
How good are UTEP's Kris Adams (Bears) and Cincinnati's Armon Binns (Jags)? The 2011 RSP has the low-down. Collage by Matt Waldman.
A great week of football at the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. A healthy dose of training camp helps. Special thanks to all of you who have subscribed to the blog or have made it part of your daily ritual. If you like what you’ve seen thus far, please consider these three acts of kindness:
- Subscribe to this blog. It’s free.
- Share this blog with your friends.
- Send me feedback.
Then consider one special act of kindness to yourself: Check out my publication The Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Those who buy it keep coming back year after year. See what they have to say about this player evaluation resource with a fantasy-friendly approach.
As the college football season approaches, I’ll be posting more prospect analysis that you’ll likely see in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio, available here for purchase in the early spring. Back issues available by emailing me.
On Fridays, I share what I’ve been reading, listening, and viewing each week – football, fantasy football, and non-football.
Football
Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman – an essay in this book about football. Recommended by Sigmund Bloom.
Fantasy Football
The Weekly Gut Check No. 226: Upside Down Draft Strategy by Yours Truly – Why the fantasy football playing world has its general approach to drafting upside down and how to fix it.
Non-Football
Ambitions as Deep as Their Pockets by William J. Broad
“A new generation of daredevils is seeking to plunge through nearly seven miles of seawater to the bottom of a rocky chasm in the western Pacific that is veiled in perpetual darkness. It is the ocean’s deepest spot. The forbidding place, known as the Challenger Deep, is so far removed from the warming rays of the sun that its temperature hovers near freezing…”
Getting Bin Laden by Nichols Schmidle
What happened that night in Abbottabad.
Entertainment
Greek Song by Telegram – The bassist was a high school classmate who now plays with Corey Smith. I especially like his Telegram project, which has played at the renown Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Ga.
Splanky by Count Basie – Swing, groove, flow; whatever you call it, this is it. If this doesn’t make you move, you’re deaf. And if you are hearing impaired, the rhythm will still make you get up and dance.
Pat Bianchi with the BE3 Trio – Another old high school friend, Jim White, is the excellent drummer (he teaches at two universities and is pretty well known in the Nashville studio scene) on this burning performance.
Listening to Jim play makes me want to put on a looping video of Adrian Peterson’s best runs.
Eye Catching Camp Tweets 8/5
Armon Binns
MikeVandermause: Starks running with some power and authority.
That Klosterman article was pretty neat, even if he didn’t exactly nail some of the nerdier details. I’ve seen a few different theories advanced as to why football is so popular – Drew Magary says it’s because nearly all of the games are on network TV (making them “events” in a way that Tuesday night NBA games on TNT are not), which I agree is a factor. Analogies to chess or war also make a lot more sense in the context of football than basketball or baseball; there’s something about beating someone by out-thinking them that’s inherently appealing to a lot of people. Of course there are strategic elements to other team sports, but football’s 11-on-11 structure and clearly-defined plays dilute the impact of individuals and bring scheme and tactics to the forefront.
Re: Starks, I’ve been watching the Packers playoff run a lot lately. Their run blocking last year was generally below average, especially in getting up to LB level, but Starks consistently turned TFL’s into 2-3yd gains by setting up blocks and bursting downfield. He might not get the opportunity as a “feature” back this year, but he’ll definitely be an asset for GB.
Glad you’re seeing what I’m seeing with Starks. Nice comment about the Klosterman piece, too.