Empty the Bench

As has been the case all season, there is no shortage of strong tight end plays this week. Despite facing the surprisingly tough Broncos defense rankings stalwart Antonio Gates tops the list, but there are some other interesting choices inside the top-10. We’re going out on a limb with Greg Olsen against Atlanta this week. We still believe in the guy’s talent and Jay Cutler told the media he’s going to make a point of getting his buddy more involved going forward. Jermichael Finley also sneaks in at No. 9. He’s a freak athlete, he’s clearly getting more involved in the passing game and we think a matchup at home against Detroit could be his coming out party. 5 receptions, 60 yards and a TD sounds about right …

Other sneaky plays dominate the teens on this list. Viking Vinsanthe Shiancoe in The Dome against a mediocre Ravens pass defense. Marcedes Lewis’s matchup at home against the Rams is ideal, which means he’s got a good chance to keep the scoring streak on even-numbered weeks alive. Chris Cooley is also still a solid play, but I do think the loss of Chris Samuels will keep him on the line blocking more.

See also:
- Week 6 QB Ranks
- Week 6 RB Ranks
- Week 6 WR Ranks
- Week 6 DEF Ranks

1. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers vs. DEN
2. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons vs. CHI
3. Owen Daniels, Houston Texans @ CIN
4. Kellen Winslow, Tampa Bay Bucs vs. CAR
5. Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles @ OAK
6. Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. CLE
7. Greg Olsen, Chicago Bears @ ATL
8. John Carlson, Seattle Seahawks vs. ARZ
9. Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers vs. DET
10. Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints vs. NYG
11. Dustin Keller, New York Jets vs. BUF
12. Todd Heap, Baltimore Ravens @ MIN
13. Zach Miller, Oakland Raiders vs. PHI
14. Chris Cooley, Washington Redskins vs. KC
15. Visanthe Shiancoe, Minnesota Vikings vs. BAL
16. Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. STL
17. Bo Scaife, Tennessee Titans @ NE
18. Ben Watson, New England Patriots vs. TEN
19. Brandon Pettigrew, Detroit Lions @ GB
20. Randy McMichael, St. Louis Rams @ JAC
21. Tony Scheffler, Denver Broncos @ SD

Adrian Peterson slips to a season-low fourth in the rankings this week, but that doesn’t mean anybody should be sitting him unless they’re the proud owners of MJD, DeAngelo and Chris Johnson. Despite Cedric Benson snapping their incredible streak of preventing 100-yard rushers, the Ravens rush defense is formidable and the Vikings look to lean on the passing attack against Baltimore’s softer pass D.

That leaves the door open for Jones-Drew to claim top honors this week, and we fully expect the bowling ball of a man to go off. This is the week you’ve been waiting for, MJD owners.

Keep an eye on updates out of Pittsburgh, where we’ve cautiously ranked Rashard Mendenhall in the top-10 on the week. Mendy is battling the flu right now and Willie Parker is back to practicing fully. It’s a tasty matchup against the Browns, and Mendenhall is clearly the better back right now, but that flu bug combined with Mike Tomlin’s commitment to loyalty and honor means veteran Willie Parker could eat significantly into his carries.

Ahmad Bradshaw photo credit: Icon SMI

Brandon Jacobs is still ranked ahead of Ahmad Bradshaw against the surprisingly stout Saints defense, but all it will take is one more week of Bradshaw dominance and Jacobs mediocrity for those two to flip in the rankings going forward.

It was the Oakland defense that made the diminutive Bradshaw look so good last week, which has led us to aggressively rank LeSean McCoy at 21. He only saw one fewer touch than Brian Westbrook last week and we like his chances to get it going in the passing game and add a TD.

