Gimme All Your Love-in: Magic-Cavs, Behind the Box Score
November 23, 2015Kevin Love, J.R. Smith into top-24 in Cavs threes: WFNY Stats & Info
November 24, 2015Happy Tuesday WFNY!
Hi kids! Do you like violence? Wanna see me stick Nine Inch Nails through each one of my eyelids? Extremely dated Eminem references aside, watching the Ohio State game this weekend did indeed make me want to shove nails through my eyelids, directly into my pupils. I can honestly say that one of the most rage inducing, frustrating games of my lifetime as an Ohio State fan.
This was supposed to be a good weekend. No possibility of the Browns letting me down or disappointing me, so all Ohio State had to do to not ruin my weekend was beat a Michigan State team without its starting quarterback inside the Shoe on Senior Day. There was just no way Ohio State should have lost that game.
But lose it they did, and deservingly so. They were completely outcoached, outmanned at the line scrimmage, and outworked at every facet of the game. Michigan State deserves a ton of credit. Mark Dantonio is my favorite non-Urban Meyer coach in the Big Ten. I respect him more than any other coach and I think the job he has done at MSU is arguably more impressive than what Urban has done in Columbus1. Dantonio coached at Ohio State under Jim Tressel and he has taken the so-called “Tresselball” mantra and turned into yet another winning formula. At Ohio State, Dantonio and Tressel beat a lot of teams nobody gave them a chance to beat, and now Dantonio has twice ruined an undefeated season for the Buckeyes. So I don’t want to take anything away from MSU.
But Ohio State gave this game away with the play-calling. This is twice now Ohio State has ignored their own star workhorse running back in a big game against the Spartans. First it was two years ago in the Big Ten Championship game against MSU when the Buckeyes inexplicably ignored Carlos Hyde as the Spartans pulled off the upset. Now this year, it was Ezekiel Elliott’s turn to be ignored. I’ve never seen play-calling quite like what I saw on Saturday. QB draw up the middle after QB draw up the middle, with hardly anything that sounds like an explanation being offered up in the aftermath.
I don’t want to get into Zeke’s comments too much. If you want to more or less know how I feel about it, you can just read Craig Lyndall’s take on the Zeke comments. I pretty much agree with everything said there. I might prefer comments such as this to be kept in-house, but I’m not going to kill someone for things they said twenty minutes after an emotional loss. If people had stuck microphones in my face right after that game, I would have said a lot worse things about the coaching staff. Things I might not agree with today, after I’ve had time to settle down and reflect on what happened. I love Zeke’s passion. It’s such a huge part of what drives him to be such a competitor and a great player.
I don’t know what happened with the play-calling on Saturday. Were the coaches hesitant to lean on Zeke because of his hospital stay earlier in the week? Did the weather impact their game plan? Did Michigan State show them something on defense that they weren’t expecting and couldn’t figure out how to counter? I don’t know. Maybe parts of all of that are true. I just know it was a complete punch to the stomach that knocked the wind out of all of us who are a part of the Ohio State family. It was frustrating, but it happens. Everybody loses games eventually. I just hope the Buckeyes can come together and finish this season right.
*****
J.R. Smith is a complicated guy to figure out
There’s no denying that when J.R. Smith was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, he quickly won over the fans. I can fully admit, I have never been a fan of J.R.’s. Every time I watched his teams play, I felt like he was more or less mailing in the game. A volume shooter with no real feel for the game. When the Cavaliers acquired him, I was pretty uneasy about it. I feared his personality would disrupt and distract the entire team.
But J.R. is perhaps a somewhat misunderstood person. I can fully admit I was completely wrong about his game. He is a much more complete player than I ever realized in watching him from afar. He works harder than I thought he did, he plays harder than I thought he did, and he’s a better teammate than I thought he was.
I guess sports are funny like that. For players on opposing teams, we maybe see them play a handful of games, just a small percentage of their career, and we make strong opinions on them based on that small sample. Prior to joining the Cavaliers, J.R. Smith had played 716 games in his career, but only 25 of them were against the Cavaliers. That’s 3.5% of his career. If we adjust for games of his I’ve watched that weren’t against the Cavaliers and subtract the games against the Cavaliers that I might have missed, I’d say I probably watched a rough estimate of 5% of his career games.
So did I form a bad opinion based on a small sample size, or was there some truth to my opinions and things have just been slightly different with J.R. since he came to Cleveland? ESPN’s Dave McMenamin has a great Q&A with J.R. that sheds some light on J.R. the person and why things are different in Cleveland. For example:
Making the transition to your Cavs family, do you feel especially a part of things here? And in particular, what has LeBron done for your career as a teammate? It seems like he straight-up always has your back.
Smith: From the time I’ve gotten here, it’s been like that. It’s crazy because you meet people throughout your life and they leave for a certain part of time and then they come back and they can make the biggest impact like somebody who’s been there the whole time. I’ve known ‘Bron since I was 16 years old. From coming here to working out with him and then we’re both in the pros. He had his schedule, I had my schedule, so we lost contact for 12, 11 years, and then you come back in somebody’s life and they just keep making an impact on you as a person, not even as a player. I think that’s huge. Because I’ve had people that have been with me the whole time just leaching on, as opposed to just trying to help you get better as a person, not only as a professional.
