Thoughts on Butler vs. NU

I got some last minute tickets to the NU vs. Butler game and decided to go see them play.  Butler is currently ranked 10th in the ESPN/USA today poll and 11th in the AP. Here are some thoughts from the game.  Another quick note is that NU is missing Kevin Coble (foot) and Jeff Ryan (ACL). Both Ryan and Coble's injuries are season ending.

Butler:

For where Butler is ranked, they did not play like it. Northwestern playing without Coble and Ryan were able to stay in the game for most of the first half and early into the second.   Northwestern hung with Butler before Butler went on a 12-0 run in the second half to put it away.

Horizon league ore-season player of the year Matt Howard did not play particularly well. Howard finished the game  4-8 with  9 points. Howard looked a little off tonight  but expect him to pick it up the rest of the year. Gordon Heyward, one of my favorite players, and Shelvin Mack picked up slack with 14 and 15 respectively.

Butler attacked Northwestern's 1-3-1 by having their guards drive and kick the ball out into the corner for wide open three point shots. Avery Jukes and Zach Hahn were a combined 5-7 from downtown, all of which I believe came from the corner. Depending on who is in the game, Butler will have five guys who can shoot the three.

Jukes and Hahn seem to lead what is a deep Butler bench. Nine guys got at least 10 minutes tonight, which should help them long term. They did not seem to skip a beat when Shawn Vanzant left the game after playing only sixteen minutes after getting poked in the eye.

One other thing to look for is Butler's poor free throw shooting. They shot 72% as a team last year, but were 8-16 tonight from the stripe. Not sure if this will be a trend, but it could lose them some games if the poor free throw shooting continues.

Butler winning the Horizon league should not be an issue. Cleveland St. has been tough for them the past couple of seasons, but Wright St. was picked to finish second in the conference.

Northwestern:

This is a team that is going to struggle with out Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan. NU had 16 turnovers and with an offense that is going to struggle to score, that is way too much.

If NU has any success, John Shurna and Luka Mirkovic will have to step up. Shurna is tough and can post up certain guards. Mirkovic is NU's only inside presence. Kyle Rowley is soft  and needs some post moves.Jeremy Nash is an athletic player with no jump shot. For Nash to be successful, it will most likely be on the defensive end and driving to the hoop. Juice Thompson will have to control this offense and not turn the ball over so much.

If NU upsets teams, it will be because they have slowed the game down and are hitting their three pointers. It did neither of those things tonight. NU was 30% from downtown today and seemed to play a lot faster then they wanted to. Low scoring games will be NU's friend this year.

NU will probably finish last in the Big 10. I did not see how they will win many games this year.

-Mike Moreau

Up for debate

Maurice Jones-Drew made what a lot of people think is a really smart play today towards the end of the Jaguarss-Jets today.

With the Jaguars driving, Jones-Drew took a hand off from David Garrard, ran from nine yards and took a knee at the 1. Jaguars coaches told Jones-Drew to get as close as possible and then stop to keep the lock ticking.

“Sorry to my fantasy owners,” Jones-Drew deadpanned. “I apologize. I had myself today. It was a tough call, but whatever it takes to get the victory, that’s what counts.”

The Saints had no time-outs and Garrard took a knee n back to back plays and Josh Scobee kicked the game winning field goal. The Jaguars won the game 24-22.

Now, I am not questioning this move because Jones-Drew is on my fantasy team, I question it because Scobee could have missed that field goal. Something could have happened on the snap. Other unfortunate things that could have cost the Jags the game. Jones had a clear path into the end zone, why not just get in the end zone? Is it smart thinking if Scobee misses the field goal?

Scobee did nail the field goal, the Jaguars won the game, and taking a knee at the one became a smart play. If Jones-Drew scores that touchdown the score becomes 27-22, meaning the Jets still would have needed a touchdown on the following possession. The score would stay 27-22 if the Jaguars missed the two point conversation they would have likely have gone for in that situation. It seems odd that I have not heard anyone question this play. Why not make a struggling Mark Sanchez beat you?

