BaD Radio - Recap - 3/8/11

Tuesday 3/8/11

Episode: 2887

Location: Studio

The Mix: “If I were a bird, I’d live in this place.” – Norm “Only gay people have lucky numbers.” - Bob

The Open: “I’m going to schedule me some drawwws” Happy Fat Tuesday. The show consensus is that whenever a media member uses a cliché surrounding the NFL Labor Talks and NCAA March Madness, they should get tazed.

12:40 – Dallas Stars: On this most recent road swing, the Stars have accumulated 7 of 8 possible points. Jamie Benn has been playing out of his mind; he seems to just one move ahead and a split second faster than anyone else on the ice. Nieuwendyk hit a home run with the Goligoski trade; he has been the perfect addition to this team. Hopefully getting Brad Richards back on the ice soon will be a bonus to a team that is playing extremely well right now. The Stars are about to start a home-stand; go out and support them, they deserve it.

1:00 – Gay Not Gay: Which one is gayer, the giver of the Shake Weight or the person who uses it? Ironic exemption. Two dudes showing up to dinner in horse drawn carriage? Comedy exemption. Middle-aged man in a cowboy hat alone at a bar with a glass of wine, takes a self shot picture and shortly after another guy joins him. Gay. Signing your name on a roll sheet for class with a winking smiley face after your name? Gay. Asking your buddies to go to the bathroom with you at a restaurant? Gay. How long after you please yourself must you wait before turning on the NFL Network? “Is he suggesting that the NFL Network wasn’t already on?” – Bob.

1:20 – Neftali Talk: He wants his name pronounced correctly. Yeah, it’s spring training. He also says that he would prefer to stay as the closer because he’s comfortable with it, but is willing to do whatever he is asked to do.

1:40 – Deion Sanders: Hall of Famer Deion “Prime Time” Sanders calls in to join Bob and Dan. He is so cool he doesn’t even have to wear deodorant. He still uses his Hot Dog Express and keeps it on his yacht. Concerning the Cowboys draft pick and the rumors that they are considering Nebraska CB Prince Amukamara, Deion says “He’s aight”. Not very high praise.

2:00 – Audio: Audio I was unable to get. Sorry.

2:20 – Sports Quick Hits: Kevin Love got his 51^st double-double in a row, a record. Tiki Barber is coming out of retirement. Dan is usually not a fan of the Sports Speculative Segment but he had his baseball brain set to full throttle yesterday. Albert Pujols, from 2000-2010, led the league in HR, RBI and Batting Average. The Decade Triple Crown. As you look at the teams willing to sign Pujols to a major deal, and seeing that the Cliff Lee contract could have been fit into the Rangers budget; why not Albert Pujols in a Rangers uniform?

2:40 – Surprise from Surprise: What does the Rangers rotation look like without Neftali as a starting pitcher. C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter; after that it could be between 4 players. Holland, Kirkman, Bush and Hurley. Brandon Webb won’t be ready for the start of the season. Ogando is still a work in progress.

3:00 – WTDS: In 1971, Joe Frazier defeated Ali in “The Fight of the Century”. Happy Birthday to Brett Conway, Larry Murphy, Jim Rice, Miracle on 69^th Street, Dick Hyman, Camryn Manheim and Freddie Prinz Jr. And now some spares, Dick Allen, Jason Elam, Kenny Smith, Justin Thompson. RIP to Pig Pen, Joe DiMaggio and Ray Nitschke.

Listen to BaD Radio everyday from 12 – 3pm on Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket. I do, and I has opulence.

Wes Bullard

Chatting Football w/ ProFootballFocus

Yesterday, I had another opportunity to chat a little football with Sam Monson from Pro Football Focus. I wanted to keep things primarily on the defense this time, and work our way through a few issues. I hope you enjoy.

Bob Sturm: I thought we could start with your thoughts on adding Rob Ryan since he hadn't joined the squad last time we did this. What did you think of that hire and what do you think of the types of things he likes to do defensively.

PFF Sam Monson: Rob Ryan is still a bit of an enigma. You can't deny the bloodlines, and the NFL is big on bloodlines, but he hasn't ever really built a dominant defensive unit yet like his brother or father. That being said he was able to make the Browns into a good looking unit overall, albeit with some holes

Bob Sturm: No doubt. I guess I liked his concepts in Cleveland, but I always wondered how NFL people would rate his personnel options compared to the norm. It seemed rather shallow there.

PFF Sam Monson: The Browns had some good players on D, but they also had some major problems. I think it's fair to say Ryan probably got more from the unit than the talent there would suggest he should have. That's good news for the Cowboys since they already have a very talented unit on D, and a couple of players that give a creative coach some real flexibility

Bob Sturm: I suppose scheme versus personnel is what all of these teams are weighing. I am happy you brought up the idea about Dallas' defensive personnel. You like the group as a whole?

