Beau Bennett is checked by the Islanders’ Thomas Hickey on Saturday in Uniondale, N.Y. — GETTY IMAGES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 2 p.m. and offers you a chance to dictate the discussion.
The format is simple: Use the comments section below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live. All topics welcome, as always.
Thanks to the new commenting platform, by the way, there’s a very good chance we’ll be able to conduct this chat on a live chat platform as early as next week.
UPDATE 2:01 p.m.: And away we go …
jayjay_667: Snark free honest thoughts of whether Beau Bennett can fill a top-six role by the postseason? (Without tired cliche “fragile” commentary.)
DK: Whoa there, Snark Police! Hang on just a minute here. Let’s be crystal clear on this: Bennett being fragile deserves neither your quotemarks nor your preface that it’s a tired cliche. It’s a fact. A stone-cold fact. He is injured more often than he plays. It’s been going on ever since he turned pro. It’s highly unfortunate, but it’s also very real.
And it’s anything but a factor to be discarded, whether discussing Bennett’s future in the short or long terms. Doing so is willfully sticking your head in the sand.
That might be your choice on this, but it sure isn’t mine.
I don’t like to carry analyses across sports, for the most part, but I think this one’s fair: When a football player has an injury history, it follows him. It’s viewed as real and treated as such, both by the team and even the fans. When a baseball player has an injury history, especially pitchers, it follows him. And it’s viewed as just as real by those inside and outside.
But in hockey, if you bring that up, my goodness, you’re questioning a hockey player’s toughness! And nothing is more sacred than a hockey player’s toughness!
It’s all hogwash. Really is. No one, myself included, questions Bennett’s resolve or his toughness or even his training regimen and work ethic. (When I do that, I say so explicitly, as LaMarr Woodley can attest.) Because none of those are Bennett’s issues. Rather, it’s that he’s brittle. Which means he breaks easily. Tough things can be brittle, too, but they still break.
Not all bodies are built equally. Some withstand injury. Some don’t. This has only been true since the dawn of time.
Bennett breaks, man. He breaks a lot. And he breaks after some of the most innocent-looking events you’ll ever see. You can take them as isolated cases and attempt to illustrate why each one could be considered unlucky or would have injured anyone, but you can’t do it forever.
So, if you want to fantasize about Bennett being available to play on the top two lines next spring, go nuts. Totally your prerogative. I’ll limit my options to guys who actually play, thanks.
(Yes, I’ve had caffeine. Really.)
cigars and scotch: More likely to sink any chance of a deep Steelers playoff run: Inability of the defense to improve, or the inability of the offensive playcalling to get out of its own way?
DK: Wow, outstanding. Do I really have to pick?
Hm. Well, I guess in light of this morning’s column, I’ll say the defense. Because even though there will be additional potential with the returns of Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones and maybe even, someday, somehow, Stephon Tuitt getting regular snaps, none of those addresses the secondary. Not directly, anyway. And the secondary is very much the shortcoming of this team as a whole.
You hate to ever suggest that anything in life can’t be better. But the makeup of this particular secondary — Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor are exactly what they are, Mike Mitchell has been consistently blah, and there remains no hard answer to replace Cortez Allen — gives no reason for that besides blind optimism.
The offense is different these days. Todd Haley finally seems through trying to show how clever he is over scoring actual points, and everyone has benefited from it. The talent’s there. No one can dispute that. And whether the talent trumped Haley or Haley got smarter, it would be nice to think it doesn’t matter anymore, that they’ve broken through.
I wrote before the season that, based on the offensive talent and the lame schedule, the Steelers should go 11-5. Well, they’re 7-4 despite absolutely ridiculous losses to the Buccaneers and Jets, so … actually, I’m not sure what that proves related to my prediction.
Never mind.
zidanesdagger: DK, where do you project the Pitt basketball team finishing in the ACC this year? Is that loss to Hawaii just a bump in the road, or a sign that they will be lucky to compete at the top of the ACC, let alone make the field of 64 teams?
