Organizing the Chaos

It's great to be back and hopefully blogging better than ever. I think I speak for everyone when I say that our contributors' priorities were out of line by letting grad school get in the way of blogging. That said, on to the post.

We can all decide on one thing with regards to the NFL season thus far: expect the unexpected. Hot is cold. Up is down. The Chiefs are 3-0 and the Jets are starting a rookie quarterback and are 2-1. The Packers, Falcons, and 49ers are 1-2. Win/loss records can be misleading, so I have created the perfect method for organizing the league to bring order out of the madness. The three categories are as follows:

Worse than their record:

-       Miami Dolphins (3-0) – They gotta be.

-       New England Patriots (3-0) – I’m just mad that I drafted Tom Brady in one of my fantasy leagues. How many more hours until Gronk isn’t inactive?

-       KC Chiefs (3-0) – Their schedule is obscenely easy.

-       NY Jets (2-1) – 20 penalties? Not 20 penalty yards. Penalties.

-       Oakland Raiders (1-2) – They beat Jacksonville.

-       Tennessee Titans (2-1) – No way they continue the turnover-less play.

-       Chicago Bears (3-0) – They are good, but probably 2-1 good at this point.

-       NO Saints (3-0) – I understand that the defense is hugely improved under Rob Ryan and his mullet/mop/medieval hair. The offense is still the New Orleans Saints offense. Jimmy Graham, ya’ll. But they easily could’ve lost to the Dirty Birds in week 1 and barely beat lowly Tampa Bay week 2. Looked dominant last week, though, and could roll to a 13-3 record.

-       Cleveland Browns (1-2) – After mailing it in and dealing Trent Richardson, that win was a fluke.

-       Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3) – So I realize that they are 0-3, which is the worst possible record so far into the season. But they are just SO BAD that 0-3 cannot tell the full story of how bad they are. Only 0-16 or bringing in Tim Tebow will tell the story.

As good as their record (most 2-1 teams are in this group)

-       Denver Broncos (3-0) –The class of the NFL. And this is all without Von Miller. Peyton has won his last 14 regular season games and looks like he could play for another 5 years.

-       Seattle Seahawks (3-0) – These guys are just really freaking good on both sides of the ball.

-       Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) 

-       Indianapolis Colts (2-1) – Ahmad and Trent could be the meanest backfield in the league.

-       Dallas Cowboys (2-1) 

-       Baltimore Ravens (2-1) – I want to put them in the above group, but they won the Super Bowl last year.

-       Houston Texans (2-1)

-       Detroit Lions (2-1) – They were better than their record last year, so this feels like the true Lions we always knew existed.

-       Buffalo Bills (1-2)

-       SD Chargers (1-2) – Inconsistent mediocrity at its finest. Rivers does look much better this year, though.

-       Washington Redskins (0-3) – That defense. RG3’s knee. Shanahan.

-       TB Buccaneers (0-3) – Disclaimer: TB under Josh Freeman. Expecting big things out of Mike Glennon.

[As an NC State grad, I cannot express how excited I am that three, yes three, starting QBs in the NFL are from NC State (Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson, and Mike Glennon). Wilson spent 3 years at NCSU and 1 year at Wisconsin, and claims both schools. In case you were wondering, and I know you were, the next most is Michigan (Tom Brady, Chad Henne) and Florida State (Christian Ponder, EJ Manuel) both with two QB’s.]

-       Pittsburgh Steelers (0-3)

Better than their record

-       Carolina Panthers (1-2) – As a Panthers fan, I’m biased, but this team is just so close to breaking through. Their defense has had a less publicized Saint-like revival (pun intended) even with a banged up secondary. And can we talk about the rebirth of DeAngelo Williams and the Panthers rushing attack? ? [Another column forthcoming about the Carolina Panthers.]

-       GB Packers (1-2) – “Lost two games by less than a touchdown to two playoff teams. Blew another playoff team out of the water. Sure, they turned it over four times on Sunday, but they also took it away four times. The offensive problems will work themselves out, and if they’ve figured out the defense, watch out.” – Lucas Westmaas, lifetime Cheesehead.

