http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/8865487/tiger-woods-reinvents-golf-swing-third-time-career-espn-magazine
The link above is an interesting story about Tiger Woods that should be right up your alley. It's a subject that has always amazed me as I've told you before. Tiger's obsession with his swing and how he has managed to overhaul it 3 times and still keep winning.
S
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Stanley Frank Musial 1920 - 2013
The sports world lost a true icon yesterday when Stan Musial passed away. One of the most revered giants of any sport, and someone who a bad word was never said. As a baseball fan growing up in the 70's and learning about the greats of the game, Musial stood out even among the other all-timers. I had a long post about Musial in November of 2011 so I won't go long into it. Part of that post is copied below. Suffice to say that an era is now truly gone. I associate baseball with the iconic players of the era. There was the "Cobb, Wagner, Johnson, Matthewson" era, the "Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Hornsby, Grove" era, then the "Williams, Musial, DiMiaggio, Feller" era. Musial was the last of baseball's golden age, when the players were truly hero's and the exploits were seen through boxscores and radio only. My wife was taken aback at the look on my face this morning when she told me Musial had passed. I am truly sad today.
From my earlier post:
But when you look at what Musial accomplished, it is hardly rivaled by any player, and what he lacked in flash he made up for with sheer dominance. Start off with 7 batting titles in a 14-yr period. And while hitting at that level, he rained extra base hits on the league, leading it 8 times in doubles and 5 times in triples, and maintaining a slugging average near the .600 range. Never thought of as a pure slugger, he nonetheless led the league in OPS 7 times because he added an on-base average of around .425 to that .600 slugging average. And of course I always call out the 1948 season, in which Musial led the league in: hits, runs, doubles, triples, RBI, batting average, slugging average, on-base average, OPS, and total bases. He missed the triple crown by 1 home run, which was washed away in a rainout. Typical of his career, this season rivals any ever had by a ballplayer, but because he missed the triple crown, it’s largely forgotten.
If you remember I always liked to evaluate players on how much they dominated their league or era. Bill James liked to look at “Black Ink” and “Grey Ink”, meaning how many times did a player lead the league in a major category (Black) or finish in the top 10 (Grey). Musial is 5th all-time in black ink and 3rd all-time in grey ink. He totally dominated his era. Also, James came up with a hall-of-fame tester to evaluate a player’s worthiness for the hall. In his point system, Musial is 1st all-time.
S
From my earlier post:
But when you look at what Musial accomplished, it is hardly rivaled by any player, and what he lacked in flash he made up for with sheer dominance. Start off with 7 batting titles in a 14-yr period. And while hitting at that level, he rained extra base hits on the league, leading it 8 times in doubles and 5 times in triples, and maintaining a slugging average near the .600 range. Never thought of as a pure slugger, he nonetheless led the league in OPS 7 times because he added an on-base average of around .425 to that .600 slugging average. And of course I always call out the 1948 season, in which Musial led the league in: hits, runs, doubles, triples, RBI, batting average, slugging average, on-base average, OPS, and total bases. He missed the triple crown by 1 home run, which was washed away in a rainout. Typical of his career, this season rivals any ever had by a ballplayer, but because he missed the triple crown, it’s largely forgotten.
If you remember I always liked to evaluate players on how much they dominated their league or era. Bill James liked to look at “Black Ink” and “Grey Ink”, meaning how many times did a player lead the league in a major category (Black) or finish in the top 10 (Grey). Musial is 5th all-time in black ink and 3rd all-time in grey ink. He totally dominated his era. Also, James came up with a hall-of-fame tester to evaluate a player’s worthiness for the hall. In his point system, Musial is 1st all-time.
S
Thursday, January 17, 2013
All-Star Game in Allen
Eagle Stadium will host the Texas vs. Nation college all-star game on Feb. 2 at 1:30 pm. Coach Westerberg was asked to be on the Texas staff. This is a smaller version of the Senior Bowl and other pre-draft games. Big deal here in Allen, TX! Unfortunately I will be in Houston for a cheer competition! Bummer.
http://www.texasvsthenation.com/about/
S
http://www.texasvsthenation.com/about/
S
NBA Efficiency Ratings
Getting close to the season's midpoint; time to review the player efficiency ratings. I like to look at efficiency per 48 minutes to equalize older and younger players and coach's rotation patterns. Here are the top 20 players using efficiency per 48 (must play 25 minutes per game):
Lebron - 38.6
Durant - 37.5 closer to Lebron than last year
Duncan - 37.5 ageless, just can't do 40 minutes anymore
C. Paul - 34.2 now clearly way ahead of any point guard
Anderson Varejao - 33.5 huh?
Brook Lopez - 32.2 underrated
Blake Griffin - 32.1
Al Jefferson - 31.7
Demarcus Cousins - 31.6
Kobe Bryant - 31.6 still playing hard
David Lee - 31.4
Kyle Lowery - 30.9
Carmelo - 30.7
Dwight Howard - 30.7
Russell Westbrook - 30.6
Tyson Chandler - 30.5 Cuban wouldn't pay!
J.J. Hickson - 30.3
Carlos Boozer - 29.9
Tony Parker - 29.8
Chris Bosh - 29.9
Also, James Harden checks in at #23 and Dwayne Wade at #27.
S
Lebron - 38.6
Durant - 37.5 closer to Lebron than last year
Duncan - 37.5 ageless, just can't do 40 minutes anymore
C. Paul - 34.2 now clearly way ahead of any point guard
Anderson Varejao - 33.5 huh?
