Is Monty Williams the right person to coach this team?

It pains me to have to ask this question after watching the 2011-2012 Hornets completely overachieve with a team full of 3^rd stringers.  That team remained in games by playing great defensive basketball.  Last season, after adding a number of supposed ‘future pieces’ to the roster, the Hornets dropped from allowing 93.4 points per game to 97.9 points per game.  This might not seem like a large amount on paper, but for a team with limited offensive talent 4 points per game over the course of the season can swing a good deal of games.  This team should not be experiencing a regression of any kind.  Adding the likes of Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon should have resulted in more than a 6 game uptick in wins.  This is a make or break year for Monty Williams as coach of the Pelicans.

Will Eric Gordon ever play like a max deal star?

During his time in LA, Eric Gordon was developing into a potential star at the shooting guard spot.  Since then, injuries have derailed his last two seasons, making everyone question if the 4 year, 58 million dollar contract he signed last summer was the biggest mistake in the history of the franchise.  You don’t pay a guy like that to hobble through the season playing only 42 games.  His shooting percentage dropped from 45% to 40% this past season and his points per game dropped from around 20 to 17.  Add in the fact that he possibly doesn’t even want to play here and you’ve got a major problem.  The good news is that the Hornets were very cautious with Gordon this past season, giving him no excuses to return to full strength for the start of next season.  The question will be is that enough to justify making him one of the faces of the franchise.

We’ve got the money and a high draft pick, but is the available talent even good enough to matter?

Having a solid lottery pick and a boatload of money to spend is always a great thing going into the offseason, but in a summer where the talent in the draft is mediocre at best and the free agent market is a barren wasteland, is there really much to gain by drafting high and spending in free agency?  We must first discuss the current roster makeup of the Pelicans.  Grevious Vasquez stepped up his game and had a great season at the point guard position, but looking deeper into his stats and analyzing his late-in-the-game performance you can’t help but think that he’d be more suited for a backup role.  Obviously Austin Rivers is not even remotely close to take over the point, so the Pelicans could use an upgrade at point guard.  As for the shooting guard spot, you have to have faith in Gordon or else all is lost.  He’s your shooting guard for the foreseeable future.  Small forward is an area of great concern.  Al Farouq Aminu is an athletic freak, but he just has not been able to shape his offensive game and be consistent enough to be a reliable starter.  He’s a fully capable bench player and I would love to see him in a position to play 15 or so minutes off the bench.  So there’s a major need for the team.  If you look at the draft, Otto Porter out of Georgetown is the perfect fit for the team.  If he’s available, it’s a no-brainer selection.  The problem is, if Otto is off the board, the Pelicans will most likely be left with Anthony Bennett, Victor Oladipo or Shabazz Muhammed.  Now I’m not going to go into a full draft analysis, but none of these players are sure-fire stars and all come in with major question marks.  As far as free agency goes with the small forward position, you can just move on.  The market is awful.  Power forward, we’re good for a long time.  Center is a different story.  Robin Lopez was worth the money we spent for him, but he’s more suited for 15-20 minutes off the bench than a starter role.  I felt that he wasn’t aggressive or physical enough beneath the glass to play next to Anthony Davis.  I love Davis and think he’s going to be really special, but the truth is he’s not a banger and is going to be a major injury risk if we keep making him be physical under the rim.  We need a guy who can really push people around and control the boards.  There’s not anyone in the draft that I would consider for this role, but Nikola Pekovic is the perfect player for the Pelicans to target in free agency.  He’s a capable offensive player who excels at being physical down low.  Pay him.   He would be a godsend for Davis and possibly allow the Pelicans to roll with Aminu for another year if necessary.  Outside of Pekovic, I don’t think you’re gonna to find many guys who are enough of an upgrade over Lopez to really consider.  Now I’m not considering trades because to be honest the Pelicans do not really have a lot to offer.  All in all, I’m not sure how much we can upgrade this team outside of making 1 or 2 very specific moves.

Tom Benson has done the right thing by rebranding this franchise and finally making it a true team of New Orleans.  I think the new image is going to make a big difference in both a marketing sense as well as a motivational sense.  That being said, games are not won by promotions or gimmicks.  Whether the name on the jersey says Hornets or Pelicans this is a team in dire need for a major improvement in 2013.  The fans of New Orleans have been appropriately patient with Demps and Monty through this rebuilding process, knowing that these two young management talents had a plan in mind and were making moves for the future of the team.  Now is the time for those moves to pay off in the win column.

That being said, management has their hands full with another situation that they do have control over.  Drew Brees is still in a contract dispute and has yet to accept his franchise tender and report to camp.  For most other players in the league it would be easy to blame the player, not the team management, for being a selfish professional athlete and demanding more money.  The difference is that Drew Brees is no ordinary NFL player.  This is where the common sense should take over for Saints’ management.  Let’s take a look at Brees’s resume for a few minutes:

-  Brees is 33 years old and in the prime of his career.

