If you still rely on ESPN for anything more than news and highlights, you may want to reevaluate that decision. Its become abundantly clear over the years that their analysts are utterly reactionary, and their knowledge is scattered across the major sports, leaving little in depth analysis for specific teams. For insider news and information, you have to do research, but that's not what this post is about. Despite ESPN's flaws, many still consider them a reliable source of analysis, so when SportsCenter did an hour long special on the AFC North, (Here's part of the video), I'd had enough. Needless to say, I disagreed with their findings, because yet again, the geniuses have given my Steelers no respect and I'm here to defend them.
I'm tired of this shit. The Steelers went 12-4 in 2011 and were one play away against Baltimore from winning the division and nabbing the top seed in the conference. That one play separates the entire outlook that the "experts" at ESPN and the NFL Network give them, going into 2012. Yes, they lost to Tim Tebow and the Broncos in the playoffs. Yes, they lost mainstays in Farrior, Ward, Smith and Hoke. Yes, Rashard Mendenhall is hurt. And yes, they've got a whole new offense coming in and Mike Wallace isn't attending OTAs. Which is why it might seem odd that my expectations for 2012 are higher than they were a year ago. I realize the need for veteran leadership, but from a production standpoint, what we lost in these guys were a situational 37 year old ILB who was already splitting time with Foote, a #5 receiver, a guy who has spent 4 of the last 5 years on IR and a career backup NT. Even if your worried about not having their veteran presence, you mean to tell me that guys like Keisel, Foote or Clark couldn't step up and fill their void. In reality the two most significant losses we've had, and I touched on this in my Post Draft NFL Power Rankings, were William Gay and Max Starks. Gay at least started last year, and I could make the case for Max Starks as team MVP, given that his return to the offensive line may have saved our season. And here's why even those losses don't worry me: one is replaceable and the other may still be brought back. Keenan Lewis has already announced that his goal in 2012 is to make the Pro Bowl, and Starks may still be resigned by training camp (once he's healthy), if the Steelers don't trust starting Mike Adams right away.
Now that that's cleared up, let's talk about this new offense. People were calling for Bruce Arians head for years, and now that he's gone, those same geniuses believe that Haley is going to reduce Ben to tears and the offense will be completely dysfunctional because our receivers can't possibly learn a new system. Obviously it will take time for Haley's offense to work the kinks out, get the timing right and reach it's potential, but let's keep in mind that as coach of the Chiefs, he implemented a new offense and they made the playoffs with the top rushing attack in football. He knows how to use talent, no one can deny that, and in Pittsburgh this year, he'll have more to work with than ever before.
Mendenhall's injury doesn't concern me. He was a mess last year because he relies on finesse, and for that to work, he needs good run blockers. In 2011, he didn't have any. If he returns in 2012, he absolutely will. Willie Colon has Pro Bowl potential at guard, drafting DeCastro still seems like a dream to me, and Pouncey should be recovered after having a down year in 2011, when he fought nagging injuries. Gilbert has a year of experience under his belt, and the other tackle will be Starks, if he's brought back, or Mike Adams, if he shows he's capable. I would prefer the former of the two scenarios but we'll see. So as much as people in Pittsburgh might have been annoyed by Mendenhall last year, it wasn't entirely his fault. The reason they (myself included) love Redman is because he doesn't need great blocking to get the job done. He'll barrel guys over and take the four yards, but that won't be as necessary this year. So while he can be a workhorse, what you see is what you get. I would prefer to have Mendenhall's big play ability, but I still believe that Redman can be a 1000 yard rusher if he gets 225-250 carries in 2012. Whoever lines up behind Roethlisberger will have a fine year, and though unlikely, it remains a possibility that Mendenhall could be healthy by week one. Plus, with our revamped line, he could have his best year as a pro.
What were the other concerns? Age? Wallace's contract? Ben's feelings? You kidding me? Age is just a number in most cases, Wallace will get a long term deal before the season starts and if Ben doesn't like getting yelled at, he shouldn't make mistakes.
My point you ask? The Steelers are better now than they were three months ago. The Ravens on the other hand, have lost their best offensive linemen to free agency and their best defensive player, and reigning player of they year, to injury. Not to mention, while the Steelers lost just one full time starter in William Gay, the Ravens lost their other OLB in Paul Kruger as well as DE Cory Redding. Not to mention, people seem to forget that the Ravens have a new coordinator too. Chuck Pagano left for Indianapolis and Dean Pees became the 3rd different coordinator the Ravens have had since Rex Ryan became head coach of the Jets in 2009. Offensively, Flacco is one of the least consistent QBs I've ever seen, and if anything were to happen to Ray Rice, this team goes from double digit wins, to six or seven.
I bring this up because all three of ESPN's "experts" (Herm Edwards, Marcellus Whiley and Bill Polian), predicted that the Steelers would finish 3rd in the division, and miss the playoffs. No, they weren't joking, their just that out of touch with reality. Let's review: the Ravens added nothing this offseason (Courtney Upshaw is going to need time to learn that defense), instead losing key starters, while Ed Reed and Ray Lewis head into 2012 coming off of down years, where their age started to show. The Steelers got rid of the guys whose age was starting to show, with the exception of Casey Hampton. The Bengals filled some holes in the draft and look to be competitive again this year in Dalton's second season at QB, but let's remember that the Bengals went 9-7 last year and squeaked into the post season. My favorite stat is that they went 0-4 against the Ravens and Steelers. Until Dalton can show that he can play with these defenses, the Bengals won't be able to challenge for more than a wild card spot. Offensively they still have questions at WR across from Green and they've got a new RB in Green-Ellis, but what it boils down to is avoiding a sophomore slump, if your Dalton.
It just seems that despite the major improvements the Steelers have made on the offensive line, the fact that they still have two defensive players of the year or that there is only one QB in football not named Roethlisberger, with more Super Bowl appearances (Tom Brady), they still get little recognition as a contender. If I've learned nothing else about the Steelers over the years, its that you can never count them out. Bill Cowher retires-they make the playoffs in Tomlin's first year. In 2008, the offensive line can barely stand, let alone block, and they win the Super Bowl. Roethlisberger gets suspended for four games-they come up one drive short of a 7th Lombardi. Nine months ago, people said the defense was too old to function, and they go 12-4 with the top defensive unit in football, coming up one play short of a division title and #1 seed in the AFC. This year, they're saying there's been too much change in Pittsburgh for them to succeed. I don't buy it, and neither should you.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Explaining the 3-4 Defense
It occurs to me that unless you've played football, you probably have no idea how a defense really works. Hell, many of you probably don't care, in which case feel free to ignore this one. But for the small percentage of crazies out there like me, you might find this interesting and helpful. I'd like to try to explain some of the basics so that when you watch your team on Sunday, you can understand the little things that guys like Casey Hampton do to make every play work. However when you consider the fact that anyone reading this post is probably a Steelers fan, it becomes slightly more complicated because then we’re talking about a Dick LeBeau defense. I'm not trying to pretend I understand his defense, because I don't. To be honest, I doubt even Mike Tomlin fully understands the complexities that LeBeau has developed through decades of experience. However, the basics of his system are no different than any other 3-4 defense. Therefore, if you have any desire to understand not just the terminology, but the some of the lighter intricacies of what is going on before your eyes on Sundays, this article may just bring some clarity.
The biggest thing I want people to take from this is that every player plays a pivotal role in a defense's successes and failures on any given play. I think that most Pittsburgh fans realize at this point that the NT in a 3-4 plays a huge role as a sort of anchor. Most know his primary job is to take up blockers but it is slightly more complicated than that. In a 3-4 defense, the NT lines up directly over the center. The idea here is that the NT is expected to be able to win a one on one battle against any lineman, meaning that it takes multiple blockers to stop him. More blockers on him means that there are less to address the linebackers. If a nose doesn't have that type of capability, the defense can't succeed. This shouldn't imply that any fat guy can step in and be a sort of "brick wall." A nose should be immovable, but that doesn't mean he's unathletic. If he's just in the way, an offense won't feel the need to place multiple guys on him, which defeats the purpose. They have to be able to collapse the pocket, win one on ones and take up space by demanding the attention of as many as three linemen at once. That's why there is such a premium on guys like Hampton. The problem is that there just aren't many guys on the planet with the combination of size and strength that is required.
There are two distinctly different inside linebacker positions, the strong side inside linebacker (SILB) and the weak side inside linebacker (WILB). The SILB is called the BUCK and the WILB, the MACK. Unlike the OLB’s, the ILB’s do change sides based on which side the TE is on. The BUCK and MACK have very different skill sets as it relates to the run. The buck is a banger. Remember one of the initial premises I made, a back with no blockers isn’t going very far. The buck eliminates the blockers. If there is a guard coming through, mix it up with the guard and try to keep him in the gap. If a FB is coming through, stop him in his tracks. The last thing you want the BUCK doing is shedding the blocks, unless the RB is past or nearly past him. If he sheds the blocks early and fails to tackle the back, he made matters worse, now these blockers are in the secondary, the plus one has a blocker coming his way. Not good. The BUCK is supposed to engage blockers, not run around them. If the BUCK has to take care of an offensive lineman, the best you can hope for is that he holds him up in the gap and doesn’t get blown backward or thrown to the ground. Likewise he should hit the FB back and maintain control of the gap. The BUCK is essentially a small mobile defensive lineman, as it relates to the run, he almost always is part of the gap control scheme and has a gap assigned to him. He did his job if the back has to look elsewhere for an opening and if there are no blockers out in front of him. The MACK is the playmaker. He often has no gap assigned to him. His job is to seek and destroy the guy with the ball. If the rest of the front did their jobs, he should be free of blockers. If not, he should shed any block immediately or go around them in pursuit of the ball. The MACK is the star of the defense. He should always be around the ball. If he is blocked, the secondary has to make the play which is the last thing a defensive coordinator wants to see.
