Sports Things I’m Thankful For

I don’t normally write lists, mainly because I think that’s just an easy (read: lazy) way of creating content. But in this instance, with thanksgiving coming up, I just wanted to jot down some thoughts on things that I’m thankful for in the sports world.

Feel free to leave comments with things that you’re thankful for.

• I’m thankful that the Chicago Bulls play “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 when they come out of timeouts late in close games.
• I’m thankful that my San Antonio Spurs continue to bring in players who are likable, regardless of how the team is playing. And that the franchise’s sole focus is on winning, not saving money or marketing players.
• I’m thankful that Brandon Jennings has been a success so far in his NBA career, so that elite players coming out of high school have options again. The NCAA no longer has a complete monopoly on top high school talent and players now have the option to go overseas for a season of much better preparation than the NCAA can provide.
• I’m thankful that despite their differences, I’m able to read both Deadspin and Bill Simmons. And enjoy each.
• I’m thankful that there a lot of people in the sports media world who make me feel like I could do a much better job than them. And eventually they’ll find out.

What are you thankful for, in the sports world or otherwise? Let everyone know in the comments.

Smile or Something, Perk

On July 4, 1776, our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, announcing that the colonies were no longer going to be part of the British Empire. Despite supporting the movement, Perk was not amused.

2009-10 San Antonio Spurs: Consistently Inconsistent

For the Spurs to make a serious run at the NBA Finals, the defense must improve. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

It’s getting to be late November and the NBA season is picking up pace. The Spurs sit at 4-6 right now, while the defending-champion Los Angeles Lakers are 9-3 and their second-best player just returned to the lineup.

A sense of urgency is building around the Spurs, with many experts having picked them during the summer to be one of the top teams in the NBA. Some even went so far as to predict they’ll dethrone the Lakers.

What I see is a team inconsistent in every area. From game-to-game and quarter-to-quarter, the Spurs have yet to put it all together.

Maybe that’s good. They’re a competitive team in their current state, a few different breaks here and there and the Spurs are on the right side of .500.

On the other side of the coin, what if they’re unable to play a complete game?

Being just ten games into the season and having to fit in so many new parts, there’s going to be a period of adjustment. Some players are new to the team and must learn the system. Others are coming back from injury and trying to ease back into NBA shape.

The fear is not what the Spurs have been inconsistent at to this point, it’s what they haven’t shown the ability to do yet.

Interior defense and defensive rebounding are two things that come to mind. Gone are the days of the guards funneling their man into the twin towers with little chance of conceding a layup.

Tim Duncan is no longer the shot blocker he once was. He’s a smart defensive player who plays position defense and still provides a good number of blocks. But he’s not an athletic pivot who stops the ball at the rim anymore. (Was he every really athletic, in comparison to the rest of the NBA, that is?) Antonio McDyess, DeJuan Blair and Matt Bonner aren’t elite shot-blockers either.

And with the transition the league has taken to more perimeter-oriented offenses, many teams are playing “small ball” and using just one interior player. This scheme allows for more penetration against the Spurs defenses, leaving just one big to defend the rim.

From there, options are almost limitless. Teams can score points in the paint, draw fouls, and kick the ball out for uncontested 3-pointers. All three are crippling results for a team that banks on a stingy defense to win games.

The Spurs have to do something to remedy this. Duncan, McDyess and Bonner are proven commodities. We know the Spurs aren’t going to get any rim-stopping plays from them.

Theo Ratliff can still block some shots, (Just ask Carlos Boozer about that.) But at 36 years old, the game has passed him by. He’s not the physical beast the Kevin Willis was when Willis was in San Antonio. Ratliff’s body isn’t in shape to play more than 20 minutes in the NBA.

But towards the end of the bench and on the inactive list sit a pair of players with intrigue.

Ian Mahimni and Marcus Haislip have the athleticism to protect the rim and cover quicker big men. They have the young legs to play as many minutes as Pop feels like throwing at them. Unfortunately, to this point they haven’t shown the ability in other areas to get on the floor.

At some point soon, Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford are going to have to make a decision. Play Haislip and/or Mahimni in hopes that they’ll be in position to contribute during the stretch run. If nothing else, the Spurs can afford to lose games right now. They’re doing it anyway.

