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thesportssoundoff · 6 years ago

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Manny Machado To The Yankees Maybe? Well...

Joey

July 12th

There's been a lot of scuttlebutt around Yankeeland about the reported increased interest into All Star SS/3B Manny Machado. This has been met with either tremendous applause from fans or angry derision from fans. The weird thing is that it's a 50/50 split between the Yankee fanbase itself, not even from a "throughout the major leagues" standpoint. Yankees fans either LOVE the idea of adding Machado or HATE the concept which is really strange given the way this fanbase almost always comes to a consensus pretty quickly. To lay out the opening a bit, I'll do my best to present what both camps seem to be saying:

For Machado:

-It's the chance to add yet another all star player at a position where the Yankees don't necessarily have a "need" for an additional player but would probably benefit greatly for improved play.

-It's the chance to further fortify a strength and dare teams to get through this lineup four times in October with a juiced ball (let's be real here) without suffering significant damage.

-It opens the door to moving Andujar or even Didi to potentially improve your squad down the road.

Against Machado:

-This team needs pitching!

-We love Andujar and Machado is just a minor upgrade over him!

-Machado wants to play SS and this team has a collection of players who can play shortshop.

-Why trade for even MORE offense?! Did we mention this team needs pitching?!

In the interest of giving myself a break from solely taking MMA and boxing, I've decided to go ass first into this whole Machado to the Yankees rumor and conjecture to give my own thoughts and opinions on the matter. Am I for it? Against It? Well....

1- Even if you don't get him, getting involved is a damn good thing.

Let's start there. The mere presence of the Yankees and their top 3-5 farm system forces teams to be honest in bidding for Manny Machado. If the Red Sox, Dodgers, Brewers, Phillies and the such want to make a move for him, having the Yankees involved helps make them pay for it. Giving those teams competition reminds me of when the Yankees sat down with Carl Crawford for the sole focus of getting the Red Sox to up their bid on the player. Sometimes if you're going to be painted as the asshole of the MLB, it's okay to actually BE the assholes of the MLB. Teams aren't going to be sympathetic to your cause so might as well give them a reason to hate.

2- It's not JUST that he makes the line up better.

The upgrade over Andujar with Manny Machado on offense is not as large as you'd think. Even if Andujar is very much a Starlin Castro 2.0 (a guy who isn't going to walk much, K's a bit more than you'd like probably and will live on those hot streaks where he goes XBH crazy), that's a very valuable type of player and he's putting up damn good numbers. Adujar's .279/.313/.495 115+ OPS is not that big of a steep endless decline from Machado's .314/.383/.573 163+OPS. Manny's better offensively by a large margin but he's having an outlier-y season. It's defensively where this team would gain a serious step up. Machado has historically been a very, very good defensive third basemen while Andujar's defense was what prevented him from playing much last year. This year he hasn't been the world's biggest butcher but his lack of range and slow feet have been well discussed. In an argument suggesting Andujar be shopped at the deadline, RiverAveBlues painted a pretty stark picture:

"That’s a long way of saying if you hit the ball at Andujar, he’s going to make the play. Hit the ball anything more than a step or two away from him in either direction, and he’s probably not going to make the play. Does that mean he won’t make those plays forever and ever? No, of course not. Andujar could improve his reads and first step and range. Young players are known to get better, after all. That said, Andujar is something of a defensive liability. His value is tied up heavily in his bat, specifically his power and ability to make contact since he never walks."

http://riveraveblues.com/2018/07/three-reasons-yankees-make-miguel-andujar-available-trade-deadline-174411/

The Yankees are already carrying one so-so defensive infielder with Gleyber Torres (who to me is fine defensively despite what feels like the usual lapses from a dude who has been a SS/3B his whole life) and a catcher who is having a really poor year defensively. Throw in so-so work from Greg Bird and Neil Walker and this infield could use somebody who could shore up some of the holes it has. That's why it's not just Machado batting 3rd/4th that makes this a smart move.

3- You can't trade for what doesn't exist.

Fun with numbers! Here's five pitchers, names removed:

A- 4-4 78.2 IP 4.00 ERA 2.96 SO/BB ratio 6.05 IP per start 1.206 WHIP B- 10-5 105.1 IP 4.44 ERA 3.38 SO/BB ratio 5.85 IP per start 1.177 WHIP C- 5-7 102 IP 4.11 ERA 2.32 SO/BB 5.67 IP per start 1.294 WHIP D- 4-5 86.1 IP 4.80 ERA 2.91 SO/BB 5.86 IP per start 1.286 WHIP E- 4-8 103 IP 4.28 ERA 2.72 SO/BB ratio 5.72 IP per start 1.359 WHIP

A is Sonny Gray at this time last year B is JA Happ C is Tyson Ross D is Matt Harvey E is Cole Hamels

Those are the four most realistic trade options since the Mets probably aren't moving their big 3, The Angels aren't going to move Garrett Richards now with his injury and MadBum is destined to be stuck in San Francisco. The top four options on the market are all pretty much a step below what Sonny Gray was and the key here is that outside of Harvey, the likes of Happ, Ross and Hamels have all been trending down recently. With Gray, he was streaking going into the trade deadline (his final ERA pre-trade would be in the 3.43 range). They THOUGHT they were getting what they need now; a guy who could start in the playoffs and slide behind developing ace Luis Severino. They thought Gray would be at worst a solid #3 and unfortunately it just hasn't panned out that way. Chances are there's no real upgrade available above what they believed they were getting last year. Their investment in Sonny Gray WAS the chance to get the lock down long term rotation help---and it went bust. It happens sometimes. Any pitcher they're getting is probably worse than Sonny Gray, a perceived ace in his mid 20s who was believed to have the stuff to win in New York. It just didn't work out.

The Yankees need a guy who could be a solid #2/3----but that guy doesn't really exist in this market. There's no help to be had in this barren wasteland of faded aces and reclamation projects. JA Happ is the top pitcher available and would you feel comfortable with him starting game 3 of the ALDS vs the Indians or the Astros? I'm not quite sure. Happ would absolutely help you in terms of having a proven established guy in the rotation instead of Domingo German or Jonathan Loaisiga. The reality is the Yankees need what doesn't exist which means they can either create a starter (with Justus Sheffield from the minors) or hope that they can find a way to manufacture offense to outscore teams early and ride the bullpen late. Or hope that Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray suddenly get back to being good.

4- I'm not up for a rental

If you're giving up pieces for Manny Machado, it can't be for a rental. Obviously for tax purposes, the Yankees want to be able to stay under that 189 million dollar number so they can't agree to a deal this year. That said if you're giving up pieces for the best 3B in the game then you better have a clue as to where he fits in going forward. If that's as your 3B or SS of the future matters of course but you better ensure you leave a long term idea as to whether you'll have the player long term.

5- Whatever they do, it can't be out of panic.

Seriously. The Yankees are 3 1/2 of Boston with plenty of games to go, they have the best record in the league against good teams. They've beaten Houston and Boston and Cleveland with an as is squad. They'll get back Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres soon with the hopes that Torres can continue his All Star play with better health while Gary Sanchez can try to regain some of the form that made him a feared bat in 2016 and 2017. They JUST got back Masahiro Tanaka who probably will help solidify the rotation some. They own a tremendous bullpen and there's help in the farm system. I want them to try and grab one more impact bat; either at 1st, 3rd or even out at LF. I'd like for them to grab the best lefty arm they can to solidify this bullpen finally. I'd even be really happy if they could get an upgrade over Domingo German. The reality though is that any move they make has to be done for something resembling a long term vision. A Jaime Garcia type doesn't do much of anything for this team, a rental who isn't a difference maker just adds another body to the squad. I understand a 40 man roster crunch is coming shortly but I'm not concerned about that because you can ALWAYS find ways to get that cleaned up (Bryan Mitchell, Callum Smith, Garrett Cooper and Ronald Herrera all dealt). Make the moves that fit the long term vision this team has had over the last three years. There's no need for filler deals.

In the end? I mean how could you NOT want to be in Manny Machado? You're trading for a peak prime all star who can play 3rd or short. You're improving your line up AND helping yourself into October. He's a monster with RISP, he's coming into his own as a power hitter and he wants to be here. He's not THE difference between going to the WS and not but I feel a hell of a lot better about Judge-Machado-Stanton with Sanchez, Bird, Didi and Gleyber sprinkled in than I do otherwise. I also feel as though he, all things being equal, is clearly better than just grabbing a mediocre starter. If the market doesn't have arms? Make teams score 8 to beat you.

#Yankees #NYY #Machado #Trades #MLB

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robedisimo · 7 years ago

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Black Panther [SPOILER-FREE REVIEW]

[Disclaimer: this review is based on the Italian dub of the film. As such, all opinions on the quality of dialogues and acting are subjective and partial.]

