March 12, 2015
OUR TAKE ON JIMMY GRAHAM
As 99.999% of you were going to do anyway, please see The Wizardry of Os and Hey Ref as, respectively, Scott Osborne and Dennis Dearie address the Jimmy Graham trade.
LSU AND SAINTS PROPAGANDA
On auction/sale right now on our EBay Store, ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, you can find a 1959 LSU-Tulane Football program, a 1990-91 LSU Basketball Media guide (with Shaq and Dale Brown on cover), media guides from LSU’s 3 most recent Final 4 seasons (81, 86 and 06), this past season’s Music City Bowl Program (LSU—Notre Dame) and a 1969 New Orleans Saints Media guide. Plus, the 1978-1979 Michigan State Basketball media guide—an historic publication with Magic Johnson on the cover—is listed
You can visit ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides by visiting JonFineProductions.com and linking to the store.
SPORTSCENTRAL
Pre-empted tonight by BRCC Baseball, SportsCentral aired on Tuesday, 3/10/15 this week. Hopefully, you received the special announcement about this on Tuesday
SportsCentral will air in its regularly scheduled Thursday night time-slot on Thursday, March 19 (see just below)
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SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
Saturday, March 14: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, March 16: 8AM—10AM: The Locker Room with John Goodman and Jim Gazzolo
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
There is no shortage of topics to cover this week, so let's get started.
It is time for March Madness and my silly superstition last week didn't make a difference, so let's talk Pelicans and LSU basketball.
They seem to be the same team. Both teams beat quality teams, lose to teams they should beat, inconsistent play, bad turnovers, and on. Of course, if you have been watching the Pels and Tigers play you have witnessed and pulled your hair out to what I just described. Can it all end in a wonderful late season run?
Both teams are definitely talented enough. Both teams have the ability to score inside and outside. On paper, they also have the athleticism to defend when they want to, though they don't seem too interested in doing so at times.
The best news for Tiger fans is the best wins have been on the road. LSU has won at Ole Miss, West Virginia, and Arkansas to name a few.
I don't think the news is so good for the Pelicans. The inability to win against the teams in the East is outrageous. Even worse, the Thunder just don't seem to be a team that will let go of the 8th spot. Still, I give the Pels credit for hanging in there considering the injuries. The team has definitely become deeper and better-rounded over the year. Eric Gordon is playing how most of us thought he would when he was signed. The Norris Cole pickup was trashed, but has been a real steal at the trade deadline.
Changing course to football, as promised there is no shortage of frivolous information coming from LSU's spring football practice. Still, the position changes are interesting. Most Tiger fans are aware of the shortages at fullback and linebacker, and the coaches have made some interesting position changes to address these issues.
At fullback, Tony Upchurch has moved from wide receiver. At 6'1" 230 pounds, the former four star receiver makes a fascinating option at fullback. He has a more prototypical frame to play fullback then wide receiver. Furthermore, considering LSU's affinity for playing and targeting fullbacks as much as wide receivers, Upchurch most certainly has a better chance of contributing sooner at fullback then wide receiver.
At linebacker, Devin Voorhies has also made a move from safety. At 6'2" 210 pounds he will need to pack on some pounds to hold up against Alabama. But against, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and other spread teams he could be an effective linebacker as Kwon Alexander was early in his career. Voorhies will have this year to get bigger and adjust to the position. Hopefully, this year will be enough so he is ready to go next year when the Tigers would otherwise be counting on true freshmen to start.
Then there is my favorite team in New Orleans. In recent years, I have wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to Loomis and Payton based off their track record. I have believed they have a well thought out detailed plan to give the Saints their best chance to win. I still believe that and want to wait until after the free agency period is over to make final judgments. That doesn’t mean we can’t wonder right now though.
The initial flurry of the free agency period is wild and usually filled with tons of mistakes. Teams are in too big of a hurry to make a big splash and overpay for players. The Saints usually wait until the initial flurry has subsided and make calculated decisions after searching for the best players to fit needs on their roster without breaking the bank or the cap.
At this point, though, it is very difficult to see how the Saints are addressing their biggest problems. Toward the end of the season, we all heard how this team lacked the discipline and leadership to do the little things that lead to winning close games. The team was said to be immature, and missed the veteran leaders that had been let go the year before.
Improving talent while maintaining leadership is difficult to do when the best professionals on the team are older and their contracts have you over the salary cap. As a result, the Saints released Curtis Lofton.
In the same light, I just don't agree with choosing to keep Mark Ingram for four more years. Ingram undoubtedly had his best season last year, but what special qualities has he shown that other running backs don't have? In my mind, his skill set is easily replaced.
Pierre Thomas is still a better receiver, more effective in the screen game, and runs through contact. Thomas was also inexpensive. Ingram has no special quality to gain yards without effective blocking at the point of attack. He doesn't have Frank Gore power, LeSean McCoy moves, Jeremy Hill size, or Jamaal Charles speed. That means the Saints have invested 4 years and 16 million dollars in an average running back, who has had a tendency to fumble at bad times.
Hopefully, by the time you are reading this article (the information isn’t too dated since free agency goes fast), the Saints will be pulling some rabbits out of the hat to improve the team, and I will feel better about the prospects for next year.
UPDATE:
So I sent in my article, and four hours later the Saints traded Jimmy Graham. Without a doubt it is a risky move, but here is how it can be the right move for the Saints.
1. The Saints freed up cap room. More room equals more players. The Saints were clearly not one player away from the Super Bowl this year.