-  With all due respect to Mr. Manning, Drew Brees is without question the greatest quarterback in Saints history.  To further emphasize his accomplishments as a Saint, here are his team records:

• Consecutive games with at least 1 TD pass – 43 (2009–present) 2nd NFL all-time
• Highest Comp. %, Career (Min. 500 attempts) – 65.94%
• Highest Comp. %, Season (Min. 14 attempts/game) – 71.23% (2011)
• Highest YPA, Career (Min. 500 attempts) – 7.56
• Highest YPA, Season (Min. 14 attempts/game) – 8.5 (2009)
• Highest Passer Rating, Career (Min. 500 attempts) – 93.8
• Highest Passer Rating, Season (Min. 14 attempts/game) – 110.6 (2011)
• Most Completions, Career – 2,488 (2006-2011)
• Most Completions, Season – 468 (2011)
• Most Completions, Game – 39 vs. Denver, 9/21/2008
• Most Completions, Playoff Game – 40 at San Francisco, 1/14/2012
• Most Consecutive Completions – 19 (12/27/09)
• Most Pass Attempts, Career – 3,670 (2006-2011)
• Most Pass Attempts, Season – 658 (2010)
• Most Pass Attempts, Playoff Game – 63 at San Francisco, 1/14/2012
• Most Pass Attempts, Game – 60 (tied with Aaron Brooks)
• Most passing yards, Career – 28,394 (2006-2011)
• Most passing yards in a single season – 5,476 yards (2011)
• Most Passing Yards, Playoff Game – 466 vs. Detroit, 1/7/2012
• Most Passing Yards, Game – 510 vs. Cincinnati, 11/19/2006  (seventh highest in NFL history)
• Most 4000 Yard Passing Seasons – 6
• Most Consecutive 4000 Yard Passing Seasons – 6 (2006–11)
• Most Games w/300+ Yards Passing, Career – 50 (2006-2011)
• Most Games w/300+ Yards Passing, Season – 13 (2011)
• Most Consecutive Games w/300+ Yards Passing – 7 (2011)
• Most Touchdown Passes, Career – 201 (2006-2011)
• Most Touchdown Passes, Season – 46 (2011)
• Most Touchdown Passes, Playoff Game – 4 at San Francisco, 1/14/2012 (tied with Aaron Brooks)
• Most Touchdown Passes, Game – 6 (9/13/2009) (tied with Billy Kilmer)
• Most Touchdown Passes On Opening Day, 6 (2009)

-  Brees is not only the most prolific passer in Saints’ history but also in league history.  Here’s a list of his NFL records:

• Single season passing leader – 5,476 yards (2011)
• Most Passing Yards in a Single Month – 1,687 (October, 2011)
• Most Seasons with 5000+ passing yards – 2 (2008 & 2011)
• Most completions in a season – 468 (2011)
• Most 400+ completion seasons, career – 4 (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
• Most consecutive 400+ completion seasons, career – 2 (2007-2008; 2010-2011)
• Most consecutive 350+ completion seasons, career – 6 (2006-2011)
• Most consecutive seasons with 4000+ passing yards – 6 (2006-2011; tied with Peyton Manning)
• Most consecutive seasons with 4000+ passing yards and 30+ Touchdowns – 4, 2008-current
• Most games with 5+ touchdown passes, career – 7
• Most games with 5+ touchdown passes and no interceptions, career – 5
• Highest completion percentage, career, for players with 2,500+ attempts – 65.94% (3,613/5,479)
• Highest completion percentage, season – 71.2% (2011)
• Most seasons with 70% pass completion rate (minimum 100 attempts per season) – 2 (2009 & 2011)
• Most games with 30+ completions and 80% pass completion rate, career – 4
• Most games with more than 80% pass completion rate, career (minimum 20 attempts per game) – 12
• Most games with more than 80% pass completion rate and no interceptions, career (minimum 20 attempts per game) – 10
• Most games with more than 80% pass completion rate, season (minimum 20 attempts per game) – 3 (tied with Ben Roethlisberger and Brett Favre)
• Most games with more than 70% pass completion rate, season (minimum 20 attempts per game) – 10 (2011)
• Most games with more than 70% pass completion rate and no interceptions, career (minimum 20 attempts per game) – 33
• Most games, 250+ yards passing, season – 16 (2011)
• Most 300+ yard passing games in a season – 13 (2011)
• Most consecutive 300+ yard passing games – 7 (2011-Present) (Weeks 10,12,13,14,15,16,17; 2011)
• Most consecutive 300+ yard passing games (regular season and postseason combined)– 9 (2011-Present)
• Most games, 350+ yards passing, career – 29
• Most games, 350+ yards passing, season – 8 (2011)
• Most consecutive games with 350+ yards passing – 4 (Weeks 3,4,5,6; 2011)
• Most consecutive 400+ yard passing games – 2 (postseason games 2012) – tied with several other players
• Most consecutive games with 450+ yards passing – 2 (postseason games 2012)
• Most games with 400 yards passing and no interceptions, career – 6 (4 regular season, 2 postseason)
• Most games with 20+ completions, season – 16 (2010 & 2011)
• Most consecutive games with at least 20 completions – 36 (2009-Present)
• Most games with 30+ completions, season – 9 (2011)
• Most games with 30+ completions, career – 29
• Most games with 30+ completions and no interceptions, career – 14
• Most games with 39+ completions, career – 3 (1 regular season, 2 playoff games)
• Most passing completions per game, career – 23.4 comp/game
• Most passing attempts per game, career – 35.5 att/game
• Most passing yards per game, career – 263.7 yards/game
• Most passing completions per game, season – 29.25 comp/game (2011)
• Most passing yards per game, season – 342.25 yards/game (2011)
• Highest post-season completion percentage, career – 66.8%
• Lowest post-season interception percentage, career – 0.70%
• Most completions in a Super Bowl – 32 (Super Bowl XLIV; tied with Tom Brady)
• Most completions in a playoff game – 40 (at San Francisco, 1/14/2012)
• Most pass attempts in a playoff game with zero interceptions – 60 (at Seattle, 1/8/2011)
• Most pass completions in a playoff game with zero interceptions – 39 (at Seattle, 1/8/2011)
• Most passing yards in a playoff game with zero interceptions – 466 (vs. Detroit, 1/7/2012)
• Most consecutive pass attempts without an interception during the playoffs – 226 (January 21, 2007-January 14, 2012)
• Most Consecutive Playoff Games, 2+ Touchdown Passes – 7 (2006-Present) (tied with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana)
• Most Playoff Games, 400+ yards passing – 3 (2011-2012)(Consecutive)
• Best Passing Touchdown to Interception ratio in postseason – 5.5-1 (22 TD Passes – 4 interceptions)
• Best Completions to Interception ratio in postseason – 65.5-1 (262 Completions – 4 interceptions)
• Best Passing Yards to Interception ratio in postseason – 745-1 (2,980 Passing Yards – 4 interceptions)
• Best Passing Touchdown per Game Average, Postseason – 2.444 (22 TD Passes/9 postseason games)