Remember when Tomy Romo fumbled that snap for the game winning field goal against the Seahawks? I do. It is always better to take the points.  It is odd to say thinking too much can be bad, but on a football field it can be. When you have do more than what is asked of you, you never know what can happenCrazy things can happen and sometimes do. 99.9% of the time the kicker will make that field goal, but it is better to be safe than sorry. . Bradon Stokely killed time after making that miracle catch but he eventually scored. There are times when this play is appropriate and sometimes when it it is not.

The Jaguars won the game, so none of this really matters right now, because now it is a smart play. Just remember in the future if something like this happens and something goes wrong. Remember who questioned the thought of plays like this. Coming from a guy whose teams tend to have ridiculous things happen to them, I hope you can understand why I tend to think the worst things will happen.

Other thoughts

Dave Matter empties his notebook on the Mizzou-Kansas St. game and offers some bowl projections

Ohio St. beat Iowa in an exciting Big 10 game to clinch a share of the Big 10 championship. The Big 12 is now likely to get two teams into BCS bowls. Will they fold like they have in the past or finally rise to the challenge and win a big game out of conference?

Big 12 Championship is looking like a Nebraska vs. Texas match-up if both teams take care of business.  Nebraska is the North's best chance to beat the South in the Big 12 title game. It is unlikely that Mizzou or Kansas St. would have been able to keep up with Texas. Texas has steam rolled pretty much every one they have played this year.

I just finished the book The Original Curse. The premise behind the book is the idea that the 1918 Cubs may have been the inspiration for the 1919 Black Sox's. Interesting book and a must read for Cub and baseball fans out there.

Next up on the blog will be a ten game recap on the Bulls season so far.

-Mike Moreau

Football thoughts from the weekend

Here are some football thoughts from the weekend.


Bears vs. Cardinals

Tommie Harris- The game got off to a great start when Tommie Harris decided he wanted to punch someone after a few plays into the game. What are you thinking? Many people are thinking how can a player be so riled up after four plays.  It is unbelievable how a player who signed a 4 year $40 million dollar contract extension in 2008 has gotten so bad. Harris has not been the same since he ruptured his hamstring in 2006 and it could be time to let him figure it out elsewhere. As Jeff Dickers just mentioned on ESPN 1000's Waddle and Silvy show, "Tommie Harris is a waste if time." The more Tommie Harris plays, I tend to agree with that though.

Defense- Just plain awful. Eleven guys off the street could have scored every time they touched the ball in the first half the way they played yesterday. It will be interesting to see how the team plays the rest of the season with a tough schedule. Giving up 182 rushing yards to the worst rushing team in the league is unacceptable. If the Bears defense does not get it together soon, they may not win another game.

Ken Wisenhunt- With 11:50 to go in the game and the Cards up 34-14, Wisenhunt put in back up qb Mattt Leinhart. Immediately, I wondered, Why is he in the game? Warner ate the Bears alive the whole game. Leinhart throws an interception and all of the sudden the Bears are back in the game. The Bears scored a touchdown on their drive to make it 34-21 and gained a lot of momentum in the game. If not for a Jay Cutler interception that gave the Cardinals a short field, it is not crazy to think the Bears could have won that game. The defense played better in the second half and the offense finally seemed to come to life. After the Leinhart interception and Bears td, Wisenhunt wisely put Warner back into the game. Wisenhunt is very lucky this strange decision did not come back to hurt him.

Chargers vs. Giants

After an interception by the Giants to the Chargers 4, it looked like the Giants had the game in hand. The Giants got called for offensive holding, and then ran two plays for short gains. The third play is the play in question. The Giants had 3rd and Goal from the Chargers 9 up 17-14, Tom Coughlin plays it safe, runs the ball out of shotgun. The Giants kick the field goal and go up 20-14. I understand the call. Coughlin thought his defense would shut down the Chargers, but why not go for the kill? Does Coughlin not trust Eli enough to make a throw in the red zone? Eli could have thrown an incomplete pass and the Chargers still could have driven down for the game winning touchdown. If the Giants score a td, game over.  The Giants have now lost four in a row and it should be interesting to see what NY Giants radio and fans are saying right now.