See also:
- Week 6 QB Ranks
- Week 6 WR Ranks
- Week 6 TE Ranks
- Week 6 DEF Ranks

1. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. STL
2. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers @ TB
3. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans @ NE
4. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings vs. BAL
5. Cedric Benson, Cincinatti Bengals vs. HOU
6. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons vs. CHI
7. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears @ ATL
8. Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams @ JAC
9. Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers vs. DET
10. Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. CLE (Check Status)
11. Brian Westbrook, Philadephia Eagles @ OAK
12. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens @ MIN
13. Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints vs. NYG
14. Steve Slaton, Houston Texans @ CIN
15. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants @ NO

Running back rankings 16 through 36, after the jump…

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- Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the Ineptitude Bowl is … The Buffalo Bills!

It looked like the Browns were going to pull this one out midway through the 4th, as Mangenius stood by the strict edict to his quarterback to not complete passes. Derek Anderson started the fourth quarter with a 4.9 QB Rating before going on an inadvertent tear to finish the game with a 15.1 QB Rating. In all, he went 2-for-17 for 23 yards, good for 1.4 yards per attempt. Yes, he completed two passes all day. Brass balls.

The move caught Dick Jauron (pictured right, in a fetching khaki pants-and-fishing hat ensemble) completely off guard, but never underestimate the capacity of a Jauron-led team to execute a late-game loss. The Bills upped the ante by punting 7 times (thrice in the fourth), throwing a pick, turning it over on downs twice and then, in a final stroke of genius, refusing to accept a punt with 3 minutes left. They just left it on the field, daring the Browns to reclaim it.

Smart losing football.

The win snapped an impressive 4-game losing streak for the Browns, but you better believe Mangini will have his squad ready to start another streak against the Steelers this Sunday. Speculation here is that Mangini and Anderson work on ways to take more sacks. You can’t complete passes you don’t throw.

Thank goodness they made that draft-pick trade with the Jets. This team has absolutely no use for a guy like Mark Sanchez.

Dick Jauron photo credit: Icon SMI

- So, the Bengals and their division-leading 4-1 record are a big storyline to this point in the season, but people are reluctant to jump on board, myself included. The story is not going to go away anytime soon though, as Cincinnati has three home games in a row coming up, have already swept the division and Carson Palmer hasn’t even gotten going yet – which he will.

- Speaking of unlikely division leaders, nobody saw the 5-0 Broncos coming. Nobody. I threw down on the Pats giving the Broncos 3.5 points and considered it a sure thing, so I should have learned my lesson, but I still don’t buy this team. I will say this, though. When you put your balls on the table like Josh McDaniels did this offseason, refusing to back down to your superstar young quarterback and receiver and coming out on top, well, you officially have the ears of every man in that locker room.

- Still, good God, what were the Broncos wearing on Sunday? 11 of those brown and yellow pant/sock combos running around the field at once was like something Willy Wonka would have conceived of in his darker moments. As Yahoo!’s Andy Behrens put it, “If we’ve exhausted all other throwback options, then let’s just please agree to dress our professional athletes as modern humans from now on … We’ll make every effort to warn you next time, and provide instructions for making a pinhole device for safe viewing. ”

- Taking the brown segue and running with it, James Brown‘s moustache looks like a caterpillar crawled onto his face and got sleepy halfway across. And I can’t stop staring at it whenever he’s on the screen.

- The NFL.com statistics are a little fuzzy on this, but it appears Brett Favre recorded his first reception since 1992 against the Rams. We knew the lil’ slugger could do it if he just hung in there long enough. That has to be some kind of record, right? Going 17 years between NFL receptions? The strike went for -2 yards, bringing the wideout up to -7 receiving yards in his illustrious career. We can excuse the modest production in the receiving game, because Favre completed 18 of his 24 pass attempts, and is on pace for a career-high in completion percentage (69.1%, third in the NFL) and QB Rating (104.1, fourth in the league) and a career-low in interceptions (2 on the season). Seems like he’s taking to the game manager role just fine.

- Continuing with the Vikes, Adrian Peterson is fine, but this offense is significantly more balanced than anybody anticipated and it’s sapping his fantasy value. He’s no longer required to live up to his All Day moniker. That doesn’t mean it’s time to sell though, his time will come.

