This past weekend was the Dallas Cowboys' last opportunity to address some personnel issues before heading into offseason camps. Here are my thoughts on how well (and in some cases, how poorly) I think the Cowboys did in picking up personnel on draft weekend.
The good:
3rd round, 69th pick: Jason Williams, LB, Western Illinois -- conflicting reviews from ESPN analysts on this one. For my money, I like this pick. In order to offset monster DeMarcus Ware at outside linebacker in the 3-4 on one side, the Cowboys need to have a legitimate pass rush threat on the other side to avoid constant double teams on their defensive start. If Williams turns into the ball hawk (who led the nation in forced fumbles last year) he was in college, the pick looks genius. If he doesn't pan out, the Cowboys will take heat for not taking an offensive lineman or a safety (their two primary needs) first.
undrafted free agent: Rudy Carpenter, QB, Arizona State -- after a few really hot seasons under center in Sun Devil Stadium, Ru-Ru-Rudy was extended an invitation to Cowboys mini-camp this offseason. At 6-1 and around 200, he has the size to be an NFL quarterback. His worst collegiate season came last year as a senior, but did throw for over 10,000 yards and more than 80 touchdowns at ASU. He has showed in college that he has toughness, often playing in front of a sieve masquerading as an offensive line. However, he needs to get his temper and his mind right in order to be functional in the NFL.
DeAngelo Smith, CB, Cincinnati -- Until the Cowboys stop giving up the big plays to anyone and everyone that can run in a straight line at the wide receiver position in the NFC East (see here, here, and here), I'll be an advocate of drafting for the secondary. Smith can help out in nickel and dime packages, or fill in if Terrence Newman or Mike Jenkins can't stay healthy, like last year. Additionally, he can run back punts, which could free up Patrick Crayton for a larger role in the passing offense this season.
The bad:
Stephen McGee, QB, Texas A&M -- I'm not sold on the oft-injured McGee, who was more of a running threat than a passing icon during his tenure as an Aggie. Look, if the guy can stay on the field, I'm all for having him as a productive No. 3 (if he beats out Carpenter) behind Romo and Kitna. However, I just don't think he's showed anything special in an offense at A&M where Jorvorskie Lane and Mike Goodson were bigger home run play threats.
Not drafting a safety until the fifth round -- Look, I'm all for position battles and seeing who rises to the occasion. However, I think it's hard to say that a battle between Michael Hamlin, Pat Watkins and Courtney Brown will yield a safety that can cover the field admirably, make open field tackles and take the pressure off the seven men in the box alongside free safety Ken Hamlin. Smith and Alan Ball could also compete for time in the back, but I'm not sold on going after a glaring need on defense this late in the draft.
Overall: I'm giving them a C for this one. It could have been worse, but not addressing the safety position with Roy Williams gone was a mistake in my eyes.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Prelim picks for the Dance on Thursday
So I'm in a hurry today, and since I don't have much time to post on the blog anymore as it is, here's some quick reads:
Upset city, baby:
No. 10 USC over No. 7 BC -- I didn't really like the Trojans for most of the season, but they looked good and were hot in the Pac-10 tournament. Taj Gibson will need to continue to be a stalwart on defense and DeMar DeRozan needs to produce in the frontcourt.
No. 11 Utah State over No. 6 Marquette -- Utah State boasts some threatening outside shooters in Jared Quayle and Tyler Newbold. Have the WAC player of the year in redheaded Gary Wilkinson. Marquette hasn't been the same without floor general Dominic James.
Cinderellas:
No. 7 Clemson -- I have loved this team every time I see them play on TV. Trevor Booker is a double-double threat, and I have no problem saying he can bang inside in a potential second round matchup with Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby form a competent and veteran backcourt. This team usually underachieves in the tourney, but look out this year.
No. 5 Florida State -- Nobody scores in double figures except for 21-point per game guy Toney Douglas, but this team has all the tools to go deep in the tourney: go-to-player, good balance on offense (68+ ppg) and solid depth in the front court. Plus, they have one of the best athlete graduation rates of teams in the tourney.
The faves:
North Carolina -- experienced team, and with reigning POY Tyler Hansbrough -- who has been somewhat under the radar, always in contention. Ty Lawson's injury looms large.