So, it’s been a while since my last review and, to be completely honest, I didn’t expect Marvel’s Black Panther to be a hard one to come back on. I went into this movie expecting to enjoy it thoroughly, and in many respects I did, just... not as much as I thought I would. To cut a long story short, I spent the better part of a week trying to make up my mind about whether I walked away from this movie impressed or disappointed. Here’s what I’ve got so far.

First of all, let’s address the mini-skirted elephant in the room: in more than just a few coincidental ways, Black Panther is a retread of last year’s Wonder Woman. Both films star characters who were introduced as supporting players in a previous movie, in both cases big tentpole cross-over films – Batman v Superman and Captain America: Civil War, respectively – revolving around a conflict between the two main figures within the respective mega-franchise universes. Both act as more self-contained tales, in terms of cross-franchise elements, than previous movies in their narrative universes, and both feature different but thematically contiguous settings in the shape of secluded, secretive, mythology-laden kingdoms ruled in utopian perfection by a fictional society reflective of one of America’s mistreated social minorities.

On the production side of things, both were surprisingly helmed by directors known for poignant, socially-involved projects – Monster’s Patty Jenkins and Fruitvale Station’s Ryan Coogler – and, on the promotional side, both sailed towards theatres on a wave of sheer hype, being hailed as the beginning of a new era for Hollywood blockbusters and propelled forwards by baffling headlines – born, I assume, either out of stunningly poor memory or else a frankly understandable wish to forget that Steel, Supergirl and Catwoman ever happened – about how they were the first female-led, or black-led, superhero movie ever made.

Neither film, it goes without saying, rises to meet those unrealistic expectations. Though entirely enjoyable in its own right, Wonder Woman was an uneven and ultimately formulaic film that tried to juggle too many things and be too many different movies at once, and Black Panther certainly falls into the same category to a lesser degree. Part James Bond instalment, part Lion King and in part also Thor rerun, what we got on our hands in the end was a fairly mundane genre flick with a number of highs but also a handful of lows.

The good: the film looks amazing. Where its DC equivalent was content with just a few opening minutes of generic pseudo-Greek utopia, Black Panther instead realises its fictional setting to a much deeper, richer degree, to often impressive results. The mythical kingdom of Wakanda is most definitely a kind of spectacle not before seen in theatres, a bold vision of African futurism that meshes hi-tech sci-fi with tribal spiritualism in oftern stunning fashion. Its setting is easily the film’s best aspect, brought to life on the shoulders of the great conceptual design work done by Marvel’s art team.

On top of that, Black Panther is energetic and well-acted, perhaps with less overt humour than most recent Marvel projects but certainly fast and action-y enough to satisfy genre fans. The story is emotional and poignant, and Michael B. Jordan definitely shines – although I feel a pang of white guilt in reporting that Andy Serkis, for once appearing with his own tribal mask of a face, steals away the trophy for most enjoyable performance in the film – as one of the MCU’s most complex theatrical villains to date... if not, like Cate Blanchett’s Hela before him, one that truly and definitively manages to buckle well-established Marvel villain trends.

The soundtrack – if a touch obtrusive at times – is another of the movie’s high points, way less hip-hop-heavy than trailers suggested and much more genuinely African in its tones and beats. For a film that’s obstensibly about identity, the fact that its visuals and acoustics come together to form such an original, easily-identifiable cinematic brand is certainly Coogler’s, and everyone behind him, greatest achievement here.

The bad: the film looks amazing, except when it doesn’t. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is definitely developing an overreliance on CGI lately, and even Black Panther’s rather sizeable budget can’t do much to distract from some of the film’s worst effects – no spoilers, but you’ll know when you see it – and its general overabundance of green-screen shenanigans, especially in the cliché-laden climax.

The action itself isn’t especially praise-worthy either, despite a couple brief highlights: much like in Creed, Coogler blows his best action scene midway through the film and it’s all downhill from there, with a few missed opportunities along the way. The film’s focus on hi-tech gadgets, for example, sort of fizzles out without much fanfare after a while, with the same two or three tricks being repeated throughout the movie.

Other issues may be found in certain aspects of pacing, although in that area your mileage may vary. Black Panther starts off a tad slow, and then unfolds as a series of self-contained vignettes that take too long to develop a coherent throughline. When the plot finally kicks in it works in fairly satisfactory fashion, but there’s one big twist that honestly could’ve been dropped earlier in the film’s generous runtime and, generally speaking, I feel that the script could’ve stood one more round of polishing.

So make no mistake: on my personal scale, as far as enjoyment of my theatrical experience is concerned, the verdict at the bottom of this review should not rise above “MOSTLY POSITIVE”. It gets knocked up a peg for two specific reasons:

Black Panther’s impact on the American public is undeniable. In the United States, the film’s themes resonate in a way they simply can’t anywhere else, and as such this is the one Marvel movie that is perhaps the least designed for, and the least accessible to, foreign audiences... even if it is frankly quite mystifying that Wakanda’s core values would end up being framed in the context of the plight and struggle of people of colour in America, rather than pretty much anywhere in the surrounding African continent. Ultimately, I think, it’s not even a matter of said themes being satisfactorily addressed or resolved, and indeed Coogler’s film presents challenging ideas that are entirely unexpected from a superhero movie, but – partly because the script starts dealing with them too far into its runtime, as I mentioned – there’s not really the proper time for them to breather. Other critics have written that Black Panther is more interesting to think about than it is to actually watch, and I tend to agree: the ideas behind this movie are impressive, but their execution is not always the best. Despite that, Black Panther most definitely is an important film, at least in the here and now. Its missteps are easily overlooked in light of that, just as I imagine Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historical speeches would’ve still be commended for their convention-buckling message even if the reverend himself had been saddled with a comical stutter. This movie’s heart is in the right place, and it’s easy to see why that is being rewarded above all else.

From a purely technical standpoint, my viewing of this film was crippled by an adequate, and just adequate, Italian dub. I’m perfectly capable of recognising when a mediocre localisation gets in the way of a film’s original underlying richness and this was most certainly the case, with the whole English-language cast providing an array of diverse – and, I’m sure, memorable – performances, many of them in fictional African accents, that got “flattened” to an unvarying standard inflection in the version I got to see. At least in that respect, I expect a second home-video viewing in the original language to elevate my opinion of the performers’ work.

So in the end we’re left with a pretty tough question on our hands: is Black Panther a movie that exploits the genre to draw attention to relevant political themes, or one that exploits those political themes to justify its run-of-the-mill script? It is perhaps both, and that becomes a rather large problem when the film can’t make up its mind as to which of its two identities deserves its full commitment. Nonetheless, I’m eager to see how this franchise, and the larger Marvel machine whose gears grind around it, carry forward what’s been put in motion here. For the time being, Black Panther is perhaps not as good as it could’ve been... but even then, it seems to be good enough.

[Verdict: POSITIVE]

#KenAtTheMovies #Black Panther #Marvel #MCU #review

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junker-town · 6 years ago

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Who do you most want to see win a Super Bowl ring this year?

Aging veterans? Perennial losers? Tom Brady, who only has five?

At Super Bowl 53, Tom Brady will be angling for his sixth NFL championship ring. If he fails, few people outside of the six states of New England will feel badly about it.

But there are 91 other players who take the field on Feb. 3 who will be in various stages of their first, last, or best chances to lift the Lombardi Trophy. Rising stars, sentimental favorites, and oft-overlooked journeymen will all have the chance to do what legends like Dan Marino, Randy Moss, and Junior Seau never did — claim their spot atop of the NFL and earn their spot drinking light beers and dancing top an open-roofed bus in a championship parade.

Even with the Patriots in the mix, majority of the athletes in this year’s Super Bowl have never won a league title. The range of experience for these ring-less wonders carries from undrafted rookies to 13-year veteran Andrew Whitworth. They’ll all be looking for the ultimate validation — a spot in a postgame shower of confetti, the opportunity to do happy Sunday night drinking instead of sad, and, months down the line, a ring so stuffed with jewels that wearing it for just 20 minutes would give mere mortals carpal tunnel syndrome.

There are several worthy candidates to earn their first Super Bowl title — but some are more worthy than others. So who do we want to see smiling and holding the Lombardi Trophy once the final whistle of the 2018 NFL season is blown?

Andrew Whitworth, OT, Rams

In 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, Whitworth got to the playoffs six times and couldn’t get a single win. In his first season with the Rams, the offensive tackle made his seventh trip to the postseason and made another immediate exit.

It wasn’t until his eighth trip to the playoffs, and 13th season in the NFL, that Whitworth finally got that elusive first postseason victory. It was a special moment for the 37-year old, who celebrated on the field with his kids.

What a moment @awhitworth77 celebrates his first playoff win in eight trips. #FootballisFamily pic.twitter.com/j5xuNIDaCc

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 13, 2019

“Name a guy who deserves it more,” Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold told ESPN after the game.

