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Roethlisberger v Palmer

Ben Roethisberger is better than Carson Palmer.
I can see where people can make the argument the other way around. It's not ludicrous to think differently. But a simple comparison of statistics mixed with circumstantial evidence can prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the former Miami of Ohio Redhawk is better than the former USC Trojan.

First and foremost, let me say that Carson is a wonderful quarterback. Most teams would kill to have him as a signalcaller. But a debate over the top QB's in the league last week got heated over this simple exchange: "After Brady and Manning, Ben Roethlisberger is the best quarterback in the league."
"What about Carson Palmer?"
"Better than Carson."
That set off a good fifteen minutes of callow, infantile mudslinging. For some reason, unintelligent sports fans enjoy saying that a player is better without saying a SINGLE STATISTIC to back it up. Just name calling. Good show. Got me thinking that it'd be a solid idea for a column- Big Ben vs. Carson. Both have started the same amount of years, so it's completely fair to debate based on numbers.

First, the argument for the former Heisman Trophy winner:
His total passing yardage outstrips Roethlisberger's 14899 to 11673. That's a decent amount. He leads 64 63 in completion percentage. His touchdown total tops Ben's 104 84. Landslide victory for Palmer, right?
Wrong.
The passing yardage can be thrown out the window. His 3000 yard advantage in yardage is nullified by the fact that he has had 600 more attempts than Ben. It's the Jon Kitna theorem: throw a lot, get a lot of yards. Not too hard to figure out. In fact, Roethlisberger wins the yardage argument by throwing for 8.12 yards per attempt compared to 7.31.
Completion percentage? Hooray, Carson- out of 100 passes, you throw 64 complete, as opposed to Ben's 63. Such a whopping victory. Go get yourself a slice of cake and pat yourself on the back. It's a push at best- considering the receivers Ben's had to throw to compared to Carson.
Touchdown total? Carson indeed has him beat soundly. Coincidentally, Carson also has him beaten in interceptions thrown- 63 to 54.
So that's Carson's argument? Those three stats?
Here's a stat for you: Ben Roethlisberger has a higher career Quarterback Rating, 92-90. Only a two point difference, you say? Well take into consideration that this is a tight argument numbers wise, and QB rating is the BEST measure of statistics for Quarterbacks, bar none. The tie breaker goes to Roethlisberger. Also, Ben quintuples him in rushing yards (515 to 135), meaning he's not only a more efficient passer, but a far superior runner.
Up until this point, it's relatively even. Here's where the argument gets lopsided. Ben Roethlisberger has a Super Bowl ring. Carson Palmer has never won a playoff game. For all of you out there who base every argument on wins and losses and championships, there is no more incentive to read on.
"But 4and26, Ben had a great rushing game to fall back on LOLZ!!!!111!"
Yeah, and he also had who to throw to? His starting receivers were college quarterbacks. Hines Ward is one of the greatest blocking receivers of all time, but doesn't even sniff the top echelon of pass catchers. Randel El was and is a raw talent who never will amount to anything more than a decent slot man. Willie Parker was a third stringer who was just finding his groove. Heath Miller was a rookie. Ben Roethilsberger was a vital part of that Super Bowl champion team, contrary to popular belief.
And who did Carson have to throw to? Oh, only two all-pro talents by the name of Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmanzadeh, one of the top three receiving tandems in the league (with Moss/Welker and Boldin/Fitzgerald). Both of their talent far surpasses anything Ben has ever had. And for those of you who don't remember, their running back, Rudi Johnson, had approximately 4400 rushing yards from 2004-2006. He was no slouch either. So yeah, he had a team- he just couldn't get it done.
Not to mention the fact that Ben has never had a serious injury. Being a McNabb fan, I hear all the time how being "injury prone" makes a quarterback that much less effective. So why the excuses when, after Carson's knee was utterly obliterated, his QB rating drops seven points a year over the past three?

So is the argument really that much of a lark? Do I really "fail"? Besides all these points, does 4and26sports.com have no business talking about athletics?
And I don't even like the Steelers. I just appreciate talent when I see it.