-  On top of all of those accomplishments you also add 2004 Comeback Player of the Year, 2008 and 2011 Offensive Player of the Year, and 2009 Super Bowl MVP.

-  Since Brees has been in New Orleans, he has transformed the team into an offensive juggernaut and an annual Super Bowl contender.  The team has made the playoffs 4 of his 6 years in New Orleans and won 5 playoff games, including a Super Bowl.  In the 39 years before Brees came to town, the team made the playoffs 5 times and won only 1 playoff game.

-  Brees is an active member of the New Orleans community and beloved by everyone in the city.  He is involved in numerous charitable foundations, including the Brees Dream Foundation.  He was the Grand Marshall of Bacchus in 2007 and named Sportsman of the Year by Sport Illustrated magazine in 2010.  To further emphasize his ‘Breesus’ status in New Orleans, look no further than this famous clip from Lucy’s Bar during the Super Bowl season:

So there you have it.  We’re talking about one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history who is responsible for transforming the entire organization into winners.  Locking up Brees for the rest of his career would be the silver lining in an otherwise miserable offseason.  This deal should have been taken care of last offseason or even in the middle of last season when Brees was breaking NFL records for passing yards.  The conversation should have gone like this:

(Brees sits down;  Loomis slides over a blank sheet of paper and a pen)

Brees:  What’s this?

Loomis:  Give us a number.  Any number.  You have done enough for the city and organization that we consider you an invaluable commodity.  You will get what you deserve, no questions asked.

(Brees picks up pen and writes a number that matches Peyton Manning’s current salary)

Brees:  Thank you guys.  I won’t let you down.

This is common sense guys.  There’s a time for price haggling and there’s a time for locking down the best quarterback in team history.  The blame goes squarely on Saints’ management here.

Robert Meachem – Chargers – 4 yrs, 25 million – 25 million might seem like a lot for someone who was basically a role player in New Orleans, but any Saints fan will tell you that Meachem has the talent to be an every-down receiver in the league. The Chargers see him as Vincent Jackson’s replacement and for Meachem’s sake I hope he’s up for the challenge. He was definitely a fun player to watch in New Orleans.

Carlos Rogers – 49ers – 4 yrs, 31 million – This contract seems a little steep for a 30+ year old cornerback who is just coming off a career season. From the Niners’ perspective, however, if they’ve got the money available to dish out and feel they can win now by keeping their top ranked defense in tact, then they can certainly justify this deal. I’m skeptical on how it’ll look down the road though.

Reggie Wayne – Colts – 3 yrs, 17.5 million – Kind of a shocker here. I felt that Wayne would be following Manning or at least be a part of the mass exodus of aging Colts veterans. Instead, Andrew Luck will have a reliable receiver on board as he starts his NFL career. Definitely not a bad guy to have as a safety net starting out, even with his declining skills.

Cortland Finnegan – Rams – 5 yrs, 50 million – Arguably the best corner on the market definitely got paid like it. Finnegan reunites with Jeff Fisher on what is going to be a much improved defense. Very nice fit.

Vincent Jackson – Bucs – 5 yrs, 55 million – Jackson definitely got paid. The Bucs had money to spend and they dished a good chunk out to Jackson. He immediately becomes Freeman’s #1 target and the core of Jackson, Williams and Benn is pretty solid. If only the Bucs were a passing offense…..

Jason Campbell – Bears – 1 yr – Campbell is probably pissed he’s not a starter, but the Bears are probably thrilled to not have to rely on Caleb Hanie if Cutler goes down.

Red Bryant – Seahawks – 5 yrs, 35 million – Run stuffing defense end was re-signed to anchor the defense. Many teams were interested.