Brook Lopez - 32.2 underrated
Blake Griffin - 32.1
Al Jefferson - 31.7
Demarcus Cousins - 31.6
Kobe Bryant - 31.6 still playing hard
David Lee - 31.4
Kyle Lowery - 30.9
Carmelo - 30.7
Dwight Howard - 30.7
Russell Westbrook - 30.6
Tyson Chandler - 30.5 Cuban wouldn't pay!
J.J. Hickson - 30.3
Carlos Boozer - 29.9
Tony Parker - 29.8
Chris Bosh - 29.9
Also, James Harden checks in at #23 and Dwayne Wade at #27.
S
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Joe DeCamillis
He is gone!
Now that is an improvement in Dallas.
Ridiculous penatlies, players in the wrong postitons, punters and kick-off teams giving up big plays.
It has been painful to watch him make faces and act like the players are always at fault. I remember Coach Joe ripping him on air one night for not understanding blocking schemes on punts.
Thank you Chicago!
J.
Now that is an improvement in Dallas.
Ridiculous penatlies, players in the wrong postitons, punters and kick-off teams giving up big plays.
It has been painful to watch him make faces and act like the players are always at fault. I remember Coach Joe ripping him on air one night for not understanding blocking schemes on punts.
Thank you Chicago!
J.
Monday, January 14, 2013
More QB Playoff Stats
Looked up a few more famous QB's who had Super Bowl wins and lots of playoff experience for comparison.
S
| W | L | Comp % | Yds/Att | TD | INT | Rating | |
| Montana | 16 | 7 | 62.7 | 7.9 | 45 | 21 | 95.6 |
| Aikman | 11 | 5 | 63.7 | 7.7 | 23 | 17 | 88.3 |
| Young | 8 | 6 | 62.0 | 7.1 | 20 | 13 | 85.8 |
| Favre | 13 | 11 | 60.8 | 7.4 | 44 | 30 | 86.3 |
| Elway | 14 | 8 | 54.5 | 7.6 | 27 | 21 | 79.7 |
| Staubach | 12 | 6 | 54.4 | 6.8 | 24 | 19 | 76.0 |
| Bradshaw | 14 | 5 | 57.2 | 8.4 | 30 | 26 | 83.0 |
S
Peyton Manning in the Playoffs
I took it pretty hard that Manning blew a chance at another Super Bowl this weekend. He had 3 turnovers, all of which led directly to Ravens scores. He's on the hook for this one no doubt. So, his playoff record sank to 9-11 and the radio shows screamed at his lack of playoff success and what it means to his legacy. It is certainly a serious thing for a hall of famer to have a losing playoff record, but just how has he played? Surprisingly his stats and his measuring stick Tom Brady's are nearly identical, outside of the wins and losses. Here are the QB's most normally talked about as the best in the NFL at this point with playoff stats.
I think it's safe to say that Brady has played for more well-rounded teams. But, I was surprised to see that there is little difference in their overall performance, given the difference in record. Eli has made his reputation on the fact that his playoff stats are quite a bit better than the regular season. Peyton, Brady, and Big Ben cannot make that claim.
But, regardless, in the world we live in, the lack of playoff wins and the 1 Super Bowl win will continue to drag Peyton down.
S
| W | L | Comp % | Yds/Att | TD | INT | Rating | |
| P. Manning | 9 | 11 | 63.2 | 7.5 | 32 | 21 | 88.4 |
| Brady | 17 | 6 | 62.9 | 6.8 | 41 | 20 | 89.1 |
| Rodgers | 5 | 3 | 66.1 | 7.9 | 18 | 5 | 103.6 |
| Brees | 5 | 4 | 66.8 | 7.6 | 22 | 4 | 103.9 |
| Rothliesberger | 10 | 4 | 60.6 | 7.7 | 20 | 17 | 83.7 |
| E. Manning | 8 | 3 | 61.5 | 7.1 | 17 | 8 | 89.3 |
I think it's safe to say that Brady has played for more well-rounded teams. But, I was surprised to see that there is little difference in their overall performance, given the difference in record. Eli has made his reputation on the fact that his playoff stats are quite a bit better than the regular season. Peyton, Brady, and Big Ben cannot make that claim.
But, regardless, in the world we live in, the lack of playoff wins and the 1 Super Bowl win will continue to drag Peyton down.
S
Kiffin
The Question for Cowboys fans:
Kiffin vs. Ryan
I take Kiffin every day of the week unless someone knows that dementia has kicked in.
The logical excuse that the excuse makers are already screaming is that the Cowboys do not have the personnel to play a 4-3 with a Tampa 2.
I ask the simple question. Did they have the personnel to play the 3-4? They cannot seem to keep teams from scoring at will in the 4th quarter and give up a bunch of points on a team that has a high time of possession offense.
DLINE: Ware is without question capable of playing a DE in the 4-3. Spenser, don’t know and don’t care, he only showed up in contract years. Kick him to the curb. Ratliff has a lot of the same characteristics of Glover and Freeney, so I don’t see a problem there. Hatcher seems to be a better fit to me in a 4-3. If Dallas has a run stopper they hidden somewhere they will be vastly better.
LB- LEE seems to be a better fit with the 4-3 than the 3-4. Can you imagine him roaming all over the field? Carter is explosive and shows potential, he closes fast. Take your pick on the other LB, Cover or Run.
