By Jason Comack
With the NFL season over and the combine beginning the NFL has become draft crazy. Enough time has passed for teams, and fans, to stop thinking about what happened last year and to start looking towards the future.
For the Jets a lot of the talk has been centered around new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano and his return to a “ground and pound” offense. Subsequently there have been reports linking the Jets to Alabama workhorse running back Trent Richardson. Mike Mayock compared Richardson to Adrian Peterson. "His size-speed ratio is great," Mayock said. "He's got tremendous feet for his size, really good balance and good vision."
But even if Richardson is as good as Peterson is he worth taking with the 16th overall pick? Recent history would tell us no. Look at this years playoffs:
In the Superbowl the Patriots started BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who went undrafted in 2008. The Superbowl champion New York Giants started Ahmad Bradshaw, a seventh round pick in 2007. The Giants spelled Bradshaw with Brandon Jacobs, a fourth round pick in 2005.
Looking deeper the run first 49ers started Frank Gore, a third round pick in 2005. The Ravens started Ray Rice, a second round pick in 2008. The Texans started Arian Foster, who went undrafted in 2009.
Drafting Richardson would also ignore the fact that the NFL has become a quarterback and pass first league. Even traditional run first teams like the Steelers and the Giants have become aerial attackers.
Since the Vikings drafted Peterson in 2007 they have a record of 39-41. They only made the playoffs twice in those five seasons. It's a fools errand to attempt to pin wins and losses on the back of one player. What has been proven however, is that drafting a running back of even Peterson's caliber is not an elixir to magically cure a teams problems.
Running backs typically have a short shelf life and for the most part a good running back is more a byproduct of system and the strength of his offensive line. After five great seasons Peterson enters his sixth with an uncertain future. Entering his age 27 season, and coming off a torn ACL, one can only wonder how much, if any, of Peterson's prime remains.
Peterson, even at full strength, was not a perfect running back. Unlike Ray Rice, Matt Forte, Frank Gore and Arian Foster, Peterson is not a prolific pass catcher or blocker and Peterson was occasionally removed on third down. The Vikings even invested a second round pick in Toby Gerhart, in 2010, to be their third down back.
In 2007 Peterson went 7th overall. Drafted after him were ho-hum players like Patrick Willis, Darrelle Revis and Lawrence Timmons. If the Jets took Richardson at 16 they would be making a similar mistake.
Like what you see? Read Jason on ProSportsBlogging.com ,you can also hear him every Monday and Thursday on the Sportswire from 6-7 on 88.1 FM and WCWPSports.com . Follow him on twitter at WCWPJason
Friday, February 24, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Patience is a Virtue
The New York Knicks' record currently stands at 9-15, a tremendous disappointment for the expectations that were placed on this team by everyone: the players, the coach, the media, the fans, you name it. I'm one of these people that were expecting big things from the Knicks this season, and I still am. Patience is key.
I am aware that the season is shortened to 66 games due to the lockout, but you have to keep in mind that the season is only one third of the way finished. Keep in mind, as horrendous as the Knicks have played to open up this campaign, they are 1 1/2 games behind the MIGHTY Milwaukee Bucks, who are without Andrew Bogut, for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Right now, the Orlando Magic have the sixth spot, and they don't even know if Dwight Howard will be on their team after the All-Star break. And the aging Boston Celtics have the seventh spot.
Say what you want, but it's a long year, and you only need to get to the eighth spot to dance. A fun fact: the last time the NBA was in a Lockout, the Knicks took a while to gel as a unit and sneaked into the playoffs as the EIGHTH seed at a record of 27-23. It doesn't matter who pretty or ugly it is, just get to the eighth spot, and with the talent on this roster, I believe it will be done.
As tough as it is to watch some of these dreadful games, you have to expect growing pains and a little bit of time to gain chemistry between the players. Amare Stoudemire has had to change up his role almost entirely from last season with the addition of a true center, Tyson Chandler. However, with the addition of the true center, the Knicks lost a true point guard; something the team is severely lacking right now. When the Knicks amnestied Chauncey Billups, his salary came off the books and therefore the Knicks could get the inside presence they sorely needed.
It's been tough to watch rookie Iman Shumpert, Toney Douglas, and even Mike Bibby try and run the point this year trying to set the offense up. The fans and media in New York love to hate on Coach Mike D'Antoni for his all offense, no defense mentality, but he hasn't been given the most important thing for his offensive philosophy to truly thrive: a point guard!
