Monday, May 01, 2006
The Big Sports Questions of the Day
How is it that the Denver Nuggets became the first team to allow the LA Clippers to advance to the second round of the playoffs?
Easy. The root of it was that they didn’t rebound well throughout the entire series. On top of that, they shot poorly--from long distance, from the free throw line, and even close up--every single night. The shots and chances were there, but the Nuggets just failed to score their open shots.
They looked unfocused and uneven, never settling into their game and never managing to break out of the slump that started well before the playoffs.
Why did Kubiak pass on Reggie Bush?
I’m surprised at the surprise. Kubiak has been playing with Mike Shanahan for years now, and what has Shanahan shown the league? That you can create schemes that make solid, skilled running backs into 1400+ yard rushers and never spend a high round draft pick to get there; but pass rushing defenders are harder to come by.
For all that Shanahan builds much of the Broncos’ success on a rushing attack, it’s also quite clear that he won’t break the bank to hold onto all but the most special of the bunch. He’s had a much harder time building a consistent pass rush over the past few years.
That doesn’t mean that I agree with the decision: Mario Williams might or might not be the next Reggie White, but Reggie Bush is most definitely an amazingly talented running back who, barring injury, would contribute hugely to any team from the first time he touches the ball. He may or may not be quite as good as the hype would indicate, but he is--undeniably--an exceptional talent.
But it’s easy to understand how Kubiak could take a very specific lesson away from his years coaching with Shanahan.
What happened to the Detroit Redwings?
Heheh. They lost. That never stops feeling good.
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Comments & Trackbacks
I remember thinking the same thing when Barry Sanders went third in the 1989 NFL Draft.
I feel bad saying this, but I haven’t watched a single hockey game all season. First, Akron isn’t a Hockey town at all, nor is Cleveland. Second, the majority of the hockey fans around here are either Red Wings fans or from Canada. Third, when games are actually aired here, they tend to be Eastern teams. It makes it hard.
Still, knowing that the Red Wings lost did put a smile on my face. At least THAT hasn’t changed!
I think now, and said before the draft, that Houston should have traded the #1 pick. That team has more problems than any one person can fix, and there’s no guarantee that even a number one draft pick will actually turn into a decent player in the NFL.
All that said, assuming that Houston still wanted to keep the #1 pick, a running back isn’t the first place to look for help. The number of great running backs on bad teams in the history of the NFL is legion. Oh, were Bush to turn out to be the second coming of Billy Simms, or OJ Simpson, or Gale Sayers, I have no doubt that the Texans would win a game or two more per season. But take a look at the records of the teams with elite, incipient-hall-of-fame-member running backs. The correlation between running back quality and number of victories is pretty low.
Oh, and “Go (away) Red Wings!” (Is this the year we finally see the team torn apart and completely restructured with a median age under 40?)
Dunt Dunt Dunt DA Duh (etc) Red Wings Suck. Really.
Ah, the brilliant--yet somehow sad--career of Barry Sanders. I really wish the end had been better.
Jerry, I’m glad I could bring a bit of happiness into your life today. I didn’t see many of the games during the season, but I’ve been religious about watching the playoffs so far. I’m still a football fan to my core, but the NHL playoffs probably count as the most purely exciting games that I’ll watch during the entire year.
Roger, you speak a beautiful truth.
Doug, I was thinking the same thing: they really should have traded down for a handful of picks. They could have really cleaned up selling the right to draft Bush--they could have had the chance to make a much greater difference for a marginal team.