DB- This irritates me greatly. Supposedly the Cowboys have Man-to-Man backs, really? Besides Claiborne and Carr who was even close to a receivers? I do not understand why a great player cannot play a zone-man to man mixture like Kiffin ran in Tampa. One of the things that is a concern is the Safety, but isn’t that the same thing that Dallas has missed since Woodson left. I see no change in the secondary. Maybe a healthy Church will be the real deal with Kiffin. Kiffin will be letting him explode on people instead of trying to cover for Linebackers chasing people around in man to man.
My main concern is that the Spread is here to stay and neither Ryan nor Kiffin seem to have had an answer in their recent past.
J.
Kiffin vs. Ryan
I take Kiffin every day of the week unless someone knows that dementia has kicked in.
The logical excuse that the excuse makers are already screaming is that the Cowboys do not have the personnel to play a 4-3 with a Tampa 2.
I ask the simple question. Did they have the personnel to play the 3-4? They cannot seem to keep teams from scoring at will in the 4th quarter and give up a bunch of points on a team that has a high time of possession offense.
DLINE: Ware is without question capable of playing a DE in the 4-3. Spenser, don’t know and don’t care, he only showed up in contract years. Kick him to the curb. Ratliff has a lot of the same characteristics of Glover and Freeney, so I don’t see a problem there. Hatcher seems to be a better fit to me in a 4-3. If Dallas has a run stopper they hidden somewhere they will be vastly better.
LB- LEE seems to be a better fit with the 4-3 than the 3-4. Can you imagine him roaming all over the field? Carter is explosive and shows potential, he closes fast. Take your pick on the other LB, Cover or Run.
DB- This irritates me greatly. Supposedly the Cowboys have Man-to-Man backs, really? Besides Claiborne and Carr who was even close to a receivers? I do not understand why a great player cannot play a zone-man to man mixture like Kiffin ran in Tampa. One of the things that is a concern is the Safety, but isn’t that the same thing that Dallas has missed since Woodson left. I see no change in the secondary. Maybe a healthy Church will be the real deal with Kiffin. Kiffin will be letting him explode on people instead of trying to cover for Linebackers chasing people around in man to man.
My main concern is that the Spread is here to stay and neither Ryan nor Kiffin seem to have had an answer in their recent past.
J.
Johnny Football
I had mentioned to some of you about the relationships and prosperity of his family in Tyler. The money aspect is just so unusual for a superstar athlete. I realize that some people like Andrew Luck have been raised with a silver spoon, but we haven't seen a silver spoon baby that is a borderline spoiled rich kid.
Well Johnny is creating a stir with his normal extravagant lifestyle. The comment of buying his own floor seats to the Maverick game probably created a ton of raise eyebrows. Then he is filmed at Casino's with his family that show him as a big time playboy.
I had to laugh at the comments form D Coordinator for Oklahoma. This is a summary: "If he can stay out of jail, stay eligible and off twitter he may win a few Heisman's. "
Last year in College Station he was arrested fighting, failing to identify himself and for possessing two fake licenses.
Our version of Broadway Joe and Doug Flutie should be interesting during the next few years.
j.
Well Johnny is creating a stir with his normal extravagant lifestyle. The comment of buying his own floor seats to the Maverick game probably created a ton of raise eyebrows. Then he is filmed at Casino's with his family that show him as a big time playboy.
I had to laugh at the comments form D Coordinator for Oklahoma. This is a summary: "If he can stay out of jail, stay eligible and off twitter he may win a few Heisman's. "
Last year in College Station he was arrested fighting, failing to identify himself and for possessing two fake licenses.
Our version of Broadway Joe and Doug Flutie should be interesting during the next few years.
j.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Belichick at 60
This is a rather painful post for me to write, but as I sat down today so watch yet another Patriot playoff game, I thought I'd look up Belichick's record. Quite impressive if I do have to say so. This is year 13 for B.B. in New England. After a poor year 1, in this era of extreme parity, where teams routinely go from bad to good and good to bad so quickly, he has reeled off a 12-year stretch where he has averaged 12 wins per year. That's a 75% win percentage for 12 years running. He's been in playoffs 10 of 13 years with of course 5 Super Bowl appearances and 3 wins.
After last week's events I can't help but think about this in terms of Belichick's relationship with friend and coaching sounding board Nick Saban. We talked about Saban's philosophy and ability to efficiently teach a system. I can't help but admire how Belichick has also done things a certain way, operating in an environment that punishes success and strives for equalness, he simply follows his 'process' and keeps racking up wins with a rotating cast and the constant of Tom Brady.
Maybe the 2 of them will retire to the beach in the near future.
S
After last week's events I can't help but think about this in terms of Belichick's relationship with friend and coaching sounding board Nick Saban. We talked about Saban's philosophy and ability to efficiently teach a system. I can't help but admire how Belichick has also done things a certain way, operating in an environment that punishes success and strives for equalness, he simply follows his 'process' and keeps racking up wins with a rotating cast and the constant of Tom Brady.
Maybe the 2 of them will retire to the beach in the near future.
S
| NE | 2000 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 4th in AFC East | – | – | – | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE | 2001 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC East | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XXXVI Champions |
| NE | 2002 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2nd in AFC East | – | – | – | – |
| NE | 2003 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 1st in AFC East | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XXXVIII Champions |
| NE | 2004 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 1st in AFC East | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XXXIX Champions |
| NE | 2005 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in AFC East | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Denver Broncos in AFC Divisional Game |
| NE | 2006 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in AFC East | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost to Indianapolis Colts in AFC Championship Game |
| NE | 2007 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st in AFC East | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost to New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII |
| NE | 2008 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in AFC East | – | – | – | – |
| NE | 2009 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in AFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Baltimore Ravens in AFC Wild Card Game |
| NE | 2010 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 1st in AFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to New York Jets in AFC Divisional Game |
| NE | 2011 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1st in AFC East | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost to New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI |
| NE | 2012 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in AFC East | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
| NE Total | 151 | 57 | 0 | .726 | 16 | 6 | .727 | |||
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Marcus Smart Better than Expected
Today I saw this in the DMN about OK St. freshman Marcus Smart. The quote is from Fran Fraschilla regarding the Big 12 season.