I hope this was at least somewhat helpful. Steelers fans are some of the smartest in football, not simply because they're knowledgeable of stats or history, but because they have a solid grasp of what is going on, on the field. The better our understanding, the better fans we can be.
The biggest thing I want people to take from this is that every player plays a pivotal role in a defense's successes and failures on any given play. I think that most Pittsburgh fans realize at this point that the NT in a 3-4 plays a huge role as a sort of anchor. Most know his primary job is to take up blockers but it is slightly more complicated than that. In a 3-4 defense, the NT lines up directly over the center. The idea here is that the NT is expected to be able to win a one on one battle against any lineman, meaning that it takes multiple blockers to stop him. More blockers on him means that there are less to address the linebackers. If a nose doesn't have that type of capability, the defense can't succeed. This shouldn't imply that any fat guy can step in and be a sort of "brick wall." A nose should be immovable, but that doesn't mean he's unathletic. If he's just in the way, an offense won't feel the need to place multiple guys on him, which defeats the purpose. They have to be able to collapse the pocket, win one on ones and take up space by demanding the attention of as many as three linemen at once. That's why there is such a premium on guys like Hampton. The problem is that there just aren't many guys on the planet with the combination of size and strength that is required.
Next I want to reiterate that if the offense comes with as many blockers as you have defenders, there is nobody left to tackle the running back. If each offensive player wins their battle with a well designed play, an explosive play usually results. One of the fundamental principles of the pass to run philosophy, is to get the defense to back the extra defender up, in essence even up the box count for the offense. With a hat on a hat, plus one (the ball carrier), it isn’t hard to run if they can execute. There are lots of different offensive strategies to running, but really, this principle is at the core of it all.
On defense the concept is essentially the same, a hat on a hat, plus one. There must be an extra player that the offense can’t dedicate blockers to in place to tackle the running back. (Imagine a scenario where the offense has 3 blockers and a ball carrier. the defense would then want at least 4 guys. 3 to take blockers, one to make the play. This is what a hat on a hat plus one implies.) When the offense blocks a corridor into the secondary, an explosive play results more often than not. Even with the best backs, explosive plays are rare when the back has no blockers beyond the line of scrimmage.
The ball can’t go through an offensive blocker, it has to go around him. The defenses job is to close each of the gaps between the lineman. In a 1 TE set, there are 7 gaps for the defense to control. Some players control 1 gap, some players control 2. Some players don’t control any. Most systems and play calls will ask at least 1 linebacker to control a gap. Most also leave 1 linebacker or safety with no gap responsibilities. (For the Steelers that guy is usually Lawrence Timmons or Troy Polamalu) He is free to flow to the ball and make plays. When the defense has all gaps covered, the best the offense will muster on a run play is how much downfield push the line got. If there is a crack, and the back gets through, there is a linebacker and/or safety to make the tackle that has no gap responsibility.
Now, let's break down each position, starting with defensive ends. They're much different than 4-3 ends, who are typically pass rushers, like Julius Peppers, Dwight Freeney or Jared Allen. In a 3-4 however the ends are responsible for the gap between the OG and the OT, and possibly also for the gap outside of the tackle (on the weak side, if the OT blocks the OLB, the DE has to be aware of, and help out on that mismatch and help cover that gap). The end will typically be single blocked by either the OG or OT, though it is common for the OT to give the OLB a shove than turn to help the G double team the DE. There are slight differences between the two ends. Offenses align their TE on the right side more often than the left. This makes the defensive left the strong side more often than the weak. Most offenses place their better run blockers on the right side, therefore most offenses run to the right more than the left. The defensive left gets run at with better run blockers than the defensive right. To counteract this the LDE is typically bigger and stronger than the RDE, and a better run defender. The opposite is true with the pass, and the RDE is typically a better pass rusher than the LDE, as offenses typically put their better pass blockers on the left side, the defensive right. Which makes sense when you think about the idea of a blindside OT. Defenses prefer to have their best pass rushers coming from the side of the QB's non throwing arm. Since most QBs are right handed, generally speaking, the pass rushers will rush from the QBs left (The defensive right) so the the blindside tackle usually plays on the left. For the Steelers that means that when they had Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel, Smith was the better run defender and Keisel the better pass rusher, which makes a lot of sense when you consider how poorly the run defense was without Smith in the lineup in 2011.
Next let's talk about the outside linebackers. There are no designated strong side (TE side) and weak side outside linebackers, as most 3-4 coordinators prefer right and left, keeping guys on the same side of the field. In the Steelers defense James Harrison is the ROLB and Lamarr Woodley is the LOLB. Each OLB is responsible for the outside gap, meaning the back should not be allowed to bounce the play outside. The OLB on the TE side might also be responsible for the gap between the TE and OT depending on the play call. The two positions are generally the same, though typically, as is true of the defensive ends, the LOLB will be the better run defender and better in pass coverage while the ROLB will be the better pass rusher.
Next let's talk about the outside linebackers. There are no designated strong side (TE side) and weak side outside linebackers, as most 3-4 coordinators prefer right and left, keeping guys on the same side of the field. In the Steelers defense James Harrison is the ROLB and Lamarr Woodley is the LOLB. Each OLB is responsible for the outside gap, meaning the back should not be allowed to bounce the play outside. The OLB on the TE side might also be responsible for the gap between the TE and OT depending on the play call. The two positions are generally the same, though typically, as is true of the defensive ends, the LOLB will be the better run defender and better in pass coverage while the ROLB will be the better pass rusher.
There are two distinctly different inside linebacker positions, the strong side inside linebacker (SILB) and the weak side inside linebacker (WILB). The SILB is called the BUCK and the WILB, the MACK. Unlike the OLB’s, the ILB’s do change sides based on which side the TE is on. The BUCK and MACK have very different skill sets as it relates to the run. The buck is a banger. Remember one of the initial premises I made, a back with no blockers isn’t going very far. The buck eliminates the blockers. If there is a guard coming through, mix it up with the guard and try to keep him in the gap. If a FB is coming through, stop him in his tracks. The last thing you want the BUCK doing is shedding the blocks, unless the RB is past or nearly past him. If he sheds the blocks early and fails to tackle the back, he made matters worse, now these blockers are in the secondary, the plus one has a blocker coming his way. Not good. The BUCK is supposed to engage blockers, not run around them. If the BUCK has to take care of an offensive lineman, the best you can hope for is that he holds him up in the gap and doesn’t get blown backward or thrown to the ground. Likewise he should hit the FB back and maintain control of the gap. The BUCK is essentially a small mobile defensive lineman, as it relates to the run, he almost always is part of the gap control scheme and has a gap assigned to him. He did his job if the back has to look elsewhere for an opening and if there are no blockers out in front of him. The MACK is the playmaker. He often has no gap assigned to him. His job is to seek and destroy the guy with the ball. If the rest of the front did their jobs, he should be free of blockers. If not, he should shed any block immediately or go around them in pursuit of the ball. The MACK is the star of the defense. He should always be around the ball. If he is blocked, the secondary has to make the play which is the last thing a defensive coordinator wants to see.
I hope this was at least somewhat helpful. Steelers fans are some of the smartest in football, not simply because they're knowledgeable of stats or history, but because they have a solid grasp of what is going on, on the field. The better our understanding, the better fans we can be.
Monday, May 7, 2012
The Crosby Effect
By: Kevin Antosz
“Sidney Crosby makes second return” was plastered all over the Pittsburgh newspapers on March 15, 2012. Crosby was making his comeback after he left the lineup on December 5, 2011 showing symptoms of a concussion. It turns out he did not have a concussion, but had a cracked vertebrae in his neck that hadn't been discovered because his medical team failed to initially diagnose it. (The neck injury showed similar symptoms as the concussion, which lead the doctors to believe it may in fact have been another concussion). Following a few months of intensive rehab, Crosby’s neck was healed and he was ready to return for a second time this season.
“Sidney Crosby makes second return” was plastered all over the Pittsburgh newspapers on March 15, 2012. Crosby was making his comeback after he left the lineup on December 5, 2011 showing symptoms of a concussion. It turns out he did not have a concussion, but had a cracked vertebrae in his neck that hadn't been discovered because his medical team failed to initially diagnose it. (The neck injury showed similar symptoms as the concussion, which lead the doctors to believe it may in fact have been another concussion). Following a few months of intensive rehab, Crosby’s neck was healed and he was ready to return for a second time this season.
