Sunday, January 31, 2010
Leafs are awake, but Sabres weren't sleeping
5:48 AM | 
Posted by
Nick Mendola
(WGR 550) -- If you're on any sort of message board or radio talk box today, chances are you're reading/hearing a lot about how Brian Burke acquired two key pieces to the Maple Leafs' rebuilding puzzle, and he did. Dion Phaneuf and J.S. Giguere are massive stabilizing blocks in the wobbly Jenga-like tower that is Toronto.
But if you're one of those thinking that the Sabres and other teams were sleeping, you're simply incorrect.
It pains me to say this, because Phaneuf is one of my favorite players in the entire league and Buffalo needs to make a move or two before the deadline. They need a veteran presence and another scorer or power play point man (Read my thoughts on that here). But the ransom Flames general manager Darryl Sutter got from the Leafs is top-notch. He gets a goal scorer locked up through and at the apex of his career as well as three other players who will fill nice roles for him.
In Niklas Hagman, the Leafs have offloaded their top goal scorer. By dealing Ian White, they've sent away one of their only consistent five-on-five players (White's one of only three plus players on the Leafs). Matt Stajan is Toronto's second-leading scorer. Hagman's signed through 2012 at a remarkably reasonable $3 million, while White will be a restricted free agent and Stajan will be a UFA after this season.
The Leafs get Phaneuf, struggling through a brutal season in which he'll need a minor miracle to match his career average in points. He'll find his way back, but Phaneuf has really shown a drop-off since signing a massive $6.5 million deal as a 23-year-old.
To make as close a Buffalo comparison as possible, general manager Darcy Regier would've had to send Jason Pominville (locked up), Drew Stafford (RFA), Henrik Tallinder (UFA) and Nathan Paetsch or Adam Mair to Calgary to pick up Phaneuf. That's not a move that helps a division-leader become a powerhouse. It's a step backwards to build for the future. A third-place team doesn't do that to their locker room, fans or bottom line (especially when you consider that before Phaneuf's deal is done, Tyler Myers will likely be making Phaneuf money or better).
As for Toronto's acquisition of J.S. Giguere, it's an ingenious move, but why would Darcy Regier do it? He has his goaltender locked up for years. "Giggy" is reunited with his old goalie coach, and the Leafs have off-loaded Jason Blake's contract -- which was a foolish one to start with for a player his size and his age. Yes, it's retrospect, but it's no surprise his numbers have slipped. I argued last week for the Flyers to scoop up Giguere and a No. 2 for Briere and Boucher. This is essentially the same deal, only the Flyers are a contender.
To put it simply, the Leafs are digging out of a hole bigger than the one the Sabres were in when they failed to re-sign Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, and some of that unearthing was done by Burke (Mike Komisarek is not -- as I said at the time -- a 4.5 million dollar blueliner). Phaneuf and Giguere are terrific acquisitions, but as Pat Malacaro wrote in greater detail, they are long-term solutions with short-term struggles to even return to their top form.
The only shame in the whole matter is that the Sabres didn't have a tradeable piece that could land them Stajan, White and Hagman. The package that Calgary received for Phaneuf ends any debate as to whether the Sabres could've picked up the bruising offensive defenseman.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
But if you're one of those thinking that the Sabres and other teams were sleeping, you're simply incorrect.
It pains me to say this, because Phaneuf is one of my favorite players in the entire league and Buffalo needs to make a move or two before the deadline. They need a veteran presence and another scorer or power play point man (Read my thoughts on that here). But the ransom Flames general manager Darryl Sutter got from the Leafs is top-notch. He gets a goal scorer locked up through and at the apex of his career as well as three other players who will fill nice roles for him.
In Niklas Hagman, the Leafs have offloaded their top goal scorer. By dealing Ian White, they've sent away one of their only consistent five-on-five players (White's one of only three plus players on the Leafs). Matt Stajan is Toronto's second-leading scorer. Hagman's signed through 2012 at a remarkably reasonable $3 million, while White will be a restricted free agent and Stajan will be a UFA after this season.
The Leafs get Phaneuf, struggling through a brutal season in which he'll need a minor miracle to match his career average in points. He'll find his way back, but Phaneuf has really shown a drop-off since signing a massive $6.5 million deal as a 23-year-old.
To make as close a Buffalo comparison as possible, general manager Darcy Regier would've had to send Jason Pominville (locked up), Drew Stafford (RFA), Henrik Tallinder (UFA) and Nathan Paetsch or Adam Mair to Calgary to pick up Phaneuf. That's not a move that helps a division-leader become a powerhouse. It's a step backwards to build for the future. A third-place team doesn't do that to their locker room, fans or bottom line (especially when you consider that before Phaneuf's deal is done, Tyler Myers will likely be making Phaneuf money or better).
As for Toronto's acquisition of J.S. Giguere, it's an ingenious move, but why would Darcy Regier do it? He has his goaltender locked up for years. "Giggy" is reunited with his old goalie coach, and the Leafs have off-loaded Jason Blake's contract -- which was a foolish one to start with for a player his size and his age. Yes, it's retrospect, but it's no surprise his numbers have slipped. I argued last week for the Flyers to scoop up Giguere and a No. 2 for Briere and Boucher. This is essentially the same deal, only the Flyers are a contender.
To put it simply, the Leafs are digging out of a hole bigger than the one the Sabres were in when they failed to re-sign Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, and some of that unearthing was done by Burke (Mike Komisarek is not -- as I said at the time -- a 4.5 million dollar blueliner). Phaneuf and Giguere are terrific acquisitions, but as Pat Malacaro wrote in greater detail, they are long-term solutions with short-term struggles to even return to their top form.
The only shame in the whole matter is that the Sabres didn't have a tradeable piece that could land them Stajan, White and Hagman. The package that Calgary received for Phaneuf ends any debate as to whether the Sabres could've picked up the bruising offensive defenseman.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
First look at Bills draft, picks 1-3
Follow Nick's non-column-length thoughts on Twitter.com/NicholasMendola.
(WGR 550) -- As an ancillary piece for my "3-4" column, I thought I'd give my guts a shot at where the Bills first three picks are going.
Assuming New England doesn't go for my much-desired trade offer -- which works out on the value chart -- of the Nos. 9 and 72 picks in exchanged for the Pats' No. 21, 42 & 47 selections, here's where I think Buffalo could plan to start another year of hopeful football.
No. 9 overall - Derrick Morgan, DE/OLB, Georgia Tech
-- For those who didn't read my "3-4" column yet, I love Morgan. He's a 6'4", 275-pound human explosion. Usually, when you watch tape film Youtube clips, you don't notice how much attention is being paid to the end, but in a lot of the video Youtube clips I've watched, guards freaked out immediately to help the tackle, opening up room for a tackle to penetrate. That's respect. Morgan could also play NFL end no problem if they wanted to play a 4-3/3-4 hybrid. Again, these are just my opinions. I don't pretend to be OURLADS.
No. 41 overall - Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia
Capers is a very interesting guy to me, as he weighs in at just over 300 pounds but -- perhaps not coincidentally -- ran a 4.91 forty. He's also one of the only tackles who could be around post-Round One and have the ability to play left tackle. Here's the point where I'd like to tell you that if I believe it's very hard for me to believe there are a ton of right tackle prospects who couldn't learn to play left with good coaching.
So why trust a second-round pick to start on your line (besides the Andy Levitre thing)?
Granted they are both right tackles right now, but Minnesota's Phil Loadholt (Oklahoma) and the Giants' William Beatty (Connecticut) started at tackle in the NFL during their rookie campaigns, and both teams weren't an absolute mess offensively. I know the blind side is crucial -- the book was great -- but this is a league where defensive ends seem to be rotated a lot and who knows? The Bills may take a left-handed quarterback (I type this solely for Michael Vick hype, who I do not want in a Bills uniform. Sorry).
No. 72 overall - Dan LeFevour, QB, Central Michigan
With all the success the Bills have had with drafting quarterbacks in the third round -- yes, I'm typing this for you "He always makes fun of Trent" guys -- I think they can continue that idea here. As a MAC guy, I love the idea of LeFevour and that's bad news. I expect him to climb big-time at the combine.
Just some very early thoughts on where I think guys would be slotted if the draft were today, and teams didn't overreact once guys named Kiper published their Shakespearean works of literature on young adult athletes.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
(WGR 550) -- As an ancillary piece for my "3-4" column, I thought I'd give my guts a shot at where the Bills first three picks are going.
Assuming New England doesn't go for my much-desired trade offer -- which works out on the value chart -- of the Nos. 9 and 72 picks in exchanged for the Pats' No. 21, 42 & 47 selections, here's where I think Buffalo could plan to start another year of hopeful football.
No. 9 overall - Derrick Morgan, DE/OLB, Georgia Tech
-- For those who didn't read my "3-4" column yet, I love Morgan. He's a 6'4", 275-pound human explosion. Usually, when you watch tape film Youtube clips, you don't notice how much attention is being paid to the end, but in a lot of the video Youtube clips I've watched, guards freaked out immediately to help the tackle, opening up room for a tackle to penetrate. That's respect. Morgan could also play NFL end no problem if they wanted to play a 4-3/3-4 hybrid. Again, these are just my opinions. I don't pretend to be OURLADS.
No. 41 overall - Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia
Capers is a very interesting guy to me, as he weighs in at just over 300 pounds but -- perhaps not coincidentally -- ran a 4.91 forty. He's also one of the only tackles who could be around post-Round One and have the ability to play left tackle. Here's the point where I'd like to tell you that if I believe it's very hard for me to believe there are a ton of right tackle prospects who couldn't learn to play left with good coaching.
So why trust a second-round pick to start on your line (besides the Andy Levitre thing)?
