You Work, I Watch the Combine

I stayed home the other day because my work computer exploded and I had nothing to do, so I immediately thought about the loyal readers of the Nipple...and that they might wonder what the hell happened at the combine.

I didn't get to see the QB's but there really wasn't anything spectacular there anyways, so I'll break it down how I saw it.

Defensive Tackle -

I guess I just have a really big problem watching the DT's because all of them are just FAT. They don't look athletic, they don't look strong, they don't look fast. So I took Warren Sapp's POV on most of these guys and here's what I came out with.

Terrance Taylor - is a MONSTER. His bench press was one of the most eye-opening things I saw all day. I can do 225 maybe 15 times...this dude wasn't even winded when he hit 25. The first 30 seconds just looked like he was lifting a toothpick . He ended up putting it up 37 times and that stands as the second most in the whole combine. I can't imagine what it was like when Broderick Bunkley put it up 47 times three years ago.

B.J. Raji - is supposed to be awesome. He looks like a fat prick to me. He had to sit out his whole junior year because of academic probation and when he came on the set of NFL network it was obvious why. I don't think he used a word over two syllables the entire time he was on set.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80edfdee

Terrance Knighton - Has the largest lower body I have ever seen in my entire life. It looked like one of those apple picture things where you can stretch the photo with the click of a button. Oh, and performance wise, nothing special.

Defensive End -

This was the most intriguing group of guys. A lot of them can be conversion outside linebackers, they are all fast and huge and amazing athletes.

Connor Barwin - stole the show. Everyone was thinking "oh here's a defensive end from Cincinnati," everyone came out saying "here's one of the best athletes at the combine." This guy boosted his draft position more than anyone at the combine by far. He had the highest vert of any DE, the second fastest 40 time (4.61) and he tied Beanie Wells in the broad jump at 10'8.

Aaron Maybin - is 20 years old. Twenty...and he looks like he can handle it. He's big, he's fast and he looks like an athlete. The only knock in him is that he's from PSU and I don't like the DE's that come out of that school. If he's converted to a OLB, WATCH OUT.

Brian Orakpo - is a BEAST. He looks bigger than Jevon Kearse who I think is one of the biggest DE's in the game. He ran a top ten 40 time and looked pretty good until his hamstring popped. No worries, he will be fine...he's my dark horse for defensive ROY.

Orion Martin - was a walk on. So you know he has heart and determination. He has vaulted himself into a top three DL pick and I think over time he will be a house hold name.

Michael Johnson - is my pick for flop of the draft. He looked like a man among boys, except for Orakpo. He was one of the fastest DE's has HUGE arms, a long stride and was the best athlete in drills. My only worry, as the NFL Network said is that he's HIGHLY inconsistent. His raw talent and potential is bar none in this draft.

Linebacker -

Aaron Curry - should be the first pick in the draft. He is/was that good. It was obvious he was the best LB at the combine. His quickness and decision making were obviously faster than everyone else's and he was a top performer in EVERY drill.. His only downfall is he gets excited in the open field and misses tackles...no worries Detroit, give him his money now.

Clay Matthews - has NFL blood in him. His dad was an NFL linebacker, his uncle is the famous Bruce Matthews, his brother is a top prospect at Oregon...how's that for pedigree? I think he boosted himself almost as much as Connor Barwin. He looked so fluid in every drill it was like he was born to be a linebacker. Watch out for Clay to make a big impact in the NFL.

Brian Cushing - is a meat head. "What NFL team doesn't want a meat head on their squad," as Jon Gruden so eloquently put it. He by passed all of the big name combine workout facilities to go back to his NJ high school's training facilities because he thought "they knew him best." That is bad ass. "Screw the froo-froo crap, I'm going to Jersey to flip dumpsters and pull semi trucks." I absolutely love this kid.

Marcus Freeman - is a name you should know about going into the draft. This guy was always over-shadowed by the oh so famous James Lauranitis at OSU. Let us not look past him anymore...he looked better than him in every drill. He's a tenth of a second faster, 7 reps stronger and he looked more fluid in drills and James did...can we say UNDER RATED.