However, what ensued is what I am going to focus on. More specifically, the negatives of having the best player in the world return to the lineup. Don’t get me wrong, I love Crosby and hope for him to stay in Pittsburgh for the remainder of his career, but with his return in mid-March, the Penguins began a slide in their defensive play that ultimately lead to their early exit from the playoffs. When Sidney Crosby made his return, the entire Penguins team began to play undisciplined defense every night because they figured they could rely on their high powered offense to outscore teams. And it worked, at first. In the first 5 games of Crosby’s return the Penguins scored at least five goals in four of those games. I think this began to fool the fans, coaches and the media into thinking that the Penguins were untouchable with such a powerful offense. All the wins we'd compiled with Crosby back in the lineup overshadowed the poor defensive effort. It remains a mystery to me how the coaching staff failed to recognize these issues. Ironically the great offense and lack of defense were the whole reason they exited the playoffs so early. Before Crosby's return on March 15th the Penguins GAA as a team was 2.57. Following his return to the lineup, that number soared to 3.43 during the final 14 games of the regular season. The defense appeared weak and Fleury wasn’t playing well at all, but we still had the best offense in the league so as long as we were able to outscore teams, no one complained. We got away from the system that Dan Bylsma had put into place, prior to Crosby's return. Without him, “Penguins Hockey” meant good defense, dominant offensive zone time, and getting pucks to the net. With Crosby back, it simply became, "outscore the opponent," even if that meant winning 5-4 every night. The Penguins got away from the system that worked. They became undisciplined defensively and it came back to bite us in the ass in the Playoffs when we faced the Flyers because they were able to match us blow for blow offensively.
The playoffs were where our defense and goaltending completely unraveled. It became clear that changes would need to be made this offseason to our defense, and Ray Shero knows that. The Penguins averaged 4.33 goals/game in the playoffs and they still couldn’t win. Teams don’t average that many goals in the regular season, let alone the playoffs. The reason we didn’t win is because our GAA in the playoffs was 5! Yes, that means to win we would have to put up 6 goals on the board each night. The Penguins were totally undisciplined in their own zone, turning the puck over, never blocking shots and leaving people wide open all series long. The Penguins also lacked effort. There were numerous instances where defenseman weren’t moving their feet and the opposition skated circles around them with ease. Fleury wasn’t his usual self and couldn’t bail the Penguins defense out so the Flyers ended up blowing out the Penguins in most of their wins. One thing that interests me is that Fleury’s Sv% over the last three seasons in the playoffs has been: .891, .899, and .834; it is a mystery to me why Fleury’s level of play has gone down in the playoffs after terrific regular seasons. But you have to wonder if it wasn't more the Penguins defense performing so poorly in recent years that caused Fleury’s numbers to drop. Maybe, maybe not. Nobody really knows, but it is certain this year that the defense played a part in Fleury’s low numbers.
Finally, I want to make sure it is known Crosby is not to be directly blamed for the defense playing badly, obviously it's a team sport. Crosby only betters the Penguins when he is in the lineup. I simply analyzed the effect of his return on the Penguins this season and the consequences when a team puts offense before defense. The solution seems pretty simple for next year: return to the disciplined style of hockey we played under Bylsma, before Crosby returned. We may not put up 5 goals every night, but winning 3-1 counts just as much as winning 8-4. If we can reconfigure this style of play next year, there’s no question the Penguins will be right back in the conversation among the Stanley Cup favorites.
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Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Post Draft NFL Power Rankings
Now that the draft is over I think an update in the power rankings is in order. The last one I did, which was after the Super Bowl, is not on this blog for the obvious reason that the blog didn’t exist until a week ago. So what I’ll do is tell you where they were previously ranked and explain why they're ranked where they are. Please keep two things in mind, 1) These rankings are also a reflection of the moves teams made in free agency in addition to their draft and 2) That in the post I’m assuming guys who missed last year are now healthy. (Peyton Manning, Jamaal Charles, Jay Cutler etc.)
By the way I want to establish that the way I rank teams is by asking the question: If team one and team two were playing each other, who would win? The team I think would win goes higher and than I attempt to use this method while ranking all teams. Meaning that I think the second best team would beat everyone except the best team, the same way the 31st team would lose to everyone except the 32nd team.. I realize this isn’t an exact science but it works for this. If you have a better way, I’m all ears.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s begin:
1) New England Patriots: I like the improvements they made through the draft, but I do worry about the loss of Green-Ellis in the backfield. If this was another team, I’d be more concerned, but Belichick will work around his losses like always. I just get the feeling they’re a team trying desperately to win now. Brady isn’t getting any younger; their time to win another Super Bowl is now. (PR: 3)
2) Green Bay Packers: They’re not as pressed to win as New England and that is why they were bounced in the divisional round this year by the eventual champions. They can’t expect to win in January with a lax attitude. The veterans need to address this issue and soon, or guys like Charles Woodson won’t have much of a chance at winning another Lombardi. Still amazingly talented, they just need to shore up that defense and stay focused. If they lose, it'll be because they beat themselves. (PR: 1)
2) Green Bay Packers: They’re not as pressed to win as New England and that is why they were bounced in the divisional round this year by the eventual champions. They can’t expect to win in January with a lax attitude. The veterans need to address this issue and soon, or guys like Charles Woodson won’t have much of a chance at winning another Lombardi. Still amazingly talented, they just need to shore up that defense and stay focused. If they lose, it'll be because they beat themselves. (PR: 1)
3) New Orleans Saints: This ranking could change depending on what happens with the ruling on the players involved in the bounty scandal, but as long as Drew Brees is under center, the Saints are the favorites in the NFC South. Even if they lose a bunch of guys on defense, they brought in David Hawthorne and Curtis Lofton to come in and start this season anyway. What people need to keep in mind is that while they've lost their Head Coach, if ever there were a team that could overcome that, it's a team with Brees at the helm. No one on the offense is going to be missing any games and in New Orleans, they're the ones who win the games anyway. I suppose that has to be the silver lining in all this mess for Saints fans. That they're going to be just as competitive next year as in years past. Gregg Williams was an awful coordinator anyway and a ten year old playing Madden could come up with a more intelligent defensive strategy. The Saints and the Packers are the cream of the crop in the NFC and have to still be considered the favorites to get back to the Super Bowl, which interestingly enough will be in New Orleans this season. By the way, I'm saying right now that if the Saints have a good year, I would not be surprised at all if they let Sean Payton go next offseason when his suspension is up. (PR: 2)
4) Pittsburgh Steelers: I know. They’re old. They lost veterans and captains alike. Wallace is pissed off, Casey Hampton’s knee isn’t working and the offensive line cant stay healthy. I’ve got a thought, shut up. Let’s take a look at the guys the Steelers lost, shall we? Chris Hoke retired, Max Starks is a free agent and William Gay signed with Arizona. Plus James Farrior, Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, Bryant McFadden, Arnaz Battle and Chris Kemoeatu were all cut. You want to know which one of the losses was the most significant? It was Gay, and it’s not even close. Losing Kemo will improve the line, simply by his not being there, while Battle and McFadden only played special teams anyway. I loved Ward, Farrior, Smith and Hoke. To see them leave depresses me because I’ve never known a Steeler team that didn’t have them, but the reality is, none of them did much of anything last year and they still went 12-4. The only thing the Steelers are losing, albeit a big loss, is their leadership. But it’s not as if they don’t have any left. Veterans like Foote, Clark and Keisel can be the vocal leaders on D. While the offense already seems to have crowned Pouncey it’s captain anyway. Losing William Gay was the worst because he was only true starter that left. After him, it was Max Starks, who arguably saved our season. However, I have high hopes for Cortez Allen at CB, and with the additions of David DeCastro and Mike Adams through the draft, plus the fact that Willie Colon will be back, I'm left somewhat indifferent to the loss of Starks. I like the guy, don’t get me wrong, but I’ll live, and there is still the possibility of bringing him into training camp to compete for a backup spot. Wallace’s contract situation will work itself out, as I fully expect him to get an extension before the start of the season. I suppose the point is, the Steelers are fine, in fact they’re in better shape than they were after that loss to Denver. They’ve gotten younger, and the addition of Todd Haley might prove to be the most important of the bunch. I think this could be a great year and can’t wait for the season to start so I can see this brand new offense in action. (PR: 6)
5) San Francisco 49ers: When I was working on my mock drafts, the 49ers were one the tougher teams to figure out. They have virtually no holes. Their entire defense from last year is returning and offensively they've added Randy Moss, Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs as depth. Their biggest weakness on that side of the ball is QB, and Alex Smith showed that with some decent coaching he might yet prove to be worth that number one pick. They've got the easiest division in football to compete with so there's no reason they shouldn't be as competitive this year as they were in 2011. (PR: 4)
