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Grading the Defense: Arizona Cardinals vs. Chicago Bears

ZZmagic, Mobile Live — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:32:07 -0000

Coming off a disappointing loss against the Carolina Panthers, Kurt Warner wasn't the only Arizona Cardinals' player with something to prove this past weekend. The Cardinals' defense, namely the front seven, had some serious questions to answer after allowing the Panthers to run rough shot over them just seven days prior. Standing in their way would be a Chicago Bears team that was undefeated at home and one of the league's more complete running backs in Matt Forte. Needless to say the Cardinals defense had their work cut out for them and here's a breakdown of how they performed.

Overall Defensive Performance: Depending on how you look at it the Cardinals defense was anywhere from very good to very marginal. From the "very good" department, the defense only allowed two drives of 45 yards or longer but the two "very bad" drives were both 90+ yards and resulted in touchdowns. From the "very good" file, with roughly one minute left in the third quarter the defense had allowed just 200 yards on the Bears' first seven drives, 90 of which came on their opening drive, but the Bears also racked up another 180 yards on their final four drives (including a 93 yard TD drive). One thing is pretty clear, the defense either started to fail or relaxed in the fourth quarter resulting in most of their overall numbers looking very average. it is worth mentioning however that portions of the fourth quarter were played with backups like Will Davis and Kenny Iwebema. By the time the game was over the Bears' offense had racked up 417 yards from scrimmage (averaging 6.6 yards per snap) and had scored 21 points.

Rush Defense: It's pretty fair to say that the Bears' abandoned their run game early in the game considering that they played at least 3/4 of the game from a two touchdown deficit. For the game they attempted just 12 rushes, although they did average 5.8 yards per carry. Forte led the way with 33 yards on five carries while (the other) Adrian Peterson and Jay Cutler added another 40 yards on the ground with their five combined carries. Their running game simply never had a chance to get on track and was limited to draw plays out of shotgun for most of the game, a scenerio the Cardinals are quite familar with.

Pass Defense: Normally when a team gets behind early they are forced to air it out for the rest of the game and that was certainly the case for the Bears. Cutler set season highs in completions (29), attempts (47), yards (369) and touchdowns (3) and posted a very respectable 98.6 QB rating. Most of his completions were a result of their short passing game where YAC receivers like Devin Hester and Johny Knox could excel, although two of his most successful deep balls were to tight end Greg Olsen. The Cardinals registered four sacks but more importantly they continously pressured and knocked down Cutler. Pressure from guys like Darnell Dockett,Calais Campbell, Chike Okeafor and Clark Haggans were a big reason why the Bears were limited to short passes for most of the day.

Honor Roll:

Karlos Dansby and Ali Highsmith: Thanks to a back injury that prevented Gerald Hayes from suiting up, Highsmith got his first start as a pro and the defense didn't seem to miss a beat. There were times that he got pushed around but his energy and athleticism also made him an asset once the Bears turned pass-happy. Dansby did what he normally does, leading the team in tackles despite the Bears lack of a running game.

Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell: There may be better 3-4 defensive ends in this league but the way DD and CC are playing right now, I don't know that I'd trade them for any other pair. Dockett was his normal disruptive force and his second sack of the season. Campbell, regardless of what the boxscore says, recorded at least half a sack, if not a full sack (the sack that was awarded to Okeafor). One thing that really stands out about Campbell though is that he never gives up on a play. At least once a game it seems like he'll make a tackle ten yards down field while a back tries to wiggle through the secondary.

Matt Ware: We haven't talked much about Ware this season but if you me, that's a good thing. Ware has stepped into Aaron Francisco's role and has been a moster upgrade. He's not a great cover safety but he does alot of things well and so far the Cardinals are using him in a way that allows him to succeed. He registered his first career pick late in the fourth quarter.

Will Davis: Welcome to the NFL rook! Davis recorded his first career sack and don't look now but he's starting to get a couple of snaps a week with the defensive unit. He's already proving that he has the athletic ability to play in this league and his relentless motor and ability to get off blocks led to his fourth quarter sack on Cutler.

Overall Defensive Grade: C+

Pro-Soccer in North America Expands

Sounder At Heart, Sounder At Heart — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:26:08 -0000

Yes, this is more on the TOA v NuRock battle. After the USL announcement that they would be expanding to Baltimore, to Detroit, to Ottawa and Edmonton on top of their previous plans of New York city and Tampa Bay the TOA responded with a formal announcement that they would be apply for 2nd tier status in the USA and 1st tier status in Canada.

While many seem to think this will spell doom for second tier soccer in the USA/Canada, there is something that we can learn when looking at a map. To be clear, Duane is correct that the USL has the upper hand, but the TOA has the larger markets, for one year only.

But let's look at that map first. The Pacific and Mountain Time Zones are nearly empty. Even in the best case scenario with the Whitecaps starting a team in Victoria while having their Senior team in Vancouver the two Western timezones would only have 10 teams of the 43 professional teams in the four leagues.

And yet, those two time zones have basically 1/3 of the population of the USA/Canada. From a marketing standpoint they have the most successful team in MLS history. They have the two of the three most followed teams in the USL-1.