PFF Sam Monson: When yo have guys like Ware, Ratliff, Spencer along your front - you're starting from a nice place. Teams can go for years trying to find a single legit pass-rushing force, and the Cowboys can deploy three at once. Obviously it's not a perfect group, but you've got to like that as a starting point.

Bob Sturm: As we look for obvious deficiencies on defense, all signs point to safety play. Before we look at options, please give me thoughts on how the Cowboys compared to the league at safety.

PFF Sam Monson: The secondary as a whole was a poor unit for the Cowboys, especially in terms of coverage. Alan Ball was our 78th ranked safety, and though Sensabaugh managed to rank 10th overall in our safety list, the way the Cowboys use him heavily as a SS in the box puts a lot of pressure on the guy bahind him, asking a lot of his range and coverage ability. Ball wasn't able to respond to it

Bob Sturm: It would sure seem that elite defenses usually get elite safety play in this current generation of the league. Ball hawking is part of the job, and a big part of what the Cowboys have had missing since Darren Woodson as they just don't get takeaways. I just wonder if teams value safety as much as they should on draft day and in free agency. The correlation seems difficult to dispute, no?

PFF Sam Monson: I think teams value it - some safeties have been drafted very highly over the last decade, but those guys aren't easy to find. You're talking truly elite athleticism in some schemes for a safety to be able to get to either sideline when playing single-high and have any kind of impact. With how good quarterbacks are these days at manipulating the safety with their eyes before the throw, it's an incredibly hard position to succeed at.

Bob Sturm: Just to put things in perspective. When you say Alan Ball is 78th ranked as a safety, I would certainly have to believe there aren't very many more spots below him among qualifiers. This seems to be the gaping hole that must be addressed down here to take the defense to the next level.

PFF Sam Monson: Yes, 78th means there were only 7 safeties that graded worse amongst those that played a qualifying number of snaps over the season - though interestingly one of those 7 was Pro-Bowler Brandon Merriweather. That tells you something about the state of the Pro-Bowl these days

Bob Sturm: When I started working on safety options, I sure believed that OJ Atogwe was just what the doctor ordered down here. He seems to have that very ball-hawking ability and very sound center field skills. I am dumbfounded that Dallas seemed to have no interest. Did it shock you? and how good can Washington be now that Laron now can be purely in the box for most of the game and Atogwe can mind the back?

PFF Sam Monson: Atogwe did seem to tick all the boxes for Dallas, it was a natural fit. It's a similar story in DC - Landry is clearly at his best when he can imitate Troy Polamalu - be destructive in the box and move around to confuse an offense, and they do need a capable safety behind him in coverage. Atogwe is certainly athletically able for it, and in man-coverage especially he is very good. He also has excellent ball skills. The only reservation we have is that it seems to an extent a waste of some of the other skills that Atogwe has shown in St Louis (like the ability to generate pressure on the blitz, and his play against the run).

Bob Sturm: Agreed. I thought the Cowboys would try to use him at both spots at times. But they ignored him which leaves two possible scenarios. 1) they think they are fine at safety (which seems insane) or 2) they have another idea at safety. I think #2 is likely, but the price goes up considerably for the younger options like Huff and Weddle

PFF Sam Monson: Especially after allowing Washington to essentially set the market with the contract they gave Atogwe. Eric Weddle's agent, David Canter has already said through twitter that he isn't looking for a bigger contract than Atogwe got, but he WILL get a bigger contract. Allowing the Redskins to set the market is always an iffy strategy

PFF Sam Monson: The bad news is the Cowboys allowed the two big available FAs to be signed (Bob Sanders being the other one), but the good news is if and when the CBA ever gets done there is a very impressive crop of safeties potentially available

Bob Sturm: Give me your thoughts on Michael Huff. Fans seem to fall in love with the idea of local connections and given his HS and college both happened locally. But, how well has he developed in Oakland? From what I see, he might be the best FS on the market, but give me your grading evaluation.

PFF Sam Monson: Huff had a rough start to his NFL career, and was teetering on the brink of being labeled a bust for a while, but he has quietly become an excellent safety, especially last season. Last year he was given more of a pure free safety role and it seemed to really play to his strengths. He was always an athletic specimen, and he hasn't lost that.

Bob Sturm: And when he comes hard charging into the box, it looks like he enjoys a big tackle. Why would Oakland let him get away?

PFF Sam Monson: Well they have drafted a few safeties recently (possibly because Huff looked like he wasn't going to work out) and they've been sinking money into other players - who knows what their financial and cap situation will be under any new CBA deal - it might just be a case of economics for them.

Bob Sturm: For the Cowboys needs, that seems to make more sense to me than Eric Weddle who is also young and solid, but wouldn't his weaknesses lie in coverage sometimes? It would seem to me that I can see Huff/Sensabaugh but Weddle/Sensabaugh would be problematic in CF. Agree?