Josh Morgan – Redskins – 2 yrs, 12 million – Nice signing for a guy who never really got a chance in SF.

Adam Carriker – Redskins – 4 yrs, 20 million – Haslett revived his disappointing career last season and in turn he was rewarded with a new deal.

Pierre Garcon – Redskins – 5 yrs, 42 million – Way too much money for a #2 receiver at best. Snyder has a history of dishing out bad contracts and he certainly did it again here. On the bright side at least RGIII will have a few guys to throw to.

Carl Nicks – Bucs – 5 yrs, 47.5 million – Actually a Day 2 signing but I couldn’t post this without including it. Nicks is now the NFL’s highest paid guard (as he said he wanted to be) and the Bucs offense looks primed for a bounce-back season. The Saints knew they couldn’t keep everyone and will now turn their attention to finding a replacement, possibly looking at Ravens guard Ben Grubbs.

3:00 – I was expecting the crowd to pick up for this game and it looks pretty packed to me from a distance.

3:03 – If LSU is gonna keep this game close they’re going to

to hit those easy layups like the one Hickey just missed.  Hamilton and O’Bryant also just missed short shots right near the basket.

3:06 – Kentucky is killing themselves right now.  LSU’s defense might give them trouble.

3:11 – My first impression of Anthony Davis is very tall and lanky, poor free throw shooter and very raw.  If the Hornets want an immediate impact player in the draft he might not be the best choice.  Then again, we’re only 5 minutes in here.

3:13 – Hickey looks terrified early on.  Two airballs and a missed layup.

3:15 – LSU looks like a junior high team out there:  shooting ridiculous threes, fouling left and right, getting outrebounded

3:23 – There’s just nothing going on for LSU on offense.  Luckily Kentucky hasn’t exactly been on fire so it’s only 19-10

3:27 – Nice job by Stringer in taking it to the hoop with some authority.  Gotta get some points on the board and getting to the line is a good place to start, especially when you’re not hitting your jumpers.

3:29 – That Gilchrist-Davis basket was scary easy

3:31 – Davis just took a knee to the skull or neck.  If he misses some time in this game the Kentucky defense might be a little more susceptible in the paint on both sides

3:33 – Next play:  Stringer takes it straight to the hoop.  Glad we’re on the same page.

3:35 – Momentum shift?  LSU down by 6 with 5 min left in the half

3:36 – Big steal by O’Bryant and huge shot by Turner.  O’Bryant is a difference-maker and is playing well today minus a few missed put-backs.

3:39 – Two more big baskets by O’Bryant but Kentucky is just coming right back and hitting 3′s at will.  It’s going to take a flawless 2nd half to beat this team.  Davis is about to check back in (in obvious pain).  Pretty big indication of how much Kentucky needs him.

3:41 – Davis comes back in and absolutely destroys O’Bryant.

3:47 – Halftime.  35-26 Kentucky.  LSU did a nice job coming back, but it was with Anthony Davis off the floor and once he came back on Kentucky pushed the lead from 1 to 9.  He’s a major difference maker because he’s such a disruption inside.  He’s long and has so much range.  I still think he’s a mystery on offense and very raw, but he’s obviously a major talent.

4:06 – Terrance Jones has been the best offensive player on the court so far.  He can do a little bit of everything and just had a really nice block-layup combo.  Justin Hamilton has been very productive for LSU so far this season, but he’s very limited as far as athletic ability goes.  That was an easy layup that he just got overmatched with by Jones.

4:10 – I’ve noticed this in other games as well, but Hamilton has really terrible hands.  Balls constantly bounce off of him on rebound attempts.

4:12 – Davis just had a nice layup, a smooth jumper and a steal in a matter of a minute.  There’s the offensive game that we’ve been questioning.  If this kid has a consistent jump shot then he’ll be a lock to go #1 in the draft.

4:18 – Malcolm White just ejected.  Since when was tackling a guy in midair in the middle of a dunk against the rules?

4:22 – Even as a freshman Johnny O’Bryant is head and shoulders above anyone else on the LSU team

4:30 – Looks like this one is over.  62-35 with 10:00 left.  I’m out.

The fan base has one thing to blame for it’s new-found depression:  expectations.  Expectations are a natural part of society.  If you read all positive reviews of a movie, you go see the movie expecting it to be good.  If your friend tells you to go to a restaurant because the food it amazing, then it better be amazing when you get there.  The same thing applies to football.  If you’ve got a football team that has the media hyping that a championship is almost a given, then your team better win a championship.  If you’ve got an offense that people are calling ‘the best ever’ or ‘unstoppable’ then you better go out and play like you were unstoppable.  For LSU and Saints fans, the expectations were a championship.  These are two teams that have been building up to this point for quite some time.  Both have reached the level of being expected to win week in and week out.  For all their flaws, and believe me both teams have several, this was a championship-or-bust season.

