I would like to start off this blog by giving a sincere and heartfelt congratulations to both the Texas Tornado and St. Louis Bandits of the NAHL. They had one of, if not the best series of the first round of the division playoffs. The Tornado gave the defending champion Bandits all they could handle and more. Texas won the first two games of the series in St. Louis. Then the Bandits stole back two games in Texas, including game four's triple overtime winner, and then St. Louis won another overtime thriller at the Hardees Iceplex in game 5. Jordan Bourgonje scored with 12 seconds left to tie it up and then Grant Gettinger scored with 9:22 left in OT to win it and advance to the division finals. The Tornado goaltender, Dan Sullivan, was definitely the top star of the series. He kept his team in every game despite being badly outshot in just about every contest. It was a privilege to call that game and I'll have highlight videos posted down at the bottom.
- On to the Rams. I have another blog about my opinion on who the team should draft, but I have resigned myself to the idea that St. Louis will probably draft a quarterback and that man will most likely be Sam Bradford. While this is what will likely happen I still say that it is a mistake. I still don't see the smarts in drafting an injury prone, shotgun system quarterback who isn't very mobile. The Rams offensive line, even when semi-decent, has been bad enough to cost us two good to elite quarterbacks. Kurt Warner got injured and shellshocked from too many hits as a St. Louis Ram. Marc Bulger looked like a zombie he got hit so much and developed happy feet, which signaled his end in this town. Now the brains behind the scenes think it wise to bring in someone who has repeated shoulder problems from being hit and someone who isn't any more mobile than Bulger was and put him behind the same offensive line. Also there isn't anyone for him to throw to. I'm sorry, but when the team's best receivers are an undersized, too-highly drafted Avery and a practice squad castoff from out east, then I highly doubt this team's offensive output will improve with a combination of AJ Feely and Sam Bradford.
- The St. Louis Blues officially made Davis Payne their full time headcoach. This is a good idea to me. I don't know who all is out there, but as a fan I saw enough improvement under Payne to give him a full season to show what he can do with this team. Also, with the retirement of GM Larry Pleau, new GM Doug Armstrong has an ideal situation with the team keeping Payne. As suggested to me by a friend, Armstrong either looks good by Payne keep his job and having the team succeed under him or if the team falters again he can say that he wasn't fully the GM yet and can bring in his own coach next season. Personally, I think Payne will succeed. Whether or not he's the coach to bring a Cup to the Lou, I don't know. Yet, he can identify with the younger players easier and there needs to be more of them on the team next year.
The Blues need to add either a top line scorer or solid veteran defenseman with enough left in the tank that they don't have cement in their skates. Goaltending has to be addressed as well. Chris Mason is a quality goalie but too inconsistent. If someone is out there to be picked up that would be an improvement, then the Blues should jump on that. All that said, regardless of roster moves, this team has to just simply improve and eliminate their mistakes. Even after Payne was brought in as coach, the club often did many of the same mistakes as when Andy Murray was coach. To me that says that coaching was not the only problem. Only time will tell and for this writer, September can't get here quickly enough. At least there is the World Cup in July to tide me over.
- Although my Blues are not involved, I will be interested to see how the NHL playoffs unfold. Lots of questions. Can the Coyotes hold home-ice advantage or will Detroit keep up their hot play since the end of the Olympics? Will Washington finally use all that talent to get to the finals or will they falter again? Can Ryan Miller carry the Sabers the way he did Team USA?
From a personal standpoint, I hope the answer to all of those is yes. I want Detroit gone in the opening round. I want Washington to make it to the Conference Finals at the very least if not the NHL finals. A matchup against Pittsburgh would be great for TV, but it would benefit the league just as much to have Ovechkin in the finals as Sidney Crosby. Plus Sid the Kid just rubbed me the wrong way after the Canadians defeated USA. Also, I would love to see an Ovechkin vs. Miller conference final but I'm not sure if Buffalo has the scoring to make it that far. We will see.
That'll pretty much wrap it up for this post. Again, check out the highlights of game 5 between the Bandits and Tornado at the bottom. Just remember, it's just my opinion...but I'm right.