So even if the dream of reconciliation occurs and the TOA and the USL make nice, there is still a HUGE opportunity for growth of the North American game. Particularly in places like Vegas, Phoenix, Calgary, Sacramento, San Diego, maybe even Boise. The South still has a few holes, in places like Birmingham, Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans, but when we consider all places that could be considered "pro" the USA and Canada would wind up represented fairly well in this game.

IF the dream of reconciliation and a little bit of cooperation between the leagues can occur. With the national Cups and the Leagues we could see this thing take off, or Duane could be right.

Deep Wildcats Blow Out Western New Mexico

jruss, Arizona Desert Swarm — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:12:23 -0000

It wasn't a top 25 opponent, or a Division I opponent for that matter, but it didn't stop the Wildcats from gaining some much-needed confidence. The Cats pounded the Western New Mexico Mustangs 96-55. It's hard to get too excited about an exhibition, let alone against a weaker school, but a couple of stats did stand out:

Nic Wise was back in full effect scoring 21 points with 8 assists
Jamelle Horne, showing he can be a force this year had 15 points and 9 rebounds
Derrick Williams had 12 points and 3 rebounds before spraining his ankle
All 15 players got court time
Four Wildcats scored in double figures, including the three above and Brendan Lavender

This win definitely adds some excitement to the first game, which is on November 15 at 3PM against Northern Arizona. BRING IT ON!!!

Late San Jose goal spoils fine effort by Nashville in 4-3 loss

Dirk Hoag, On the Forecheck — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:34:12 -0000

More photos » by George Nikitin - AP

about 2 hours ago: Nashville Predators' Michael Santorelli, center, scores a goal between San Jose Sharks' Manny Malhotra, left, and goalie Thomas Greiss in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

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Despite the skaters playing one of their best games of the season, the Nashville Predators left San Jose empty-handed after Dan Boyle scored with a minute remaining to give the Sharks a 4-3 win in regulation time. This came after the Preds fought back to tie the game twice, and took the lead midway through the 3rd period.

Video highlights, commentary, and advanced even strength stats follow after the jump. As usual, you can click through the picture above for more photos from the game.

The encouraging sign to take from this game was that the Preds displayed a classic, workmanlike effort to hang even with the Sharks for all 60 minutes, and continued going hard to the front of the net to create goals (Santorelli's and Hornqvist's in particular). Unfortunately, the two goals allowed by Dan Ellis in the 3rd were pretty soft, and that made the difference. Just by his reaction after the Boyle goal, you could tell that Ellis knew he should have had it.

The power play was a disappointment once again for Nashville, as two opportunities went by with only 3 shots fired and no goals. The Preds did kill off San Jose's single power play, however. On the faceoff dot, the Sharks dominated the Predators 32-21.

As far as the Even Strength numbers below, my main comment here would be that Jordin Tootoo definitely stood out as having an off night, as he just didn't seem strong on the puck on a number of occasions. The Sullivan-Arnott-Hornqvist line did manage to push the play forward consistently, but couldn't cash in enough to earn the win tonight.

Even Strength		Individual Totals					Team Totals While Player Is On Ice
Player	Pos	EV TOI	Shots	Shts Blkd	Missed Shts	Blocks	SOG For	SOG Ag	SOG +/-	Tot SF	Tot SA	Corsi
Jason Arnott	C	17:26	2	1	3	0	10	10	0	23	17	6
Steve Sullivan	L	16:38	3	0	1	1	11	9	2	20	17	3
Patric Hornqvist	R	16:55	4	1	0	1	11	9	2	21	17	4
Michael Santorelli	C	10:42	1	0	0	1	3	4	-1	5	7	-2
Jerred Smithson	R	15:14	0	1	0	0	3	9	-6	9	14	-5
Joel Ward	R	14:58	1	2	1	0	5	10	-5	11	15	-4
Martin Erat	R	12:24	1	0	0	0	5	2	3	12	7	5
David Legwand	C	16:40	1	0	0	0	5	8	-3	13	14	-1
Andreas Thuresson	R	10:56	0	0	1	0	4	2	2	7	4	3
Marcel Goc	C	10:02	2	0	0	0	5	4	1	9	13	-4
Jordin Tootoo	R	10:12	1	0	1	1	3	5	-2	5	14	-9
Dave Scatchard	C	10:09	2	0	1	0	6	6	0	9	13	-4
Shea Weber	D	19:51	0	1	2	0	7	8	-1	17	18	-1
Ryan Suter	D	19:57	1	0	2	1	9	9	0	20	19	1
Kevin Klein	D	20:31	0	0	0	3	6	13	-7	13	21	-8
Francis Bouillon	D	18:45	0	0	3	0	7	11	-4	16	20	-4
Dan Hamhuis	D	16:56	1	0	1	1	9	7	2	15	14	1
Cody Franson	D	12:12	0	2	0	2	8	4	4	13	11	2

Poll

Who is your Predator of the Game?

Backstrom Notches #100

BReynolds, Hockey Wilderness — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:07:45 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

4 months ago: Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom of Finland plays against the Detroit Red Wings in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Detroit, April 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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In what will likely be overlooked in large part, Niklas Backstrom won his 100th game Tuesday night in Toronto. While this is certainly a milestone, and one the vast majority of former goalies never reach, Backstrom is not one to take personal credit while playing a team game. Yet another reason why we are glad he is still here.

Looking back while he looks forward to Tampa on Thursday, we see just how lucky we are to have him around.