Louisville -- I think Terrence Williams (from Seattle) is the next big thing at the next level. But they don't have a dominant player inside (Samardo Samuels, Earl Clark are more role players) and they can't consistently put points on the board. I still like them for a Final Four pick.
Dark horses:
Wake Forest -- have some freaks offensively (James Johnson, Al-Farouq Aminu), and sophomore point guard Jeff Teague can make the big plays leading his team.
Gonzaga -- yeah, yeah, a cop out/hometown pick -- but I like the experience Josh Heytvelt, Jeremy Pargo and Matt Bouldin have leading this team. If they can get to the second weekend against potential opponent North Carolina, watch out.
The verdict:
All Big East final -- Connecticut snips down the nets over Pittsburgh in the final -- too much depth for the Huskies, and Hasheem Thabeet must stay out of foul trouble and patrol the lane -- but I'll go with 82-73 to end it for the team from Storrs.
Upset city, baby:
No. 10 USC over No. 7 BC -- I didn't really like the Trojans for most of the season, but they looked good and were hot in the Pac-10 tournament. Taj Gibson will need to continue to be a stalwart on defense and DeMar DeRozan needs to produce in the frontcourt.
No. 11 Utah State over No. 6 Marquette -- Utah State boasts some threatening outside shooters in Jared Quayle and Tyler Newbold. Have the WAC player of the year in redheaded Gary Wilkinson. Marquette hasn't been the same without floor general Dominic James.
Cinderellas:
No. 7 Clemson -- I have loved this team every time I see them play on TV. Trevor Booker is a double-double threat, and I have no problem saying he can bang inside in a potential second round matchup with Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby form a competent and veteran backcourt. This team usually underachieves in the tourney, but look out this year.
No. 5 Florida State -- Nobody scores in double figures except for 21-point per game guy Toney Douglas, but this team has all the tools to go deep in the tourney: go-to-player, good balance on offense (68+ ppg) and solid depth in the front court. Plus, they have one of the best athlete graduation rates of teams in the tourney.
The faves:
North Carolina -- experienced team, and with reigning POY Tyler Hansbrough -- who has been somewhat under the radar, always in contention. Ty Lawson's injury looms large.
Louisville -- I think Terrence Williams (from Seattle) is the next big thing at the next level. But they don't have a dominant player inside (Samardo Samuels, Earl Clark are more role players) and they can't consistently put points on the board. I still like them for a Final Four pick.
Dark horses:
Wake Forest -- have some freaks offensively (James Johnson, Al-Farouq Aminu), and sophomore point guard Jeff Teague can make the big plays leading his team.
Gonzaga -- yeah, yeah, a cop out/hometown pick -- but I like the experience Josh Heytvelt, Jeremy Pargo and Matt Bouldin have leading this team. If they can get to the second weekend against potential opponent North Carolina, watch out.
The verdict:
All Big East final -- Connecticut snips down the nets over Pittsburgh in the final -- too much depth for the Huskies, and Hasheem Thabeet must stay out of foul trouble and patrol the lane -- but I'll go with 82-73 to end it for the team from Storrs.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Double bubble
Who's on the bubble that should be in?
Here's my take:
South Carolina -- 10-6 in the weak SEC isn't all that impressive, and their nonconference slate is a tad weak. Beat #20 Baylor at the time, and kept it close with Clemson -- who bowed out of ACC tourney early. But did finish with 21-8 record, have Devan Downey as a playmaker who can get them to SEC title game.
Saint Mary's -- playing last half of conference schedule without leading scorer and favorite foreigner Patty Mills hurt -- making up 17 points a game was tough. Recovered to make a 6-game winning run before falling to Gonzaga in WCC finals. 25-6 record should be good enough to get them in the tournament, where they could make some noise against a team without a big man inside.
Baylor -- This team looks like a 2009 version of Georgia to me. Nineteen wins to 13 losses is pretty solid, but underachieved at 5-11 in Big 12 play. Could rely on Curtis Jerrells, LaceDarius Dunn and Kevin Rogers to get them into tournament -- have five guys that average double figures. If they can lock down on defense and hit their 3's, team has a chance to win in the next round against Texas. I like them to get to the conference title game, where they'll likely have to stop Blake Griffin to get into the Big Dance.
