Lt. Dan's Revenge

It's amazing how T.O. and "Prime Time/Night Game" threads on this board correlate.

They really just need to make sure they maintain their focus in half-court defensive sets. That is the only flaw I can see with this team, and a big part of the reason is Marcus Ginyard being unavailable. If they do that, all of their offense and transition game should fall into place nicely. Oh, and Ginyard is another guy who will be back next year. Forgot about that until just now, key glue guy that any team would love to have.

Like your thinking. Although, I think there's a good chance that Pettigrew can fall into the #15-25 range, so a trade up would be ideal in this scenario in order to put ourselves in better position to draft an English, Ayers, Maybin, etc with our 2nd pick. This being in a perfect world, of course.

Did you honestly just compare Aaron Maybin with Chris Kelsay???? You made some other decent points, but I don't know if I can take anything else you said seriously after that. Maybin and Kelsay are two completely different players with completely different skill sets. I'm not as high as some on Maybin, but am pretty confident he will develop into a MUCH better pass rusher than Chris Kelsay has been or ever will be. Not that that's saying much, but if you've watched Aaron Maybin play at all at Penn St. he is nowhere near a non-factor like Kelsay has been for most of his career. The guy might not be worth a top 10-15 pick in the end, but I think he will put up some good sack numbers in this league.

I like English too, but I am a really big fan of Cushing. I think he is going to be the best of the three USC linebackers in this years class and become a multiple Pro-Bowler. That being said, I still think we sign a June or Keiaho, so linebacker might not even wind up being a need in the first couple rounds.

This is huge. Text Russ Brandon immediately. BEAST MODE BABY: "Nelson". Brandon: "?". BEAST MODE BABY: "Go Get Shawn Nelson." Done.

Like the comparison. Being a good two-way tight end seems like it has become a bit of a lost art in the NFL, and Miller is one of the few that possess those types of abilities currently in the NFL. Pettigrew seems like he is a bigger Miller with equal or more athleticism. Sounds like just what the doctor ordered for this offense now that we have our wide receiver corps rounded out, two very good running backs, and hopefully by September, an improved offensive line and quarterback. Fingers crossed.

I've been a fan of this site for a few years as well and would be absolutely ecstatic with this draft. Wow. Cushing, Maybin, Coffman, and Urbik, who is a personal favorite, as our top 4 picks without trading up/down? Yes, please.

The '09 class looks like it is going to be a GREAT one. Henson should be a beast early on, and Leslie McDonald is going to be a solid 4-year player. My favorite player of the class is Dexter Strickland. Going to be a top scorer within the first year or two. In the Rashad McCants/Joe Forte mode. These guys coming in, along with Tyler Zeller, Thompson, Ed Davis, Drew III, and possibly even Ellington and Lawson (Though I highly doubt Ty will stay in school), should make for a very quick turnaround after this years run.

That's cool that your getting into sports broadcastig like that, you do anything else for Cornell in that regard? Pretty cool story, I went to Oswego for undergrad and during my freshman year they opened up a new ice hockey arena for the team, which is by far the most popular sports program at the school. Anyways, Steve Levy graduated from Oswego years ago and was also their hockey play-by-play guy when he was attending and he came back for the opening and he did the play-by-play for the first game in the arena that night. It was an awesome game/broadcast. Wish I would've looked more into that career field, and still have regrets about not doing so today. Good luck with it.

Just send T.O. to Oliver Street in North Tonawanda with a roll or two of quarters, pack of parliaments, and a flask of jim beam and he'll be partying all night long. Might even end up with a not-so-high class working girl.

The part that you bolded was in response to the fact that you presented about the amount of three-point shots they take indicating that they don't live and die by the three. That isn't the only factor in the discussion by any means. Also, just because they do not shoot it at all that high of a clip on average doesn't mean that it isn't a huge key in whether or not they win games on a given night. There is a big difference between shooting 33-40% and shooting 15-23% like they have in the majority of the games they have lost. And I never said that their defense isn't a big part of what they do, nor did I say that 3-point shooting and posting up are the facets of basketball. However, when you have a complete and utter lack of a presence in the post, which I'm sure you can admit Duke has (And don't try to tell me Singler poses as that), you will have to rely on the three-point shot in games against teams that match up with you athletically across the floor. If you don't have a reliable inside game, and do not have the athletes to have success taking some teams off the dribble in a given game, then you have to rely on deep jumpshots. There isn't much of a choice. And if a flawed offensive team such as Duke just so happens to run cold from behind the arc, like has happened in I'd say 5 out of their 6 losses, then it is really going to be difficult to win. Like has already been mentioned to you, come back to this thread when Duke faces an athletic team with a decent post presence in the first 2 rounds, shoots 7/24 from beyond the arc, and gets bounced early yet again.

The computers in my office are for work-related use only.....