DK: It’s a question that would get a much better answer at about midnight tonight, with the Panthers facing No. 15 San Diego State out in Hawaii. That’s their first big-time opponent and a chance to show if the Hawaii loss was a jet-lagged fluke or if they’re really as strong as they looked late last night against Chaminade, especially Mike Young and Derrick Randall on the boards.
I spent some time with Jamie Dixon up at the Pete before this trip, and you could tell he’s at least a little uneasy about having to replace Durand Johnson. He’s got some options, maybe even more than he’d expected, but the clear choice is Jamel Artis, who still needs to be about twice as effective defensively over what he is now, or Jamie won’t play him at all. That’s Jamie’s way, and it’s not about to change.
Overall, it’s a team that needs to find a hard identity, and I’m not sure that can begin happening until Cam Wright is back, probably sometime in December.
Conference prediction?
Eh, I think I now hate predictions after that last reply. But I will say that I didn’t balk when the ACC coaches picked Pitt sixth.
Keith Hadley: What do you make of absolutely no overtures being made to Neil Walker for an extension with the Bucs?
DK: Technically, that’s not correct, Keith. They did approach Walker four years ago. It didn’t go anywhere at the time, and it was never revisited.
I know that Frank Coonelly, in particular, always has been a Walker fan and remains so. And I single him out solely because his say remains final on baseball matters, especially bigger stuff like this, even with all the autonomy he gives Neal Huntington. That’s important to understand up front.
Now, if the baseball people look at Walker’s performance and base it on offense, then Walker’s a nice long-term investment. He turned 29 in September, and there’s no cause or data to support any notion he’s about to nosedive at the plate. Especially not after re-establishing himself — finally — as a legit switch-hitter. If they look at his defense, meaning the more advanced metrics rather than the occasional highlight that tends to resonate with all of us, they’ll see he’s well below average. To me, I don’t care much about that. The bat will and should play at second base 100 times out of 100. It’s a great benefit.
That’s one area. The others are financial and depth. Walker has two more years of arbitration, so he’s locked up, essentially, through 2016. That would suit some just fine from the money and baseball standpoints, with other options such as Alen Hanson on the way or the possibility of moving Josh Harrison to second. But ultimately, I’ll bet, it would be more about the money.
I’d rather keep Walker, in that event. There are stupid ways for the Pirates to spend — none dumber than making PR moves to placate people who barely follow the team — but paying an everyday second baseman with a solid offensive history, I’m good with that.
Sean Epstein: Hi, DK. You clearly have very strong feelings about the financial inequities in Major League Baseball and the need for a salary cap. While I agree wholeheartedly, how can there be a cap without revenue sharing and a formula where the players are guaranteed a percentage of the revenue … much like the NFL?
I used to think the players were the bad guys here but now I am not so sure. Why should they agree to a cap on their salaries when the owners can simply pocket the extra cash?
DK: Wow, do I love this Q.
Who ever has suggested that a cap wouldn’t come with revenue sharing and the players getting a guaranteed share?
Seriously, think about this. Because the NFL, NHL and NBA all have the system you describe. And I mean that exact system, where the cap is accompanied by a salary floor, as well as increased revenue sharing and a guaranteed cut for the players.
And yet, amazingly, when the subject turns to baseball, the national media howls about how NO CAP CAN COME WITHOUT A FLOOR as if this is some eureka revelation.
This is what’s known as a red herring. If they float that question out there, you’ll assume that it’s an issue and, thus, not pay as much attention to the real issue.
Everyone knows, even the myopic national baseball media that acts like other sports don’t exist, that every cap comes with a floor, increased revenue sharing and a guaranteed cut for the players. Every cap. Every single one of them. So when you’re discussing a cap, you’re already discussing those factors.
Clearly, though, this red herring works, because I hear this from readers fairly regularly.
Hoagie: Hey DK, what are the chances the Steelers will eat Mitchell’s remaining contract and get an NFL-level safety to help sure up the secondary?
DK: Midseason?
I’d say below zero. Just doesn’t happen in the NFL.
Beyond that?