Whitworth was the Rams’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and donated one of his game checks this season to victims of a November mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

He’s played over a decade at one of NFL’s most thankless positions and he’s been an all-around good guy every step of the way. Super Bowl 53 may be his last chance to win a ring and that seems like a perfect way to cap his career.

Jason McCourty, CB, Patriots

It’s no secret the world is sick of the Patriots on football’s grandest stage — and in general, it seems — that doesn’t mean there aren’t players on the New England roster who’ve earned our begrudging respect in their quest for a ring. McCourty, rescued from the Browns last summer, may be first and foremost among them.

After spending eight playoff-free years in Tennessee and then going winless in Cleveland, he’s finally getting his chance to shine. The 10-year veteran has stood watch while his identical twin Devin earned All-Pro honors and a pair of Super Bowl rings with the Patriots. Any championship parades he attended were strictly in a supporting role for his sibling.

McCourty barely made the team’s roster after a tumultuous preseason, but he’s had a resurgent season for a New England secondary that held opponents to an 86.6 passer rating in 2018 — the rough equivalent of crisis mode Andy Dalton. He rated out as Pro Football Focus’s 14th-rated cornerback, 43 spots higher than the man he was brought in to replace, Super Bowl 49 hero Malcolm Butler.

After nearly a decade of toiling away on teams that ranged from “mediocre” to “historically terrible,” he’s finally getting his chance to shine in the biggest game of the season. Sure, the rest of the Patriots may be hateable, but if you’re rooting against Jason McCourty you’ve probably also got an opinion on noise variances in the town of Whoville.

Todd Gurley, RB, Rams (and really, the rest of the Jeff Fisher era Rams)

Todd Gurley has developed into arguably the best running back in the league since Sean McVay was hired as the Rams head coach. Now it’s time for him to fully wash the stink of the Jeff Fisher era off of him with a Super Bowl.

Gurley had a tough 2016 season, averaging just 3.2 yards per carry in an offense that had minimal blocking and even less creativity. The Rams prehistoric offense was one of the worst in league history, making gameday extremely difficult for a talented player like Gurley.

Now, he’s free — along with several other Rams’ players that have gotten a chance to shine with a forward thinking head coach. Outside of Gurley we’ve seen Jared Goff, Rodger Saffold, Rob Havenstein, and Tyler Higbee develop into quality offensive players. That likely doesn’t happen without the change from Fisher to McVay.

It would feely awfully sweet for talented players that saw the lowest of the low with this organization get a championship ring. Todd Gurley is certainly one of those players.

John Fassel, special teams coordinator, Rams

Speaking of the Jeff Fisher stench, let’s give it up for John Fassel. Not only did Fassel have the most memeable reaction to Fisher’s firing:

pic.twitter.com/W2RlZ6T206

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) June 29, 2017

But he even took over as interim coach in December 2016 — and then went 0-3. Here’s how good of a special teams coach “Bones” is: McVay still retained him, making him the only coach on the Rams left over from the Fisher ordeal.

Fassel’s unit is consistently one of the best in the NFL. They can even flawlessly execute gender reveals.

The Rams wouldn’t be in the Super Bowl without their reliable special teamers, either. Trailing 13-0 at the start of the second quarter, the Rams were lined up to punt again, another empty possession. But it was a fake! Punter Johnny Hekker completed a pass to Sam Shields, giving the Rams a first down and sparking a drive that ended in a field goal.

Later, Greg Zuerlein’s game-tying field goal sent the Rams to overtime against the Saints in the NFC Championship Game. Less than four minutes of game time later, his 57-yarder sent the Rams on to Atlanta.

Fassel has been around football his entire life, but like his father, he’s never won a Super Bowl. Jim Fassel was hired by the Giants as a quarterbacks coach right after they won Super Bowl 25. Several years later, Jim became the Giants head coach and even got them to a Super Bowl — with Kerry Collins! — during the 2000 season. They got crushed by the Ravens.

This is the closest John Fassel has gotten to a Super Bowl, but he’s earned it. Plus, he saved someone’s life once. Karma owes him one.

Obi Melifonwu, S, Patriots

2018 was the year Jon Gruden’s castoffs helped non-Raiders teams across the league. Khalil Mack was the driving force behind the Bears’ first NFC North title since 2010. Amari Cooper turned a 3-4 Cowboys team into the NFC East champions.

And those are just the guys he’s traded. C.J. Anderson got cut by Oakland in December and is now the leading rusher for the NFC champion Rams. Defensive tackle Treyvon Hester received his west coast walking papers before the start of the regular season, then came back to partially block Cody Parkey’s game-winning Wild Card field goal attempt to secure an upset playoff win for the Eagles.

Melifonwu can be the next link of this schadenfreude chain. The former second-round pick was released by Gruden after just five games with the Raiders, and while the raw, uber-athletic safety hasn’t done much with the Patriots, he may be needed in Super Bowl 53. The Rams boast one of the league’s top-five passing attacks, with two different wide receivers — Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods — who had more than 1,200 receiving yards this season.

The Patriots activated Melifonwu for last week’s AFC title game against the Chiefs — another high-impact passing offense. While he only had one tackle, he avoided major mistakes and did enough to justify a spot on the field in his first Super Bowl. And, if the past 21 weeks are any indication, he’ll do enough to make his former coach look stupid in the process.

If you can’t root for the Patriots, you can always root for Jon Gruden to look bad instead.

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leehaws · 6 years ago

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Nikola Vucevic is the NBA Hipster’s MVP

It’s impossible to be the NBA’s MVP without unanimous consideration as one of the world’s ten best players. But specific to the first two months of the 2018-19 season, when identifying those who’re most consequential to their team’s success, who lift up teammates, carry immense burden, trigger migraines in opposing coaching staffs, and exhibit undeniable talent every other moment they’re on the floor, well, even though he can’t crack the mainstream conversation, Nikola Vucevic’s MVP qualifications are intriguing.

It’s startling to consider, because for him to actually sustain this blistering start, turn the Orlando Magic into a snarling menace, and win the award would be an all-time historical anomaly, but that’s why Vucevic is recognized here as more of a hipster’s choice than realistic candidate. Everyone knows transcendent household names like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but, in an open race, Vucevic currently exists as a respectable choice for the league’s most discerning fans, those who also enjoy being different.

Heading into this season Sports Illustrated ranked Vucevic as the league’s 90th best player; right now his Magic may not be good enough to make the playoffs, let alone win a series. It’s safe to describe them as “OK,” but “OK” doesn’t typically cut it in this context. (ESPN’s Relative Percent Index—a measuring stick that weighs each team’s winning percentage, the average winning percentage of their opponents, and the average winning percentage of their opponents’s opponents��has them 14th out of 30 teams. For what it’s worth, Anthony Davis’s New Orleans Pelicans rank 18th.)

In a superstar-driven league, that type of mediocrity is usually disqualifying and can be viewed as an indictment of Vucevic’s individual influence, but to look at it that way would ignore the pieces around him, which are either inexperienced, below average, or both—none of his teammates have ever sniffed All-Star-caliber production. Keeping this dominance up for the next few months won’t be easy, but right now Vucevic is finally the primary cause of Orlando’s success instead of a hollow, high-usage statue holding them back.

We’ll take a close look at all the ways Vucevic has unexpectedly shined, but his MVP case really crystalizes itself when you look at how the Magic fare with him versus without him. With, they’re outscoring opponents by 4.1 points per 100 possessions, owning a top-10 offense and defense that checks in comfortably above average. According to Cleaning the Glass, that’s a 52-win ball club. Not bad! (The Philadelphia 76ers won 52 games last year.)

When Vucevic is off the floor, the Magic are bad enough to fill whoever’s watching with a sad mix of sympathy and anger. Their offense crumbles below even the league’s most abominable basement dweller, while on defense they foul everyone, can’t grab a rebound, and are (loud gulp) only slightly more competent than the Washington Wizards. Orlando plummets from a 52-win team to a 12-win team, a.k.a. they transform into what Sam Hinkie had in mind when he engineered The Process.

That 40-game gap exceeds the impact Russell Westbrook had when he won MVP in 2017. For more references, right now Joel Embiid and Davis are +37, LeBron James is +8, James Harden, Kemba Walker, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are +13, Steph Curry is +25, Kawhi Leonard is +4, Damian Lillard is +17, Marc Gasol is +38, and Kevin Durant is +12. Nikola Jokic, who makes an appearance on Basketball-Reference’s MVP tracker, is -7. Several factors—including bench viability, minutes logged, etc.—sway these numbers in Vucevic’s favor, but if we’re talking about any one player’s “value” to their employer, he’s currently up there with the best of them.