So let’s step back and take a look at these two seasons.  LSU survived what was arguably the toughest regular season schedule of all time unscathed, including wins against the Rose Bowl champion, Orange Bowl champion, BCS champion, and I’ll even throw in the Cotton Bowl champion.  We produced a Heisman finalist, a Thrope award winner and a Coach of the Year.  Shouldn’t that be enough to satisfy a fan base?  Teams like Mississippi State and Kentucky would kill for that kind of season.  Then again, those two teams have no expectations.  The Saints cruised their way through the end of the regular season with Drew Brees breaking endless passing records and the offense as a whole looking unstoppable.  They opened the playoffs with a blowout win at home, but got unlucky having to travel out West to play the one type of team that would give them trouble.  Despite turning over the ball five times, the Saints were still winning the game with 1:30 remaining.  Shouldn’t a record-breaking season and a playoff win be enough to satisfy Saints fans?  I know the Browns or Bills would love to have a season like that.  Once again, no expectations.

To those who think that they’ve learned from their mistake and will be more open-minded about their teams, you might want to take a step back and see what’s in store for next season.  LSU returns the core of their team, including their stable of running backs and several playmakers on defense.  The schedule looks to be a breeze up until Alabama.  On top of that, Zach Mettenberger will bring a competant passing attack to the mix.  This is a preseason #1 team in my opinion.  The Saints will be in a very intriguing situation.  Their main goal will without a doubt be to become the first team to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium.  The offense will be strong and there should be a new defensive coordinator to shape up that side of the ball.  Do you think Saints fans will accept a playoff loss with all of that on the line?

This is what football in Louisiana has become.  Remember the mid 90′s where we’d be happy as fans to finish at .500 and watching guys like Kevin Faulk and Ricky Williams play were enough to get us excited?  Those days are long gone.  Who cares if Mathieu was a Heisman finalist?  So what if Drew Brees is breaking passing records?  It’s championship-or-bust for Louisiana football, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Quarterback:

Drew Brees – 440-662, 5087 yards, 41 tds, 13 ints

Aaron Rodgers – 343-502, 4643 yards, 45 tds, 6 ints

This particular comparison comes down to volume.  Sean Payton’s offense is about as pass-heavy as you can get, with Brees attempting a whopping 160 more passes than Rodgers.  The Packers have been more efficient and quick-strike in their passing game, with 9.2 y/a compared to 8.2 y/a for the Saints.  Both of these quarterbacks have had historical seasons;  Brees just broke Dan Marino’s 27 year old record for passing yards in a season, and Rodgers posting a staggering 45/6 td/int ratio.  One thing that sets Rodgers apart from Brees is his scrambling ability.  Rodgers has 257 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns compared to 81 yards and 1 touchdown for Brees.

Offensive Line:

This is one area of weakness for the Packers.  Rodgers has been sacked 36 times, 3rd most in the NFC.  This statistic often gets forgotten because the Packers’ offense is so otherwise dangerous.  Rodgers has such great pocket awareness and quick of a release that his ability makes up for the deficiencies on the line.  In contrast, Brees has been sacked 24 times, a stat made more impressive considering he leads in NFL in passing attempts.  Some of this can be contributed to the nature of the Saints’ offense.  Payton utilizes a multitude of screen passes, check downs and short slants/hooks to the receivers.  Instead of using the run to set up the pass, Payton often uses the short passing game instead.  This obviously greatly reduces the number of sacks/passing attempt.

Running Backs:

Big advantage to the Saints in this category.  New Orleans is 6th in the NFC in rushing, averaging 127.9 yards per game.  Green Bay is 4th to last in the NFC, averaging a measly 98.5 yards per game.  The Saints have rushed 396 times compared to 371 for the Packers.  This brings us back to an earlier point:  looking at both the passing and rushing attempts, the Saints have 1058 total offensive plays compared to 873 for the Packers.  Oddly enough, time of possession is very close at 31:48-30:24 in favor of the Saints.  So what is to be made of this?  It seems to me that the Packers like to use as much of the play clock as possible, which attributes to their time of possession, but also scores in far fewer plays/possession than the Saints.  Back to the rushing game, the Saints have three backs with over 400 yards rushing (Sproles-563, Thomas-532 and Ingram-474).  The Packers have two 500 yards backs in Starks (578) and Grant (511).  As I mentioned earlier, the Saints love to get their backs involved in the passing game and run the screen pass with Sproles and Thomas better than anyone in the league.

Wide Receivers: 

Both offenses love to spread the ball around.  Jordy Nelson, Marques Colston, and Greg Jennings are all in the top 10 in the NFC in receiving yards.  Nelson has been a revelation for Green Bay, catching 12 touchdowns and averaging 18.7 yards per catch.  Colston has had a bounce-back year and is back to being a top-tier NFL wideout.  The two teams have very solid secondary receivers in Robert Meachem and James Jones, both of whom might be #1 wide receivers on weaker teams. 

Tight Ends: 

Jimmy Graham and JerMichael Finley both came into the season with a ton of hype and expectations.  Graham has thrown those expectations out the window this season, posting a ridiculous line of 91 catches for 1213 yards and 10 touchdowns.  He has established himself as an elite tight end and Drew Brees’ #1 target.  He’s a matchup nightmare both in the red zone and in the middle of the field.  On the other side, Finley has been a bit of a disappointment.  His line of 48 catches for 703 yards and 7 touchdowns isn’t horrible, but for a guy as talented and dangerous Green Bay probably expected a little more.  Drops have been a major problem with Finley this season.  Defenses are keying on him when he lines up out wide, greatly reducing his targets.  That being said, if I’m a defensive coach I’m still terrified of his potential, especially in the red zone.  These are two great tight ends that factor in huge for the passing game.

