Eli Manning's Mo-Cap Session from SNL: Next Steps (via EASPORTS)

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via i51.tinypic.com

What we have in this picture is Webster in coverage on Fitsgerald at the top of the screen with safety help over the top (off screen). The line backers are shifted to the bottom of the screen in a "under" formation. It's the job of the weakside DE to cover (or "contain") any runs to the outside. If the running back is allowed to turn the corner he's guaranteed a large gain as the deep safety is going to be the only defender in the neighborhood to stop him.

via i52.tinypic.com

Instead of containing the run, Osi tries to cut to the inside (red line) which is exactly what the LT wanted him to do. He should have taken the blue line route which would have forced wells to make a decision to try and outrun Osi by moving laterally instead of down the field (allowing the rest of the defense time to adjust) or cut back toward the center of the field toward the majority of our defense.

via i56.tinypic.com

The result is Wells getting to the corner instantaneously with only one player to beat.

Osi isn't a bad player. He's a great pass rusher but almost equally as bad against the run.

Tonight, at 6:15, FSU begins its ACC schedule against Clemson. Up to this point, the Seminoles have been fantastic on defense. They have arguably the best defensive player in the nation with Chris Singleton and he's set the pace for FSU's #1 Defense adjusted for opponents. Despite being possibly the best defensive team that I've ever witnessed, FSU has failed to win any of their games against legitimate opponents. The reason for this is their inability to do essentially anything on offense.  Coach Leonard Hamilton runs an offense that is similar to what many amateur basketball players run during pickup games.  It's simple to teach, slows the game down, and lacks any intricacies. This isn't something that should occur at any Division 1 basketball school, let alone a team in a major basketball conference. 

The Seminoles have a major issue that all fans should begin to worry about, their schedule. While FSU is fortunate that the ACC is having a down year (the path is wide open for the spot behind Duke as the #2 team in the ACC), the lack of available quality wins is going to hurt FSU for their post season goals.  It is possible that FSU only faces one ranked opponent for the rest of the year (Duke). Fans need to hope other ACC teams begin to distinguish themselves nationally so that FSU has the chance to build a resume. As things stand currently, without legitimate wins against top 25 opponents, FSU's post season run has ended before it even began.  FSU has to do well in the Diamond Head Classic during Christmas weekend. More Clemson after the jump.

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Well, now we have the first peek at the 2010-2011 version of the FSU basketball team against a worthy opponent.  The results? Very similar to last season to the dismay of FSU basketball fans and fans of competent offensive basketball alike.

Florida State fields a much more talented team than Florida but this team just isn't being developed properly on the offensive end. Prior to the game I stated that the keys to winning were simple, hold on to the ball and exploit the height mismatch. The Seminoles did neither.

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The Seminoles play their first "real" game of the season tonight at 7:45 when they take on the Florida Gators (4-1). UF's lone loss came against now #3 Ohio State. UF fans are somewhat uncertain about their chances to win tonight after struggling against Florida Atlantic and Morehead State.

UF has a very balanced offense with 4 of their starters averaging 10+ points per game. UF's leading scorer is 6'2 sophomore guard Kenny Boynton who provides 15.6 points per game. Boynton was easily UF's best player in their loss against Ohio State, with 21 points on 57.1% shooting and 5 of 8 from three point range.  Chandler Parsons fills the role of #2 scorer and senior leader with 13.2 points per game.

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FSU travels down to Miami tonight to take on the Florida International Panthers. FIU is best known for employing the former notorious New York Knicks general manager Isiah Thomas as head coach. Thomas did a pretty horrible job coaching FIU last year, leading them to a 7-25 record.  With FIU's roster essentially mirroring the one from last year it's hard to expect anything but a win from the Seminoles tonight.  Look for Coach Hamilton to continue messing around with different lineups and rotations in their fourth "glorified scrimmage" in as many games.

Singleton must continue to stuff the stat sheet with gaudy numbers in order to push his way into ACC Player of the Year consideration. Hopefully, these practice games give him enough confidence in his role as a primary offensive option. If he can keep up this type of play, look for him to climb into the top 10 of an incredibly weak draft class.

Our first test of the season is still 10 days away against UF. Though UF is extremely highly rated in the AP poll (#9 overall), the computer rankings place them at  #23. After witnessing their second half dismantling against Ohio State (They were outscored by 21 in the second half at home) I'd have to side with the computers.  Despite their struggles, they still pose a considerable threat especially considering how badly they beat FSU last year.