Ray Malaluga - got hurt in his 40. I don't really have a lot to say about him other than he is probably the second best LB in the draft. He's like a bigger Troy Polomalu who doesn't talk like Michael Jackson.

Tight End -

Cornelius Ingram - was the only person that blew me away. By blew me away I mean, holy crap, this dude is an animal. Anyone who is 6'4 245 and ran the 40 in 4.68 is ok in my book. He is a unproven Kellen Winslow, without a motorcycle license. A huge down side is that he was just recovering from an ACL tear that kept him out all season at Florida. He looked like he was playing with a bunch of rookies at the combine to me.

Brandon Pettigrew - is a lot better than was shown at the combine. He is a prototypical tight end who can block and catch. If you need a 10 year TE prospect, draft him.

Wide Receiver -

Deon Butler - was the fastest man at PSU. His first ten yards of his 40 were non existent. That being said he ran the 30-yard dash in 4.26 seconds. He looked RIDICULOUSLY fast. Other than that he did ok.

Johnny Knox - is faster than Deon. This guy was believe it or not, even faster.

Take three minutes and watch this...it's unreal: http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80edffeb

Michael Crabtree - broke his foot but will be a beast in the NFL...everyone knows that.

Jeremy Maclin - is going to be the best athlete from this draft class. He's fast as hell, he's got amazing hands and he's a threat to score on any punt return or kick return.

Percy Harvin - is ok. I question how good Percy is going to be in the NFL because of his size. He's only 5'11, which I think is a stretch, and he's gonna get knocked around a lot. Bottom line is Percy didn't jump off the field at me during the combine and I don't think he will in the NFL...could regret saying that.

Running Back -

Cedric Peerman - looks like the top RB in this class. He went to Virginia which has a history of turning out some MONSTER tailbacks into the NFL, and he performed very well. He was a top performer in nearly every drill, he's big, he's fast, he's agile...what more do you want?

Ian Johnson - really surprised me. Everyone thinks of Ian as the guy that proposed during a bowl game. Everyone also knows that he played for Boise State and the team isn't that impressive, blah blah blah... I got news for you people, this guy can play ball. I think whoever takes him in the third or fourth is going to get a workhorse that loves to play the game.





To be honest, no one else really impressed me at the combine...so there you have it. These are the guys to look out for in the Draft in April. I hope you enjoyed it and I'm going to leave you with some good clips of Rich Eisen at the combine...hilarious stuff.

Rich Eisen's 40: http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80eea0dc

Rich Eisen's Wonderlic: http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80ee436c

Introductions are in order

Everyone, I just wanted to let you know that my buddy Broc is now (and by now I mean his first post is already below this one) going to be writing for the Nipple. I told him I could use some help giving all of you guys more stuff to read about and he said he would be more than happy to tag in every once in awhile and write up some stuff about basketball/baseball/whatever in the hell he feels like. So, welcome him to the family and write nasty comments about everything he says like you do with me.

Just so you know...He went to Villanova and therefore knows a HELL of a lot more about basketball then I do. He is a fellow Halos fan and transplant from L.A. like myself. With that being said, look for a little more Left Coast attention to even out your ESPN bias.

(FYI he wrote his first post on Monday, before the Providence upset of Pitt. Props to you Broc...called the Darkhorse on your first post.)

ACC/Big East: Part 1

The Big East and the ACC are the best conferences in college basketball, period. They have had the most #1 teams in rankings of any conference and between 2001-2005, every national champion has come from one of the two conferences.

This is not a debate about which conference is better, that's a really tough question and I'm going to stay away from that discussion like Calhoun avoids discussions about his state paid salary. What this is going to touch on is the current state of the Big East/ACC and hopefully give you all a good idea of what college basketball is looking like going into March.

Best of the Big East

As you can see from the standings, this may be the only conference that can have a #1 ranked team in second place! But the question is, who is the best team in the big east?

Most major sports analysts would tell you it has to be UCONN or Pitt. Is the story really that simple? I think not.