Laws and Jackson

WOW! What a Philadelphia sports weekend. 4and26sports.com started it off with a bang in Pittsburgh, where a roving gang of Phillies fans drowned out the sorry Pirates fans with "Pat the Bat!" chants and witnessed the Phils defeat the "Buccos" 6-5. Within the next two days, the Sixers and Flyers administered beatdowns to two heavily favored teams in playoff contests. And the draft...

As the picks slowly, painfully escalated to nineteen, a friend of mine joked he wouldn't be satisfied unless the Eagles logo in the upper right corner turned into a Lions or Cardinals logo (signifying a trade for possibly Roy Williams or Anquan Boldin). I said it probably wouldn't happen, and that we'd probably pick a lineman or a receiver. I think I echoed the sentiments of every Eagles fan in the Western Hemisphere when the nineteenth pick flashed TRADE to CAROLINA.
"What the *&^*? STEVE SMITH! STEVE SMITH!"
When I calmed down and actually thought about it, I realized there was absolutely no way in hell we'd get Steve Smith. Too much time reading rumors about what big-name receiver we were going to get conditioned me to believe that we were going to swing for a big trade, but it didn't happen. Fun to dream though. The deal was actually for several more picks, including a first rounder for next year.
    While I applaud the stockpiling of picks, and we did get a lot by the way of deftly trading selections, the whole trading down idea was very anticlimactic. Smart football moves, but it took the drama out of it. At least we're a better team for it. What I wasn't expecting was a DT with our first selection.

    Trevor Laws was (supposedly) a terror at Notre Dame. My skepticism is there because a) Notre Dame was garbage last year and b) why d tackle? We're STACKED at DT. Bunk and Patterson are a fine starting duo. But maybe Andy just went with the best available, which is understandable. And when you look at how all the receivers were were dropping like Romo holding for a gamewinning kick, mixed in with the fact we had another pick minutes away, we were going to get the receiver we wanted anyway.
    4 sacks, 5 pass breakups, and THREE (!) blocked kicks last year. He also led the country in tackles for a DT, and with 112, was the only DT in the nation above 100. He's a player. It may be hard to get PT with our defensive line being the way it is, but it never hurts to have depth and we can rotate our line to keep everyone fresh. So perhaps he was the right pick.
    Last season, the Eagles two biggest weaknesses were unquestionably 1) forcing turnovers and 2) the return game. So what do the Eagles do? Pick up an interception machine in Asaunte Samuel and then draft DeSean Jackson. Jackson turns a that return game weakness into a strength. Fast as lightning and shifty and decisive with his cuts, DeSean will look nice in midnight green. Did I want Sweed? Yes. But the Eagles saw kick return as more important than receiving right now, and I guess I can talk myself into believing it's the right call. DeSean might actually turn out to be a great receiver one day. Despite his size, watching his game film showed some extreme gamebreaking talent. Kind of reminded me of (ironically) Steve Smith.
    Let's hope for a big time day two. We have more picks than we know what to do with.

Eagles Draft Strategy: WR Breakdown

Before we get into the Eagles, 4and26sports.com would like give a big ol' HELL YEAH to the Flyers for stunning the Washington Ovechkins in overtime on game 7 on Tuesday in D.C. And wishing good luck to the Sixers in Detroit tonight; everywhere I go I hear the same thing: "OMG, the Sixers are better than I thought, I thought they'd get one win in the series, but not game one in Detroit!!!1!1! but we all know Detroits gonna pull it out LOLOL!!1" Garbage. Just because the talking heads tell you Detroit's going to win in 5 doesn't mean Detroit's going to win in 5. The Sixers will have to prove themselves yet again. Anyway, onto the birds...

    In case you haven't heard, the NFL College Entry Draft is this this weekend. Actually, I'd be surprised if you haven't, seeing as every football webpage and sports channel has been obsessed by the subject for the past month. As we all know, the Miami Dolphins have selected Michigan tackle Jake Long. After that, who the hell knows? Chris Long, Darren McFadden, Vernon Gholston, Matt Ryan... the draft's always a spectacle. Everybody boos and cheers along with every excruciatingly long (at least they shortened the 15 minute time per pick this year to 10) selection, with the prospects sweating it out as they slide ever farther down the board (I laughed at Brady Quinn for about 3 hours last year), or unexpected picks celebrating as though they've won the lottery. And they pretty much have. NFL fans live for the one day a year Mel Kiper slobbers over young men and makes you wonder what hell he does all year outside of the draft (purchase hair grease). But the most exciting moment comes when your favorite team is on the clock.