If not, trade one or both of them and bring in someone who can shore up our weaknesses. The season depends on it. Already.

PETA is Insane

This video has been seen a lot of places, mainly because it’s awesome.

And this video inspired me to make this tweet this morning:

Lucky guy that I am, got a good, old-fashioned response from the official PETA twitter account, who are obviously monitoring the twittersphere for anyone who tweets the name PETA.

They sent me a link to their blog post about the Manu Ginobili incident, giving us this gem, which is making its way through the blogosphere:

To bludgeon a 4-ounce animal to death, it takes either a small man or a totally unthinking one—with no respect or consideration for lives humbler than his own. This is a time when athletes in particular need to be on their best behavior around any animal and show that they have brains and a heart, not just reactionary brawn.

Yeah, that link they have there basically compares Manu Ginobili to Michael Vick. So I responded to them in kind:

And PETA’s “official” response:

Yes, it’s great to know that the people at PETA type like 13-year-old girls too. My response:

I have not gotten a response from that last tweet yet. Apparently it doesn’t matter that the animal survived. (Note: I don’t know for sure if it survived, I heard that it did, though.) All that matters is someone used “reactionary brawn” on a poor, helpless animal. One that possibly could carry rabies. Have at it in the comments, folks.

[Update: I checked around and apparently, the bat died. Oh well, I stand by my point. Ease up PETA. There are millions of bats under the South Congress bridge here in Austin. One bat is nothing to raise a fuss about.]

[Update to the update: Maybe the bat lived. That’s what Manu himself says. I don’t know what to believe anymore. (Can you tell how frazzled I am?) Anyway, get a life PETA.

The Beautiful Game’s Breakthrough?

Will your kids grow up to be fans of this asshole? (AP Photo/Tom Hevezi)

When I was a kid, I remember waking up in the morning, long before my parents and older sister were awake. I’d quietly creep downstairs, not wanting to wake anyone up so I could sit and enjoy the living room TV by myself, for as long as possible.

I was up early, 6, 7 am. I was young, so I didn’t stay up late the night before.

I would get downstairs, turn on the TV and pour myself a bowl of cereal, unless I knew my mom was making pancakes or waffles later.

I struggle to remember the names of the shows I watched back then. There was one where kids would play arcade games against each other on Nickelodeon.

Another involved some sort of yellow, cat-like creature.

God knows what these abominations of television were actually about. But I was up watching them, sure as hell.

As I got older my tastes changed. There were less cartoons and more sports. I turned on ESPN in the mornings and watched reruns of SportsCenter over and over again until noon, when ESPN switched to other programming.

Hell, on Sunday mornings I actually sat through the Sports Reporters on a weekly basis. And I didn’t even try to shove sharp objects through my ear drums.

Oh, how innocent and stupid I was.

Starting this year, after the economy went in the crapper and Setanta Sports’ profits did too, ESPN got the rights to broadcast English Premier League matches in the US. Now, every Saturday morning on ESPN2 there’s an EPL match shown live.

Because England is five hours ahead of the US (on the east coast, six hours ahead here in Austin), these matches are shown early in the morning. For instance, my beloved Tottenham Hotspur take on the scum of Arsenal this Saturday, and the match starts at 8 am. Others start as early as 7 am here.

Not a lot of adults are up at 7 or 8 am on the weekends. And if they are, they’re just getting their eyes open. But you know who is up at 8 am? Kids.

If there’s ever a time that soccer is going to “make it” in the United States, or be something close to mainstream, it’s starting now.

A common theory was that kids grow up playing soccer and eventually these kids will become adults who like soccer. Not true. I know lot’s of people who played soccer when we were kids and none of them made it to high school before they gave it up. They all moved on to more popular American sports like football, basketball and baseball. (Note: in Texas, no one plays hockey. The only people in Texas who do play hockey aren’t actually from Texas.)

But kids today can turn on ESPN and see a professional soccer league full of arguably the best soccer players in the world, first thing in the morning. That’s what’s going to help soccer make it big in the US.