Granted they are both right tackles right now, but Minnesota's Phil Loadholt (Oklahoma) and the Giants' William Beatty (Connecticut) started at tackle in the NFL during their rookie campaigns, and both teams weren't an absolute mess offensively. I know the blind side is crucial -- the book was great -- but this is a league where defensive ends seem to be rotated a lot and who knows? The Bills may take a left-handed quarterback (I type this solely for Michael Vick hype, who I do not want in a Bills uniform. Sorry).
No. 72 overall - Dan LeFevour, QB, Central Michigan
With all the success the Bills have had with drafting quarterbacks in the third round -- yes, I'm typing this for you "He always makes fun of Trent" guys -- I think they can continue that idea here. As a MAC guy, I love the idea of LeFevour and that's bad news. I expect him to climb big-time at the combine.
Just some very early thoughts on where I think guys would be slotted if the draft were today, and teams didn't overreact once guys named Kiper published their Shakespearean works of literature on young adult athletes.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Another nod to the 3-4?
Follow Nick's non-column-length thoughts on twitter.com/NicholasMendola.
(WGR 550) -- Two things to glean from the Bills reported hiring of Giff Smith as outside linebackers coach, and I think both are entirely reasonable.
1) They are going to a 3-4.
2) There's a good chance they'll take Derrick Morgan with the No. 9 over all pick if he's available.
Follow me here.
Smith coached the defensive line at Georgia Tech, where Morgan was an absolute beast, declaring for the draft after a monster junior year that saw him record 12 sacks in 13 games, including three multi-sack games.
At 6'4", 275 pounds, Morgan fits the prototype of an outside linebacker in the 3-4, and is also ranked by many as a Top Ten pick in April's draft (New Bills head coach Chan Gailey recruited Morgan to school in Atlanta).
By hiring an outside linebackers coach, it'd be reasonable to assume they'd also hire an inside linebackers coach and, unless the Bills plan on having two players coached by one guy, you'd think the recipe called for two starting inside linebackers. Otherwise, it would make for an awkward introduction (For our purposes, let's pretend the Bills hire GT linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary as their inside linebackers coach).
"Paul, Kawika... this is Brian Jean-Mary. Yeah, he'll be your inside linebackers coach. It's just you three, all-year, so let's hope you guys get along reeeeeeal well."
Side note: There was always a funny side-note to covering 2009 Bills practices, watching tight ends coach Charlie Coiner work with anywhere between one and three tight ends on a daily basis. On his best days, he had Joe Klopfenstein, Shawn Nelson and Jonathan Stupar. Most days, Klopfenstein was not on the roster, so there would be Coiner, "coaching up" two guys. Two guys.
So, presuming the Atlanta-Journal Constitution is correct in reporting that Smith is leaving the Yellow Jackets for Buffalo, look out for the 3-4, and maybe Morgan (more on what that draft could look like HERE).
Email: nick@wgr550.com
(WGR 550) -- Two things to glean from the Bills reported hiring of Giff Smith as outside linebackers coach, and I think both are entirely reasonable.
1) They are going to a 3-4.
2) There's a good chance they'll take Derrick Morgan with the No. 9 over all pick if he's available.
Follow me here.
Smith coached the defensive line at Georgia Tech, where Morgan was an absolute beast, declaring for the draft after a monster junior year that saw him record 12 sacks in 13 games, including three multi-sack games.
At 6'4", 275 pounds, Morgan fits the prototype of an outside linebacker in the 3-4, and is also ranked by many as a Top Ten pick in April's draft (New Bills head coach Chan Gailey recruited Morgan to school in Atlanta).
By hiring an outside linebackers coach, it'd be reasonable to assume they'd also hire an inside linebackers coach and, unless the Bills plan on having two players coached by one guy, you'd think the recipe called for two starting inside linebackers. Otherwise, it would make for an awkward introduction (For our purposes, let's pretend the Bills hire GT linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary as their inside linebackers coach).
"Paul, Kawika... this is Brian Jean-Mary. Yeah, he'll be your inside linebackers coach. It's just you three, all-year, so let's hope you guys get along reeeeeeal well."
Side note: There was always a funny side-note to covering 2009 Bills practices, watching tight ends coach Charlie Coiner work with anywhere between one and three tight ends on a daily basis. On his best days, he had Joe Klopfenstein, Shawn Nelson and Jonathan Stupar. Most days, Klopfenstein was not on the roster, so there would be Coiner, "coaching up" two guys. Two guys.
So, presuming the Atlanta-Journal Constitution is correct in reporting that Smith is leaving the Yellow Jackets for Buffalo, look out for the 3-4, and maybe Morgan (more on what that draft could look like HERE).
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Monday, January 25, 2010
TRADE GATE: 37 Days
TRADE GATE: 37 Days
Nick Mendola
nick@wgr550.com
For up-to-the-moment worthless trade chatter, shoot a message to me on Twitter.
(WGR 550) -- With five-plus weeks until the trade deadline, it's close enough to evaluate which teams might be buyers and sellers. Instead of just giving you five players who would help the Sabres -- like I did last year -- how about we look at some deals that could behoove not just the Sabres, but the rest of the league (Yes, there will be Sabres deals, and I actually called other media markets for opinions on what might work)?
Before we go any further, how about an update on how many players are coming to Buffalo, courtesy of everyone's favorite web site, Hockey Buzz (Come on, even folks who hate it check it out all the time).
Dion Phaneuf (15%)
Matthew Lombardi (30%)
Martin Biron (90%)
Teemu Selanne (5%)
Olli Jokinen (10%)
Jere Lehtinen (30%)
Raffi Torres (15%)
Mathieu Schneider (30%)
Jordan Leopold (15%)
Jeff Halpern (15%)
Matt Cullen (15%)
Joe Corvo (20%)
Petr Sykora (25%)
Leaving Buffalo...
Toni Lydman (60% he stays, 30% to LAK, 10% to DAL)
WHAT A TRADE BY DARCY REGIER!! In a 12-team deal, there's a 315 percent chance the Sabres will deal one single, solitary defenseman for some of the league's finer veterans. Seriously! Lydman for 13 players! Fire Regier?!? How about FIRE YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!
(I know the numbers don't work that way, but it's only late January. Things are only going to get crazier).
Could-be partners No. 1 -- NY Rangers and Carolina
Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford has already said that "50 percent of his roster will be different" next year, and there are probably only two names guaranteed to stick around: Eric Staal and Cam Ward. With that in mind, the Canes have the second-least amount of cap space in the National Hockey League (Vancouver has the least), and would love to ditch some of that money for players in place of nothing.
New York has a very-deep farm system (The web site Hockey's Future puts the Rangers organizational depth at No. 3 overall). With a number of young blueliners in the pipeline, the Rangers can afford to deal one of their many young blueliners (look at Bobby Sanguinetti or maybe even highly-toured Ryan McDonagh) in order to pick up UFA Whitney, who would be an ideal left winger for Chris Drury should the Blueshirts want to put Chris Higgins on another line.
The biggest obstacle to this deal is that New York is right up against the cap, so they'd need to fire someone, and who's going to take on Ales Kotalik or Wade Redden?
Proposed deal:
NY Rangers - Ray Whitney ($3.5 million hit)
Carolina - Bobby Sanguinetti, 2nd round pick
Could-be partners No. 2 -- Philadelphia and Anaheim:
When Michael Leighton's your best statistical goaltender, you're in a spot. The Flyers need to eschew their traditional "hope some guy named Cechmanek is good enough to win a Cup" mentality and reach out and touch someone on the West Coast. Philadelphia's trio of Leighton, Brian Boucher and Ray Emery will not win a title, and only Boucher is signed beyond this season anyway. With Philly's pitiful penalty kill, the Flyers would do well to improve the position deemed "the best penalty killer."
The Flyers are no longer in the desolate dimension called salary cap hell, with about 2.68 million to play with by March 3. It would take some movement to free up the $6 million to pick up Anaheim's current No. 2, J.S. Giguere, who is inked through 2010-11. Maybe the Ducks see some gloss on Briere beyond the injuries Flyers fans have seen.
Anaheim -- Daniel Briere, Brian Boucher, 2nd round pick
Philadelphia -- J.S. Giguere, Nick Boynton
Could-be partners No. 3 -- Pittsburgh and Minnesota
Like Philadelphia, a special teams unit is really hurting the Penguins. Believe it or not, Pittsburgh aches on the power play. Yes, with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby around, the Pens are tied for the third-worst unit in the league.
Why? Well, as I pointed out on an "Inside the Numbers" a few weeks back, the reason is really weird. Over the previous two years, Pittsburgh's PP was red-hot thanks to Petr Sykora. Seriously. Opponents were so busy taking care of Crosby and Malkin that Sykora scored 28 power play goals over two seasons before skipping town for Minnesota.
Rest assured the Pens didn't want Sykora to leave, but Pittsburgh has $775k to the cap. Why would a "seller" like the Wild -- if they deemed themselves as such -- take on money? Sykora is making $1.6 this year and is only signed through the end of the campaign. Pittsburgh would have to find a way to ditch $900k in another deal, which is very possible. Would Minnesota take a gritty, two-way prospect and a pick for Sykora? I would.
Pittsburgh -- Petr Sykora
Minnesota -- Dustin Jeffrey, 4th round pick
Could-be partners No. 4 & 5 -- Buffalo and Carolina or Edmonton
Before I begin, let me tell you that I believe the Sabres need -- more than anything else -- another guy in the locker room who is going to put a proverbial knife to the throat of a player who isn't trying hard enough for silverware. I'm talking a guy who's playoff beard is actually made out of tiny pieces of barbed-wire, and would block a shot with his actual, exposed beating heart if it meant his name appearing on Lord Stanley's Cup.