After the alleged incident that came out last week, which you and your lawyer denied, do you feel like the Cavs supported you?
Smith: Yeah, absolutely. I think they had my back 110 percent. Other places that I’ve been, it definitely wouldn’t have gone down like that. And I appreciate them for that because they know what type of person I am. I mean, this is the first place I’ve been where I’ve started off with a clean sheet and they looked at me as the person that walked in the door every single day and has been consistent with them as opposed to whatever everybody else has said that comes along with it. With just that alone, that speaks volumes and I just look at every day as an opportunity to keep living up to that expectation that they have for me, as well as that I have for them. That goes for the players, the organization, the GMs, the coaches, everybody. Even the community. The way they’ve welcomed me, it’s only right for me to return the favor to be that person that I’m supposed to be.
The alleged incident in New York is concerning, for sure. But it’s hard to reconcile those allegations with the J.R. Smith that we’ve seen in Cleveland. He’s a complicated person who at times defies expectations and other times meets them pretty head on. This time around, J.R. gets the benefit of the doubt from me. I’ve misjudged him too many times already. And please, check out the whole interview with J.R., as there’s some really good stuff in there and it’s a nice look at J.R. the person that we don’t always see.
*****
Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving
I love Christmas. 4th of July is always fun. I love what Easter stands for. But Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday of them all. Being together with friends and family, stuffing ourselves full of the best food we can make, watching football, and taking stock of the things in our life we are grateful for. It doesn’t get any better. Thanksgiving is what life should be all about.
So I wanted to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone reading this. You guys will never know the true level of appreciation I have for anyone who has spent time on this site. We’re always trying to keep our finger on the pulse of reader habits and the changing landscape of media and we know the way people read WFNY is always changing. But through all the changes over the years, we’ve always tried to stay true to who we are and what we do at WFNY. And none of this would be possible if nobody took time out of their day to read. So from the bottom of heart, thank you for being a reader of WFNY, whether this is the first thing you’ve ever read here (Hi! Welcome to the site! Look around and feel free to come back. We’re a safe place.) or you’ve been a long time reader (Welcome back! It’s always good to see your face around here!). I hope you guys are all able to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and I wish you all safe travels, full stomachs, and lots of laughs. Be good and have a good weekend, I’ll talk to you guys again next Tuesday.
- I say that because the MSU job is a significantly harder job than the OSU one is. The OSU job carries more stress and expectations, sure, but MSU has to fight Michigan in its own state and Ohio State when they want Ohio kids. The program doesn’t have the same history and prestige as Ohio State or Michigan, either. [↩]
23 Comments
great site, thank you
http://deadspin.com/johnny-manziel-partied-with-expensive-champagne-during-1744242166
I dont care that its the bye week and technically they have the week off. If you’ve just been given the keys to the kingdom, you stay in town and work. If not, then football isnt the most importnat thing to you. Thats fine, he can do whatever he wants, but if you want to be a starting QB in the NFL, football HAS to be #1. If its not, then you’ll never succeed. He can go and not succeed somewhere else.
The Cleveland Browns are now on the clock
It’s supposedly an old video.
Even if it isn’t, I really don’t care. He’s been one of the few bright spots this year. Clevelanders want everybody to be Joe Thomas in terms of personality.
So, is JFF.
He’s just not mature enough to realize it.
That’s a very nice Thanksgiving wish, Andrew, and back atcha. With all the blessings we have, sometimes we forget the people who gave us everything. And for many of us, I mean those brave, brave souls who left their homes and families in Europe and got on a boat with not much more than their hat and their ass and gave their descendants the greatest gift imaginable: America. A toast to their memory..
That’s not it. He can have whatever personality he wants. From all accounts, he has left town for the bye week. He doesn’t get it. Starting to look like he never will
Danny Kanell talks openly on his radio show with Russillo about how when he was in the league, he didnt work hard enough. How he should have been the first guy in the facility and the last out. how he paid to have a film room put into his house, but then he never used it, yet he told anyone who asked he watched film all the time. How he realizes now that no matter what your level of talent, you have to be 100% committed to getting better every day or else the NFL will spit you out quickly.
I’ll take Kanell’s word about it over people who want to defend Johnny and say “he can watch tape on his I-pad”. Puh-leeze
No doubt I wish he were more like Peyton Manning in terms of obsession with the game.
No idea how many are or if he is doing enough (or not).
All we get is on Sundays (or Monday this week). Looking forward to seeing what he has.
TMZ along with whatever other outlet are sticking by the story, sort of. They’re saying that he was in Austin and did go to certain bars/clubs. Which, of course, doesn’t prove anything about when that particular video was shot. As stupid as this all is, I don’t get why “real” news outlets can’t verify the facts.