Asked "who is the player to watch for", he answered "Oklahoma St. freshman Marcus Smart has the poise of any 10-year NBA veteran. I watch tape every day. He always makes plays that help his team win. A lot of time I have to rewind to see if I saw what I thought I saw. He plays to teammates' strengths. If he has a teammate in trouble, he instinctively knows how to help. He makes plays you cannot coach." Below is my post about Smart last winter.
The main reason I went was to see Marcus Smart, the "point-forward". First thing, he is physically ready for college, in fact he is quite a specimen at 6-4 and looking like a tight end. As of this post, he is the 3rd ranked national forward, and 14th overall recruit in this class by Rivals. It can be hard to get a read on his talent because of the Marcus style of play. He handles the ball a lot and showed some signs of having good floor vision. His shooting stroke is pretty sound, but he is not a natural shooter. There is some explosion, as he had a couple of throw-downs tonight. I watched him hit some 3's in warm-ups. My impression is that he will have an impact at OK St. I think he handles well enough to play guard in college and the strength is certainly there. It would be fun to see him play an AAU game and be turned loose.
S
Asked "who is the player to watch for", he answered "Oklahoma St. freshman Marcus Smart has the poise of any 10-year NBA veteran. I watch tape every day. He always makes plays that help his team win. A lot of time I have to rewind to see if I saw what I thought I saw. He plays to teammates' strengths. If he has a teammate in trouble, he instinctively knows how to help. He makes plays you cannot coach." Below is my post about Smart last winter.
The main reason I went was to see Marcus Smart, the "point-forward". First thing, he is physically ready for college, in fact he is quite a specimen at 6-4 and looking like a tight end. As of this post, he is the 3rd ranked national forward, and 14th overall recruit in this class by Rivals. It can be hard to get a read on his talent because of the Marcus style of play. He handles the ball a lot and showed some signs of having good floor vision. His shooting stroke is pretty sound, but he is not a natural shooter. There is some explosion, as he had a couple of throw-downs tonight. I watched him hit some 3's in warm-ups. My impression is that he will have an impact at OK St. I think he handles well enough to play guard in college and the strength is certainly there. It would be fun to see him play an AAU game and be turned loose.
S
Monte Kiffin to Cowboys
I hate to be one of those fans that scream for changes, then scream when the changes come. But I'm not thrilled with this hire of Monte Kiffin. Forgetting the obvious, that he is 72 and so this is probably a short-term proposition. This also means going to a 4-3 defense and playing "Tampa 2" much of the time. As the beat writers in Dallas are correctly pointing out, we have drafted for a 3-4 for several years. Ware and Spencer are 3-4 outside linebackers. Carr and Claiborne are not Tampa 2 corners. Tony Dungy said it will take 3 or 4 years to remake the defensive roster to make it work. Tony Romo doesn't have 3 or 4 years. There is also the fact that Kiffen was torched at USC by Pac-12 offenses.
This just seems like another desperate move by Jerry to hire a name people will recognize so it seems he is doing something. Just more jumping from one thing to the next so he looks like a real GM. If this sets us back and Ware becomes less of an impact, and our corners can't play the system, we watch the remainder of Romo's years slide away and who trusts Jerry to find another QB?
S
This just seems like another desperate move by Jerry to hire a name people will recognize so it seems he is doing something. Just more jumping from one thing to the next so he looks like a real GM. If this sets us back and Ware becomes less of an impact, and our corners can't play the system, we watch the remainder of Romo's years slide away and who trusts Jerry to find another QB?
S
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The wonderful world of QB rating in College Football
Shockingly to the rest of college football is probably that the top two rated QB's in the nation are from the SEC.
1. McCarron
2. Murray
9. Shaw
15. Manziel
28 Bray
======
4. Boyd-Clem
5. Smith - WVA
6. Mariota Ore
7. Bridgewater Louisville
11. Barkley-USC
12. Florence - Baylor
13. Manuel -Fl St
18. Doege TT
24. Klien KS
30. Landry OK
==========
Last year the Big 12 if I include WVA would have had 6 of top 12.
J.
1. McCarron
2. Murray
9. Shaw
15. Manziel
28 Bray
======
4. Boyd-Clem
5. Smith - WVA
6. Mariota Ore
7. Bridgewater Louisville
11. Barkley-USC
12. Florence - Baylor
13. Manuel -Fl St
18. Doege TT
24. Klien KS
30. Landry OK
==========
Last year the Big 12 if I include WVA would have had 6 of top 12.
J.
Aggies Top 5
In the hard to imagine catagory, Texas A&M finished in the top 5 in AP poll for first time since 1956.
WOW!
Congrats to the Aggies, SEC and Sumlin. This is a crazy stat.
OLE MISS and NAVY have finished there 3 times as often.
It appears the second Sleeping Giant has been nudged awake in the SEC WEST.
LSU had not done it in our life until Saban showed up.
Maybe, we will see the Golden Age of Aggies Football.
Mississippi State has never finished higher than 12th. Wow.
