The 2014-15 NBA season is around the corner, and with the growing interest in the upcoming season, I've decided to take some time to address one of the biggest questions surrounding the NBA. That question is this: what is the best way to build an NBA championship contending team?
Now for the most part there are only two main sides to this story. The first belief is that the road to a championship team is by way of forming a so-called "Big 3", a highly controversial idea that essentially means three of the best players in the league are put on the same team with the hopes that the star power of three guys can take any team into an immediate contender. Alternatively, there is the traditional belief that winning basketball begins with team chemistry and roster stability. Proponents of this system believe that a good coach, solid players, and a combination of hard work, chemistry, and heart can pull a team to the ultimate goal of winning an NBA title.
What I'm doing is very simple. I'm going to split this debate into two parts. The first part, which is what you're reading right now, is going to deal with the Big 3. The second part, which should come out in a few days, will concentrate on winning the old fashioned way with teams that work hard and have good chemistry. Each separate post will deal with the pros and cons of each method, how they have worked historically, and the risks and rewards associated with attempting each method. Now that all of the introductions are out of the way, let's talk about Big 3s.
As I've already stated, the idea of a Big 3 is a very controversial thing, and many people are angered by the very mention of one. However, much of this is purely due to the antics of LeBron James over the 2010 offseason. Many people, including myself, grew to strongly oppose the concept of putting together three top players just because of the "Decision" TV special and all the hype surrounding the new super team bound to sweep the NBA. While most agree that this situation was handled poorly, many don't realize that this is just one example of a Big 3.
What I mean by this is that while the common idea of a Big 3 is the intentional joining together of three top players with the intention of creating a super team, this might not always be the case. It is entirely possible that through drafting the right players and properly developing talent acquired through trades and free agency, a Big 3 could be constructed naturally without all the antics that go into building a Big 3 from scratch. I wanted to mention this as a possibly because I believe that it is entirely possible for this to occur. However, since this isn't how people typically view the concept of a Big 3, for the remainder of this post assume that the concept of a Big 3 does describe the more mainstream idea typically associated with Big 3s.
This concept has become very popular recently due to the growing opinion that a team with a single star can't be an NBA title team. Perhaps the most powerful example of this is when Carmelo Anthony was on the Denver Nuggets. Anthony, one of the best players in the game, had seven straight playoff appearances from 2004-10, but only made it out of the first round one time. Melo never reached the NBA Finals during his time in Denver, despite all his personal successes. This led to the idea of gathering three players of similar "star" caliber. After all, with so many great players, a team couldn't lose. Right?
Surprisingly, this is a very new idea. Up until very recently, players did not constantly switch teams during free agency, and especially didn't discuss joining up with other players. This is for a few reasons. First off, rivalries were much stronger back then, and players on teams that didn't like each other simply hated each other too much to even consider playing with each other. Secondly, individual players back then were considered to be pieces of a puzzle, while now they are highly marketable personalities that go wherever they can be paid the most millions.
In fact, I'd say that there have been only three real Big 3s the way we like to define them. And even defining them is difficult because there isn't a real definitive way of defining a "superstar" player. Regardless of this, they are the Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett (Celtics) that formed in 2007, The LeBron, Wade, and Bosh Big 3 formed in 2010 in Miami, and the new LeBron, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love Big 3 just formed this offseason in Cleveland. Even the forming of the Celtics threesome doesn't fit the definition perfectly, but it's close enough. So far, both the 2007 and 2010 Big 3s have been successful. The Celtics reached the finals twice in their first three years, winning the NBA Championship in 2008, while the Heat reached four consecutive NBA Finals, winning two rings.
Obviously in terms of pros of Big 3s, the main point is that with a Big 3 you're getting a lot of talent. Naturally, when you have a trio of superstars, there won't be many teams, if any teams, with more overall talent than you. Especially considering another strong argument for the creation of a Big 3 is that it draws in talented veteran players whose NBA days are numbered that want to be a part of a winning team. For example, the Heat were able to bring in players such as Ray Allen, Zydrunas Illgauskas, Shane Battier, and Chris Andersen over the years to help contribute and play important roles in the successes of these teams.
Additionally, Big 3s draw crowds like no other. Home fans will pack stadiums, millions of bandwagoners will also support the team, and the media and paparazzi will become infatuated with the team. Let's be honest: if you're constructing a Big 3, you do it to make some noise around the league, and noise you will make.
Finally, like I've already mentioned, both Big 3s so far have been very successful, and have ended with NBA titles. In the end, nothing beats success, and odds of winning with a Big 3 are significantly greater than odds of an average team making a miracle run to the NBA Finals. Even if it might not work 100% of the time, it seems like the times good comes out of a Big 3 will strongly outweigh the times where no great success is achieved.
Now for the negatives of this controversial method of constructing a team. First off, a big con that I believe not many people realize is that a Big 3 can't just sprout up anywhere. To be able to bring over big name players, prospective Big 3 teams need to either be in a large market, a historically successful market, or already have a superstar. The majority of teams don't fit any of these criterion, and therefore it would be near impossible for a Big 3 to be formed in, say, Milwaukee next season. If Jabari Parker becomes one of the premier players in the league, the situation might change, but as of now, it just couldn't happen.
