Holmgren Report: Running Backs
January 18, 2010In Limbo: Cavaliers Trade Plans Still In Neutral…For Now
January 19, 2010While Weâre Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Mid-season grades take on the Cavaliers offense: “This has been an underachieving facet so far, not using [Shaquille]Â O’Neal enough and failing to develop a late game bedrock routine like their defense has done. When the Cavs have lost, it is rarely because they were dominated. It is often because their offense let them down with self-inflicted wounds, like lack of ball movement or high-volume turnovers.
The team has some of the best shooters and 3-pointer shooters in the league — they rank high in the league in both categories. But seeing the difference in their first-quarter execution and fourth-quarter execution is a referendum on their mental toughness so far. Grade: C+.” [Brian Windhorst]
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Great minds think alike: “The Browns had a rough year running the ball until the last three games of the season. Entering the season, it looked like the Browns might be able to squeeze one more productive year out of Jamal Lewis, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.” [No Logo Needed]
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Come to Ohio Shtate!! “It’s somewhat surprising to review the latest ESPNU 150 list and see none of the top 30 prospects headed to Big Ten teams. In fact, you need to scroll all the way to No. 42 to find a Big Ten commit (defensive end William Gholston, Michigan State). Last year’s recruiting wasn’t much different, as the Big Ten had only one top top 25 recruit (Ohio State RB Jaamal Berry) and three top 50 prospects — Berry, Ohio State LB Dorian Bell and Michigan DE/LB Craig Roh — in the ESPNU 150. The good news for the Big Ten is two top 10 prospects remain uncommitted, and both live in Big Ten territory. Linebacker Jordan Hicks (No. 4 overall) from West Chester, Ohio, is deciding between Ohio State, Florida and Texas. Ohio State is also in the mix for offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson from St. Paul, Minn. Henderson, ranked No. 8 in the ESPNU 150, also is considering Florida, USC, Notre Dame, Miami and Big Ten members Iowa and Minnesota.” [Adam Rittenberg/ESPN Big Ten]
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CC will always be an Indian: “Alex Rodriguez, Mariner? Surely you jest. Mark Teixeira, Ranger? Just a prelude to his real career. Manny Ramirez, Indian? Ancient history. The only people who will remember are the fans that watched that player break in, struggle, and finally show those first signs of greatness. And while only memories remain of CC Sabathia, Indian, those memories merit your fondness.” [Lets Go Tribe]
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And finally, Scout.com’s latest Mock Draft lands Cleveland Florida’s Joe Haden and Michigan’s Brandon Graham. [Scout.com]
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(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
47 Comments
Great draft if we get Graham and Haden IMO
Wow, Taylor Mays has fallen from top 5 to No. 17.
WE OBVIOUSLY CANNOT DRAFT BRANDON GRAHAM BECAUSE HE WENT TO MICHIGAN.
Best description of Vickers I’ve ever read from No Logo Needed: Plain and simple, if he wasn’t playing football he would be running into brick walls for the fun of it.
Yeah, looks like we did our running back review at the same time. We liked yours better. *hangs head in shame*
To clarify for MrCleveland, Mays could drop farther. His season was not well received with many comparisons now coming up likening him to Roy Williams. The man can hit, but can’t cover squat.
For any who care I do Mocks on a regular basis, here is my latest update.
http://draftdebacled.com/publisheddraft.aspx?mdid=4971
Martinez is the only guy in my lifetime that will always be an Indian.
I’d be happy if this mock draft came to fruition especially since Jimmy Clausen is off the board before we pick that way we can’t even be tempted to wasting a pick on him.
Just say NO to ND QBs. We already have 1 overrated ND QB, we don’t need another one.
ditto #1 – landing haden and graham would be great. graham is a man-beast. and yes im biased.
nullster – love the new logo. don’t give up the sip!
@5
Very interesting, Gonzo. Obviously, you’re going against the conventional wisdom on your No. 1 overall pick. Sounds pretty risky to me.
I could certainly live with your Browns picks, but again, you’re flouting the consensus mindset by predicting that he will still be there for us.
ESPN’s recruiting services are a joke. Seriously. They actually punish a kid’s rating for considering a Big Ten school. Obviously, if you don’t go to the SEC, then clearly you’re a sub par recruit. Whatever.