Ten more quick slants heading into the NFL’s Week 6, after the jump …

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The Tennessee Titans pass defense finished in the NFL’s top-10 in passing yards allowed per (199.8) for the 2008 season. Through the team’s first five games in ’09, however, the results haven’t been so stellar, with that number ballooning nearly 100 yards per to 287.6: only the Arizona Cardinals have been worse. That’s right, even the Detroit Lions (244.6) are better at the moment.

That’s a bad sign for the winless Titans, who travel to New England in Week 6 to take on a Patriots team still smarting from their first-ever overtime loss with Tom Brady behind center, a 20-17 semi-shocker at the hands of the unbeaten Denver Broncos. Expect the Pats to come out firing early and often and look to run up the score—through the air—if they can. This should be the week Brady finally throws for 3+ TDs, which puts him in at #2 overall in our Week 6 QB Rankings.

See also:
- Week 6 RB Ranks
- Week 6 WR Ranks
- Week 6 TE Ranks
- Week 6 DEF Ranks

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers vs. DET
2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots vs. TEN
3. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles @ OAK
4. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints vs. NYG
5. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. CLE
6. Eli Manning, New York Giants @ NO
7. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals vs. HOU
8. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks vs. ARZ
9. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons vs. CHI
10. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens @ MIN
11. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans @ CIN
12. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers vs. DEN
13. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings vs. BAL
14. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals @ SEA
15. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears @ ATL
16. Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos @ SD
17. David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. STL
18. Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins vs. KC
19. Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs @ WSH
20. Mark Sanchez, New York Jets vs. BUF

By: Zachariah Blott

Most people were in agreement back in June that the 2009 NBA Draft was a relatively weak one that showcased only one great player. Someone forgot to tell DeJuan Blair that he wasn’t supposed to be the one.

With the preseason underway and rookies finally getting their feet wet against legitimate NBA talent (not the summer leaguers looking for contracts in Greece), Blair has blown the doors off all newcomers so far. Possibly the greatest rebounding force in college history, at least on the offensive glass, he came off the bench last Wednesday for his first preseason action as a Spur. Most rookies would get lost on the plays, revert to a signature move or skill to at least register a few points, turn the ball over too often, nearly foul out, and call it a learning experience. Blair is not most rookies.

He logged 22 minutes and did exactly what he did all through college: grabbed 19 rebounds (8 offensive!), chipped in 16 points while getting to the free throw line six times, committed just 1 foul, and had a third of his team’s steals (okay, 1 of their 3). With San Antonio taking a 99-85 beating, Blair posted a +3 point differential, the team’s second highest mark. I didn’t see the game, but I think he did a lot of this damage against Houston’s starters because four of them had negative point differentials and all their bench players were in the positive. The Heat clearly outclassed the Spurs on the scoreboard, but not for the almost half-a-game that Blair was on the court for.

For his second outing, Blair played 26 minutes, during which he put up an astounding 28 points against the Heat. He added (a personally measly) 4 rebounds—game-high 3 offensive—4 assists, 0 turnovers, 2 steals, and still only 1 personal foul. He put the team on his back and scored 15 of his points in the final 7 minutes to erase an 11-point, 4th quarter deficit on the way to a 95-93 win. He was +20, and the next closest Spur was at +10; Blair was THE reason San Antonio won this game.

DeJuan Blair Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Through two games, the big fella is averaging 22 pts, 11.5 rebs (5.5 offensive), 1.5 stls (something else he excelled at in college), and only 1 foul. All this in only 24 minutes. He’s making 61% of his shots (17-28) and he’s getting opponents into foul trouble (10-16 FT). For comparison, first-overall pick Blake Griffin has 23 points (9-17 for 53%) and 14 rebounds. Looks similar, except Griffin’s numbers are his totals through two games, not averages. Griffin also committed 5 fouls each outing. On the other side, the Clippers’ top pick has attempted only 6 free throws, so he’s definitely not playing more aggressively in a positive way for the Clippers than Blair is for the Spurs.