UCONN -

Uconn is the most over rated team in college basketball. Why? Hasheem Thabeet is the most over rated player in college basketball. Yes, he averages about 5 blocks a game (with one ridiculous 10 block performance against L’Ville), and yes, he averages double-digit points...but his size is the only reason he gets the coverage he does.

He is soft in the paint. As we saw in the game against Pitt, anyone with some strength can eliminate his shot blocking ability. I hate to say it, but in the NCAA tournament, every team will have someone that can play him strong, get ready for a disappointment. I predict an early exit in the tourney.

PITT -

Pitt is now the #1 team in the country, and I think they deserve that title. This is the most complete team in the NCAA, but they have problems consistently showing up. In order for them to make moves in the tourney Sam Young has to elevate his game, and Levance Fields needs to find his stroke again. When this team is firing on all cylinders, they are un-beatable. This is the best team in the Big East, no question about it. They will make a deep run in the tournament, and they will have every opportunity to win the whole shebang!

VILLANOVA -

Considering I went to Nova, I'm going to try to keep this un-biased. To me, this Nova team is much more balanced than any other Nova team in recent years. With 6 people scoring in double digits, their offense is potent, and doesn’t depend on one or two people like most programs in the country. A deep bench and some key seniors makes this a dangerous team to play, and also a tough team to play in the tournament.

Draw back: defense. This team cant stop a good offensive team, so they will need that offense to carry them deep.

MARQUETTE -

Marquette is another team that has everything in place to show up n the national stage. With all their senior guards, and the leadership they have, this team will have the tools in place to make a difference. They remind me of the 2006 Villanova team that made the Elite 8, and they might even be better than that.

Unsung Heroes

WVU -

Two teams that have not received a lot of press this season are West Virginia and Providence. WVU has several key big wins, including a blow-out win against the fore-mentioned Villanova team. WVU has one of the most prolific defenses in the country, save Michigan State or Purdue. With three easy games left in conference play, and a key game against L’Ville to end the season, this team could finish 12-6 in the Big East, and have a chance to be the five seed in the Big East tournament. In my opinion, this unranked WVU team is the 5th best in the conference; ahead of #6 ranked L’Ville, but that game can bee seen March 7th to decide that comment.

PROVIDENCE -

Providence is another team that is surprisingly high in the Big East standings. Collecting 8 wins in conference play already, this team is in position to finish better than .500 in the conference, and also gain a 1st round bye in the Big East tournament. If they play well there, this bubble team could quickly become a lock in the NCAA tourney! This is my dark-horse pick, so place your bets in Vegas baby!

What the...

So with all this babble about the top teams in the Big East, where does that leave the rest of the teams, including Notre Dame, Syracuse, and G-Town?

Well, Syracuse only has one Top 50 RPI team left in Marquette. So with them finishing 10-8 in the Big East makes them a good choice for the NCAA tourney with out the chance to shine in the conference tournament.

ND and G-Town on the other hand have a lot of work to do. Both teams play Nova in the next two weeks. A win there and vault both teams back into striking distance of the Big Dance. G-Town has had an awful year with none of their stars really doing anything. But this team is dangerous, and if they decided to turn on the jets, they could win the Big East tourney and earn and auto-bid to the Show. Notre Dame is a lost cause in my opinion. With only one real weapon in Harangody...who let's face it is white...they really have a pretty dark future, with a chance of missing the NIT!

So what does it all mean?

After about five minutes of writing and about a thousand words, have we made any progress in this article? Well, Pitt is the best team in this conference, with Marquette, Nova, and Connecticut within striking distance of taking the Big East crown. L’Ville, WVU, Syracuse, and Providence round up the second tier. Can anyone of these teams, including G-Town and ND, win the Big East tournament? Absolutely. Can any of them win a National Championship? I think any of the top teams in this conference can. Pitt has the best chance if Blair can stay out of foul trouble, with Marquette and Nova having an opportunity depending on their seedings, brackets, and offensive play during the dance.


Next to come, the look at the ACC and some projections of a dream Big East/ACC match-up.

The Legend of Barry Bonds

You're cocky, arrogant, arguably one of the most talented athletes of your era, your freaking god father is Willie "Say Hey" Mays, yet you still thought you had to take performance enhancing drugs to make yourself better?

