Bleacher Report - Articles by William Guillory

Saints-Raiders: Things To Look for in New Orleans' Third Preseason Game

William Guillory — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:33:23 -0400

The New Orleans Saints have won their first two preseason games of the year in impressive fashion, and they are flying high going into their third game. On Aug. 29, the Saints play the Oakland Raiders in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

The Saints have been very impressive on both sides of the ball in victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans. But here are a few things to look for in the Oakland Raiders game.

The Saints are set to go against one of the better running teams in the league on Saturday when they face the Raiders. Oakland has a stable of running backs that includes Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, and Justin Fargas. They plan on using them in heavy doses this year, and they will definitely let all three of those guys get some carries against the Saints' defense.

In the Saints’ first two preseason games, they have had some trouble stopping the run, but the teams they were facing didn’t exactly expose that weakness, with the Bengals and the Texans combining to throw 74 passes in the two games. It has been widely speculated that the loss of defensive tackles Brian Young and Hollis Thomas has been the reason for the Saints' problems on run defense.

The starters at defensive tackle this year for the Saints are last year’s first-round draft pick Sedrick Ellis and 10-year veteran Kendrick Clancy. These two will definitely have to step their games up and start clogging up some of those running lanes, or the Saints' lack of run-stopping ability won’t be a secret for too much longer.

The Raiders’ defense possesses one of the most prolific weapons in the entire NFL with All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. He has been selected to two Pro Bowls in his six years with the Raiders, and he is considered one of the best cornerbacks in the entire NFL, if not the best.

Asomugha will probably be matched up with Drew Brees' No. 1 option, wide receiver Marques Colston, the entire time they are in the game. While the Saints’ 6'4", 225-pound receiver will surely be able to fight his way into open areas for Brees to connect with him, Asomugha will probably make life very difficult for Colston.

As a result of this, Brees will have to be able to get all of his other receivers involved, along with his tight ends and running backs, in order to make up for the loss in Colston’s production.

Brees will more likely than not be just fine with all of the options he has in the passing game. After all, he did throw for over 5,000 yards last season with Colston on the sidelines for five of those games. But Brees seems to have a much easier time moving the ball up the field whenever he can get Colston involved.

Unfortunately, in this game, he might not have that option very often.

Once again, the Saints will be without the services of starting left tackle Jamaal Brown, due to his sports hernia surgery that will keep him out the entire preseason.

Third-year left tackle Jermon Bushrod replaced Brown in the Texans game and did pretty well. He was matched up for the majority of the game against All-Pro defensive end Mario Williams and did not allow Williams, who has had a combined 26 sacks over the past two seasons, to sack Brees once.

Williams finished with four tackles, but for the most part, Bushrod held his own against a player who is well on his way to becoming arguably the best defensive player in the entire NFL.

Against the Raiders, Bushrod will be matched up against savvy veteran Greg Ellis, who will surely give the young Bushrod a run for his money.

Losing Brown for any substantial amount of time would be a huge blow to the Saints' offense, but if Bushrod can hold his own against two of the best defensive ends in the NFL, Brown’s absence won’t seem as much of a detriment to the Saints' offense as it did when the news of his surgery first broke.

It has been reported that Reggie Bush will suit up for the first time this year in the Raiders game, and he expects to “play quite a bit this game,” according to a report on Nola.com. If this is true, this is a very big game for Bush as well.

Coming off knee surgery this offseason, Bush is expected to have a breakout season if he can remain healthy, and a big game against this Raiders' defense can be a precursor to the type of season Bush hopes to have this year.

He says his knee is “100 percent” now, and he expects big things of himself this year. If he shows flashes of some of the Reggie Bush that we have seen when he's been healthy over the past three years, the former Heisman Trophy winner won't be the only one expecting big things.

After running back Mike Bell ran for 100 yards on 10 carries against the Houston Texans on Saturday, his spot on this year’s regular season roster was solidified. But in this game against the Oakland Raiders, Bell can take an even bigger step in the eyes of the Saints' coaches.

If Bell can put forward another performance like he gave in Houston on Saturday, he may be given the opportunity to turn the Saints' current 1-2 punch in the backfield—which features Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush as the team’s main ball carriers—into a 1-2-3 punch featuring Bush, Thomas, and Bell.

He has shown all the ability and wherewithal to insert himself into the Saints’ offensive gameplan; now it’s just a matter of going out and proving himself to Sean Payton and the rest of the Saints' coaches.

The Raiders are a team built upon the big pass play. With cannon-armed third-year quarterback JaMarcus Russell under center and wide receivers like Darrius Heyward-Bey, Chaz Schilens, Johnnie Lee Higgins, and Louis Murphy, the Raiders will be looking to make plays down the field in their passing game.

The Saints have been known for the past few years as probably the most vulnerable team in the NFL when it comes to deep passing plays, so they will have to show they are no longer the team that gives up 40- and 50-yard touchdown passes almost every game.

They have shown glimpses of making vast improvements in this area with the impressive play of newcomers Jabari Greer and Darren Sharper, as well as players from last year’s team, like Tracy Porter and Roman Harper.

But this group will have to show the ability to perform at a high level week in and week out in order to get the respect they think they deserve.

Jason David Starts Off on Wrong Foot in Preseason Opener

William Guillory — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:17:04 -0400

Heading into Friday’s preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, all eyes were on the Saints defense to see how much it had improved after finishing 23rd and 30th in pass defense over the past two seasons, respectively.