    So what of our favorite team? What do they need? Who do they want? Well, any Eagles fan who's been transfixed on GCobb, yardbarker, 610 WIP or some random Eagles blog will tell you a gamebreaking wide receiver is their biggest target. However, most football experts will tell you the Eagles need an OT. As far as I’m concerned, though, no top-tier tackle will fall to 19.

    As far as receivers go, three come to mind as “gamebreaker.” Limas Sweed (6’5’’) of Texas, Devin Thomas (6’2’’) of Michigan State, and James Hardy (6’7’’!! he started on the basketball team) of Indiana. All three are big, dangerous targets that can move well on with the ball in their hands. And I had the personal (dis)pleasure to watch Thomas and Hardy absolutely EMBARRASS Penn State star cornerback Justin King. Now while at the time I wasn’t enjoying watch Hardy go for 14 catches for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns and Thomas go 7 for 139 and 3 against the Nittany Lions, the fact that they could do that against a very good corner lets me know they’re both going to be players in this league. The way they go up for the ball is their greatest trait. However, Thomas may be gone to Buffalo with the 11^th pick, and even if he’s there, the man had one good season and was absolute trash before this year. I like him a lot, but I can’t trust him. And Hardy? He could easily go here. I wouldn’t be upset. But he has a tendency to disappear when his team really needs him. He had 17 yards against Wisconson and 50 yards in his bowl game, which are well below his status quo. Also keep in mind he didn’t play against Michigan or Ohio State this year; they had a very soft Big Ten slate.

I think Sweed’s the man. He has the greatest potential of the trio, his highlights are dazzling and his upside is mind-blowing. The negatives are his injury and lack of production as opposed to Thomas and Hardy. As for his injury, it was just his wrist, not a knee or ankle or back. So it’s a nonfactor. The surgery has already taken place and he’ll be fine. Something I can’t overlook is his relative lack of production to the other two. Hardy’s best year was going 79 for 1260 and 8 touchdowns, and Thomas’s best was 79 for 1125 with 16 TD’s. Sweed’s best was 46 catches for 801 yards, which pales in comparison.

The crazy thing is the sheer amount of touchdowns Sweed produces per catch. 12 touchdowns on 46 catches his junior year? He scored 26 % of his catches! That’s insane; Hardy’s career year was 10%, and Thomas’s was 20%. Why is this relevant, you ask? Well, what was the Eagles biggest weakness last season? The offense was ranked 6^th in ypg, and the defense was ranked 10^th in ypg allowed and 9^th in ppg allowed. What’s missing? Scoring. ANYONE who watched the Eagles last year will tell you the red zone was the biggest area of concern. The Birds scored touchdowns on a woeful 45% mark, good for 24^th in the league. So we don’t need help between the twenties. Curtis, Westbrook, McNabb, Andrews and the gang can navigate that territory with ease.

And as long as Buddy Ryan doesn’t rise from the grave, doing nothing but catching touchdowns will keep Sweed in Philly for a long time.

Thoughts on the Eagles, 4/14/08

4and26sports.com provides some weekly commentary on the Philadelphia Eagles.