Before, it was harder for kids to catch European soccer here in the US. They would either need access to Sky or Setanta Sports, which only come on satellite packages. On the off-chance that they actually had satellite service, there were so many other channels to compete with, that soccer was hard to find.

The other option was watching on Fox Soccer Channel, which is usually only available on digital cable packages. And then, there were many other channels for FSC to compete with.

UEFA Champions League matches have been available on ESPN for the last several years. But kids most likely didn’t get to watch any CL matches because they are shown on weekday afternoons, when kids are in school.

If there’s one thing that keeps kids playing the main professional sports in America (baseball, basketball and football), it’s seeing their favorite players on TV several nights a week. Why follow a sports if there’s no one in it for you to look up to?

On Saturday morning, little Johnny can wake up and watch Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney bang home two goals, and then little Johnny will want to go to his YMCA soccer match and do the same. Or he can go out into the yard and kick his soccer ball off the side of his house for practice or play with friends who watched the same Man U match. Little Johnny’s got someone to emulate now.

Adult sports fans may never come around to soccer. But kids today are going to be watching the best of the best ply their trade in the world’s most popular game, before adults have even stepped out of bed.

I Hate You Andrew Bynum

Yes folks, Andrew Bynum is always on the lookout for those low-flying rebounds.

I am not a Laker fan. Far from it. I’ll be completely honest, I’m a Laker-hater.

I hate the teams in every sport that have the most mainstream appeal. I hate the Lakers, I hate the Yankees, I hate the Dallas Cowboys and I hate Manchester United.

I also hate my teams’ rivals, as I should, but that’s a different kind of hate.

As a Laker-hater, I despise hearing about how great Andrew Bynum is and how great he is going to be.

The simple truth is, he’s shown some flashes of being a very good NBA player, but he’s also spent an inordinate amount of time on the injured list and doesn’t appear to have some of the instincts that come natural to great basketball players.

He mis-times his jumps often enough to make him look awkward and he doesn’t have a strong ability to read rebounds are going to come off the rim.

Maybe I’m being too harsh. Maybe I’m completely and utterly biased and full of shit.

I’ll spare you the headache and let you know that I am completely biased and full of shit.

I logged on to ESPN.com this afternoon and saw a featured story called the All-NBA Breakout Team. Who was the picture of for that featured story? Why, Andrew Bynum, of course. Every year seems to be his breakout season, but this one is definitely it.

Apparently.

I didn’t get a chance to read the article, mainly because I’m too stingy to pay for ESPN Insider. But it doesn’t matter. May favorite part has to be the picture of Bynum that ESPN chose.

It looks like Bynum is blocking out his man, Charlotte Bobcats center Nazr Mohammed. But if you take a close look at the image (I know, it’s kind of small… that’s what she said), you’ll see that Mohammed is looking up at the rebound presumably coming off the rim. In the background, Kobe Bryant is doing the same.

But Andrew Bynum is not.

Bynum is looking somewhere to the left. At God knows what.

Remember what I said about instincts? I think that photo captures it perfectly.

Enjoy the Andrew Bynum era everybody.

If I had to bet my life on him ever finishing in the top three for NBA MVP voting, I wouldn’t do it. But I’d definitely wager a few limbs and non-vital organs.

October and November Power Players: The Top 25 Players in the NBA

It’s opening night in the NBA. One thing I’ve always wanted to do, mainly because I haven’t seen it done many places except by John Hollinger and fantasy basketball websites, is have a feature which ranks the top 25 players in the NBA based on my subjective, inconsistent, and probably-biased interpretation.

This is the first installment of Power Players and a new one will be out every month. The next one will come out the first week of December. This is how I feel the NBA’s best players are ranked going into the start of the 2009-10 season.