Additionally, along with all the new fans you'll gain, just as many and probably more people will suddenly hate your team, and root specifically against the Big 3's success. It's just like I said during last season: I'm rooting for 29 teams in the league to win the title, and the Heat aren't one of them.
Also, it may be very difficult to find players to fill the remaining roster spots, since any team with a Big 3 will be spending the majority salary cap money on max contracts for the three stars. Luckily the Heat were able to find a few solid contributors, but they had below average depth as a whole. It's not easy to lure in strong players if you can't promise them money they could get with any number of different teams.
Lastly, there are extremely high standards to fulfill and at times an unbearable amount of pressure that comes naturally with everyone knowing you have the best team in the league, and the team every wants to beat. Anything less than a championship at the end of the season is considered a failure, and the fans won't won't be pleased if this goal isn't achieved. This can lead to rushing the development of the team, and when you take a whole bunch of stars and force them to work together, team chemistry can be harmed because everyone wants to do everything and be the center of attention. It was originally very hard for Chris Bosh to transition from the man in Toronto to the less talked about number three man in Miami, and the team may have struggled a bit originally from that.
So what's the verdict overall? Well it's ultimately up to the teams themselves to decide what they want to do, but it's very risky business. Getting everyone on the same page to create a Big 3 in the first place isn't easy business as the Rockets have just found out in their failed attempt to create the next powerhouse team. However, if it can be accomplished, you can definitely expect to see the benefits in the form of wins, and as controversial as it may be, winning is practically everything in professional sports these days. In the end, it is what it is - a group of extremely talented players that have the capability of winning an NBA championship, and much better odds to do so than the average team. And if that's what we're after, than despite how difficult it may be, ultimately a Big 3 is a very strong way of a building a title team.
However, it isn't the only way of doing it. But we'll save that for next time.
Thanks for reading,
Connor
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Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
NFL Week 6 Picks
So there wasn't a podcast this week, but there will be one again next week. Since I can't vocalize my predictions for week 6, I might as well write them instead. Here are my picks for week 6.
Week 5: 11-4
Season overall (including Thursday's game): 47-30
Patriots at Bills: This is a huge game as the winner takes sole possession of the AFC East lead. Tom Brady silenced the haters with a huge game against the Bengals, but the Bills pulled off an upset of their own, defeating the Lions in Detroit. The Bills are home, but I think the Patriots know how important this game is and win. Patriots 23-20.
Panthers at Bengals: The Bengals will need to rebound quickly after dropping their first game of the season to the Patriots in week 5. On the other hand, the Panthers are 3-2 but lack a real quality win and a dominating performance. Both teams will want this one, but the Bengals defense is just too strong. Bengals 24-10.
Steelers at Browns: Hey, it's the toss up of the week. The Browns pulled off nothing short of a miracle by overcoming a 25 point halftime deficit to defeat the Titans, while the Steelers put up a less than spectacular performance in a game against the Jaguars. The Steelers have looked really poor these last two weeks, and I don't like their chances on the road. Browns 31-24.
Jaguars at Titans: Wow, what a matchup. With a combined record of 1-9, this could very well be the least relevant game of the season. The Jaguars actually showed a defense against the Steelers last week, and the Titans blew a 28-3 lead, but let's be honest. The Jaguars are horrible. Titans 27-13.
Packers at Dolphins: It seems like the Packers finally have their act together, and it came at a good time. Now with a share of the division lead, they get to play a Dolphins team coming off a bye, and before that a win against Oakland. That means it's now three weeks since they've played a real football team (see what I did there) and the Pack should look to take advantage of that. Packers 34-17.
Lions at Vikings: The Lions lost last week, but as I mentioned in my power rankings, the blame for that one goes on the kicker. Now with a new kicker, Matt Prater, the Lions look to take down a Vikings team without AP that got destroyed by the Packers in week 5. The Purple People Eaters are at home, but I don't think they'll please the home fans. Lions 24-16.
Broncos at Jets: The Broncos have one of the top five greatest quarterbacks of all time. The Jets have one of the top five worst starters in the league. If that isn't enough to decide this, the Jets are on a four game losing streak and the Broncos are better in basically every other position as well. This won't be close at all. Broncos 38-13.
Ravens at Buccaneers: Now at first glance this might seem like an obvious call. However, upon closer inspection, the Bucs have actually played two decent games of football in weeks 4 and 5, and the Ravens offense was helpless against the Colts last week. And the Bucs are at home. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm going to need a little more before I start picking the Bucs. Ravens 24-20.
Chargers at Raiders: Here's a few stats to think about regarding this matchup. The Chargers are #3 in my power rankings, while the Raiders are 31st. The Chargers are 4-1, while the Raiders sit at 0-4, and have just fired their head coach. The Chargers beat the Jets 31-0 last week, and the Raiders have already lost to the Jets this season. The biggest question surrounding this game is how big the deficit will be. Chargers 31-14.
Bears at Falcons: This is an interesting matchup, and close to a must win for both parties. Both of these teams are 2-3, and on two game losing streaks. Both had huge drops in my power rankings (I believe the two biggest falls but I'm not positive). However, the Falcons are 2-0 at home, averaging 46.5 points per game in Atlanta. Interestingly though, the Bears are 2-1 on the road. Still, Matt Ryan is a different quarterback at home and Jay Cutler has been shaky of late. Falcons 34-20.