PFF Sam Monson: To a degree. I think it's fair to say that Huff has better range than Weddle, and better ball skills, but I think Weddle is a better safety in coverage than the numbers might suggest. We talked to him during the season and he mentioned one of the things he's trying to improve are his hands - having been in position for a few easy picks this season but let them bounce off his hands for incompletions. He's more than capable of playing the deep safety spot, but I'd agree that it's not necessarily making the best use of him. Between that and the contract they're likely chasing with him, Huff does seem like the first phonecall I'd be making.

Bob Sturm: I know they are saying all the right things in SD, but does Sanders' signing set up Weddle's exit? And did you just indicate that Huff would actually be cheaper than Weddle? Interesting.

PFF Sam Monson: Well we've heard that Weddle is going to be looking for a major deal. Huff hasn't really had the body of work that Weddle has, so my assumption would be he could be a cheaper option, but contract negotiations and figures have surprised me before. As for Bob Sanders - He's been off the field so much over the past few years I don't think we can read too much into his signing - San Diego can't really be relying on him being on the field

PFF Sam Monson: That being said, it does seem like they would be wise to plan for Weddle's exit - Sanders might just be part of the contingency plan.

Bob Sturm: Could you weigh in on the idea of converting Corners in general to safety? Around here, part of the offseason consensus seems to be to try to either convert Terrence Newman to safety or drafting Prince Amukamara and convert him at some point. Newman makes no sense to me given his tackling ability, but as a concept, where do you fall on this?

PFF Sam Monson: It's something that sounds easy and logical, but doesn't always work. A guy who has spent the last ten years in a backpedal and reading receivers isn't necessarily all set to work the deep-middle of the field or come down and fill running lanes. I agree with the Newman assessment, I don't really see that as a sensible conversion. As for a player like Prince, it's certainly an option, but oftentimes guys are projected for a move to safety because they lack the speed to play corner - but if you're expecting them to play the deep middle of the field in Cover-1 or Cover-3 shells, that guy needs speed too.

Bob Sturm: I am not sure how much of the college tape you pour over, but with Prince, I wish I saw more elite skills at Nebraska than his tape produces. He seems to be very toolsy and his combine speaks for itself, but I really need money in the bank at #9 overall. I can't get the Oklahoma State torching out of my head.

PFF Sam Monson: With the amount of NFL tape we have to go through we're really not the best guys to ask for college prospects - I've personally only just really started in with some film, the Senior Bowl practices and Combine stuff, so I'm by no means an expert on prospects at this stage. I think though that for the reasons we talked about before, safety isn't an easy position to succeed early at, and all the more if you're converting the guy from corner.

Bob Sturm: What do you think of the other potential FAs at safety? Landry from Baltimore? Quintin Mikell? Give me your thoughts on who the Cowboys should be targeting for their specific needs..

PFF Sam Monson: We love Quintin Mikell - He was our top ranked safety last year, and he's a force all over the field. Again though he would be wasted as a single high safety. If the Cowboys are intent on that (and if they're not it means they need two safeties instead of one, because Sensabaugh is much poorer in deep coverage), then they need to be looking at a Michael Huff, or maybe even a Danieal Manning from the Bears. Manning is an exceptional athlete (he's kept Hester away from KR duties at times), and was a different player when the Bears began to use him as a deep safety and take advantage of his range. Landry is best as a Sensabaugh type in the box.

Bob Sturm: Using your data, I found some amazing numbers about DB pass rush numbers showing the Cowboys used their secondary to blitz about as little as anyone in the NFL. If Rob Ryan wants to create chaos, it would sure seem that needs to be introduced. According to PFF, I think Newman and Jenkins have come on blitzes a combined 4 times in 3 seasons. Very predictable where Wade would try to get pressure.

Bob Sturm: I think the entire secondary combined for 50 blitzes last year. The Jets were at 350, and the Packers and Steelers were both over 150. As were the Browns.

PFF Sam Monson: By and large you're comparing two different styles of 3-4 scheme there. The Jets' Hybrid scheme being fairly unique, but the Pack and Steelers are both from the same zone-blitz school. Dick LeBeau and Dom Capers both developed their zone blitz concepts together years back so they're always likely to blitz more than a Wade Phillips scheme that is far more traditional.

PFF Sam Monson: take your point though that the Cowboys would likely be more effective by mixing up their fronts and attacking in more creative ways, and I suspect that's very likely under Rob Ryan

Bob Sturm: Sam, as always, I appreciate the time. And ProFootballFocus.Com is amazing and a great resource for all who love the NFL. Let's visit again soon.

PFF Sam Monson: Thanks for having me on Bob, always a pleasure.

The Marathon

I don't know if you have ever run a marathon, or for that matter, ever attended one. A marathon is 26.2 miles and is the type of event that pushes most humans to the brink of exhaustion. The great part of a marathon is that it requires you to ask questions of your body that neither you nor your body have ever considered. It makes you dig deeper than you ever imagined possible.

In the marathon setting, though, they always tell you that you are going to be able to achieve more because unlike your training runs, in a marathon you will feel a surge from the spectators urging and encouraging you on with their voices. And on race day, it is true. In training, you can barely run 20 miles. But, when the race is going on, the momentum from the setting pushes you along the course. Not saying it is easy to run the 26th mile, but you are able to make it with the help of the crowd.