As we've said, the Canes are dealing. Carolina is currently the second-oldest team in the NHL, at almost 30 years-per-player (What a stat "years-per-player" is). Now they'll get younger if they can find someone to take on the albatross that is Rod Brind'Amour. "The Schnozz" has the reputation as a fitness freak, but time has caught up to the former star. Over the last two seasons, Brind'Amour has just 63 points in 130 games, posting a superlative plus/minus of minus-48.
So, what kind of deal can help both teams? The hardest thing about this trade is that the moment I put down a single name from the Sabres roster or future, people hate it. Either you like the guy and think Buffalo would never deal him, or you hate the guy and think he has no value to anyone else. It's a no-win situation, but I'll do it anyway because I'm a glutton for punishment.
If the Sabres were to part with someone signed past next season, say Andrej Sekera -- who I believe has way more value than anyone in Buffalo would think and carries enough of a cap-hit ($1 mil) to actually get something in return -- I think they could pick up a forward who could really help them. In Carolina's case, would they take Sekera and a non-first rounder for a guy like Matt Cullen, who is leaving town next year unless the Canes believe rebuilding begins with a center who will be 34 one month into next season? Heck, they'd do it just to save his $2.85 million hit this year.
Buffalo trade scenario No. 1:
Carolina: Andrej Sekera, third-round pick
Buffalo: Matt Cullen
OR
I had a long talk with someone in Edmonton media this morning, who told me that only a few players on Edmonton's roster wouldn't be moved for the right price. The Oilers are aching for first-round picks, which we know aren't coming from Buffalo. They know they have junior stud Jordan Eberle coming up, and also know they likely won't be good for a while, so why not build?
If the name isn't Luby Visnovsky, Ladislav Smid, Dustin Penner or Sam Gagner, ring Alberta. If you want to take on Shawn Horcoff's $5.5 million deal, he's out there. Who would they love to get rid of? Sheldon Souray, Steve Staios, Ethan Moreau and/or Fernando Pisani. I was told the long-heard Buffalo rumours that the Oilers would love, love, love Drew Stafford are absolutely true. Drew is the nephew of Edmonton's head equipment manager. When you hear it from the horse's mouth, it means a little more.
With Kevin Lowe out-of-power, it's reasonable to believe the Sabres and Edmonton could be dealmakers. In my opinion, Buffalo would love to get its hands on Moreau, who is having a rough go-of-it in Edmonton. The 34-year-old is signed through 2011, so it would take more than money to get him away from the Oilers. When I was working on a potential deal -- seriously, this is my job -- with the media member in Edmonton, he said the progress of former No. 1 pick Andrew Cogliano has stalled with the Oilers, and he's movable.
So, would you part with a player who tries every other night to get two guys who would sell select internal organs for a Cup? The Sabres would need to make a separate deal to free up a little more money, but how about this?
Buffalo trade scenario No. 2:
Edmonton: Drew Stafford
Buffalo: Ethan Moreau, Andrew Cogliano
I'm super interested in this deal if Buffalo could make it work. Moreau and Cogliano's combined cap-hit is $3.13 million. The Sabres have $1.8 million in room and Stafford's hit is $1.9 mil. Think about it. They'd have to play a left wing on the right, but your 12 regular forwards would look like this:
Vanek--Connolly--Grier
Roy--Cogliano--Pominville
Moreau-Gaustad-Kaleta
Kennedy-Hecht-MacArthur
Again, these are just some thoughts. I'm not saying they are the best options, or even all-that-realistic. Also, keep-in-mind the long-held and absurd rumour that the Sabres apparently K-O trades if they leak out.
Tell me I'm stupid here: nick@wgr550.com
Nick Mendola
nick@wgr550.com
For up-to-the-moment worthless trade chatter, shoot a message to me on Twitter.
(WGR 550) -- With five-plus weeks until the trade deadline, it's close enough to evaluate which teams might be buyers and sellers. Instead of just giving you five players who would help the Sabres -- like I did last year -- how about we look at some deals that could behoove not just the Sabres, but the rest of the league (Yes, there will be Sabres deals, and I actually called other media markets for opinions on what might work)?
Before we go any further, how about an update on how many players are coming to Buffalo, courtesy of everyone's favorite web site, Hockey Buzz (Come on, even folks who hate it check it out all the time).
Dion Phaneuf (15%)
Matthew Lombardi (30%)
Martin Biron (90%)
Teemu Selanne (5%)
Olli Jokinen (10%)
Jere Lehtinen (30%)
Raffi Torres (15%)
Mathieu Schneider (30%)
Jordan Leopold (15%)
Jeff Halpern (15%)
Matt Cullen (15%)
Joe Corvo (20%)
Petr Sykora (25%)
Leaving Buffalo...
Toni Lydman (60% he stays, 30% to LAK, 10% to DAL)
WHAT A TRADE BY DARCY REGIER!! In a 12-team deal, there's a 315 percent chance the Sabres will deal one single, solitary defenseman for some of the league's finer veterans. Seriously! Lydman for 13 players! Fire Regier?!? How about FIRE YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!
(I know the numbers don't work that way, but it's only late January. Things are only going to get crazier).
Could-be partners No. 1 -- NY Rangers and Carolina
Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford has already said that "50 percent of his roster will be different" next year, and there are probably only two names guaranteed to stick around: Eric Staal and Cam Ward. With that in mind, the Canes have the second-least amount of cap space in the National Hockey League (Vancouver has the least), and would love to ditch some of that money for players in place of nothing.
New York has a very-deep farm system (The web site Hockey's Future puts the Rangers organizational depth at No. 3 overall). With a number of young blueliners in the pipeline, the Rangers can afford to deal one of their many young blueliners (look at Bobby Sanguinetti or maybe even highly-toured Ryan McDonagh) in order to pick up UFA Whitney, who would be an ideal left winger for Chris Drury should the Blueshirts want to put Chris Higgins on another line.
The biggest obstacle to this deal is that New York is right up against the cap, so they'd need to fire someone, and who's going to take on Ales Kotalik or Wade Redden?
Proposed deal:
NY Rangers - Ray Whitney ($3.5 million hit)
Carolina - Bobby Sanguinetti, 2nd round pick
Could-be partners No. 2 -- Philadelphia and Anaheim:
When Michael Leighton's your best statistical goaltender, you're in a spot. The Flyers need to eschew their traditional "hope some guy named Cechmanek is good enough to win a Cup" mentality and reach out and touch someone on the West Coast. Philadelphia's trio of Leighton, Brian Boucher and Ray Emery will not win a title, and only Boucher is signed beyond this season anyway. With Philly's pitiful penalty kill, the Flyers would do well to improve the position deemed "the best penalty killer."
The Flyers are no longer in the desolate dimension called salary cap hell, with about 2.68 million to play with by March 3. It would take some movement to free up the $6 million to pick up Anaheim's current No. 2, J.S. Giguere, who is inked through 2010-11. Maybe the Ducks see some gloss on Briere beyond the injuries Flyers fans have seen.
Anaheim -- Daniel Briere, Brian Boucher, 2nd round pick
Philadelphia -- J.S. Giguere, Nick Boynton
Could-be partners No. 3 -- Pittsburgh and Minnesota
Like Philadelphia, a special teams unit is really hurting the Penguins. Believe it or not, Pittsburgh aches on the power play. Yes, with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby around, the Pens are tied for the third-worst unit in the league.
Why? Well, as I pointed out on an "Inside the Numbers" a few weeks back, the reason is really weird. Over the previous two years, Pittsburgh's PP was red-hot thanks to Petr Sykora. Seriously. Opponents were so busy taking care of Crosby and Malkin that Sykora scored 28 power play goals over two seasons before skipping town for Minnesota.
Rest assured the Pens didn't want Sykora to leave, but Pittsburgh has $775k to the cap. Why would a "seller" like the Wild -- if they deemed themselves as such -- take on money? Sykora is making $1.6 this year and is only signed through the end of the campaign. Pittsburgh would have to find a way to ditch $900k in another deal, which is very possible. Would Minnesota take a gritty, two-way prospect and a pick for Sykora? I would.
Pittsburgh -- Petr Sykora
Minnesota -- Dustin Jeffrey, 4th round pick
Could-be partners No. 4 & 5 -- Buffalo and Carolina or Edmonton
Before I begin, let me tell you that I believe the Sabres need -- more than anything else -- another guy in the locker room who is going to put a proverbial knife to the throat of a player who isn't trying hard enough for silverware. I'm talking a guy who's playoff beard is actually made out of tiny pieces of barbed-wire, and would block a shot with his actual, exposed beating heart if it meant his name appearing on Lord Stanley's Cup.
As we've said, the Canes are dealing. Carolina is currently the second-oldest team in the NHL, at almost 30 years-per-player (What a stat "years-per-player" is). Now they'll get younger if they can find someone to take on the albatross that is Rod Brind'Amour. "The Schnozz" has the reputation as a fitness freak, but time has caught up to the former star. Over the last two seasons, Brind'Amour has just 63 points in 130 games, posting a superlative plus/minus of minus-48.
So, what kind of deal can help both teams? The hardest thing about this trade is that the moment I put down a single name from the Sabres roster or future, people hate it. Either you like the guy and think Buffalo would never deal him, or you hate the guy and think he has no value to anyone else. It's a no-win situation, but I'll do it anyway because I'm a glutton for punishment.
If the Sabres were to part with someone signed past next season, say Andrej Sekera -- who I believe has way more value than anyone in Buffalo would think and carries enough of a cap-hit ($1 mil) to actually get something in return -- I think they could pick up a forward who could really help them. In Carolina's case, would they take Sekera and a non-first rounder for a guy like Matt Cullen, who is leaving town next year unless the Canes believe rebuilding begins with a center who will be 34 one month into next season? Heck, they'd do it just to save his $2.85 million hit this year.