Redskins at Cardinals: Maybe before the season this would be an interesting matchup. Unfortunately, now that the Redskins are looking hopeless and the Cardinals are winning even without Carson Palmer, it doesn't seem like a great matchup. The biggest thing working in the Redskins favor is that both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton are injured. Stanton looks like he should get the start, but if he doesn't, Logan Thomas might not be able to get it done. If Stanton: Cardinals 27-14. If Thomas, Cardinals 17-14.
Cowboys at Seahawks: Forget good, it's been a great year for the Cowboys so far, coming out of the gates strong at 4-1. However, they're playing the Seahawks. IN SEATTLE. If this game was in Dallas, I'd pick the Cowboys, as I'm sure many people would. But in Seattle, I can't do it. A good rule of thumb is to never pick the Seahawks to lose at home. Roughly 90% of the time you're right. Seahawks 31-20.
Giants at Eagles: Oh man, here it is. The big rivalry that is basically for lead of the division if the Cowboys lose. As a Giants fan, I'm going to be supporting my team to take down Philthadelphia. In reality, it should be a really close game, as indicated by the spread which favors the Eagles by 3 (a coin toss at a neutral location). There's been a lot of trash talk leading into this one, and it shouldn't disappoint. Eli's been playing well, so I'll give the G-men the edge. Giants 27-24.
49ers at Rams: Austin Davis has seriously been playing well. Much better than anyone expected from him at the beginning of the season. And he'll get home field advantage. I'll be honest, I thought about taking the massive upset here, since the Rams nearly took down the Eagles last week, but the 49ers are looking better now than they did earlier in the year. 49ers 26-20.
So those are my picks for this week. I guess we'll have to wait and see how they pan out.
Thanks for reading,
Connor
Week 5: 11-4
Season overall (including Thursday's game): 47-30
Patriots at Bills: This is a huge game as the winner takes sole possession of the AFC East lead. Tom Brady silenced the haters with a huge game against the Bengals, but the Bills pulled off an upset of their own, defeating the Lions in Detroit. The Bills are home, but I think the Patriots know how important this game is and win. Patriots 23-20.
Panthers at Bengals: The Bengals will need to rebound quickly after dropping their first game of the season to the Patriots in week 5. On the other hand, the Panthers are 3-2 but lack a real quality win and a dominating performance. Both teams will want this one, but the Bengals defense is just too strong. Bengals 24-10.
Steelers at Browns: Hey, it's the toss up of the week. The Browns pulled off nothing short of a miracle by overcoming a 25 point halftime deficit to defeat the Titans, while the Steelers put up a less than spectacular performance in a game against the Jaguars. The Steelers have looked really poor these last two weeks, and I don't like their chances on the road. Browns 31-24.
Jaguars at Titans: Wow, what a matchup. With a combined record of 1-9, this could very well be the least relevant game of the season. The Jaguars actually showed a defense against the Steelers last week, and the Titans blew a 28-3 lead, but let's be honest. The Jaguars are horrible. Titans 27-13.
Packers at Dolphins: It seems like the Packers finally have their act together, and it came at a good time. Now with a share of the division lead, they get to play a Dolphins team coming off a bye, and before that a win against Oakland. That means it's now three weeks since they've played a real football team (see what I did there) and the Pack should look to take advantage of that. Packers 34-17.
Lions at Vikings: The Lions lost last week, but as I mentioned in my power rankings, the blame for that one goes on the kicker. Now with a new kicker, Matt Prater, the Lions look to take down a Vikings team without AP that got destroyed by the Packers in week 5. The Purple People Eaters are at home, but I don't think they'll please the home fans. Lions 24-16.
Broncos at Jets: The Broncos have one of the top five greatest quarterbacks of all time. The Jets have one of the top five worst starters in the league. If that isn't enough to decide this, the Jets are on a four game losing streak and the Broncos are better in basically every other position as well. This won't be close at all. Broncos 38-13.
Ravens at Buccaneers: Now at first glance this might seem like an obvious call. However, upon closer inspection, the Bucs have actually played two decent games of football in weeks 4 and 5, and the Ravens offense was helpless against the Colts last week. And the Bucs are at home. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm going to need a little more before I start picking the Bucs. Ravens 24-20.
Chargers at Raiders: Here's a few stats to think about regarding this matchup. The Chargers are #3 in my power rankings, while the Raiders are 31st. The Chargers are 4-1, while the Raiders sit at 0-4, and have just fired their head coach. The Chargers beat the Jets 31-0 last week, and the Raiders have already lost to the Jets this season. The biggest question surrounding this game is how big the deficit will be. Chargers 31-14.
Bears at Falcons: This is an interesting matchup, and close to a must win for both parties. Both of these teams are 2-3, and on two game losing streaks. Both had huge drops in my power rankings (I believe the two biggest falls but I'm not positive). However, the Falcons are 2-0 at home, averaging 46.5 points per game in Atlanta. Interestingly though, the Bears are 2-1 on the road. Still, Matt Ryan is a different quarterback at home and Jay Cutler has been shaky of late. Falcons 34-20.
