Patriots vs. Giants: Kickers

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Today we will focus on which team has the edge in the kicking game. One of the things that gave me the idea to do a daily article evaluating each team in the super bowl was NFL.com, last week they came out with an evaluation article of each teams main positions. They gave Cundiff the edge over Gostkowski. They were definitely spot on with that one huh?

Lawrence Tynes is an average kicker at best. His field goal percentage isn’t all that bad at slightly over 79%, but if you look at the stats you notice he isn’t trusted to much to kick the ball over 40 yards, and it looks likes its all in good reason. Tynes only attempted eight kicks over 40 this season, and only converted four of them. 50% isn’t what you are looking for in a Super Bowl game. What are the Giants going to do on 4th and 3 from the 28-yard line in a tie game with a couple minutes left? My bet is they’re going for it.

Overall Grade: C

Stephen Gostkowski may be one of the most underrated kickers in the league today. His average is just under 85% and he makes clutch kicks when called upon. The difference here is when asked to kick a field goal over forty; Gostkowski frequently comes through. He is 76% from over 40; converting on ten of thirteen field goals. The Patriots have trust in their kicker and that’s huge in a game like this when its expected to come down to as little as a field goal. Could this be an Adam Vinatieri like finish? I’d take it.

Overall Grade: B+

Edge: Patriots

NCAA Weekend Preview

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I am going to just skip over Friday because the only ranked game consists of #23 Harvard vs. Yale… Not even gonna touch that one.  On Saturday, #1 Kentucky looks to stay perfect in the SEC against LSU, which shouldn’t be tough considering their star-studded line up.  #2 Missouri looks to bounce back from their loss against Oklahoma State with a game against Texas Tech.  Normally you could count Texas Tech out but the way Missouri played the other night, they could be in trouble.  #4 Syracuse will face a tough test when they play always-strong West Virginia in a battle of the Big East.  #5 Kansas will most likely run over Iowa State, even though they have a pretty decent record so far.  #10 Georgetown plays usually-ranked Pittsburgh in a big game.  Even though the Panthers are unranked, they are going to give Georgetown a run for their money at 4:00 on ESPN.

On Sunday, #22 Michigan will look to take down power house #3 Ohio State.  This in my opinion will be the game of the weekend.  At night, Notre Dame will look to take advantage of #19 UConn’s recent struggles.  However, UConn will be wearing their new uniforms (click here) , so maybe they can find some sort of spark that they have been lacking in recent weeks.

Winter X Games are Upon Us

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If your anything like me, the Winter X Games may be the only thing to get me through this winter with no snow. Maybe it’s the lack of snow and winter-like weather conditions around here this year, but the Winter X Games kind of snuck up on us. The 16th edition of the winter games kicked off today in Aspen and as always should make for an exciting week on the slopes. Regardless of the results at the end of the weekend, the highlight of the Winter X Games 2012 will be Sarah Burke and remembering her legendary presence. RIP Sarah

 

L.A. Divided

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Sorry for a bit of an absence in my BSB presence, but I was taking some much needed vacation time out of the spotlight.

Anyway, looks like the Lakers may have a new rival in the cross-town Clippers. Finally emerging from the depths and putting together a formidable squad this year, the Clippers obviously have some serious talent on their roster. Last night there was obvious hostility between the two, led by none other than Ron Meta Worldpeace (or whatever his name is now). I still find his name a bit ironic for a person who is a pretty dirty basketball player, someone who answers interview questions with statements about baby teeth, yet changes his name to promote peace among men. Anyway, even Pau Gasol got into it a little last night with Chris Paul, which is flat out bullying if you ask me, even though I think CP3 could actually take him.

Regardless, the Lakers are proving to be a pretty serious squad this year, and Kobe is confirming he still has plenty left in the tank (even surpassing some of Jordan’s numbers in the beginning of 1996). Needless to say, this year’s NBA has some pretty fresh talent and a whole new approach to rivalries.

What are your thoughts on the new NBA balance of power?