I recommend Scout.com’s Top 300: http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=4&pid=88&yr=2010
You’ll find a few Big Ten recruits in the top 30 there. Rittenberg’s point is still a fair one, the Big Ten is getting killed in recruiting this year even by Scout’s standards. Geography is becoming more and more of a factor for kids these days, and they all want to go where it’s warm. How many college football powers are in cold weather states? By my count, one. Ohio State. That’s it. Penn State is hanging by a thread, so maybe two. But Michigan and Notre Dame are getting destroyed because they can no longer recruit nationally, and they aren’t in states that produce high caliber local recruits.
“For any who care I do Mocks on a regular basis, here is my latest update.”
Nice avatar for LSWTF.
âFor any who care I do Mocks on a regular basis, here is my latest …â
Kevin, I can’t decide between a fat joke or a dumb joke boom roasted. Creed your teeth called your breath stinks. Boom roasted. Angela, where’s Angela. Whoa there you are I didn’t see you behind that grain of rice! Boom. Roasted! Stanley! You crush your wife during sex and your heart sucks. Boom roasted.
ND still recruits just as nationally as most programs. But the lack of the same quantity and quality of athletes in Indiana and the Chicagoland area has certainly hurt.
Notre Dame still TRIES to recruit nationally, yes. But they are nowhere near as successful at it as they used to be. For kids today, they don’t even remember Notre Dame being a relevant or important college football program. There’s no prestige for them beyond what the national media and their parents have told them. Combine that factor in with their admission standards and the weather factors, and Notre Dame has a steep uphill battle to overcome in recruiting. The good news for them is that Brian Kelly has a strong foothold in the midwest high school scene and will be able to start stealing recruits from OSU and PSU.
Who is CC Sabathia? Ohhh… he means C.C. Sabathia.
As a Michigan fan I’m biased, but Brandon Graham would be a great pickup. DE if we played a 4-3, and could definitely move outside as an OLB if we stay in the 3-4 (think of Woodley for the Steelers; I remember when they made that pick knowing exactly how well he’d fit into their system… sigh). While I can say that Cam Heyward was probably the best Big 10 D-lineman I saw this season, Graham was easily and deservedly in the conversation.
I’m not sure I would rate Heyward ahead of Graham. Cam was great last year, no doubt, but I never saw a D-Lineman dominate the line of scrimmage for a whole game the way Graham did against OSU.
ND 2013 Recruiting Class by state:
PA: 1
TN: 1
NJ: 3
FL: 3
IN: 2
CA: 2
OH: 1
CT: 1
TX: 1
HI: 2
IL: 1
Compared to OSU’s 2013 Recruiting Class by state:
OH: 14
TX: 1
FL: 3
PA: 3
MD: 1
MI: 2
KY: 1
I don’t know about you, but one certainly looks more national than the other. People let their dislike of ND cloud their judgment on, oh, everything.
I guess I would give Heyward the nod personally because he had the power to get inside and enough speed to move laterally and make plays on QBs/RBs (I remember one play specifically from the Rose Bowl in which is looked like Massolli was not expecting him to be that fast). I love Graham’s speed, but don’t think he is as much the total package as was Heyward.
Or, maybe I’m trying to Jedi Mind Trick all of the OSU fans here. These are not the droids you’re looking for.
“National recruiting by state” isn’t really a true measure of “Good recruiting in the football hotbeds around the country” in my opinion. Getting players from a bunch more states may look more “national” on a map, but if those players aren’t as good as the ones OSU is getting from fewer states it doesn’t really strengthen your program.
I think the implication of “national” recruiting in this context is getting the GOOD players from the GOOD football states, and you can’t actually argue that ND is still doing that. Claussen’s about the only player that was a national recruit in that sense that they landed under Weis.
I mean, those two players from Hawaii are probably studs and all…
Good god, enough with the ND crying. You ALWAYS project your inferiority complex about Notre Dame on everything people say.
I never said OSU was a national recruiting program. OSU’s success is because Ohio happens to be a great high school football state, and OSU keeps most of those kids in state.
Seriously, go back and read what I wrote. Read it again. And again. I never said anything about OSU being a national recruiting power. For years Notre Dame was a national recruiting power, pulling in the best kids from all over this country. They don’t anymore. Yeah, sure, they get kids from different states, but not the cream of the crop anymore. There’s no denying that fact. Notre Dame does not recruit as well as they once did. And that was my only point.
Now, before you twist more of what I said, please read this several times before posting. Stop making assumptions about my beliefs on Notre Dame. This isn’t the first time you’ve done this, and it’s getting annoying.
Was that sarcasm? Manti Te’o IS an absolute stud. If it wasn’t sarcasm, it’s just people talking out of their asses some more b/c they don’t like ND. Which is fine. It happens.