If you look in the past, Amare and Melo have always had a Steve Nash, a Chauncey Billups, or an Andre Miller to dish it out to them. Not this year. People thought Baron Davis would fill that role when he came back, but he has appeared to have had another setback with his injury.
But look who is coming to the rescue: the Harvard grad! Jeremy Lin?! It may seem strange, and who could have predicted it, but Lin has some game. He burst on the scene at MSG against the Nets, and played excellent. He had 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Possibly more impressive was the fact that he guarded Deron Williams very well. I'm not going to declare Lin the savior to the Knicks, but his abililty to penetrate and get the offense going is a great sign. I acknowledge that it's only one game, and yes it was the Nets, but let's see what Lin can provide in his first start tonight against the Utah Jazz.
Lin has definitely brought an element of fun and excitement back to the Garden. It looks like the chemistry is building, slowly but surely. The Knicks have won two of their last four games, and lost two tough games to Chicago and Boston. Give it some time, the Knicks are almost there. Jeremy Lin may have been the spark to a slow start for the Knicks.
To close this out, I'm going to have to disagree with a line from Drake's "Crew Love" in regard to Jeremy Lin: "I guess we'll never know where Harvard gets us..." FALSE. We do. It's the playoffs, Drake.
-David Otero
Listen to David on the Sportswire on Tuesdays from 6-7 pm on 88.1 FM and wcwp.org, and follow him on Twitter @David_ODog.
I am aware that the season is shortened to 66 games due to the lockout, but you have to keep in mind that the season is only one third of the way finished. Keep in mind, as horrendous as the Knicks have played to open up this campaign, they are 1 1/2 games behind the MIGHTY Milwaukee Bucks, who are without Andrew Bogut, for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Right now, the Orlando Magic have the sixth spot, and they don't even know if Dwight Howard will be on their team after the All-Star break. And the aging Boston Celtics have the seventh spot.
Say what you want, but it's a long year, and you only need to get to the eighth spot to dance. A fun fact: the last time the NBA was in a Lockout, the Knicks took a while to gel as a unit and sneaked into the playoffs as the EIGHTH seed at a record of 27-23. It doesn't matter who pretty or ugly it is, just get to the eighth spot, and with the talent on this roster, I believe it will be done.
As tough as it is to watch some of these dreadful games, you have to expect growing pains and a little bit of time to gain chemistry between the players. Amare Stoudemire has had to change up his role almost entirely from last season with the addition of a true center, Tyson Chandler. However, with the addition of the true center, the Knicks lost a true point guard; something the team is severely lacking right now. When the Knicks amnestied Chauncey Billups, his salary came off the books and therefore the Knicks could get the inside presence they sorely needed.
It's been tough to watch rookie Iman Shumpert, Toney Douglas, and even Mike Bibby try and run the point this year trying to set the offense up. The fans and media in New York love to hate on Coach Mike D'Antoni for his all offense, no defense mentality, but he hasn't been given the most important thing for his offensive philosophy to truly thrive: a point guard!
If you look in the past, Amare and Melo have always had a Steve Nash, a Chauncey Billups, or an Andre Miller to dish it out to them. Not this year. People thought Baron Davis would fill that role when he came back, but he has appeared to have had another setback with his injury.
But look who is coming to the rescue: the Harvard grad! Jeremy Lin?! It may seem strange, and who could have predicted it, but Lin has some game. He burst on the scene at MSG against the Nets, and played excellent. He had 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Possibly more impressive was the fact that he guarded Deron Williams very well. I'm not going to declare Lin the savior to the Knicks, but his abililty to penetrate and get the offense going is a great sign. I acknowledge that it's only one game, and yes it was the Nets, but let's see what Lin can provide in his first start tonight against the Utah Jazz.
Lin has definitely brought an element of fun and excitement back to the Garden. It looks like the chemistry is building, slowly but surely. The Knicks have won two of their last four games, and lost two tough games to Chicago and Boston. Give it some time, the Knicks are almost there. Jeremy Lin may have been the spark to a slow start for the Knicks.
To close this out, I'm going to have to disagree with a line from Drake's "Crew Love" in regard to Jeremy Lin: "I guess we'll never know where Harvard gets us..." FALSE. We do. It's the playoffs, Drake.
-David Otero
Listen to David on the Sportswire on Tuesdays from 6-7 pm on 88.1 FM and wcwp.org, and follow him on Twitter @David_ODog.
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