Eagles vs. Cowboys

To start these thoughts, we will have to go back a little in the game to explain this. The Eagles had 4th and 1 on the Cowboys and decide to go for it. Now, it looks like McNabb got the first down, but the refs  give the Eagles and McNabb a terrible spot. Andy Reid decides he is going to challenge the play. It is important to note that this is the Eagles second challenge and if they lost the challenge, also their last timeout would be gone. The challenge is upheld and the Eagles not only have no challenges, but also no timeouts. I do not blame the Eagles for going for it, but I do question them challenging a call that on replay looked inconclusive. Someone upstairs should have helped Andy Reid out and the Eagles probably  should not have challenged it. The Cowboys score of the next drive to go up 20-13. The Eagles are driving and get to the Cowboys 34 before they are stopped. The Eagles have 4th and 11 at the Cowboys 34, but Andy Reid decides to kick a field goal instead of going for it on fourth down. I agree with Chris Collinsworth, who said something to the effect of going for the field goal does not really change the fact the Eagles would still need a td.  Al Michaels then said the only thing that changed is if they get a td they would win. Having no timeouts, the Eagles should have been more inclined to go for it. The defense played relatively well, but it does not change the fact that the Cowboys could control the game. They did exactly that. The Cowboys got a couple of first downs and the game ended because the Eagles could not stop the clock. Who really knows what Andy Reid was thinking, but Eagles fans can not be happy with that call.

-Mike Moreau

What were they thinking?

What were they thinking is back! I know everyone who reads this wondered where it went for a few weeks, but I got pretty busy. Anyways, things were back to normal this week and I got to watch quite a bit of sports this weekend. Normally there is only one candidate, but for this edition there are three names that come to mind. Here are the candidates for this edition of what were they thinking.

Candidate #1- Kansas Coach Mark Mangino 

Situation-Kansas is down seven, 4 and 1 (probably a little less than 1) with a little over seven minutes to go

Result-Todd Reesing fumbles the snap and Texas Tech runs it in for for the go ahead touchdown to put Tech up 14.

What I did not like-It seemed a little to early to go for it on fourth down in a seven point game. The game had been pretty close for the most part. The decision to go for it seemed like an indictment on Kansas defense. It is always easier to second guess, but punting the ball and giving yourself a chance seems like a much better option. Instead of being down seven, Kansas got down 14 and the game was pretty much over.

Candidate # 2- Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh

For some reason Suh decided to go for a joyride after Nebraska's win against Baylor. Suh blew a  .035 below the limit of .08, but still not a smart idea. Suh should have just stayed asleep at his friends house rather than try to get to home. Suh not only messed up his land rover (over 10,000 in damages), but also hit two other cars ($8,000 a piece) and totaled another one. Suh is lucky things did not get worse for him and no one was seriously hurt.  Suh is an extremely talented player who will go on to make big dollars on the next level. No one says not to drink and have a little fun, but think the next time. Give credit to Nebraska coach, Bo Pellini for disciplining Suh.

Candidate # 3- Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels


Hamels, potential game seven started for the Phillies in the World series if it gets that far, had a brain fart after game five.

"I can't wait for it to end," Hamels was quoted as saying after the game. "It's been mentally draining. At year's end, you just can't wait for a fresh start." (ESPN)

Whether Hamels meant it or not, this is not something that should get said aloud. Hamels has a lot going on in his life with a newborn child and the rough year he has had. As a manager, I would not be so sure I could trust Hamels after a statement like that. Hamels has talked with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to make sure they are on the same page, but does he trust Hamels?

The Winner-

After some careful thought, the winner is... Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh. Hamels and Mangino made questionable decisions, but Suh could have hurt someone, including himself. In the future Suh will think better about making questionable decisions driving drunk. Suh should be terrific on the NFL level so in the end, getting in trouble should help him think a lot better.

-Mike Moreau


Mangino Photo-http://rankthatcoach.com/blog/2007/12/kansas-mangino-is-coach-of-the-year/

Suh Photo- http://www.cornnation.com/photos/how-cornnation-voted-for-all-big

Hamels photo-http://citifield.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/utley-disappointing-mets-falter-in-11th-5-4-61009/