In particular, the one player who seemed to be the blame for all of the Saints defensive woes the past two seasons, Jason David, was the one with the most pupils on him last night.

The sixth-year corner is at a breaking point heading into this season. Despite leading the Saints in interceptions in both of his seasons since joining the team, he has been a target for most opponents passing games and has done very little to stop them from picking on him.

It is partly due to his slight 5'8" frame that seems to attract most quarterbacks to just throw over the top of him, and partly due to the fact that he is still having trouble adjusting to the man-to-man scheme that is mostly played here in New Orleans, which is completely different from the Cover-two corner role he played in his three years with the Indianapolis Colts.

Whatever the reason may be for his shortcomings, he has done very little to live up to the four-year, $16 million contract he was given as a free agent in 2007 to leave the World Champion Colts and join the Saints.

So after choosing cornerbacks in the past two NFL Drafts--Tracy Porter in 2008 and Malcolm Jenkins in 2009—and signing Jabari Greer to a four-year, $23 million contract this offseason, it seems David is on the chopping block if he doesn’t start living up to some of the expectations he had when he signed with the Saints.

From his performance in Friday’s exhibition game, I don’t think David has received that message yet.

He was targeted early in the game by Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, in a situation which the Saints sent a blitz on a third-and-5 play in the first quarter and left David in man coverage on Pro-Bowl receiver Chad Ochocinco.

Ochocinco caught a short pass, had David completely whiff on the tackle attempt and turned up field for a 55-yard gain.

Not exactly the start David was hoping for.

For the rest of the game, for the most part, David’s responsibility was to keep former Belle Chase standout Chris Henry under wraps.

Henry finished the game with seven catches for 100 yards including a 40-yard bomb and a 14-yard touchdown pass that literally went right over David’s head.

I think it’s safe to say David didn’t exactly excel in his role in Friday’s game.

It’s also safe to say that David won’t be run out of town just because of his poor performance in the Saints’ first preseason game.

He has shown the ability to come up with big plays for the Saints defense and teams can always use cornerbacks that make big plays. He will have every opportunity to earn his roster spot in the next three preseason games.

But if we see more of what we saw from David in the Bengals game over these next three preseason matchups, one thing we won’t be seeing is him in a Saints jersey once the regular season starts back up.

New Orleans Saints' Matchup Advantages and Disadvantages for 2009

William Guillory — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:40:42 -0400

This slideshow will go through each of the Saints games this season and review the position matchups that the Saints should look forward to taking advantage of ahd the ones they should start worrying about. Some of these will include individual players that will faceoff this season whenever the Saints play their respective teams and some will be player groupings that will have to go to battle. I will say which matchups go for the Saints and which ones go against the boys in Black and Gold. I hope you enjoy and please comment and give me your feedback on how good a job you think I did. Thanks.

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Top 10 NFL Prospects Coming Out of the SEC in 2010

William Guillory — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:50:58 -0400

This is a list of the top-10 NFL prospects coming out of the SEC this year. Not necessarily the best 10 players in the conference. This list indicates who will be the highest rated prospects by the time the 2010 NFL Draft rolls around next year. The SEC is a conference known for their defense, so of course, defensive players highlight most of the list. Honorable Mentions include: Jermaine Cunningham, Carlos Dunlap, Chad Jones and Geno Atkins If you think I left someone off or I have anyone ranked higher or lower than they should be, leave a comment and let me know. Thanks.

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Position Battles Indicate Much-Needed Change On New Orleans Saints Defense

William Guillory — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:04:33 -0400

NFL Training Camp is the first taste of competition that most football fans get before the new season starts.

Especially this year in New Orleans Saints training camp, where Coach Sean Payton will be trying to turn his team around from two very disappointing seasons that had average results from a team that most Saints fans believed to be an above-average team.

Some may attribute the unsatisfactory 8-8 and 7-9 records from the past two seasons to injuries, but it was obvious that the Saints shortcomings were the result of their defense, which finished last season ranked 23rd in the NFL in overall defense and 26th in scoring defense.

During the offseason, the front office did everything they could to turn things around by hiring a new defensive coordinator, signing several defensive players in free agency and using three of the four picks in this year’s draft to add depth to that side of the ball.

With this much change on to the defense, competition will be a major theme at this year’s training camp for the Saints.

With the exception of a few players, just about everyone on the Saints defense has a chance to either gain or lose a starting job, depending on how they perform in training camp.

Here are a few of the competitions that Saints fans should keep an eye out for once training camp starts on July 31:

Position: Both starting cornerback spots

Projected Starter(s): Randall Gay and Jabari Greer

Other Competitors: Malcolm Jenkins and Tracy Porter

This group has been the blame for the majority of the bad play that has been forwarded by the defense. From injuries sustained by Tracy Porter and Mike McKenzie to below-par play by Usama Young and Jason David, this unit could not catch a break—or an interception—last season.

In order to fix this problem, GM Mickey Loomis signed Jabari Greer to a four-year, $23 million contract this offseason and drafted Malcolm Jenkins with the team’s first round draft pick.

Greer is expected to come in and utilize his five years of experience in Buffalo to snatch a starting job and Gay ended last season as the team’s starter, so he should enter the next season in the same role.

While Jenkins is not expected to come in and take anybody’s starting position, most Saints fans expect him to come in and have an immediate impact on the defense. So if he were to come in and relieve either one of the veterans of their starting duties, I doubt anyone will be surprised.

