Posts tagged Josh Norris

Reads Listens Views 11/30/2012

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Are you a dynasty league owner, or are you looking for a surprise producer at the end of the season in a deep re-draft league? Marvin Jones might be your guy. See below. Photo by John Martinez Pavliga

Thanks

I have great readers. People who send me holiday cards, books, and YouTube videos because they just enjoy the back-and-forth. While I’m not always able to respond in kind or with as much regularity as I’d like, I still want to thank all of you who frequent this blog, email me, and/or purchase the Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication. Two years ago I wondered if the RSP would have a long-term future. I’m far more optimistic than I’ve ever been due to the response to this blog and the 2012 publication. I hope all of you reading this have a good holiday season filled with gifts that come from being around people that you enjoy.

If you’re new to the RSP blog, here’s a series I wrote comparing Bengals receiver Marvin Jones and Jets receiver Stephen Hill.

Listens

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This is one of the most sonically flexible small groups you will ever hear. Think Peyton Manning at the line of scrimmage with a Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, and Edgerrin James all in their prime.

Football and Fantasy Football Reads

  • 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s parents can’t believe criticism over their son’s arm tattoos USA Today writer Robert Klemko interviews Kaepernick’s parents after a writer disparaged the quarterback’s tattoos. Personally, I’ll never get a tattoo. I don’t believe in marking my body with ink. However, invoking the quarterback-as-CEO argument against Kaepernick is an out-dated idea. Please look around at our CEOs, congressional representatives, and leaders in academia. They wear the right clothes, have the right hair cut, and project and image of reliability. True, projecting an image is an action and looking like a banker-robot is safe. But athletes aren’t bankers. Unlike bankers, athletes are supposed to take risks. They are supposed to be passionate. They are supposed to deal with tremendous adversity. I don’t want to banker running my offense. I want someone with conviction. To stick with bankers and their politician employees. . . for that matter, everyone. Isn’t it time we apply Ghandi’s Seven Sins to what we think we see in them?
    • Wealth without Work
    • Pleasure without Conscience
    • Science without Humanity
    • Knowledge without Character
    • Politics without Principle
    • Commerce without Morality
    • Worship without Sacrifice
  • A Former Player’s Perspective on the Rookie Wall Ryan Riddle offers another fantastic take on a the behind the scenes realities of the NFL.
  • Zach Law’s Interview of Mike MacGregor at Fantasy Throwdown If there were an underrated fantasy football resource in the industry, MacGregor is that guy. I wouldn’t be doing this today if it weren’t for him.

Non-Football Reads

Views

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I’ll be talking about Wheaton soon. Those of you draft analysts on Twitter who predicted I’d like Wheaton were correct.

Reads Listens Views 11/16/2012

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Listens

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More on La Havas later.

Views Part I – Real or Photoshop? I don’t care, it’s cool . . .

At Fantasy Throwdown: Annual Thanksgiving Tourney & IDP Tourney!!!

To our regulars out there, thanks for playing Fantasy Throwdown, including providing feedback and helping build a great community of fantasy football players.To our mailing list members who haven’t checked in for a while, or since last season, come on over. The regular season is past the halfway mark, but we’re going to continue playing Throwdown all the way through the Super Bowl, one week at a time.Here is a snapshot of things going on this month:
Turkey Day CompetitionIt is back. Or will be next week, that is. Our favourite (note the “u”) holiday that isn’t even a holiday where Mike lives – U.S. Thanksgiving. Three games on the NFL schedule, which is perfect for a little game we like to call Fantasy Throwdown. It will be similar to last year’s hootenanny. Look for details posted early next week.
IDP TournamentThe reason we don’t spell out acronyms like IDP very often is because we know we attract top fantasy football players who can break down expected tackle distribution numbers when stars Ray Lewis and Sean Lee are sidelined. If you qualify – or maybe it is time to learn – sign up for our next tournament that includes more Vontaze Burfict and less Trindon Holliday.
Player vs. Player StatsWondering how your head-to-head record stacks up against Players X, Y and Z? Sure, you could just count the wins and losses in your Game Manager history, but we’ve made it a lot easier. Go to our new stats tool, start typing your username, select and hit submit. Don’t get mad if you find one or two players are bringing your overall win % down. Get even.