(Fast Forward to 0:55 Mark)

 

Patriots vs. Giants: Defensive Line

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Today we will take a look at the defensive lines of the Giants and the Patriots, I know this might be the best part of the Patriots defense (not saying much), but I think you all know where this one is going.

20120126-115805.jpgThe Giants have arguably the best pass rush in the whole NFL. There isn’t a team that can pressure the quarterback without blitzing the way the Giants can. I hate bringing it up as much as the next guy; but when the Patriots matched up against the Giants last time in the Super Bowl their offensive line got exposed by the rush of the Giants. On many passing downs the Giants will switch off D-Tackle Linval Joseph and they will go with a four man front of Umenyiora, Tuck, Pierre-Paul, and Kiwanuka. The fact that the Giants pass defense is as bad as it is when they often times have no need to blitz and can keep many players back in coverage really shows how inept their secondary is. A combination like that possesses more speed up front than any D-Line in the NFL. The bright spot of their defensive line has to be Jason Pierre-Paul. He leads the team with 16.5 sacks so far this season. Osi Umenyiora isn’t to bad himself; he’s only played in nine games this year and has still recorded 9 sacks. Expect Brady to make many changes at the line of scrimmage based on the personnel the Giants send out there. This game is going to come down to the success both sides have in the trenches.

Overall Grade: A

The Patriots defensive line is very solid. They have a big presence in the middle with Big Vince clogging up all the running holes, and he even showed last week he could get after the quarterback as well. The loss of Andre Carter certainly didn’t help the pass rush, but veteran Mark Anderson has stepped right in and recorded 10 sacks this season. Like many positions on this team, the Patriots have a constant rotation on the D-Line. Kyle Love, Brandon Deadrick, Shaun Ellis and Gerard Warren always move in and out of the game. You have to be confident the Patriots run defense shouldn’t be the main issue against a team that often times forgets they have a running back. Overall the Patriots defensive line looks solid and should be able to get some pressure on Eli.

Overall Grade: B+

Edge: Giants

Rondo Plays Big (except he’s injured)

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For those of you who didn’t notice, the NBA has moved away from their “Where Amazing Happens” slogans and moved towards their “Big” advertising attempt.  Rajon Rondo happens to be the main star of the first installment of the commercial. “The focus on Rondo is that he plays big” according to Danny Meiseles, executive vice president and executive producer of broadcasting for the NBA.  They also focus on Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki, but seeing as they are not from Boston, we can just ignore that.

For Rondo to even be put in the same character as the best scorer (KD) and the best white guy in the league (other than Scalabrine of course), is pretty amazing.  He needs to be the future of our team now that we are getting older, and it is nice to see that the league recognizes his hard work from when he came into the league from Kentucky a few years ago. Many skeptics thought he was crazy but he showed hard work and fortitude and has become one of the best players around.

Brady on SI Cover, Again

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20120126-093810.jpgWith the hype of the Super Bowl surrounding us, Sports Illustrated has just issued their Super Bowl magazine this week featuring Tom Brady on the cover. This is Brady’s 15th time on the cover so most Pats fans are just going to use that as another arguing point as to how much better Brady is than Eli, which obviously is a closed discussion. On the other hand, those who pay attention to detail, or even the superstitious readers already know what I’m getting at.

I’ll put it simple. Brady was on the same cover in 2008 for the Super Bowl preview against the Giants. A few months later, Brady was on the cover of another SI issue, just a week before he tore his ACL and MCL in September 2008 against the Chiefs. In regards to the superstitious, I apologize for even posting this, but it had to be said. On the bright side, there were 12 other times he was on the cover and everything was fine. If there’s one guy that doesn’t get fazed by this kind of superstition and hype, it’s Brady. I still have faith. No magazine cover jinx is going to stop Tom from joining the prestigious four ring club. Not on his watch.

Nike’s New Uniforms

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We all know about the Oregon Ducks and their uniforms that change every week.  Now Nike has released a new Platinum line for 9 powerhouse basketball teams (both men and womens? because everyone cares about that) . The teams that were chosen to wear the Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms are Arizona, UConn, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and Syracuse men and the Baylor and UConn women.  Being a big UConn fan, I like the idea of changing it up, maybe they can play better too!  On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind seeing UNC and Duke lose in those colors, or any colors for that matter.  These jerseys will debut on Sunday when UConn plays Notre Dame.  Each teams jersey has a little bit different coloring, but for the most part look the same.