There is no question that Blair is by far the best rookie in the NBA right now. I’m not declaring him the Rookie of the Year or anything yet, but I think he’ll win it if he plays at least 20 minutes a night—that’s all he’ll need.

More on DeJuan Blair after the break…

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The 2009-10 NBA Season Blog Preview Series, annually hosted by our friends over at CelticsBlog, is already a quarter of the way through, and it’s again time for ETB to throw our lot in with some of the best NBA writers on the Web and put our collective heads together to break down the league one team after another. Links to all the previews will be posted by division over the next few weeks: here’s the West’s Southwest Division and East’s Atlantic.

Andrew is up next week with his look at America’s Team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. For now, lose yourself in the splendor that is the Detroit Pistons.

Last Year’s Record: 39-43, 8th seed

Key Losses: Aaron Afflalo, Michael Curry (head coach), Walter Herrmann, Allen Iverson, Amir Johnson, Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace

Key Additions: Austin Daye, Ben Gordon, Jonas Jerebko, John Kuester (head coach), DaJuan Summers, Charlie Villanueva, Ben Wallace, Deron Washington, Chris Wilcox

What significant moves were made in the offseason?

If the word “rebuild” only creeped into the team’s lexicon last season for the first time since the early 2000s, it was fully and finally realized in kind this summer. Following a disappointing and, arguably, mostly unwatchable season that essentially evaporated the moment Chauncey Billups was traded for Allen Iverson, GM Joe Dumars had no choice but to clean house, reshuffle the deck, and start from scratch.

Gone is head coach Michael Curry, who never won the confidence and trust of his veterans and toyed with the minutes of still-developing players like Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson. His rotations lacked direction and cohesion, his game-planning was shoddy at best, and his ability to make the right in-game adjustments–long a criticism of Flip Saunders, the man he replaced–was negligent. Few Pistons observers supported another year of Saunders behind the bench, but even fewer saw any reason to bring Curry back for another whirl. It felt like the guy was just in over his head and not ready to lead a team of that makeup.

But Curry was only part of the problem. The Iverson Experiment was, clearly, a messy disaster. Rasheed Wallace’s motivation and focus went progressively south along with the team’s record. Rip Hamilton openly feuded with Curry and, right or wrong, felt personally betrayed by the Billups trade. Johnson and Maxiell struggled to carve out their roles, Rodney Stuckey didn’t take the steps forward many predicted he would, and, well… very little went the Pistons’ way other than Antonio McDyess cementing his legacy as one of the league’s all-time good guys and a tireless worker in nearly averaging a double-double in 62 games. I’m no Spurs fan, but it’s hard not to wish him anything but success in San Antonio. He’ll be missed.

So, now, the Pistons of old, the team that marched to six straight Eastern Conference Finals, two straight NBA Finals, and one world championship, are but a fond memory. Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, along with the resigned Ben Wallace, are the only significant pieces remaining from that era. There’s no time for nostalgia, however, nor for this franchise to feel sorry for itself.

The past is the past and it’s time to move on. And, honestly, I don’t think this team is as bad as some think it is. They certainly can’t be much worse, more boring to watch, than last year’s oftentimes… heartless squad. While vets like Wallace and Chris Wilcox will fill out out the frontline, the youth movement is on. Four rookies will be on the opening-day roster–and at least two of them are going to play out of the gate.

At 25, Villanueva is the heir to Wallace’s vacated throne at power forward (and their games aren’t all that dissimilar either, save on defense). And though the 26-year-old Gordon still has 31-year-old Hamilton to contend with for minutes at shooting guard, that likely won’t last long: good luck getting anybody in Detroit to admit it, but Hamilton is on the trading block and will be moved once the right offer comes along.

Some will say it’s a season of change, and it is. But these wheels were put in motion a year ago, and only know are they really picking up speed. Truth be told, this was long overdue.