“no matter what your level of talent, you have to be 100% committed to
getting better every day or else the NFL will spit you out quickly”
I remember when Romo was still looked down upon and got blasted for partying during the bye week. And Cam is a punk who won’t get anywhere cause he doesn’t respect the game. All these guys aren’t committed enough until they start winning.
And if that’s the issue – he should focus just on football – then shouldn’t we also be blasting Johnny for doing charity work in Cleveland this past week too? I mean, he should be working hard at the facility, right?
Even Peyton makes time to sing with Kenny Chesney.
And watch cooking shows about chicken parm.
“I’ve never seen play-calling quite like what I saw on Saturday. ”
Oh, Andrew. You’re not old enough to remember Metcalf-Up-The-Middle, are you?
I agree. How many guys do you think drank some alcohol during their bye week? Of those who do drink, I’d venture to say somewhere above 95% is probably right. And Manziel makes a lot of money, so why wouldn’t he drink expensive champagne? I don’t see people barking about Tony Romo having expensive steak dinners while he was on IR – and he hasn’t won anything either..
If you think that a guy isn’t entitled to a few days off then you must have grown up on the gulag. How do you know he wasn’t studying plays for 9 hours, and then went to have drinks when he was done? You don’t. Deadspin doesn’t know either. And it would be a boring story to report, so they don’t report it.
Ugh.
We’ve had a couple of Johnson Up The Middles.
I’m old enough to remember Metcalf (I was 10-14 years old when he was with the Browns), but I was young enough back then to not understand the nuances of play-calling.
the point is when you’re 2-8, and you’ve just for the first time been given the opportunity to be a starter for an NFL team, its not time to take a vacation. If you think it is ok to take a vacation at that critical time, then chances are you’re not cut out to be anything better than replacement level starting QB in the NFL. Sure, there’s a few anomalies, but there are only 32 starting NFL QB jobs, and if you’re not willing to give every last little bit of blood sweat and tears to make it, chance are you wont. Even the physical marvels have learned over time that you can’t get by on talent alone for very long
Is it unfair to expect Johnny to stay inside during recess to study for the big test while he can hear all of his friends out laughing and having a good time? Yep, sure is. It’s crappy timing that it happens at the bye week and that means he might have to miss out on his vacation plans. Bad luck.
The choice is his. he could show his bosses that being a starting NFL QB meant more to him than any trip, any friends, any party. He chose not to do that. His decision, and he has no one else to blame but himself.
If people want to keep making excuses for him, thats their prerogative, but from my vantage point, he’s shown who he is, and leopards dot often change their spots (again, there are anomalies, but I don’t bank on anomalies)
A: And Romo isnt taking vacations to Cabo on bye weeks anymore is he? We wont talk about how he’s been a lot better the past few years than the first few because there’s tons of factors, and at the end of the day, if he didnt play for the Cowboys not much of it would have been as big of a deal as it was, so basically we could both pick mitigating factors that bolster our opinions and not be wrong. Lets not waste each others time
B: I dont follow negative press much anymore, so I can speak on what people say about Cam. Cam’s always been pretty damned good in my eyes. He rates a 3 on my QB finger scale (Id cut off 3 fingers if God would let the Browns have him).
C: If Johnny does some charity work for a couple hours in Cleveland, he can still go into the office and focus on football for a couple hours.Not to say he cant focus on football when he’s on the road, but I’d be willing to bet he’s like the rest of us, who, when we go on a trip and take “work” with us, say “Oh yeah, Ill do that while Im away” and then you put it off, then you put it off again, then it’s time to come home and you’re cramming on the airplane. Its human nature. If Im wrong and Johnny has the self discipline that 95% of the population lacks, then Im wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time. I will say that given his history, Im not seeing much evidence of self-discipline
Is it really that hard to see that this is a specialized situation with special circumstances? A normal year and a bye week? By all means, GTFO and relax for a few days. Rechangrge the ol’ batteries. However, uif you’ve recently been given as chance to start at QB in the NFL its different. Normal does not apply. You kow how QBs are deified when they win and excoriated when they lose? Its because the rules ARE different for QBs. They are expected to lead by example. If you’re a player with a sketchy history and have finally show enough to get the chance, going out of town the first opportunity you have is just not wise. Johnny should know he has a history. Johnny should know he is in the “prove it” stage at this point. His actions suggest he does not
I just read on Yahoo! that the Saints might let Sean Payton go. If this is remotely true and I was owner of the Cleveland Browns I’d be all over hiring Payton. In any capacity. I’d prefer head coach and let him bring in his own GM but to be honest he could do whatever he wanted.
It’s a shame you don’t remember anything earlier then this but now I get it.
Where did I say I don’t remember anything earlier than this?
Every
person now days want to EARN in easiest way…I earn $98978 in week easily,the
biggest thing is that I earn at home at my laptop..My husband anger on me
because I can’t spend more time with him…Now he is very happy because I earn
a lot and spend more time with her at home….You also can Earn…
====> To how earn Link in my Prof|£€®
^hjj