6) New York Giants: I realize they won the Super Bowl in 2011, but that doesnt mean they’re the best team in 2012. It means they got hot at the right time. Rarely does the best team actually win it all. They are in good shape but their entire division is at their heels. If they stay focused they could certainly make another run in 2012, but at the same time, it wouldn’t shock me if they didn’t make the postseason at all, either. They drafted like a team that just won the Super Bowl. They took value at positions of lesser need. David Wilson was a reach in my opinion but snagging Reuben Randle at the end of 2nd was solid value. Their only noticeable losses in free agency were Brandon Jacobs and Mario Manningham. I'd say they addressed those losses quite well with their top two picks. (PR: 5)
7) Baltimore Ravens: Unlike the Steelers, the Ravens lost some valuable starters. The most significant of which was the departure of Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs, who dashed for New Orleans. They also lost Jarret Johnson to San Diego and Cory Redding followed Chuck Pagano to Indianapolis. They failed to draft Ray Lewis' heir, but added talent with Coutrney Upshaw and Kelechi Osemele. Upshaw should be starting opposite Terrell Suggs pretty quickly, while Osemele will compete with Jah Reid for Grubbs' old spot. Baltimore has an extremely difficult schedule so in the tight race for the AFC North, they are at a disadvantage. Lewis and Ed Reed aren't getting any younger so they are another team looking to win right now while they still have their services. (PR: 8)
8) Houston Texans: They might be the most complete team in the AFC, but that doesn’t mean they’re the best. If they won the division with Matt Schaub out half the year, imagine how good they can be with him and Andre Johnson back directing the offense. I'm still waiting for Houston to finally add a true #2 WR to play opposite Johnson, as they passed on Stephen Hill at 26th and chose to instead add Whitney Mercilus (Who is certainly the better of the two, in my opinion) to improve the pass rush. Admittedly, I do have some lingering concerns over the losses of Mario Williams and Eric Winston. I mean the defense did just fine without their best player for most of the year, but still, it’s not as if that should mean they were better without him. No reason they shouldn’t repeat as division champions and if they stay healthy could really challenge for the AFC Title in 2012. (PR: 7)
9) Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles had the potential to be a top 5 team last year and based on talent, probably should have been, but they (more specifically the linebackers and Michael Vick) choked. So they went out and brought in Demetress Bell and Demeco Ryans, traded away Asante Samuel and drafted Fletcher Cox and Mychal Kendricks with their top two picks in the draft. If they stay focused there is no reason they couldn't make a run in 2012. (PR: 10)
10) Denver Broncos: If they can go 8-8 with a fullback under center, imagine what they can do with Peyton Manning. The defense played great last year and if it's half as good as 2011 they'll be the easy favorite in the AFC West. They added Brandon Stokley, Peyton's old teammate and close friend, as well as a pair of TEs in Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen. The biggest worry here is that Peyton will be coming back from a year and a half long reprieve from football. It could be tough sledding for that first month or two and the complexities of Peyton's offense might be tough for young guys like Demarious Thomas to learn. (PR: 15)
11) Chicago Bears: When the Bears were healthy, they were playing at an elite level. Matt Forte was in the discussion for Offensive Player of the Year before being put on IR. But what really killed Chicago's season was the loss of Jay Cutler. If they can pickup in 2012, where they were before the slew of injuries, they could be a force to be reckoned with. Add Brandon Marshall to the equation where he'll join forces with his old QB in Cutler and this offense is looking pretty explosive. You have to wonder how much longer they'll have guys like Urlacher and Briggs at their disposal, so they're another team pressed to win sooner, rather than later. (PR: 11)
12) Detroit Lions: This is a team that's finally gotten it's shit together. Which is why it's a shame that they're in such a difficult division and in a conference at a time when there are nine or ten teams who are serious playoff contenders. The offense was one of the most explosive in football in 2011 and should be right back at it, but the defense still has major question marks. Detroit found out the hard way that you can't hope to win games by simply outscoring their opponent. Unfortunately they don't appear to have done much to improve their weak secondary which concerns me going into this season. Riley Reiff was a steal at 23 and should get considerable time as a rookie and Ryan Broyles will be a new toy for Matt Stafford in the passing game. So while the offense keeps getting better, until they show they can stop somebody defensively, they won't be able to make much of a dent come January. (PR: 9)
13) Dallas Cowboys: Their offense is one of the best in the NFL, and now, they've added Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne to their secondary. The problem with the Cowboys though hasn't been a lack of talent, it's been an inability to finish or win when it matters most. Tony Romo is a top 10 QB, but for some reason he chokes in the 4th quarter more often than most. The only real problem they need to address is the lack of focus. Jerry Jones has done his part to bring the talent in, now it's up to the coaches and the captains to keep their guys from falling apart under pressure. If they do that, they're a Super Bowl contender, if not, they'll miss the playoffs again. (PR: 12)
14) Atlanta Falcons: All the pieces are in place for this franchise to make a run but so far they're 0-3 with Matt Ryan in the playoffs. They drafted Peter Konz and Lamar Holmes with their 2nd and 3rd round picks to help the offensive line after trading away their 1st and 4th rounders last year in the Julio Jones trade with the Browns. If ever there were a year the Falcons should be motivated to make a run its 2012. What with all the issues in New Orleans, they may get off to a slow start which might open the door enough for the Falcons to take hold of the NFC South. You have to imagine that it would be especially nice for them if they managed to win the Super Bowl in the Saints building in the midst of the bounty scandal. (PR: 14)
15) Cincinnati Bengals: In terms of value, the Bengals might have had the best draft of anyone. Their biggest need was a #2 WR after they lost Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell in free agency which they addressed with Mohamed Sanu in the 3rd round. He won't be able to start immediately but has good potential. Kevin Zeitler can step in where they lost Bobbie Williams, while guys like Dre Kirkpatrick and Devon Still can take time to learn Mike Zimmer's defense as backups. If not for the fact that they're in an extremely difficult division, they'd be a team bound for the playoffs. Assuming Andy Dalton continues to develop, this franchise will be in great shape for the next decade. (PR: 17)
16) Buffalo Bills: Getting Gilmore and Glenn were mood moves but I still would have liked to have seen them add a WR like Michael Floyd to play opposite Stevie Johnson. With a healthy Fred Jackson, a revamped defense headlined by the acquisition of Mario Williams and another year of experience for Ryan Fitzpatrick, this is a team on the cusp of a playoff berth. The biggest issue they need to overcome is their hot and cold tendency of playing great one week and dropping a bomb the next. There is no reason they shouldn't win 9-11 games in 2012. (PR: 16)
17) San Diego Chargers: Melvin Ingram was a steal at 18th and should improve San Diego's porous pass rush. However, they lost more than they gained in free agency. Vincent Jackson was the best threat that offense had, and with his departure for Tampa Bay, the number one receiver now becomes Malcom Floyd or the newly acquired Robert Meachum. Antonio Gates is beginning to show signs of wear and tear and is no longer considered the best TE in football. Ryan Matthews can't stay healthy, they have holes in the secondary, not to mention Norv Turner is still the Head Coach. What else could go wrong? Oh yeah! Peyton Manning signed with Denver so now this once awful division just got the most consistent QB of the last decade to come in and become a perennial playoff contender. Great. Not to mention the Chargers as a whole seem only competent enough to play 2 months of every season. I look forward to another 8-8 finish, San Diego. (PR: 13)
18) Tennessee Titans: Drafting Kendall Wright doesn't make much sense to me. They've already got a speed threat in Nate Washington and Kenny Britt will be healthy and ready to go in 2012. Their offense as a whole is actually in pretty good shape, so given the loss of Cortland Finnegan and the need for improvemnt in the pass rush why not address the defense with that pick instead? I realize he was good value, and they stayed true to their board, but guys like Whitney Mercilus and Chandler Jones were available. Regardless this a team who I could certainly see challenging for a wild card spot this year. Hopefully Chris Johnson is able to return to his former self, because while I still think this is the Texan's division to lose, the Titans are a team capable of winning double digit games. (PR: 18)
19) Kansas City Chiefs: No one in football last year suffered through injuries worse than the Chiefs did. They lost their best players on both sides of the ball in Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry. Add their QB and TE to the list and you have a team that was shit out of luck. They drafted Dontari Poe, who if he pans out could be a force inside. He's a huge boom/bust prospect so we'll have to wait and see before we pass judgement on that pick. They have the pieces in place, but I don't see them as much more than an 8-8 team until Matt Cassel shows he is anything more than serviceable. (PR: 20)
20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Trading back with the Jaguars caused them to miss out on drafting Morris Claiborne so they took the next best defensive back in Mark Barron. Outside of losing that gamble they had a great draft. Doug Martin reminds me of Ray Rice and should be a nice complement to Legarrette Blount. Lavonte David will be staring before the year's end plus they added Vincent Jackson and Carl Nicks in Free Agency to help the offense. If Josh Freeman plays to his potential this team could be on the cusp of the playoffs. They don't have many holes on that roster and with a few more drafts like this one, should be legitimate contender in another year or two. (PR: 27)
21) Carolina Panthers: I doubted Cam Newton last year and that came back to bite me in the ass big time. But I'm going to question him again and say that I doubt he has the same kind of success in his sophomore campaign as he did in 2011. Teams have started to figure him out so Ron Rivera will have his work cut out for him diversifying the offense to keep it effective. I was hoping to see them get a WR to play across from Steve Smith but that didn't happen. They addressed their need at LB with Kuechly who'll be a day one starter and grabbed Silatolu 2nd who should make for one hell of a guard. I don't see them making the playoffs, simply because the NFC is so competitive and their division already has two playoff teams of it's own. They're at least another year away but who knows? I was wrong about Newton before. (PR: 19)