And, if we were talking about “Good Recruiting in the football hotbeds around the country” then I could break that down for you guys as well. But it takes more effort, and this isn’t an ND blog, so I won’t.
It’d be foolish for anyone to try to compare ND to Fla, USC, or any SEC school right now. It just isn’t the case. But to make a blanket statement like “ND doesn’t recruit nationally,” is both entirely incorrect and a byproduct of Pat Forde-esque ND hate.
Thank you, DP. OSU has tried to increase their recruiting presence in Florida over the last 5 years, to varying levels of success. But still, few people who follow recruiting would call OSU a real national recruiting power on the level of schools like USC, Florida, LSU, and in recent years, Alabama.
“a byproduct of Pat Forde-esque ND hate.”
Wow. Seriously, stop it. You have no idea what my feelings/beliefs about Notre Dame are. You are making blanket assumptions.
And before andrew cries about it, I was responding to DP.
Too late.
Nope, ND just recruits smart kids only. That’s the sole cause of their lack of on-field production. IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT YOU CANNOT BEAT SC WITH LESSER TALENT, ESPECIALLY “SMART” ATHLETES.
OK I’m done needling now. đ
Am I the only one who thought that Graham played poorly in the OSU game? I seem to remember him running himself out of position quite a bit. I remember I wasn’t very impressed with his play that day.
One question about ND’s national recruiting: if it’s so good, why can’t they win more than 6 or 7 games EVERY YEAR?
How can you say your response was to DP when you directly quoted me in it? So who were you quoting then, if that wasn’t about me?
Its done man.
DP: I don’t think I said it was “so good.” In fact, I actually said, “Itâd be foolish for anyone to try to compare ND to Fla, USC, or any SEC school right now. It just isnât the case.”
Notre Dame’s recruiting ranks:
2010: 20
2009: 23
2008: 2
2007: 11
2006: 5
2005: outside top 25
2004: outside top 25
2003: 5
2002: 13
So, three top 10 classes in the last 9 years. I stand corrected, Notre Dame’s recruiting is right where it’s always been.
Presuming that’s sarcasm. But yeah, absent 1 really bad year under Ty and Charlie’s first class, we’re about 11-15th…which is about right.
Not the best. Not the worst.
DP: I donât think I said it was âso good.â In fact, I actually said, âItâd be foolish for anyone to try to compare ND to Fla, USC, or any SEC school right now. It just isnât the case.â
That’s fair, but then why are you arguing so vehemently about this perceived “ND hate” when it feels like we all agree on some levels that ND’s recruiting isn’t what it used to be?
Boredom at work? Needed a reason to get riled up about something?
WFNY theorem #1:
If there are a lot of comments on a team oriented post the comments are likely interesting.
If there are a lot of comments on a “while you’re waiting” post it likely involves a bitch fest.
I blame only myself, but I read all the comments here and now feel dumber. It’s like Lewis Black’s “If it weren’t for my horse…”
Swig: one of my favorite interwebz pictures.
“Even when you win an argument on the internet, you’re still a loser.”
Brandon Graham, McCluster and Mallett were all guys I liked this upcoming draft of course 1 of those was from Michigan and another transferred from that school. Taylor Mays slipping would help the Browns but I like Eric Berry. Regardless I say draft defense and start in the God awful secondary which is atrocious for the Browns. They need two safeties and at least a cornerback. After that get at least one linebacker the last place I’d waste picks on is the defensive line. There are alot of good free agents out there for DL.
Actually, this was a pretty normal discussion about recruiting until Ben threw out the “People let their dislike of ND cloud their judgment on, oh, everything.”
I’m sorry for being annoyed with people who don’t read what was actually written and instead just make assumptions based on their own agendas and attack me for something I never even said.
Cry moar?
Oh snap. Nice comeback.
Calm down dude, I thought we were over this.
@ Mr Cleveland way back a long time ago in the comments – based solely on the OSU game, Graham didn’t look GREAT great – but based on most of the season he’d be a solid round 2/3 type guy, I think.
That being said, OSU was the best team they played all year and if he didn’t stand out then, it doesn’t help his chances standing out on an NFL field.
I honestly think if the browns get 1 CB and 1 S itll early on (so they are starters) itd go a LONG way on this team. Mike Adams played really well down the stretch and I would be willing to let him and a rookie start at S with Adams and have Wright, rookie (Haden?), and McDonald as a nickel for the CBs. Then we can address RT, TE, LB/DL, and maybe QB(?).
o, a kinda dont make sense in the middle but i think you can decipher what i really meant.