J.
WOW!
Congrats to the Aggies, SEC and Sumlin. This is a crazy stat.
OLE MISS and NAVY have finished there 3 times as often.
It appears the second Sleeping Giant has been nudged awake in the SEC WEST.
LSU had not done it in our life until Saban showed up.
Maybe, we will see the Golden Age of Aggies Football.
Mississippi State has never finished higher than 12th. Wow.
J.
Rob Ryan
Rob Ryan's tenure at Dallas was basically a lot of fluff and no substance. I wondered if I would agree with Jerry GM firing the Defensive Coordinator. (Yes would have been my decision. )
1. Points Allowed Per Game: 2012- 25th, 2011 17th,
2. Yard Allowed Per Play: 2012- 25th 5.8, 2011-24th 5.6.
3. Turnovers-2012- 9th , 2011 - 26th
a. (Interesting fact SF was last in Turnovers but 2nd in Pt per game)
4. Saber matrix stats are just as bad. Def WPA (Win Probability Added)
a. 2012 - 27th , 2011- 26th.
i. (Denver and Houston led the league this year.)
b. Pass WPA – 2012 30th, 2011-30th.
5. Def EPA(Expected Points Added) 2012-26th, 2011 – 16th
6. SR% (Success rate) 2012 – 26th 2011 -13th
Ryan did increase the turnovers this year, but the Pass Defense is just awful when the game is on the line. This is represented with the WPA Stats, his Brother and the Jets finished 2012-8th and 2011-3rd.
“The model created Advanced NFL Stats uses score, time, down, distance, and field position to estimate how likely each team will go on to win the game. For example, at the start of the 2nd quarter, a team down by 7 points with a 2nd down and 5 from their own 25 will win about 36% of the time--in other words a 0.36 WP.”
J
1. Points Allowed Per Game: 2012- 25th, 2011 17th,
2. Yard Allowed Per Play: 2012- 25th 5.8, 2011-24th 5.6.
3. Turnovers-2012- 9th , 2011 - 26th
a. (Interesting fact SF was last in Turnovers but 2nd in Pt per game)
4. Saber matrix stats are just as bad. Def WPA (Win Probability Added)
a. 2012 - 27th , 2011- 26th.
i. (Denver and Houston led the league this year.)
b. Pass WPA – 2012 30th, 2011-30th.
5. Def EPA(Expected Points Added) 2012-26th, 2011 – 16th
6. SR% (Success rate) 2012 – 26th 2011 -13th
Ryan did increase the turnovers this year, but the Pass Defense is just awful when the game is on the line. This is represented with the WPA Stats, his Brother and the Jets finished 2012-8th and 2011-3rd.
“The model created Advanced NFL Stats uses score, time, down, distance, and field position to estimate how likely each team will go on to win the game. For example, at the start of the 2nd quarter, a team down by 7 points with a 2nd down and 5 from their own 25 will win about 36% of the time--in other words a 0.36 WP.”
J
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
College Football Royalty - Updated
I am re-posting my post from January 21, 2012 regarding college football's best programs, just updating the Alabama totals................
As a follow-up to the season I looked at the historical AP and Coaches polls and added them up. The thing to remember is that until 1968 for AP and 1974 for Coaches, the polls were taken before the bowls, which used to be considered kind of like exhibitions or bonuses for good seasons. Coaches polls started in 1950 and AP in 1936. Alabama claims several championships outside of the AP or Coaches polls, which to me are totally bogus. For instance in 1941 every poll of substance named Minnesota champion, but one obscure poll named Alabama, and they still claim it. Also, you can make the case that they did not deserve their 1964 and 1973 championships since they lost their bowl games, or 1978 when they split with USC but lost to them in the regular season. Regardless, I'm showing the official results of the polls below. Whether some of these can be disputed or not, these are the royalty. The numbers in parenthesis indicate total AP+Coaches championships and the number that were undisputed. The asterisk indicates a split championship:
Alabama (10/7) - 1961, 1964, 1965*, 1973*, 1978*, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012
Notre Dame (8/7) - 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973*, 1977, 1988
Oklahoma (7/6) - 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974*, 1975, 1985, 2000
USC (7/4) - 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974*, 1978*, 2003*, 2004
Miami (5/4) - 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991*, 2001
Nebraska (5/3) - 1970*, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997*
Ohio St. (5/3) - 1942, 1954*, 1957*, 1968, 2002
S
As a follow-up to the season I looked at the historical AP and Coaches polls and added them up. The thing to remember is that until 1968 for AP and 1974 for Coaches, the polls were taken before the bowls, which used to be considered kind of like exhibitions or bonuses for good seasons. Coaches polls started in 1950 and AP in 1936. Alabama claims several championships outside of the AP or Coaches polls, which to me are totally bogus. For instance in 1941 every poll of substance named Minnesota champion, but one obscure poll named Alabama, and they still claim it. Also, you can make the case that they did not deserve their 1964 and 1973 championships since they lost their bowl games, or 1978 when they split with USC but lost to them in the regular season. Regardless, I'm showing the official results of the polls below. Whether some of these can be disputed or not, these are the royalty. The numbers in parenthesis indicate total AP+Coaches championships and the number that were undisputed. The asterisk indicates a split championship:
Alabama (10/7) - 1961, 1964, 1965*, 1973*, 1978*, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012
Notre Dame (8/7) - 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973*, 1977, 1988
Oklahoma (7/6) - 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974*, 1975, 1985, 2000
USC (7/4) - 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974*, 1978*, 2003*, 2004
Miami (5/4) - 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991*, 2001
Nebraska (5/3) - 1970*, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997*
Ohio St. (5/3) - 1942, 1954*, 1957*, 1968, 2002
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Tide Rolls
Number 10 (AP/UPI/Coaches/BCS) for Bama, all since 1960. They can certainly claim to be King. You know my relationship with Bama is weird; they were my favorite team as a kid, until we moved to LA and I got old enough to get caught up in LSU. I remember the goal line stand against Penn St. in '79 and the beat down of Miami in '92. But oddly I pulled against them in '09 and '11. But, not last night.
