing against third teamers and fodder

- Many of his passes were to HB’s

- He faced very little pass rush.

My first reaction his performance was seeing shades of Derek Anderson last year against the Chiefs. He came in down 28-14, and promptly led the Browns to victory. He looked great, but he faced the prevent the whole time (Herm Edwards is a terrible coach), and its not that hard for a backup to come in and play well. Of course from there, Derek Anderson went to hell.

As for Brady, the only thing I can say for now is SAMPLE SIZE. I want to see more of him in preaseason. He tore it up against fodder and guys that won’t be on NFL rosters - big deal. If he continues to play well, I wouldn’t be completely opposed to having him start Week 1. It scares me a little, but at the latest, he should be starting Week 8 after the bye. The first six games for the Browns are pretty damn hard (Pitt, Cinci, Bal, @ New England, yikes), and it might be better to let someone else get slaughtered in those games. If I had to choose, I’d wait until after the bye - no need for him to get hammered early in the year and maybe lose his confidence.

I don’t get to excited about the preseason, but Quinn at least gives me something to watch for.

All first rounders were signed.

Obviously a lot is expected to happen between and midnight tomorrow. There have been rumors about Porcello and Dominguez agreeing to deals, but they aren’t confirmed yet. What happens if a deal isn’t reached? The unsigned player either goes to college or goes to a JUCO for a year then re-enters. As a result result, drafted players have a good deal of bargaining power. They can demand a large bonus and if the team that drafts them won’t pay it, then they just go to college or wait another year. Players that announce their high bonus desires prior to the draft slide as a result. Porcello was a top 3 talent in the draft, but wanted a large signing bonus, and as a result, fell to the Tigers at 27. Falling down to #27 wasn’t a bad thing at all - he can still get more money than players drafted before him. If that happened in the NFL Draft, a la Brady Quinn, its entirely different.Further complicating things are the slot bonuses that MLB recommends. These slot bonuses are suggestions and suggestions only. However, MLB does not like it at all when teams pay over slot. The Yankees and Tigers are two teams that pay over slot, and this gives them a big advantage in signing their drafted talent. They don’t care if MLB gets mad at them either - they’re willing to pay young talent a lot of money. Both teams have seen this pay off. In the case of the Yankees you have Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy. The Tigers have Andrew Miller and Justin Verlander.

This doesn’t bode well for teams that are at the top of the draft, yet have to pass on high end talent due to signability. In the NFL and NBA, the worst teams get the best players because signability isn’t an issue. The NFL has a hard cap and the NBA has a good rookie contract system. Baseball has neither. The MLB Amateur is a weird little mess. Basically, you have agents and players demanding more money than MLB wants them to, and MLB is powerless to do anything about it. It doesn’t matter where a player gets drafted, he can still get more money than players picked before him if he finds the right team. MLB gets upset when teams pay over slot, but theres nothing they can do about it. Making this even more flawed is the ability of teams to sign international players, and give them however much money they want.

I don’t know how to fix the MLB Draft, and I’m not sure it ever will. The system right now is very beneficial to amateurs as they hold all the power. I’m always fascinated by drafts for sports, and the MLB is unique compared to that of other leagues. How I wish I was good at baseball in high school….

After Eric Gagne blew another game for the Red Sox today, the Yankees are now 4 games back and playing like a juggernaut. This is interesting because just a few months ago, the team was being carried by A-Rod, suffering from a poor bullpen, and 14.5 games out of first. How things can change.

I’ll admit, there were a couple of times this year when I felt like the team just wasn’t going to be worth following anymore. A 4-1 loss to the Devil Rays. Losing a series badly with the Blue Jays. Making it harder was the fact that Boston was playing so well. 10 games back. 12 games back. 14.5 games back. I was already looking ahead to 2008. How can anyone come back from that?