The run down is this: 185 game played, 179 of those were starts. He has stood in the goal mouth for 10604 minutes, the equivalent of over seven days straight. He now has 100 wins and 53 losses. Without including tonights game, he has let in 399 goals, made 4711 saves, earned a save % of .922 and 17 shutouts.

Is he Martin Brodeur or Patrick Roy? No, at least not yet. He may never be on par with those guys. They are true greats of the game. Backstrom got a late start, never seeing an NHL game until he was 28. Will a few years be enough to make a huge difference when his career is over? That will only be seen when he hangs up the pads.

Right now, he is the Wild's number one goalie, the first in franchise history. He is signed for the next four years, at a cap hit of $6 million per year. He has a no-trade clause as long as he stays the number one goalie.

In other words, he isn't going anywhere, folks. And I, for one, am perfectly OK with that.

Congrats Nik. Well earned. Here's to 200.

-Buddha

UFC 105 Preview: The Brits Looks To Represent

Kelvin Hunt, MMA For Real — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:45:47 -0000

SBN coverage of UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera

Game 8 Recap: Blazers 93, Grizzlies 79

Dave, Blazersedge — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:44:22 -0000

This was a fairly standard Blazer game, which made it a fairly odd Grizzlies game. As the final score indicates, this worked to Portland's advantage. The Blazers did exactly what they needed to do, not much more but certainly not less. They played a smart and efficient game, made relatively few mistakes, and faced the Grizzlies down mano-a-mano. In the end Memphis' weaknesses told more than Portland's. End of story.

The Blazers evidenced some basic flaws at the outset of the game, continuing through most of the first half. For one they let the Grizzlies pass the ball and find the open man from the outset. That's not a forte for the Grizz. They're used to hitting tough shots off the dribble. This "passing" thing made their looks a lot easier. For a while they liked it. Second, Portland turned the ball over and let the Grizzlies run out. If there were a manual on how to beat Memphis, Page One would have a title--bolded, centered, and in 92-point font--saying, "Never Ever Ever Ever Ever EVER Do That!" It's like the president making crank calls on the red phone. You're probably going to be OK but you're playing with fire. Also they let Memphis grab some opportune offensive rebounds. You wondered at first if the Blazers were going to get serious about this game.

On the other hand the Grizzlies defense, as per usual, looked like thin-sliced Swiss cheese in a hurricane. You got the same feeling watching LaMarcus Aldridge pop turn-arounds over Zach Randolph that you get when those "Please Save These Puppies" commercials come on the TV. It's sick and wrong and sad and the poor things look so helpless, but what can you do? The Blazers milked Aldridge and Brandon Roy and it didn't seem like either one missed a shot. Whatever shortcomings the Blazers showed were overcome by the cruelly stabbing offense. After the two stars took the bench and the second unit took over the offense stalled but the half finished strong as Martell Webster joined the duo as a third scorer (from the foul line anyway). The game was tied at 45 at the end of the half.

Turnover-inspired breakouts aside, the pace remained slow throughout the half. This would continue for most of the game. It was probably partially a strategic decision and partially the game flowing the same way it started, a victim of its own sloppiness. The Blazers made sure to work the ball down low from the outset. They also continued their trend of packing the middle defensively. Both stopped the Grizzlies from free-wheeling their way through the game. Both Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo look more like Clark Kent than Superman when they're ground-bound and walking. That's not a bad outcome for Portland.

Entering the third period you got the strong feeling that whichever team made a run first was going to take the game. The Blazers ended up being that team. LaMarcus Aldridge provided nice energy on the boards and on defense. Greg Oden, absent for most of the first half with two fouls, played consistently and started taking advantage of the smaller Memphis defenders. As in Sunday's game layups, free throws, and assisted jumpers were the order of the day on offense. Portland got back defensively and kept Memphis off the boards. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, decided that jump shots were their road to salvation. If salvation is built with bricks, they were right. Portland exited the period up 8, usually a modest margin against Memphis but in this game a significant gap.

The Grizz made a final run at it in the fourth but Oden and Rudy Fernandez upped the energy factor on defense and kept them at bay. (That's right...Rudy Fernandez. Hola! Welcome to the season, Rudy.) The offense was a free-for-all with Oden beating down the door and everybody else charging through in his wake. When the smoke (and the "crowd") cleared the Blazers emerged victorious by 14. Memphis had some chances but they couldn't take advantage of them because of their lack of trust on offense and they couldn't sustain the open window because of their lack of defense.

Portland shot 45.7% for the game but a striking 50% (9-18) from distance. They finished slightly behind the Grizzlies in rebounds, had slightly more turnovers, but obliterated them in assists. Memphis took 78 shots to Portland's 70 but only shot 37.2% with a 10% clip (1-10) from the three-point arc. Marc Gasol had a nice game with 20 points and Mayo netted 17 on 8-18 shooting. Gay scored 12, Zach Randolph 11 (with 12 boards). That's not going to get it done for the Grizz. Credit Portland with knowing where to put pressure on and who to involve defensively (basically the same: Randolph and Gay).

Individual Notes

Brandon Roy helped carry the team in the first half but stepped back in the second half to share the wealth. His rhythm was good both in terms of individual offense and game flow. 6-11 shooting, 20 points, 7 assists.