I have to stop and appreciate what Saban has accomplished, not just the win totals, but the way he runs a total and complete program from top to bottom, doing everything just right. Not that he has no bad eggs, but they seldom taunt, or showboat, or act like fools in press conferences, or get personal fouls. It's one of those rare times in sports where someone just has it figured out more than everyone else. Everything works, every single thing. He has a philosophy, but not too rigid to adjust, as you pointed out in your last post.
Now, how long and how many? I always say "appreciate the championships, they are not easy to come by". But he is making it look very simple indeed. With Brian Kelly on the opposite sideline and Urban Meyer watching in the booth, I couldn't help but think, they are seeing what it will take to topple the King. Can they do it? Can anyone?
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I have to stop and appreciate what Saban has accomplished, not just the win totals, but the way he runs a total and complete program from top to bottom, doing everything just right. Not that he has no bad eggs, but they seldom taunt, or showboat, or act like fools in press conferences, or get personal fouls. It's one of those rare times in sports where someone just has it figured out more than everyone else. Everything works, every single thing. He has a philosophy, but not too rigid to adjust, as you pointed out in your last post.
Now, how long and how many? I always say "appreciate the championships, they are not easy to come by". But he is making it look very simple indeed. With Brian Kelly on the opposite sideline and Urban Meyer watching in the booth, I couldn't help but think, they are seeing what it will take to topple the King. Can they do it? Can anyone?
S
Monday, January 7, 2013
Saban Quote
After the game and winning his 3rd in 4 years and 4th in 8 years.
ESPN.
Saban says this.
"This team exceeded or expectations. "
"Look to win our league.
Georgia is five yards from getting here...
So...
We need to get a lot better.
In our League"
Herbie just started laughing...
J.
ESPN.
Saban says this.
"This team exceeded or expectations. "
"Look to win our league.
Georgia is five yards from getting here...
So...
We need to get a lot better.
In our League"
Herbie just started laughing...
J.
SEC and Bowls
I made a comment early in the year, that the SEC would win 7-8 bowls and another National Championship.
Well I was wrong on the wins, thanks to the boob in Baton Rouge. The SEC does have a 7th NC in a row and have won 9 of the 14 games since the BCS changed and had teams play into the game.
The SEC finished at 6-3 with most conference wins and tied with the ACC at 4-2 with winning percentage.
Losses.
FLA 3rd in SEC pitiful loss to Big East Champ Louisville.
LSU 4th in SEC loss to 2nd place Clemson in ACC.
MState 8th place SEC loss to 5th place Big Ten Northwestern.
Wins-
Aggies 5th in SEC rout OK 2nd in Big 12.
Bama- ND beats Stanford who beat Oregon an won Pac 12
Ole Miss- 9th in SEC vs 5th in Big East
Vandy - 7th in SEC vs 6th in ACC Nc St.
Ga-2nd in SEC 3rd in Big 10 Neb
SCarolina- 6th in SEC 4th in Big 10. Mich.
Georgia was the only SEC to play a team that was ranked equal to or higher in the SEC vs their opponents conference record in a bowl game.
The rest of the conferences: Big Boys only.
Pac 12 (4-4)
Big 12 (4-5)
Big 10 at (2-5)
ACC 4-2.
I was interested in the round robin of Pac 12 /Big 12 schools/Big 10 Schools.
Ore 2nd in Pac 12 beats 1st place Kstate.
Baylor 5th place vs UCLA 5th Place.
Texas 3rd Place vs 3rd place Oregon State.
Stanford 1st over 2nd Wisconsin - Buckeyes were no 1 to me.
TTech 6th over 10th Minnesota
Mich State 7th over 7th TCU.
Take your pick for 2nd best conference. It is too close to call. Top teams in Pac 12 are better, but the Big 12 maybe deeper with TCU at 7th. But WVA and Iowa State were pathetic. I felt that the Big 10 played better than their record in the bowl games, they just played better teams.
Basically, the SEC continued the dominance. I actually expect the teams in the SEC to do it again next year with Bama, Aggies, Ga, Fla, LSU and S Carolina all being top 10 talent.
If the influx of Petrino, Freeze and now Sumlin at College Station shows Miles, Saban, Reicht and Muschamp that they need to make the offenses more dynamic so that they can practice against these new schemes. If they do, the SEC will continue the trend and win 5 more titles in the next 8 years. Saban and Reicht are already showing the changes. The new O Coordinator at Bama has really opened Sir Nick up and I think that is why they won this title.
j.
Well I was wrong on the wins, thanks to the boob in Baton Rouge. The SEC does have a 7th NC in a row and have won 9 of the 14 games since the BCS changed and had teams play into the game.
The SEC finished at 6-3 with most conference wins and tied with the ACC at 4-2 with winning percentage.
Losses.
FLA 3rd in SEC pitiful loss to Big East Champ Louisville.
LSU 4th in SEC loss to 2nd place Clemson in ACC.