FSU (2-0) takes on Gardner-Webb (2-0) tonight at 7:00pm. This is the second home game for the Seminoles who are coming off a convincing win against UNC Greensboro. Last game was a bounce back game for both Michael Snaer and Chris Singleton. Snaer managed to replicate his defensive intensity on the offensive end with 16 points on only 9 shot attempts and Singleton earned a triple-double with 22 points 11 rebounds 10 steals to go along with 4 blocks and 6 assists. FSU needs both Singleton and Snaer to have great years in order to meet the expectations placed on this season.


Gardner-Webb went 8-21 last year after starting 3-0. I don't expect this to be much of a game as their talent level and height is comparable to both teams FSU has already faced this year. Gardner-Webb counts on SG Jonathan Moore and SF Stefon Johnson for the majority of their scoring. FSU's defense should be able to shut them down.

Even if FSU struggles to put Gardner-Webb away early remember that these games are essentially scrimmages and the coaches treat them that way. Any success or failure can not be projected on the rest of the year. Its about two weeks before the first "real" game begins, Sunday Nov 28th against #9 UF.

I hate these warm-up games. I hate them because you really can't take any information from the game and reactions always favor neutral to negative opinions. If you win by 60 its because of the talent gap and the team was expected to perform this way. If you win by a small margin (or, god forbid, lose) the doomsday crowd comes out of the shadows to proclaim the early death of the season. Performance in these games can not be extrapolated to future games. Keep this in mind when reading this review.

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Basketball is generally played with a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and Center. Roles are well defined with the point guard facilitating the offense, the shooting guard and small forward as primary perimeter scorers, and the power forward and center are the interior muscle, controlling the paint and trying to dominate the offensive and defensive glass. Traditionally, these lineups are centered around slow half court power games that rely on slow "skyscraper-esque" big men clogging the paint. Modern basketball, however, is moving away from this philosophy. Professional and college basketball lineups are revolving their lineups around "hybrid players" and changing their offense to a more spread out style.

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This event was more about the fans than the players. Nothing that happened during this event can really be used to predict anything from the upcoming season. Loucks won the three point contest again. Dulkys won the dunk contest again. Miller looked extremely athletic, scoring 7 points in the first two or three minutes of the scrimmage. Kreft looked very good. He had a 360 dunk in the dunk contest.

The most important knowledge I gained is that our Basketball team is filled with good people. All of them seemed genuine and thanked every person that approached them for coming to the event.

I have some pictures and video's after the jump. I borrowed my sisters camera and maxed out the memory but only a few pictures are worth posting. Oh and FYI, Miller is #30, Okaro White is #10, Kreft is #50, and there are multiple players wearing #33.

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I initially set out to develop an introduction to my "Jam with Coach Ham" review. It turned into this massive 1500 word monster that I thought needed it's own fanpost.

Its that time of the year again. In a little less than a month we'll be cheering the Garnet and Gold on both the gridiron and the hardwood. We'll be singing the fight song after touchdowns and big time three pointers. For the first time in what seems like forever, both the basketball and the football teams are poised for legitimate post season appearances. No longer is basketball season used as a psychological coping mechanism to get our minds off of another disappointing football season. This time it's icing on the cake.

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http://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/25603869130

He's 6'8 between 210-235 3* at Scout, Not Ranked at Rivals

 Braeden is the definition of a forward. Number one, he has the power and two; he possesses the rest of the skills needed at that position. They are not yet fully polished, but nevertheless he has them. He could play you with his back to the basket or he could face-up and knock down the elbow jumper. He will need to develop more consistency in his perimeter game however.

 Over the past year he has seen a wealth of progression both physically as well as in his skills. In the 08-09 high school season he proved it by posting averages of 19 and 11. He credits club coach John Hegwood for his development. “Ever since I started working with my current coach John Hegwood, (drafted to the Clippers in 82’) he has helped me develop and expand all parts of my game.”

 What was once a 6’6 center is now developed into a versatile 6’8 forward, continuously improving. “Rather than playing down low, I am now able to move around on the floor as I have developed a very effective jump shot and modest ball handling skills,” said Anderson confidently.

 As for the intangibles, Braeden refuses to give up on plays and is not afraid to scrap for those loose balls. “I get down and dirty, I dive for the loose balls, and I’m not afraid to run the floor and get easy dunks. If a shot goes up in my area, I’m trying to either block the shot, or I’m going to fight the whole team if I have to, to get the rebound.”

http://crownmagonline.com/recruiting/buzz/braeden-anderson-strictly-business/

After the Oklahoma game it was tough to really gauge the identity of our team. With a defense that was reminiscent of the 2009 season and an offense that regressed to Wake 2008 levels, our fan base had no idea what to expect from this BYU game.