What happens when you don't guard LaMarcus Aldridge? You get Excedrin Headache #19. 19 would be the combination of 16 points and 3 assists. Had he been selfish LMA probably could have scored 38 tonight. And get this...he added 12 defensive rebounds. He killed the Grizz on the boards, especially during his ultra-active second half. He found a way to control the game besides just putting the ball in the basket. Add in 2 blocks and you have one of the best all-around games LaMarcus has played in a long time.

Greg Oden beasted up tonight. He looked disappointed to draw 2 fouls in 4 minutes in the first quarter. Nate saved him for the second half entirely. The guy just went out and played. He was a whirlwind on both ends. One he started spinning the Grizzlies couldn't stand against him. He finally started dunking tonight...a considerable relief to those of us who grimace every time he tries to finish with a soft chip shot around the rim (which has been often this season). 14 points, 6 rebounds (3 of each flavor), 6-10 shooting, 2 blocks, a ton of energy, and a semi-subtle game-changing presence. Nice.

Steve Blake scored 14 by doing what he does best: providing the outlet three. He was 4-6 from range, 5-9 overall.

Andre Miller equaled Roy's 7 assists and got the mojo moving in the second half. He was 3-9 from the field.

Rudy Fernandez had a really nice fourth quarter, most of the results of which don't show up in his 7 point, 2 rebound, 1 steal stat line. He actually defended and fought out there like he wanted playing time. If you'll pardon the expression, Rudy was the Blazers' edge last season. So far this year you could all but feel the edge get sucked out of the gym when he stepped on the floor. He showed some life last game and showed more this. Whether someone fed him a different breakfast, shocked him with paddles, or changed his brand of shaving cream they need to do more of it. We need that energy for a whole game.

This wasn't Joel Przybilla's kind of opponent and he only got 18 minutes of play before fouling out. He had 4 rebounds.

Martell Webster hit 1 three in 6 overall field goal attempts but went 6-6 from the foul line. He played Raggedy Andy to Travis Outlaw's Raggedy Ann. Other than one outstanding highlight dunk Travis went COMPLETELY spastic out there offensively. Some of the shots he attempted shouldn't be tried in H-O-R-S-E without adult supervision. He was 1-9 on the night. Whatever defense he provided got obliterated by him spoon-feeding possessions to the Grizzlies with that shooting. Webster got 16 minutes, Outlaw 22. Both have seen better days.

Jerryd Bayless got 4 minutes of run in which he collected a foul, an offensive rebound, and a turnover. After the early first quarter the Grizzlies did a pretty good job of defending themselves so he wasn't such a bright spot tonight.

Final Thoughts and Links

Getting this game was nice but the success won't be fully realized unless you also pick up tomorrow's game in Minnesota. With a 2-0 start you're looking at a pretty high chance of a good trip with possibilities of great.

Grizzlies center Hasheem Thabeet was injured in this game. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.

Boxscore

Read the Memphis reaction at StraightOuttaVancouver.com and ThreeShadesofBlue.

You can check out the Jersey Contest scoreboard over yonder. You can see the results of any individual game, including this one, by pulling it down from the menu beneath the scoreboard. Please note that due to the incorrect roster listing on tonight's form, everyone got credit for the "turnover" question no matter who they put. The problem has been fixed.

Enter tomorrow's Jersey Contest form right here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Surprise! Bronco was wrong

JazzyUte, Block U — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:38:30 -0000

More photos » by Colin E. Braley - AP

Eddie Wide is trying to carry Utah to another Mountain West title

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Earlier last month, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall suggested the Cougars-Frogs game would decide the Mountain West. There wasn't even a hint of Utah anywhere in his words. That was the definitive title game - or so he thought.

This Saturday, Utah and TCU will meet in Fort Worth for essentially a conference championship game. The winner will at least lock up a share of the title and the loser will probably be theoretically eliminated from title discussion (though TCU has a slim chance at claiming a tie due to the fact the Utes still take on BYU down in Provo).

Which means, for the second year in a row, the conference title does not run through Provo. Which is a surprise, because two years ago it appeared BYU was well on their way to claiming control of the top-spot in the Mountain West.

Prior to the 2008 season, the Cougars had not lost a conference game since 2005 (their final of the season, against Utah) and had won two consecutive outright conference titles. They were poised for not only a third, but possibly the BCS. That came crashing down in Fort Worth and since, it's been a Utah/TCU league.

It's interesting how fast the landscape changed. In BYU's last season atop the conference, they were an impressive 11-2, while the Utes and Frogs were a combined 17-9. Not entirely impressive.

Since, BYU has gone 17-5 and the Utes and Frogs are a combined 24-3 and more importantly, undefeated in conference play (18-0 over the last two seasons; BYU is 10-3). Oh the mighty have fallen - though I'll give the Cougars some credit for not entirely slipping into irrelevance.

What's also interesting is that I think most people thought TCU and Utah would be playing for the conference championship prior to the season. The Utes weren't just going to fall off due to losses on offense and TCU was by far the clear favorites to dethrone Utah. Bronco, obviously, had different thoughts.

Then BYU beat Oklahoma and everything changed. Well changed up until their game against Florida State and they quickly fell back to reality. Yet, even after that loss, they still felt this team was capable of beating TCU. They weren't. Which makes Bronco's statement that much more laughable.