Porter, who accumulated 25 tackles and an interception before sustaining a season-ending wrist injury in the fifth game of the season, is also expected to put up a fight for one of the starting spots, as well.

He came in as a rookie last season and earned a starting job after an outstanding training camp and preseason. Saints fans shouldn’t be surprised if he does the same thing this season.

Position: Second Starter at Defensive Tackle

Projected Starter(s): Kendrick Clancy

Other Competitors: Remi Ayodele, DeMario Pressley and Rod Coleman

With the Saints parting ways with both Brian Young and Hollis Thomas this offseason, the team now had to figure out who they will use alongside Ellis at defensive tackle.

Clancy was solid in this spot last season while filling in for the oft-injured veterans Young and Hollis. He finished the season with 34 tackles, two sacks and three forced fumbles.

Both Ayodele and Pressley are young players are young players with very little experience, so they will be expected to come in and play backup roles to Ellis and Clancy.

Coleman, on the other hand, has the chance to be a wild card in this competition. While the 10-year veteran hasn’t played a full season of football since 2006, if he can somehow return to being the player he once was a few years ago, he can easily snatch a starting job on the Saints defensive line.

The former Falcon and Raider accumulated 58.5 sacks over his career, including three seasons of double-digit sack numbers. He doesn’t have to return to be a dominating force in the middle like he once was, but if he can provide the Saints with a solid option at this position, Williams will undoubtedly make sure he gets in the game.

Position: Free Safety

Projected Starter(s): Darren Sharper

Other Competitors: Malcolm Jenkins, Pierson Prioleau and Usama Young

If there was one position that could have been argued to be as unproductive as the Saints’ cornerbacks, it was there free safeties.

The combination of Kevin Kaesviharn and Josh Bullocks were ineffective too often for the Saints defense last season, so as a result, the team allowed both of them leave in free agency.

When Gregg Williams came to New Orleans he knew in order to execute his defense successfully he would need a ball-hawking free safety to be the quarterback of his secondary in the same manner that Blaine Bishop and Sean Taylor once played on some of his best defensive units.

So once Darren Sharper became available as a free-agent Williams knew he needed the 13-year veteran to take over the role as the leader of his secondary. Sharper has come to New Orleans and, seemingly, the Saints problems at free safety are now a thing of the past.

Part of the reason that the Saints loved Jenkins so much going into the draft was the fact that he was so versatile. Jenkins was one of the best cornerbacks in the nation while he was at Ohio State and some scouts argued he would have been even better if he had played safety.

So if Jenkins comes in and proves those scouts to be correct and becomes an effective free safety, it won’t be surprising to see him push Sharper for that starting spot.

Young, partly due to his ineffectiveness at cornerback, is being transitioned this offseason to the free safety spot in order to take advantage of his playmaking abilities.

While some reports are saying that Young is looking to have picked up his position switch quite seamlessly, it is highly unlikely he will be fighting for a starting spot anytime soon.

Some might say that this offseason is no different from other and that the Saints always have some sort of position battle in training camp, but that isn’t exactly correct.

In the past, battles were a result of not having a player capable of claiming the spot with his play, but this year they are because the Saints have too many people willing to fill these roles.

I’m sure this is a problem they don’t mind having at all.

LaFell in Position To Join All-Time LSU Greats This Season

William Guillory — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:41:44 -0400

Some thought after the 2008-09 season, that it was a foregone conclusion, that LSU wide receiver Brandon LaFell would be leaving school early to declare for the draft.

The 6-foot-3, 210 pound receiver has already achieved team success (a 2007 National Championship) and individual success (led the SEC in receptions, tied for the lead in touchdowns, and was second in receiving yards in 2008), while at LSU.

He was also projected to be a first round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and at the very least he would have been an early second-round selection.

So why come back?

Because LaFell is looking to become more than just one of the better receivers of his time or just one of the best LSU receivers in the past 10 years, he is trying to become one of the greatest LSU receivers ever.

Becoming one of the greatest receivers in LSU history isn’t a small task, either.

LSU has had eight different wide receivers taken in the NFL Draft since 2002—five in the first two rounds—and some of those players left LSU considered as some of the best to ever step foot in Death Valley.

Josh Reed, taken in the second round of the 2002 Draft by the Buffalo Bills, still holds nine different school records in receiving categories, including most catches in a season (94), most receiving yards in a season (1,740), and most receiving yards for a career (3,001).

Dwayne Bowe, taken in the first round of the 2007 Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, is currently the record holder in three different receiving categories at LSU, including touchdown receptions in a season (12) and over a career (26).

Michael Clayton, taken in the first round of the 2004 Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is only one reception off of the school’s all-time receptions record held by Wendell Davis and he was the first player drafted from LSU’s 2003 National Championship team.

These three are considered to be not only some of the greatest to ever dawn an LSU jersey, but some of the greatest to ever come through the SEC.

While LaFell has had an impressive career at LSU, if he would have left last year, he would not have been thought of in the same regard as these three athletes who were and still are to this day.

But with a great performance this season, LaFell will no longer be considered as one of the good ones, he will be looked upon as one of the great ones.

If he were to catch 66 passes and 13 touchdowns this season, he would be the all-time leader in those categories at LSU.

That’s right, more than Reed, Bowe, or Clayton had ever caught.

And if he were to just duplicate his numbers from last season (63 catches, 929 yards and eight touchdowns), he would leave LSU as third in school-history in receptions, third in receiving yards, and second in touchdown catches.