Buffalo trade scenario No. 1:
Carolina: Andrej Sekera, third-round pick
Buffalo: Matt Cullen
OR
I had a long talk with someone in Edmonton media this morning, who told me that only a few players on Edmonton's roster wouldn't be moved for the right price. The Oilers are aching for first-round picks, which we know aren't coming from Buffalo. They know they have junior stud Jordan Eberle coming up, and also know they likely won't be good for a while, so why not build?
If the name isn't Luby Visnovsky, Ladislav Smid, Dustin Penner or Sam Gagner, ring Alberta. If you want to take on Shawn Horcoff's $5.5 million deal, he's out there. Who would they love to get rid of? Sheldon Souray, Steve Staios, Ethan Moreau and/or Fernando Pisani. I was told the long-heard Buffalo rumours that the Oilers would love, love, love Drew Stafford are absolutely true. Drew is the nephew of Edmonton's head equipment manager. When you hear it from the horse's mouth, it means a little more.
With Kevin Lowe out-of-power, it's reasonable to believe the Sabres and Edmonton could be dealmakers. In my opinion, Buffalo would love to get its hands on Moreau, who is having a rough go-of-it in Edmonton. The 34-year-old is signed through 2011, so it would take more than money to get him away from the Oilers. When I was working on a potential deal -- seriously, this is my job -- with the media member in Edmonton, he said the progress of former No. 1 pick Andrew Cogliano has stalled with the Oilers, and he's movable.
So, would you part with a player who tries every other night to get two guys who would sell select internal organs for a Cup? The Sabres would need to make a separate deal to free up a little more money, but how about this?
Buffalo trade scenario No. 2:
Edmonton: Drew Stafford
Buffalo: Ethan Moreau, Andrew Cogliano
I'm super interested in this deal if Buffalo could make it work. Moreau and Cogliano's combined cap-hit is $3.13 million. The Sabres have $1.8 million in room and Stafford's hit is $1.9 mil. Think about it. They'd have to play a left wing on the right, but your 12 regular forwards would look like this:
Vanek--Connolly--Grier
Roy--Cogliano--Pominville
Moreau-Gaustad-Kaleta
Kennedy-Hecht-MacArthur
Again, these are just some thoughts. I'm not saying they are the best options, or even all-that-realistic. Also, keep-in-mind the long-held and absurd rumour that the Sabres apparently K-O trades if they leak out.
Tell me I'm stupid here: nick@wgr550.com
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Immediate Reactions, Gailey Press Conference
I typed a lot of relatively-smart things on twitter.com/NicholasMendola regarding this hire. Check that here. In other news, I've learned something about myself -- typing quotes and analysis while driving in the passenger side of a rental car to Ohio does not agree with me.
The Buffalo Bills hiring of Chan Gailey seemed a tremendously unpopular move right off the bat, so heading into the press conference at One Bills Drive – for the record, I’m not there. I’m in a car to Kent State with UB assistant director of athletic communications Brian Wolff (Go Bulls) – you may be surprised to find out I have only one major problem with the hiring of the former Cowboys’ boss.
That one problem is that there is no chance the Bills can convince me that Gailey was even in their Top Ten entering this coaching search.
I’d say he was at least No. 15 on any such list, below Bill Cowher, Pete Carroll and all the Shanahans and Schottenheimers you can muster. In fact, part of the problem with my feelings on the Gailey hiring is that I learned of so many new attractive names along the way (The only thing I cared about Leslie Frazier before this coaching search was that he’s done the “Super Bowl Shuffle”).
Can Gailey be a good coach? Definitely. Can he hire a decent staff with his years of connections in the league? Absolutely. Is he sexy? That's a combined physical, metaphorical and categorical no (unless you’re into that posh-late-50s-slight-beer-gut type).
Here’s the thing for all of us remarkably underwhelmed fans to keep in mind: the guy is going to pound the ball, which means he’d like a nice left tackle, but he’ll also take shots if he has the weapons. He had rushing and receiving weapons at Georgia Tech – Calvin Johnson and Tashard Choice among them – and worked it out, except for beating Georgia (which is really, really hard).
EDIT NOTE: I really hope Gailey likes his former Tech recruit, top-draft-prospect Derrick Morgan. If they go 3-4, there are far worse choices for an outside linebacker. Watch the Youtube footage of him I linked on my Twitter. Sick.
One quick question before we get to the quotes: Did the name Chan Gailey even pop into your head at any point from the DIck Jauron firing until Monday? Be honest.
Now for the press conference:
Buddy Nix
-- Nix said he didn’t want to do a head coaching search. Sweet, but I appreciate the honesty. He also said in his first press conference that he didn’t want to leave a legacy. Sounds like an A-plus mind.
-- Was that criteria or “cry-tee-a”? Heck of a lot of drawl at One Bills Drive. It's like a Cormac McCarthy book about football. I could listen to this man speak forever, I just wish it was about rattlesnakes and killer cacti.
-- Nix said Perry Fewell and Leslie Frazier were the two guys who were accurately reported as interview candidates. Thanks, Buddy.
-- “Twenty percent of the things that were reported had some truth to it,” he said. Note for three years from now: don’t pay attention to any reports.
-- Nix wanted a guy who was successful in this league as a coach. “Well, why did you interview two coordinators,” Wolffie just asked. AND HE’S A JETS FAN.
-- “I wanted somebody that had developed quarterbacks,” Nix said. “Folks with good quarterbacks are winning. Folks with bad quarterbacks are losing. It’s not that har
That’s right on. Now make sure Chan doesn’t bring in Reggie Ball.
-- “Very few times do you get an offensive-minded guy who’s been a defensive coordinator and worked with special teams,” Nix said. Great point.
-- Nix said he got about 15 calls a day for guys begging to interview for the job, from names that would surprise us. Right when I was about to yell, “Why don’t you tell us?!?!?!”, he rips off an actual funny quip: “Don’t think you can’t fill a coaching job, even if it’s bad. Oakland gets a lot of calls. Don’t tell them I said tha
Metallic-paint tears all over Oakland.
-- The only guy to be offered the job, and meet Ralph Wilson, was Gailey, according to Nix. Somehow I don’t think he was skipping around a single-room house with his grandparents singing, “I’ve got a Golden Ticket!”
Chan Gailey
-- “I understand the challenge that’s ahead of us, the challenge to get the Buffalo Bills back to a winning franchise on a consistent basis,” Gailey said.
Go on…
-- Good for Gailey to point out that the two people “on top” of this thing were himself and Buddy Nix. Was that a PR way to tell the fans they are keeping Ralph Wilson as far away from this thing as possible?
-- “Plays are more fun than fundamentals, and fundamentals are more important than play
A line from my favorite children’s book, "Little T Learns To Share"
-- It took 90 seconds of Gailey speaking for me to realize that there wasn’t anything that was going to be said to short of “We’re going to trade for Peyton Manning” that would make this press conference actually interesting.
-- Gailey and Nix sound a bit alike if you aren’t looking at them, and I'm typing in a car to Ohio, so forgive me if I was mistaken on some of my attributed quotes.
-- “The people we are going to get aren’t going to have the names you’d attract right off the bat. We’re going to get the best teachers,” Gailey said.
Awesome. Sounds like the fact of the matter is that no one short of a 71-year-old scout who begrudgingly accepted the general manager position and a 58-year-old out-of-work offensive coordinator deemed Buffalo an acceptable destination, and they’re going to have to find guys who will put up with the Bills organization to better their career.
-- They are going to look at other options before deciding whether Buffalo will run a 4-3 defense next year, although Gailey said he is “much more open to the 3-4 than I used to be because I know how much of a pain it is to go against it every week.”
-- I’m not being an ageist, because I think these guys can do a good job, but this press conference really does sound like a Southern version of “Grumpy Old Men.”
In conclusion, all we learned from this afternoon is that Chan Gailey really is the Bills coach, and here’s hoping that’s not a terrible thing, because if I really had to judge anything from that presser, I’d be feeling worse off about the hiring than I did before the talking started.
Now get me some players.
Go Bills.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
The Buffalo Bills hiring of Chan Gailey seemed a tremendously unpopular move right off the bat, so heading into the press conference at One Bills Drive – for the record, I’m not there. I’m in a car to Kent State with UB assistant director of athletic communications Brian Wolff (Go Bulls) – you may be surprised to find out I have only one major problem with the hiring of the former Cowboys’ boss.
That one problem is that there is no chance the Bills can convince me that Gailey was even in their Top Ten entering this coaching search.
I’d say he was at least No. 15 on any such list, below Bill Cowher, Pete Carroll and all the Shanahans and Schottenheimers you can muster. In fact, part of the problem with my feelings on the Gailey hiring is that I learned of so many new attractive names along the way (The only thing I cared about Leslie Frazier before this coaching search was that he’s done the “Super Bowl Shuffle”).
Can Gailey be a good coach? Definitely. Can he hire a decent staff with his years of connections in the league? Absolutely. Is he sexy? That's a combined physical, metaphorical and categorical no (unless you’re into that posh-late-50s-slight-beer-gut type).
Here’s the thing for all of us remarkably underwhelmed fans to keep in mind: the guy is going to pound the ball, which means he’d like a nice left tackle, but he’ll also take shots if he has the weapons. He had rushing and receiving weapons at Georgia Tech – Calvin Johnson and Tashard Choice among them – and worked it out, except for beating Georgia (which is really, really hard).
