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Horse Tracks 6/28/09 - Foxworth goes home

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BS - New Ravens cornerback Foxworth wise beyond his years
Childs Walker offers a brilliant profile of Domonique Foxworth, the former Broncos CB who's headed back home to Maryland to play for the Ravens. Champ Bailey offers insight on his friend and ex-mate. No way the Broncos would've paid Foxworth the big bucks he got this spring, but his intellect and maturity are an asset to any team.

BS - Domonique Foxworth: a life of purpose

DP - Slain Iowa prep coach left an indelible mark
Kiszla responds to emails.

KCS - Chiefs running back Savage getting help from someone who’s been there

CBS - League asks high court to hear antitrust case over merchandise

NFL - There is no offseason: NFL teams keep busy, even after games are done
Recapping a dramatic and tumultuous offseason. No, not just in Denver - everywhere!

CBS - Positional Rankings: End
Prisco ranks his top-10 defensive ends, starting with Jared Allen.

NFP - 2009 Scouting Series: Boise State - Wes Bunting

0 recs  |  Comment 9 comments |

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Thanks Nyc

"You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't enough, in the second half you give what's left." – Yogi Berra

by KaptainKirk on Jun 28, 2009 7:35 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Home to Me Now!

I will get to see Foxworth play against both the Broncos and the Bears this year. Both are a win/win. Interesting that the Ravens tend to fill holes a little differently than the Broncos and that they emphasize defense. Nolan has both Baltimore and Denver links.

by Baltimore Bronco on Jun 28, 2009 7:44 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

It's too bad after

Kiszla answers that lovely first email about the slain coach, that he chose to follow up with an angry, asinine email (responded to with a flip, lame answer). I guess he felt he only had to be classy for one paragraph. Sigh.

anyway… thanks as always NYC!

by underdog on Jun 28, 2009 10:02 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Lepsis One of Most Underrated Players of the Decade

So says Football Outsiders:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/fo-espn-feature-columns/2009/ei-25-most-overratedunderrated-players-decade

Overrated
1. DeShaun Foster
2. Michael Vick
3. Chris Chambers
4. Jamal Lewis
5. Adam Vinatieri
6. Reggie Bush
7. Ty Law
8. Stephen Alexander
9. Dante Hall
10. DeAngelo Hall

Underrated
1. Derrick Mason
2. Matt Lepsis
3. Adrian Wilson
4. Aaron Smith
5. Shaun O’Hara
6. Dan Koppen
7. Bobby Engram
8. Keith Bulluck
9. Shawn Springs
10. London Fletcher

And here’s a particularly interesting post in defense of Lepsis:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/fo-espn-feature-columns/2009/ei-25-most-overratedunderrated-players-decade#comment-708724

by Kibbles :: Sat, 06/27/2009 – 3:56pm

The fact that you think it’s clear that Lepsis was not better than Ogden and Roaf demonstrates just how underrated he was. The likely reason why you think it’s so clear is because the media spent so long telling us how good Ogden and Roaf were, and both luminaries made so many pro bowls and all pro teams, that we think they surely must have been head and shoulders above some no-name like Lepsis who never made a pro bowl. I know that Dr. Z, who actually breaks down game tape and grades offensive lineman, said that Matt Lepsis was better than Walter freaking Jones back in 2005, back when people were arguing that Jones was the best offensive player in the entire NFL (iirc, Lepsis and Nalen wound up grading out as the two highest-rated offensive linemen that season, and neither made the pro bowl).

To use a more statistical and less anecdotal argument… in 2005, Lepsis’s offensive line allowed a lower sack rate than Jones’s, Ogden’s, Roaf’s, or Pace’s, and RBs averaged more yards running to the left in Denver than anywhere but Indianapolis (despite Lepsis playing with Mike Anderson/Tatum Bell instead of Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Priest Holmes, and Steven Jackson). In 2004, Denver’s offensive line ranked 3rd in adjusted sack rate, rating ahead of Jones’s, Ogden’s, Roaf’s, or Pace’s, and RBs averaged more yards running to the left in Denver than anywhere else in the league (replacing Mike Anderson with Reuben Droughns in that RB list). In 2003, Lepsis’s line allowed a lower sack rate than Jones’s, Ogden’s, or Pace’s, although Roaf’s line finally beat out Lepsis’s. Denver also finished above Baltimore and St. Louis in yards running to the left, although KC and Seattle both beat Denver that year. That’s pretty forgivable, in my opinion, given that Matt Lepsis had never played left tackle in his entire football career prior to the 2003 season.

In 2002, when Lepsis was at Right Tackle, Denver ranked 2nd in the NFL on runs to the right… which isn’t that impressive, because Denver actually had a good RB that year and ranked in the top 4 no matter which direction they were running. In 2001, however, Denver didn’t rank higher than 12th in any direction… except on runs to the right, where they were second in the league.

Basically, Lepsis was near-elite in pass protection (just below Pace and Jones and on par with Roaf and Ogden, imo), and possibly the best run-blocker of the past decade (yes, over Roaf and Ogden, mostly because he was so far above everyone else in space, even if he lacked their raw power at the point of attack), and yet he never received so much as a pro bowl invitation. He had everything that the Ogdens, Roafs, Joneses, and Paces of the world had except for the pedigree and the recognition (and one could argue that the second usually follows the first). I honestly believe that if he’d been a top 10 draft pick coming out of college instead of an undrafted TE making the conversion to offensive line, we’d be talking about his hall of fame credentials right now instead of discussing how he never received so much as a single pro bowl invite.

by jvill on Jun 28, 2009 11:33 AM MDT reply actions   1 recs

Nice find!

I think Lepsis also suffered from the “system” label. Very few sports writers actually break down tape (I suspect most of them don’t even know how). Hence Lepsis is dismissed because Denver’s blocking system was considered so good. But that would be like dismissing Brady because NE’s system is so good.

by SlowWhiteGuy on Jun 28, 2009 5:03 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yes

Completely agree.

Aside from superstars like Walter Payton or Barry Bonds (and Elway to some respect) that stood out on lousy teams, nearly every successful player in football must give some credit to 1) the importance of a supporting cast (unique and varied pieces in a system) and 2) suitability of the system within which they played (which type of system). Every player is, as some level, a system player in that players generally depend on capable coaching able to select and tailor a system to individual players skillsets.

by jvill on Jun 28, 2009 5:49 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

sigh
Very few sports writers actually break down tape (I suspect most of them don’t even know how).

Ahh, the stuff of which pro football halls of fame are built.

"They need a hero to tell them that the impossible can become possible..... WHEN... YOU'RE... AWESOMMMME!" -- Rhino the Hamster

by broncosmontana on Jun 29, 2009 9:43 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

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