Hopefully, by now, you can figure out where I am going with this blog.

The Stars have done things this season that I did not believe that they were capable of. When the Stars players mention those "who doubted them" coming into this season, I am included in this group. But, they have turned me. They have convinced me that this team will not go quietly into the night.

They have resolve. They have grit. They have determination.

The road trip they just completed seems legendary. Each of the 4 games had moments where you wanted to spring off your couch, pump your fist, and try not to wake up the family. Why was the family asleep? Because many of the biggest moments happened after midnight Central time. Darn that Pacific Division schedule.

Regardless, whether it was Jamie Benn's many moments of brilliance or Alex Goligoski's breakout, or Kari Lehtonen making sure the Stars remain in the game, the Stars did everything in their power to remain in the playoff hunt and right behind San Jose in the division.

Honestly, it would have been easy to leave them for dead after the plane landed from Vancouver on the last trip where they lost every game they played.

But, that didn't happen. The first day back in Dallas saw Joe Nieuwendyk make a trade that initially annoyed some of his fan base, but hopefully by now, nobody requires any more convincing about what a perfect fit Goligoski seems to be on this squad that did not have what he brings to the party. His composure and creativity with the puck from the blueline causes many to remember a certain Russian Defensemen from a few years back.

The next day, Jamie Benn returned to the lineup for the first time in a month. His shoulder injury knocked him out of the mix, but the layoff obviously gave him fresh legs and a renewed energy reserve. Not only has he been the best player on the roster during this trip, but I wonder if you could make a strong argument for best player in the league over the last week. I have to think so.

Then, 2 days later, Adam Burish and Krys Barch were back in the mix, too. Let's not underestimate adding back some abrasive and difficult-to-deal with players to the group.

Adding Goligoski, Benn, Burish, and Barch - but not the long-awaited returns of Brad Richards and Nik Grossman - has set the team back on the proper path. Even the most optimistic surely did not expect 11 out of a possible 12 points since all of this pieces were put back in place.

Now, back to my marathon thought.

So, these guys have 66 games behind them. 16 to go to the conclusion of the season. The bruises have added up. The ice packs have been applied.

But, I think they can use a little help.

Now, by brilliant deduction, I am going to assume that anybody reading a column from me on DallasStars.com is likely so inflicted with Stars fever right now that they don't need convincing. But, with a 7 game home-stand starting tonight, I actually am more worried about the crowd doing their part than the team on the ice doing theirs.

At times this season, the AAC has not resembled a loud and alive arena. At times, the crowds have been way down and have not impacted the momentum of the team at all. For the first time in a long time, you could make the case the Stars have not experienced much of a "home ice advantage".

Well, that is water under the bridge.

It is mile 22. The team needs a surge for this homestand. They have done their part to earn the undivided attention of the city's fans, and they need to hear the city's voice.

Not sure if you can get to a game during this stretch. But, if you are on the fence, you need to do it. This is a team worthy of your discretionary spending. And, they can use your help.

They have had every excuse this season not to perform. Nobody would have blamed them if this season ended in tears. But, obviously, there is too much pride in that room to take the easy way out.

They want the post-season.

Help them get there.

Mavericks vs Wolves 3/7/11

Side Notes
- Kevin Love tied a NBA record with his 51st straight double-double having 23 points and 17 rebounds.
- Cardinal had 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc after filling in for Dirk.

Mavericks 3/7/11 FGM/A ADS ADS+ Barea 3/7 18.3 18.3 Beaubois 4/10 12.2 12.2 Brewer 1/1 1 1 Cardinal 4/8 24.6 24.6 Haywood 3/4 .8 .8 Kidd 4/8 22.9 22.9 Mahinmi 1/3 1 1 Marion 4/11 4.3 4.3 Nowitzki 7/12 18.4 15.9 Stojakovic 4/9 16.8 16.8 Terry 3/11 19.8 18.3 Team Total 38/84 15.2 14.4

Timberwolves 3/7/11 FGM/A ADS ADS+ Beasley 8/22 8.6 7 Ellington 4/6 20.3 20.3 Flynn 5/8 21 21 Johnson 2/5 15.4 15.4 Love 7/14 18.1 14.3 Milicic 3/5 5 5 Pekovic 2/4 1.3 1.2 Ridnour 3/10 13.7 13.7 Tolliver 2/5 9.8 7.3 Randolph 1/3 5.7 4.5 Webster 1/5 12 10.2 Team Total 39/87 13.6 12.2

Mavericks 10'-11' FGA ADS ADS+ Haywood 181 3 2.5 Chandler 323 3.5 3 Brewer 5 4.6 3.6 Mahinmi 75 5.6 4.3 Marion 614 6.8 6.3 Jones 45 9.7 8.7 Beaubois 77 13.1 12.8 Barea 490 11.9 11 Nowitzki 846 14.6 13.2 Butler 378 14.9 13.6 Terry 880 16 15.2 Stojakovic 99 19.6 18.7 Kidd 490 20.3 19.9 Stevenson 286 21 20 Cardinal 81 22.2 21.2 Team Total 4,945 13.45 12.34