Much more on the 2009-10 Detroit Pistons after the break…

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By: Zachariah Blott

ESPN’s Henry Abbott wrote a story a few days ago about Kevin Durant that did something unusual. Unlike most gush pieces about the youngster, Abbott’s article was unique in that it looked at some of the advanced statistics that are out there, and pointed out that Durant calculates out as a pretty bad player by just about all of them. The author then spoke with Wayne Winston, one of the leading APBRmetrics researchers, and Winston said he would not advise an NBA GM to take Durant for free, considering how poor his calculated numbers are.

What!? The Durantula? The dude who rang up 46 points in the Rookie-Sophomore game last year is bad? How can this happen?

The number they were chiefly looking at was adjusted +/- (APM). You probably noticed that many boxscores nowadays let you know the +/- value of a player for the time he is on the court. For example, if a player plays the entire first quarter and his team is down 24-18, he is currently at -6 (exactly like hockey’s +/- if you’re familiar with that).

Kevin Durant Photo Credit: Icon SMI

This number has some value in that it lets you know how well a team is doing overall when a certain player is in the game: it is neither weighted toward offensive or defensive contributions, rather just the overarching goal of outscoring the opponent in order to win. Now this number also has a lot of obvious flaws: you may be playing alongside good or bad teammates, you may be facing all-stars or scrubs, maybe it’s late and you’re up by 25 so your team or the opponent is playing uninspired.

A lot of mathematically minded people have factored all of this stuff together and have developed adjusted numbers, APM’s, which eliminate these variables (a brief explanation of how this is done appears here). Although many people have come up with slightly different formulas to calculate APM, most of their results are reasonably close to each other’s. And in Durant’s case, they all come out bad. For example, here’s one site that calculates Durant as 8.62 points worse than an average player over the length of a game. Obviously this article has upset some people who are in love with his lights-out scoring ability, so I decided to dig a little deeper into what could be creating these numbers.

Dean Oliver, the statistician who got APBRmetrics going with his 2004 book “Basketball on Paper,” identified four key factors that have the highest correlation with winning or losing: 1) field goal percentage, 2) offensive rebounding, 3) turnover rate, and 4) the ability to get to the free throw line and convert free throws. This should look about right to most intelligent fans. If we take a look at how Durant might impact these four parts of a game on both ends of the floor—this last modifier is very important—we may gain some insight into his supposed negative impact on the Thunder.

Breaking down Kevin Durant’s contributions, after the jump …

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The Dallas Mavericks completed a four-team trade that netted them versatile forward Shawn Marion, and Mavs fans are hoping this move isn’t another case of adding an aging name brand whose best years are behind him. That, combined with another year buying into Rick Carlisle’s system and the middling additions of Quinton Ross, Drew Gooden and Tim Thomas are the only causes for renewed optimism for this proud, aging franchise. Not around these parts, though.

In Houston, optimism is a little harder to come by after the news that franchise player Yao Ming will be out for the season and Ron “Snake Eggs” Artest left via free agency. There are some glimmers of hope though, as the rockets managed to sign Trevor Ariza, an ETB favorite and simply one of the best young two-way players in the NBA. That, combined with repeated proof that this team is more about system, defense, hustle, intelligence and unselfish play than stars means Houston fans can at the very least expect a respectable season – and perhaps another playoff upset.

My man Rick Kamla tweeted the other day, “If the Hornets (Okafor, Posey, Diogu) can get healthy, they will be a lot better than you think. Chris Paul’s motor is that powerful.” That’s one way to look at it for NO fans, because I thought this team was fundamentally flawed after that embarrassing playoff loss last season. That said, I think Okafor is a more complete player than Tyson Chandler – though both leave a lot to be desired. Okafor should bring more physicality and defensive identity to this squad, though. And I’m an Ike Diogu fan. Kid is underrated.

As much talent as Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo have, the Grizzlies seem intent on spoiling their young core with the additions of uber malcontents Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson. It’s a real noodle scratcher, because it’s not like this team is on the verge of playoff success, so adding two high-volume cancers getting on in years like this just seems like a misguided and desperate effort for ticket sales. It’s a shame. Still, a core of Gay, Mayo, Conley and rookie Hasheem Thabeet should be enough to keep the diehard rooting and hoping.