TOB$ Time: Toss Up Round 2

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Monster free agent signing in the MLB yesterday. Prince Fielder joined Miguel Cabrera and the reigning AL Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander in Detroit. I thought two things when I saw this signing. First, was HOLY SHIT. This was simply due to Fielders NINE year $214 million dollar contract. I can’t believe the Tigers agreed to  such a long contract with a 27 year old guy like Prince.

Second thing I thought of (and the point of this article) was that this has created one of the best 3-4 batters in a lineup in a while. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder have a chance to do something real special over in Detroit. I immediately thought of Manny-Big Papi for the Red Sox in 2004 and 2005. They were the best in business (maybe steroids had a bit to do with it) and they were a force for years. More importantly, they were consistent and incredibly clutch, clutch enough to break an 86 year old curse.

Here is the 2004 and 2005 seasons in stats for Manny and Ortiz and Feilder and Miguel Cabrera’s individual stats for last year:

GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP
Manny 2004 BOS 152 568 108 175 44 0 43 130 82 124 2 4 0.308 0.397
Ortiz 2004 BOS 150 582 94 175 47 3 41 139 75 133 0 0 0.301 0.38
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP
Manny 2005 BOS 152 554 112 162 30 1 45 144 80 119 1 0 0.292 0.388
Ortiz 2005 BOS 159 601 119 180 40 1 47 148 102 124 1 0 0.3 0.397
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP
Cabrera 2011 DET 161 572 111 197 48 0 30 105 108 89 2 1 0.344 0.448
Fielder 2011 MIL 162 569 95 170 36 1 38 120 107 106 1 1 0.299 0.415

Before anyone gets on my case, I understand Prince just came from a pretty good 3-4 punch on the Brewers with Ryan Braun, but Miguel has never batted around the type of talent Prince has, thus inflating his stats in future years (and no Victor Martinez, who batted behind Cabrera last year, does not count). Braun has had the protection of Prince for 5 years and I like to think this has influenced his stats a great deal. Don’t get me wrong, he is a great player, but I like Miguel Cabrera as a hitter more than steroid boy Braun.

After throwing up this comparison, in some ways I feel stupid. The numbers from Ortiz and Manny are jaw dropping. That’s all that can be said. Granted they may have had some help from a few friendly needles up their ass, but those numbers are rediculous. I think Cabrera will have an incredible year this year and Fielder might even have a better year in hitter friendly Comerica Park, but who knows if they can touch Manny and Papi’s numbers. The big factor will be whether they can win a couple World Series rings together, like the former two led the Sox to do.

Patriots vs. Giants: Linebackers

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Today we will take a look at the linebacker comparison between the Giants and the Patriots.

The Giants linebacker presence often times goes unnoticed. This isn’t because they aren’t good, or they don’t get their job done. It’s because of their QB hungry defensive line. Giants linebackers aren’t on the field to be pass rushers like many other teams use their linebackers. The linebacking crew consists of Michael Boley, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jacquian Williams, Greg Jones, and Chase Blackburn. Boley and Kiwanuka are both above average linebackers, with great speed. The others are mere average defenders.  Often times you will see Kiwanuka line up at the end position when they are in passing downs. Overall the linebacking group is average at best, and Perry Fewell does a great job making sure they don’t get exposed.

Overall Grade: C

Like the Giants, the Patriots have a seamlessly never ending linebacker rotation. Brandon Spikes coming back from injury was huge for their run defense, and it showed last week when the Pats basically shut down the most explosive part of the Ravens offense. Jerod Mayo is a top tier middle linebacker, and Rob Ninkovich has been improving all year and is showing he can be solid NFL talent and consistently put pressure on the opponent’s quarterback. Overall the Patriots linebacking crew is very solid when healthy, and that’s how it is right now.

Overall Grade: B

Edge: Patriots