What is ADS? Read the FAQ and find out.
Thanks to Heath Huston and Adam Rosen for the data.
Tim Krajewski

Special Teams - Big Play Files - The Harvin Return

Let's continue our series on the big special teams plays of the season. Already this year we have covered the following plays:

1. Week 2 - Dez Bryant's Punt Return vs Chicago

2. Week 4 - Tennessee's Marc Mariani Kickoff Return


Today, we look at Percy Harvin's devastating kick return in Week 5 versus the Vikings. This TD return was a crucial play in a must-win game for both teams. We see in this very close clash that the best way to lose a close, competitive game like this is for a Special Teams bust.

This play happened just one week after the Mariani return, and the Cowboys kick cover team has changed quite a bit. Please review and compare with link above about that return to see specifically who has been "reassigned".

I broke this down on October 21, so much of the rest is a review of that post. Check it out.



Let's talk kick coverage. I wish I knew more about special teams, but I really am doing a lot of common sense guessing here so please understand that some of the more general concepts about kick returning make sense to me, but when my sources get complex on the issue, I sometimes struggle.

But, What you see above is how the 22 players were deployed at the start of the Harvin Return in Minnesota on Sunday.

The Cowboys had the following 11 players on kick cover from left to right: 43- Sensabaugh (L1), 32-Scandrick (L2), 58-JWilliams (L3), 40-McCray (L4), 17-Hurd (L5), 18-Buehler (K), 16-Holley (R5), 57-Butler (R4), 50-Lee (R3), 27-Owasu-Ansah (R2), and 42-Church (R1).

And what you see is a rather standard return scheme from the Vikings. Their 6 players up front attempt to get bodies on 32, 58, 40, 17, 50, and 27. Then, the 2 Vikings in the wedge in front of Harvin get 16, and 57. If this works (which it clearly did), the Vikings have eliminated the 8 players who are most likely to doom a middle return.

Take a look at how the play matched up, below:


It is my understanding that the Vikings (or any return team, for that matter) want their guys up front and the wedge to clear out the middle 8 of the Cowboys on a "middle return". That would leave the kicker, and the two guys on the edge unaccounted for. The two wide players for the Vikings in front of Harvin are 59-Farwell and 40-Kleinsasser. This is where I would love for a special teams coach to walk me through their responsibility, but my common sense guess is that they are pretty much assigned to clean up the scraps and help where help is needed. Kleinsasser pretty much isn't needed to do anything but get on 18-Buehler, while Farwell helps out on McCray.

So, the Cowboys edge guys go untouched - but that appears to be the design of the return. In any offense vs defense concept, there will always be someone who is unblocked because the ball carrier cannot block for himself. This is really true on special teams play, so if the return team cannot account for everyone, why not leave the guys furthest away with the worst angle unblocked? Sensabaugh and Church have to keep contain, because if there is one thing the L1 and R1 players cannot do on a kick cover it is lose the edge to a speed burner like Harvin. "Turn it back inside" is a yell you will always here at special teams practices. So, they cannot cheat on their angle of attack.

Now, the moment of truth. The Vikings get 10 hats on 9 players. None of the 9 can defeat their blocks enough to get Harvin. That leaves 2 Cowboys untouched who will each get a shot at the returner. If they don't get him, this is going to be ugly.



Sensabaugh has him at the 25 and completely whiffs. That simply cannot happen. He is a starting safety who is used to open field tackling, and he hardly gets Harvin to break stride. Poor technique and poor execution. From there, Church gets a shot 5 yards later and while he didn't have as good a shot at him, he didn't slow Harvin down either.

I am sure it is a concept that they work on over and over again. If you are unblocked, we cannot miss. The fact that L1 (Ball) and L2 (Ogletree) were beaten last week in the Mariani return and replaced by a new L1 (Sensabaugh) and L2 (Scandrick)- then the new L1 misses a wide open tackle show you how frustrating it can be to coach special teams.

By the way, overall, we should point out that the Cowboys did not keep gap integrity or stay in their lanes. You can see 58-Williams over pursue and take himself out of the play. You can see most of the left side collapse to the right before Harvin catches the kick. To say you could navigate the Queen Mary down the middle of that field may be an overstatement, but the Cowboys sure made this look easy for the Vikings.

Special teams can win or lose games for you, and in each of the last 2 weeks, the Cowboys gave up gigantic returns and lost by 1 score. Do the math.

Feel free to leave comments below, special teams experts, and tell us what else you see from the kick cover unit.

