Bear Down

            A saying made popular by the Arizona Wildcats, is more apt for the Northwestern Wildcats instead. Specifically, their coach Pat Fitzgerald. One of the more popular coaches in college football, Fitzgerald is also in my opinion, one of the best. All it took for me was watching one of their games to fall in love with not only Fitzgerald, but with the Northwestern football program.

The game was the 2008 Alamo Bowl against Missouri. The Missouri team had a high-powered offense, led by current NFL players Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin. Nobody, myself included, gave the Wildcats any chance at all in the game. Imagine our surprise when Missouri looked like the underdog team most of the game and needed a field goal to escape in overtime 23-20. What impressed me most was the confidence of the Wildcats, starting with Fitzgerald. From watching his demeanor on the sideline throughout, you could tell he expected to win this game, and that confidence oozed into the players as well. 

We also need to remember what Fitzgerald inherited when he took over before the 2006 season. He inherited a program with not a whole lot of past success, and the team was grieving following the unexpected death of head coach Randy Walker. In my opinion, he literally rebuilt the program. Before Fitzgerald, the program only had six bowl games to its credit. Under Fitzgerald, he has taken them to bowl games in each of the last four years.

        Something else intriguing about this team is their lack of size and superstar talent. The Wildcats don’t ever have your prototypical 6’3 QB who is a pocket passer. For example, their QB this year, Kain Colter, was actually their leading rusher last year and was used mostly as a receiver and running back last year. Fitzgerald always brings in undersized, gritty teams that work unbelievably hard. You can see that just from their game this past weekend. They came out very strong, but squandered a three touchdown lead on the road late in the fourth quarter. Needing a rally, they turned to backup, that’s right backup, QB Trevor Siemian, who drove them 75 yards in 10 plays, capped by a beautiful throw into the end zone to seal the victory. There is absolutely no quit in these Cats. 

Now granted, their lack of defensive size and at times horrific defense usually catches up with them in the mammoth Big 10. It is also probably an unrealistic expectation for Northwestern to win 10 games consistently, but once in a while it might be possible for them to take us on a magical ride. It all starts with their coach, who is very easy to root for. Without him, Northwestern would not be the program it is today.

Deja Vu

           Tonight Mike Leach will take his traditional pre-game walk around the football field with a cup of coffee, and prepare to coach the first game of the season. He is leading a program disregarded by just about everyone, a program labeled as a laughingstock of college football. This program is in a remote area. To put it simply, not many people would choose this place as a vacation spot, let alone it be considered a football town. Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

No, I am not talking about the Texas Tech Red Raiders. I am talking about the Washington State Cougars, who hired Leach to be their coach in the offseason. It was one of the many intriguing storylines in arguably the most turbulent offseason in college football history. Leach is finally getting a second chance, and in essence he’s almost leading the same program that let him go. A downtrodden football program, with almost no history and no fan base. 

I think its a great hire for Washington State. There is no better option they could have picked up. Let’s think about this logically, why would you want to come to Washington State? The Cougars are miserable. Their record since the 2008 season is a woeful 9-40. This makes for a perfect storm for Leach. He is getting the opportunity he deserves. From an Xs and Os standpoint, the guy is a fantastic coach, leading to his nickname “The Mad Scientist.” But, he also knows how to rally a fan base, and he does that by winning. He has led his team to a bowl game every year he has been a coach, and how many coaches can say that? All he does is win. For a while, it looked like his legacy would be tarnished forever. What happened with that whole fiasco we may never know whether he was guilty or not, but what we do know now is that Mike Leach is getting a second chance. A chance that I know he will take full advantage of. Here’s to a good season for you, Mike.

Cardinals Preseason Week 2

               Yes it was another bad week for the Cardinals. Yes our QB situation is still unsettled. Yes our defense has yet to stop a first team offense. Of these three, only the defense is really a shocker. Its normal for a team to have a bad week in preseason. For these players, especially starters, it's tough to get them motivated to play preseason games. Most starters, for good reason, hate playing these games. So, its normal for a team to struggle. We also have to remember that the Cardinals started playing preseason a week earlier. So, in essence this would have been like their first preseason game. We can also cut them a break because while they played their first preseason game one week early, they have been practicing just as long as every other NFL team has.  

            As for the QB situation, I certainly didn't expect it to be resolved this early in the camp. In my opinion, neither one of the two is good enough to pull away from the other. That's what it will take to win the job, consistent performing, and I just don't see it with these two. It's still impossible to predict a winner. So far, Skelton has looked better than Kolb, albeit slightly. If all holds even after the preseason, Kolb has the edge because he is owed more money. This means that Skelton needs to be more than slightly better than Kolb. Now don't get me wrong, Skelton is growing on me, but that's just reality. The NFL is a money business, and the Cardinals invested more in Kolb. That being said, I have absolutely no idea who will win this competition.

            Now as for the defense, it's a little surprising how much they have struggled. I'm most surprised at all the missed tackles. But, before we even get to the tackling, the Cardinals are getting beat at the point of attack. Everyone knows the Chiefs love running zone plays, and yet the Cardinals were gashed for huge yardage numerous times by the Chiefs on that play. You could chalk all that up to little motivation or the fact that they were tired from being on the road all week. Nonetheless, it will be something to watch for next week. Again, I don't put much stock into the troubles yet. Let's see how this team looks in the next to last preseason game, one where the starters play more than usual, before we pass judgment.