He ranks 11th in Real Plus-Minus—just ahead of Curry and Walker—and has scored more points than Karl-Anthony Towns, with a higher PER than Embiid and LeBron, a better True Shooting percentage than Harden and Davis, and more Win Shares per 48 minutes than Lillard. To actually contend for MVP, though, not only do the Magic need Vucevic to chaperone them up the standings, but his counting stats need to feel like an atom bomb. Instead, the 21 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists he averages don’t quite clear the bar. Part of that is he doesn’t log the same number of minutes as every other real contender for this award, but efficiency at a high volume always matters.

Here’s a fun stat: Only three players have a usage rate that’s at least 26 and a True Shooting percentage that’s above 62. They are Curry, Durant, and Vucevic.

Once dogged as a skilled albeit sedated center in a sport gravitating more and more towards dynamism on the perimeter, Vucevic was destined to live out the rest of his career on the same endangered species list that’s claimed so many others his size, centers with the turning radius of a parade float. He couldn’t shoot threes or defend them, but year eight has welcomed a necessary step towards modernity. Last season, Vucevic only shot 31.4 percent from deep. Today, he’s at 41 percent while averaging only one fewer attempt per 36 minutes. That’s good enough to create real gravity: The shot is feared by whoever’s guarding him, even when he’s not behind the arc. Watch him freeze Embiid below:

So much of his individual triumph can be attributed to the improved accuracy on that long ball—Vucevic is the only player in the NBA who ranks in the top ten for made field goals while sitting outside the top 20 for field goals attempted—but his bread and butter will always be on the block. It’s there where he’s most clearly “a nightmare to match up with.” According to Synergy Sports, only five players have logged more post-up possessions this season. Vucevic spends his time screening, rolling, then jostling for real estate in the paint. Few can force the defense to switch like him, then seal a smaller guy with his off hand as the entry pass smacks against his raised palm. His rapidity from that moment on is merciless and succinct. And when he feels like showing off, Vucevic transforms into Montenegrin McHale: his counters have counters and the way he combines brute force with nimble gentility makes defending him one-on-one a losing proposition:

Watch Steph Curry’s reaction from the bench after this jump hook.

The Warriors would rather live with this shot than double the post and open up space for a cutter to zip by—the only center who averages more potential assists (passes that would tally as an assist if the shot went in) is Jokic, who’s already the best passing big man of his generation—but a poison must be picked.

While the blend of three-point shooting and low-post craftsmanship helps make Vucevic a valuable commodity, a significant slice of his value has shockingly materialized on defense. Generally speaking, Magic head coach Steve Clifford wants to funnel ball handlers into the paint, towards dropping bigs who cement themselves near the basket. At the rim, opponents are shooting 56.6 percent when Vucevic is the closest defender to their shot. That number, along with the attempts faced, neighbors respectable shot blockers like Rudy Gobert, Jarrett Allen, and Myles Turner. (Vucevic has never before finished below 60 percent.)

This strategy is not necessarily ideal in an NBA that feasts from behind the three-point line; it helps Orlando take away shots from the corner but pull-up threes above the break are a free for all. That’s not great. Vucevic isn’t Davis, Al Horford, or even Steven Adams, a big comfortable shuffling his feet and contesting outside shots without fouling. But, in flashes, he’s showing he can survive when forced to do just that.

Here he is holding his own after a switch onto C.J. McCollum.

The actual definition of an MVP is more ambiguous than it has to be, but if used to reward standout players on teams that would disintegrate in their absence, Vucevic deserves even more attention than he’s already received. We’re working with a 23-game sample size, and time will tell if Vucevic is able to sustain his scintillating start over the next few months—ending the season with 55.3/40.9/84.3 shot splits as a center on a playoff team would be, um, incredible—but it won’t be easy, particularly as more and more defenses appreciate how dominant he’s been and force his teammates to beat them. Vucevic has struggled in fourth quarters all year, and he still doesn’t draw the number of free throws you’d expect from a seven footer who posts up as often as he does—a snag that harks back to how quickly he attacks in the post.

Vucevic has done a decent job running shooters off the line and not allowing ball handlers to turn the corner on side pick-and-rolls (something they religiously try every chance they get), but if the Magic make the playoffs—Vucevic has logged three postseason minutes in his entire career—their opponent will attack him ruthlessly over and over again.

Positionally, Vucevic is handicapped as a big man, prevented from having the same effect as some of the game’s most dynamic ball handlers. He can’t create his own advantage (especially behind the three-point line) like Walker, Lillard, or even LeBron. But he’s impacting games right now as a net positive who’s indispensable from his team’s identity, and that matters. At 28, he’s matured from a stat-stuffing albatross to an authentic All-Star and, if he continues at this rate, an All-NBA center. When it’s all said and down, odds are long that he’ll elbow his way into the MVP conversation, beside the likes of Giannis, LeBron, Harden, Davis, and Embiid. But right now, a quarter of the way into his career year, Vucevic has defied all expectations and reshaped his own narrative. Keep an eye on him.

Nikola Vucevic is the NBA Hipster’s MVP syndicated from https://justinbetreviews.wordpress.com/

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

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Nikola Vucevic is the NBA Hipster's MVP

It’s startling to consider, because for him to actually sustain this blistering start, turn the Orlando Magic into a snarling menace, and win the award would be an all-time historical anomaly, but that's why Vucevic is recognized here as more of a hipster's choice than realistic candidate. Everyone knows transcendent household names like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but, in an open race, Vucevic currently exists as a respectable choice for the league's most discerning fans, those who also enjoy being different.

Heading into this season Sports Illustrated ranked Vucevic as the league’s 90th best player; right now his Magic may not be good enough to make the playoffs, let alone win a series. It’s safe to describe them as “OK,” but “OK” doesn’t typically cut it in this context. (ESPN’s Relative Percent Index—a measuring stick that weighs each team’s winning percentage, the average winning percentage of their opponents, and the average winning percentage of their opponents’s opponents—has them 14th out of 30 teams. For what it’s worth, Anthony Davis’s New Orleans Pelicans rank 18th.)

That 40-game gap exceeds the impact Russell Westbrook had when he won MVP in 2017. For more references, right now Joel Embiid and Davis are +37, LeBron James is +8, James Harden, Kemba Walker, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are +13, Steph Curry is +25, Kawhi Leonard is +4, Damian Lillard is +17, Marc Gasol is +38, and Kevin Durant is +12. Nikola Jokic, who makes an appearance on Basketball-Reference’s MVP tracker, is -7. Several factors—including bench viability, minutes logged, etc.—sway these numbers in Vucevic's favor, but if we’re talking about any one player’s “value” to their employer, he's currently up there with the best of them.

He ranks 11th in Real Plus-Minus—just ahead of Curry and Walker—and has scored more points than Karl-Anthony Towns, with a higher PER than Embiid and LeBron, a better True Shooting percentage than Harden and Davis, and more Win Shares per 48 minutes than Lillard. To actually contend for MVP, though, not only do the Magic need Vucevic to chaperone them up the standings, but his counting stats need to feel like an atom bomb. Instead, the 21 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists he averages don't quite clear the bar. Part of that is he doesn't log the same number of minutes as every other real contender for this award, but efficiency at a high volume always matters.

Here’s a fun stat: Only three players have a usage rate that’s at least 26 and a True Shooting percentage that’s above 62. They are Curry, Durant, and Vucevic.

Once dogged as a skilled albeit sedated center in a sport gravitating more and more towards dynamism on the perimeter, Vucevic was destined to live out the rest of his career on the same endangered species list that’s claimed so many others his size, centers with the turning radius of a parade float. He couldn’t shoot threes or defend them, but year eight has welcomed a necessary step towards modernity. Last season, Vucevic only shot 31.4 percent from deep. Today, he’s at 41 percent while averaging only one fewer attempt per 36 minutes. That's good enough to create real gravity: The shot is feared by whoever’s guarding him, even when he’s not behind the arc. Watch him freeze Embiid below:

Watch Steph Curry’s reaction from the bench after this jump hook.

Here he is holding his own after a switch onto C.J. McCollum.

Positionally, Vucevic is handicapped as a big man, prevented from having the same effect as some of the game’s most dynamic ball handlers. He can’t create his own advantage (especially behind the three-point line) like Walker, Lillard, or even LeBron. But he’s impacting games right now as a net positive who’s indispensable from his team’s identity, and that matters. At 28, he’s matured from a stat-stuffing albatross to an authentic All-Star and, if he continues at this rate, an All-NBA center. When it's all said and down, odds are long that he'll elbow his way into the MVP conversation, beside the likes of Giannis, LeBron, Harden, Davis, and Embiid. But right now, a quarter of the way into his career year, Vucevic has defied all expectations and reshaped his own narrative. Keep an eye on him.

Nikola Vucevic is the NBA Hipster's MVP published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years ago

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Taking lumps this season, Alex Bono working to get back to best for Toronto

USA Today Sports

September 27, 20186:58PM EDT

TORONTO – Alex Bono has not been happy with his performances.