Redskins at Cardinals: Maybe before the season this would be an interesting matchup. Unfortunately, now that the Redskins are looking hopeless and the Cardinals are winning even without Carson Palmer, it doesn't seem like a great matchup. The biggest thing working in the Redskins favor is that both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton are injured. Stanton looks like he should get the start, but if he doesn't, Logan Thomas might not be able to get it done. If Stanton: Cardinals 27-14. If Thomas, Cardinals 17-14.
Cowboys at Seahawks: Forget good, it's been a great year for the Cowboys so far, coming out of the gates strong at 4-1. However, they're playing the Seahawks. IN SEATTLE. If this game was in Dallas, I'd pick the Cowboys, as I'm sure many people would. But in Seattle, I can't do it. A good rule of thumb is to never pick the Seahawks to lose at home. Roughly 90% of the time you're right. Seahawks 31-20.
Giants at Eagles: Oh man, here it is. The big rivalry that is basically for lead of the division if the Cowboys lose. As a Giants fan, I'm going to be supporting my team to take down Philthadelphia. In reality, it should be a really close game, as indicated by the spread which favors the Eagles by 3 (a coin toss at a neutral location). There's been a lot of trash talk leading into this one, and it shouldn't disappoint. Eli's been playing well, so I'll give the G-men the edge. Giants 27-24.
49ers at Rams: Austin Davis has seriously been playing well. Much better than anyone expected from him at the beginning of the season. And he'll get home field advantage. I'll be honest, I thought about taking the massive upset here, since the Rams nearly took down the Eagles last week, but the 49ers are looking better now than they did earlier in the year. 49ers 26-20.
So those are my picks for this week. I guess we'll have to wait and see how they pan out.
Thanks for reading,
Connor
Thursday, October 9, 2014
NFL Week 6 Power Rankings
Weeks 4 and 5 of the NFL season produced quite the show. The remaining undefeated teams all fell, the Patriots were on both sides of blowouts, and the Buccaneers actually looked like an NFL football team instead of the youth squad that showed up for the first three games. There has been overall a large shakeup in the rankings, proving just how much of a difference two games can make. Here are the week 6 power rankings.
32) Jaguars (0-5) (Week 4 Rank: 32): The Jaguars have looked a little better since playing Blake Bortles, but overall they still have one of the NFL's worst offenses and worst defenses.
31) Raiders (0-4) (30): The Raiders have fired their head coach Dennis Allen, and I'm not sure how much good it does them in the end. The Raiders have a long string of problems, and the coach is only one of them. Losing by 24 to the Lions doesn't bode well.
30) Jets (1-4) (21): Geno Smith has played very poorly, but Michael Vick didn't perform much better. They got shutout by the Chargers, and life shouldn't get any easier in a matchup against the Broncos next week.
29) Titans (1-4) (28): The Titans lost Jake Locker last week against the Browns and followed it up by blowing a 25 point lead, for the third largest meltdown in NFL history. And if that happens against the Browns, I don't want to see them play better teams.
28) Buccaneers (1-4) (31): It was surprisingly a strong two weeks down in Tampa. They pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season by beating the Steelers in week 4, and nearly beat the Saints in week 5. The NFC South is so weak that somehow I'm willing to put them back into contention if they keep Mike Glennon at QB.
27) Redskins (1-4) (25): Their loss against the Giants was no better than pathetic, but they were able to make up for it by playing a decent game against the Seahawks. However, they pick up two losses and in the tough NFC East (hey the NFC East is good again!) they're all but done.
26) St. Louis Rams (1-3) (29): Somehow the Rams manage to move up in the rankings by losing. They're a better team than they get credit for, and Austin Davis is actually not that bad at QB. They're main problem is that the Rams are losing close games that could be Ws, most recently against the Eagles 34-28 last week.
25) Vikings (2-3) (27): The Vikings have managed to find ways to survive without Adrian Peterson, picking up a huge win against the Falcons in week 4. Matt Asiata has been better than expected, especially in the passing game. The Vikes aren't going to be the cellar dwellers that they were supposed to be. However, they aren't good either.
24) Saints (2-3) (19): Oh how the mighty have fallen. The Saints are 0-3 on the road, and got destroyed by the Cowboys. Somehow they managed to beat the Bucs in OT, and could really be 1-4. They are a bad team this season, but then again, they are in the NFC South and they do have Drew Brees. They could turn it around, but it doesn't look good.
23) Browns (2-2) (22): No Johnny Football in Cleveland so far. Brian Hoyer has done an adequate job leading the Browns and they've been playing alright. Props to them for being decent, but decent doesn't cut it in the NFL. And nice 25 point comeback, although they really shouldn't have been down 25 to the abysmal Titans in the first place.
22) Dolphins (2-2) (26): The only game for the Dolphins in the last two weeks was a 38-14 domination of the Raiders. Congrats, you beat Oakland in London. I'll give you a bit of a boost, but now I want to see you beat a real team.
21) Bears (2-3) (10): The Bears are the first huge slide in the rankings. On paper, losing to the Packers and Panthers isn't that bad, but they just haven't looked the same in those games, and Jay Cutler has gone Mr. Hyde over the last two weeks. Da Bears are going to need a win soon, but they'll have to go in Atlanta to do it.