More on the bubbles popping and rising as we get later into the week.
Here's my take:
South Carolina -- 10-6 in the weak SEC isn't all that impressive, and their nonconference slate is a tad weak. Beat #20 Baylor at the time, and kept it close with Clemson -- who bowed out of ACC tourney early. But did finish with 21-8 record, have Devan Downey as a playmaker who can get them to SEC title game.
Saint Mary's -- playing last half of conference schedule without leading scorer and favorite foreigner Patty Mills hurt -- making up 17 points a game was tough. Recovered to make a 6-game winning run before falling to Gonzaga in WCC finals. 25-6 record should be good enough to get them in the tournament, where they could make some noise against a team without a big man inside.
Baylor -- This team looks like a 2009 version of Georgia to me. Nineteen wins to 13 losses is pretty solid, but underachieved at 5-11 in Big 12 play. Could rely on Curtis Jerrells, LaceDarius Dunn and Kevin Rogers to get them into tournament -- have five guys that average double figures. If they can lock down on defense and hit their 3's, team has a chance to win in the next round against Texas. I like them to get to the conference title game, where they'll likely have to stop Blake Griffin to get into the Big Dance.
More on the bubbles popping and rising as we get later into the week.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Federer withdraws from Davis Cup first round
Good news for the Andy Roddick-United States camp. Roger Federer will rest his ailing back during first round play of the Davis Cup.
Australian open highlights can be found here.
Also, a list of the first round ties for the Davis Cup:
Australian open highlights can be found here.
Also, a list of the first round ties for the Davis Cup:
| Argentina | March 6-8 | |
| Czech Republic v France | Czech Republic | March 6-8 |
| United States v Switzerland | United States | March 6-8 |
| Croatia v Chile | Croatia | March 6-8 |
| Sweden v Israel | Sweden | March 6-8 |
| Romania v Russia | Romania | March 6-8 |
| Germany v Austria | Germany | March 6-8 |
| Spain v Serbia | Spain | March 6-8 |
Friday, February 6, 2009
Pac-10 rankings on Yahoo!
In all honesty, I think this isn't the same deep conference that sent five teams (UCLA, USC, Oregon, Arizona, Stanford and Washington State) to the tournament last year, and could have potentially (Arizona State) sent one more.
UCLA has been as good as advertised with their prized recruiting class from this year (Jrue Holiday and Drew Gordon, anyone?) and point guard Darren Collison (14.1 ppg, 5.1 assists/game) opting to stay in school. Washington has been solid with the "other" Isaiah Thomas and Justin Dentmon giving the Huskies a formiddable outside combo to team with the guy with no neck and double-double machine inside, Jon Brockman. Arizona State has disappointed with the amount of talent they have in stars James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph, and the rest of the conference, with the exception of the youthful Ducks, being mediocre.
At any rate, here are the rankings from Yahoo! sports.
UCLA has been as good as advertised with their prized recruiting class from this year (Jrue Holiday and Drew Gordon, anyone?) and point guard Darren Collison (14.1 ppg, 5.1 assists/game) opting to stay in school. Washington has been solid with the "other" Isaiah Thomas and Justin Dentmon giving the Huskies a formiddable outside combo to team with the guy with no neck and double-double machine inside, Jon Brockman. Arizona State has disappointed with the amount of talent they have in stars James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph, and the rest of the conference, with the exception of the youthful Ducks, being mediocre.
At any rate, here are the rankings from Yahoo! sports.
ESPN gives front page treatment to NHL!
In case you haven't seen it yet, Jerome Iginla and his NHL compatriots have graced the front page of ESPN's Web page today. I dig it, let me tell you. After seeing the sport buried behind the out of season MLB and my own beloved sport of soccer on the tabbed browsing on ESPN's site, it was a welcome sight to see hockey get some love.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Streetball/And1 show has official blog
If you guys are interested in keeping up with the 2008 And1 Mixtape Tour, here's a blog that Grayson Boucher, or "The Professor," lists as his official blog. I pretty much stopped watching ESPN2's coverage of the show after I got a real summer job in high school, but I always enjoyed seeing some of the things people can do athletically and skill-wise with the basketball.
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