Showing posts with label St. Louis Rams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Louis Rams. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Rams, please make the right pick
As we inch closer to the NFL draft in April, I begin to wonder if my family and myself are the only sane ones. Or perhaps we're the crazy ones. With a few exceptions, it seems that there are lots of people being suckered into the idea that the St. Louis Rams drafting Sam Bradford is a good thing. I could not disagree more. I have nothing wrong with Bradford as a person or even as a quarterback. He has a pretty good arm and is an accurate quarterback. He seems like a decent person. Yet, being a Kansas alumni and fan, I have seen his play at Oklahoma. He is a predominantly shotgun quarterback. He has become injury prone despite playing behind one of the better offensive lines in the Big 12 conference. And I have yet to hear a really good, convincing argument for making him the number one pick. The weak arguments that have been made are that the Rams passed up on QB's the last couple years, so we can't pass on Bradford. He's the top QB of this class. And of all things, one person even suggested that it's better to draft Bradford because QB's sell more jerseys than a defensive tackle would.
This is about wins and loses. Bradford will not be the difference between the Rams going 1-15 again or not. I have not heard any rumors of drafting or picking up any free agent receivers. Who exactly is he going to throw to that will make him look any better than Marc Bulger? (Who honestly could have been a great QB if we had kept some offensive weapons and given him good protection.) How does it make sense to draft a QB only based on the fact he's the best QB in a weak class and because the team passed on QB's the last couple years? That was under different management, who may have made a mistake. This new management group needs to start over by not making iffy picks. And on the shotgun issue, Bradford is going to spend a lot of time getting used to being under center. Yes, he wasn't a pure shotgun quarterback but he was in that formation a good 80% of his plays I'd wager.
He just isn't worth the number one pick. Several analysts have said as much, but still fall back on the fact that the Rams need a quarterback. There are several players that the team could pick up via free agency. The Rams could even pick up a solid QB in the second round and groom him. I've also heard that Bradford might be picked because he would come cheaper than Ndamukong Suh. How does this make sense? Any agent worth their salt will make sure their guy gets first pick money, whether he was projected to get picked that high or not.
In my opinion, Suh is a sure pick. He's one of the most dominant defensive players that has come along in decades. He can anchor your defense for the next 10-12 years. Bradford is a questionable pick who has just as much of a chance, if not more, to be a bust as he does to become a franchise quarterback. This is honestly the most worried and irritated I have ever been about pre-draft talk. I am usually the kind of person that would like certain people picked but trusts that the people who really scout this know what they are doing. Yet everything I read about the St. Louis Rams potential picks points to a waste of a draft. The positions that I see this team needing the most are defense, receivers and possibly a solid backup for Steven Jackson. Yet what do I see projected for the Rams first two picks? A quarterback and a tight end. The Rams just picked up another tight end via free agency for goodness sake. And that's to go along with the plethora of TE's they've drafted recently. Manumaleuna, Byrd, Klopfenstein to name a few.
Then another thing that angers me is the Bernie Miklasz article about this very subject. He made the point that the team is in limbo with the current ownership, the Rosenblooms, looking to get out and the potential buyer not being able to be confirmed until after the draft. If I was Mr. Shahid Kahn, I would be telling the management how I felt in regards to this draft and suggest that if the team looks to go cheap that I might pull my offer off the table. I apologize to anyone who reads this who feels the other way. I don't usually see things so one sided or go off like a fan calling into a sportstalk show, but this is just one of those issues that I can't see the opposing view. It makes so much sense to take Suh. People always say, take the best player not always the need. Suh is head and shoulders the best player.
Ok...breathe. In...out...in...out. Alrighty, time for my usual random thoughts.
- This weekend is going to be a big one for the St. Louis Bandits. The team is four points back of division leading Topeka. I am really geared up for this game. Almost to the point that it seems odd since I'm not the one playing.
- Am I the only one getting antsy with this little layoff the Blues have? I know they'll have a couple games in hand, but I just don't like the fact that other teams are able to add to their point totals and the Blues are idle in their playoff push.
- Why is it that people who like hockey and soccer can't find a prominent place within the media? ESPN's Steve Levy and John Buccigross on the hockey side and perhaps Bob Ley for soccer are the only ones that come to mind. I grow tired of these other fools trying to talk about these sports when they know nothing about them. I love the show Pardon the Interruption, but I find it ridiculous when they talk about boxing and horse racing like they still matter (simply because THEY like those), but make fun of actual sports like hockey and soccer.