22) New York Jets: Ahh the Jets. Their locker room's falling apart so who do they draft? Quinton Colpes. Gotta love the logic there. As if it wasn't enough that they brought the circus to town with the trade for Tebow, they take the guy with the most question marks surrounding his character. This is a middle of the road team that has one of the worst starting QBs in the NFL. There running game is anything but elite, and outside of Revis, that defense is questionable at best. Nothing going on there makes any sense. I mean I could think of 15 guys on that roster who are more qualified to be captain that Santonio Holmes. Expect another 8-8 season. (PR: 25)
23) Arizona Cardinals: I liked the addition of Michael Floyd, but that wont be enough to return the Cardinals to the playoffs. Why? It might have something to do with the fact they played better with their backup QB than with Kevin Kolb, as six of their seven wins came under John Skelton. The defense has some good pieces in place in Dockett, Wilson and Peterson and given the momentum Arizona had in the latter part of the 2011 season, there is hope for a rebound. They failed to find replacements for Joey Porter and Clark Haggans leaving them with little in the way of a pass rush. What they did get was Bobbie Massie in the 4th round and Senio Kelemete in the 5th, both of whom are eventual starters on the offensive line. I have concerns with Kolb, but in his defense, he had no offseason last year to learn the playbook so he deserves at least another year before I pass final judgement. If not for the emergence of the 49ers, I'd say they have an outside shot at the playoffs but I don't see it happening for at least another year. (PR: 21)
24) Seattle Seahawks: Matt Flynn was effective in the Packer's offense but the Seahawks are more of a ground and pound offense and don't have the same kind of weapons that the Packers do offensively. The 49ers are miles ahead of the rest of this division so unless Flynn is actually as good as he looked in those two games for Green Bay, there chances at the postseason are slim to none. On a different note, I want to say that the Bruce Irvin pick wasn't as ridiculous as the media has portrayed it as. The Jets reportedly would have taken him with the pick after the Seahawks so it's not that they reached as much as it is that guys like Mel Kiper ranked the players differently than the teams had. (PR: 24)
25) Oakland Raiders: This team needs to stop trading all their draft picks away. They didn't add much of anything in free agency and when the draft came around their highest pick was a compensatory 3rd rounder they received for losing Nnamdi Asomugha. The Carson Palmer trade was ridiculous and they waste their picks on guys like Terrelle Pryor. I fully expect them to come in 4th in the AFC West unless Carson Palmer decides to play like it's 2005. (PR: 23)
26) Minnesota Vikings: Christian Ponder looked promising last season, so hopefully with an actual offseason he can learn the offense and be effective. They pulled off one hell of a bluff in the trade with Cleveland to still get their man, while attaining extra draft picks. I think trading back into the 1st round for Harrison Smith was a reach but at least they're being aggressive. The secondary is still a major concern, and the offensive line lost their leader in Steve Hutchinson. Minnesota has little to no chance of coming any better than last in what might be the toughest division in football. Still, they have some nice pieces in place, but are at least another year away from being competitive again. (PR: 26)
27) Cleveland Browns: Hmm.....hmmm.....hmmmmm.....Brandon Weeden....hmm....I don't know about that....I mean he's 28 (soon to be 29) and they already have Colt McCoy, who I never thought had much of a chance to succeed given that his surrounding group of characters on offense included a convoluted nut-job who considered retiring so he could join the CIA, and a bunch of no-name receivers who can't catch. Having Trent Richardson should help that pitiful excuse for an offense but to what extent? The Vikings and Jaguars have proven that having elite RB's isn't enough to be competitive anymore. And they STILL HAVENT GOTTEN A WR. I don't care who's playing QB, Weeden, McCoy or Macruber. When their #1 target in the passing game is Greg Little, they have little chance of succeeding. (PR: 31)
28) Jacksonville Jaguars: Getting Blackmon was a nice pick, but Blaine Gabbert is still their QB. I would say quite confidently that he is one of the three or four worst starters in the NFL right now (The others are Sanchez, Kolb and Tannehill, though none has a very firm grip of their starting job). The defense I have to give to Gabbert, and every other rookie who struggled last year, is that none of them had an offseason. I feel sorry for MJD, who is spending his prime on a team that has been in rebuilding mode since 2007. Cutting Garrard still makes no sense to me. Oh, and a punter in the 3rd round....Seriously? (PR: 30)
29) Washington Redskins: I love RG3. Usually I see a fast QB and assume they will fail. But he is so smart, so charismatic and so talented, that there is a chance that the Redskins giving up the moon and stars to get him might not have been so foolish after all. This is still a team in rebuilding mode, in arguably the toughest division in football, but the future looks bright in D.C. for the first time in years. (PR: 28)
30) St. Louis Rams: Sam Bradford was probably really excited in the weeks leading up to the draft. His team was picking 6th overall after the trade back with the Redskins and in all likelihood was finally going to get him that franchise receiver he’d been waiting for. Then draft night came and before he knew what had happened, Jacksonville traded up and stole Justin Blackmon from him. “Okay,” he thought. “Michael Floyd is really good too, they’ll take him next instead.” But no, Jeff Fisher and Co. decided that they needed even more picks and traded back to 14 with the Cowboys. Floyd was taken 13th by the Cardinals. Sam Bradford began to weep... (PR: 31)
31) Indianapolis Colts: Even if Andrew Luck is the next Peyton Manning, Peyton went 3-13 his first year. So I don’t exactly have high hopes for this franchise in 2012 when you consider the fact that they have holes all over the place on that team. I liked them getting Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen but let's not forget that this is a team that cut not just Peyton, but Dallas Clark, Gary Brackett and Joseph Addai. Then lost Jeff Saturday, Jacob Tamme and Pierre Garcon in free agency. They bring a whole new meaning to rebuilding, especially considering they wanted to trade away Dwight Freeney, and came oh so close to losing Reggie Wayne in free agency as well. (PR: 29)
32) Miami Dolphins: If Matt Moore starts, I’ll move them up. If it’s Tannehill, I’ll probably drop them. If you take anything way from this, it’s that I don’t like that pick. Tannehill has tremendous bust potential plus the fact that he has no receivers to relieve the pressure. Reggie Bush is the only weapon on that offense, so teams will have an easy time stacking the box and shutting them down. (PR: 22)
Disagree? Let me know in the comments section or on twitter @TheBurghReport, where I've screwed up.
Pittsburgh Penguins 2011-2012
Player Report Cards:
*Before I start I just want to say that the grades given are based off the players ability in the role they had on the team. So if a grinder does his job perfectly he will get an A. Just like if a superstar does his job well he will get an A too.
Feel free to comment on any issues/thoughts you might have on what I wrote. I would love to hear from anybody.
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Marc-Andre Fleury (G):
GPI: 67 GS: 64 GAA: 2.36 (42-17-4) Sv%: .913
GPI: 6 GS: 6 GAA: 4.63 (2-4) Sv%: .834
It’s a shame Fleury’s excellent regular season is going to be tainted by his poor performance in the playoffs this year. People forget how well Fleury actually played this year, and how important he was to this team’s success. Fleury totaled a career high in wins, and his 3rd best GAA and 3rd best Sv% of his career. At the beginning of the season the Penguins played 7 games without both Crosby and Malkin; the Penguins lacked offense but Fleury kept us in every game, giving us a chance to win night in and night out. It didn’t stop there; Fleury was good in every game he played in up until mid-March, having debatably the most consistent season of his career. His play started to decline during a stint on Long Island when we faced the Islanders in back to back games. In the first game he let up 5 goals and was pulled from the game, and in the next game let in 5 goals again, an occurrence very uncommon for Fleury. To me, this was the turning point for Fleury. It wasn’t just Fleury; the Penguins had become less focused on defense and more focused on offense as they had been outscoring teams recently by large margins. The Penguins and Fleury were no longer disciplined in their own end, causing bad goals to go in on Fleury. Then we get to the playoffs where the defense was even worse against a speedy team in the Flyers. Here’s where Fleury began to play poorly, it seemed like every shot had a chance of going in. Where had Fleury gone? More importantly, where was the defense to help Fleury? I don’t think anyone really knows what happened to the Fleury and the defense, but sadly the Penguins have an elongated offseason to figure that out.
Grade (B): Fleury really did have an excellent regular season, and was talked about for consideration for the Vezina Trophy at times too. Fleury played great 5 out of the 6 month season, it’s just by playing poorly for that month the Stanley Cup favorite was eliminated all too early for most people’s liking.
Evgeni Malkin (C):
GP: 75 Goals: 50 Assists: 59 (+18)
GP: 6 Goals: 3 Assists: 5 (-1)
Evgeni Malkin carried this team all season long. Malkin worked so hard all offseason with Coach Mike Kadar and it was nice to see his hard work pay off this year. Malkin has been described as “lazy” at times throughout his career; he was anything but that this season. Malkin came in still having some slight issues with his knee, and missed some games early in the season, as soon as Malkin was healthy he couldn’t be stopped. Malkin averaged 1.45 points/game this season and if he would have played in every single game he would have hit 120 points. Malkin was an offensive machine this season as he set career highs in goals, game winning goals (9), and shots (339). Malkin really showed that he was the best player in the world this year, winning the Art Ross Trophy, and it’s a safe to assume he will win the Hart Trophy as MVP this season. Malkin had some unreal highlight reel goals this season showing off his skill. Some nights it seemed like Malkin had the puck on a string and was just toying with the defenders, yes he was that dominant. Malkin also only had 70 PIM this season, as a player known for taking stupid penalties, he really mad an effort to stay composed this season. Malkin was decent in the playoffs, Sean Couturier did a good job of keeping the league’s best player in check for most of the series.