EDIT NOTE: I really hope Gailey likes his former Tech recruit, top-draft-prospect Derrick Morgan. If they go 3-4, there are far worse choices for an outside linebacker. Watch the Youtube footage of him I linked on my Twitter. Sick.
One quick question before we get to the quotes: Did the name Chan Gailey even pop into your head at any point from the DIck Jauron firing until Monday? Be honest.
Now for the press conference:
Buddy Nix
-- Nix said he didn’t want to do a head coaching search. Sweet, but I appreciate the honesty. He also said in his first press conference that he didn’t want to leave a legacy. Sounds like an A-plus mind.
-- Was that criteria or “cry-tee-a”? Heck of a lot of drawl at One Bills Drive. It's like a Cormac McCarthy book about football. I could listen to this man speak forever, I just wish it was about rattlesnakes and killer cacti.
-- Nix said Perry Fewell and Leslie Frazier were the two guys who were accurately reported as interview candidates. Thanks, Buddy.
-- “Twenty percent of the things that were reported had some truth to it,” he said. Note for three years from now: don’t pay attention to any reports.
-- Nix wanted a guy who was successful in this league as a coach. “Well, why did you interview two coordinators,” Wolffie just asked. AND HE’S A JETS FAN.
-- “I wanted somebody that had developed quarterbacks,” Nix said. “Folks with good quarterbacks are winning. Folks with bad quarterbacks are losing. It’s not that har
That’s right on. Now make sure Chan doesn’t bring in Reggie Ball.
-- “Very few times do you get an offensive-minded guy who’s been a defensive coordinator and worked with special teams,” Nix said. Great point.
-- Nix said he got about 15 calls a day for guys begging to interview for the job, from names that would surprise us. Right when I was about to yell, “Why don’t you tell us?!?!?!”, he rips off an actual funny quip: “Don’t think you can’t fill a coaching job, even if it’s bad. Oakland gets a lot of calls. Don’t tell them I said tha
Metallic-paint tears all over Oakland.
-- The only guy to be offered the job, and meet Ralph Wilson, was Gailey, according to Nix. Somehow I don’t think he was skipping around a single-room house with his grandparents singing, “I’ve got a Golden Ticket!”
Chan Gailey
-- “I understand the challenge that’s ahead of us, the challenge to get the Buffalo Bills back to a winning franchise on a consistent basis,” Gailey said.
Go on…
-- Good for Gailey to point out that the two people “on top” of this thing were himself and Buddy Nix. Was that a PR way to tell the fans they are keeping Ralph Wilson as far away from this thing as possible?
-- “Plays are more fun than fundamentals, and fundamentals are more important than play
A line from my favorite children’s book, "Little T Learns To Share"
-- It took 90 seconds of Gailey speaking for me to realize that there wasn’t anything that was going to be said to short of “We’re going to trade for Peyton Manning” that would make this press conference actually interesting.
-- Gailey and Nix sound a bit alike if you aren’t looking at them, and I'm typing in a car to Ohio, so forgive me if I was mistaken on some of my attributed quotes.
-- “The people we are going to get aren’t going to have the names you’d attract right off the bat. We’re going to get the best teachers,” Gailey said.
Awesome. Sounds like the fact of the matter is that no one short of a 71-year-old scout who begrudgingly accepted the general manager position and a 58-year-old out-of-work offensive coordinator deemed Buffalo an acceptable destination, and they’re going to have to find guys who will put up with the Bills organization to better their career.
-- They are going to look at other options before deciding whether Buffalo will run a 4-3 defense next year, although Gailey said he is “much more open to the 3-4 than I used to be because I know how much of a pain it is to go against it every week.”
-- I’m not being an ageist, because I think these guys can do a good job, but this press conference really does sound like a Southern version of “Grumpy Old Men.”
In conclusion, all we learned from this afternoon is that Chan Gailey really is the Bills coach, and here’s hoping that’s not a terrible thing, because if I really had to judge anything from that presser, I’d be feeling worse off about the hiring than I did before the talking started.
Now get me some players.
Go Bills.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Kids are (Now) alright
(WGR 550) -- Three football-related things are screaming at me this Sunday evening, and only one doesn't involve the precarious immediate future of the Buffalo Bills.
They are as follows:
One - I wish they'd get rid of field goals in football so the better team can win. Yes, field goal kickers are part of the team, but the Chargers were a better team than the Jets. We'd have San Diego vs. Indy next weekend, we could get rid of two Pats titles and Super Bowl XXV would be ours (16-14).
Two - Coordinators as first-time head coaches aren't anything to be scared of if you make the right pick. Rex Ryan, Sean Payton, Brad Childress and Jim Caldwell are all doing just fine, and only Payton was a super-hyped hire.
Three - and most important - The long-held fear of the first-round rookie quarterback is all-but-over.
Obviously, I'm here to focus on point No. 3. It simply cannot be an anomaly anymore, as it seemed when Ben Roethlisberger found immediate success with the Steelers. Now, Mark Sanchez joins Joe Flacco as rookie signal callers to lead -- and lead may be an arbitrary term -- their teams to conference title games in their freshman campaign.
The names go on-and-on, and though we here in Buffalo have been stung by a first-round flop quarterback in J.P. Losman and two in-over-their-heads coordinators in Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey, we ought to take a gander at the much-improved success rate of rookie passers (even if they aren't asked to pass that much).
Think about it: as much as we mock the over-analytical talk of "football guys," there's a modern science to diagnosing football players. It's much harder to fail, which is why the Bills should be given an award for their stumblings in April.
If you believe in Buddy Nix at all, then you should be willing to ride a rookie quarterback if he believes that's the call for the franchise in 2010.
Let's take a look at all the first-round throwers since 2004:
2004:
Eli Manning
Philip Rivers
Ben Roethlisberger
J.P. Losman
2005:
Alex Smith
Aaron Rodgers
Jason Campbell
2006:
Vince Young
Matt Leinart
Jay Cutler
2007:
Jamarcus Russell
Brady Quinn
2008:
Matt Ryan
Joe Flacco
2009:
Matt Stafford
Mark Sanchez
Josh Freeman
EDIT NOTE: Campbell is about to be ridden out of Washington despite never throwing more picks than scores in a year, and posting a 55:38 TD:INT radio in his four years. He'd be half-canonized in Buffalo for that, and he, too, had to deal with Derrick Dockery, maybe even twice (Too tired to look it up. Maybe in the morning).
So, what am I trying to prove by including all those names? Well, for one thing, at least half of those guys could be announced as starting quarterback for the 2010 Bills and you'd at least smile if not leap out of your seat with joy.
But the more important point involves just four names: Ryan, Flacco, Stafford and Sanchez. Only three of those guys were just given the keys during Year One. Sure, they went through NFL veteran b-s and had to "compete" for the gig, but I'm not sure they were under any illusions. Their coaches beefed up the defense, simplified the jargon and got their guys ready to go and -- even in Stafford's case -- they pretty much went (Remember that Stafford continued to suit up on Sundays despite being injured on a pitiful offense).
If you sit down and think about it, I don't think even the most negative Bills fan thinks the personnel is that far away from being halfway decent. Sure, they don't have depth, but think of the guys they are getting back in the fold: an actual right tackle in Brad Butler, healthy Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin and a Jairus Byrd who said he couldn't sprint or jump without enormous pain (and still had a boatload of picks).
No, if Nix believes that any of the quarterbacks on the board at No. 9, whether it be Sam Bradford, Jimmy Claussen, Tim Tebow or some other presumed-stud, can be a star quarterback in the National Football League, he should not be afraid to take him, provided he march him out there as assumed No. 1 from that day until Week One, regardless of how camp or the preseason looks (I shouldn't say regardless. If the Bills pick Claussen and he decides throwing with the opposite hand while on acid is the play for an NFL quarterback, that's a mistake).
To recap, some simple logic
- IF you believe in a quarterback prospect
- AND you do all the background research
- AND you select him with your first-round draft pick
- AND you don't pretend any McCowns or Fitzpatricks could take his job unless he shows up to camp in a clown outfit and hockey skates.
- THEN you'll likely be okay.
Now, what if none of these guys want to come here? That's another column for a much more depressing time. It's Monday, look up!
Email: nick@wgr550.com
They are as follows:
One - I wish they'd get rid of field goals in football so the better team can win. Yes, field goal kickers are part of the team, but the Chargers were a better team than the Jets. We'd have San Diego vs. Indy next weekend, we could get rid of two Pats titles and Super Bowl XXV would be ours (16-14).
Two - Coordinators as first-time head coaches aren't anything to be scared of if you make the right pick. Rex Ryan, Sean Payton, Brad Childress and Jim Caldwell are all doing just fine, and only Payton was a super-hyped hire.
Three - and most important - The long-held fear of the first-round rookie quarterback is all-but-over.
Obviously, I'm here to focus on point No. 3. It simply cannot be an anomaly anymore, as it seemed when Ben Roethlisberger found immediate success with the Steelers. Now, Mark Sanchez joins Joe Flacco as rookie signal callers to lead -- and lead may be an arbitrary term -- their teams to conference title games in their freshman campaign.
The names go on-and-on, and though we here in Buffalo have been stung by a first-round flop quarterback in J.P. Losman and two in-over-their-heads coordinators in Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey, we ought to take a gander at the much-improved success rate of rookie passers (even if they aren't asked to pass that much).
Think about it: as much as we mock the over-analytical talk of "football guys," there's a modern science to diagnosing football players. It's much harder to fail, which is why the Bills should be given an award for their stumblings in April.
If you believe in Buddy Nix at all, then you should be willing to ride a rookie quarterback if he believes that's the call for the franchise in 2010.