1. Kobe Bryant – 26.9 points per game, 4.9 assists per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, 24.46 player efficiency rating, and he won the NBA title last season. He’s also an excellent defensive player. This year is the year we see him start to break down, at least statistically. I think he’s overrated at times, but I’m with Marc Stein. The champ starts at the top until he’s dethroned.
2. LeBron James – If I had to guess, I’d say he’s going to take over the top spot come December. The defending MVP last season, he averaged 28.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, and 7.2 apg, and had the top PER of 31.76. I’m curious to see how pissed he’s going to be coming into this season. My guess is probably enough to punch out a 130 lb. nightclub owner.
3. Chris Paul – This is the year. I can feel it. This is the year that he completely turns on Byron Scott. He’s definitely going to put up numbers. He averaged 22.8 ppg, 11 apg and 2.8 steals per game last year in what felt like a down year (for him). I just wonder how long he’s going to put up with Byron Scott’s shit.
4. Dwyane Wade – The closest thing we’ve seen to Michael Jordan when he’s healthy. Someone who I cringe every time he goes to the floor, which is a lot. He played a healthy season last year (for the most part), so he gets a high ranking. But if he starts getting hurt, it’s gonna be like playing Chutes and Ladders. He did average over 30 points per game last year, though.
5. Tim Duncan – The first of the “he might be rated too high because he’s hurt” guys. Even playing with one knee last season, Duncan was the best power forward in the league. (Note: Dirk is not a power forward. Nothing about his game is power. He’s a small forward. Moving on.) He can absolutely control a game without even scoring. But he’ll go ahead and score 20 points a game for you anyway. Except this year, it’s probably going to be closer to 18 ppg.
6. Brandon Roy – The best of the sneaky-good guys. You don’t realized how good he is, even watching him. You constantly hear the announcers gush about how good he is and how underrated he is. Then after the game you look at the box score and see his stat line. Plus, he can play multiple positions, which is great for fantasy basketball.
7. Dwight Howard – Man-beast. I still don’t like how he blocks shots out of bounds. I still think he needs more work on his post moves. I still feel like he’s not assertive enough offensively. But he’s still one of the top 10 players in the league. He has a scary ceiling and if anybody can reach that high, it’s him.
8. Tony Parker – The Spurs go-to player offensively. Gregg Popovich and his staff front office / understand the rule changes that benefit perimeter players and have taught Parker how to use that to his advantage. He got a handful of votes for MVP last season and this year should be no different. Imagine if he came into 2009 with a semi-consistent 3-pointer.
9. Pau Gasol – Had a great NBA Finals last year. I thought he was the MVP of the Finals, but there was no way he was actually getting the award over Kobe. He’s finally reached his comfort level as a player: second banana to a great player, but can be the main option if need be. I expect another excellent season from him, though he may coast until the playoffs.
10. Dirk Nowitzki – As much as I’d like to penalize him for his long hair (not pictured), he cracks the Top 10. I think that he is a lot like Gasol in that he’d be better suited as a second option on a great team, but for the Mavs he’s the go-to guy. Averaged 26 ppg and 8.4 rpg last season. I expect similar numbers this season. I also expect the Mavs to get knocked out in the second round of the playoffs. (But that may just be the bitter Spurs fan in me.)
11. Carmelo Anthony – Melo had his best season last in 2008-09 when he averaged 22.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg, and I would hope that he would continue to improve. With a leader like Chauncey Billups around, he should be on the right track. Unfortunately for Melo, I’m with the Sports Guy and think that George Karl may wear-out his welcome this year in Denver. How Melo handles Karl will determine where Melo will fall in these rankings.
12. Kevin Durant – I really like Durant. I like his game. I like his numbers and think they’re going to improve. But I can’t shake his awful +/- last season. My theory is that his teammates are used to being the best players on their team and haven’t learned to be the second, third or fourth options on the floor to Durant. But his defense is on him. He needs to learn to play good NBA defense.
13. Deron Williams – Some people like to argue who’s the top point guard in the league, Chris Paul or Deron Williams. Well, Paul is and Williams isn’t even the second best point guard. That goes to Tony Parker. But Williams is still a stud and a gold medal winner. There are much worse things in the world than having Deron Williams running point guard for your team. Like having Jordan Farmar as your point guard.