2. The pressure is now on the college scouts. Teams that pick correctly and get immediate impact players get better fast because rookies are comparably cheap these days. If the Saints get an impact offensive lineman, an impact corner, linebacker, or pass rusher in the first round, they will be a better team.
3. Imagine the Saints find a young impact offensive lineman. Center is a position where guys can be effective well into their thirties and Unger is one of the best. If the Saints find a guard that can step in and play as a rookie, which is a position that frequently happens, then they will have transformed the offensive line in one off season.
4. I think Watson, Hill, and whoever else the Saints get can be plenty effective in the Saints system. They won't be Jimmy Graham, but like the Patriots, the Saints offense does not rely on one guy. It does rely on a great quarterback that makes great decisions, which requires an effective offensive line.
5. To all the people that say the Saints traded their best offensive weapon, "Uh....they still have Drew Brees." Do you want to bet Jimmy Graham's numbers don't go down next year? He is a great tight end, but the quarterback and system have something to do with that. Keep in mind, the only offensive player to leave the Saints and put up better numbers the following year was Chris Ivory, and his numbers were only better due to more attempts as a result of fewer injuries. Sproles ran for a hundred more yards, but caught 30 less balls for two hundred less yards. His biggest impact for the Eagles was on special teams. Meachem, Nicks, Moore, and others saw a decrease in production after leaving the black and gold.
6. I know this move makes the Seahawks better on offense. So what? They are not in the division. Let's put first things first and make the playoffs before we worry about the Seahawks. Besides, weren't the Seahawks the team that blasted Graham for being soft and then shut him down? Loomis and Payton's job is to make the Saints the best team they can, not try to keep the Seahawks down.
7. Again, this is a risky move. If we don't sign the right guys in free agency and draft a few impact players, this trade doesn't work. That is not new, though. Standing pat and basically putting the same team out on the field minus a few guys with big contracts was not a good option either. Sometimes in order to flip a house you have to knock down a few walls to increase the value.
HEY REF
By Dennis Dearie
Veteran Louisiana High School Referee
Hey Ref 3 12 15
Round ‘N round she goes and where she stops nobody knows! Nothing and I mean nothing in the history of the NFL can even come close to the signings, trades and cuts that we’ve witnessed in just the first few days of the 2015 free agency season. And none is bigger to Saint’s fans than the trade (cutting) of Jimmy Graham.
Some say POE-tato and some say PA-tato but no matter how you slice it at the end of the day Jimmy Graham was given the “boot” and sent to the Seahawks. In exchange for one of the best players ever to play tight end or is he a wide receiver? More on that in just a bit but New Orleans will be getting help in a position where they definitely need help.
The position of center is presently held by 36 year old Jonathan Goodwin who’s been struggling lately in protecting Drew Brees so that had to be the number one concern (making sure Brees stays healthy) of head coach Sean Payton. Add to the mix that the Saint’s front office allowed Goodwin to become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday and the need for change shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone.
But the way in which Payton went about shoring up his offensive line has taken every Saint’s fan by surprise. But after taking a look at the numbers from last year and the drop off in production along with the controversy of exactly how Graham should and/or would be paid made him expendable.
After the “tit for tat” style of negotiations between his agent, the Saint’s organization and the entire league that put a strain on Graham’s relations inside of the Big Easy’s football family the bottom line in this case as in many came down to numbers. Little numbers such as $40 million dollars over four years and a steep decrease in production just made him expendable.
If we take a quick look at his numbers from the last two seasons then maybe we can make a little sense of why Graham was sent packing. In the 2013 season he had 86 catches for 1,215 yards and 16TDs while this past year he accounted for 85 receptions for just 889 yards and only 10TD’s.
Many attribute these numbers and his drop off in production on a significant shoulder injury that did plaque him for most of the season. But to many of the fans sitting in the Superdome and paying high dollars watching him play many of those fans say he played without any pride or enthusiasm. It was if he was just going through the motions while still collecting his millions of dollars.
Whatever the true reasons we can be assured whoever replaces him on the roster has a huge void to fill not only in the stats but also in the hearts of the many fans he had in the “Who Dat” nation.
Only time will tell if the Saints made the right decision here but the one I feel they’ve been delaying for too long is getting somebody to take over once Drew Brees’ playing days are over. It takes a minimum of three years for a rookie to learn the pro game and a pro playbook. The Saints haven’t seemed too interested in bringing in anyone for that day when Drew will be sitting and relaxing in his luxury box.
For me though the biggest surprise or shock I should say has to be Miami’s signing of the dirtiest player in the league, Ndamukong Suh. The numbers being reported says the Dolphins will pay him an insane amount of $114 million over six years with a whopping $60 million GUARANTEED!! In other words the man never has to report to camp, practice or play a single down and the fish are on the hook for $60 MILLION DOLLARS.
If this is true that Suh has signed such a deal it will go down as the worst example known to those players working to make it in the NFL. No longer will playing within the rules count for anything. What this league has done by rewarding this player for the way he does his job is beyond reason. “Wining at any cost” should now be burned onto the football since that’s what the NFL has degraded itself to.
You can tell this league has lost all sense of reality when they reward their players for being dirty. Forget any hint of “Fair” play anymore in the NFL because they make millionaires out of players that step on an opponent’s hands, kicking somebody in the groin, poke an eye out or stomp on a quarterback’s legs.
I don’t believe Al Davis meant doing things this way when he said “Just win Baby”!! Of course that was before the National Felons League became an $8 BILLION dollar monopoly…
Till next week…
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