I had a feeling back in October the title would not come down to that game and it won't. Utah and TCU will once again decide who wins the Mountain West - not BYU.

That must suck for the Provo faithful who, three years ago, thought they were too good for the Mountain West.

BCS News and highlights:

utesfan100, BCS Evolution — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:37:23 -0000

The BCS Race:

The Big East deserves some respect | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal: The Big East is getting it done on the field and in the polls.
Going for two: From BCS standpoint, a worst for Big 12 - KansasCity.com: The worst year for the Big 12 in the BCS era.
College Football Picks Week 11 Alert: Midshipmen Sink Irish BCS Plans | Sports Odds: Notre Dame [finally] eliminated for BCS consideration
Football Moves Up One Spot in BCS Rankings - LSUsports.net - The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics: Teams moving down the polls with a win is not unheard of. How about moving up with a loss?

BCS Heat:

Georgia Tech coach wants a playoff | ajc.com: Add another one to my list of prominent coaches for a playoff.
Analysis - College Football Season Sputtering to a Finish - News Analysis - NYTimes.com: "The college football season is like great movie with the best casting and CGI, were the screen writers drop the ball in the final resolution. It is entertaining and you feel like you got your moneys worth, but the ending leaves you hungry for something even better." - unknown
Column: BCS problems already piling up in 2009 | The Kentucky Kernel : an outline of potential conflicts

Fight gets political on college football playoff | College Sports | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: A review of last year's congressional hearing with some contextual highlights from this season.

Piling on the refs:

To err is human -- and potentially lucrative for your conference - CBSSports.com

Nuggets 90, Bulls 89: when 0.3 seconds isn't enough

your friendly BullsBlogger, Blog a Bull — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:57:03 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Look at Noah with his hands clasped. He's the best. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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	Pace	Eff	eFG	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Denver	91.0	98.9	44.6%	17.9	34.1	19.8
Chicago		97.8	46.0%	10.3	32.6	14.3

(more on the 4 factors box score)

Man, do I not like instant replay. I don't like it in any sport, to be honest. Because I feel like every time it's implemented, it winds up ruining the entertainment value of the game, with the increased stoppages where you watch old men peering into a monitor. I think it devalues the entertainment of watching the sport (which is all it is). I can't see many people that concerned about a point here or there unless they're gambling on the game, and I'd rather just assume one catches some breaks and misses some over the course of a sports-watching life.

Enough of that mini-rant, and back to this game. It's certainly possible that the referees would have ruled Brad Miller's shot no good when it occured if they knew they wouldn't have the crutch of replay, because I believe it's one of Newton's laws of physics that Brad Miller cannot catch and shoot a basketball in 0.3 seconds. But they called it good, and there are shots of the replay (ht: Sham) that indicate that it wasn't. When they started taking forever when looking at the replay, it seemed less and less likely that the on-court ruling would stand, and you could feel the crowd getting more nervous.

But honestly, we got to jump around and high-five like idiots (as did the Bulls) when Miller hit the shot, so we got that winning feeling, if only for a short time. That was fun.

This was a great game, and I was immensely impressed with the Bulls defense. I kept being surprised that they were staying in the game, and then to see them really lock down in the fourth quarter and take a lead was outstanding. With the season Carmelo Anthony is having, he's incredibly scary to see opposing your team in a close game, but the combination of Luol Deng and Joakim Noah made his life as difficult as possible, and both were fantastic on that end of the floor all night. Everyone was, pretty much, with the only defensive holes popping up sporadically was a free pass for Nene to dive down the middle of the lane without impediment. Though I wouldn't want to get in his way either.

The offense continues to stink, and I'm getting more used to it by the game. They can't shoot 3s, they don't get to the line (Rose was avoiding the lane it was a pit of lava and his only FTAs were on the late possession where Billups was trying to give a foul on the floor), traits taken to the extreme when they finished the first quarter with 20 points on 10 field-goals. It almost seems like they'd be better off just chucking the ball at the rim as early in the possession as possible to allow their offensive rebounding to take over, and that was actually how they scored their last basket, an offensive board and then Noah getting the ball stripped right into Rose's hands for a layup.

We know how the next possession went, a foul by Hinrich on Billups with .6 seconds left. He missed the second free throw leaving just enough time for a catch-and-shoot, though apparently not enough for Brad Miller to do so.

Can't say enough about how great Noah was tonight, and seeing 21 rebounds may not be to crazy for the next few weeks, with nearly nobody else on the Bulls able to cannibalize his boarding totals (and him being awesome and everything). As I mentioned, Rose was a bit too jump-shooty but made enough of them. Taj Gibson really impressed with some of his finishing around the rim. As far as the bad, Brad Miller had his worst game of the season, making one basket in 14 minutes and forcing a couple of awful passes from the high post resulting in turnovers. Salmons and Hinrich didn't shoot well and again don't hit enough threes. And Pargo sucks. Defensive rebounding remains a problem. Have I mentioned the offense is still bad?

The defense looks good though, and given their opponent tonight it was looking great. Having Luol Deng back makes all the difference, and Joakim Noah is becoming an absolute force.

Mavs Defeat Rockets 121 - 103: Postgame Quotes

Wes Cox, Mavs Moneyball — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:58:50 -0000

More photos » by Glenn James - NBAE/Getty Images

BEAST

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Erick Dampier

Why are you off to such a great start?