MState 8th place SEC loss to 5th place Big Ten Northwestern.
Wins-
Aggies 5th in SEC rout OK 2nd in Big 12.
Bama- ND beats Stanford who beat Oregon an won Pac 12
Ole Miss- 9th in SEC vs 5th in Big East
Vandy - 7th in SEC vs 6th in ACC Nc St.
Ga-2nd in SEC 3rd in Big 10 Neb
SCarolina- 6th in SEC 4th in Big 10. Mich.
Georgia was the only SEC to play a team that was ranked equal to or higher in the SEC vs their opponents conference record in a bowl game.
The rest of the conferences: Big Boys only.
Pac 12 (4-4)
Big 12 (4-5)
Big 10 at (2-5)
ACC 4-2.
I was interested in the round robin of Pac 12 /Big 12 schools/Big 10 Schools.
Ore 2nd in Pac 12 beats 1st place Kstate.
Baylor 5th place vs UCLA 5th Place.
Texas 3rd Place vs 3rd place Oregon State.
Stanford 1st over 2nd Wisconsin - Buckeyes were no 1 to me.
TTech 6th over 10th Minnesota
Mich State 7th over 7th TCU.
Take your pick for 2nd best conference. It is too close to call. Top teams in Pac 12 are better, but the Big 12 maybe deeper with TCU at 7th. But WVA and Iowa State were pathetic. I felt that the Big 10 played better than their record in the bowl games, they just played better teams.
Basically, the SEC continued the dominance. I actually expect the teams in the SEC to do it again next year with Bama, Aggies, Ga, Fla, LSU and S Carolina all being top 10 talent.
If the influx of Petrino, Freeze and now Sumlin at College Station shows Miles, Saban, Reicht and Muschamp that they need to make the offenses more dynamic so that they can practice against these new schemes. If they do, the SEC will continue the trend and win 5 more titles in the next 8 years. Saban and Reicht are already showing the changes. The new O Coordinator at Bama has really opened Sir Nick up and I think that is why they won this title.
j.
Tide vs. Evil Empire
As a practicing pessimist when it comes to sports, I've worked up cause for worry tonight for these reasons:
Bama 24-17
S
- This Bama team is not as good as previous versions
- Two defensive minded teams could mean a slugfest where a turnover does the trick
- Brian Kelly is a wildcard at this point, but I've got a feeling about him
- Bama's strength plays into Irish strength
- Bama could have easily lost 3 games in the 2nd half of this season
- Too much talk of Saban invincibility
- Notre Dame's history of taking down big programs in big games
- Irish have chance to take down all 3 of the competing great historical programs in one year after already beating Oklahoma and USC
- Bama has better athletes
- Irish QB small and inexperienced in big games
- Bama has better athletes
- Bama has better athletes
Bama 24-17
S
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Stoops Brothers Take a Beating
Let it be recorded that those defensive guru's, the Stoops brothers, had 30 days to prepare for Mr. Johnny Football, and here is what they got for their efforts:
22 of 34 passing for 287 yards and 2 TD's
17 rushes for 229 yards and 2 TD's
A Cotton Bowl record 516 yards of total offense by Football, Johnny
600 yards of offense by the A&M juggernaught
All kidding aside, he is a treat to watch. Hard to compare to anyone. Here is a quote from Bob Stoops, sounding like a man who had no answers:
"If you've got an angle on him, he stops and runs the other way. If you don't, he outruns you. Even when guys are in position, he is so quick and strong....he's just hard to get to." Watching Stoops x 2 on the sidelines yelling at each other as Manziel made a fool of them was just priceless.
It's so uncanny to see a 6-0 freshman do this stuff to major coaches and teams that it almost has the makings of a Greek tragedy to me. I could see Manziel getting hurt and what will be left is the legend of Johnny Football who took the game by storm for one season and left us wanting more, never to be heard from again.
And, here goes A&M looking at a top 5 pre-season ranking next year. Amazing.
S
22 of 34 passing for 287 yards and 2 TD's
17 rushes for 229 yards and 2 TD's
A Cotton Bowl record 516 yards of total offense by Football, Johnny
600 yards of offense by the A&M juggernaught
All kidding aside, he is a treat to watch. Hard to compare to anyone. Here is a quote from Bob Stoops, sounding like a man who had no answers:
"If you've got an angle on him, he stops and runs the other way. If you don't, he outruns you. Even when guys are in position, he is so quick and strong....he's just hard to get to." Watching Stoops x 2 on the sidelines yelling at each other as Manziel made a fool of them was just priceless.
It's so uncanny to see a 6-0 freshman do this stuff to major coaches and teams that it almost has the makings of a Greek tragedy to me. I could see Manziel getting hurt and what will be left is the legend of Johnny Football who took the game by storm for one season and left us wanting more, never to be heard from again.
And, here goes A&M looking at a top 5 pre-season ranking next year. Amazing.
S
Modern Bowl Season
I hope everyone has cleared their calendars for today's major tilt between 6-6 Pitt and 6-6 Ole Miss. It's sure to be must-watch TV here on January 5th. Thank God they give us these tasty bowls for 30 days. What would we do without them?
S
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Thursday, January 3, 2013
Stupid GM Decisions (More)
Gosselin wrote a good column today about Romo and the offense. The primary question was: why would Jerry spend tons of money on Romo and then not invest in the people to protect him? By ignoring the offensive line all these years, he has endangered his prime investment in Romo, just bad business on top of bad football decisions. His take on the Cowboys at this point: Romo will be here for better or worse, Ryan will get a healthy defense back to work with, so the Cowboys should draft 3 offensive lineman in the spring. Probably too little too late, but it really makes sense.