Sign Up Now, IDP and Turkey Day

Coming Soon at the RSP Blog

  • My next Futures column at Football Outsiders on NC State corner David Amerson
  • A commentary on the thorny intersection of racism, politics, and quarterbacking in the NFL
  • Down the road . . . 2013 No-Huddle Series: Short takes of prospects under the radar

Views Part II

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You probably saw this terrific bicycle kick on Dead Spin, but here it is if you missed it.

Views Part III

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Neodymium is a rare earth mineral. It’s one of strongest of magnets, capable of holding 1000 times its weight. Hybrid cars use neodymium in its engines. Your computers and smart phones use it. Mining it takes enough energy per day to power 50,000 homes and water usage to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools. Because it’s found embedded near uranium and thorium, the process to extract the neodymium requires safety measures that have been problematic to say the least.

My ignorant, tin-foil hat question of the day is this: If this mineral in small amounts has this type of magnetic capability and our earth rotates and orbits based on magnetic fields then why are we digging it up? I know I have to be missing something about how our planet orbits and how the magnetic fields actually work that doesn’t include this mineral embedded throughout our planet. Otherwise, aren’t we eventually going to screw up the way our planet orbits the sun or how the moon stays in orbit? Considering the demand for the metal is expected to grow by 700 percent in the near future, I’m wondering if this is just another chapter in the book Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Shortsighted History of Humanity.

I feel pretty dumb to ask but my lunch hour is spent reading non-football material, and notice “hour” isn’t plural in this instance.

Football Reads

Football Outsiders Film Room: Colts-Patriots – Andy Benoit’s analysis of Andrew Luck’s drop against two-deep coverage is outstanding.

PFF Analysis Notebook: Richard Sherman – Sam Monson does a great job profiling the Seahawks cornerback and why “Revis Island may be about to become an archipelago, flanked by Sherman Island in a sea from which there is no escape for receivers.”

The New Old School – Chris Brown’s piece on Chip Kelly’s offense at Oregon at Grantland.

FishDuck – Rotoworld’s Josh Norris recommended this site for even more great analysis on this cutting edge Oregon offense.

Manti Te’0, The Example – Eric Stoner’s analysis of the Notre Dame linebacker at Rotoworld.

Non-Football Reads

Why Think by Numbers? While it’s difficult for me to buy the entire argument, which by the way probably feeds into this writer’s argument even more, it’s a well-written article that highlights the lack of balance in which we use the various parts of our brains to come to decisions, especially with politics.

Government Spends More on Corporate Welfare Subsidies than Social Welfare Programs – More fascinating stuff from this  site focused on the concept of “Empiricism” as a political movement.

Top Georgia GOP Lawmakers Host Briefing on Secret Obama Mind-Control Plot – If you’re wondering why I had that tinfoil hat question about neodymium just realize it must have something to do with the water around Athens, Ga. If Paul Broun wasn’t enough (and yes, I voted for Charles Darwin with pride), now we have an Athens-based group saying our president is using CIA-Jedi mind tricks to sway the country. You didn’t have to vote for Obama to realize this just beats all.

Listens

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Lianne La Havas: ‘The Golden Girl of British Music’: I heard this singer-songwriter on the drive to work. Elizabeth Blair writes, “the past year has been very good for La Havas, as she was nominated for a Mercury Prize in the U.K. Stevie Wonder also left her a voice mail message singing one of her songs, and Prince invited her to jam with him.”

Robert Cray Band: Tiny Desk Concerts : He had a big hit in the 1980s with his album Strong Persuader. I think he’s a fantastic writer and bluesman.

Reads Listens Views 11/9/2012

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Trane and Adrian Peterson have a lot in common. Photo by exquisitor

Thank You 

If you’re a new visitor to the Rookie Scouting Portfolio, thank you for checking it out. Friday is the time of the week where I post links about a variety of topics. It’s also a time where I thank my readers for checking out my Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication that I make available for download every April 1st – no joke. You can learn more about it here.

