SB Nation User Blog: IrishGush

Alex Brown Stuffing The Run -- ESPN Proves It

IrishGush — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:16:50 -0000

Anyone who watched the key 4th-and-goal stop keyed by Alex Brown in the Bears-Eagles game is aware of how good Brown can be against the run. I've seen Brown be a major force agaisnt the run the entire year.

ESPN gave some empirical evidence to back up my anecdotal assumptions.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nflnation/0-3-225/Inside-the-number-of-Titans-Bears.html

Chicago's highly-ranked rushing defense stuffed the Titans backfield of LenDale White and Chris Johnson. Tennessee rushed for only 20 yards -0 one yard off the franchise low. The only direction the Titans found any "success" was to the right.

Titans running game by direction
Run over	Attempts	Yards
Left end	5	-7
Left tackle	6	-5
Left guard	1	-2
Middle	4	-1
Right guard	2	4
Right tackle	8	26
Right end	3	5

Overall, they had 11 runs for minus-12 yards to the left, seven runs up the middle for a total of one yard and 11 runs to the right for 31 yards.

While other factors could be at work -- where the linebackers and safeties play, for one -- the most consistent aspect of the defense is where the DL lines up. RE Alex Brown lined up against the left side the whole day, and helped keep the Titans in negative rushing yardage.

Now if he could only get to the passer with that dominance...

Andy Heck - How Good Is He?

IrishGush — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:11:39 -0000

First of all, good luck to you guys in your big game this Sunday.

I'm a big Notre Dame fan, and we're interested in replacing our OL coach. Sounds like Charlie Weis may be interested as well. Given that Andy Heck played at ND, has coached at the college level and is now coaching for a team running the ball very well, he's a likely target. I was wondering how good Jags fans think he is.

Some specific Q's I had: Is the running game largely because of the OL or your star running backs? What do you think Heck's impact has been? How well have they protected the QB - considering that Garrard is particularly mobile and Leftwich particularly immobile? Have they looked well-coached - fundamentally sound, without many penalties, not blowing assignments, improving over the year? How would you feel about losing Heck?

Thanks for your help. Any insight to a team I and other ND fans rarely see will be welcomed.

Will Kobe Be Available? (UPDATED)

IrishGush — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:15:59 -0000

[UPDATE: Kobe has 'demanded' a trade from the Lakers.]

I know that whole message boards have gone on tangents attempting to define a superstar, and I don't want that to happen here. I also don't want this discussion to get hijacked by the question of whether or not a team needs a superstar to win a championship. I believe that while the team needs a few upgrades, it is possible for them to win a championship or two, although I think you need a dominating offensive weapon to establish a dynasty. Still, no matter your position on that debate, all would be interested in acquiring a superstar- a top ten player, a dominating offensive/defensive force.

Kobe Bryant is obviously such a player. And he had interest, at one time, in coming to the Bulls (precisely in the one offseason when we stank where they didn't have the money to sign him without going over the cap.) And he is now disgruntled with the Lakers: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2884339.

Does this mean that LA is going to give him up, even for two of the Bulls core? No. Its doubtful that LA would ever consider trading Kobe, after shipping out Shaq and PJ to accommodate him and centering their marketing effort after him.

And Kobe is not likely to truly demand a trade. LA is assumed to hire West anyways, will probably try to trade some future for some present, although Jim Buss is still unwilling to relinquish Andrew Bynum.

But it is possible. If the Lakers aren't able to get a Kevin Garnett or Jermain O'Neal this offseason, and make only minor moves that prove ineffective, then Kobe is likely to want to get a move out. He knows his reputation as a ballhog, as a selfish brat who pushed out the player most likely to win him a title, and knows his time as a superstar is limited. While he will be 30 next year, this next year will be his 12th in the NBA's rigorous 82-game schedule, and he's played a lot of minutes with a lot of pressure on him. His insatiable competitiveness is unsatisfied with finishing in a six spot and losing to the Suns in 5.

I wouldn't even have suggested this had not Kobe been so enamored with the Bulls the first time around. He really seemed to appreciate Paxson and Skiles and desire to play in Chicago, where superstars are idolized. Maybe there's some MJ wannabe that factors in. But he did express that wish clearly, and now he is clearly expressing unhappiness in LA.