Miles Deserves Praise For Handling Mathieu

                

             Word has recently come out that Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu has been dismissed from LSU for violating a team rule. Mathieu has since said that he is looking to transfer. But, what is impressive here is how Les Miles handled the situation. He did not give Mathieu a free pass because he was an All-American and he wanted to beat Alabama this year. He did not give in and put Mathieu above say the long-snapper on the team. Miles handled this situation with class and dignity, and in the football-crazed SEC that could not have been easy. Mathieu is like the equivalent of a god in Louisiana because he is a fantastic player. In the South, football is treated like a religion. Coming into this season, LSU had incredibly high hopes and apparently the poles agreed with them, ranking the Tigers #1 in the preseason poll. But, despite all the expectations, Miles still had the guts to boot one of his best players. For that he deserves praise.

Hold the Phone On Howard, Lakers

                The Dwight Howard sweepstakes are finally over. Personally, I couldn't be happier. I got a little tired of hearing new rumors every day, but it's all in the past now. Now with the Lakers adding Howard there is a lot of talk that they are now the favorites to win the West. This I am definitely not sold on. Yes, the Lakers have, on paper, a starting five that most teams can only dream of. In fact, with the five of Bryant, Howard, Gasol, Nash, and World Peace they have a combined 33 All-Star games between them. But, it's not easy to win championships. Also, any time you add pieces to the puzzle it takes time for it all to mesh together. This is especially true when you add significant pieces to the puzzle like the Lakers did. For a real-life example, we need to look no further than two summers ago when the Miami Heat assembled their infamous Big 3. The Heat struggled badly to start off the season, and their first season together did not end in a title. Will it end that way for the Lakers? Who knows. But, we do know the road to the title will certainly not be an easy one.

            So, before everyone jumps on the Lakers bandwagon and declares them the favorites there are certain things we need to remember. We need to remember that Pau Gasol experienced a decline in his statistics last season and is probably in the back nine of his career. We need to remember that while Kobe is still Kobe, he's getting older too. We need to also remember that Steve Nash is a liability on defense and might actually be the worst defensive point guard in the NBA. Lastly, we need to remember that Dwight Howard is a head case. To this point, Howard has remained noncommittal about signing a long-term deal with the Lakers. Let's say the Lakers season starts poorly and Howard shuts it down and starts complaining about the team, just like he did in Orlando. If the Lakers struggle and don't appear to be contenders, there is no way Howard will sign a long-term deal then.

            Now, I'm not saying that there is no way this will work out. The Lakers have a ton of talent on their roster and will probably win a lot of games based on pure talent. But, let's not put a crown on anybody just yet. There are a lot of good teams within just the Western Conference that pose a threat to Lakers. And let's not forget about that team that won the West last year, the Thunder. All this talk about the Lakers being the team to beat now, that wouldn't be any motivation for the Thunder would it? Oh wait...of course it would.

Cardinals Preseason Game 1

               While it wasn't all bad for the Cardinals in their first preseason game, it was pretty close. The starting defense struggled badly against Drew Brees and the potent Saints offense in their only drive. The tackling was horrendous, and the Cardinals seemed to get beat off the ball on almost every play. The offense didn't fare much better. We saw what we saw from Kevin Kolb last year, which was not much (in reference to the fact that he missed 7 games last year and then he got hurt last night). John Skelton looked good at times, and bad at times, much like last year. He did lead the Cardinals on a nice drive, but missed on a couple of easy throws he will need to make if he wants to win the job.

            However, there were some bright spots, although few and far between. WR LaRon Byrd had a solid game. He made some impressive grabs over the middle of the field and showed off his length and athleticism. If he continues to have solid preseason, I believe he can become the #3 receiver the Cardinals need, because I'm still not sold on Andre Roberts. DE Calaias Campbell played well. He recorded a sack and routinely disrupted the Saints QBs. Also, punter Dave Zastudil did a good job flipping field position, particularly in the first quarter. It's very sad when you have to list a punter as a bright spot, but you have to give credit where credit is due.

            All in all, I'm not going to read into this game too much. They have only had a handful of practices so far, so if there was a time they were going to show rust, this would have been the time to show it. We shouldn't jump to conclusions or fall off the bandwagon just yet. This is just the beginning. My guess is by the end of the preseason, the Cards will look much better.

Lin-Sanity Heads to Houston

            The Knicks have just made official what many already thought: they are not going to match the Rockets offer to restricted free agent Jeremy Lin. This move actually makes sense for both sides. However, if you look at this move economically, it will hurt the Knicks. Lin was easily one of the most popular players in the league, and this will undoubtedly hurt the Knicks in terms of attendance and season-ticket holders. But, if you look at this from an actual basketball standpoint, the move makes sense. It makes sense because Mike Woodson is the new coach and Carmelo Anthony remains on the team. Lin is best described as a "system point guard." This means his style of play works well in a certain system, but not necessarily well in others. He fit perfectly in Mike D'Antoni's run-and-gun system. Mike Woodson focuses more on a slower tempo and defense, neither of which are strengths for Lin. Raymond Felton, who the Knicks acquired from the Blazers, seems to be a better fit for Woodson. Also, Lin played his best when Carmelo Anthony was out due to injury. Once Melo came back, there was an increase in Lin's turnovers and decrease in assists. This is most likely because Melo needs to have the ball to have success, because he is an atrocious defender and is not a team player. I think he actually hurts the Knicks, but that's for another blog.  Bottom line, Lin not a good fit for Mike Woodson. On the other hand, the Rockets get the point guard they need, having lost Goran Dragic to the Suns. They also get a sure-fire attendance booster, which they sorely need.