So there’s a little breakdown of the offenses.  I, for one, hope and expect to see these two teams in Lambeau for the NFC Championship game.  A rematch (hate that word now) would be fitting, especially considering how great these offenses have been all season long and how close the game in September turned out.

-Kerr made a good point about the addition of Chandler.  Obviously he’ll give the team a much-needed defensive presence inside, but he’ll certainly have a negative impact on Amar’e Stoudamire’s offensive game.  With Chandler clogging up the middle, Stoudamire will be forced to settle for a lot more jumpers.  Might be for the best since his weak knees are going to struggle making it through the brutal schedule.  Chandler looks dominant under the basket and should block a ton of shots this season.

-Rondo and Bass are carrying the Celtics.  Rondo looks like the best player on the court, hitting a nice percentage of mid-range jumpers and creating chaos near the basket.  Bass is going to really help the Celtics with his versatility and the Garnett/O’Neal combo will be greatly appreciative of his minutes.

-The first game does look sloppy.  Lots of fouls, bad shots and a ton of technicals.  Should be a trend all day and throughout the next few weeks.

-Ray Allen is so much fun to watch.  He still has the perfect shot and looks invincible from behind the 3 point line no matter how many hands are in his face.

-Melo is taking over the 4th quarter, as the Knicks should expect from him.

Miami @ Dallas:

-Pretty sure Jason Kidd is earning Social Security checks

-Vince Carter sucks and Brendan Haywood is a huge step down from Chandler, although Odom is a nice plus.  Not sure if I’m high on the Mavericks this season.  Losing Chandler and having all those veterans age an extra year can’t be good.

-Juwan Howard would be a lot more productive if the NBA let him use his wheelchair.

-Norris Cole looks like he’s gonna be starting at PG for Miami in about a month, if not sooner.  Another playmaker on this team is a scary thought.

-Miami looks really dangerous on both sides.  They’re dominating this game so far.

-I just read that Brian Cardinal was the first NBA player to win Dad of the Year in his subdivision as well as YMCA Over-30 Men’s League MVP.

-Chris Bosh just tried to go straight to the basket and wound up looking ridiculous.  If only he still had the dreads and he’d pull off the complete JarJar act.

-Haven’t been watching the last few minutes and the Heat are still up by 25.  Expect the trend to continue

-Wow Mike Miller is hurt again?

-If the Heat do not win the title this year then fans in Miami are going to be very upset with management for giving Spolstra that big extension.  If this team is coached properly then they should win it all.

-Amazing play by Chalmers/James/Wade:  Chalmers got the deal, drove the court and attempted and alley-oop to James.  James saw the defense closing in and tipped the ball mid-air to Wade for a wide open put back.  Great instinctual basketball.

-Did I mention that Vince Carter is terrible?  Oh, I did?  OK well sorry for being redundant.

-This will arguably be the least interesting quarter in the NBA this season.

-Brian Cardinal air-balling a 3 reminds me of Sloth from Goonies trying to play basketball.

-They keep playing the LMFAO NBA commerical and I immediately want to see Sloane in every new movie/tv show that’s released.

Chicago @ LA Lakers

-Joakim Noah’s jumper looks very similar to my own.  In other words, it’s not pretty.

-Devin Ebanks is Trevor Ariza’s twin.  Apparently the Lakers decided that not only did they need a replacement for him, but they also needed to find an exact replica.  Ebanks is currently shutting down Rose btw.

-This Lakers team has a different feel to them.  Lots of new faces.  Coupled with the new coach it’s going to be interesting to see if they’re still one of the league’s elite teams.

-Picking up with 6 min left in the 4th quarter.  Lakers by 8.  Kobe looks strong with 24 points and Rose has hit 4-4 from 3 pt range.  Bulls shooting 18% from the field from the 2nd half.  The Lakers bench has played surprisingly well both shooting and on the boards.

-If the Bulls are going to be a contender this year, Rip has to turn the clock back about 3-4 years.

-That Rose reverse layup has become his trademark move.

-Lakers free throw shooting has been awful in the closing minutes.

-He might not be the high flying, drive to the basket player he was in the past, but Kobe can still hit a clutch jumper when you need him the most.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   -Luol Deng = early season favorite for NBA MVP?    

-THE MVP!!!!!          

-What a finish.  Deng had another huge play with a steal and Rose finished it off with an off balance, one handed floater against Gasol. 

Orlando @ OKC

-Scott Brooks looks like a wimpy Liam Neeson.  Taking a little break.  Be back for the premiere of Lob City.

LA Clippers @ Golden State

-My most anticipated game of the day.  Not only am I excited to see the new-look Clippers, but Golden State has a really fun starting five.

-Mark Jackson’s first order of business as Warriors coach:  bring Andris Beidrins back to life.

-The Clips 3 guard rotation of Paul, Billups and Mo Williams is about as good as it gets.

-Pretty entertaining but sloppy first half.  Monta Ellis is a great player to watch when he’s driving to the basket, but he puts up some ugly jumpers.  If the Warriors have learned to play a little defense they might be a playoff team.  DeAndre Jordan’s shot blocking skills are the complete polar opposite of his free throw shooting.