14. Danny Granger – Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh Batman! Granger had his best season last year and won the most improved player award. It remains to be seen if he can lead a winning team or if he is just another “best player on a bad team” guy. With 25.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg and a 21.88 PER he looks like one of the NBA’s top swingmen. This is an important year for him.
15. Joe Johnson – A lot of people, myself included, thought he was selfish and crazy when he left Phoenix for Atlanta. Now he’s the top player on a playoff team and Phoenix is a wasteland of talent.
16. Kevin Garnett – When he’s at his peak, he’s one of the top eight players on this list. But the thing is, with the knee injury he had last year I don’t know if he’s ever going to be back at his peak. He averaged 15.8 ppg and 8.5 rpg to go along with his 21.32 PER and role as the defensive anchor for the Boston Celtics. He’s one of the best to ever play power forward but his career is slowly coming to a close.
17. Chris Bosh – I’d put him in the Dirk / Pau category of “players who are better suited playing with someone better than them.” Trouble is, on the Raptors, there’s no one better than him. He’s got talent, he averaged 22.7 ppg and 10 rpg in 2008-09, but he hasn’t shown that he can control and lead a winning team. He may need a change of scenery next summer.
18. Paul Pierce – I left him off of my first draft of this list because I had forgotten about him, a far cry from last offseason when he claimed he was the best player in the NBA. So, how’d that work out Paul? Even if he’s not the best, Pierce is the main option on offense for the Celtics and can be deadly when in a rhythm. I don’t like when the my Spurs play against him, which is one of the better complements I can give a player.
19. Devin Harris – Jason Kidd is still alive and playing for the Mavs, but I still believe Mark Cuban is going to regret sending this guy packing, no matter what mathematical formula Cuban’s guys come out with stating otherwise. Especially when Kidd retires without the Mavs having won, or come close to, a title. And all the while, Devin Harris will still be playing in New Jersey or Brooklyn or Moscow. Somewhere.
20. Steve Nash – Will 7 Second or Less basketball return to Phoenix? Will Nash’s back finally give out? What’s so special about the Suns training staff that the other 29 teams can’t replicate? Will I be invited to Nash’s charity soccer event next summer? So many questions yet to be answered.
21. Chauncey Billups – He showed up in Denver and made a head case of a team a contender. He’s like Xanax for basketball teams. The guy turned both Rasheed Wallace and Kenyon Martin into reliable team players. Can we get him into Congress when he’s retired?
22. Rajon Rondo – This is a player that me and my buddy Carter, who was my consultant for these rankings, differ on. He averaged 11.9 ppg, 8.2 apg, 5.3 rpg and 1.9 steals per game last season. He does a good job running his team, plays solid defense (although Doc says he needs to do a better job of staying in front of his man), and plays with a bad attitude… in a good way. I like him, although the fact that he helped me win my fantasy basketball league last year may influence my decision.
23. Antawn Jamison – The perpetually overshadowed. He was overshadowed in college and his first couple of season in the pros by Vince Carter, even though Jamison was clearly the better player. He was overshadowed in for a while in Golden State by second round steal Gilbert Arenas. He was overshadowed in Dallas by everyone on the roster. He has been overshadowed in Washington by the crazy and injury-plagued Gilbert Arenas. All the while, he has career averages of 19.9 ppg and 8 rpg, and put up numbers of 22.8 ppg and 8.9 rpg last season.
24. Jameer Nelson – Who knows if he can put together another season like last year. Maybe he can improve on those numbers and be an All-Star again. All I know is he was the second-best player on the top team in the Eastern Conference last year. That’s good for Top 25 status in my book.
25. Shaquille O’Neal – I wasn’t sure if I was going to include Shaq on the initial list of Power Players. He’s not nearly the dominant force he was, nor is he in the shape he was. He’s never been able to defend the pick-and-roll and is only motivated to play by certain coaches. I have a gut feeling he’s going to be Mike Brown’s downfall this season. Who knows if he’s going to be able to play second-fiddle to LeBron without killing team chemistry. But my buddy Carter pushed for him and he had a PER of 22.33, which was good for 13th in the league last season. So here he is, but I don’t know how long that’s going to last.