Mavericks vs Grizzlies 3/6/11

We're going to need a bigger boat if Dirk "The Great White" Nowitzki is going to get that elusive ring. The Mavs decided to check out early last night after having a 17 point lead going into the half, but the better Grizzlies were able to come back and get a last second basket to win the game. Now I know losing a game to a last second shot shouldn't raise the alarms like a Japanese submarine just nailed two torpedo's in your side, but its nothing to blow off either. I think the issue that needs to be looked at is how the Mavs let Memphis come back in the first place.

This also brings up another issue. Does Dirk have a nickname that is known league wide? Kobe is The Black Mamba, LBJ is the King, Magic was... Magic. Maybe this is what has been missing all along. If he does have one that I'm unaware of please inform me of this. If not, what are some of your suggestions? Either leave a comment or tell me on twitter, one way or the other we are getting Dirk a nickname he deserves.

Side Notes
- Mavericks have made at least one 3-pointer in 1,000 consecutive games, dating back to Feb. 27, 1999. It's the longest streak in NBA history.
- First time the Grizzlies have taken a series from the Mavericks since entering the league in Vancouver in 1995-96.

Mavericks 3/6/11 FGM/A ADS ADS+ Haywood 2/3 1.7 1.7 Mahinmi 0/1 20 1.5 Marion 4/9 3.1 2.9 Brewer 2/4 6.8 4.8 Beaubois 5/8 13.6 9.8 Barea 4/6 7.2 6.3 Nowitzki 9/17 15.9 15.1 Terry 9/14 17.4 17.4 Stojakovic 0/4 16.5 16.5 Kidd 1/4 18 18 Stevenson 1/2 22.5 22.5 Team Total 37/73 12.6 11.3

Grizzlies 3/6/11 FGM/A ADS ADS+ Allen 2/8 4.1 4.1 Arthur 6/11 9.6 8.9 Battier 4/10 13.5 13.5 Conley 7/15 9.7 9.1 Gasol 6/9 4.9 3.9 Williams 0/4 20.3 20.3 Mayo 4/11 13.6 13.6 Randolph 10/13 5.9 4.8 Smith 0/3 17.3 17.3 Young 2/3 3.7 3 Team Total 41/87 9.6 8.6

Mavericks 10'-11' FGA ADS ADS+ Haywood 177 3 2.6 Chandler 323 3.5 3 Brewer 4 5.8 4.2 Mahinmi 72 5.8 4.4 Marion 603 6.9 6.4 Jones 45 9.7 8.7 Beaubois 67 13.2 12.8 Barea 483 11.8 10.9 Nowitzki 834 14.5 13.2 Butler 378 14.9 13.6 Terry 869 16 15.1 Stojakovic 90 19.8 18.8 Kidd 482 20.3 19.9 Stevenson 286 21 20 Cardinal 73 22 20.9 Team Total 4,861 13.42 12.3

What is ADS? Read the FAQ and find out.
Thanks to Heath Huston and Adam Rosen for the data.
Tim Krajewski

BaD Radio - Recap - 3/7/11

Monday 3/7/11

Episode: 2886

Location: Studio

The Mix: “We’re the meat.” - Donovan

The Open: “He smokes wiff cigarettes.” Check out the greatness that is Tom and Grubes on the front page of the Ticket website. Tom looks extremely comfortable with heavy artillery. In watching some weekend news on Channel 5, Dan is made aware of a local female sports reporter, Rontina McCann. Back in his sales rep days, Dan worked with a girl named Waynette. The point of the story – if you can call it that – is that when a family has all girls and the dad wants a boy, names like Rontina and Waynette are the product.

12:40 – NBA Talk: This week in LeBron. He once again was unable to close a game out for the Heat. The Heat have become stop-down viewing for Bob and Dan because of the intrigue and drama surrounding the “Super Team”. The Heat are 0-6 against the Celtics and the Bulls and equally as bad against the top teams from the Western Conference. Usually, the target is on a team after they have won a championship; in the case of the Heat, they self-applied the target before the season even started. With that target, the general public likes to see that target fail.

1:00 – NBA Audio: Some of the Heat players were crying in the locker room after the loss to the Lakers. The Mavs lost last night; that brings their record over the past 20 games to 18-2, with both losses coming on buzzer-beaters by the opponent. It’s nothing to get too concerned about.

1:20 – NCAA Audio: Pat Knight, son of Bob Knight, has been let go as head basketball coach at Texas Tech. Segway to Bob Knight talk. NCAA College Gameday was at Baylor on Saturday for the Texas v Baylor basketball game. Bob Knight dropped a “Chicken Sh*t” on the air.

1:40 – Bob the Soccer Dad: Bob’s son scored his first goal as a young soccer player. Bob needs to be the parent that revolts against the Parent Congratulation Tunnel that all the kids run through after the game.

2:00 – Charlie Sheen: The show addresses the Charlie Sheen phenomenon for the first time – their taking a break from hockey. Dan pulls some audio from Sheen’s U-stream show from the weekend, it was a fail.

2:20 – More Charlie Sheen: Here is the great Bill Hader’s Charlie Sheen impersonation on Saturday Night Live. Charlie’s bit is getting old and it will peter out very quickly.