With career numbers like that, there would be no denying his status as one of the all-time great receivers in the history of LSU.

Returning to school does have risk; however, as LaFell puts himself in a position to lose money in next year’s draft by either getting hurt this season or underperforming...having his stock drop in the eyes of NFL scouts.

If you have a chance to go past being one of the best and put yourself in a position to be considered the best, how can you pass that up?

Vick Should Decline NFL, Go to UFL

William Guillory — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:27:46 -0400

Among all the people who pay attention to football, and some who don’t, conversation over the next few days will be whether or not NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will allow former Atlanta Falcon Michael Vick back into the NFL now that he has been released from federal prison on charges of operating a dog-fighting ring.

I say the question Vick should be asking himself is whether or not he wants to go back to the NFL, quite yet.

Once Vick makes his return to the NFL, he will not only be swarmed by the media on a regular basis, but he will be constantly scrutinized about every single thing he does or says while he is with an NFL team.

PETA will surely make their regular appearances to the practice facility of whatever team decides to sign him. At all of the games, there will surely be fans who will do whatever they can to get inside of the former No. 1 overall pick’s head.

Not to mention, no team in the NFL will look to him to be their starting quarterback or face of their franchise like he once was in Atlanta. For the most part, he will probably spend more time on the bench in an NFL uniform then he will on the field in 2009.

A player with the vast number of skills and winning background that Vick possesses shouldn’t be stuck to the sideline like that. He is too much of a talent, too big a playmaker.

During his tenure as a starting quarterback, he was seen as a touchdown waiting to happen on every play. Players of his caliber should not be constricted to only being used on 10-15 plays a game in gadget-type formations. He won’t be able to make the impact that he normally would if he was stuck in this role.

The reason why he was so deadly in Atlanta was the fact that teams had to deal with him on every play. They would gameplan all week to do everything they possibly could to stop him from running.

Teams would try so hard to stop him and after a while they would start to get a little mentally-lethargic, and then he would remind them why he was unquestionably the greatest athlete to ever play the quarterback position in the history of the NFL.

ZOOM (As his Nike shoe once said).

Vick would be running up the sidelines, leaving linebackers in the dust and breaking the ankles of defensive backs who thought they were quick enough to deal with him. In a second, the gameplan a coach might have taken an entire month to concoct for stopping the Falcons was out of the window as Vick celebrated in the endzone.

But if Vick is limited to only playing in the “Wildcat” for someone’s offense or only brought in to be the recipient of a trick play, all eyes will be on him for the few plays that he is on the field and, more likely than not, he will be rendered relatively ineffective.

So what should Vick do?

This might cause a colossal backlash from the Vick-lovers that are reading this column, but hear me out.

If Vick ever wants to return to being the deadly playmaker he once was, the best career move for him should be to go the UFL, whether Goodell reinstates him to the NFL or not.

If Vick goes to the UFL, he will not only be the face of the Orlando franchise—whom he automatically would have to sign with, according to UFL rules—he would be the face of the entire league.

Some might say that the UFL would not want a person fresh off of a 23-month stint in federal prison to be the face of their football league, which may be true. But realistically, can you name any player who is on a UFL roster right now?

If Vick signs on, everyone will know at least one player in their league before they even have their first game. He will bring probably twice the media coverage to their games that they would have had without him and they can legitimately say they have a superstar in their league.

If your league has a superstar, people will want to watch (i.e. NHL with Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, Olympic Swimming with Michael Phelps and Cycling with Lance Armstrong), especially if that superstar is as polarizing a figure as Vick is.

Not to mention, if Vick can return to being anywhere near the player he once was, he will certainly leave the players in the UFL in his dust and add them to his highlight reel that is much longer than a lot of players who have played twice as long as he did in the NFL.

He will grow this league into a respectable entity, while at the same time, if he remains a good citizen, raising his credibility to NFL teams as not only a person but as a player too.

If he plays extremely well while in the UFL and shows he can return to being the player he was two years ago, a team with quarterback problems who are willing to think outside of the box will most likely invite him back to his rightful place in the NFL with open arms.

Then the ZOOM will be back in the NFL, and that’s a scary thought for defensive coordinators.

Summer League Shows Promise For Hornets Upcoming Season

William Guillory — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:37:03 -0400

Performing well in Summer League does not guarantee success when the real season starts, but it certainly gives the hope that their may be some promise.

And the performances given by the three players from the New Orleans Hornets’ Summer League team that will undoubtedly make the regular season roster—rookies Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton, and two-year veteran Julian Wright—should give all Hornets fans some sense of joy heading into next season.

We all know that is something that couldn’t be said at any other point this offseason.

With the Hornets nearly $9 million over the luxury tax threshold, they have been very limited in the moves they were able to make via free-agency or trades. So players such as Brandon Bass, Rasheed Wallace, Chris “Birdman” Anderson, Zaza Pachulia, and Antonio McDyess, who Hornets fans thought would be instant difference-makers if added to the roster, have gone elsewhere for money that the Hornets simply could not afford to give them with their current financial situation.

So then, Hornets fans hopes went to trading starting center Tyson Chandler’s massive contract (two years, $24.6 million) in order to free up some cap space.

The scenario that had been widely speculated was sending Chandler to the Phoenix Suns for the contract of Ben Wallace, who was said to be on his way to retirement very soon. If Wallace indeed retired, whatever team owned his rights would have his entire $14 million contract removed from their payroll.

This was the one break Hornets fans were waiting for, right?