 

Spurs Lose at Home to Stoke City 1-0

Fuck. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)

The typical Spurs performance of the last two seasons has been to play well against the big clubs and steal points, and struggle against the smaller ones, the ones Spurs should beat.

This season, things have been different. While Spurs have beaten Liverpool, they’ve lost to both Chelsea and Manchester United. All the while, they’ve taken points from every other game. Things seemed different this season. There was a feeling that they could content for the Top 4 just by beating the crap teams.

Unfortunately, Saturday was a return to form for Tottenham. Spurs lacked any semblance of creativity and eventually, it bit them in the ass.

Spurs seemed destined to score in the match. They controlled possession and had several attempts at goal, but could convert nothing. The squad was lacking a playmaker, namely Luka Modric. They played fairly well without him so far, but this was one match where it was painfully obvious he was needed.

Niko Kranjcar was unlucky when his first half shot got by the Stoke keeper and ricocheted of the post, but he disappeared in the second half, until extra time when he was taken down in the box and no penalty was called. It was a clear penalty, the Stoke defender didn’t touch the ball. But those fouls aren’t always called.

No one seemed able to create a shot for themselves, despite controlling possession. Time after time passes were made with no real urgency or purpose. The midfield passed the ball around looking for openings, but seemed content not to create one. Roman Pavyluchenko tried his hand at a few shots when he came on for Robbie Keane in the second half, hoping for the best, but not much came of it. Along with Modric, Jermain Defoe was missed today.

With JD’s suspension, Peter Crouch started the match up top with Keano. As skilled as Crouchy is, the temptation to put some air under the ball and aim for his head is too great when he’s on the pitch. And time after time possession was wasted by lofting it into the box and hoping for the best.

Woodgate made his first start of the season but left about 17 minutes in with some sort of injury. I’m not sure if it was a an aggravation of his groin injury or something different. Aaron Lennon also left the game in the second half and Spurs played with 10 men the rest of the way. No information has come out about either injury.

Saturday started off promising enough. With a win Spurs would sit at the top of the table for at least 24 hours. Instead fans suffered through an afternoon tease. Spurs controlled the game and never appeared to be tested, only to give up the winning goal late. Very disappointing game. We have reached a pivotal point in the season.

 

Recommended reading:

• Matchday: Spurs 2 – 1 Portsmouth
• Setanta Sports Picks Their Premiership Top 4
• Asia Trophy Final Matchday – Spurs v. Hull City
• Asia Trophy Matchday – Spurs v. West Ham United
• Wembley Cup Matchday – Spurs v. Celtic

Matchday: Spurs 2 – 1 Portsmouth

I didin’t watch this match live, instead I caught the replay Saturday night on Fox Soccer Channel. It shouldn’t have been near as close as it was. But these things happen.

I’m not sure what Defoe was thinking when he got his red card. He seemed perturbed the entire match, though. It might have been the reception he was getting from the Pompey fans. I hope he’s not going to be suspended for the stomp, but Benoit Assou-Ekotto got three games last year for something similar.

If you look at the numbers, Spurs were outplayed by Portsmouth. Pompey took 24 shots, eight of which were on goal, compared to Spurs 13 total shots and three on goal. Gomes was the man of the match for Spurs, making seven saves, some of which were spectacular (namely, his save on the Boateng deflected free kick). The goal that he gave up to Boateng mid-way through the second half should have been saved, but that’s what you get with Gomes. He’ll make the tough saves and screw up the basic ones. Either way, an excellent performance from him in his first League start in a few weeks.

So Spurs sit in third place in the table right now. Ledley the King is back. Woodgate will supposedly be back sometime soon… I think. Modric will be back in a couple of weeks. Spurs did what I hoped they would and stayed competitive in his absence. Stoke City at the Lane next weekend and then Everton in the Carling Cup before the showdown with the Gooners at the Emirates.

The Texans Season is Over… Here’s to 2010

I’ve been holding out hope that the Houston Texans would turn their season around and make the playoffs after opening the season with a 2-2 record. That they were simply going through some early season struggles. They did start last season 0-4 and still finished 8-8.

This is their year to make the playoffs, right?

That was before they came back from a 21 point deficit against the Cardinals, only to throw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and fail to score when they had 2nd and goal at the 1 yard line.

Now?

I’m ready to dive into the college football season and scout possible draft picks. When your team is down a touchdown with 40 seconds left in the game, has 2nd-down-and-goal at the one yard line, and can’t convert on three straight plays, I think it’s okay to start looking towards next year.