Henderson is MUCH better at creating on his own than Kyle Singler is, at both taking his guy off the dribble and finishing around the rim and creating his own jump shot opportunities off the deck. Henderson also grabs only two less rebounds per game than Singler from a guard spot on the floor, and he is 4-5 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than the "most talented rebounder on the team". Also, if you've really paid close attention to Duke this year, you'll know who they give the ball to in the closing minutes of tight games when they need points, and that's Henderson 90% of the time. And if you don't think Duke very much so lives and dies by the three-point shot, how about these numbers, Duke's three point FG percentage in their 6 losses this year: 21% (Michigan), 18% (Clemson), 23% (Wake Forest), 33% (North Carolina), 19% (Boston College), 38% (North Carolina). The two losses against UNC are the only games in that group where they even shot MARGINALLY from behind the arc. It really doesn't matter that they don't take quite as many threes as other teams in the country, it is still the most pivotal part of their game, and I think even they will admit that. With such a lack of a post presence of any form, how can it not be?

Same here please!

You're right on with this Gordio. Like you said, recruiting, and the kids they are bringing in throughout the process, has killed Duke for the better part of a decade now. Greg Paulus was NEVER good enough to run the point in the ACC, and would struggle to find any playing time on many teams in the major conferences. Scheyer is a streaky shooter, but that's about all he has, and if he goes cold on any given night he's pretty useless. Singler is a little more athletic and multi-dimensional than those two, but that doesn't matter to me personally because I can't stand looking at that guy's mug for 40 minutes. Sorry, my UNC bias came out a bit for a minute there . Gerald Henderson is a very good player, and has improved his overall game, especially his jumpshot, by leaps and bounds this year. He is their only chance of making a run in the tournament to even the Sweet 16. Other than that, I think their main bigs Thomas and Zoubek are pretty useless, and Nolan Smith and that Elliot Williams kid are the only ones capable of scoring points. And they are a sophomore and true freshman respectively. If Henderson is off the first weekend and they run into a couple solid teams (i.e. Siena, VCU, St. Marys, etc in Round One and any Big East/ACC team, Purdue, etc in Round Two) they are going to be hard pressed to make it through the weekend. IMO the biggest keys to success in the NCAA tournament is strong guard play, particularly from the point, which Duke is obviously lacking at, and rebounding-where they struggle as well many nights. Don't count on them to advance to far in the tourny, no matter what their ranking nationally is at the time.

Obviously that was just one of MANY potential scenarios that I presented, but one that does make sense for both teams involved in the swapping of picks. Philly is going to go hard after a tackle to replace Tra Thomas IMO, and they are going to need to trade up in the first round to get one of the elite guys, assuming one or two of them are still around at that point. And is what I presented really what you would call getting the sun, moon, and stars plus a golden box to put them in? Gimme a break. Pettigrew, Ayers, and Wood, or something very similar, being our first three picks is very possible.

Have you ever watched Ayers play at all while he was at Tennessee? The guy is a very, very good player and will develop into a beast at the next level IMO. I admit, it may even be stretching it at my part to have him still around at the #42 slot, because he could very well be gone 10-15 picks sooner. Many consider him one of the top couple ends in the draft as far as playing both the run and pass at a high level goes. A healthy Schobel, along with a guy like Ayers and Denney, who really didn't have that bad of a year last year (not anywhere near Chris Kelsay bad) gives us three quality defensive ends. Not to mention last years 3rd rounder Ellis, who is still a bit of an unknown, and Kelsay if they keep him in the fold. Where is there room for another FA defensive end if we do in fact draft a guy like Ayers or someone else (Maybin, Brown, Johnson, etc) in the first two rounds? I don't think there is the room, money, nor the need to sign another average DE in free agency considering that type of scenario. JMHO.

Response to that one guy we just signed on Saturday....?

Highway robbery. Would've been the only thing that would make a 3 year deal to Owens taste okay.

For sure...The only comfort I would have in accepting that 3 yr $18 mill deal for him is that Cincinatti gave Coles one more year for $1 mill more a year bascially. Potential problems or not, I would still take Owens over Coles in those 3 year scenarios.

Throwback.

I listened in on that as well. Pretty good interview, albiet short. I think Tirico does a great job with both his radio show and broadcasting. Him and Thurman both did a good job shedding some decent light on the city for once to a national audience. At least people have some positive views and not just Mort's negative garbage all the time.

I couldn't agree more. Having Thurman back in the area, and always willing to give his comments and analysis on the current team, and the obvious excitement he shows when a move like this happens, is pretty cool. I hope that he really does have a bit of inside info on the FO's plans going forward with the probability of more moves to come. This team is 1-2 more good free agent pickups and a good draft away from being a contender. Knock on wood, of course. Just for fun...How would everyone feel about this to shape up the offseason... -Sign Freddy Keiaho -Extend Jason Peters -Trade the #11 Pick and our 3rd Rounder (#75) to Philly for their #21 Pick in Round One and Second Rounder (#53) -Draft: 1. Brandon Pettigrew TE, OK State (#21) 2. Robert Ayers DE, Tennessee (#42) 2. Eric Wood C, Louisville (#53) 4. Kraig Urbik G, Wisconsin (#106) 5. Patrick Turner WR, USC (#139) 6. Arian Foster RB, Tennessee (#170) 7. Clinton McDonald DT, Memphis St. (#202) Any Takers?

I agree. If we stay at #11, it either has to be Raji if he slips, a DE (Orakpo, Brown, or Maybin) or Cushing. We need to get one of those four guys if we stay at that spot IMO.