Champions League Semi-Final; Leg 1 Preview

The good news for Arsenal:

• They’ve played well against Man United
• United’s defence has not been as solid as it was earlier in the year
• The Gunners can score goals
• The tie’s second leg is at the Emirates in London
• This is the only thing Arsenal have left to play for

Now the bad news:

• William Gallas, Robin Van Persie, and Gael Clichy are out with injuries
• Youngster Kieran Gibbs will have to contain Christiano Ronaldo
• Wayne Rooney gives Arsenal fits
• Arsenal’s defence have been poor lately, and Johan Djourou will have to play well after a long absence

Final score: 1-1

Post-Draft Thoughts

For once the Bills focused on their needs and they did quite a bit to fill holes on the roster.  I’m not convinced Aaron Maybin will be a better player at Defensive End than Bryan Orakpo, so that’ll be an interesting thing to watch.  No question the Bills needed help on the offensive line and at tight end and they helped themselves here.  The question does remain as to why they didn’t take an offensive tackle after trading Jason Peters.  I think they’ll live to regret their starting tandem of Langston Walker and Kirk Chambers.  I was disappointed they missed on Brandon Pettigrew, but by all accounts Shawn Nelson is a steal in the 4th round and he should help Trent Edwards’ game.  Taking 3 DB’s and not a single LB is puzzling, especially given their glaring need at OLB.  Given the track record of Tom Modrak and John Guy, I’d give this draft a B-.

Stop the Recycling and just Sign Peters

I know, I know – Jason Peters was terrible last year.  He was out of shape, unprepared, and allowed a league-high 13.5 sacks.  Hardly worthy of the highest-paid-lineman-in-the-NFL contract he’s seeking.  But you know what?  The Bills should pay him anyway.  Here’s why:

For years the Bills have simply let their premium talent walk away and winning football teams can’t afford to lose top talent, especially in its prime.  The Bills haven’t made the playoffs in a decade because they keep letting their best players go once they get expensive and then have to use their top draft picks on replacements.  This means the team can never even come close to fixing all of its holes.  Top-quality NFL players are hard to find; if you have some you need to do what it takes to keep them even if it means overpaying.

The club let Pat Williams walk and he’s since gone to 3 Pro Bowls.   Marv Levy then wasted a first rounder on his failed replacement, John McCargo. Nate Clements and Antoine Winfield both were allowed to go and the Bills had to spend last year’s first round pick on Leodis McKelvin.  Sure Clements is overpaid but all of these guys were let go in their primes.  The Patriots aren’t afraid to release good players, but they do so once these guys are on the downside of their careers, like Drew Bledsoe, Mike Vrabel, or Ty Law.  The Bradys, Mosses, and Seymours of the world they pay and they keep.

The Bills have been doing the same recycling in the backfield for years too.  Draft a good back (and lousy father) in Travis Henry.  Then waste another first round pick replacing Henry with Willis MacGahee.  Then trade MacGahee and spend another first rounder on Marshawn Lynch.  This is a recipe for failure.  When you use draft a good player you should pay and keep that player and then use the draft to fill other positions in subsequent years.  It’s like replacing the front door to your house every 3 years and never doing anything about the leaky windows.

The Bills have a highly-talented, in-his-prime player at a vital position – left tackle.  Sure he wants too much money and he was shit last year, but he still has the ability and he should be locked in so the Bills can use their picks elsewhere.  Ths is the kind of move successful teams make and  Russ Brandon and Dick Jauron simply need to get it done.

T.O.

Wow.  The Bills had to be the single least likely team to sign this guy, but there you go.  Let’s start with the bad news:

• Owens will be 35 in December and is clearly not the player he once was
• Ralph has committed $6.5 million to the league’s most volatile player
• Most obviously, Owens is an absolute cancer in every locker room he’s ever been part of.  He’s a terrible distraction to his teams and he drives QB’s insane with his incessant whining about never seeing enough throws.  The last thing a young signal-caller like Trent Edwards needs is to be worrying about getting bitched at all game long by one of his wideouts.  Then again, according to Peter King, this was all the young Stanford grad’s idea.
• Hardly anyone else wanted Owens.  If he had a multi-year dear or interest from anywhere more exotic than Buffalo then you could bet he have taken it.

Now the good news:

• The offence desperately needs a #2 receiver and Owens is still far, far better than any other wideout on the market.  He’s a much better deal than Laverneous Coles and his ridiculous $28 million contract.
• The Bills were smart enough to give Owens a 1-year deal.  If he pulls his usual act, which seems almost certain at some point, the club can be rid of him when the season ends.
• The front office has finally taken a gamble.  They realize the team isn’t good enough as it is and just doing some tinkering won’t be enough to make the playoffs.  Dumping Dockery and Royal were good moves but the Bills simply need more premium talent and Owens, even at 35, helps in that department.
• The Bills have been a totally irrelevant NFL franchise for far too long.  Although Owens is an absolute powder keg it’s good to see the team try to make splash, something they haven’t done since they drafted Willis McGahee.

If the rumours are true, the Bills aren’t done, and that’s a good thing.  Signing a free agent at linebacker and guard are critical.  The team needs insurance for Marshawn Lynch, an end who can rush the passer (Brian Orakpo, perhaps?) and a tight end who is a clear upgrade on what they have.  Missouri’s Chase Coffman could be the answer in round 2 of the draft.  It will be very, very intesting to see the roster come opening day and even more interesting to see how Owens fits in.

Nil-Nil in the North London Derby – never thought I’d see the day.

Well if the saying goes that a nil-nil draw isn’t necessarily boring Sunday’s North London Derby at White Hart Lane proved it.  Arsenal were reduced to 10 men late in the first half after an idiotic 2nd bookable offence but Emmanuel Eboue.  The dying moments of the match saw missed chances by both Niklas Bendntner and Robbie Keane so the Gunners remain mired in 5th place in the Premier League table.