Since the Concacaf Champions League in the spring, not much has gone his and Toronto FC’s way. With five matches remaining in the MLS regular season, they are on the verge of elimination from the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs.

“Losing is never fun,” said Bono on Tuesday after the latest defeat away to the New York Red Bulls. “None of us are OK with it, with going out there and making mistakes. It’s not our goal to be mediocre. The game becomes less fun when you’re losing; less fun when sometimes you’re the reason that you’re losing.”

Having excelled in TFC’s historic 2017 season and guided the side to the Champions League final with some stunning stops, including a gem against Paul Aguilar in the semifinal against Club America at the Azteca, Bono slipped up against Chivas de Guadalajara in the first leg of the final, misreading the flight of an Alan Pulido free kick and has struggled to find his form in MLS play.

He was caught out of position against the New England Revolution in May, would let a Kemar Lawrence game-winner get past him early against the New York Red Bulls in July, and spill the rebound from a Chris Wondolowski attempt in August against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Alex Bono failed to stop Kemar Lawrence’s shot in July | USA Today Sports Images

The low point came a week later against the Montreal Impact. He spilled another shot from Alejandro Silva straight to Saphir Taider, who Bono then brought down as Ken Krolicki tucked the ball into the open net. A raised flag spared the damage, but the goalkeeper was left gritting his teeth and clapping himself over the ears.

“When things start to get away from you, you start to compound errors. That one was the ‘I can’t take it any more, I need to do something to get out of this,’” said Bono. “I like to think of myself as a mentally strong individual, who gets over mistakes quickly, but thus far I had never had a stretch where no matter what I did, what I tried, I felt like I wasn’t in my own head and another mistake would happen.”

Clint Irwin would start the next two matches for TFC.

“I respected Greg [Vanney]’s decision,” said Bono. “As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew that I needed to reset and refocus, go back to the basics. Sometimes it’s good to get knocked down so you have that period of self-reflection.”

Vanney noticed his goalkeeper wasn’t himself: “He seems in his head, questioning his preparation, his decisions in games. I was there once, as a player, where you go through bad stretches and you’re questioning things. I know what it feels and looks like.”

Bono didn’t want to admit it at first: “I put it off for a while, thinking it was a game here or there. I made a couple mistakes; wrote it up to that.”

But a conversation between the two convinced him it was time to mentally reset.

“I did some meditation, would go sit by the water, watch the planes take off, detach myself from the frustration I was going through, that the team had with me, that the fans had with me; try and find it in myself to say, ‘You’ve got this,’” explained Bono. “This is the sport, mistakes happen, you’re going to dip in form. For me, it’s how you respond.”

In 2016, when he was first stepping into the starting role for an injured Irwin, Bono would have what he called at the time ‘”The Accident” on July 16 in a 2-1 away loss to San Jose. Up two men, Toronto could not find the game-winner and Simon Dawkins squeezed one through Bono’s hands.

Bono took responsibility and responded with a stunning 2017 campaign and an MLS Cup. He credited the recent September camp with the US men’s national team and conversations with his father as helping him get to a better place this time around.

“[I] came back refreshed, ready to go,” said Bono. “I feel much closer to myself. Working back to full confidence.”

Added Vanney: “Still a work in progress. You don’t snap fingers and you’re out of it, you have to work. He will find his way; we will help him.”

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healthnotion · 7 years ago

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Don’t Just Lead Well, Follow Well

Media and literature on leadership abound. Everywhere you look, there’s another book, podcast, or motivational speech on how to become a better leader.

People are clearly very interested in the topic, which isn’t at all surprising. Nearly everyone is a leader is some aspect of their lives — whether at home, at work, at church, or in clubs, sports teams, and other extracurricular and civic organizations.

It’s a funny thing though . . . given the fact there are so many people leading out there, there must subsequently exist even more folks who are following them. And yet, almost no material — no books, no podcasts, no lectures — exist on how to become a good follower. The topic is almost completely absent from education and our cultural conversation.

The public’s utter lack of interest in learning how to follow isn’t any more surprising than its keen interest in leadership. Seeing ourselves as leaders warms our pride and enhances our sense of identity. Everyone wants to see themselves as self-sufficient, independent iconoclasts — leading the charge, marching to the beat of their own drummer. The Chief. The Big Cheese. The Head Honcho.

But nobody wants to see themselves as a follower. Yuck. The word crinkles the nose. Leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Followers are dependent, conformist, submissive. Not at all like how we want to see ourselves.

In our egalitarian society, everyone wishes to feel they are the equal of everyone else. As much as possible, leaders and followers disguise the power dynamic that exists between them. Corporations and organizations emphasize the fact that everyone is a “team” or a “family.”

Reality stubbornly belies this bit of theater, though.

People are at least as likely, if not much more so, to be followers as leaders. After all, there are more employees than managers, more players than coaches, more readers than authors, more students than teachers, more congregants than pastors, more believers than gods.

Even if never spoken of, a hierarchy of authority and power exists in nearly every group and organization. Certain individuals have the power to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience, and others do not. And you do obey them (even though, here again, is a word we hate); you do show up on time to work, and turn in your assignments on the date your professors ask, and run sprints when your coach blows his whistle.

Rather than be delusional and self-deceiving, we ought to own up to the fact that we all find ourselves as both leaders and followers in life, and we ought not to completely ignore the latter role in favor of the former. The fact you’re a follower may be an unpleasant truth to countenance, but it’s a truth nonetheless, and should be faced directly.

Here’s another truth: acknowledging the fact that you’re a follower doesn’t have to be unpleasant. Despite the cultural baggage the term has accumulated, knowing how to follow well is a mark of a superior man (and leader), rather than that of a sheep. Just like leadership, following effectively is a skill that can be developed, and can be just as important to your success.

But, But . . . Nazis! The Obligatory Disclaimer

While being a leader has naturally always been favored over being a follower, the latter was historically still seen as a potentially positive and virtuous role. Following didn’t get a bad name until after WWII; you know, because of all those German goose steppers. Many Nazis blamed the atrocities they committed on the fact they were simply “following orders,” and obedience came to be inextricably associated with blind obedience. And so we have a very visceral reaction against the idea of being a follower (even if, as just mentioned, all of us are exactly that!).

But simple logic and common sense should dictate that good orders, which lead to positive results, can just as readily be followed as bad ones, which lead to evil. The dynamic of leading and following is what keeps communities and countries safe, charities serving, and companies innovating. Following is also not invariably myopic, but can be done with eyes wide open.

All of the below should thus be read with the very obvious caveat that one should never follow something blindly, and never obey orders that are unethical and immoral. Following well should never mean completely giving up your autonomy, but rather willfully choosing to place yourself under the leadership of a person/organization in which you believe, agreeing to follow what he/it asks of you, until which that person/organization violates the fundamental tenets under which you signed on. At which point, you withdraw your consent to follow.

Leadership/followship is a two-way street — a covenant — in which each side must uphold their part of the bargain.

Why You Should Embrace Being a Follower

Following Is Learning

If following has gotten a bad name, maybe we should re-brand it as “holding an apprenticeship.” Typically, those who are over you, are placed there for a reason; they’ve got more seniority, experience, and acumen. They’ve got something to teach you. They’re the mentor, and you’re the mentee, and you can get the most out of this apprenticeship by checking your ego and following what they ask you to do.

Oftentimes we think we know if something will work or not, or is a good idea or not, or if we will or won’t like something, but we don’t actually know until we try it. Until we do the thing. In following a leader’s instructions, we can gain a very concrete set of knowledge.

Of course, sometimes people are placed in positions of authority for the wrong reasons. They don’t have more wisdom or insight. Even then though, we can still learn — we gain an education in what not to do. What doesn’t work. And these lessons can be just as valuable for when we hopefully one day find ourselves in a similar leadership role.

In following a certain path, you might also simply learn that you’re in the wrong line of work, or at the wrong church or school. But you’ve got to sincerely try to follow the prescribed program first before you truly make that determination.

Following Is Liberating

Leaders do have more authority than followers; there’s no way around that fact. They can tell you what to do, but you can’t tell them what to do. Their position gives them power, and that’s a cool thing — they’ve got the freedom to do more stuff.

But, with power comes responsibility. Since they’re in charge, the weight of driving for success and the costs of experiencing failure sit directly on their shoulders. It’s great to be king, but a dagger’s always hanging over your head.

When you’re a follower, you have less power, but also less responsibility. And that can actually be a great thing too.

There are certain areas of life where you certainly do want to be calling the shots — the power is worth the responsibility. But to hold ultimate responsibility in every area of life would drive a man insane. Nobody can be an expert in every subject. Nobody has the bandwidth to make decisions on every issue. It’s psychologically healthy to have aspects of your life where you can simply submit — where you can let someone else be the leader and expert and tell you exactly what to do. This delegation of authority can in fact liberate you to do your best work. When you have just one specific job to do, and instructions on how to do it, you can concentrate on doing it well.