That man is awesome.... on third down. (Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)

It’s tough to root for a team that gets beat in more aspects than they win. And that’s exactly what the Texans do. They look good because they can put up a lot of points in a short amount of time. They’re sexy. I don’t trust a sexy team just like I don’t trust a sexy girl without getting to know them.

Sexy will win you a few games, but it won’t give you consistent success. You just never know about them.

Well, I’ve gotten to know this girl.

Ground game

Houston’s running game is a weakness. Steve Slaton is a big-play back and fantasy all-star, but he can’t carry a running game. He’s not big enough. He’s sexy (there’s that word again), but he can’t pound the ball and grind out yards. He’s only averaging 46.2 yards per game in his first five games this season. His biggest game was against Jacksonville (ranked 19th in the league against the run) when he ran for 76 yards.

Houston needs to find a power back to pair with Slaton. He’s shown that he’s an excellent third down back because he can catch balls out of the backfield and has learned quickly how to pick up the blitz, but he’s not an every-down back. Slaton needs someone else to take some of the pounding for him. Chris Brown just ain’t cutting it.

In the trenches

Unfortunately, it’s not just this year. The Texans franchise started off on the wrong foot. The best way to build a team is from the inside-out. Taking offensive and defensive linemen and building a foundation where you can add skill position players later and have long-term success. Houston made little effort to build from the inside, other than taking left tackle Tony Boselli with their first pick in the expansion draft. Boselli never played a down for the team because of injury. No argument here, that was the right move. But they’ve spent too many high draft picks over the years on skill players while neglecting the foundation.

Look at the New England Patriots, would Tom Brady be the quarterback he is today if he hadn’t played for the Patriots? No way. He was forced into a starting role because of injury to Drew Bledsoe and thrived because he was protected by the best offensive line in the league and had one of the top defenses to keep them in games. His running backs that season were Antowain Smith and Kevin Faulk. His receivers were Troy Brown and David Patten. Canada has more weapons than Brady had.

In 2002, the Texans made quarterback David Carr their first draft pick ever, taking him first overall in that year’s draft. It was the sexy pick (le sigh). Who was the very next pick? Defensive end Julius Peppers, who has 73.5 career sacks in his eight seasons in the league. Then they took tight end Bennie Joppru in the second round of the 2003 draft and defensive end Osi Umenyiora was taken 15 picks later.

It’s easy to point these things out after the fact, but damnit that’s the point.

Aw, hell.

Houston’s front office needs to focus on two things for the offensive and defensive lines: talent and depth. The defensive line has talent, but it’s short on depth. And they can’t stop the run. The offensive line lacks both talent and depth, save for a couple of spots, like left tackle Duane Brown. Houston should spend at least one of their first, second or third round draft picks on a lineman every year. That way, you’ve got a steady stream of talent and youth coming in. Young guys will come to camp every year in a position to compete for playing time. And not just practice squad-talent, legit difference-maker talent. If, say, Amobi Okoye leaves for whatever reason, you’ve got someone ready to step in and take their place.

Secondary Concerns

The secondary is perpetually a problem for the Texans. The team has had a make-shift secondary since its start. Dunta Robinson is the only blue chipper they’ve put in the defensive backfield (And oh-by-the-way, pay that man his money. He’s shown that he’s recovered from his knee injury and that he’s one of the top cornerbacks in the league. Sign him to a long-term deal today, before he bolts in the offseason for the Colts).

Houston has no excuse not to spend a first or second round pick this year on a ball-hawking free safety. Year after year they neglect to find a difference-maker to play that role. And it shows. Even with the pass rush the Texans have, they still can’t defend the pass.

Head coaching

I’d say that Gary Kubiak won’t last the entire season, but I’m pretty sure he’s already been taken out like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas. Mike Shanahan is unpacking in his new office as you read this. I’ve seen very few teams come less motivated and make fewer in-game adjustments than a Kubiak coached one.

Houston was a sexy (GOD DAMINT STOP!) underdog pick coming into the season. After going 8-8 last season, they were supposed to take the next step in 2009. This team was supposed to compete with the Colts in the AFC South.

Well, at least my fantasy team is 5-0.