2:45 – 5 Minute Major: The Stars play the Kings tonight at 9:30 on the Fox Sports Alternate Alternate Alternate. Jamie Benn has become arguably the most impactful forward on the Dallas Stars roster; a change from where he was at the beginning of the year. Every game moving forward is basically a playoff game with the Western Conference in a log jam.

3:00 – WTDS: Happy Birthday to Steve Beuerlein, Joe Carter, Billy Joe Dupree, Franco Harris, Jeff Kent, Lynn Swan, Jenna Fischer, Blackzilla vs Manaconda, John Heard, Wanda Sykes, Peter Wolf and Willard Scott. Now for the spares, Flipper Anderson, Matt London, Jeff Feagles, Sam Gash, Laterrell Green, Tyron Hill and Jeff Query. RIP to Tammy Faye Baker, John Herschel, Aristotle and James Bell.

Listen to BaD Radio everyday from 12 – 3pm on Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket. I do, and I has opulence.

Wes Bullard

Player Profile #24: Igor Olshansky

Igor Olshansky
Position: Defensive End
Size: 6'5, 315
Age: 29, 5/3/82
College: Oregon
Drafted: Round 2, Pick 35 - 2004
Experience: 7 Seasons

Salary History and Contract Status - 3/6/2009: Signed a four-year, $18 million contract. The deal contains $8 million guaranteed, including a $6 million signing bonus and $2 million in guaranteed salary. Another $4.5 million is available through incentives. 2011: $3.335 million, 2012: $4.2 million, 2013: $4.4 million (Voidable Year), 2014: Free Agent

2004 Draft Profile from Ourlads.com:17th rated DL in 2004 draft - Igor Olshansky - Oregon - 6'5 - 315 - 4.97 - Junior Eligible. Two year starter. Improving player - came on strong in '03. Played tackle primarily but was used some at end. Belongs inside at the next level. Tall. Has short but thick arms, a muscular build, and excellent strength. Explosive athlete with good speed for a big man. Offers promise as an all-around lineman. Average in his quickness off the ball. Plays a little high but he uses his hands well to control his opponents and defeat blocks. Needs to do a better job of moving his feet. Looks to win his battles with his upper body strength. Plays with effort. Good lateral player, though he's a little stiff changing directions. As a pass rusher, he has an effective swim move which he uses a lot. Very Aggressive. Quick and active with his hands. Not as strong a bull-rusher as he should be, as he tends to get turned sideways and doesn't drive his legs. Needs technique work, but he has a rare combination of size, power, speed, and athletic ability. Has medical issues - had back surgery after the '02 season.

Pre-2010: In the offseason after the 2008 season, the NFL was shocked when in the first moments of free agency, the New York Giants broke the bank to poach the Cowboys Defensive End, Chris Canty, for a 6 year deal for $42 million with over $17 million guaranteed. Canty was thought of as a pretty strong DE, but certainly not someone that the Cowboys ever intended to spend that much money on. 5 days later, the Cowboys signed a DE to replace Canty that Wade Phillips was quite familiar with, Olshansky from San Diego. This contract (4 years for $18 million - $8m guaranteed) seemed to actually be a cost savings and a lateral move as far as players are concerned. The two players are obviously different as Olshansky is thought of as more of a difficult-to-run-against-anchor and Canty was believed to be far more disruptive with the ability to put pressure on a passer. In 2009, Olshansky seemed to be the solid addition that did not show much of a drop-off and Canty spent much of the year hurt and a disappointment signing for the Giants.

2010: In 2010, it would seem that Olshansky was neither part of the problem, nor part of the solution. He was average. But, average is what the Cowboys are at too many spots on this defense. He played more snaps (574) than any DE on the roster - partially due to Marcus Spears being hurt. He would play on 1st and 2nd Down and help the Cowboys against the run. His play in that department was graded as slightly above average, but nowhere near the level of Spears when healthy. As a pass rusher he is a complete non-factor. 0 sacks and 2 QB hits over 16 games. So, he is not the run anchor they would want him to be nor is he a pass rusher that would mitigate other issues. He is not a glaring weakness at all, but he is also not a guy who other teams spend a lot of time preparing for. He does bring emotion to a rather stoic defense, which sometimes is displayed regardless of the score or situation of the game.

2011 Analysis: Don't get me wrong. Igor Olshansky can be a useful player in a certain role. But, in his current role of being the Cowboys most used defensive end, he is miscast. It is popular to say that DEs in a 3-4 defense don't often accumulate statistics. And that is true. They are there to often occupy 2 blockers and allow others to come free and make more plays. The fact that Olshansky lines up next to DeMarcus Ware should not be overlooked as Ware makes all sorts of plays. But, when I look at 3-4s that have great success, Shaun Ellis and Cullen Jenkins are disruptive ends in the 3-4 with regards to pass rush. Brett Keisel and Ryan Pickett are dynamic at plugging the run. But, to have success, your DEs need to be great at one or the other. In Olshansky, they have been needing more than they have received. I would be fine if he was a part of a solid rotation where we can drop his snaps in hopes of getting more return in run stuffing, but near 600 snaps a season offers diminishing returns. Add to this group and see improved play to those they might be over-exposing. I think this once again speaks to their need to beef up the defensive line through the draft, and perhaps their pick at #9.