Still, I tuned in every night on mlb.tv. Even with low expectations I followed the team, it was far to early to quit. Ever since the All-Star break, the team has been on a tear. While they have certainly benefited from playing poor teams like the D-Rays and Royals, they pretty much gotten the better of everyone else, including finishing a sweep of the Indians today. It just goes to show that the baseball season truly is a marathon. Being in first in May is worthless. While poor play can be discouraging early on, the right time to abandon ship is July 31ist at 3:00 pm EST. What if the season was going the other way around for the Yankees - a great start followed by poor play? It would be hard to get excited about a team that was a sinking ship before the playoffs, although being hot or cold doesn’t mean very much once you get into the playoffs.

As for the postseason, I’m not to optimistic. I still remember last year. Its going to be a tough fight just to get in this year too - Seattle is playing well although the Indians and Tigers aren’t. Winning the division is still a bit of a reach. Even then, the playoffs are a crap shoot. Either way, its very nice to see the team rebound from a poor start. They didn’t give up. Neither did the ‘05 Redskins who were 5-6 and finished 10-6 and won a playoff game. The ‘04 Red Sox didn’t either. Did I just write that?

With the NFL Preseason under way, its time to take a look at the Cleveland Browns from a positional stand point.

QB - Frye was listed as the starter on the first depth chart, but that is meaningless. Quinn is is finally in camp, and I do expect him to be the starter during the year (Hint - Week 8 after the bye when the team is 2-4). I don’t like Derek Anderson and Ken Dorsey doesn’t deserve to be in the NFL or CFL. Barring MASSIVE over achievement by the team, theres no reason Quinn shouldn’t be starting by the end of the year. Grade - C+, Quinn saves this group and gives it hope

RB - Not to happy at this position. I don’t like Jamal Lewis and his “stutter-step” at the line then hit the whole thing. His YPC the past two seasons? 3.4 and 3.6. The only thing I can hope for is that he has a huge year to earn a new contract that some dumb GM will hand out to him. Backing him up is Jason Wright and Jerome Harrison. Grade D, RB is a position that needs some talent infusion.

WR - This is a big year for Braylon Edwards. However, I don’t think he will have one, especially if he has to get thrown to by ANOTHER QB, and a rookie at that. He is far from a bust though. Once a game he will make a play that shows you how talented he is. The Pittsburgh game at home last year was a very good showcase of the skills he has. Hes just been thrown in to a terrible situation. Jurevicius is a solid #2, and hopefully Travis Wilson won’t be useless. I hope Tim Carter falls into Lake Erie. Grade - C+, Decent unit that could be good if Braylon steps up this year.

TE - KII has amazing hands and Heiden is a good #2 TE. I am very worried for KII though. He was safety valve at best last year and was dragging his leg across the field. Hes had microfracture surgery and now hes apparently “fine.” I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m a big fan of his though, and hes one of the few bright spots on the team. Grade - B, if KII goes down, then a D.

T - Thomas should start at LT and Shaffer at RT. This is a solid unit with upside. Thomas will have his bad games, but so will the rest of the team. Grade B, I think Thomas is going to be a very solid LT.

G - People say guards are overrated, but the team needed some talent infusion in the offensive line and had cap space. Steinbach can even play some T if needed. Seth McKinney will probably be playing RG. Grade - B-, Steinbach is good, McKinney is mediocre

C - Fraley played well last year, all things considered and I was glad the team resigned him. I’m not counting on Bentley for anything, even if he does come back. I find it pretty hard to believe that he will be anywhere near as good as he once was. Grade C+

DL - This is not a good unit. Ted Washington is ancient and I’m surprised he came back. I doubt Oshinowo will amount to anything. As for DE, the two Smith’s, Robaire and Shaun can’t be much worse than their counterparts last year. I still don’t expect very much from them. With all the talk of how teams are using the 3-4 and drafting these “sack monster” OLB’s, no one ever mentions that its really damn hard to find a NT. Grade D-, Probably the biggest weakness on the team, this unit teamed up with a young LB core is a formula for problems.