    To address all the people who come up with absurd rumors on what new, exciting receiver the birds will trade for: cease and desist. Yes, it would be amazing if we got Brandon Marshall or Roy Williams or Anquan Boldin. But just because a receiver has a contract dispute or asks to get traded or just looks like he would be a great addition to the Eagles doesn't mean he's going to get traded. It's all speculation. Would a gamebreaking receiver be nice? Of course. Maybe the Eagles are happy with their current crop of wideouts, and will most likely add in the draft. But hey, maybe they're not and won't. Simply put, we don't know, and seeing as none of us are in the Eagles organization, we won't find out.
    Just because you want a receiver doesn't mean he's being targeted by the Eagles. Stop it. Instead, focus on real possibilities, like the draft. I personally think Devin Thomas of Michigan State would be a great addition. Curtis is a solid receiver, and Brown/Baskett/Avant have their moments. We've gotten deep into the playoffs with the likes FredEx, Na Brown, and Todd Pinkston (and who can forget the legendary Torrence Small).
    And to everyone who immediately says "BUT WITH T.O. YOU GUYS GOT TO THE SUPER BOWL !!!1!1! LOL", we didn't have him when we waxed Randy "Straight Cash, Homey!" Moss and the Vikings. We also didn't have him when we annihilated Mike "insert joke about dogfighting here" Vick and the Falcons. To address your next point, T.O. sympathizers, Mr. "Get Your Popcorn Ready" did play well in the Super Bowl. But did we win? No. Maybe it was partly Donovan's fault, and maybe Andy Reid executed some of the worst clock management in recent memory. But the fact is a marquee receiver did not equate into a championship, whichever way you slice it.
    Eagles + Awesome receiver ≠ guaranteed championship, for those of you playing along at home.
I'm not even going to mention the fact that he absolutely obliterated the team after that and did situps on his lawn because he didn't like his contract, then called out teammates he didn't like, thereby earning himself a yearlong suspension. Hey, you may say that's Donovan's fault too, but did he ever have trouble with anyone else besides T.O.? Just asking.
    So let's quell the annoying "trade rumors" (note the quotations). They are just that: rumors. For all you know, they could have been made up by some guy in his basement. But I digress.

On a completely different note, what the hell happened to Ryan Moats? Does anyone remember his hundred yard performance when B-West and Buck went down?
    Moat's running ability has never been the question. He averaged 5.1 ypc his rookie year and got 114 yards on 11 c arries in a start against the Giants on Dec. 11, 2005. But he hasn't learned the playbook, and he can't pick up the blitz. It's a shame that someone with his talent can't crack the top three of the depth chart. Bizarrely, he got lucky he messed up his ankle last season. If he didn't go on injured reserve, he would have gotten cut. I hope he works out, but the way it looks, he's going to be the odd man out. Westbrook is the best running back in the league, Buckhalter is a solid 3rd down back, and Tony Hunt may develop into a fine back one day. There's really no room for Moats.

    The only possibility I see is perhaps training him to return kicks and punts- he's certainly shifty and fast enough. But he's most likely gone.

Pushed to the Limit

    I'm assuming most of the people who visit 4and26sports.com were, at one point or another, athletes. I was never that amazing at sports, but I played and loved every minute of it. All of you who did participate in sports should remember this feeling.