I’d also like to encourage you to try FantasyThrowdown.com. It’s 1-on-1, weekly fantasy football, which means you can play daily or play when convenient. You and your opponent chose three weekly match ups to build a draft pool of players to build a starting lineup. You can draft with team defense or IDP; PPR or non-PPR. The whole process can take 15 minutes or you can slow draft throughout the week.

The site is free. All you have to do is register with an email address to get started. You can challenge other players in the lobby, or you can challenge a friend by email.

Views

Steelers need a healthy back. The Bengals don’t trust theirs. The Raiders and Cardinals could use a healthy runner. The Packers are in the market. Don’t even get me started on the Jets. Remember when Cam Newton led college football in touchdowns in 2010?

No you don’t.

Because this guy at Northern Illinois did and I still think he can contribute to an NFL team. There are Colts and Steelers that know I’m speaking the truth.

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Just sayin’ . . . perhaps they’re waiting on this prospect below.

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Thanks Chad Lemoine for the advanced scouting. I agree with the sentiments of the comment on this YouTube thread about the soundtrack to the highlights. Not cool to match with this budding superstar. Thankfully, the mute button does the trick. Getting a chance to watch this speedster with balance and vision is a fun watch. Watch out Chris Johnson . . .

Football Reads

How are the Bears Targeting Brandon Marshall – NFP writer and former NFL DB Matt Bowen breaks it down.

Midseason Mock Draft –  I’m not a mock draft type of guy, but lots of folks are so it gives me a chance to tout Josh Norris and Eric Stoner at Rotoworld. Good guys, good knowledge, and not afraid to give thought-provoking analysis.

The NFL Will Conduct 10 Regional Combines in 2013  – Jacksonville wide receiver Kevin Elliott and Rams kicker Greg “Legatron” Zuerlein got a shot due to this process in 2012.

Non-Football Reads 

The Story Behind John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ – When I was 16 years-old I bought my first John Coltrane album, Blue Train. As an aspiring tenor saxophonist this album, and Charles Mingus’ Better Git it in Your Soul were my first taste of blues and gospel-tinged improvisational badassery. Think of Coltrane as the Adrian Peterson of saxophonists – two individuals whose work weaves incredible paths with power, agility, soul, and will. Throw in trumpeter Lee Morgan – whose playing on stage embodies the spectacular flights and versatility of a Percy Harvin on the field – and despite the fact this was 1986 and I was going to concerts to see Van Halen, Journey, George Thorogood, and jamming to the Fresh Party, the first rap program in Atlanta, on V-103 FM every Friday night, the music of jazz was getting a hold of me.

Two years later, a fellow tenor player gave me a tape of A Love Supreme. I wish I could have told you it was love at first listen, but I didn’t get it. I couldn’t even listen to it all the way through. It was too intense. I physically couldn’t handle it.

But great art is sometimes something you have to raise your game to grasp it. It’s not that I had to practice listening to it or that I had to take classes to understand what was going on to get it. The more I lived life, persisted, endured, felt joy and pain, and experienced the dynamics of the tension and release in everything around us, the more I found myself connecting with ‘A Love Supreme.’

If could take only one piece of art, literature, or music with me, this album would be it.

Why We’re Obsessed With Wayne Shorter – John Coltrane once remarked to Shorter that he liked how he ‘scrambled them eggs.’ If you listen to either saxophonist enough, you’ll know what he means.  Shorter also has one of the best ballads on record. If you want a true tender moment with that special someone – no I’m not talking about getting laid – put this on, dim the lights, hold that loved one, and listen intently.

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First Black Female Chess Master – There would be a lot more if introduced to the game at a young age – trust me.