Grade (A+): Malkin had the best year of his career this season. He dominated the league and proved to people that he truly was a superstar in the NHL this season. Remember Malkin did most of this without the help of Sidney Crosby this season, and it’s scary to even think about how good they will be when they are both healthy for an entire season.
James Neal (LW):
GP: 80 Goals: 40 Assists: 41 (+6)
GP: 5 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 (-3)
Where to even begin with James Neal and his performance this year? I think it’s fair to say nobody expected a breakout season like this for him; after he scored just 1 goal in 21 games with the Penguins last season expectations were low and there were plenty of people thought James Neal would be a bust. Yet again, Ray Shero impressed everyone as he got a 40 goal scorer and solid defenseman (Matt Niskanen) for Alex Gologoski. James Neal shot the puck tons this season – registering 329 shots on goal – and with this he finally found his scoring touch. Pucks just started going in the net for him, simple as that. Neal set career highs in goals, assists, and points. At many points in the season he actually was leading the league in goals, and if it was not for a late season slump he could have possibly hit the 50 goal mark. Playing alongside Malkin for the whole season certainly helped Neal, but Malkin also benefited from a winger like Neal too. Neal turned his physicality up when he needed to, especially come playoff time. Although he may have gone too far after elbowing Claude Giroux and running over Sean Couturier, earning himself a 1 game suspension. Neal had a breakout season, a few more seasons like this and he could become a superstar in this league.
Grade (A+): James Neal did everything right this season, he exceeded expectations and the Penguins are happy to have been able to sign him for the next 6 years. Neal is that star winger the Pens had been looking for all this time, and it’s great to know he’s here to stay.
Chris Kunitz
GP: 82 Goals: 26 Assists: 35 (+16)
GP: 6 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 (-2)
Chris Kunitz had another good season as a Penguin. He set career highs in goals and points and tied his career high in assists. Just like a lot of Penguins this season, he set career marks offensively. Kunitz almost seemed to go unnoticed throughout most of this season, playing on the “Shooting Line” with Neal and Malkin, it seemed like their unbelievable seasons took away from the attention Kunitz would have normally gotten for such a good season he had himself. Kunitz loved to go to the crease and put in rebounds and makes a living from doing that; he also has some scoring touch to go along with that. Kunitz was healthy for the entire season for the first time in a couple years and this helped him put up these good numbers as well. Kunitz took the body, especially during playoffs and was great on the forecheck. Kunitz is trustworthy defensively and even got a little PK time when the Pens were decimated with injuries. Kunitz had a good playoff performance as well.
Grade (A): Kuntiz set some important career highs and continued to do all the little things that has made him so valuable to this team over the last few seasons.
Sidney Crosby (C):
GP: 22 Goals: 8 Assists: 29 (+15)
GP: 6 Goals: 3 Assists: 5 (-3)
I could probably go own for pages analyzing Crosby’s play this season, but I won’t for your sake. Crosby returned from his concussion November 21, 2011 and that was certainly a game to remember. Crosby had 2 goals and 2 assists and seemed to dominate this game. It ended up that Crosby played too hard in this game and was already out of the lineup by December 5, 2011, not what any of the Penguins fans were hoping for. It turned out the doctors had failed to notice that he had a neck injury that had never quite healed so he sat out for a while and made his 2nd return on March 15, 2012 and played a much quieter game with only 1 assist, but it was better that way because we wanted this to be the last time Crosby had to make a return from injury. For the rest of the season Crosby produced as well as he ever had averaging 1.68 points/game, although most of his points came in the assist column, it seemed Crosby never found his scoring touch that he had last season. He missed a lot of games and his scoring touch will come back soon. In the playoffs Crosby seemed pretty quiet all series, his number may not show that, but it is fair to say that the Flyers did a good job of shutting him down.
Grade (B+): Crosby had a great offensive season, but never really found his scoring touch. He was for the most part a non-factor in the playoff series.
Kris Letang (D):
GP: 51 Goals: 10 Assists: 32 (+21)
GP: 6 Goals: 1 Assists: 4 (-1)
Letang missed a good bit of this season with concussions that he suffered from Max Pacioretty and Eric Nystrom on two separate incidents. Letang has also been battling a hip injury over the course of the last couple seasons (surgery is not out of the question for his hip) so it is fair to say that Letang was pretty banged up for a majority of this season. Even though he was injury plagued, he still had a strong season offensively and defensively. Letang tied his career high in goals and achieved his second highest point total, don’t forget he missed nearly half the season. Letang was also a team high (+21). Letang continued to be a force defensively, playing in penalty kill situations, and generally playing more minutes than any other Penguins player. Don’t forget Letang is only 25 years old and has a lot more time to grow and develop, most defenseman don’t hit their prime until they are 27-28 years old. Letang plays a huge part on the Penguins powerplay, not only offensively but he is the safety net for the Penguins and uses his speed to back check and prevent many shorthanded opportunities. Letang struggled a bit defensively in the playoffs, like I said before, no one man on the Penguin’s defense struggled in was a team failure.
Grade (A-): Letang had a solid overall season in every phase of the game. Injuries prohibited him from possibly having the best overall season he has ever had. It is crazy to say that Letang could get better than he is right now, he is debatably the Penguins best defenseman, Brooks Orpik is the only player who would rival him.
Steve Sullivan (LW):
GP: 79 Goals: 17 Assists: 31 (-3)
GP: 6 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 (-4)
I absolutely loved this free agent signing from the start: a veteran forward with some skill, scoring touch, and leadership. It is fair to say that Sullivan is the smallest man out there every game at only 5’8” 165lbs, but he plays much bigger than that. Sullivan quarterbacks the powerplay and helped so much with its success. The Penguins had a poor powerplay last season, and this year they were able to have it consistently in the Top 6 in the NHL. I think it is a fair statement to say Sullivan was a big part in that, he could distribute extremely well, had a solid shot that sometimes we wished he would use more often. Sullivan was good defensively, no real complaints, obviously lacks physicality due to his size, but he finds way to get around that disadvantage. Sullivan did well in the playoffs, scored some important goals.
Grade (A): A veteran player stepping in on this team and having a major impact is so a great thing to see. He really came in and helped the Penguins, showed great durability for a 37 year old.
Jordan Staal (C):
GP: 62 Goals: 25 Assists: 25 (+11)
GP: 6 Goals: 6 Assists: 3 (+2)
This year the story of Jordan Staal was his new found offensive skill and scoring touch. Staal set a career high in points this season. Staal totaled his second highest goal total too. It seemed like Staal became a faster player and his shot: he suddenly seemed like he could just snipe on goalies pretty regularly. Just think if Staal had played all 82 games, you’re looking at 66 points if he keeps up at the pace he was during the season. Just think if Staal had two offensive minded wingers, something he lacks now, is 70+ points a year out of the question? I certainly don’t think so and his play in the playoffs only helps to reinforce that. Staal led the Penguins in goals and points, scoring a hat trick in Game 4. Now let’s not forget that Staal was also taking on the Flyers most talented line, led by star Claude Giroux. Although Giroux was not shut down in the series, in fact was the best overall player, it speaks wonders to Staal’s 2-way game. He not only does in offensively, he is a great defensive center, like he has been his entire career.
Grade (A): Staal had the best season of his career, offensively and played well defensively like always. It will be huge if the Penguins can somehow sign Staal this summer, but there will be a lot of teams after him in the free agent market. It would be great to see Staal a Penguins next season, but then again nobody would be surprised if he isn’t.
Pascal Dupuis (RW):
GP: 82 Goals: 25 Assists: 34 (+18)
GP: 6 Goals: 2 Assists: 4 (0)
Pascal Dupuis undoubtedly had the best season of his career. He set career highs in goals, assists, and points, ended the year with a 17 game point streak (the best in the entire NHL this season), and played strong defensive hockey. Dupuis had 8 GWG this season only 1 behind Malkin for the team lead – don’t forget Malkin had twice as many goals as Dupuis too. Dupuis back checks as good as any other Penguins, is great on the forecheck and began to take the body consistently this season. All of this led him to have a career year offensively, and it is great to see all of Dupers hard work paying off. Dupuis continued to kill penalties like he always does, and not to mention played in all 82 games this season. Dupuis had a solid playoffs, producing in the early games, but failed to get anything going in the latter games.
Grade (A+): It is hard to find anything wrong with the season Pascal Dupuis put together in 2011-2012. He played better offensively than any season before, and continued to play great defense game after game. I also like Dupers hustle, he works hard every shift.
Matt Cooke (LW):
GP: 82 Goals: 19 Assists: 19 (+5)
GP: 6 Goals: 0 Assists: 4 (+4)
Matt Cooke went from 129 penalty minutes and suspended for over 10 games in 2010-2011 to only having 44 penalty minutes and playing in every single game this season. For him it was a huge accomplishment, completely changing the way he plays the game, and needless to say he had his best statistical season of his career. Cooke set career highs in goals and points and was the Penguin’s nomination for the Masterson Trophy. Cooke continued to play physical and was a staple on the Penguin’s penalty kill as always. Cooke offers great leadership qualities, and how he was able to change his game will inspire others players who play like Cooke did and his story will be used as an example to them.