    You show up in the locker room, you BS with your teammates for awhile. Somebody cracks a joke or rips on one of your friends, and everyone laughs. You would go to war with these guys, and you don't want to let them down. The coach walks by and everybody either shuts up (if it's a strict coach) or greets him warmly (if it's a player's coach). You don't want to let him down either.
    You go through stretching and warmups, running in lines and maybe a jog around the field. You go do some tough drills. Linemen line up 1 foot apart from each other, and bully their friend or teammate until the whistle blows. You always go until the whistle blows. Can't let the coach down. Can't let your teammates down. Receivers and D backs go press coverage on each other in one on one fade drills. You always go hard, you run your fastest, you try to separate yourself, try to prove to everyone that you're good enough. Can't let anyone down. You go all out in position drills and push to the limit. Coaches eyes are on you, teammates eyes are on you. You can't disappoint. You're already tired, already sore, already beat. But practice isn't over.
    It's just begun. Team scrimmage, first vs. scout, or even first vs. first. This is game situation, coaches tell you. Go all out. Someone misses a blocking assignment.
"What the f** are you doing? Are you f**ing stupid? Do you not know anything?" The hard line approach.
Someone drops a pass.
"Dammit, those are the kinds of mistakes we can't afford to make. Do you think the other team's receivers are dropping passes? Get out of there, we got a scout team receiver who's been looking pretty good."
It always seems like there's someone ready to replace you if you're not good enough. I would imagine that feeling amplifies on a D-1 college team, where there are hundreds of kids dying to take your spot.
    The feeling of being so overwhelmingly fatigued has to be put on hold, because after the no-holds barred full contact scrimmage, you have to take your beaten body to the conditioning period. If you're lucky, you'll just have to go to the hill, where you run up and down a steep incline frontwards, backwards, crawling, crawling backwards, sidestep and just old fashioned sprinting time and time again.
    But if you're unlucky, you go to the field. Ladders, suicides, there are lots of names for the same thing. Start on the goal line, run to the five. Touch down, run back to the goal line. Whistle blows. Run to the ten, touch down, run back. Whistle blows. Run to the fifteen, touch down, run back. It goes on.
    This is where the weak get separated from the true warriors. As you slowly, painfully inch your way down the field, where each new sprint is longer than the last, some of the linemen start to wheeze. The more rotund of the group start to slow down.
"What the f** are you doing? Run, (female genitalia)! RUN!"
Someone gets singled out. The coach's look of disappointment runs deep. Everyone feels a twang of terror, knowing it could easily be them. Nobody wants to be That Guy. Because That Guy is not improving his status with the coaches. That Guy doesn't earn the respect of his teammates. The pressure being put on an athlete during sprints is tremendous. You may be so tired that in a normal situation, you can't walk, but in this situation, you're sprinting. Because you think your life depends on it. You don't want to be replaced. You don't want to let the coach down. You don't want to let your teammates down.
    There comes a point where even the most well-conditioned start to slow their pace. Mercifully, you reach the other goal line. Sometimes you have to wind your way back down the field, other times you're free to go. And everyone's look on their face when they know they've finished is priceless. They know they didn't let anyone down and they tried their absolute hardest. It's a good feeling. You don't need to be a star to get all the satisfaction sports rewards on you.
     Usually after sprints, everyone gets to calm down, relax, go home to their family or their friends or their significant other. Maybe go get a lift in or go study. But sometimes, it doesn't happen that way. Sometimes they never get to walk off the field at all.
    A football player from the University of Central Florida died during a conditioning workout in a spring practice. Coaches said that there were no signs, but they might have been trying to cover their tracks. Four teammates said the kid looked extremely fatigued and was not responding, and that the coaches were screaming and cursing at him to finish the workout. Now I'm not going to take sides on this particular situation- I'm not a talking head who makes open and shut cases on things that they know no specifics- but this begs an important question.
    What if, after the grueling practice, you were in sprints, and your teammate suddenly didn't look so good? Would you tell him to suck it up, or would you ask him if he's okay? What if he didn't respond? What if he looked like he might collapse? Would you tell a coach? It's not that easy in sports today. You can't stop in the middle of a sprint; it simply doesn't happen. And it's very rare that someone complains to a coach that they can't do conditioning- it's basically begging to be benched, or even to never get a shot to play. How can you expect players to react? They don't want to step out of line if it's a teammate who is lagging behind, or it may be their head on the guillotine next.
    And what of the coaches? You can't build a successful team without hard work. The players NEED to be conditioned to have any chance in the fourth quarter, third period, overtime, last lap, match point. So you push them. And it's not just physical conditioning. It's mental and emotional conditioning. "We're here not to just build football players, but to build men," I hear coaches say all the time. To build a man, you have to push him to his limit and then push some more. But how hard are you supposed to push? When does being a hardass coach turn into being potentially responsible for death? I'm sure Coach O'Leary never wanted to kill the kid, so I'm not calling him a murderer. He may have just been doing his job.
    But the bottom line is an innocent kid is dead. A son, a friend, a football player, a student. He could have had a family one day. Who is to blame? The system, maybe. The whole masculine culture of sports embraces pushing yourself to the limit. But the coaches were just trying to turn him into a better player, a better man. His teammates probably just assumed he was out of shape, or maybe they were afraid to disrupt practice to say anything.
    Ereck Plancher suffered this fate because he didn't want to let his coaches or his teammates down. He didn't deserve it. Does this call for changes to the entire system? I don't think it does. We don't know the entire story. But I do think this calls for remembrance of Ereck Plancher. Someone who sacrificed his life pushing himself, trying to make himself better. Maybe the right thing to do would be to sit out when he felt woozy, but he didn't. He did what we all tell ourselves, what all our coaches and parents tell us when we're tired of working so hard- don't give up. Keep working hard and it will all pay off.
    It didn't this time. Rest in Peace, Ereck Plancher.