The guys are looking for me more around the basket. A lot of it is Jason Kidd. He has the ball in his hands a lot so the only thing I can do is present myself in an open area and try to score whenever I get it. When I get fouled I just take my time at the free throw line and knock down those shots.

We've talked a lot about the chemistry this season. Do you think that has a lot to do with Jason Kidd?

It's more of everybody being willing to make the extra pass. Our defense starts our offense. We've got to go out and defend and rebound consistently each and every night - and not really worry about the offensive end. We have guys who can put the ball in the basket and we give guys different looks every night. If somebody isn't going, then someone comes off the bench and gives us the extra pep we need. We are a team, and if we play hard together good things are going to happen for us.

What is the focus for tomorrow night?

You're talking about a totally different defensive team. We know who the ball is going to go through there. Tim is going to get his touches, if he's back. If he's playing, we'll try to contest all of his shots and make him take contested shots at the basket -- keep those guys off the boards. We can't start the game the way we started tonight. We have to start the game better, so we're just going to go out there and give it a great team effort and play some great team defense -- hopefully come out victorious.

JJ Barea

You showed real commitment to stay in the game after being down 17.

They started on fire. They were making everything. They were playing harder. I think we made a good comeback in the second quarter. At halftime coach got mad, started kicking a couple things, and got us back together. We knew we were going to comeback, and we had a hell of a second half.

What was that message in the second half?

It was just to get us pumped. 'Come on we need energy, we need to hustle, they're playing harder than us...' It was just about that. It wasn't about basketball.

How do you become a more consistent team defensively?

Keep practicing, keep getting better. It's a team defense -- five guys have to be on the same page at the same time. On the pick-and-roll we have to defend a little bit better. Brooks and Lowry were getting into the paint tonight. Keep getting better. It's a long season.

Talk about Erick Dampier.

He's one of the best. I love him as a teammate. I love him as my big guy. If he can be my big guy forever, I'll take him. He sets screens. He never asks for the ball. He does the dirty work, and we love him for that.

Rick Carlisle

We were just getting our tails kicked and the guys got angry -- started playing a lot harder and with a lot more purpose. That started the turnaround. The play in the first half was really poor. We got scored on eleven straight times at one point. It was everybody. Everybody was involved. It was late first quarter to midway through the second. It's embarrassing how poorly we were playing. Give them credit, they were agressive, and making shots, and driving the ball, and persistent defensively. They had something to do with it. This kind of wild inconsistency is obviously something we've go to to work on.

Talk about Erick Dampier.

He was great He was not only a presence around the basket, he was a force. The numbers are monster numbers, so without him we would have been in real trouble tonight. but he's been playing big for us all seven games.

Defense on Brooks in the second half...

We just did a better job guarding him. And it wasn't just one guy left on an island, our whole team was reacting to what was going on. He played over 20 minutes in the first half, so maybe he wears down a little bit too. But we were a lot better. Our disposition was strong defensively, and we played better offensively. In the first quarter we turned it over eight times or something and just were disheveled. We're going to have to play a lot better.

The Adrian Peterson Effect

aramnath, Front Office Fans — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:27:01 -0000

Adrian Peterson has been the the real MVP for the Vikings this year.

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I understand that when it comes to football that quarterback is the most important position on the field. Unfair or not they get most of the praise when things are going well and most of the blame when things are going bad. With Favre joining the Vikings this year and leading them to an impressive 7-1 record halfway through the season he has received most of the credit for turning Minnesota into legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Favre has been incredible this year and is having one of his best seasons statistically. He has been impressive so far throwing 16 TD's to just 3 interceptions. He made an incredible game-winning pass against the 49ers in the closing seconds of the game and a 58 yard bomb to Sidney Rice to lead the Vikings back against the Ravens on their last drive.

Not to take anything away from Favre, but as Chad Ochocinco would say, "child please".

The one person on this team responsible for Favre's resurrection and the Vikings' success so far is Adrian Peterson. Simply put, Peterson may be the single greatest talent that has entered the league in the last decade. Just remember that in his rookie year, Peterson rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first 8 games including an NFL single game record of 296 yards rushing against the San Diego Chargers.

Every team that faces the Vikings has to pick their poison; Peterson or Favre. So far the answer has been loud and clear that teams would prefer to take their chances being beat by Favre through the air rather being ran over by Peterson on the ground.

Just take a look at both players' success last year. Last year with an offense that had Adrian Peterson as the focal point and Tavaris Jackson as a mere caretaker at quarterback the Vikings finished 10-6 and won the NFC North. Teams knew the Vikings were going to run the ball and still couldn't stop Peterson who ran for a league leading 1,760 yards.

With the Jets last year Favre showed why he needs the support that Peterson provides. When Favre was forced to lead the Jets offense on his own last year he couldn't deliver. After a hot start he cooled down and finished with 22 TD's and 22 interceptions. The Jets finished 9-7 after an 8-3 start and missed the playoffs.

Favre is an all-time great and carved out a legend for himself in his 16 years in Green Bay. He made bad receivers look average and average receivers look great from Robert Brooks to Antonio Freeman to Billy Schroeder and the list goes on.