S
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Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Comebacks
Lost in the well-deserved hoopla over the comebacks of Adrian Peterson and Peyton Manning was the year had by another Texas-bred RB, Jamaal Charles. Charles returned with a career high 1,509 yards and another stellar average of 5.3 yards per carry. He has only half the career carries of Peterson but sits with a career average of, get this, 5.8. 4,536 yards on just 784 carries.
Meanwhile Adrian Peterson rolled for 2,097 yards, a 6.0 average, and did it while still noticibly favoring the injured knee. What will he look like next year at the age of 28? There is some amazing history of east TX running backs as we have talked about. Dickerson, Campbell, Sims, Tomlinson. Peterson now stands a real chance of going down as the best of them. I've run out of words.
What can be said about Manning? New team, new coaches, new city, new receivers, a year of rust, no matter. At 37 he nearly matched his career bests. He is the maestro of QB's. Again, I've run out of words to describe the level at which he plays.
The other note would be that sports medicine is becoming as much of a marvel as the players. All of these guys had injuries that would have ruined careers in the recent past. I wondered about Peterson and Charles ever having the explosion again. No worries.
S
Meanwhile Adrian Peterson rolled for 2,097 yards, a 6.0 average, and did it while still noticibly favoring the injured knee. What will he look like next year at the age of 28? There is some amazing history of east TX running backs as we have talked about. Dickerson, Campbell, Sims, Tomlinson. Peterson now stands a real chance of going down as the best of them. I've run out of words.
What can be said about Manning? New team, new coaches, new city, new receivers, a year of rust, no matter. At 37 he nearly matched his career bests. He is the maestro of QB's. Again, I've run out of words to describe the level at which he plays.
The other note would be that sports medicine is becoming as much of a marvel as the players. All of these guys had injuries that would have ruined careers in the recent past. I wondered about Peterson and Charles ever having the explosion again. No worries.
S
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Crash and Burn
Hard to gather my thoughts after the massive disappointment of Sunday night. True that we all figured Dallas was an 8-8 team anyway. True that half the defense was a bunch of castoffs and spare parts. But what I can't get past is that all we needed to make the playoffs after this wheels off season was a good game by our franchise QB, and he could not deliver.
You know how much I value Tony Romo, but at the age of 33 I can no longer give him a pass in big games. Stats can be spun to be what you want sometimes, but Romo's 1-6 record in "win or go home" games and the numbers he's put up in those games just can't be ignored. He has 11 turnovers in those 7 games and averages 220 yards. We pay Romo like the franchise and we should expect him to come up with points when given the ball down 3 with almost 4 minutes to work with. Not, a casual, indifferent lob pass to the flat that ends the season.
I have a hard time defining what happens to certain players in all sports in certain situations. If you line up Romo and Eli Manning's regular season stats, you would ask "why is there a question, Romo is obviously better". Yet Eli comes through in big games and Romo cannot. As if we need more issues on this team, having a QB who melts in big games is the nail in the coffin. He is cursed, or mentally fragile, or a loose cannon, or a little of all. But I can tell you that I'm very tired of pulling for a guy who disappoints this often. The black cloud over this once great franchise just shows no signs of clearing.
S
You know how much I value Tony Romo, but at the age of 33 I can no longer give him a pass in big games. Stats can be spun to be what you want sometimes, but Romo's 1-6 record in "win or go home" games and the numbers he's put up in those games just can't be ignored. He has 11 turnovers in those 7 games and averages 220 yards. We pay Romo like the franchise and we should expect him to come up with points when given the ball down 3 with almost 4 minutes to work with. Not, a casual, indifferent lob pass to the flat that ends the season.
I have a hard time defining what happens to certain players in all sports in certain situations. If you line up Romo and Eli Manning's regular season stats, you would ask "why is there a question, Romo is obviously better". Yet Eli comes through in big games and Romo cannot. As if we need more issues on this team, having a QB who melts in big games is the nail in the coffin. He is cursed, or mentally fragile, or a loose cannon, or a little of all. But I can tell you that I'm very tired of pulling for a guy who disappoints this often. The black cloud over this once great franchise just shows no signs of clearing.
S
LSU Debacle
One of the things that we had to put in Les Miles' positive column in the past was his bowl record. But after these last 2 clunkers that is no longer the case. It is clear that Miles is drinking his own Kool-Aid. He thinks his talent level and effort by the players will overcome any opponent despite his vanilla game plan and lack of preparation. The score was hardly indicative of how his team performed last night:
First downs: Clemson 32, LSU 9
Offensive plays: Clemson 100, LSU 48
Total yards: Clemson 445, LSU 219
Taj Boyd was 36-50 with no interceptions, 72%. He was a one man show.
The offensive line turned Clemson's defensive ends into first-round picks.
Pathetic and embarrassing, just not as obvious as last year's score. Will this fool learn from this, or put his head in the sand and spout some crap like "we lost to a good team by 1 point"? I'm guessing the latter.
S
First downs: Clemson 32, LSU 9
Offensive plays: Clemson 100, LSU 48
Total yards: Clemson 445, LSU 219
Taj Boyd was 36-50 with no interceptions, 72%. He was a one man show.
The offensive line turned Clemson's defensive ends into first-round picks.
Pathetic and embarrassing, just not as obvious as last year's score. Will this fool learn from this, or put his head in the sand and spout some crap like "we lost to a good team by 1 point"? I'm guessing the latter.
S
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