Then, news of the Suns buying out Wallace’s contract came out and all of that hope went out of the window.

But then once the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League started up, all those Hornets fans that had been hearing nothing but bad news coming from the Hornets all summer-long finally had something to smile about.

The Hornets put their two rookies on the Summer League roster and gave them the freedom to lead the team because they knew those Collison and Thornton will have to play big roles off the bench for New Orleans next year if the team plans on putting up any kind of fight in the Western Conference.

The team probably expected Collison and Thornton to use their combined seven years of knowledge gained on the collegiate level to succeed in the Summer League, but they did more than just succeed.

They gave every team they faced a ton of problems trying to guard them with Collison’s ability to push the ball in transition and Thornton’s ability to beat any defender who guarded him and either finish at the rim or get to the free throw line.

They turned out to be one of the highest scoring backcourts in Las Vegas, averaging a combined 39.2 points per game. They hounded their counterparts on the defensive end nabbing 11 steals and combined to shoot 50 free throws, showing how much trouble defenders had guarding them.

Wright also showed that he is starting to show the improvement that Hornets fans have been waiting for since he was taken 13^th overall in the2007 NBA Draft.

He only averaged 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, not the dominating numbers that are expected from veterans when they participate in Summer League, but the numbers do not tell the whole story.

In the first three games of the Summer League, Collison and Thornton dominated the ball for the most part and Wright was the third option, combining to score only 31 points in those three games. But Thornton and Collison missed the majority, if not all, of the next two games, and with those two gone Wright scored a combined 43 in the last two games.

But it wasn’t only Wright’s offense that was on display in Las Vegas, he showed the ability to be a defensive stopper, also. In the five games he played, only one small forward scored over 20 points on his watch (the Nuggets’ Sonny Weems scored 28), and it took 23 shots to even get to that plateau. He also swiped eight steals, blocked five shots and showed exactly what those who hope he can replace Peja Stojakovic in the Hornets’ starting lineup just what they were looking for from him.

Some might argue that none of these numbers matter because it’s Summer League and a lot of the players on the court in some of these games won’t even be on NBA teams by the time the regular season starts.

This is not completely true, but a legitimate argument can be made for it.

But there is no arguing that their performances do show promise for the upcoming season, and that’s something Hornets fans didn’t have at all a few weeks ago.

Anthony Randolph Scores 42 In Summer League

William Guillory — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:53:40 -0400

Former LSU standout and current Golden State Warrior forward Anthony Randolph tied the NBA Summer League’s record with 42 points in Tuesday’s 95-83 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

You would think this young man would be gushing with happiness after the game.

Not exactly.

“I rebounded poorly,” Golden State’s second-year power forward said to reporters after the game. “I only had three rebounds and that’s not good for a 6-11 guy to only have three rebounds.”

This outstanding performance came a day before his 21st birthday.

You still aren’t somewhat happy about that, Anthony?

Von Wafer and Marcus Banks are the only two people to ever achieve this feat in the Summer League’s six-year run in Las Vegas.

That has to be somewhat rewarding for you?

“I need to get rebounds,” he said. “That’s my focus—just to come out there and rebound. I felt that I was being pushed around too much and I don’t like that at all.”

“That’s what got me on the floor last year, blocking shots and just playing hard. For me to be scoring and not to be able to do what I did last year, that’s not good.”

This is the attitude that got Randolph to the position he is in now, and this is the reason why the sky is the limit for what he can become in the NBA.

Randolph is a 6'10", 205-pound athletic freak who can run up and down the court, hit the long-distance jumper, and finish at the rim. Despite all of this, Randolph had to earn every one of his minutes given to him by coach Don Nelson last season, who is notorious for being hard on rookies.

Randolph averaged 7.9 points and 5.8 rebounds last season, but played only a little over 20 minutes in four of the first 28 games of last season. During the stretch, he had 16 games in which he played single-digit minutes.

But Randolph stayed determined and kept pushing and pushing until Nelson had no choice but to put him on the court. He started all eight games the Warriors played in April and averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds.

So this 42-point outburst may not have been that surprising for those who followed Randolph during his strong finish last season. But the most shocking part of Tuesday’s game might not have even been Randolph’s performance.

With about 1:31 left in the game, the crowd in COX Pavilion began to reign boos on the Warriors when they had the ball. But they weren’t booing Randolph for his amazing accomplishment; they were booing his teammates for not getting him the ball so he could break Wafer’s and Banks’ Summer League scoring record.

“I would imagine that’s why the fans were booing,” Golden State’s Summer League coach Keith Smart quipped.

Randolph didn’t exactly share the fans sentiment.

“They did a great job of finding me the whole game,” he said, “so I was happy with how we played.”

There goes that attitude again.

New Orleans Hornets Drop Second Straight Summer League Game

William Guillory — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:56:39 -0400

The Hornets dropped their second straight Las Vegas Summer League Game 88-86, after being overpowered by the Clippers on the inside.

The Clippers scored more points in the paint (48-30) and outrebounded the Hornets (44-29) in a very underwhelming performance by the New Orleans big men.

The No. 1 pick from this year’s draft Blake Griffin scored 16 points and added nine rebounds and five assists, but was outperformed by his own teammate, Deandre Jordan. The Clippers’ future at big man before Griffin came to town came up with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in a very dominating performance.

The Hornets’ two rookies came up with strong performances for their second straight game, despite both resulting in losses. Darren Collison scored 23 points, dished out four assists, and nabbed three steals. Marcus Thornton scored 19 points—10 in the fourth quarter—and had two steals of his own.