Listens

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Reads Listens Views 7/6/2012

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Busts of (diagonal from l-r) Jim Brown, Vince Lombardi, and Bronko Nagurski at the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer.
Happy Birthday Sigmund Bloom

If you are a Footballguys subscriber, an Audible listener, Bleacher Report reader, or a frequenter of Twitter, then odds are you know the peripatetic football intellectual that is Sigmund Bloom. Happy birthday to my colleague, football muse, and friend and thank you for what you contribute to this community – substantial is too bland of a word for what you do. I think if Bloom could have the equivalent of a Parisian salon and be the Gertrude Stein of football, he’d be hosting writers yesterday. In a sense, I have a feeling he already is doing so in the virtual sense. Continue reading →

National Football Post Draftnik Roundtable

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The more I watch Russell Wilson, the more I like him. I know realistically that his height means “backup,” but he’s still a fine talent worth a serious shot. Photo by Seth Youngblood.

Monday afternoon, I joined Josh Buchanan of JBScouting, Josh Norris of Rotoworld.com, and Wes Bunting of the National Football Post for Draftnik Roundtable 6.0,  a half-hour discussion of quarterbacks not named Griffin or Luck. This is a series Bunting has created for the NFP.

If you want to learn more about Bunting, I did a four-part interview with him last summer (here’s Part I) and we discussed a variety of topics related to his start as a draft analyst and our takes on the craft of studying player performance.

It was a fun discussion and I think we all hope to do more of these with Wes in the future. If you follow Josh Norris on Twitter, please feel free to tell him that he doesn’t need to call me “Mr.” I’ve tried several times to tell him so, but his good, southern upbringing just won’t let him give up so easily.

If you’re not following Josh Norris, Josh Buchanan or Wes Bunting on Twitter, I recommend you do so:

  • Follow Wes on twitter: @WesBunting
  • Follow Josh Norris on twitter: @JoshNorris
  • Follow Josh Buchanan on twitter: @JoshBDraft
  • I’ll add @ryanlownes, @optimumscouting, and ABXXV25 to that list.

Back to QB write-ups. Some likely surprises in my rankings, but that’s not unusual. It’s not because I try to make a splash – I just do most of my watching cloistered away.

Reads Listens Views 3/9/2012

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John Wooden on true success

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Ahead at the RSP Blog

The 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio will be available on April 1 via a link to my shopping cart site. Learn more about the RSP process and content here.

Pre-order the 2012 RSP and buy past RSPs (2006-2011) here.

Steelers RB Chad Spann and I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago (preview below) and he has agreed to spend time studying a game of Ray Rice’s with me. Expect transcripts of that session in mid-April or early May.

The RSP Writers Project is still on, but I decided to push back the process of picking players until May since most of us doing the work are busy covering the draft. Expect an unveiling of teams in July and August.

Preview of Next Week’s Q&A Sessions with Chad Spann

Chad Spann has been a Pittsburgh Steeler since late fall. He's a long-term sleeper to monitor. Learn more about what he's learning to compete at the highest level.

Q: You talked with me in the past about what your Steelers teammates shared about your game and the advice they gave this year. One of those things was when Will Allen told you about maintaining your drive phase longer. For my audience, can you explain what that means and why it helps a running back?

Spann: If you watch a sprinter run the 100 meters Continue reading →

Reads, Listens, Views 1/27/12

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The RSP Caption Contest Winner is….

Having to play catch up. I thought I’d have it later in the day but I changed this entry to reflect the entry I made later about readers voting on it.

Views

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Marvin Jones Highlights from 2010 (Hat tip to ninersnation.com for mentioning my blog and finding this highlight package). What you’ll find here are strong examples of body control, hand-eye coordination, patience and toughness (not necessarily power) as a runner, and good speed and quickness. I also think you’ll see some of the light-footed precision as a route runner.

Reads

Jene Bramel’s list of Senior Bowl participants with Scheme Versatility.

Wes Bunting’s Senior Bowl Stockwatch and the Senior Bowl’s Top 10 Prospects.

Josh Norris’ Senior Bowl Report of the offense.

The most popular books bought by Smart Football readers.

Listens

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John Abercrombie trio “Bo Diddy”