OLB - Wimbley is a great pass rusher, and he should have another double digit sack year. McGinest is old and already injured - I’m not expecting much from him. Antwan Peek will be replacing him. Grade B, Wimbley is very good at pass rushing although Peek brings the grade of this unit down.

ILB - I hope D’qwell Jackson can stay healthy and continue to develop. His counterpart, Andra Davis is a controversial subject among Browns fans. While he led the team in tackles last year, some people feel that it is misleading and his tackles come 10 yards downfield. His backup, Leon Williams played very well when the team was tanking last year, and I’d like to see him see the field somehow. Grade C, D’qwell needs to stay healthy and make strides.

CB - Bodden will start and Eric (NOT Kenny) Wright SHOULD start opposite him. With a young, rebuilding team, theres no reason to have a top pick sitting on the bench. Eric Wright had some off the field issues that hurt his stock, but Phil filled a major need by drafting him. I personally feel Bodden is a little overrated, but solid. Eric Wright was a first round talent that slipped to due getting caught with ecstasy and rape charges that were dropped. The two of them could be a very good combo someday. Theres always a chance that Gary Baxter will actually play too! Kenny Wright needs to fall into Lake Eric too, I saw enough of him on the Redskins. Grade B, if Bodden and Eric Wright start, C, if Bodden and Kenny Wright start.

S - Brodney Pool needs to continue to develop and I expect a pretty big year from Sean Jones. He is a good playmaker in the secondary. For a player comp, think of a poor man’s Ed Reed. I even think Jones might make a few Pro-Bowls in years to come. Grade B, Jones will make some plays, Pool needs to develop some more.

PR/KR - Cribbs is decent on returns. Northcutt was actually a pretty good PR but he dropped way to many passes. Grade C+

I expect two outcomes from the team this year, I can’t really decide which will happen though.

#1. The team has another 4-12 year. Quinn gets put in Week 8.

#2. The team overachieves and suprises a few teams, a la the Texans last year.

Their schedule is not easy by any means and I can’t see them winning anymore than 6 games either way.

Yesterday I read an interesting topic in the Something Awful: Football Funbags forum. The poster in the topic was saying that he thinks that NFL rookies, specifically the top 5 picks, get paid way to much. His point was that Joe Thomas is the highest paid lineman in NFL history, and he has never even played a down in the NFL. JaMarcus Russell, is going to be getting a $60 million contract soon, and he has never played a down either. How can players who have never done anything be paid more than established veterans?

Solid points indeed, however, I have to disagree with them for a variety of reasons. My ideas aren’t organized very well on this topic, but I will do my best to make my points.

#1. The NFL is a young mans game. This sounds cliche, and there are many exceptions to it. In general though, teams are always looking to replace their older, higher paid players with younger, cheaper ones. The Bengals did it this past season with Brian Simmons and Kaesivhorn. One must also take into that account the harsh nature of football and it ability to diminish players. Powerbacks like Eddie George and Stephen Davis (and soon to be Jamal Lewis), don’t last to long. The end result at the end of their careers isn’t pretty either. Injuries can ruin careers very easily as well (Trev Albert, Ki-Jana Carter to name two). Perhaps Charles Rogers career would have gone down differently if he didn’t break his collarbone twice in his first two years in the league. The same can be said for 2000 #1 pick Courtney Brown. He had a very good rookie season before injuries decimated him.

#2. Age restrictions. To be eligible for the NFL Draft, you must be at least three years out of high school. This differs from the MLB and NBA drafts were in the former, high school kids can be drafted, and the latter, one year out of high school is required (although that has only been in place for one year at this point). What does this mean? It means that NFL draftees are more finished products, both in their skills, maturity, and physicality. Theres a big difference between drafting Brady Quinn or someone like Michael Moustakas or Michael Conley. Same thing for Joe Thomas or Joshua Vitters. With Thomas and Quinn, you have two athletes who graduated college, with Vitters and Moustakas you have two athletes who have never spent a day in college. In Conley’s case, you have someone who was one and done in college. My long winded point is that players in the NFL Draft are more polished, and in general, less risky than their counterparts in other sports. That certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t busts, there have been quite a few, and well documented at that. Busts aside, NFL Draft choices are more polished, developed, and ready to contribute immediately, without needing to go through minor leagues or ride a bench for a year or two to develop.