We have to begin by giving a quick recap of what went down.  As I wrote about last week, the proposed trade to send Paul to the Lakers was shot down by the league for “basketball reasons”.  The fallout from the failed deal led to the Hornets shifting their attention to the Clippers.  The league, acting of course as the owners of the Hornets, proposed a deal similar to the one above but also including Eric Bledsoe and not including the two 2nd round picks.  The Clippers made the next moves, rejecting the trade offer and signing Chauncey Billups to show that they were prepared to compete in 2011 with or without Paul.  After a couple days of negotiating, the league finally decided to back down from its inflated demands and agreed to the accepted deal.

The Clippers came out of the trade with a star PG and can immediately make the team a contender.  The thought of Paul tossing alley-oops to Griffin and Jordan must be making Clippers fans salivate.  The team did lose a budding star in Gordon, but even if the Hornets would have agreed on the trade without Gordon involved the Clippers would be unable to re-sign both Gordon and Paul.  Kaman’s contract was a nice piece but if they were going to use it anyway then why not use it on the best point guard in the league?

The Hornets, on the other hand, find themselves in a very complicated situation, but made out the best they possibly could considering the circumstances.

This whole process has been a complete nightmare for Hornets’ upper management.  Stern and his deputies effectively took all control of the team away from GM Dell Demps after hearing complaints from the other league owners regarding the failed Lakers trade.  Demps did his best to prepare for this situation last season and had a plan in mind for what to do with Paul and the future of the team.  It will be interesting if we ever hear his reaction to the trade and whether or not he ever had any say-so in the deal.  Luckily for Demps, popular belief is that a new owner and lease are lined up and ready to be ushered in sometime in the near future.  The quicker the league hands over control of the team back to Demps, the better off everyone will be.

Regarding the trade itself, although the Hornets certainly made out great, there are some question marks regarding the team.  Eric Gordon is a great young player and could put up 25 points per night for this team.  However, he does come with some baggage.  Gordon played in 62 and 56 games the last two seasons and is starting to be placed with that nasty ‘injury-prone’ label.  Luckily, the injuries have all been of the random variety and not one specific thing.  Gordon is also an unrestricted free agent after the 2012 season, so the Hornets will have to make sure to convince him to extend sometime during the next two years.  Kaman is a quality big man who can really help the team, but pairing him with Okafor down low creates a big of a problem because neither are considered power forwards.  My thinking is that Kaman’s expiring contract is shipped off sometime before the deadline for another batch of young talent/draft picks.  I haven’t spoken much about Aminu because he’s such a raw talent.  He’s one of those uber-athletic wings who hasn’t learned to hit the side of a barn with his shot.  Monty Williams did a great job of coaching up a mediocre group of players last year, and if he can do it again without a full season of Chris Paul I’ll be very impresssed.

Alright, enough of the negative.  Eric Gordon is a stud and there is a good possibility that both the Minnesota pick and our own could be lottery picks in what is arguably the best draft in a long time.  These three players along with whatever we get out of Kaman or Okafor will be the foundation of the Hornets for years to come.  Now that this whole fiasco has finally come to an end, Demps can finally go out and grab some remaining free agents to fill out the roster.  Carl Landry at a reasonable price would be a very nice person to have this season.  A backup point guard would also help out a lot.  I wouldn’t expect a whole lot out of the Hornets this season, but with two talented young players on the way next season things could start to get a lot more exciting.

Hornets fans have their fingers crossed for Minnesota to pack the lottery with ping pong balls

I personally think that with new ownership on the way, the end of the Chris Paul era and the beginning of the youth movement for the team, now would be the perfect time for New Orleans to brand the team.  Everyone knows that the Hornets is a horrible name for this basketball team.  When I hear the name all I can think about as Charlotte.  A new identity to go along with a new team would go a long way to increase the interest in New Orleans basketball.  I’m picturing a black and gold theme and a rebirth of the old hockey team name:  the New Orleans Brass.  Of course, however, I’m open to suggestions.

-  Due to Paul’s unwillingness to sign an extention with Golden State or the Clippers, the pipe dream scenarios of the Hornets bringing in Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon or Minnesota’s 1st round pick in 2012 were impossible to pull off.  Instead, the best offer that we were hearing about to either of those two teams was Paul for Bledsoe, Al Aminu and Mo Williams.  That’s a garbage trade and Demps was wise to cut off talks with those two frontrunners.

-  My first reaction to the trade was “Why are we trading for two over-the-hill bigs when we’re in rebuilding mode?”.  These feelings subsided once the third team was brought into the discussion.  So for those who were in a coma yesterday, the Hornets agreed to send Paul to the Lakers for Gasol and Odom.  They also agreed to send Gasol to the Rockets for Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and a 1st round pick in 2012.  Martin is a free shooter and the scorer at the 2 that the Hornets have been missing.  Scola is an underrated asset under the basket and a steady 18-8-50% performer.  Dragic would have immediately been in line to compete for the starting PG position with Jack.  The pick was from the Knicks and would’ve given us 2 1st rounders in a stacked draft.