Though the offense struggled in the first half, it put together 428 yards, 6.6 ypp, and 34 points. If we had better decision making in the first half (Ponder wanted to pull up and run too often. Was this a call he made on the field? Was this part of the game plan due to the success he had last season?) and if Bert Reed's fumble fell out of bounds this could have easily been a 45-50+ point performance.

It was encouraging that the defense corrected many of the mistakes that plagued them during the OU game. There was a lot of QB pressure from our front 4, the corners and safetys never gave up big plays and tackled a lot better, and we anticipated the no-huddle a lot better and lined up correctly.

What can we take away from this game?

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I can't believe he chose to enter after his draft stock has slipped so far in the last few weeks. This draft is extremely PF and C heavy. Even if he didn't improve his stock at all next year he would probably get drafted higher based on team need vs positional competition. Most draft sites have him dropping to around 19-22. I can't imagine any team drafting him over Larry Sanders or Daniel Orton. Projects like Kevin Seraphin might also prove to be a better prospect than Alabi

While Alabi is a talented prospect, I think his absence benefits FSU basketball. Although I don't have the numbers, I'm sure that Gibson (assuming he starts) is a whole lot faster than Alabi (who was one of the slowest prospects at the draft combine).  This should allow us to "get out and run" more. Our athleticism is only an advantage when we're allowed to use it.

The offense needs to be centered around Singleton and Snaer now (as well as some of the first year players if they prove worthy).

I'm going to be optimistic and predict, at the very least, our team is going to be a lot of fun to watch this year.

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

Solomon Alabi has to be the most frustrating player for FSU fans this season. This frustration stems from inconsistent play, a perceived lack of effort during stretches, and a failure to meet overall expectations. Prior to this season, Solomon Alabi was expected to impact games both on the offensive and defensive end of the floor. He was supposed to set the tone early and force teams to adjust their style of play to account for his size and ability. While he has met many of these expectations on the defensive end, his offense has been very up and down during the season. This inconsistency has left Florida State fans wondering which Solomon Alabi will show up not game to game, but quarter to quarter.

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I didn't get to watch tonights game against UF because i was driving back to Orlando for thanksgiving but I was fortunate to be able to listen to it on the radio.

(due to this please feel free to correct or amend anything that is incorrect)

What I got from the game was that UF used a relentless press and forced a massive amount of turnovers in the first half. We then buckled under pressure and couldn't figure out how to score. We woke up at halftime and cut the lead to five before losing all momentum and allowing the lead to jump to 20+ again.

There's tons of time to dissect all the negatives so lets look at the positives.

This outcome wasn't unexpected. I knew eventually a team would punch us in the mouth early and our team would buckle under pressure. It was bound to happen, we're young we're inexperienced. Its actually good this happened early in the season before a more important ACC schedule.

Our team showed me something when they came out to play in the second half. Its easy for a group of guys to mail the second half in. For the first 10 minutes of the second half we fought back to make it a game again. We hustled and got rebounds.

Kitchen, the leader of the team, put it on his shoulders to bring us back.

The most important thing to realize is this is part of the growth process of the team. We're more talented than UF, they just played a smart basketball game. Don't get discouraged. The roles on this team are beginning to be defined. Our coaches now know what they have to work on.

Long term we're going to be ok.

Last night the Basketball team took to the court for the first organized practice of the 2009-2010 season. Member B-rod24 was in attendance. Continue reading after the jump for his observations and other thoughts on the first practice of the year.

Editor's Note: This was originally a FanPost that was moved to the front page. Thanks for the update B-rod.

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GIANTS' ALFORD TO HAVE SEASON-ENDING SURGERY (4:54 p.m. ET)
New York Giants backup defensive tackle Jay Alford will miss the season with a knee injury.

Coach Tom Coughlin said Friday that Alford was examined by doctors and they decided he needed surgery to repair two ligaments he tore in a preseason game against the Chicago Bears about two weeks ago.

Alford was having an excellent camp and would have likely gotten plenty of playing time behind starters Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins.

The injury also caused one other change. Alford was the snapper on extra points and field goals. Long snapper Zak DeOssie has taken over both jobs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp09/news/story?id=4446950