For example, I don’t want to be a leader in fitness programming; I don’t want to come up with my own workouts for myself. I tried that and got very mediocre results. Instead, I happily let my Starting Strength coach tell me exactly what to do every day. I happily submit to him. As a result, I’ve made significant progress with my weightlifting and have never been stronger. Plus, I can use the bandwidth I save by being a follower in the gym, and put it towards the areas where I do want to lead.

The same dynamic plays out in other aspects for life. There are advantages to being an entrepreneur to be sure, but also advantages to being an employee; freed from the burdens of managerial administration, the latter is liberated to concentrate on a more focused job, and to often leave that job at the office at the end of the day. Similarly, there are advantages to being a coach, but also much liberation in simply being free to play as an athlete.

Following Helps You Achieve a Higher Purpose

There are many great things that individuals can accomplish on their own. But there are many more which require a team, an organization, an institution. A quarterback can’t win the Super Bowl by himself. Charitable organizations exponentially increase the reach and impact one person alone can make. And though the idea has become fantastically unpopular, large institutions can accomplish projects that would otherwise be untenable. Governments protect and manage democracy. Militaries win world wars. Even churches, one of the most unpopular institutions of all, magnify spirituality beyond its potential as a personal pursuit.

All these teams and organizations, by necessity, are structured by varying degrees of hierarchy. Those corporations that have been entranced by the idea of complete egalitarianism in the abstract, have found that the concept leads to chaos and dysfunction when implemented in reality. For a large project to be achieved, for an expansive mission to be accomplished, some kind of chain of command must be in place.

When you place yourself within such a hierarchy, you give up some of your power and freedom — the ability to do everything your way and call all your own shots. But you gain the freedom to be part of something larger than yourself, to be part of an effort working towards a goal you could not accomplish on your own.

Following Is the Road to Leadership

Oftentimes we act as if following and leading are two dichotomous things. But they’re strongly related: good followers make good leaders. If you can’t follow well, you can’t lead well. Good leaders never ask their subordinates to do something they aren’t willing to do, and haven’t in fact done themselves.

As The Soldier’s Guide, an Army manual from 1952 puts it,

“One of the most important things a leader needs is the ability to lead himself. That’s why all our truly great commanders have been outstanding in self-discipline. It takes a strong self-discipline to be a good follower, and if you aren’t a good follower, chances are you will never be much of a leader. TO GIVE ORDERS, YOU MUST FIRST KNOW HOW TO TAKE THEM.”

Lord Moran put the same sentiment this way: “Great men have almost always shown themselves as ready to obey as they afterwards proved able to command.”

It’s not just that good followers have discipline, which good leaders also need. But good followers also know that ego is the enemy, and evince the kind of humility that’s absolutely crucial in a successful leader. People who think they’re “too good” to follow instructions in a lower-level position, invariably don’t have the attitude to succeed at a higher level one.

How to Be a Good Follower

“Whatever thou art, act well thy part.”

The above phrase was inscribed on the door of a castle in Scotland. And it’s an excellent philosophy to adopt.

You’ll find yourself in different positions throughout your life. Sometimes you’ll be a leader. Sometimes you’ll be a follower. Whatever your position is, do it to the best of your ability. Your job may seem small and unimportant, but it’s likely essential. Without it, the organization you’re in might not function to its utmost. Put the focus on the larger mission, rather than yourself. Once you do, you’ll discover more meaning and satisfaction in your work.

Help Others Reach Their Potential (And You’ll Reach Yours)

A good follower doesn’t have his focus just on himself and how he can advance his own goals. Leaders can see that and will either 1) find it obnoxious, or 2) find it threatening. Either result can stymie your influence in an organization.

To avoid those outcomes, make it your goal to help your leaders and fellow teammates reach their potential. In other words, be as useful as you can. Hand over good ideas to your boss and don’t worry if you don’t get the credit. Volunteer to do the jobs that no one else wants to do. Act as a booster for your fellow teammates. Anticipate the needs of those around you before they arise. Work to make everyone look good.

Those with a short-term, scarcity mindset will read that advice and think, “Man, that’s a recipe for being taken advantage of and walked over.” While it’s true some leaders will abuse your generosity, good leaders recognize and appreciate subordinates who strive to make their job easier and they’ll reward those subordinates with promotions and/or raises.

As Ryan Holiday wrote in Ego is the Enemy, “Clear the path for the people above you and you will eventually create a path for yourself.”

Don’t Follow Mindlessly

Typically when people hear the word “follower” they think of some mindless drone that replies with “I was just following orders,” whenever confronted with a problem. These people are followers, but they’re defective. While they’ll do what you say, they’ll only do what you say. Not an iota more. They lack the ability to exercise practical wisdom and make decisions on their own that will advance an organization or a mission. These mindless followers abdicate responsibility by hiding behind the excuse “I just do what I’m told.” Instead of making a leader’s job easier, these automatons can make his life miserable by constantly going to him with questions about every little thing or passing the buck to him when things go wrong.

Being a good follower paradoxically requires you to act like a leader. You have to be willing to raise concerns when you feel an idea will be unwise and counterproductive. You have to be willing to take responsibility for problems that you’re involved in even though you technically did things “by the book.” You have to be willing to build on the instruction you’re given, to get creative, and to take action even though no one explicitly told you to act.

What to Do When You Disagree With What a Leader Asks of You

You have complete autonomy in choosing which commitments you agree to undertake, and you should be as well-informed as possible when making such decisions as to what the commitment will entail and what will be expected of you.

After you make the commitment, you have less autonomy in how to act; barring being asked to do something immoral or unethical, if you remain with the position, you are obligated to perform the role’s attendant duties, even if you disagree with an idea, or think there’s a better way, or simply don’t feel like it. That’s what you signed up for and/or are being paid for. That’s what you agreed to do.

Keep in mind that in any organization or institution, leaders are invariably going to make bad moves and give frustratingly ineffective orders. Being asked to sometimes do dumb things isn’t necessarily a sign you’re in the wrong place, it’s just par for the course. As long as the job still has its satisfactions and consolations, and the team is still moving towards a good goal — however painstakingly slowly and haphazardly — it can still be fulfilling to stay on.

But what if you are consistently given orders/tasks that you find egregiously dumb or mind-meltingly counterproductive, and which you balk at carrying out? Several choices remain open to you:

Patiently stay the course, earning your way into a position where you’ll become the leader and have the power to finally implement your own ideas. Even before you make it into the leadership position, the organization’s culture may still badly need the leaven of your influence. You may decide that you can still be a force for good in making small changes, and decide to do what’s necessary to earn some cred and work your way up the chain of command, in order to one day call the big shots yourself.

Modify expectations of what your following will mean. There may be cases where, though you have stopped supporting an organization’s tenets, you still wish to participate in it to some degree. For example, you may have lost your faith, but continue attending a church for the sake of your wife and children. In such a case, you ought to simply be transparent with other members about the state of your commitment, so they can appropriately manage their expectations. Most people are quite tolerant of this stance; they’d rather someone be honest, and say they won’t do something upfront, than say yes to something on which they really don’t plan to follow through.

Quit the role/job/position outright. Sometimes you’re simply too much at loggerheads with the leadership to continue on. If you’ve raised your concerns with leadership to no avail, and done your best to make it work without progress, walk away (ideally without burning bridges).

The one thing you shouldn’t do, is to continue on with your role, while sandbagging your effort. You become an albatross to the group’s goals, which is unfair to the leader, and unfair to your teammates. To keep a position, while willfully failing to follow instructions and perform one’s duties, is to flatter yourself that your personal, secret defiance counts as a real rebellion, while actually lacking the backbone to publicly break away. You remain a conformist, while losing your integrity.

The post Don’t Just Lead Well, Follow Well appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

Don’t Just Lead Well, Follow Well published first on https://mensproblem.tumblr.com

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yahoo-roto-arcade-blog · 7 years ago

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Juggernaut Index, No. 21: Eagles retooled offense needs Wentz to make a leap

The Philadelphia Eagles have a new cast of offensive skill players surrounding a second-year QB. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Carson Wentz opened his NFL career with three straight wins, efficiently carving up the defenses of the Browns, Bears and Steelers. In those three September games, he completed 64.7 percent of his throws while averaging 256.3 yards per game and 7.54 per attempt. He tossed five touchdown passes and zero picks, posting a passer rating of 103.8. Wentz, in short, was terrific — a quick-thinking, mobile QB with plenty of arm. He certainly looked the part of a top-of-draft quarterback, a franchise cornerstone.