20) Falcons (2-3) (7): Speaking of huge slides, none is bigger than the horrendous -13 drop the Falcons have suffered is well deserved. They allowed 42 in a loss to the Vikings, and then were mostly ineffective in their loss against the Giants. Similar to the Saints, they can't win on the road.
19) Bills (3-2) (15): The Bills are sitting on top of the AFC East, playing off of a poor start by the Patriots. They were able to get a nice win against the Lions, however that was mostly due to the 0-3 field goals of Alex Henery, who was recently cut. Their drop is more about other teams performing well than them playing poorly.
18) Panthers (3-2) (14): The Panthers win the award for most confusing team so far in my books. Every week a different team seems to show up. The last two weeks have seen a 28 point blowout loss to the Ravens and a close win over the Bears. Their next two games on the road against the Bengals and Packers should be huge tests and will say a lot about who the Panthers are.
17) Steelers (3-2) (11): It's been a very disappointing pair of games for the Steelers. They played two teams that came into the matchup winless and came out only 1-1 with a +5 point differential. Any team that loses to the Bucs is not a strong team in my book, and they were the first team to score less than 34 against the Jaguars, only scoring 17. Who knows how far they would drop if they lost that game.
16) Houston Texans (3-2) (24): The Texans defense is for real, and J.J. Watt should be considered in the MVP race this season. However, their offense is most definitely not for real. Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't getting it done. The Texans defense is keeping them in games, and got them a big win against the Bills. They followed up by losing a close OT game in Dallas. Now only if the offense would show up.
15) Chiefs (2-3) (20): I'm a lot higher on the Chiefs than a lot of people are. They showed a lot of toughness in their 41-14 thrashing of the Patriots and I don't think they should be punished for a five point loss in San Francisco. Knile Davis has performed very well in the absence of Jamaal Charles, and lets not forget they do have a strong defense.
14) Lions (3-2) (13): I have no idea what happened to the Lions over the offseason, but it's weird. Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin has done a tremendous job turning the Lions D into *gasp* one of the better defenses in football. However, the big problem has been putting points up on the board. Much of that can be attributed to kicker Alex Henery, who went 0-3 losing them a game against the Bills. Now the Lions need to focus on the health of Megatron.
13) Giants (3-2) (23): My Giants are on a 3 game win streak! It's been a great three games for Eli Manning, with nine touchdowns versus only one interception. Rashad Jennings has been an effective runner, and Andre Williams is an adequate backup. Odell Beckham Jr. is finally playing and looks good, and the defense is strong. Things are looking up for Big Blue. And by the way, how come when the Giants crush the Redskins it's because the Redskins suck and when the Seahawks beat the Redskins by seven it's all Russell Wilson? Bias much?
12) Patriots (3-2) (8): I don't know what to make of the Patriots, but I think it's at least a good sign that they have managed to pick up three wins so far, and that they managed to crush the last undefeated team in the NFL. The offense is still relatively weak, but at least things are looking better now.
Just a quick note: the next five or six teams are really interchangeable as not much separates them, so don't take the specific numbers too seriously.
11) Cowboys (4-1) (18): The Cowboys have managed to be a strong team, holding a strong 4-1 record. However, despite the strong offense and the incredible performance by DeMarco Murray this season, I'm not ready to stick them in the top six or seven like I've seen from some other people. They're barely escaping with wins, so until they really start destroying people they won't go much higher.
10) 49ers (3-2) (16): Two strong wins have the Niners up into the top ten this week. They're only third in their division, but Kaepernick is starting to get his turnovers under control and the team is gaining ground and confidence.
9) Ravens (3-2) (9): The Ravens haven't moved anywhere in the rankings this week. They played the Colts to a close 20-13 loss which is solid considering how the Colts are a very strong team with an elite quarterback. However, they definitely make up for it with a 38-10 win over the Panthers. The running back situation still confuses me, but as a whole they look like a solid playoff contender.
8) Packers (3-2) (17): The Packers have finally returned! But seriously, the last two weeks have really shown an adjusted Packers team who have found themselves. Eddie Lacy has had a strong two weeks, and all of a sudden the Packers are in a tie for the division lead.
7) Cardinals (3-1) (4): It looks like Drew Stanton can't win every game. Peyton Manning was the man to tear apart the Cardinals defense, but then again Peyton does that to everyone, so that's really not that bad a thing for the Cards. They are still tied with the Seahawks, but they need Carson Palmer back.
6) Colts (3-2) (12): If I said it once, I'll say it again: Andrew Luck is really good. So are the receivers, and Bradshaw has really flourished in the Indianapolis offense. They had an impressive win against a strong Ravens team and have recovered from an 0-2 start. The Colts should be a strong playoff contender come December.
5) Eagles (4-1) (5): The Eagles are in a similar boat as the Cowboys in the sense that they're winning close games against less than great opponents and they don't have a strong defense. LeSean Mccoy has had a disappointing start to his season and the Eagles have offensive line struggles, but they're still a good team. Sunday night's Eagles vs. Giants matchup will be a big one.