Let's take a look at all the first-round throwers since 2004:
2004:
Eli Manning
Philip Rivers
Ben Roethlisberger
J.P. Losman
2005:
Alex Smith
Aaron Rodgers
Jason Campbell
2006:
Vince Young
Matt Leinart
Jay Cutler
2007:
Jamarcus Russell
Brady Quinn
2008:
Matt Ryan
Joe Flacco
2009:
Matt Stafford
Mark Sanchez
Josh Freeman
EDIT NOTE: Campbell is about to be ridden out of Washington despite never throwing more picks than scores in a year, and posting a 55:38 TD:INT radio in his four years. He'd be half-canonized in Buffalo for that, and he, too, had to deal with Derrick Dockery, maybe even twice (Too tired to look it up. Maybe in the morning).
So, what am I trying to prove by including all those names? Well, for one thing, at least half of those guys could be announced as starting quarterback for the 2010 Bills and you'd at least smile if not leap out of your seat with joy.
But the more important point involves just four names: Ryan, Flacco, Stafford and Sanchez. Only three of those guys were just given the keys during Year One. Sure, they went through NFL veteran b-s and had to "compete" for the gig, but I'm not sure they were under any illusions. Their coaches beefed up the defense, simplified the jargon and got their guys ready to go and -- even in Stafford's case -- they pretty much went (Remember that Stafford continued to suit up on Sundays despite being injured on a pitiful offense).
If you sit down and think about it, I don't think even the most negative Bills fan thinks the personnel is that far away from being halfway decent. Sure, they don't have depth, but think of the guys they are getting back in the fold: an actual right tackle in Brad Butler, healthy Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin and a Jairus Byrd who said he couldn't sprint or jump without enormous pain (and still had a boatload of picks).
No, if Nix believes that any of the quarterbacks on the board at No. 9, whether it be Sam Bradford, Jimmy Claussen, Tim Tebow or some other presumed-stud, can be a star quarterback in the National Football League, he should not be afraid to take him, provided he march him out there as assumed No. 1 from that day until Week One, regardless of how camp or the preseason looks (I shouldn't say regardless. If the Bills pick Claussen and he decides throwing with the opposite hand while on acid is the play for an NFL quarterback, that's a mistake).
To recap, some simple logic
- IF you believe in a quarterback prospect
- AND you do all the background research
- AND you select him with your first-round draft pick
- AND you don't pretend any McCowns or Fitzpatricks could take his job unless he shows up to camp in a clown outfit and hockey skates.
- THEN you'll likely be okay.
Now, what if none of these guys want to come here? That's another column for a much more depressing time. It's Monday, look up!
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Saturday, January 16, 2010
res' first-rounder Zack Kassian traded, suspended
EDIT NOTE (01/21/2010): Zack Kassian was suspended for 20 games by the Ontario Hockey League for the hit referenced in this mid-January column by Nick Mendola. We've bumped this article to the top so you can watch the offense.
VIEW ZACK KASSIAN'S BIG HIT HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdo6QudKBuw&feature=player_embedded
In case you missed it, it's been a whirlwind week for Canadian tough guy/Sabres first-round pick Zack Kassian.
Kassian was dealt from the Peterborough Petes to the Windsor Spitfires as a much-coveted and dominant OHL player, with 41 goals, 70 assists and 268 penalty minutes in 152 games. Sent to the Spitfires, Kassian made a major impact in his first game, scoring a goal and laying out a massive dirty hit you can watch HERE.
The hit was filthy beyond a shadow of a doubt, earning Kassian an indefinite suspension, which you can read about HERE.
On the opinion side of things, it's well-known that I spent the entire 2009 NHL Draft preview show on our station advocate that the Sabres pick Kassian if he were available. They did, and I was and still am thrilled. The responsible thing to say is that I hate the hit and, truly, it should be eradicated from iced hockey. Still, juniors have away of ironing out dirty players. If they don't, the Sabres will take on that onus, and we all know the Sabres need aggressive, big men.
So, lose that hit, Zack, but keep that aggression. Hockey is a split-second sport, so you'll have to learn to adjust mid-stride, but as long as this particular feet-leaving-bonecrusher is a one-time deal, get back to making legal hits, scoring and fighting... more like this.
In all fairness, if someone just sent me the link and I didn't know any of the players were involved, I would say, "Young hockey players are silly and stupid," and proceed to watch the link 20 more times. Honesty's the best policy, right?
Your thoughts? Email: nick@wgr550.com or message me on Twitter.
VIEW ZACK KASSIAN'S BIG HIT HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdo6QudKBuw&feature=player_embedded
In case you missed it, it's been a whirlwind week for Canadian tough guy/Sabres first-round pick Zack Kassian.
Kassian was dealt from the Peterborough Petes to the Windsor Spitfires as a much-coveted and dominant OHL player, with 41 goals, 70 assists and 268 penalty minutes in 152 games. Sent to the Spitfires, Kassian made a major impact in his first game, scoring a goal and laying out a massive dirty hit you can watch HERE.
The hit was filthy beyond a shadow of a doubt, earning Kassian an indefinite suspension, which you can read about HERE.
On the opinion side of things, it's well-known that I spent the entire 2009 NHL Draft preview show on our station advocate that the Sabres pick Kassian if he were available. They did, and I was and still am thrilled. The responsible thing to say is that I hate the hit and, truly, it should be eradicated from iced hockey. Still, juniors have away of ironing out dirty players. If they don't, the Sabres will take on that onus, and we all know the Sabres need aggressive, big men.
So, lose that hit, Zack, but keep that aggression. Hockey is a split-second sport, so you'll have to learn to adjust mid-stride, but as long as this particular feet-leaving-bonecrusher is a one-time deal, get back to making legal hits, scoring and fighting... more like this.
In all fairness, if someone just sent me the link and I didn't know any of the players were involved, I would say, "Young hockey players are silly and stupid," and proceed to watch the link 20 more times. Honesty's the best policy, right?
Your thoughts? Email: nick@wgr550.com or message me on Twitter.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Nick Mendola's 2010 Whiney Awards Recap
If you don't already, follow Nick on Twitter.com/NicholasMendola
When your boss asks you to type about a night that involved good food, great friends, evening gowns, hockey jerseys, various aged beverages, locker room tales, bar room humor, music, memorabilia and the sport of iced hockey, you say, "Yes."
Especially in a world where the other stories you have to type are about football players either -- allegedly -- practicing larceny in chain restaurants or football coaches -- allegedly -- looking at your local job as the quickest road to a career pratfall, you write the column.
So, how were the 2010 Whiney Awards and roast of Rob Ray? By far, the best yet. I bet most would expect me to say that, but I'd hope you've come to expect honesty from me.
A recap:
The venue: Salvatore's Italian Gardens was where my wife and I held our wedding reception, so I'm partial to the place I call "Sal's Ital." Looked great, felt great and for some reason they let me into the "VIP Room," where I learned that Scott Metcalfe was the sleeper roaster of the evening (More on that later).
The beverages: I had a 16-year-old glass of Lagavulin single-malt scotch purchased for me by a listener/friend of mine. It's online description reads as I'd like my epitaph to: "Like Sean Connery, it has prestige and allure with a brusque demeanor that is unmistakable."
So, this place had some stuff! There was also a lot of wonderful wine (which I'm sure was brought to you by The Premier Group: Wine Made Easy). My wine glass was only full of grape juice and my snifter was simply apple juice, however. I'm a nice, well-behaved lad.
The food: Since my opinion is apparently worthless because I don't eat meat, here's Dan Hager: "The food gets better every year and this year takes the steak."
That's clever. Steak instead of cake. The rice pilaf and dessert were both outstanding.
The Whiney Awards: Greg Bauch emceed and had some great burns. We had a three-time winner (Henry Dembski), a twice-consecutive winner (Paul Slater), a two-time winner (The Islander) and a first-timer (Sal Alessi). Have a problem with our decision? Try leaving your number sometime (and leave it before the call, if you really want Dan and me to be pleased). There were a lot of funny guys and gals this year who could've challenged for a trophy. No number, no dice.
Are you good at leaving messages on an answering machine? 716.843.0234
Roasters: Don't expect too many direct quotes in this recap. Most of these guys had truckers vocabularies that would make Large Marge blush.
Roaster No. 1 - Danny Gare: "Tickets" was worth the price of admission. The burn I appreciated the most from him was when he lit up Harry Neale's coaching skills in Detroit. "He coached me in Detroit... for about three weeks. Then he got fired, and I got let go... but it's good to see Harry."
Roaster No. 2 - Harry Neale: If Harry didn't write the book of "standard but hilarious" roast jokes, he owns the elite edition. Harry's got a side to him you don't hear on television, and that side is full of vinegar. He also abstained from dirty underwear jokes, which you couldn't say about the 2009 roast of Lindy Ruff. Still grosses me out.
Roaster No. 3 - Scott Metcalfe: Let's just say this. If anyone enjoyed the off-ice side of being a professional athlete more than "Metter," they are probably in jail.
Roaster No. 4 - Matthew Barnaby: Goodness, gracious. When I was still dreaming of playing professional hockey, I wanted to be like Mike Foligno or Barnaby. When I was about 16 or 17, I realized I didn't have the skill to be Barnaby. At the Whiney Awards, I learned I didn't have the sailor's mouth. Favorite line about Ray: "He might be the only guy who wrote a book that never #&!^!@% read one."
Roastee - Rob Ray: We've seen both Lindy Ruff and Thurman Thomas endure an hour of insults and embarrassing stories before roaring back with a "third-period" comeback. Let's just say Rob did not disappoint, and the guy who spits brutal and blunt truth about everything under the Sun off-mic brought it to the mic at Salvatore's.
The Morning After: Sixteen-year-old scotch. Enough said, I presume.