What were you trying to live up to? Did you think you had to be a better player than your dad?

Bobby Bonds, played for 13 seasons, career stats: .268 avg, .471 slug, 332 HR, 1024 rbi's, 461 SB. Never was higher than 3rd in MVP voting and was a 3 time all-star. His most impressive season was either when he was 24 (.302/.504/26/78/48) or when he was 25 (.288/.512/33/102/26).

I think it's pretty fair to say you could have surpassed those numbers without taking steroids.

Was it the '90/'91/'92 seasons? Did the loss push you over the edge? Did you make the decision in your mind that you would win a championship at ANY cost?

The 1990 Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 who eventually went on to sweep the Athletics 4-0 to win the '90 WS. In 1991 the Pirates were up 3-2 in the NLCS with two games left in Three Rivers Stadium. They lost game 6 in the top of the ninth inning when Doug Drabek gave up a double for one run; game 7 was lost 4-0. In 1992 the Braves were up 3-1 in the NLCS, Pittsburgh won the next two games in dominant fashion to take them to game 7 for the 2nd consecutive year. Pittsburgh was up 2-0 entering the ninth with Doug Drabek pitching, Atlanta would score 3 to win the pennant.

I think anyone who just read that blurb has to have a lot of respect for Doug Drabek not going down Donnie Moore lane. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Moore )

GETTING TO THE POINT...

If you look at Barry Bonds statistics, they are unbelievable. By the time he was 32 (11 seasons) he had: hit over .300 5 times, stolen over 30 bases 9 times, won 7 silver slugger awards, hit over 30 HR's 7 times, hit over 40 HR's 3 times, hit over 100 RBI's 7 times, his career OPS was 182 for god-sakes.

Over, what should have been, his seven most-productive seasons (age 25-32) he AVERAGED .305, 36 HR's, 109 RBI's, 38 SB's a season. OVER SEVEN SEASONS he almost averaged a 40/40 season. For those of you who don't know baseball, that is unheard of. The ridiculous thing is if it wasn't for an injury-plagued 1994 season, it would have been even better.

But none of this matters, because of 1998.

In 1998, Barry Bonds was 33. He had an amazing year: .303/.609/37 HR/122 RBI's/28 SB's. However, no one seemed to care. Sosa and McGwire were the center of attention on their race to top Maris. Bonds would get 8th in MVP voting, despite having a higher OPS and SB than two of the players above him. That whole off-season began a downward turn for his career. In 1999 Barry was injured and missed about 50 games which further led to his dependence on the drugs to help him recover from injuries.

In 1999 an interesting thing happened, Barry's stolen bases declined RAPIDLY. That kind of stat kind of smacks me in the head because it tells me that his age is catching up with him and he lost some of his athleticism.

The year 2000 would start five consecutive years of 40+ HR seasons, something he had only done 3 times previously in his whole career.

In 2001 Barry would win his first MVP since 1993 at 36 years old. During this season his batting average was .328 and it wouldn't dip below this number for four more seasons.

2002 Barry won the MVP again, carried his team to the World Series and lost in seven games (AGAIN) to the Anaheim Angels.

2003-2004 Barry won two more MVP's boosting his career OPS another 20-30 points on the way. He's never been the same since the 2004 season because he stopped taking supplements.

Just in the past hour, while writing this post, I've went through four or five different emotions: amazement, jealousy, pity, embarassment and hatred. I suppose I feel sorry for Barry Bonds being as he is now the name that we all associate with steroids. Even though I don't condone what Barry did, we should really blame Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa for bringing the steroid era to baseball.

They changed baseball into a game of home runs, they changed what fans wanted every time they walked into a park. Maybe the real culprits are ourselves for falling into a trance of only enjoying long balls instead of a lead off hitter who's OBP is over .420 and scores 140 runs.

Barry was an actor in the show. A show that we paid for. He could have been a Hall of Famer known for being one of the best combinations of speed and power to ever play the game. Instead, he is now known for being the face of steroids and for a symbol that will forever haunt his stats.

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