4) Bengals (3-1) (1): The last remaining undefeated team in the NFL ran into a storm when they played a fired up Patriots team that came angry and came to play. However, I still believe the Bengals are a very strong team. The Bengals will have a very hard stretch coming up against the Panthers, Colts, and Ravens, and two wins over that stretch will cement the Bengals' status as a strong contender.
3) Chargers (4-1) (6): The Chargers believe they are the best team in the NFL, and they very well may be. They're coming off a 31-0 shutout of the Jets, and have only allowed 12.4 points per game thus far. Philip Rivers is having an incredible season and Branden Oliver is the fantasy pickup of the week. It's smooth sailing for the bolts week 6 against the Raiders. I'm just waiting for them to go into Denver in week 8.
2) Broncos (3-1) (3): Peyton Manning is closing in on the all-time passing touchdowns record, and should pass Brett Favre in the next two or three games. This is such a talented team that it's really hard to imagine them not going back to the Super Bowl, despite teams such as the Chargers and Colts hot to stop them. They have an easy matchup against the Jets next week, but then they take on the 49ers and Chargers in tough games.
1) Seahawks (3-1) (2): It could've been prettier, but the Seahawks ended up victorious in D.C., defeating the Redskins last week. Russell Wilson is playing incredibly smart football, and leading the Seahawks to another successful season. The Bengals loss was all it took to bump Seattle into the top spot this week.
Thanks for reading,
Connor
32) Jaguars (0-5) (Week 4 Rank: 32): The Jaguars have looked a little better since playing Blake Bortles, but overall they still have one of the NFL's worst offenses and worst defenses.
31) Raiders (0-4) (30): The Raiders have fired their head coach Dennis Allen, and I'm not sure how much good it does them in the end. The Raiders have a long string of problems, and the coach is only one of them. Losing by 24 to the Lions doesn't bode well.
30) Jets (1-4) (21): Geno Smith has played very poorly, but Michael Vick didn't perform much better. They got shutout by the Chargers, and life shouldn't get any easier in a matchup against the Broncos next week.
29) Titans (1-4) (28): The Titans lost Jake Locker last week against the Browns and followed it up by blowing a 25 point lead, for the third largest meltdown in NFL history. And if that happens against the Browns, I don't want to see them play better teams.
28) Buccaneers (1-4) (31): It was surprisingly a strong two weeks down in Tampa. They pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season by beating the Steelers in week 4, and nearly beat the Saints in week 5. The NFC South is so weak that somehow I'm willing to put them back into contention if they keep Mike Glennon at QB.
27) Redskins (1-4) (25): Their loss against the Giants was no better than pathetic, but they were able to make up for it by playing a decent game against the Seahawks. However, they pick up two losses and in the tough NFC East (hey the NFC East is good again!) they're all but done.
26) St. Louis Rams (1-3) (29): Somehow the Rams manage to move up in the rankings by losing. They're a better team than they get credit for, and Austin Davis is actually not that bad at QB. They're main problem is that the Rams are losing close games that could be Ws, most recently against the Eagles 34-28 last week.
25) Vikings (2-3) (27): The Vikings have managed to find ways to survive without Adrian Peterson, picking up a huge win against the Falcons in week 4. Matt Asiata has been better than expected, especially in the passing game. The Vikes aren't going to be the cellar dwellers that they were supposed to be. However, they aren't good either.
24) Saints (2-3) (19): Oh how the mighty have fallen. The Saints are 0-3 on the road, and got destroyed by the Cowboys. Somehow they managed to beat the Bucs in OT, and could really be 1-4. They are a bad team this season, but then again, they are in the NFC South and they do have Drew Brees. They could turn it around, but it doesn't look good.
23) Browns (2-2) (22): No Johnny Football in Cleveland so far. Brian Hoyer has done an adequate job leading the Browns and they've been playing alright. Props to them for being decent, but decent doesn't cut it in the NFL. And nice 25 point comeback, although they really shouldn't have been down 25 to the abysmal Titans in the first place.
22) Dolphins (2-2) (26): The only game for the Dolphins in the last two weeks was a 38-14 domination of the Raiders. Congrats, you beat Oakland in London. I'll give you a bit of a boost, but now I want to see you beat a real team.
21) Bears (2-3) (10): The Bears are the first huge slide in the rankings. On paper, losing to the Packers and Panthers isn't that bad, but they just haven't looked the same in those games, and Jay Cutler has gone Mr. Hyde over the last two weeks. Da Bears are going to need a win soon, but they'll have to go in Atlanta to do it.
20) Falcons (2-3) (7): Speaking of huge slides, none is bigger than the horrendous -13 drop the Falcons have suffered is well deserved. They allowed 42 in a loss to the Vikings, and then were mostly ineffective in their loss against the Giants. Similar to the Saints, they can't win on the road.
19) Bills (3-2) (15): The Bills are sitting on top of the AFC East, playing off of a poor start by the Patriots. They were able to get a nice win against the Lions, however that was mostly due to the 0-3 field goals of Alex Henery, who was recently cut. Their drop is more about other teams performing well than them playing poorly.
18) Panthers (3-2) (14): The Panthers win the award for most confusing team so far in my books. Every week a different team seems to show up. The last two weeks have seen a 28 point blowout loss to the Ravens and a close win over the Bears. Their next two games on the road against the Bengals and Packers should be huge tests and will say a lot about who the Panthers are.