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And then the calendar flipped to October. No one would have guessed it at the time, but Wentz’s best games were already behind him. Losses piled up, as did turnovers. Wentz was punished by the better defenses on Philadelphia’s schedule. Here’s a look at his month-by-month performance:

September – 7.54 Y/A, 64.7 CMP%, 5 TD, 0 INT October – 6.01 Y/A, 66.7 CMP%, 4 TD, 3 INT November – 6.51 Y/A, 60.1 CMP%, 2 TD, 5 INT Dec. & Jan. – 5.53 Y/A, 60.5 CMP%, 5 TD, 6 INT

After Wentz’s early binge, he began a gradual descent toward mediocrity, and eventually to something worse. When all the numbers were in, he had nearly as many interceptions (14) as TD passes (16). He ranked near the bottom of the league in Y/A (6.23), behind guys like Case Keenum (6.84), Ryan Fitzpatrick (6.73) and Blake Bortles (6.25). Wentz completed a respectable 62.4 percent of his throws, but he averaged just 3.3 air yards per attempt, again ranking among the NFL’s sketchiest passers. (Keenum averaged 3.7, Osweiler 3.6 and Bortles 3.3).

Carson Wentz worked on footwork and mechanics during the offseason, hoping to prove last September wasn’t his peak. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Simply put, Wentz wasn’t good. We need to give him a partial pass because he was tossed into the fire as a first-year pro, but let’s also keep in mind that he wasn’t some 21-year-old kid. That excuse can fly for Jared Goff, but not Carson. In fact, Wentz is a year older than both Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston. He’s only eight months younger than Bortles, a player entering his fourth year in the league. Wentz will turn 25 before the end of the 2017 season; we have to assume he’s closer to a finished product than other recently drafted QBs.

Wentz spent much of his offseason working on throwing mechanics and footwork, while the Eagles’ front office spent time and resources adding talent at the offensive skill spots. If Wentz can’t make a significant leap in his second NFL season, his supporting cast won’t be to blame.

Welcome to Philly, Alshon Jeffery

Jeffery was the biggest (but not only) addition to Philadelphia’s receiving corps, and the team landed him on a one-year, make-good contract. Considering the modest commitment, it’s tough not to like the deal from the team’s perspective. When Jeffery is at his best, he’s one of the NFL’s elite downfield threats, uncommonly gifted in jump-ball scenarios. He has the size, strength and skills to win one-on-one battles on any route, at any level. Jeffery also has an 89-catch, 1421-yard season to his credit, so we know he’s capable of sustained WR1-level performance. But he also has a PED suspension on his resume, and he’s struggled with soft-tissue injuries. He’s hardly a lock to give us 16 games.

Early drafters seem to be thinking only of Jeffery’s ceiling and not his problematic floor, as his ADP in Yahoo leagues is 33.2. That’s too rich for me, considering his up-and-down history and the quality of his quarterback.

Alshon Jeffery is looking to reclaim his status as a high-end fantasy asset. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Torrey Smith signed a three-year deal with the Eagles (with very little guaranteed money), and he’ll battle third-year receiver Nelson Agholor for snaps and targets and relevance. Smith has been miscast as a do-it-all receiver at multiple NFL stops, but he’s undeniably a dangerous big-play vertical threat. As a fantasy commodity, he’s well suited for best-ball formats, where you don’t need to predict the week in which he’ll deliver his three-catch, 90-yard, two-TD game. He figures to be a low-volume field-stretcher, a guy who makes life easier for the short-to-intermediate route-runners.

We should note that Wentz’s pre-draft scouting reports generally praised his deep-ball ability, but that take wasn’t well supported by stats. Wentz was not particularly accurate on deep strikes at North Dakota State, and he completed just 31.0 percent of his deep throws last season, per Player Profiler. Smith and Jeffery should at least help make his downfield passing stats look a bit better, even if the throws aren’t perfectly placed. Wentz attempted 4.4 deep throws per game last season, so Doug Pederson’s team isn’t afraid to take shots.

Jordan Matthews has dealt with knee tendinitis throughout the offseason, but Philly’s slot receiver is expected to be ready for the opening of camp. We’ll see. He’s entering a contract year and his targets will surely take a hit this season, following the additions to the Eagles’ receiving corps. Matthews has never finished a season with less than 800 receiving yards, but he’s also never reached 1000. Ideally, you’ll draft him as a bench WR in fantasy, if you draft him at all. Agholor spent a fair amount of time in the slot during the offseason, generating modest spring buzz, but he isn’t likely to break out unless injuries clear a path. Fourth-round rookie Mack Hollins is an interesting size/speed combo player (6-foot-4, 4.53), but he’s buried on the depth chart at the moment.

Zach Ertz returns at tight end for what feels like his twelfth season, but is actually only his fifth. He finished eighth among fantasy scorers at his position last year and ranked fifth in targets (106). He remained a TD-challenged player, however, finishing with only four spikes. (When a QB averages just one touchdown pass per game, no receiver is going to feast.) Ertz saw 17 red-zone chances last season, so it isn’t crazy to expect him to retain his fantasy value, even if his targets take a small dip.

The Eagles backfield is stuck in committee

Philadelphia signed LeGarrette Blount to a one-year deal back in May, and he projects as the team’s primary early-down runner. Blount, of course, is coming off a ridiculous season for New England, rushing for a career high 1161 yards and a league-leading 18 TDs. He averaged just 3.9 YPC for the Pats, but no one ever suggested he was the game’s most elusive back. He won’t repeat last year’s 299 carries, but it’s not unreasonable to hope for something like 200 carries for 800 yards and 8-10 TDs. At his current ADP (77.1, RB23), there’s room for profit. Blount is entering his age-30 season and he’s never served as a credible receiving threat, so don’t expect anything more than his usual 5-7 catches.

LeGarrette Blount won’t repeat his 2016 TD total, but he remains a fantasy relevant runner. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Darren Sproles averaged 4.7 yards per carry and 8.2 per catch last season at age 33, reinforcing his status as an all-time outlier. He’s too small and too old, but he stubbornly continues to produce exceptionally well on a per-touch basis. He remains a bankable PPR asset, entering what might be his final NFL season. Sproles is one of the most thrilling players of his era and a historic oddity. It’s important to recognize that he does not come off the field in red-zone and goal-to-go situations, despite his size (5-foot-6, 190). Sproles handled 18 red-zone carries last year, and his 13 red-zone targets ranked fifth among all RBs.

Philly used a fourth-round draft pick on San Diego State back Donnel Pumphrey, the NCAA’s career rushing leader. (For the record, we realize Ron Dayne still has a valid claim on the rushing mark. But this is not the place to settle that dispute.) Pumphrey performed poorly at the combine in all areas — 4.48-speed isn’t enough for a 175-pound player — but, again, he was a hugely productive player with an excellent collegiate highlight reel. He was a capable receiver and route-runner for the Aztecs, too, catching 99 career passes. It’s clear the Eagles intend to get him on the field in his first pro season…

Pumphrey keeps gettting significant work with the 1s. Don’t want to overstate what happens in June, but Eagles are prepping him for a role

— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) June 13, 2017

…so keep him in your deep league and dynasty plans. He was running ahead of second-year back Wendell Smallwood during the offseason.

Ryan Mathews is still in the team picture as of this writing, but he’s recovering from a herniated disc and likely to be released when medically cleared. Waiting on his release will save the team a payout and cap hit. Because the NFL is cruel like that. Mathews turns 30 in October and his medical file is thick, so he’s no lock to make an impact anywhere.

Philadelphia’s defense is for streamers only

The Eagles were an almost perfectly average defense in every way last season, and the team lacks an elite IDP. Philly used its first three draft picks to address the D, and two of those selections — DE Derek Barnett and CB Sidney Jones — could eventually be special players. For now, this group is strictly a matchup play in fantasy. The team’s early season schedule isn’t too appealing for our purposes, so you can ignore this unit at the draft table.

2016 Offensive Stats & Ranks Points per game – 22.9 (16) Pass YPG – 224.1 (24) Rush YPG – 113.3 (11) Yards per play – 5.0 (29) Plays per game – 67.5 (4)

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Previous Juggernaut Index entries: 32) NY Jets, 31) San Francisco, 30) Cleveland, 29) LA Rams, 28) Baltimore, 27) Chicago, 26) Minnesota, 25) Detroit, 24) Denver, 23) Jacksonville, 22) Buffalo, 21) Philadelphia

#Juggernaut Index #_author:Andy Behrens #_category:yct:001000854 #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #Carson Wentz #_uuid:e274e9e5-9db3-3396-9c0e-3845a69518b2 #Philadelphia Eagles #_revsp:54edcaf7-cdbb-43d7-a41b-bffdcc37fb56

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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12 stats that tell us everything that happened in NFL Week 9

We promise, there’s no real math involved.

Not many words are needed to tell the story of Week 9 in the NFL — it can be summed up with some fists and a few numbers. Fiiiiiights were the big theme this week, but there was more than that. We got to see explosive offenses, apathetic defenses, and career days from a couple veterans.