Grade (A): Cooke had the best overall season of his career, and how he changed his game is an unbelievable story. Cooke continued to maintain his defensive prowess and his physical play and pretty much cut out all stupid and unnecessary penalties.
Matt Niskanen (D):
GP: 75 Goals: 4 Assists: 17 (+9)
GP: 4 Goals: 1 Assists: 2 (+2):
Matt Niskanen had a solid season for the Penguin’s this season, coming out of training camp there was a lot of speculation that Matt Niskanen may be a healthy scratch regularly during the season, but he proved that wrong by playing in almost every game. He missed some games due to both a lower body injury and upper body injury. Niskanen worked on the second unit of the powerplay and was able to create some offense from the point. If Niskanen continues to improve his game defensively and lives up to his potential (drafted 28th overall in 2005) he could earn himself a large contract and a lot more ice time.
Grade (A-): Niskanen did well this year; he could always tighten up defensively and be more physical. Hopefully the Penguins will be able to sign him this coming offseason.
Paul Martin (D):
GP: 73 Goals: 2 Assists: 25 (+9)
GP: 3 Goals: 1 Assists: 0 (-1)
I think it is fair to say that most people expected more defensively out of Paul Martin this season. Martin played with Zybnek Michalek so much last year and they were able to turn into our shut-down defensive pairing. This season they actually had to be split up because they were a liability on the ice. It seemed like Martin turned the puck over a lot in our own zone, and was overall weaker defensively than we thought he would be. His salary is for around $5 million, and we cannot continue to pay him that much money if he plays like he did this season. Martin had a solid season offensively, and played a good bit on the 2nd powerplay unit. Martin suffered a concussion in the playoffs and missed 3 games because of that.
Grade (C): Martin was a disappointment defensively this season, and his large contract is not worth what he brings to the team. I would not be surprised if he is traded away this offseason.
Brooks Orpik (D):
GP: 73 Goals: 2 Assists: 16 (+19)
GP: 6 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-2)
Brooks Orpik had a great regular season to me, proving yet again that he is the Penguins top shut down defenseman. Orpik continued to take the body game after game like he has every season of his career. Orpik missed some time this season with an upper body injury and a few games here and there, but primarily remained healthy. Orpik put up some pretty typical numbers on the score sheet, although with only 44 shots on goal, you don’t have much of a chance of scoring anyway. Orpik was always placed in the top defensive pairing and either worked with Letang or Michalek this year. Orpik’s playoffs were a different story to me, Orpik played fine, but not to the caliber you would want your top defensive defenseman to play at. On a variety of goals I noticed Orpik did not get into shooting lanes, or failed to move his feet. The entire Penguin’s defense was suspect during the only playoff series they played in; Orpik is just as accountable as anyone. Orpik consistently showed strong leadership qualities during the entire season, whether it was talking to the media, or addressing problems the team needed to fix.
Grade (B+): Orpik played a very strong regular season, but had a poor post season. Orpik is a veteran on this team and portrays leadership qualities with everything he does.
Tyler Kennedy (RW):
GP: 60 Goals: 11 Assists: 22 (+10)
GP: 6 Goals: 3 Assists: 3 (+1)
Tyler Kennedy battled some off and on injuries this season, but still had a good year. He produced some decent numbers this season with 33 points. Although he had a much better offensive season last year, that was mostly because he played the last half of the season without Crosby and Malkin in the lineup, allowing for him to have much more powerplay times and just shifts in general. Kennedy struggled at some points in the season to find his scoring touch, and made a name for himself as he constantly shooting the puck over the net. Kennedy was a ferocious backchecker and played well this season on the Cooke-Staal-Kennedy “best 3rd line in hockey.” Kennedy stepped up in the playoffs and found some scoring touch, including a GWG in Game 5 to force a Game 6.
Grade (B): Kennedy struggled to find his scoring touch, but still played well on the 3rd line. His playoff performance showed off what Kennedy can do offensively with his strong shot and speed.
Joe Vitale (Center):
GP: 68 Goals: 4 Assists: 10 (-5)
GP: 4 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-2)
Joe Vitale did not have much NHL experience before this season, but he certainly gained a lot this year. Vitale is a guy who isn’t in the NHL because of his skills, that’s for sure, he’s what they call a “grinder” and he does his job well. Vitale added a spark to the Penguins this year with his hard work ethic in games, whether it be on the forecheck or backcheck. Joe Vitale made a name for himself with his defensive play, and also faceoffs, leading the team in percentage at 55.5%. Joe Vitale saw some penalty kill time on occasion. One part of Vitale’s game I liked a lot was to see him get hit hard, sometimes cheap shoted too, but get right back up and keep playing hard, seemingly ignoring the pain. He did what any hockey coach would want their player to do, take the number of the player who just hit you, and hit him harder on your next shift. Joe Vitale could drop the gloves if needed too. Dan Bylsma scratched him on occasion because some nights their lineup needed some more skill, and also was injured for a few games. In the playoffs Vitale played in 4 of the 6 games against the Flyers, and did little in each of the games he played in, averaging a mere 4 minutes of ice time each game. Vitale only registered 1 shot and was a (-2).
Grade (B): As a role player he did his job very well. He would have gotten a higher grade, but he failed to produce much in the points department, not that he is supposed to but 4 goals in 68 games is a little low and I think he can do better than that. Joe Vitale was a non-factor in the playoffs.
Eric Tangradi (Left Wing):
GP: 24 Goals: 0 Assists: 2 (-4)
GP: 2 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (+2)
Eric Tangradi came over in a trade from the Anaheim Ducks on February 26, 2009. Since then he has spent much of his time playing with WBS in the AHL. Eric Tangradi was a regular call up when players were injured, and sometimes stayed on the Penguins 23 man roster as a healthy scratch this season. It’s pretty clear everyone was disappointed in Tangradi’s production this year with only 2 assists. Ray Shero’s hopes were that he could develop into a top-6 power forward who could play along Malkin or Crosby, that idea has utterly failed so far, but remember Tangradi is still young. Tangradi did make some strides defensively after he realized that if he wasn’t producing then he better be able to play good defense. Tangradi also threw his body around, and tried to make an impact physically. In the playoffs Tangradi only played in 2 of the 6 games, but in the games he did play the Pens were 2-0. Tangradi played a solid game defensively and did a fine job getting 1 assist during his limited ice time. This again makes us hopeful that Tangradi can come up big for the Penguins next season.
Grade (C): Tangradi didn’t even score a goal this season, that’s absolutely awful. He made some strides defensively and played physically which are the positives. If he can find a scoring touch, he won’t be playing in WBS anymore. Tangradi played a solid couple games in the playoffs, Bylsma elected to have him play again in Game 5, even though the Penguins got James Neal and Craig Adams back from suspensions, and were dressing seven defenseman. This shows Bylsma’s confidence in Tangradi’s play as of late.
Simon Despres (Defense):
GP: 18 Goals 1: Assists: 3 (+5)
GP: 3 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (+2)
Simon Despres played for the Penguins for the first time this season, making his NHL debut. I saw a lot of good characteristics in Despres’ game, and like all young rookie’s some need for improvement. Despres’ did well moving the puck and even got to see some powerplay time this season with the many injuries on our blue line. Despres’ worked well in the Penguins system joining rushes, and pinching in the offense zone to keep pucks in and this is a major plus moving forward. In the next few years I look for him to move into an offensive-defense man to complement Letang. Despres’ had his fair share of turnovers this season too, and defensively could have played stronger, but for a rookie I think he did just fine. Despres will be a good fit for the Penguins in the future, and it seems like his potential is through the roof. In the playoffs Despres was used in the Bylsma’s technique of dressing seven defenseman in 3 games against the Flyers. Despres generally played under 10 minutes, but did well during his sparse playing time. Despres also played regularly on the second power play unit, showing the confidence his coaches had in him.
Grade (A-): Despres will hopefully be that player who logs 25 minutes of ice time a game and is one of the Penguin’s top defenseman in a few years. For his first NHL season he did fine and showed us that he is near ready to consistently play at this level. Despres had a good outing when called up for the Penguins in the playoffs.
Richard Park (RW/C):
GP: 54 Goals: 7 Assists: 7 (-1)
GP: 2 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (-1)
Richard Park returned to playing in the NHL after playing in Switzerland during the 2010-2011 season. Park was a regular on the fourth line of the Penguins this season and often rotated with Joe Vitale as a healthy scratch. Park prided himself on playing good defensive hockey throughout the season. Park showed that he had a good wrist shot, and could find the back of the net on occasion. Park also played point on the Penguins power play for a brief period of time, Park is one of those players that is coachable and is in the NHL based off his hard work. I was disappointed that Park did not bring much physicality to the game this season. Park is a good veteran forward to have on your fourth line who can be counted on as a reliable forward. During his two games in the playoffs, Park was really not noticeable, partly because he generally played around 4 minutes each game and he did not create much offensively, but never ceased to hustle.
Grade (B): Park had a so-so season points wise and failed to hit much, let alone at all. What Park did do, however, was fill a spot on the fourth line well, had a great work ethic, and played good defensive hockey.