Not only that, but a portion of proceeds went the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Fund, which benefits smart kids who thrive in community service. I'll wine -- er, whine -- and dine to that.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
When your boss asks you to type about a night that involved good food, great friends, evening gowns, hockey jerseys, various aged beverages, locker room tales, bar room humor, music, memorabilia and the sport of iced hockey, you say, "Yes."
Especially in a world where the other stories you have to type are about football players either -- allegedly -- practicing larceny in chain restaurants or football coaches -- allegedly -- looking at your local job as the quickest road to a career pratfall, you write the column.
So, how were the 2010 Whiney Awards and roast of Rob Ray? By far, the best yet. I bet most would expect me to say that, but I'd hope you've come to expect honesty from me.
A recap:
The venue: Salvatore's Italian Gardens was where my wife and I held our wedding reception, so I'm partial to the place I call "Sal's Ital." Looked great, felt great and for some reason they let me into the "VIP Room," where I learned that Scott Metcalfe was the sleeper roaster of the evening (More on that later).
The beverages: I had a 16-year-old glass of Lagavulin single-malt scotch purchased for me by a listener/friend of mine. It's online description reads as I'd like my epitaph to: "Like Sean Connery, it has prestige and allure with a brusque demeanor that is unmistakable."
So, this place had some stuff! There was also a lot of wonderful wine (which I'm sure was brought to you by The Premier Group: Wine Made Easy). My wine glass was only full of grape juice and my snifter was simply apple juice, however. I'm a nice, well-behaved lad.
The food: Since my opinion is apparently worthless because I don't eat meat, here's Dan Hager: "The food gets better every year and this year takes the steak."
That's clever. Steak instead of cake. The rice pilaf and dessert were both outstanding.
The Whiney Awards: Greg Bauch emceed and had some great burns. We had a three-time winner (Henry Dembski), a twice-consecutive winner (Paul Slater), a two-time winner (The Islander) and a first-timer (Sal Alessi). Have a problem with our decision? Try leaving your number sometime (and leave it before the call, if you really want Dan and me to be pleased). There were a lot of funny guys and gals this year who could've challenged for a trophy. No number, no dice.
Are you good at leaving messages on an answering machine? 716.843.0234
Roasters: Don't expect too many direct quotes in this recap. Most of these guys had truckers vocabularies that would make Large Marge blush.
Roaster No. 1 - Danny Gare: "Tickets" was worth the price of admission. The burn I appreciated the most from him was when he lit up Harry Neale's coaching skills in Detroit. "He coached me in Detroit... for about three weeks. Then he got fired, and I got let go... but it's good to see Harry."
Roaster No. 2 - Harry Neale: If Harry didn't write the book of "standard but hilarious" roast jokes, he owns the elite edition. Harry's got a side to him you don't hear on television, and that side is full of vinegar. He also abstained from dirty underwear jokes, which you couldn't say about the 2009 roast of Lindy Ruff. Still grosses me out.
Roaster No. 3 - Scott Metcalfe: Let's just say this. If anyone enjoyed the off-ice side of being a professional athlete more than "Metter," they are probably in jail.
Roaster No. 4 - Matthew Barnaby: Goodness, gracious. When I was still dreaming of playing professional hockey, I wanted to be like Mike Foligno or Barnaby. When I was about 16 or 17, I realized I didn't have the skill to be Barnaby. At the Whiney Awards, I learned I didn't have the sailor's mouth. Favorite line about Ray: "He might be the only guy who wrote a book that never #&!^!@% read one."
Roastee - Rob Ray: We've seen both Lindy Ruff and Thurman Thomas endure an hour of insults and embarrassing stories before roaring back with a "third-period" comeback. Let's just say Rob did not disappoint, and the guy who spits brutal and blunt truth about everything under the Sun off-mic brought it to the mic at Salvatore's.
The Morning After: Sixteen-year-old scotch. Enough said, I presume.
Not only that, but a portion of proceeds went the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Fund, which benefits smart kids who thrive in community service. I'll wine -- er, whine -- and dine to that.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
States upset Canadians for WJC Gold
(WGR 550) -- For the second time in a week, the United States coughed up a two-goal lead to the host nation Canadian squad. To quote Dennis Green, it appeared that Canada was who they thought they were, and the U.S. let them off the hook.
With their backs against the wall, the States boys abided by an old American maxim, "These colors don't run."
Four minutes and thirty-one seconds into overtime, Washington Capitals prospect John Carlson ripped a short-side shot into the Canadian twine, turning an amped up Saskatchewan crowd into a dejected one, and ending our Northern neighbors' five-year run atop the U-20 circuit.
Tied at three after 40 minutes, the States climbed to a 5-3 lead only to allow two tallies in the final few minutes to send the game into extra time. Soon-to-be-hated Maple Leafs prospect Jerry D'Amigo was every American's friend with a goal and assist on goals four and five for the States.
No critic of hockey could come away from Tuesday's final with any hate for the great game of ice hockey. The States and Canada played the game in its purest form and the audience witnessed 40 kids experience the biggest moment of their lives at once.
The best part? It isn't Sabres prospect Luke Adam giving a great, hard-nosed effort in defeat to our home nation (Adam posted a goal and an assist in the final to bring his tourney total to four goals and four assists in six games).
No, the best part is that everything the world witnessed from Saskatchewan, from the boistrous hometown crowd to the collection of amateur all-stars battling for their country, is coming to our backyard next year. If you've never been in the building for a United States game, with the red, white and blue atmosphere complete with a belted-out "Star-Spangled Banner," you're in for a treat. If you have, you know what I'm talking about.
Either way: Get ready.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
With their backs against the wall, the States boys abided by an old American maxim, "These colors don't run."
Four minutes and thirty-one seconds into overtime, Washington Capitals prospect John Carlson ripped a short-side shot into the Canadian twine, turning an amped up Saskatchewan crowd into a dejected one, and ending our Northern neighbors' five-year run atop the U-20 circuit.
Tied at three after 40 minutes, the States climbed to a 5-3 lead only to allow two tallies in the final few minutes to send the game into extra time. Soon-to-be-hated Maple Leafs prospect Jerry D'Amigo was every American's friend with a goal and assist on goals four and five for the States.
No critic of hockey could come away from Tuesday's final with any hate for the great game of ice hockey. The States and Canada played the game in its purest form and the audience witnessed 40 kids experience the biggest moment of their lives at once.
The best part? It isn't Sabres prospect Luke Adam giving a great, hard-nosed effort in defeat to our home nation (Adam posted a goal and an assist in the final to bring his tourney total to four goals and four assists in six games).
No, the best part is that everything the world witnessed from Saskatchewan, from the boistrous hometown crowd to the collection of amateur all-stars battling for their country, is coming to our backyard next year. If you've never been in the building for a United States game, with the red, white and blue atmosphere complete with a belted-out "Star-Spangled Banner," you're in for a treat. If you have, you know what I'm talking about.
Either way: Get ready.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Should the NFL stop teams from resting starters?
Before you read this, Nick Mendola wants you to know that he hates the Jets more than any team in the NFL, and that it pains him to type this column. Ask Nick a question at Twitter.com/NicholasMendola.
I was hoping I wouldn't have to write about this, but I don't want anyone who remembers my Week Sixteen anger at the Colts to misinterpret my feelings.
So, let's be clear on a couple fronts:
1) I wanted the Colts to play their starters in Week Sixteen because any time your team or organization has a shot at doing something no one's ever done -- in this case, 19-0 -- you do it. You do it for your fans, for your players, for yourself and for history. Pulling Peyton Manning for a third-string quarterback with just a four-point lead and a little more than a quarter to go is just something I wouldn't do. Especially when you consider that the Colts already have a Super Bowl, and can stake a claim as one of the greatest teams ever by going unbeaten... not a chance I'd sit anyone. If I'm a fan and my team blows another Super Bowl by trying to be the statistical best of all-time, I can't complain. I want history.
2) I think every single good team has the right to determine whether their starters play once they've achieved their regular season goals. You can question the wisdom in such a move (players not competing at high level for weeks, etc.), but they have the right. And to the argument that undeserving teams like the Jets make the playoffs because they play two teams mailing it in during the final two weeks, here's my answer: That stinks, but that's life in a variable word.
When they set the schedule, the league can't be sure the Colts won't be 14-0 heading into Week 15 the same way they can't guarantee the Patriots might be missing Tom Brady for Weeks 6-8. Does that mean the teams that play the Brady-less Pats should be ruled out of the playoffs? Not at all. Teams that play well deserve to be rewarded with the choice as to whether their players should rest or play. If it ruins a fan's Sunday and the team ultimately fails, the team deals with the consequences, not talking heads.
There is a minor fix I'd advocate, and full credit to guy who called The Howard Simon Show with this suggestion: make the last three weeks divisional games for all teams. It doesn't fix everything by any stretch of the imagination, but it does up the ante a bit. Not too many teams have clinched their division by Week 15, so it would spice up the division races, too. (While we're at it, I'd make three consecutive weeks in the middle of the season all division games, followed by a mutual bye. This way, Team A doesn't have to play Team B coming off the Bye Week).
For example, an AFC East schedule would look like this:
Weeks 1-5: Non-divisional opponents
Weeks 6-8: Divisional opponents
Week 9: Bye
Weeks 10-14: Non-division opponents
Weeks 15-17: Divisional opponents
It's that simple, and that's why it'll never happen. Just some food for thought. Figured we all could use a little relief from the coaching search to talk about something just as enthralling (Sarcasm noted, I hope).
Email: nick@wgr550.com
P.S. I had to use a picture of Mark Sanchez in order to stomach advocating anything that supports the Jets. A Rex Ryan photo or the fireman dude would've been a real problem for me.