Now that we’re past the halfway point of the 2017 season, we’re starting to get an idea — albeit, still a fuzzy one — of which teams will be playing in January. The Eagles and Rams won big with 51-point showings and look like contenders. The 49ers are the first team this year to 0-9, but probably because the Browns had a bye.

If you’re starting to get Algebra II-type of anxiety, don’t worry: There’s no real math involved. Here are the most interesting stats and numbers from Week 9.

Mike Evans was the only player suspended after there were three fights on Sunday that resulted in five ejections.

Here was Evans, drilling the Saints’ Marshon Lattimore after Jameis Winston instigated him by poking him in the head.

Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Green sparked the first fight of the afternoon, which resulted in both players getting ejected. Later, 49ers running back Carlos Hyde, and Cardinals defenders Haason Reddick and Frostee Rucker were ejected for their own fight.

Everyone else probably faces a fine, at most. Evans, who somehow wasn’t ejected against the Saints, will now have to sit out next week.

1-2

Just over 18 months ago, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz heard their names called first, then second, in the 2016 NFL draft.

On Sunday, they made history:

Today is the 1st time QBs selected 1 & 2 overall in the same @NFL Draft each threw 4+ TD passes on the same day: @JaredGoff16 & @cj_wentz http://pic.twitter.com/DAg1RCApnm

— Randall Liu (@RLiuNFL) November 5, 2017

For Goff, the Rams’ 51-17 win over the Giants was a career day. He had never thrown four touchdowns in a game before then.

On the other hand, it’s a little old hat for MVP candidate Wentz. Sunday’s 51-23 win for the Eagles was the third time he’s tossed four touchdowns in a game this season, all within the last five weeks. He’s coming for you, Dan Marino.

No team is hotter than the Eagles right now. They’re an NFL-best 8-1 and have averaged 36 points over the last five weeks.

So it shouldn’t be shocking that they blew out an opponent. But the Broncos? 51 points against THAT defense?

The Eagles’ production in the first half alone was something we hadn’t seen in seven years against this D:

PHI 31, DEN 9 The @Eagles are the first team to score 30+ points in the 1st half vs the Broncos since the Raiders (38) in Week 7, 2010

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 5, 2017

The Broncos gave up 59 points to the Raiders in that 2010 loss, so at least it didn’t get THAT bad for them Sunday. But it was the defense’s ugliest game so far in a season that keeps getting worse:

It's not just a 4-game losing streak. Broncos have been outscored 41-3 in first quarter during skid. #9sports

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) November 6, 2017

We don’t blame you if you think the Broncos have already thrown in the towel.

There’s good news and bad news for the Denver defense in the coming weeks. First the bad: Tom Brady and the league’s No. 1 offense come to town next Sunday. Now the good: the Bengals’ last-place offense visits the following week.

Has any free agent signing made a bigger impact than Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth? Jared Goff, who already had to endure several months with Jeff Fisher as his coach, also had to weather through a tragic offensive line that let him get sacked 26 times as a rookie — and that was only in SEVEN games. This offseason, the Rams made it a priority to protect Goff. Their biggest signing was 35-year-old Whitworth, who the Bengals let walk in free agency.

On Sunday, he made sure Goff didn’t even need to wash his jersey after the game (I mean, he SHOULD, but he didn’t HAVE to):

LT Andrew Whitworth allowed 0 pressures on 22 pass blocks.

— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) November 6, 2017

Whitworth (No. 77) also laid this huge block on third-and-33 to let Robert Woods take it 52 yards to the house:

What a difference a year makes: the 6-2 Rams have scored more points in 2017 than they did in 2016, and they still have eight more games remaining. And Goff? He’s has been sacked just 10 times.

33.3

Look, we all miss Deshaun Watson. Not only was he having a historic rookie season before his ACL injury, but he was arguably the most fun player to watch this season.

But no one misses him as much as DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. With Tom Savage at quarterback, the Texans receiving duo went from putting up 349 yards against the Legion of Boom last week to just 118 this week against the NFL’s second-worst passing defense.

After 6.5 games with Watson under center, Hopkins and Fuller were the NFL’s co-leaders in receiving touchdowns with seven apiece. This is what happened without him:

DeAndre Hopkins & Will Fuller V combined for 8 receptions on 24 targets. Their combined 33.3 reception pct was their lowest ever as a duo

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 6, 2017

The Texans also came into Week 9 with the NFL’s best scoring offense, averaging 30.7 points per game. The Watson-less offense scored a grand total of one touchdown against a Colts defense that was allowing 30.8 points per game. Unsurprisingly, Houston lost. If only there was a better quarterback out there for the team to sign ...

Adrian Peterson, who keeps fluctuating from “he’s back!” to “he’s washed!” on a weekly basis, was definitely BACK Sunday against the 49ers.

With Drew Stanton at quarterback, the Cardinals decided their best chance of winning was by giving their 32-year-old running back more carries than he’s ever had in his MVP-winning career.

And it worked. Peterson ran the ball a career-high 37 times for 159 yards, his best rushing total in two years. The Cardinals got back to .500 with a 20-10 win.

After the game, Peterson said that he felt “fresh,” despite having more carries in a game than any other running back over 30 has ever had:

No player over the age of 30 in @NFL history has had more carries in a game than @AdrianPeterson had today. How'd he feel? "Fresh." http://pic.twitter.com/KTjm8NAdKB

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 6, 2017

One stat noticeably missing from his line, however: a touchdown. Peterson, who is sitting at 99 career rushing yards, is still waiting to get that elusive 100 emoji.

+53

That’s Seattle’s net point differential for the second half of games this season. Most of that comes in the fourth quarter where they’ve outscored opponents 79-30. The hurry-up offense Russell Wilson and Co. used to such dramatic effect in last week’s win over the Texans works. Sometimes it’s not enough, like this week’s last-minute loss to Washington.

Here’s my question: if it works so well in the second half, why not give it a try in the first half and stay out of the dicey situations all together. Just a thought!

The 1-7 Giants are setting records, but not in a good way:

Giants have now allowed a TD to a TE in 9 consecutive games, an @NFL record.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 5, 2017

They let tight end Tyler Higbee in the end zone for an 8-yard score in Sunday’s demoralizing loss to the Rams. It was Seattle’s Jimmy Graham in Week 7, and the Broncos’ Jeff Heuerman in Week 6. The only week in recent memory that the Giants haven’t allowed a touchdown pass to a tight end was in Week 8, which was the team’s bye.

The Giants take on the winless 49ers next week, and they’ll have George Kittle, Garrett Celek, and Cole Hikutini to contend with. Kittle and Celek have one score each this season. It’s a chance for the Giants to snap this streak — or an opportunity for the 49ers to take advantage of one of the Giants’ weaknesses and maybe finally get a win.

The Sean Payton and Drew Brees era of Saints football has been known for high-flying offense. An offense so good that it’s largely been able to overcome a defense that’s been, at best for the majority of the tenure, mediocre.

That’s starting to turn in 2017. First, there’s the rapidly improving secondary, boosted by a couple of rookies. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, drafted No. 11 overall out of Ohio State, and second-round safety Marcus Williams have helped turned the pass defense from the worst in the league last season to No. 12 this season.

It would be irresponsible to mention any type of success on the Saints defense without bringing up Cam Jordan, who has been their best player on that side of the ball. The defensive end is on pace for a career year, with seven sacks, 14 QB hits, two forced fumbles, and a pick-six so far.

These improvements have paid off on the scoreboard too:

The Saints scored 3 total non-offensive touchdowns from 2013-16. They just returned a blocked punt for their 4th non-offensive TD of 2017.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 5, 2017

If the Saints can keep this up while the offense continues to cook, they’e going to be a tough out for anybody the rest of the season.

Jay Cutler, in his first game back from cracking a few ribs, had his best game by far this season on Sunday against the Raiders. Cutler completed 34 of 42 passes — or a smokin’ 81 percent completion rate, the highest number in any complete game of his career.

Cutler, who threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, couldn’t lead the Dolphins to a win. They lost, 27-24, on Sunday night. But it wasn’t because of their 34-year-old quarterback, sore ribs and all.

For all the talk about how bad the Seahawks’ offensive line is, they can’t stop committing penalties.

They lead the NFL with 82, with the second-most in the NFL not even all that close to them:

Seattle now has 82 penalties, 9 more than anyone else in NFL. That's on pace for 164 which would shatter team record of 138 in 2011.

— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) November 6, 2017

The worst part? They’re on pace to set a new record for most penalties in a season.

The Lions traveled to Lambeau Field and got a 30-17 victory over the Packers. It probably could’ve/should’ve been worse, but the 13-point win was the first victory for the Lions at Lambeau Field of more than 10 points in 35 years.

It was also just the second time Detroit has beat the Packers on the road since 1991. Even though Green Bay was without Aaron Rodgers, the Lions will take it.

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