Julian Wright was the third leading scorer for the Hornets with 12 points on 3-of-9 shooting, 1-of-4 on three-pointers, and four rebounds.

The Clippers’ Eric Gordon led all scorers with 22 points.

Looking to Deal Tyson Chandler, Hornets Lose Suns as a Trade Partner

William Guillory — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:35:04 -0400

This offseason has been one filled with disappointment and missed opportunities for the New Orleans Hornets, and more of that came on Tuesday.

The Hornets currently have the third highest payroll in the NBA with $78.8 million committed to the players on the current roster—it was the highest payroll before the Los Angeles Lakers signed Ron Artest and the Boston Celtics signed Rasheed Wallace.

With the luxury tax threshold being announced a few days ago at $69.9 million for next season, the Hornets would have to pay nearly $9 million in luxury tax because of the payroll being so high.

Rumors have been afloat this entire offseason about who the Hornets could possibly trade center Tyson Chandler to and what they would get in return for the 7'1" center. The scenario that was most talked about around the NBA was sending Chandler to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Ben Wallace.

This deal would work for the Hornets because it was widely speculated that Wallace intended to retire this offseason, so whatever roster Wallace was on at the time of his retirement would have his entire $14 million contract deducted from their payroll.

But recent reports have suggested that this deal will not be happening.

The Phoenix Suns decided to not wait on Wallace’s decision and just paid him $10 million to buy his contract out, effectively making Wallace a free agent, according to the Arizona Republic.

According to the report, the buyout could save the Suns $8 million.

Hornets owner George Shinn tried to avoid this scenario last season by trading Chandler and the two years and about $24 million that’s left on his contract to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the trade was rescinded and Chandler was sent back to the Hornets.

The Hornets seemed to have limited options before this recent news, but now it seems GM Jeff Bower will have to pull a rabbit out of his hat in order to get this team under the luxury tax.

Some other rumored destinations for Chandler have included the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers.

How Will The Ravens Replace Derrick Mason?

William Guillory — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:07:16 -0400

With Derrick Mason shockingly announcing his retirement a few days ago, the Baltimore Ravens are in a very tough position heading into this season.

This team has very high expectations after making a trip to the AFC Championship last season. They looked like one of the best teams in the NFL all season, despite being lead by a rookie coach and quarterback.

John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco were both expected to step their games up heading into this season and make a push at returning to the AFC Championship, possibly even winning it this time.

But now Flacco has lost his most reliable target on the field and Harbaugh has lost his most vocal leader on an offense that seemed to be improving with each game in 2008.

Some Ravens fans might say that increasing the roles of Mark Clayton and Todd Heap in the passing game should be enough to fill the void that will be left with the departure of the 12-year veteran.

But Heap, despite being one of the most talented tight ends in the NFL, has been very inconsistent throughout his NFL career. And Clayton has underachieved as a No. 2 option in the Ravens offense, so he will undoubtedly struggle being thrown into the No. 1 spot so abruptly.

That's another reason why Mason's announcement is so shocking. He is walking away from his team just a few weeks before training camp starts.

It comes after the NFL Draft. Also, most of the possible receivers that could legitimately fill his shoes in Baltimore have already gone elsewhere in free agency.

So the Ravens are in a very difficult position to decide on how they can possibly go about replacing 2008’s unquestioned leader of the Baltimore offense.

Some have speculated that Mason's injuries have become too much for him and that he does not want to adhere to the beating that he will surely have to endure with a grueling 16-game schedule, plus playoffs.

Some have said that the recent untimely death of his longtime friend and former teammate Steve McNair was the guiding force to Mason's abrupt decision to leave the NFL. That McNair's death has shown him that life can be so short and that every moment that he can possibly spend with his family is another moment that he shouldn't pass up in order to play another year in the NFL.

Whatever his reasoning may be, the Ravens should respectfully wish him good luck in his endeavors from here on out, and they should move on. The beginning of the 2009 season will be coming up real soon. The Ravens, who already had a lack of depth at the wide receiver position with Mason on the roster, now have a gaping hole to fill with No. 85's absence.

Some whispers will start to arise that the Ravens should pursue bad-boy receivers Plaxico Burress or Brandon Marshall.

The Ravens are known for the strong personalities in their locker room. These two players would maybe fit in better with the Ravens then they would with any other team, so making a move of this nature would be understandable.

Whatever move they make, they need to make it quick. It could be argued that Flacco lacked a dependable No. 1 receiver when Mason was on the roster.

But with Mason gone, there's no argument now.

Hornets Fall to Spurs In First Summer League Game

William Guillory — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:21:34 -0400

The Hornets completed their first game of the 2009 Las Vegas Summer League with a 92-86 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

New Orleansl got strong performances from the three big-name players on the roster.

The Hornets two new additions via the NBA Draft—LSU’s Marcus Thornton and UCLA’s Darren Collison—had big games in their first taste of NBA action.

Thornton poured in 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting. The Rookie also grabbed six rebounds. Collison threw in 19 points, six assists and five rebounds.

TrueHoop Network writer David Thorpe was very impressed with both performances.

“Collison can run a team (and he) does a nice job of attacking the ballscreen,” Thorpe tweeted while at the game. “Marcus Thornton is playing well, defending and playmaking.”