I was hoping I wouldn't have to write about this, but I don't want anyone who remembers my Week Sixteen anger at the Colts to misinterpret my feelings.
So, let's be clear on a couple fronts:
1) I wanted the Colts to play their starters in Week Sixteen because any time your team or organization has a shot at doing something no one's ever done -- in this case, 19-0 -- you do it. You do it for your fans, for your players, for yourself and for history. Pulling Peyton Manning for a third-string quarterback with just a four-point lead and a little more than a quarter to go is just something I wouldn't do. Especially when you consider that the Colts already have a Super Bowl, and can stake a claim as one of the greatest teams ever by going unbeaten... not a chance I'd sit anyone. If I'm a fan and my team blows another Super Bowl by trying to be the statistical best of all-time, I can't complain. I want history.
2) I think every single good team has the right to determine whether their starters play once they've achieved their regular season goals. You can question the wisdom in such a move (players not competing at high level for weeks, etc.), but they have the right. And to the argument that undeserving teams like the Jets make the playoffs because they play two teams mailing it in during the final two weeks, here's my answer: That stinks, but that's life in a variable word.
When they set the schedule, the league can't be sure the Colts won't be 14-0 heading into Week 15 the same way they can't guarantee the Patriots might be missing Tom Brady for Weeks 6-8. Does that mean the teams that play the Brady-less Pats should be ruled out of the playoffs? Not at all. Teams that play well deserve to be rewarded with the choice as to whether their players should rest or play. If it ruins a fan's Sunday and the team ultimately fails, the team deals with the consequences, not talking heads.
There is a minor fix I'd advocate, and full credit to guy who called The Howard Simon Show with this suggestion: make the last three weeks divisional games for all teams. It doesn't fix everything by any stretch of the imagination, but it does up the ante a bit. Not too many teams have clinched their division by Week 15, so it would spice up the division races, too. (While we're at it, I'd make three consecutive weeks in the middle of the season all division games, followed by a mutual bye. This way, Team A doesn't have to play Team B coming off the Bye Week).
For example, an AFC East schedule would look like this:
Weeks 1-5: Non-divisional opponents
Weeks 6-8: Divisional opponents
Week 9: Bye
Weeks 10-14: Non-division opponents
Weeks 15-17: Divisional opponents
It's that simple, and that's why it'll never happen. Just some food for thought. Figured we all could use a little relief from the coaching search to talk about something just as enthralling (Sarcasm noted, I hope).
Email: nick@wgr550.com
P.S. I had to use a picture of Mark Sanchez in order to stomach advocating anything that supports the Jets. A Rex Ryan photo or the fireman dude would've been a real problem for me.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Immediate Reactions, Wk17
For extra immediate reactions, head to my Twitter.com/NicholasMendola. Let us be friends, year-round!
Caption above: The Bills win over the Colts wasn't all smiles, as Buffalo fan Denis Pirincci forgot to take off his Trent Edwards jersey before burning it for warmth. You will be missed.... (This is a joke, weirdos).
Let's go Bills. Let's go Bills. Let's go Bills. B-b-b-b-b-b-Bills...
-- Let's just say the snow-filled contest made me wistful for late season games that mattered, when opponents would come in here and wet themselves thanks to the weather, crowd, and Bills. Do well, Buddy Nix. Do well!
-- For all the heat we deservedly give the Bills front office, how about a high-five for signing Fred Jackson to a four-year, $7.5 million extension this offseason. Maybe only a half high-five because there were rumours Fred would hold-out, but that's not a lot of cheddar for a guy who's looking like the Big Cheese.
Jackson carried 33 times for 212 yards, also catching two balls for 15 yards and a score. Common sense says he has to be the first D-III running back to go for over 1,000 yards in a season, and that figure means something again. When the league went from a 14- to 16-game schedule, it downgraded the 1,000-yard figure, but with the wealth of "run-by-committee" attacks in the league, this figure is significant, even in a rat salad of a season.
-- "T.O." knows PR. Owens giving a lap around the field to high-five fans after the game, and finishes the year without a significant blow-up. He'll get a look somewhere next year, and it could be here.
-- Jamon Meredith's first start in a while was a productive one. I'm hoping he's one of the second-stringers next year. Only definites for making the roster at offensive line next year: Eric Wood (if healthy), Geoff Hangartner, Andy Levitre and Brad Butler. You'd think Meredith and Andre Ramsey earned some valuable looks this year, too. Oh, and long snapper Garrison Sanborn, who's had a perfect rookie year if my oft-concussed memory isn't betraying me.
-- It'll be interesting to see which NFL gives Richie Incognito a good deal of money and for how long next year.
-- I really, really, really hope Aaron Schobel doesn't retire.
-- It goes without saying, but even more proof that the Bills really need a quarterback: When Indy has five players who finish the year with more catches than Lee Evans. Evans and Owens combined for 99 catches. Both Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne broke the 100-catch barrier.
-- Would you have locked me up if I told you James Hardy, Stevie Johnson and Roscoe Parrish would combine for six catches total this year?
-- My wife with 3:37 to play a close shot of the Colts starting quarterback on the sideline, "They're making Peyton Manning stand out in the cold?"
-- Also, remember: Curtis Painter is the Colts' third quarterback.
-- Good looks to George Wilson and Paul Posluszny for topping the 100-tackle mark.
-- Class act Rian Lindell finishes season 28-of-33 and perfect from 40 yards and in.
-- I've been struggling to think of a ton of things to type, and the Sabres are on, so let's save something for my year-end report card coming soon.
Stat line I enjoyed:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, 16-of-25, 155 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, zero sacks
-- Yes, it was against total scrubs, but I've felt strongly that Fitz can be a No. 2 quarterback for this team, and seeing him throw pretty well in the snow gives me a little relief going forward. Seems like they get themselves a No. 1 and continue to roll with Fitz at No. 2 and Brohm riding out the second-year of a trial contract.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Buffalo Bills, 6-10
-- Yikes.
Game ball:
Jackson
Lastly...
Tough year. The biggest failure of all was not completing "Operation 7-9."
Next Week:
The Bills hire Bill Cowher? Please? It's about the fairly reasonable way I could envision getting back in "season ticket holder" territory. Think about how perfect it would be to have him and a staff he assembled here. It would feel like a start to a movie script.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Caption above: The Bills win over the Colts wasn't all smiles, as Buffalo fan Denis Pirincci forgot to take off his Trent Edwards jersey before burning it for warmth. You will be missed.... (This is a joke, weirdos).
Let's go Bills. Let's go Bills. Let's go Bills. B-b-b-b-b-b-Bills...
-- Let's just say the snow-filled contest made me wistful for late season games that mattered, when opponents would come in here and wet themselves thanks to the weather, crowd, and Bills. Do well, Buddy Nix. Do well!
-- For all the heat we deservedly give the Bills front office, how about a high-five for signing Fred Jackson to a four-year, $7.5 million extension this offseason. Maybe only a half high-five because there were rumours Fred would hold-out, but that's not a lot of cheddar for a guy who's looking like the Big Cheese.
Jackson carried 33 times for 212 yards, also catching two balls for 15 yards and a score. Common sense says he has to be the first D-III running back to go for over 1,000 yards in a season, and that figure means something again. When the league went from a 14- to 16-game schedule, it downgraded the 1,000-yard figure, but with the wealth of "run-by-committee" attacks in the league, this figure is significant, even in a rat salad of a season.
-- "T.O." knows PR. Owens giving a lap around the field to high-five fans after the game, and finishes the year without a significant blow-up. He'll get a look somewhere next year, and it could be here.
-- Jamon Meredith's first start in a while was a productive one. I'm hoping he's one of the second-stringers next year. Only definites for making the roster at offensive line next year: Eric Wood (if healthy), Geoff Hangartner, Andy Levitre and Brad Butler. You'd think Meredith and Andre Ramsey earned some valuable looks this year, too. Oh, and long snapper Garrison Sanborn, who's had a perfect rookie year if my oft-concussed memory isn't betraying me.
-- It'll be interesting to see which NFL gives Richie Incognito a good deal of money and for how long next year.
-- I really, really, really hope Aaron Schobel doesn't retire.
-- It goes without saying, but even more proof that the Bills really need a quarterback: When Indy has five players who finish the year with more catches than Lee Evans. Evans and Owens combined for 99 catches. Both Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne broke the 100-catch barrier.
-- Would you have locked me up if I told you James Hardy, Stevie Johnson and Roscoe Parrish would combine for six catches total this year?
-- My wife with 3:37 to play a close shot of the Colts starting quarterback on the sideline, "They're making Peyton Manning stand out in the cold?"
-- Also, remember: Curtis Painter is the Colts' third quarterback.
-- Good looks to George Wilson and Paul Posluszny for topping the 100-tackle mark.
-- Class act Rian Lindell finishes season 28-of-33 and perfect from 40 yards and in.
-- I've been struggling to think of a ton of things to type, and the Sabres are on, so let's save something for my year-end report card coming soon.
Stat line I enjoyed:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, 16-of-25, 155 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, zero sacks
-- Yes, it was against total scrubs, but I've felt strongly that Fitz can be a No. 2 quarterback for this team, and seeing him throw pretty well in the snow gives me a little relief going forward. Seems like they get themselves a No. 1 and continue to roll with Fitz at No. 2 and Brohm riding out the second-year of a trial contract.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Buffalo Bills, 6-10
-- Yikes.
Game ball:
Jackson
Lastly...
Tough year. The biggest failure of all was not completing "Operation 7-9."
Next Week:
The Bills hire Bill Cowher? Please? It's about the fairly reasonable way I could envision getting back in "season ticket holder" territory. Think about how perfect it would be to have him and a staff he assembled here. It would feel like a start to a movie script.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
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