#3. Top 5 picks deserve a lot of money. The top 5 picks in the NFL Draft (or any draft, but thats not always possible in the MLB draft) should be super stars. This puts a lot of pressure on the GM’s of teams to make the right pick, however, that is what they are getting paid to do! The NFL Draft is all about talent evaluation. When you’re in the top 5, the chips are just a lot higher. These”green room” picks should be stars within 2-3 years of being drafted, especially non-quarterbacks. In Joe Thomas’ case, he has been through 4 years of college, and has developed physically, there is no reason he shouldn’t be a dominant left tackle in 2-3 years. Given the brutal nature of the NFL, why shouldn’t be paid like a star? Why should he suffer like an NBA player on a slotted contract?

Look at 1997 #1 overall pick Orlando Pace. He was selected in the top 5, and immediately became a dominant left tackle for the Rams and was an anchor on their “Greatest Show on Turf” teams. He deserved to be paid a lot.

#4. The NFL needs a system like the NBA. There are a number of reasons why this doesn’t work. First, some background. The NBA used to have a really hard time signing rookies. Most famous was Glenn Robinson, who demanded a $100 million contract, even though he had never played a game. He eventually settled for a $69 million, and the NBA decided it needed to do something about it. Now, every NBA rookie has a guaranteed three years, with a team option for the forth year. The amount of money in these contracts is slotted. This has worked well for the NBA - there are no contract squabbles or holdouts like in the NFL.

Why wouldn’t this work? For one, the NFLPA is already weak, and they would get even weaker if they accepted a slotted system like the NBA. Second, as I have mentioned, the NFL is the most brutal of the major sports in America, and NBA careers are much longer. Just this week, there has been talk of Reggie Miller coming back and Penny Hardaway signed with the Heat today. OLD. In a league with contracts that aren’t guaranteed, these top 5 picks deserve all the guaranteed money they can get before taking the field. They may have not played a down yet, but thats why the draft is all about talent evaluation - finding a guy who will be a star on your team. If worse comes to worse, you can always cut the player down the road - only some of his contract in guaranteed money. Lastly, people complain about who these players have never played a down - its not like veteran signings are always home runs. Look at Adam Archuleta on the Redskins last year or Edgerrin James with the Cardinals.

To sum, GM’s don’t ever want to mess up first round picks, but if you’re in the top 5, you really really really don’t want to mess up your pick. It may seem like these players don’t deserve the money they’re getting, but when you consider the nature of football, and that their best years will probably be in the first contract, its more than fair. Holdouts may be annoying, but for some players, their first contract will be the only one they ever get in the league. It may seem like a messed up process, but its one of the most important factors in whether your team matters every year.

Well, Bonds just hit #756 against Mike Bacsik, who will now be forever immortalized. I tried not to get to caught up in the moment, and I still feel pretty apathetic. It was neat to see him hit it, but the situation is still awkward for me. I mean, the announcers on my TV station (MASN), kept saying how “theres people out there in America who don’t approve!”, or “Hank Aaron is still the home run king to some people!” What lame to things to say.

More interesting to me is how Barry has completely overshadowed how bad that Giants team is. Hes literally been more important than whether the Giants have won or lost games. What will ESPN, a joke of a sports channel do with itself now? Where will they send Pedro Gomez? Will Barry play next season?

Let Barry have his moment tonight, and if you want to rip into him, do it tomorrow. For now, I think Barry deserves a pat on the back for being the all-time, home run king.