-       Atlanta Falcons (1-2)

-       SF 49ers (1-2) – Hard to classify. They look bad this year and the Aldon Smith stuff doesn’t help. But they went to and almost won the Super Bowl last year, so they get the nod.

-       Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) – McCoy looks like the best RB in the league (and has the most rushing yards), so this team is better than what will be its 1-3 record since they play the Broncos next week.

-       Minnesota Vikings (0-3) – Not by much, but they at the very least decent.

I tried, and I just don’t know 

Yes, there are four categories. The madness of the season overwhelmed me. I was stargazing and failed to place every bright hole in the dark canopy of the sky into a constellation. Chaos ensued. These are the teams that I simply cannot place.

-       NY Giants (0-3) – I created this group because of this team. Are they actually as bad as we’ve seen and deserved to lose 38-0 to the Panthers? Or is their front four and Eli Manning still elite? Nobody knows but time will tell.

-       St. Louis Rams (1-2) – I don’t know enough about this team.

-       Arizona Cardinals (1-2) – See above. East coast viewership bias. I never watch this team.

That said, only one statistic matters: wins and losses. 

Kemba Walker

Friends,

The NBA season is nearly back, so you know what that means....BALD DON'T LIE RETURNS FROM HIATUS.  I know I promised to write about politics, pop culture and other cool things and I didn't.  Grad school got in the way.  However, nothing will stop me from writing about the NBA.  Last season was just too good, and this season could be even better.

I want to share an email I sent to Rob Mahoney of SI.com about Kemba Walker.  I noticed a little over a week ago he wasn't in the 80-100 range of top NBA players, but jokers like JJ Redick and Matt Barners were.  I sent him and email, and Rob was kind enough to respond.   Here is goes.

The Email

Fellas,

I am absolutely shocked you did not place Kemba Walker in your top 100.  Kemba averaged 17.7 points, 5.7 assists and 2.0 steals a game.  He started 82 games last season and is clearly the leader of (lowly) Bobcats.  Despite not winning many games, Walker is more deserving than players like JJ Redick, Matt Barnes, Danny Green and Kyle Korver.  He is a team leader while those players are only role players.

Thanks for your time,

--Adam Lutterloh

The Response

Hey Adam,

Appreciate the response. Kemba was a close cut for us on the Top 100 ranking, and omitted largely due some of his limitations as a player. He deserves credit for all the things you mentioned -- his per-game averages, his role, his dependability -- but I just don't put much stock in "leading" a team as poor as Charlotte. He's not a bad player, though, and he was very much on the borderline group of players we tried to make room for. 

The reason for that was that he's not as helpful as his basic counting stats would have you believe. He's a good scorer, but not so good that he should be playing a prominent role in an offense. He's a decent, functional passer, but doesn't do much to elevate the play of his teammates. He can't shoot from beyond the arc (a crucial skill for perimeter players in a league where spacing is put at a premium), has a hard time finishing around the rim due to his size, and lives off of the most inefficient shot in the game (the mid-range jumper). He's productive enough to be decent, but just doesn't bring enough to the table offensively for my liking.

Along with that, I'm not crazy about high-usage players who yield underwhelming results. Walker scores, and that's great. But he's not yet equipped to be anything more than a below-average starting point guard, whereas the other guys you mentioned find ways to contribute without dominating the ball. All of those players (even Korver) are better defenders than Walker, and most of that lot does a ton in the margins -- those little contributions that wind up making a significant difference. They don't shoot as often or see the ball as much, but being a role player isn't an indictment so much as a description. In this case: All of those role players succeed in the roles they've been given, many to an exemplary degree. Walker does not, and considering his game (scoring-dependent but not terribly efficient, poor on D, lacking as a playmaker) I'm frankly not sure to what winning role he'd be well-suited.

I'm hoping he comes along -- Kemba's a really likeable guy. Just doesn't play a style conducive to good NBA basketball as of yet.

Cheers,

Rob Mahoney

Link to Sports Illustrated's Top 100 NBA Players list:  http://nba.si.com/2013/09/20/top-100-players-of-2014-nos-10-1/