-  The rumors surrounding the trade were the most interesting part.  Reports had the Hornets sending Okafor to the Lakers to complete the trade, which would have shed us of his ridiculous contract.  Lamar Odom was already complaining about being a Hornet, and odds are he would have never stepped foot on the court in a Hornets’ uniform.  The big rumor going around was sending Odom and Ariza to the Sixers for Andre Iguodala, a player who would work perfectly with a big time scorer like Martin.  David West is still floating around as a sign-and-trade candidate.  Free agency just kicked off today.  Moral of the story is that Demps was not finished and he had a plan in mind to make the most of what could’ve been an awful situation.

-  Unfortunately, we might not get to see the new-look Hornets.  Big time owners like Mark Cuban and Dan Gilbert urged Stern to not allow the trade, basically saying that it was ‘unfair’ to the rest of the league.  Let’s look at the trade for a minute:  Chris Paul swapped in a deal involving 4 All-Star caliber players.  It’s not like we accepted the Clippers’ shitty offer.  We got 3 quality players and the Lakers got a superstar point guard and depleted their front court in the process.  What justification does Stern have to kill this trade if the numbers work? 

-  There’s going to be some serious discussion going on throughout the league regarding the legitimacy of this decision.  The players already want Stern’s head on a platter.  This is exactly what the league did not need on the eve of the return of basketball.  I’m hoping the trade gets allowed.  We all know Paul is gone after this year and this is probably the best return we’ll get out of him.  In addition, I’m also really excited to see what Demps is going to pull off next.  The NBA is back, and for better or worse we’re going to have a  fun two weeks of mass chaos.

REASON A: ALABAMA IS NOT EVEN A DIVISION CHAMPION LET ALONE A CONFERENCE CHAMPION

I say this knowing full well that being a conference champ is not a requirement of the BCS, but logic states that if the national championship is meant to signify the best team in the entire sport, then the team that wins it shouldn’t be third best qualifier from its own conference. I truly believe that if LSU can’t beat Georgia this weekend, then they don’t deserve to hoist the crystal ball either. Everyone who wants to make the NFL, MLB, NBA, or any other sport wild card argument can save their breath. College football is a different animal, and it always has been. Two teams are anointed to play for the title, and not a field of playoff contenders. This has always made the college football regular season eminently important as any loss can, and usually does, end a team’s title hopes. There have been plenty of seasons where one conference loss has relegated LSU to miss out on Atlanta, but every SEC team’s mantra is always the same to start the season: Atlanta first, then the national title. No Atlanta should always mean no national title.

REASON B: LSU ALREADY BEAT BAMA . . . IN TUSCALOOSA

This is the one that really should send all those farmers back home crying to their wife/sister. You had your chance, in your home stadium where you “never lose” (except the past two times when it mattered), to beat LSU and you failed epically. “But we would’ve won handily if we didn’t miss 4 FGs and Eric Reid wasn’t so good that he out jumped and out fought a guy 7 inches taller and 60 pounds heavier.” Yeah well if Auburn didn’t graciously reroof the Cecil Newton Baptist Revival Church of Buttfuck, AL they wouldn’t have a national title, but they did, so welcome to reality. The fact that I could smell your kicker’s fear from 400 miles away, and the only sound louder than 100,000 people exhaling in agony every time he missed a kick was the sound of his asshole clenching out of dread for the next kick he knew he was going to shank. Maybe Golden Boy should spend some of his time either recruiting or coaching up special teamers, like the “Doofus” Les Miles. Les, unlike coaching Adonis Nick Saban, understands that special teams is a huge phase of the game and has consistently put top units on the field during his time with the Tigers. The bottom line is the Crimson Tide had every advantage in the first meeting, and still couldn’t get it done. What about that choke job screams that they should get another shot? Talent does not always merit opportunity in sports. If that were the case LeBron James would have 6 titles, the Chargers would win the Superbowl, and Alabama would legitimately have the 22 (or however many) national titles they claim to have. It sucks that you may be the second best team and not get to play for the title. Next time I suggest not shitting the bed in a big home game.

REASON C: IS ALABAMA REALLY THAT MUCH BETTER THAN OKLAHOMA STATE?

Iowa State is not good. However, is it the worst thing in the world to lose in 2OT on the road one day after your entire school mourned the loss of two prominent athletic figures? Alabama’s loss is definitely to a much better team, but Oklahoma State’s loss produced a better circumstance. It did not eliminate them from winning their conference. Alabama has a magnificent defense, but the best of all time, hardly. Alabama has played the murderers row schedule of North Texas, Kent St., and Penn St. all ranked 92^nd or lower in total offense (out of 120 teams). In fact Alabama’s average opponent ranked 90^th in offense, and Georgia Southern (who is an FCS team and has no offensive ranking) racked up over 300 yards rushing on the Tide. When questioned after the game Bama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said when we scheduled Georgia Southern then didn’t run the triple option, and we couldn’t get out of the game now. Sounds like the guy running the most fearsome defensive unit of all time right? Alabama made no effort to test themselves outside of conference play, and for this reason they are going to be rewarded with a spot in the title game. Sounds backwards to me.

I think we need to let next weekend play out and if Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, or even Houston can finish out conference championship runs each should be given serious title game consideration. At least each of them will have proved it with results on the field rather than winning the battle of what-ifs and conjecture off of it.