- Lastly, can I please, please, please get hired to broadcast full time? People who know me know that I am self deprecating, perhaps to a fault, and not overly boastful unless in a joking manner. Yet I keep hearing play-by-play men who I know that I am or can be better than. And these people are working at high levels. I just don't get it.
Anyway, sorry this blog turned into more of a rant than I usually do. Until next time, just remember that it's only my opinion...but I'm right.
This is about wins and loses. Bradford will not be the difference between the Rams going 1-15 again or not. I have not heard any rumors of drafting or picking up any free agent receivers. Who exactly is he going to throw to that will make him look any better than Marc Bulger? (Who honestly could have been a great QB if we had kept some offensive weapons and given him good protection.) How does it make sense to draft a QB only based on the fact he's the best QB in a weak class and because the team passed on QB's the last couple years? That was under different management, who may have made a mistake. This new management group needs to start over by not making iffy picks. And on the shotgun issue, Bradford is going to spend a lot of time getting used to being under center. Yes, he wasn't a pure shotgun quarterback but he was in that formation a good 80% of his plays I'd wager.
He just isn't worth the number one pick. Several analysts have said as much, but still fall back on the fact that the Rams need a quarterback. There are several players that the team could pick up via free agency. The Rams could even pick up a solid QB in the second round and groom him. I've also heard that Bradford might be picked because he would come cheaper than Ndamukong Suh. How does this make sense? Any agent worth their salt will make sure their guy gets first pick money, whether he was projected to get picked that high or not.
In my opinion, Suh is a sure pick. He's one of the most dominant defensive players that has come along in decades. He can anchor your defense for the next 10-12 years. Bradford is a questionable pick who has just as much of a chance, if not more, to be a bust as he does to become a franchise quarterback. This is honestly the most worried and irritated I have ever been about pre-draft talk. I am usually the kind of person that would like certain people picked but trusts that the people who really scout this know what they are doing. Yet everything I read about the St. Louis Rams potential picks points to a waste of a draft. The positions that I see this team needing the most are defense, receivers and possibly a solid backup for Steven Jackson. Yet what do I see projected for the Rams first two picks? A quarterback and a tight end. The Rams just picked up another tight end via free agency for goodness sake. And that's to go along with the plethora of TE's they've drafted recently. Manumaleuna, Byrd, Klopfenstein to name a few.
Then another thing that angers me is the Bernie Miklasz article about this very subject. He made the point that the team is in limbo with the current ownership, the Rosenblooms, looking to get out and the potential buyer not being able to be confirmed until after the draft. If I was Mr. Shahid Kahn, I would be telling the management how I felt in regards to this draft and suggest that if the team looks to go cheap that I might pull my offer off the table. I apologize to anyone who reads this who feels the other way. I don't usually see things so one sided or go off like a fan calling into a sportstalk show, but this is just one of those issues that I can't see the opposing view. It makes so much sense to take Suh. People always say, take the best player not always the need. Suh is head and shoulders the best player.
Ok...breathe. In...out...in...out. Alrighty, time for my usual random thoughts.
- This weekend is going to be a big one for the St. Louis Bandits. The team is four points back of division leading Topeka. I am really geared up for this game. Almost to the point that it seems odd since I'm not the one playing.
- Am I the only one getting antsy with this little layoff the Blues have? I know they'll have a couple games in hand, but I just don't like the fact that other teams are able to add to their point totals and the Blues are idle in their playoff push.
- Why is it that people who like hockey and soccer can't find a prominent place within the media? ESPN's Steve Levy and John Buccigross on the hockey side and perhaps Bob Ley for soccer are the only ones that come to mind. I grow tired of these other fools trying to talk about these sports when they know nothing about them. I love the show Pardon the Interruption, but I find it ridiculous when they talk about boxing and horse racing like they still matter (simply because THEY like those), but make fun of actual sports like hockey and soccer.
- Lastly, can I please, please, please get hired to broadcast full time? People who know me know that I am self deprecating, perhaps to a fault, and not overly boastful unless in a joking manner. Yet I keep hearing play-by-play men who I know that I am or can be better than. And these people are working at high levels. I just don't get it.
Anyway, sorry this blog turned into more of a rant than I usually do. Until next time, just remember that it's only my opinion...but I'm right.
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