Eboue rightly deserves condemnation.  Perhaps Arsene Wenger should tolerate his lack of sportsmanship, constant complaining and infuriating ability to start confrontations if Eboue added something positive to the side.  The truth is that the man is horribly out of his depth at Arsenal.  He can’t pass, can’t finish and is simply an enormous distraction when he’s on the pitch.  Eboue is more of a threat to get a red card than he is to score a goal (though he did have one wrongly disallowed yesterday).  If yesterday wasn’t the last straw for Eboue at Arsenal then I seriously question whether Arsene Wenger has lost the plot.  The fact that he doesn’t have another true right winger besides Theo Walcott is his own fault, though I think we just might see new signing Andrei Arshavin on the right come next Monday’s FA Cup tie against Cardiff City.

The Gunners have now drawn 4 straight matches against mediocre opposition.  Although they’re unbeaten in 2009, they’ve wasted the easy fixture list they’ve had since the new year, picking up only 12 points from their last 6 league matches.  It’s decent form, but considering their opposition and place in the table, may well look like a lost opportunity once their difficult run-in starts in April.

It pains me, but I have to admire the Steelers

I respect a team that knows who it is.  Decades pass, coaches change, but you can count on the Steelers to operate a power run game, play great defence while blitzing like hell, be one of the toughest teams around, and win games.   The Pittsburgh front office deserves credit for having the guts to hire Mike Tomlin over steady in-house talent Ken Whisenhunt.  Whisenhunt is certainly no slouch himself as he’ll be on the opposite sideline in Tampa.  I also respect the fact that the organization has long stayed away from prima donna players and off-the-field drama.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still not a fan, but I have to admit that no matter what happens on Super Bowl Sunday this year’s Steelers are a more deserving champion than the Cinderalla Cardinals.  Arizona rode a weak schedule and a hot QB-WR tandem to the big game and they may well win the way they’re playing, but the Steelers have been tough all year against a killer schedule.

In trying to be fair and balanced, I should also point out that the Steelers have hideous uniforms and that it just seems downright wrong that their goofy-looking QB gets to date women like this and this.

3-1 to the Arsenal

A good win over Hull.  Robin Van Persie is looking like the player we’d always hoped he would be – dangerous around the penalty area, lethal on free kicks, using his skills to create chances for teammates, and staying away from the injury list.  RvP assisted on all 3 Arsenal goals on Saturday:

• A terrific corner headed in by Emmanuel Adebayor
• A nifty little pass to a streaking Samir Nasri who buried the match-winner with his left foot
• A good cross to sub Nick Bendtner who scored off the bench for the second straight match.  Bendtner seems much more effective in this role

Van Persie has now had a hand in 16 of the 37 Arsenal league goals this season.  With Cesc and Theo Walcott still sidelined Robin needs to keep up his torrid pace if the Gunners are going to be playing Champions League football next season.  Next up for the Red and White: a visit to Cardiff for an FA Cup tie.  I’m sure Welshman Aaron Ramsey’s looking forward to it.

So Gruden and Allen can’t keep their jobs

The Bucs just canned John Gruden and Bruce Allen but Dick Jauron keeps his job.  Gruden won a Super Bowl for the Bucs and has winning records the past 2 years, but it’s not good enough for Tampa Ownership.  Ralph Wilson, take note.

Those were some NFL Predictions

0 for 4.  The Giants run game stumbled at home against the Iggles.  The Chargers could not get off the field on 3rd down.  The Titans turned the ball over 3 times deep in Baltimore territory.  And Jake Delhomme single-handedly lost to the Cardinals.

What a disappointment for the Panthers, and it’s all on Delhomme, with a small nod to the offensive line that nearly got him killed.  You can’t blame the Carolina run game, since Delhomme’s 6 turnovers never allowed them a chance to get untracked.  You can’t blame the Panthers defence, who were on the field all night long and made the half-time adjustments to start putting heat on Kurt Warner.  The turnovers and penalties were vintage Dick Jauron Bills – certainly not what we’ve come to expect from a John Fox club.  I’d like to see the Panthers look at a young QB to start to groom as well as more depth on the defensive line and secondary.

I won’t even begin trying to predict what’ll happen in Phoenix and Pittsburgh next weekend.

1-Nil to the Arsenal

Well that won’t go down as the century’s most exciting football match, I can tell you that.  Watching Bolton play 10 men behind the ball all game was painful, but in truth Arsenal had to expect it.   Sub Nicklas Bendtner grabbed a late goal with a superb finish from a low Robin Van Persie cross in a match the Gunners had to win to stay within touching distance of the Premier League top 4.  Van Persie finally did what no one else tried all afternoon long – running in behind the defence.  Gael Clichy played a peach of a ball to the Dutchman and RvP and Bendtner did the rest.

Bolton came to the Emirates and never even tried to score, yet it took almost 75 minutes before Arsenal showed any real urgency.  Van Persie played well yet hit the woodwork for the incredible 13th time this season.  Emmanuel Adebayor had a stinker of a match, lazily drifting about for a half and then hitting a wide-open chance right at Jussi Jasskalainen.  Samir Nasri was dangerous on the left and sub Carlos Vela added a spark when he came on late in the second half, but the team desperately misses Cesc Fabregas in the middle.  Abou Diaby got the start in his favoured central midfield position but was too long on the ball and failed to create any real openings for his teammates.  Manuel Almunia flapped about in the first half before settling down and making a couple of good stops later on in the match.  Arsenal have a relatively easy run of fixtures over the next few weeks but they’ll need to play better to go on the type of roll they so desperately need.