Arron Asham (RW):
GP: 64 Goals: 5 Assists: 11 (-5)
GP: 3 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-3)
It’s fair enough to say that Asham’s season will be highlighted by two plays: the vicious cross check to Brayden Schenn in the playoffs resulting in a 4 game suspension and Asham’s fight against Jay Beagle where he knocked him out after two strong punches. These two events really highlight what Asham brought to the team, he stuck up for our stars and he proved night in and night out that he was there to hit physically and grind it out on the Penguins fourth line. Asham did a good job producing from his role on the fourth line, producing 16 points, and Asham was rarely a liability defensively, and that it why he was rarely a healthy scratch. Asham did miss some games due to a concussion. It is a shame that Asham, a well-respected play who has fought to stay in the lineup every night, literally, is going to have his reputation tainted by his incident in the playoffs.
Grade (B): Asham played pretty well all season, put some decent points up for a fourth liner, and fought and hit consistenly all season. Asham, however, was suspended for a stupid and unnecessary cross check to the chest of Schenn in the playoffs.
Brian Strait (D);
GP: 9 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (-2)
GP: 3 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (+3):
Brian Strait was called up during the season during the early months when our defense was completely depleted and it seemed like another defenseman would get injured every other night. In his time playing in the NHL this season, one aspect of his game stood out to me right away: his physical play. Brian Strait could hit, and not just finish checks but step up on players at the blue line, similar to how Brooks Orpik hits. Strait’s puck moving ability and skating is under rated, he was able to do a good job in both aspects this season. Strait is not noted for his scoring, and showed it this season, not really helping the offense of the Penguins at all offensively. The Penguin’s shear depth at the defense position will keep him out of the lineup for next season. Strait comes in as the Penguins 9th defenseman as of now. Strait did fine in the playoffs working in Byslma’s seven defenseman rotation playing around 10 minutes each game.
Grade (B+): For a WBS call up this season Brian Strait did a fine job as a fill in for the Penguins on the blue line. It will be hard for Strait to earn a roster spot this season out of training camp, but look for Strait to be a regular call up when the Penguins need a defenseman from WBS. Strait’s lack of offensive talent will make Simon Despres the more favorable call up, however.
Dustin Jeffery (LW/C):
GP: 26 Goals: 4 Assists: 2 (-4)
Dustin Jeffery came back after tearing his MCL/ACL last season. Early in the season he had a few complications with his knee not being fully healed; leading him to miss a lot of games where he would have played due to the Penguins abundance of injuries. Later in the season he was generally a healthy scratch since the Penguins had pretty much all their players back. It seemed like Jeffery could not produce any points this season and did little for the Penguins offensively, and when you aren’t producing you better be able to play quality defensive hockey you aren’t going to crack our deep roster. This was really proven to me in the playoffs when 3 Penguins players were suspended, Byslma chose to dress seven defenseman, forcing Jeffery to be a healthy scratch yet again. It seemed like Jeffery fell out of favor with the coaches towards the end of the season.
Grade (C-): Jeffery did little to contribute offensively and was unable to play good enough defense to keep himself in the lineup, leading to many healthy scratches for him. Jeffery’s lack of production may be because of his knee injury he had last season, which lingered into this season as well. Maybe a healthy Dustin Jeffery will do better next season.
Ben Lovejoy (D):
GP: 34 Goals: 1 Assists: 4 (+3)
GP: 2 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-2):
Ben Lovejoy was generally the Penguins 7th defenseman throughout the season. Lovejoy did play a lot toward the beginning of the season when the Penguins defenseman were crippled by injuries. Lovejoy showed that he can move the puck better, and made great strides in the offseason, improving his skating ability. Lovejoy didn’t produce offensively like he did in the 2011 season, where he had 17 points in 47 games, but did improve his defensive play a little bit. Lovejoy only scored 1 goal this season, but he was definitely shooting the puck a lot, he had 48 shots, but they just could not find their way into the net. His shooting percentage was an atrocious 2.1%. Lovejoy is also one of the defenseman hurt by the depth of the Penguin’s defense, and could probably play regularly on most NHL teams. Lovejoy had knee surgery late in the season, but made a quick recovery so he could return for the playoffs. In the playoffs, Lovejoy played poorly, allowing WBS call ups Brian Strait and Simon Despres to move ahead of him in the depth chart. His knee injury was never fully healed, which could have led to him being scratched later on in the series against the Flyers.
Grade (B-): Lovejoy certainly showed some improvements this season, and showed that he is NHL ready, but played little due to injury and the depth of the Penguin’s defense. Lovejoy could certainly improve defensively, and needs to produce more offense from the blue line.
Zbynek Michalek (D):
GP: 62 Goals: 2 Assists 11 (0)
GP: 6 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (+2)
Michalek had again a solid year as the Penguin’s defensive defenseman this season. Michalek was originally paired with Paul Martin towards the beginning of the season, but since that pairing was not as good as it was last year, Michalek ended up playing most of the season with Orpik acting as the Penguin’s shutdown pair. Michalek ate up a lot of minutes on the PK this season. To me it seemed Michalek did not play quite as good as he did in the 2010-2011 season, but nonetheless was a staple to the Pens defense all season. Michalek did miss a string of games early in the season with an upper body injury. Michalek was on par with his point production this season with his 13 points. Michalek fired 77 shots on goal this season which is decent; Michalek could really improve his points production if he got his shooting percentage up from 2.6%. In the playoffs, the Penguin’s defense as a whole played badly, Michalek did okay, it seemed like Michalek took a lot of abuse in the playoffs, getting wrecked many times. Michalek did not practice with the Penguins on off days in the playoffs so he most likely had a minor injury.
Grade (B): Michalek had a good season with the Pens, and proved that he can play really good defensive hockey. His offensive production was pretty normal for him, and he played okay in the playoffs. I think it is fair to say Michalek is worth his $4 million salary.
Deryk Engelland (D):
GP: 73 Goals: 4 Assists: 13 (+10)
GP: 6 Goals: 0 Assists: 1 (+1)
Deryk Engelland played his second full season with the Penguins this year. Engelland made the 23 man roster right out of training camp, but a first there was speculation as to whether Ben Lovejoy would be the teams 6th defenseman, or if Engelland would fill that place. It became clear that the Penguins planned on having Engelland as a regular in the Pens top 6 defenseman. Engelland brings something to the Penguins defense that Lovejoy doesn’t, he can hit very well and fight with the toughest players in the NHL. Engelland fought a lot less this year compared to last year; this was because Engelland would be hurting the team if he had to sit in the penalty box for 5 minutes every game. Engelland’s skating was probably the most improved aspect of his game, it was noticeable when he would lug the puck up the ice and then dump it in, he also showed some escapibility, getting away from the oppositions forecheckers with ease. Engelland worked hard in the offseason to become more of a puck moving defenseman, and it is fair to say he accomplished that, always leaving the zone with his head up and ready to make a pass. Engelland had a pretty normal year offensively, and he is not in the lineup to score goals so nobody expects much production. Engelland was suspended 3 games this season for hitting a player in the head.
Grade (A-): Engelland did his job well for a defenseman on a team’s 3rd pairing. He fought, hit and worked hard to stay in the lineup every night. He also improved his skating, puck handling, passing and shot. Engelland should be a staple at the Penguins blue line for the next couple of years.
Craig Adams (R/C):
GP: 82 Goals: 5 Assists: 13 (-6)
GP: 5 Goals: 0 Assists: 0 (-1)
Craig Adams is the Penguins lineup because of his strong defensive skill and he is a staple on the Penguins excellent penalty kill, the 18 points he had this season are just an added bonus. Adams put up some good numbers this season, the most he has gotten as a Penguin. Adams once went over 100 games without scoring a goal so to have 5 in a season is considered good for him. Craig Adams was a regular on the penalty kill and all season did a good job, whether it was getting sticks in the lane, blocking shots, or even creating some shorthanded scoring opportunities. Adam proved to be a consistent physical player on the fourth line, and it is an accomplishment that he played in every single game this season considering how much abuse his body takes over the course of a season. In the playoffs the Penguin’s penalty kill was awful, but it was all the players who are to blame for that. Adams also got suspended for 1 game in the playoffs for receiving an instigating penalty in the last 5 minutes of a game.
Grade (A-): Adams put up great numbers this season for his role on this team, and consistently did a good job defensively. I took 1/3 of a letter grade off for the Penguins defensive faults in the playoffs considering he plays a major part in that role.
Brent Johnson (G):
GPI: 16 GS: 14 GAA: 3.11 (6-7-2) Sv%: .883
GPI: 1 GS: 0 GAA: 6.00 (0-0) Sv%: .667
It is fair to say Brent Johnson really struggled this season. In the few games he played in he always looked nervous and just let in way too many soft goals. Johnson had his worst Sv% of his career this season and his GAA wasn’t so great either. Johnson was hampered by an undisclosed injury for a couple months later in the season, giving Brad Theissen a chance to get some valuable NHL experience. Johnson will battle back though, something he has done his whole career. I expect him to be ready for next season and be playing a lot better.
Grade (D): Johnson had a poor season. He looked shaky in net and had little confidence at all this season. He is still a solid back up for the Penguins though.
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