Unfortunately, all of that seems moot. The San Antonio Spurs, the clear cream of this crop, also had a maddeningly productive offseason. San Antonio added Richard Jefferson, DeJuan Blair, Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff to a roster that was already built as a legit championship contender. We’re not fans of “Peanut” Jefferson, but the man can score, draw fouls and get to the line. McDyess is a consummate professional that brings veteran savvy, toughness, rebounding and scoring efficiency. Blair looks like one of the summer’s biggest steals. Ugh. They’re going to be good again. Really, really good. Just have the common courtesy to die already, will you Spurs dynasty?

Here’s the full list of the Southwest Division previews.

Dallas Mavericks

Mavs Moneyball | The Two Man Game | NBA Mate

Houston Rockets

The Dream Shake | Ballerblogger

Memphis Grizzlies

3 Shades of Blue

New Orleans Hornets

At The Hive | Hornets Hype

San Antonio Spurs

Pounding The Rock | Project Spurs

More 2008-09 NBA Blogger Previews

Eastern Conference:
- Atlantic Division
- Central Division
- Southwest Division

Western Conference:
- Southwest Division
- Northwest Division
- Pacific Division

Miles Austin may have saved the Dallas Cowboys season. Until Sunday, the fourth-year wideout from Monmouth was living rather anonymously as a bottom-feeder on the team’s underwhelming WR depth chart. Last season was his most productive season to date, when he caught 13 passes for 278 yards and 3 TDs in 12 games. Austin nearly equaled that in 4 1/2 quarters of play against the Kansas City Chiefs, catching 10 balls for 250 yards and 2 TDs, an impressive haul that included a 60-yard score in overtime in which he broke a weak sideline tackle and scampered into the endzone from about midfield.

Don’t expect him to ever do this again. We’re five weeks into the season: bye weeks are kicking in, people are getting impatient with disappointing fantasy players, and everybody is scouring waivers looking for a diamond in the rough. Somebody is going to claim Austin in your league if he’s available; should it be you? Eh. Given the situation in Dallas, where Roy Williams is proving he’s not a legitimate WR1 and Patrick Crayton has (again) failed to distinguish himself, Austin definitely has the potential to build off this performance and get more and more looks from Romo. Just don’t expect the world, and don’t forget that he only had 5 catches for 81 yards and a TD through four weeks.

This isn’t that indifferent than what happened last week after Mohamed Massaquoi’s breakout performance for the Browns. Even before Braylon Edwards was traded, Massaquoi was snapped up in most 10-team or more leagues and probably started as a WR3 against Buffalo. Not so good: 1 catch for 16 yards. There’s a decent chance Austin could post a similarly disappointing line when he takes the field in 2 weeks against the Atlanta Falcons. Wait for him to show a little consistency before deeming him a near-weekly WR3 play: right now he’s still a plug-in play in my book.

Long-term fantasy potential aside, good for Austin. For three years now we’ve heard rumblings about his potential and that the team wanted to get him more involved the offense, but for whatever reason it just hasn’t happened. Now he finds himself the toast of the town, at least for a week. Meanwhile, the pressure mounts on Roy Williams, the $45 million dollar man who’s just not looked very good so far and sat out Sunday’s 26-20 win with a rib injury.

- A few of the many quaterbacks I’d start at quaterback over JaMarcus Russell, the first overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft: Tarvaris Jackson, Daunte Culpepper, David Carr, Josh Johnson, Kyle Boller, Derek Anderson.

- We had Atlanta Falcons WR Roddy White somewhat aggressively ranked 8 of 43 WR fantasy plays this week, a position which one ETB reader was curious about given White’s slow start and what looked like a tough matchup on the road against a normally solid San Francisco 49ers defense. Hat tip to Andrew for getting out the ol’ ETB magic ball and nailing it with his explanation behind the rank:

Rowdy Roddy has been disappointing thus far, but one month of football is not enough to change my opinion of the man’s skills or role in this offense. It’s not an Eddie Royal situation here where he’s being phased out of the passing attack, he still has the same role in the offense that allowed him to be so productive last year and his QB is improved from last season.