Don't let that legend cloud what has been apparent. Playing alongside Peterson has transformed Favre from an aging, turnover prone quarterback on his last legs like he was in New York into the Pro Bowler he's looked like this year.

Blues Release Pent-Up Goals On Canucks

Brad Lee, St. Louis Game Time — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:51:27 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

They throw the hats! And look, a bra! (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

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When it rains, it pours. Goals. Lots and lots of goals.

In their 6-1 win Tuesday night, the Blues scored four goals in the first period. That's as many goals as they scored in their last five games...COMBINED. Chalk this up as only the second win in the Drinkscotch Center this season. Oh, and David Perron had a hat trick. Hope you left the game topless, people.

Couple thoughts.

- It kind of figures that such a big, hopefully momentum-changing win happens when the first Blues game of the year isn't on local television.

- Thankfully Andrew Raycroft realized he's Andrew Raycroft. He had a sub-2.00 GAA before Thursday night. Not anymore. And then the Canucks brought out the recuperating Roberto Luongo. Since he can't score, that didn't do the trick, however I'm sure Vancouver was happy to avoid a 10-1 game.

- Perron, Andy McDonald and Brad Boyes combined for 10 points in the game. It would be nice if this outburst slingshots Boyes specifically. That dude is streaky. Hope this is the start of one.

- B.J. Crombeen and Cam Janssen both got into two fights in the game. Roman Polak got a 10-minute major. Maybe some of that feisty behavior rubbed off on the entire team. On Team 1380 last week, Janssen said he was frustrated against Phoenix last Thursday when he wasn't allowed to go when he wanted to and didn't understand the coaching staff's decisions. Doubt he'll be saying that now.

- David Perron just might be a star after all. I know we go back and forth on Perron, seemingly after every game. He's a kid. He's still getting stronger and learning. The potential is still there and oozing out all over the place. Like goals.

- This doesn't make up for last season's playoff sweep, but I'm sure there were a lot of smiles in the dressing room and hopefully a more relaxed atmosphere when the Blues go back at it Thursday night.

Now, it's video time. We serve you a Happy Meal, a frog and NAMBLA.

Thanks for your support of St. Louis Game Time. On a night when most fans can't actually see the game unless they had a ticket, we had more than 1,200 comments in the GDT. We thank you and hope you come back soon.

Week 11 MAC Blogger Roundtable

Mike Breese, Red And Black Attack — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:20:05 -0000

As we trudge onward through the gauntlet of mid-week games, Let's Go Rockets is here to host the MAC Blogger Roundtable for this week. Here are my responses to his questions.

1) There are several mid week MAC games this week, with only one game being played on Saturday. Which game are you most looking forward to watching or has the most interesting matchup?

Bowling Green @ Miami on Thursday should be a classic MAC game. Throwing the ball all over the field, zero defense and overall just an entertaining game that isn't going to be televised. Too bad that my Huskies get that timeslot on ESPNU instead against the Ball State Cardinals. OOPS.

2) Bernard Pierce of Temple is only a Freshmen yet is the only one in the conference with over 1,000 yards rushing to date (1,211) good for 3rd in the nation. He has found the end zone 14 times already and has not yet fumbled or turned the ball over. Does Pierce have an amazing offense line or should we expect this from him for 2-3 more years?

Temple is a team shrouded in mystery. They've been rolling through poor opponents and play in the lesser of the two divisions. However, Al Golden should be praised for his success for making the Temple Owls relevant. As opposed to completely off of the radar. Bernard Pierce is for real. He is basically Temple's entire offense right now. I haven't seen Temple play on TV so I can't have any opinion on how talented he or the offensive line is. This is just based on stats. Put up some youtube videos Owls fans!

3) This is a sore subject for some teams (IE - Buffalo, Toledo) but discuss the major injuries your team has endured this season and what your projected outcome WOULD HAVE BEEN if everyone was healthy. We expect 100% homerism.

We're lucky in the fact that our team has stayed relatively healthy this year. Our defensive line has taken some hits, but an army of freshmen have really stepped up at that position. Our QB Chandler Harnish is a little banged up, but his backup DeMarcus Grady is really stepping up well. I feel for other teams, but we've been doing OK. *knocks on wood. We're just paper thin at DL and DB, but seem to be doing just fine at the moment. If one more guy at those positions goes down, then we're kinda screwed.

4) Outside of the MAC, which other college program(s) most closely mirrors your respective MAC school ? Who's performance / problems / coaching / etc. is similar ?

Over the weekend, I was watching the Stanford Cardinals beat up on the Oregon Ducks. Gerhart and crew remind me so much of what Kill is doing for this program in terms of discipline and just being efficient on each side of the ball. They overcome teams with more talent with good coaching.

5) If you could reorganize the MAC divisions, how would you see it divided to better promote competition, rivalries, recruiting, etc. ? What groupings would you like to see ? (Can be any number of divisions)

The only thing I would do is bring BGSU back on over to the West so that we can beat them every year. Toledo would like that as well. We should also pick up a team like Army or WKU, or drop somebody. 13 teams causes scheduling hell.

Dolphins Second Half Preview: What to watch for

Matty I, The Phinsider — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:33:39 -0000

More photos » by J. Pat Carter - AP

Are we starting to see the beginning of the end of the 'Wildcat'?