I have thrown in as many caveats as possible to make it clear that I DO NOT believe Kobe will ever play for Chicago. But I think it's possible, if the stars get together in the right way, if the Lakers manage to truly piss off Kobe and Kobe decides he MUST get out of town. So my questions for the public are twofold: First of all, what would you be willing to give up to reel in Kobe? Second of all, how do you think the Bulls would fare after having made such sacrifices? Be realistic in what they'd have to give up, even if Kobe was publicly eviscerating the Laker organization. And recognize that its not happening this offseason, so there are some variables which are unclear. But overall, I think it would be useful to consider what Kobe would be worth to our team and how our makeup would change, if only to get a better grasp of evaluating how much you value the current Bulls.

Tyrus Thomas - Present & Future

IrishGush — Thu, 17 May 2007 09:51:01 -0000

I think that most of us anticipated that Ty was not going to be a top rookie this year, but hoped that he would provide some athleticism and develop into a top player in the future. I was worried though, that often the athletic leapers who lack basic basketball skills when they are 20 lack those skills for the duration of their NBA career. With Matt leading the way, we've all been impressed by Ty's contributions - his defense, rebounding and his ability to dunk the alley-oop more than anyone I've seen. When Ty is out there, I often think, just throw it up there! Just loft it! And with Noce hobbled by his plantar fascitis and a natural lack of athleticism, Ty's been huge.

But I'm wondering how people see Ty fitting into the Bulls in their future plans - not as a trading chip, but as a part of their offense. Defensively, I think he'll be a smaller, slighter and slightly worse Ben Wallace - but not too much worse. His leaping ability is obvious, but he's surprised me with his steals and defensive IQ.

Yet assuming the Bulls stay with their core, how do you see Thomas fitting in with the offense? He's not going to be able to jump that high forever, and at some point teams will adjust. (I mean, NBA teams can design a defensive strategy to stop a team from throwing alley-oops all game. Right?) Plus, his jump shot is still in the developing stages. (Note: Has anyone seen him hit that jumper in the playoff? I don't remember 1 make.) He is a little shaky when putting the ball on the floor, and seems comfortable only when there's no one guarding him. Which happens often because he can't shoot, which will hopefully change.

What I'm really trying to do is find out whether people feel he can be their 4th offensive weapon. Right now, everyone's clamoring for a post-up threat. But can we survive with an athletic offensive threat? He doesn't have to be the focal point of the offense, but he does need a clear role. If he doesn't have one or doesn't have the skills, then we need someone who can lessen the load for Hinrich, Gordon and Deng, and as much as Matt complains, we're gonna keep seeing Nocioni out there.

Griffin on Wade

IrishGush — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:29:11 -0000

According to Magic scout Charles Klask,
in Games 1 & 2 Dallas and Griffin in particular really defended Wade well.
When Dallas defended Wade in half-court with man to man defense in Game 2:

Defender % Time Pts Allowed % Points
Griffin 40.6%     1     6.7%
Harris 33.4%     8     53.3%
Howard 26.0%     6     40.0%
Total     15

Wade also had 5 turnovers in the game.

It seems from this graphic that Griffin harassed Wade pretty well - especially considering this was a fully healthy Wade. I'm sure there are plenty of caveats, and obviously Game 3-6 is when Wade did his real damage. Wade is not the only one limping; Griffin is bothered with health issues as well. Plus, the Bulls have Hinrich and Sefolosha, both of whom have had some success (Hinrich has done this fro several years, Sefolosha one game, but I'm gonnna give Sefolosha a shot). So I'm not advocating that Skiles give Griffin starter's minutes. But possibly we can emulate what Dallas did: bombard him with different athletic and intelligent defenders, rotate them on Wade to give the defender a break and force Wade and the Heat to constantly adjust to different looks. There's no way Griffin stops Wade by himself, but a four-man combo of Hinrich, Sefolosha, Griffin and Duhon (in that order; I don't want Duhon getting too many minutes this game) could wear Wade down while keeping the Bulls defenders fresh throughout the game.