The Hornets much maligned first-round pick of the 2007 draft Julian Wright also played in Sunday’s game. The former Kansas Jayhawk finished with 15 points, on 7-of-13 shooting, and grabbed seven boards.

Thorpe wasn’t as impressed with Wright.

“Julian Wright has horrible shot selection. At this point in his career, that's disappointing,” Thorpe tweeted.

The Spurs major addition from the draft, former Pitt Panther DeJuan Blair, had 13 points and 10 rebounds. George Hill, the Spurs backup point guard from last season, was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting and made all 11 of his free throw attempts.

UNO Won't Cut Any Athletic Programs

William Guillory — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:20:29 -0400

University of New Orleans Chancellor Tim Ryan delivered some long-awaited good news to Privateer sports fans on Thursday.

“We will not be cutting any athletic programs this year,” Ryan said at a press conference where he announced how UNO will be implementing a plan to bounce back from the recent budget cuts to higher education in Louisiana.

Ryan announced that the official amount that the university had to cut from their budget was about $12 million, which is about 10 percent of the school’s budget.

Fortunately for the athletic program, these cuts involved the “slimming down” of the athletic program, not removing any of it.

Athletic Director Jim Miller said that the UNO Athletic Program will not be a year-to-year commodity and that they are committing to keeping the athletic program alive for years to come with the assistance of New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn and Hornets President Hugh Weber.

“We continue to meet with Mr. Shinn and his group in support of our program. We’re very confident that they will come up with financial support, but also they will be helping us with the branding and the advertising of UNO Athletics,” Miller said. “Weber and his staff have met with our staff at least three times, we had conversations this morning, and we met the day before yesterday, all with the purpose of re-positioning the UNO Athletic Department.”

“I’ll be the first to admit that we haven’t done a good job of becoming and remaining an integral part of the university. Too often it has been us and them and that’s unfortunate. That’s one thing the Hornets organization is helping us to improve upon and we are dedicating this year to becoming a very strong part of the university.”

Ryan also announced that UNO has had to extend their hiring freeze up until December 2009, but it will not be affecting any of the current members of the athletic program.

“I’m very optimistic about the athletic program, as well as the overall university,” Ryan said.

Whom Should The Hornets Trade: Tyson Chandler Or David West?

William Guillory — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:48:38 -0400

In 2007, David West and Tyson Chandler emerged as one of the best young power forward-center combos in the NBA.

Chandler's rim-rattling dunks combined with West's feathery touch from mid-range gave teams in the NBA fits.

Once Chris Paul came off one of those classic pick-and-rolls with Chandler, teams had quite a decision to make.

Do you stop West from shooting his patented 15 to 18 foot jumper, or do you stop Paul from tossing Chandler a pass that more times than not resulted in an alley-oop that got crowds in New Orleans hyped, and crowds on the road in awe?

Not to mention, whenever Paul, the best point guard in the NBA, decided to get a few of his shots up to make defenses, life got even more difficult.

But after the 2008 season in which Chandler missed 38 games due to an ankle injury, West had to work harder to get his jumper off, Chandler didn't get as many opportunism for those momentum-swinging alley-oops, and Chris Paul had to carry the entire Hornets offense on his back.

Obviously this wasn't a recipe for success, so Paul and West were overworked during the regular season and eventually ran out of gas once playoff time came around.

Because of this, the Hornets are in the position they're in now.

They don't know whether this is a team on the way up or on the way down, and they currently have $77 million in payroll heading into next season (reportedly, the highest in the NBA) and are in desperation-mode to reduce that number before next season starts so the organization won't have to give up the $7 million in luxury tax that results from having such a bloated payroll.

The team tried avoiding this scenario mid-way through last season by trading Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the expiring contracts of Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. Smith and Wilcox would have been rented help on the front line for the Hornets in their playoff push and their salaries would have come off the Hornets books after the season.

But the Thunder's team doctors had concern with one of Chandler's toes that was surgically repaired a few years back and decided to rescind the trade, shipping Chandler and his 2009 salary of $11.85 million back to the Hornets.

Without a doubt, Hornets owner George Shinn will do whatever he can to avoid having to pay the luxury tax bill that he will have to pay if the roster stays as it is, so there is only one option: trade someone.

But who do you trade?

Obviously, Paul will never be traded from the Hornets anytime soon and Peja Stojakovic's contract, which is worth about $42 million over the next three years, will be impossible to move with his diminished skills. So the only two players whom the Hornets can realistically trade and get some value back for them are Chandler and West.

Chandler is set for his $11.85 million next season and has a player-option, which he will certainly pick up, that will pay him $12.75 million in 2010-11. West is scheduled to make about $17 million over the next two seasons and has a player-option for the 2011-12 season for about $7.5 million.

Of course, the Hornets would rather trade Chandler over West.

West is a better player at this point, does not have the injury history that Chandler has, and is scheduled to make less money than Chandler over the next two seasons.

But would trading Chandler be a better move for the Hornets?

There have been rumors that the Phoenix Suns have been trying to send Ben Wallace's $14 million contract, that is expected to come off the books of whatever team is employing Wallace due to the fact that he will probably be retiring, and Detroit has been rumored to have some interest in acquiring Chandler, as well.

Either of these trades would result in the Hornets basically giving up their starting center in exchange for cap relief. Is that really an equation for improving your team?

I don't think so.

Especially not after Marcin Gortat has already agreed to sign with the Dallas Mavericks and Rasheed Wallace has agreed to sign with the Boston Celtics, which means there is no player available who can possibly come in and be as productive as Chandler was when he was at his best.