The acquisition of Tony Gonzalez has had a more significant impact on White than most anticipated, but I still think Roddy’s an elite talent who will get his. Matt Ryan throws an accurate deep ball and White has the ability to go get it consistently. The 49ers pass defense has been good, but not quite elite and there have been open seams up the middle, which is exactly where Roddy can thrive and make big things happen after the catch.

If the slump continues we’ll have to keep bumping him down the rankings, but right now you have to continue to roll with your second-round pick for the same reasons you drafted him. Not that much has changed. Early-season slumps can always seem more dramatic than they are. Don’t overreact.

White caught 6 passes for 185 yards and 2 TDs in the first half, finishing with 8 for 210 in the Falcons’ 45-10 drubbing of the ‘Niners.

Derek Anderson revisited, Troy Polamalu’s value, and more after the break…

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By: Zachariah Blott

Greg Oden recently declared that his personal goal for the season is to be an All-Star. Although this more or less received a polite chuckle from the media—both local and national—there are more than a few reasons it could actually happen. Here they are, in no particular order.

1) Oden is primed for a big season. As a rookie last year averaging 21 minutes per game, coming off of a horrendously debilitating microfracture surgery and noticeably discouraged from getting in frequent foul trouble, Oden posted a better rebound rate (1 every 3.10 minutes) than Tim Duncan (3.14), who finished fourth in the league with 10.7 per contest, and right below David Lee (2.98) who was third with 11.7. With an awkward offensive game and almost no real moves, GO still shot 56% from the field and had 1.53 points per shot (PPS) on his way to 8.9 ppg. Big men who had similar scoring efficiencies include Pau Gasol (57%, 1.47), Tim Duncan (50%, 1.30), Chris Bosh (49%, 1.38), and Dwight Howard (57%, 1.66). As Oden’s role and skills increase, his scoring numbers will blossom, especially on a team whose leading scorer—Brandon Roy—is lauded for his unselfishness.

And since last year? Oden had a dominating defensive performance at the USA try-outs in August, and he spent the rest of the summer working with Blazers’ assistant Bill Bayno, particularly on his offensive game. He’s already shown improvement in his first three preseason games, in which Oden is averaging 15.3 points (52%, 1.67) and 9.7 rebounds, in 24 minutes per contest. He’s demonstrated a variety of spin moves and hook shots unseen in his rookie campaign, not to mention his combination of upper body strength and naturally quick feet that are leading to a ton of free throws. And lest we forget, the last contest he played in before his surgery was the 2007 NCAA Championship game, in which he dropped 25 points (game high), 12 rebounds (game high), and 4 blocks (more than everyone else in the game combined) against a Florida frontcourt that placed its three starters in the lottery of that year’s draft—Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer.

Greg Oden photo credit: Icon SMI

2) Greg Oden is a popular player. Being named the best non-NBA center in America as a sophomore in high school kinda got things rolling. Then ESPN broadcast one of his games as a senior. Every left handed free throw at Ohio State was discussed and analyzed non-stop as he carried the Buckeyes into the national championship game, where he dominated the aforementioned lottery-bound trio (two of whom were starting centers in the playoffs last year). He was also named a first-team All-American in his one collegiate season before becoming the #1 pick in the NBA Draft. He’s known for his humor and is a media darling even after playing only 61 games the past two years. Fans still check how he performs in games, and this is the year he’s actually supposed to start putting up good numbers. If statistics were similar, who do you think wins this popularity contest: Nene, Biedrins, Bynum, Okafor, Okur, or Oden? If Bynum was something higher than his team’s fourth option, he’d have a chance as a Laker, but that’s not the case.

Three more arguments for Greg Oden as an All Star, after the jump …

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