17) Steelers (3-2) (11): It's been a very disappointing pair of games for the Steelers. They played two teams that came into the matchup winless and came out only 1-1 with a +5 point differential. Any team that loses to the Bucs is not a strong team in my book, and they were the first team to score less than 34 against the Jaguars, only scoring 17. Who knows how far they would drop if they lost that game.
16) Houston Texans (3-2) (24): The Texans defense is for real, and J.J. Watt should be considered in the MVP race this season. However, their offense is most definitely not for real. Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't getting it done. The Texans defense is keeping them in games, and got them a big win against the Bills. They followed up by losing a close OT game in Dallas. Now only if the offense would show up.
15) Chiefs (2-3) (20): I'm a lot higher on the Chiefs than a lot of people are. They showed a lot of toughness in their 41-14 thrashing of the Patriots and I don't think they should be punished for a five point loss in San Francisco. Knile Davis has performed very well in the absence of Jamaal Charles, and lets not forget they do have a strong defense.
14) Lions (3-2) (13): I have no idea what happened to the Lions over the offseason, but it's weird. Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin has done a tremendous job turning the Lions D into *gasp* one of the better defenses in football. However, the big problem has been putting points up on the board. Much of that can be attributed to kicker Alex Henery, who went 0-3 losing them a game against the Bills. Now the Lions need to focus on the health of Megatron.
13) Giants (3-2) (23): My Giants are on a 3 game win streak! It's been a great three games for Eli Manning, with nine touchdowns versus only one interception. Rashad Jennings has been an effective runner, and Andre Williams is an adequate backup. Odell Beckham Jr. is finally playing and looks good, and the defense is strong. Things are looking up for Big Blue. And by the way, how come when the Giants crush the Redskins it's because the Redskins suck and when the Seahawks beat the Redskins by seven it's all Russell Wilson? Bias much?
12) Patriots (3-2) (8): I don't know what to make of the Patriots, but I think it's at least a good sign that they have managed to pick up three wins so far, and that they managed to crush the last undefeated team in the NFL. The offense is still relatively weak, but at least things are looking better now.
Just a quick note: the next five or six teams are really interchangeable as not much separates them, so don't take the specific numbers too seriously.
11) Cowboys (4-1) (18): The Cowboys have managed to be a strong team, holding a strong 4-1 record. However, despite the strong offense and the incredible performance by DeMarco Murray this season, I'm not ready to stick them in the top six or seven like I've seen from some other people. They're barely escaping with wins, so until they really start destroying people they won't go much higher.
10) 49ers (3-2) (16): Two strong wins have the Niners up into the top ten this week. They're only third in their division, but Kaepernick is starting to get his turnovers under control and the team is gaining ground and confidence.
9) Ravens (3-2) (9): The Ravens haven't moved anywhere in the rankings this week. They played the Colts to a close 20-13 loss which is solid considering how the Colts are a very strong team with an elite quarterback. However, they definitely make up for it with a 38-10 win over the Panthers. The running back situation still confuses me, but as a whole they look like a solid playoff contender.
8) Packers (3-2) (17): The Packers have finally returned! But seriously, the last two weeks have really shown an adjusted Packers team who have found themselves. Eddie Lacy has had a strong two weeks, and all of a sudden the Packers are in a tie for the division lead.
7) Cardinals (3-1) (4): It looks like Drew Stanton can't win every game. Peyton Manning was the man to tear apart the Cardinals defense, but then again Peyton does that to everyone, so that's really not that bad a thing for the Cards. They are still tied with the Seahawks, but they need Carson Palmer back.
6) Colts (3-2) (12): If I said it once, I'll say it again: Andrew Luck is really good. So are the receivers, and Bradshaw has really flourished in the Indianapolis offense. They had an impressive win against a strong Ravens team and have recovered from an 0-2 start. The Colts should be a strong playoff contender come December.
5) Eagles (4-1) (5): The Eagles are in a similar boat as the Cowboys in the sense that they're winning close games against less than great opponents and they don't have a strong defense. LeSean Mccoy has had a disappointing start to his season and the Eagles have offensive line struggles, but they're still a good team. Sunday night's Eagles vs. Giants matchup will be a big one.
4) Bengals (3-1) (1): The last remaining undefeated team in the NFL ran into a storm when they played a fired up Patriots team that came angry and came to play. However, I still believe the Bengals are a very strong team. The Bengals will have a very hard stretch coming up against the Panthers, Colts, and Ravens, and two wins over that stretch will cement the Bengals' status as a strong contender.
3) Chargers (4-1) (6): The Chargers believe they are the best team in the NFL, and they very well may be. They're coming off a 31-0 shutout of the Jets, and have only allowed 12.4 points per game thus far. Philip Rivers is having an incredible season and Branden Oliver is the fantasy pickup of the week. It's smooth sailing for the bolts week 6 against the Raiders. I'm just waiting for them to go into Denver in week 8.
2) Broncos (3-1) (3): Peyton Manning is closing in on the all-time passing touchdowns record, and should pass Brett Favre in the next two or three games. This is such a talented team that it's really hard to imagine them not going back to the Super Bowl, despite teams such as the Chargers and Colts hot to stop them. They have an easy matchup against the Jets next week, but then they take on the 49ers and Chargers in tough games.