Previous Profiles:

Miles Austin

Alex Barron

Martellus Bennett

Stephen Bowen

Keith Brooking

Dez Bryant

Victor Butler

Marc Colombo

Doug Free

Jesse Holley

Sam Hurd

Bradie James

Sean Lee

Kevin Ogletree

John Phillips

Marcus Spears

Anthony Spencer

DeMarcus Ware

Brandon Williams

Leon Williams

Roy Williams

Jason Witten

Sam Young

Offensive Playing Time Report

Last week, we attempted to investigate who is playing the most plays on the defense. The reason for the exercise is so that we may discuss the real football issue about "not all positions are created equal". Once we have the data, we are able to figure out which players we need to value higher than others.

Obviously, this is why people will talk about "you cannot take a RB in the first round" anymore. Running Backs, as you will see, are not full-time players on any level. We tracked this data all season long and found that even your top RB - Felix Jones - is barely playing more than half the snaps .

We will see below how vital offensive line excellence truly is. More on that in a bit.

Now, my data and the data at ProFootballFocus.com differ because they count plays where penalties occur because it satisfies their methodology with penalty tracking and so forth. When I kept the snaps this season, I did not count "unofficial" snaps so our math will differ a bit.

However, for the point of this exercise, let's see who played the most for the offense this season.


1105 Offensive Snaps

Name	Games	Snaps/Snap %
C - Gurode	16	1105 - 100%
LT - Free	16	1105 - 100%
TE - Witten	16	1077 - 97.4%
RG - Davis	16	1077 - 97.4%
RT - Colombo	15	1027 - 93.0%
WR - Austin	16	1019 - 92.3%
LG - Kosier	13	849 - 76.9%
WR - Williams	15	690 - 62.5%
QB - Kitna	10	623 - 56.4%
RB - Jones	16	571 - 51.7%
TE - Bennett	16	494 - 44.7%
WR - Bryant	12	431 - 39.0%
QB - Romo	6	372 - 33.6%
FB - Gronkowski	14	337 - 30.4%
RB - Barber	13	292 - 26.4%
RB - Choice	16	220 -19.9%
WR - Hurd	15	214 - 19.3%
G - Holland	14	177 - 16.0%
QB - McGee	2	110 - 9.8%
G - Costa	4	109 - 9.8%
T - Barron	11	80 - 7.2%
TE - Chandler	9	53 - 4.7%
WR - Ogletree	6	43 - 3.8%
WR - Johnson	2	42 - 3.8%

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Let's look at some things that jump out at us from this list:

* Perfect attendance for Gurode and Free. Also, Colombo had perfect attendance for the final 15 games. Basically, like the defense, if there is one disconcerting element about the way the offensive line played, it would be that it was NOT affected much by major injury. The entire defense had only one significant injury affect its season (Marcus Spears). On the offensive line, Kyle Kosier missed 3 games. Otherwise, the line of Free-Kosier-Gurode-Davis-Colombo was intact from start to finish. It wasn't the healthiest line in football, but it also did not test the depth very hard. We saw Alex Barron's level of play and Phil Costa was thrown out there before he was ready, too. The Cowboys have flirted with disaster with backup linemen for sometime and all it takes is one major knee injury to really see what your roster is made of. Considering we were all pretty disappointed with the OL play, one wonders what injury issues might have done.

* Miles Austin has nearly 400 more snaps than any of the other receivers. The biggest reason for this is his quality and health. But beyond that, he is the Cowboys WR of choice when they are in "22" or "13" personnel with only a single WR. I might surmise that is because he is a decent downfield blocker, but actually, I don't think he is as good in that category as Roy Williams. Yes, there is actually a category where Roy Williams is better than Austin! The reason I think he is the choice of Jason Garrett is his ability to stress the safety as a deep threat. With "22" personnel, if you do not have a deep threat who scares the opponent, then you are facing 10 in the box. With Austin, they keep a safety high, and the Cowboys have a number advantage at the point of attack if they run.

* Running Back splits are Jones - 52%, Barber - 26%, and Choice 20%. This explains the reluctance to pay Running Backs.

* Near the bottom, you understand the need for special teams play from guys who are not in the Top dozen or so. Gronkowski, Barber, Choice, Hurd, and Ogletree are on the brink of not having a role unless they play on special teams. Barber doesn't play at all on special teams and Ogletree was not a good option according to the way he was used.

* Any team with 3 QB's with over 100 snaps in a season do not have a very good chance at winning, I would assume. The 2010 Cowboys did not have many injuries, but the Tony Romo injury is not one that teams can overcome very often.