Trading Chandler make the Hornets payroll situation a lot easier to deal with, but the team's success would suffer without a player of Chandler’s caliber and no one to take his place.

So this brings us to West.

A David West trade can have the same kind of effect on the Hornets payroll as a Chandler trade would, but to the contrary of trading Chandler, the Hornets can get some real value for West.

Two-time all-stars always have value for a team in trades and West would make any contender a much better team with his presence on their front line.

He is in the prime of his career and is an outstanding character guy, which is something else that affects a player's value in trade discussions.

Trading West might make Paul unhappy due to their close relationship, but he would be able to understand the deal if the team were able to get some value for West that would make the Hornets a better team.

From what I have seen of West over the past two seasons, the Hornets should be able to get two players and a draft picks in exchange for him, and if the Hornets are offered a deal like that, can they really turn it down?

They may have been offered a deal like this and turned it down, citing West's potential and the key role he has played for this team over the past two seasons. But sometimes sacrifices have to be made to turn a good team into a great team.

At this point, the Hornets are at a crossroads and whatever decision they make can have a profound affect on what happens to this team over the next few seasons.

But they must review all the possibilities and make the best decision for this team, because if they make the wrong one, it will be a long time before they can revisit the glory of that 2007 season.

How Things Can Change So Quickly Over One Year for the Hornets

William Guillory — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:54:27 -0400

Things can change very quickly in the NBA.

At least that’s what Hornets fans have had to learn over the past year.

Fourth of July weekend in 2008 was one of the most optimistic periods in Hornets' franchise history.

The bad taste of a Game Seven loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals had just worn off, and the Hornets seemed as if they were well on their way to bringing New Orleans its first professional sports title.

People were putting the Hornets in the conversation, along with the Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers, as potential contenders for the Western Conference crown going into 2009.

Chris Paul was one of the early favorites to win the MVP award.

A couple of weeks later, the Hornets signed forward James Posey, one of the prizes among the crop of free agents available last offseason. He had just finished winning his second NBA championship and was brought in to be the veteran leader on a young Hornets team that did not know how to win the big game quite yet.

This was the move that was going to put this team over the hump, right?

Giving him a contract worth four years and $25 million may have been a bit much, but winning a championship was the main focus for this team, not saving money—which is the mindset an organization needs if they want to achieve this goal.

The loss of major playoff contributors Jannero Pargo and Bonzi Wells seemed inevitable, but after the addition of Posey and the presence of a veteran point guard like Mike James still on the roster, it was only an afterthought at the time.

The Hornets were going to make New Orleans the home of a world champion.

At least that was what everyone thought.

Almost a year later, the thinking in New Orleans is vastly different.

An extremely disappointing 49-33 regular season, which consisted of 58 combined games missed by starters Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic and the overworking of Chris Paul and David West to make up for their absence, ending with a quick first round exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.

James was traded early in the season for Antonio Daniels due to his ineffectiveness.

Then Daniels came in and was, well, ineffective.

Posey played well, but, with the team lacking other players to assist West and Paul in the scoring effort, he was asked to do too much at times. Posey could not play the same role he did on his two previous championship teams.

They just need to sign another veteran, right?

That should solve their problems.

Well, there is one little problem with that theory. The Hornets are on schedule to have over $77 million in payroll going into the 2009 season. That figure puts them $7 million over the expected luxury tax threshold.

Adding another salary anywhere near what they gave to Posey last offseason will make owner George Shinn have to pony up a large chunk of cash (nearly $10 million) in luxury tax.

Shinn definitely doesn’t want to do that—no owner does—and especially not for a team that does not look like a surefire contender.

New Orleans General Manager Jeff Bower can hope that a free agent, such as Brandon Bass, is willing to take the mid-level exception or less to come to New Orleans and make the Hornets look as if they are trying to keep up with their Western Conference foes.

Weren’t they supposed to be celebrating a championship right around this time?

Times have changed.

One thing is for certain, the Hornets will not be in the conversation of teams who are expected to be celebrating a championship around this time next year.

After all the movement involving the top teams in the West this offseason, New Orleans has fallen farther behind.

Ron Artest has left Houston for the Lakers.

Richard Jefferson exits Milwaukee to join the Spurs.

Up-and-comer Trevor Ariza will sign with the Rockets.

Not to mention Shaq joining the Cavs and Vince Carter being traded to the Magic out East, and we see contenders adding firepower while the Hornets are handcuffed.

All these franchises had better records than the Hornets last year before making these huge additions to their respective teams. They are putting the pedal to the metal in an effort to win next year’s title, and the Hornets are struggling to get out of neutral.

Weren’t they supposed to be in the fast lane not too long ago?

The question now is, what do the Hornets plan on doing to try and catch up with the elite teams in the league so they can be competitive come playoff-time next season?

Trade Chandler to give the team some breathing room under the cap?

Trade an All-Star in David West?

Hope to convince someone into trading for an over-the-hill, highly-paid player like Stojakovic, Morris Peterson, or Antonio Daniels?

All of these scenarios seem unlikely to materialize anytime soon.

But Bower will have to figure something out, or his team will not be a contender in the West with the abundance of quality players and teams currently littered throughout the conference.

The additions of Blake Griffin to the Clippers and Zach Randolph to the Grizzlies will only deepen the challenges in the West.

If Hornets fans think life changed from good to bad really fast last season, they’ll be shocked to see how things can change from bad to worse even quicker.