1) Seahawks (3-1) (2): It could've been prettier, but the Seahawks ended up victorious in D.C., defeating the Redskins last week. Russell Wilson is playing incredibly smart football, and leading the Seahawks to another successful season. The Bengals loss was all it took to bump Seattle into the top spot this week.
Thanks for reading,
Connor
Friday, October 3, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Ranking Playoff Formats of Big 5 Sports
The MLB playoffs have started, which means for many people that it's time to start watching baseball. For baseball fans, this is the culmination of six months of regular season games, and a time to see the very best create their legacies. I've picked the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series this year for a number of reasons, one of them being that they have basically a given win in every series they play thanks to a guy named Clayton Kershaw. However, that's not what I want to talk about today.
I'm going to rank the playoffs of all the big 5 team sports in the U.S. (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS) and give my case for what sport I believe has the best playoffs. This will be a combination of the number of teams that make the playoffs, the different match-up lengths such as best-of-7 series and single elimination, and of course, how exciting to follow and fun to watch they are.
Here are my rankings for the best playoff formats.
#5: MLS - Major League Soccer takes the bottom spot in my rankings for a few obvious reasons, the biggest one being that I don't think the MLS should even have playoffs, which is something I mentioned in my problems with the MLS post, found here: http://toplevelsports.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-6-biggest-problems-with-mls.html. Basically, as I mention in the post, every team plays each other home and away, meaning there is no schedule favoritism, basically negating the need for a playoff system. Additionally, over half of the teams in the league (10 of 19) make the playoffs, which I believe is far too many. I think they should do a championship game between the best place in each conference if the MLS really wants a playoff, or instead have a domestic cup. I still have another major gripe with the MLS' playoff system. The wild card round, conference semifinals, and conference finals are two-leg series, where each team plays home and away. However, the final is only one game. I understand that it creates a big atmosphere surrounding the game, but I just don't like the concept of having a shorter finals. And as for marketing, most people don't even know its happening when it is, so the MLS playoffs can't really be any higher on the list.
#4: MLB - The MLB takes fourth place, and while it could have moved up to third place potentially, it suffers from many flaws. First off is the inconsistency of length in each playoff round. I personally think it's ridiculous that a sport with a 162 game regular season has only a one game wild card, meaning the second wild card team potentially doesn't play a single playoff game at home prior to elimination. This isn't as big a problem in the NFL where the season is 10x shorter, but in baseball I think it's crazy. Then there is a five game divisional round, and seven game league championship and World Series championship series'. I would be in favor of making all series leading up to the World Series five games, and the World Series seven, although I still think it's too short in comparison to the season length. As for the general feel of each game, it doesn't feel too much different than the average game to the casual fan, which is a really bad thing for baseball. These games still suffer from the slow paced, "boring" atmosphere that has destroyed baseball for much of the young market of today. However it is a reasonable system overall that does enough to get the people who like baseball interested.
#3: NFL - In comparison to the regular season, the NFL playoffs usually turn out to be a disappointment for me, with two key exceptions in 2007-08 and 2011-12 (the Giants recent Super Bowls). I didn't think this was possible, but I feel like the NFL's playoffs are over-marketed. Every commercial is focused on the upcoming games, and by kickoff every little detail that may decide the game has been gone over with a fine-toothed comb. Simply put, every game in the season is exciting as it leads up to seeing who makes the playoffs, but when there is only one game at a time instead of ten, the playoffs can't live up to the hype. The Super Bowl is this multiplied by one hundred. It feels like there is more focus on the halftime show and commercials than the game itself, and many times the game isn't that great (case in point last season). Don't get me wrong: the NFL playoffs are still very enjoyable for football fans, but I just think everything is so overhyped that if a game is anything under terrific it doesn't meet expectations. (I know that was a poor explanation so come playoff time it may warrant it's own post).
#2: NHL - I'll be very honest about this one. I'm not a huge hockey person, and it's tough to really be one when you spend most of your life in California and Texas, so far away from snow. However, every year the NHL playoffs turn me into a hockey fan and make me question why I don't watch the sport more often. It's very fast-paced and exciting, and the emotion on the ice and in the stands is really a sight to see. I think the NHL does a very good job marketing the events, and while the playoffs in both the NHL and NBA are extremely lengthy (16 teams, all best-of-seven series), they do make for some incredibly tense game sevens. Hockey is unpredictable, and perhaps more so than any other sport, capable of producing wild finishes, such as the unforgettable Boston Bruins comeback against the Canadiens this past year. Watching these games gives me a real appreciation for the sport, and for that reason it rightfully takes the number two spot on my list.
#1: NBA - There is simply nothing like basketball playoffs. The rivalries, the storylines, the presentation on TV, I could really go on and on. Every year there are polarizing teams such as the Heat, fan favorites like the Spurs, and combinations of historically great teams continuing their legacies as well as young groups, recently the Pacers, Blazers, and Rockets trying to make names for themselves. Every game counts, and every moment is important in determining who ends up with the title in June. It's long, but it's a thrill ride, and I enjoy every moment of it. In my opinion, the NBA playoffs are unmatched.
Thanks for reading,
Connor
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