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Yesterday we took a look back at the first half of the Dolphins' season and I tried to help ease some of the pain by highlighting many of the positives to come out of the first half of the season. Today we take a look ahead as I highlight just some of the story lines to watch in the second half of the season.

But before I do that, I just want to quickly state the obvious. I know that some fans will respond by saying that the only thing to watch for is if the Dolphins can make the playoffs. But let's be real for a moment. The Dolphins are 3-5 and I think it's pretty fair to say that it will take at least 10 wins to make the playoffs in the AFC. Some will argue that 9 wins can do it and will break out the remaining schedules of other teams and begin forecasting wins and losses to compute a way that a 9 win team can make the playoffs. And while it's possible, I'm simply not counting on it. That means the Dolphins will have to go 7-1 to have a real shot at a second consecutive postseason. That's a huge task - and I'm not counting on it at all, really.

But with that said, we can all hope. After all, you never know...

Other than an unlikely playoff appearance, here are some other story lines - in no particular order - that should make the second half of Dolphins football very interesting.

Is the 'Wildcat' finally beginning to lose its teeth?
I really hope it's not because it's become part of who the Dolphins are now. And it sure did look great for the first five games of the season, averaging 6.6 yards per play out of the formation. But in their last three games, the 'Wildcat' has been rather ineffective. One can't help but wonder if the formation is beginning to hurt this team more than help it at this point.

Of course, we also now have the 'WildPat' - when rookie quarterback Pat White takes snaps and executes a spread option type of offense. I'm fairly confident that we haven't seen the last of that formation, either. But the 'Wildcat' - as defined by having a non-quarterback take the snap from center - is either going to rise up from the ashes yet again or is going to continue to slowly die a quiet death. Which one will it be?

Can Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams become just the fifth running back duo to each rush for 1,000 yards?
Three games ago, it looked like Ronnie and Ricky had a very good chance to pull off this feat - an accomplishment that former Giants' teammates Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward achieved just last season in New York. But suddenly, it's not looking as good. As it stands, Brown is on pace for 1,132 yards while Williams projects to just 912. But with four of the team's remaining eight games against teams that rank 22nd or lower against the run, this dynamic duo could still pull it off. But it all has to start this week with strong showings by both players against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their 30th ranked rush defense.

Of course, for this to happen, Miami's $150 million offensive line has to start playing better than they've performed in these last three weeks. This unit looked like it was on its way to becoming one of the league's most physically dominant offensive lines. But they've looked average at best since the bye back in week six. Hopefully they get things back on track, beginning this week.

Will Chad Henne continue to improve?
Back in week five against the Jets on Monday Night Football, Chad Henne gave Dolphin fans everywhere a huge reason to be optimistic about his future. Making just his second career start, Henne completed 20 of 26 passes for 241 yards and 2 touchdowns as he lead the Dolphins to a fourth quarter comeback win over a hated division rival. But since then, Henne has looked pedestrian at best - completing just 54% of his passes for 542 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions over his last three games while being sacked 9 times. Granted - it's not all his fault by any means. His receivers don't get much separation and, when they do, are prone to dropping passes. His offensive line has also struggled at times to protect him.

Even still, I'm hoping to see continual positive progression from Henne over these final eight games of 2009. He needs to be a little bit more decisive in his reads and does need to improve his accuracy as well. With that said, I'm slowly becoming a true Chad Henne believer. Hopefully these final eight games seal the deal for me.

Can we get a little bit more Wake?
It was understandable at first. Cameron Wake was a very raw former CFL standout who needed to learn how to play the game at this level. Plus, we also had two veterans who have proven track records of getting to the quarterback. But I think it's finally time to let Cameron Wake get more and more snaps now. After his 2.5 sack performance against Buffalo, many of you wanted to see more of Wake. But I understood the coaching staff's decision at the time. Buffalo's offensive line is probably the worst in football's, so that could have contributed to the success Wake had. And like I said, we didn't realize at that point how ineffective Joey Porter (and to a lesser extent Jason Taylor) would become.

But against the Patriots last week, Wake saw 11 snaps and had a sack and a quarterback pressure. And just from my hazy memory, I do recall noticing Wake was a step or two away from getting to Brady at least one or two addditional times. Porter, meanwhile, suddenly looks old. I think it's time for Wake to see a major bump in his playing time.

How much better will the three rookies in the secondary continue to get?
One of the things to amaze me this season has been how - despite all the passing yards this team has surrendered - I don't cringe whenever the opposing quarterback drops back to pass. I imagine this has a lot to do with how well rookies Sean Smith and Vontae Davis have been performing. Have they made some mistakes? Yes. Have they gotten beat for big gains and touchdowns? Of course. But you can just tell that both of these guys are going to become excellent players very quickly, giving the Dolphins an outstanding young cornerback tandem. Sure, they will continue to surrender big gains at times throughout the remainder of the season. When that happens, just think of it as a good learning experience for these two kids. After all, the future is very bright for these two.

There's also a third rookie in the secondary, though, that I think will continue to see his playing time slowly increase as the season goes on. His name is Chris Clemons. The rookie safety out of Clemson finally got on the field three weeks ago, even starting the game against the Saints at free safety in place of Gibril Wilson. And let's be honest - if Gibril doesn't pick up his game as a cover safety, then we are likely to see more and more of the speedy rookie. That would be fine with me.