They’d better at least take a hard look at it. Unless, or course, debating something like that internally shouldn’t happen over a guy who has as many interceptions and passes defensed as you do, Hoagie-man.
Mitchell has been terrible. Can’t be said often or strongly enough.
Oh, and don’t overestimate the cost of cutting him loose. NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed, so the only money he’s assured is $5.25 million. Where it would hurt is as a dead-money cap hit.
MikeAdamsWI: Sid slams his stick against the glass. Pens get two power plays the next three games. Coincidence?
DK: Absolutely. No doubt in my mind.
You don’t lay out how you feel, Mike, so I won’t assume. But I have heard from really smart people who sound at least open to the possibility that this was some kind of conspiracy, and I find that sort of thing amazing.
Give it some thought as to how it would actually play out: Sidney Crosby slams his stick, as you say, on the glass. Shows his disgust with the officiating. OK, we all saw that. But then, the refs huddle and decide, ‘Hey, let’s stick it right back to Crosby and Pittsburgh for showing us up.’ At some point, it has to be spoken or written, so this MUST happen. Right there on the ice. And from there, those refs get in touch with other refs — the guys working the next game or two — and tell them to do the same.
And it’s at that point, one presumes, that Kevin Costner walks across the National Mall to meet up with Donald Sutherland and trade national security secrets by a park bench.
Never mind the sensational insult that is to these professionals. Just think of the risk being taken that could ruin all their careers and life reputations if ever exposed. Because all it would take is for one of them to blurt it out at some point, maybe even after retirement.
And all that over a guy slamming his stick?
This was a real discussion?
There are no lengths at which some fans won’t stop at imagining how a league or refs are out to get their team. It’s the single most ridiculous thing in sports fandom and, again, even really, really bright people are susceptible to thinking it.
Gamardo: Watching the Pens these past three games and not wanting to overreact, but I just can’t help feeling their D-men are undersized and too alike. The Islanders and Bruins just kept crashing into the crease. I know it’s November but does something need to be adjusted?
DK: Ha! Overreacting, my friend, is assuming a grand NHL officiating conspiracy! Your points are anything but.
The Penguins’ defense is built on speed and skill, though it’s also got more grit than some realize with Robert Bortuzzo, the early-season version of Rob Scuderi, the suddenly snarly Simon Despres and a meaner-than-you-think Kris Letang in front of the net. But no, it doesn’t have that guy who has the speed and skill you want and that size you covet.
Hockey’s advanced metrics are about as crude as a square wheel, certainly compared to those of baseball, which enjoyed roughly a two-decade head start. So there tends to be this misguided, reflexive response now in that tiny community to any mention of a physical defenseman, as if even pondering a guy capable of clearing space is somehow an assault on the holy divinity that is puck possession. Pay that nonsense no mind. The speed, the skill and the smart decisions are No. 1, but they aren’t alone.
So yeah, back to your points, the Islanders had their way, but I saw that as built entirely on speed. And the Bruins had their way, but really we’re only talking about one guy: Milan Lucic. There’s not a crease he won’t crash on any team, even the Kings and Blues. The guy’s just a beast and can pretty much do what he wants, usually without a call because it occurs so often.
Either that, or ALL THE REFS HATE OUR TEAM.
(A-hem. Sorry. Maybe I was lying about the caffeine.)
Bob Maddamma: You mentioned in a piece last week, I believe, that the Steelers indicated that there were legitimate reasons why Tuitt was not seeing the field much. What on earth are they? He seems to be in the play every time he’s on the field. Also, if your defense is giving up 30 points, how much could he actually hurt?
DK: It’s the run stop, Bob, and that’s it. But as you suggest with your 30-points observation, it’s Cam Thomas that’s keeping Tuitt off the field, for the most part. Not when Thomas is at the nose, obviously, but rather, on those occasions he spells Cam Heyward or Brett Keisel at end.
I can appreciate grooming a rookie the right way, but it is kind of hard to digest when the rookie seems to be making up for his shortcomings on run defense with the occasional splash on the pass rush. Those aren’t weighed equally, to put it mildly. Besides, again, if he’s better than the guy playing ahead of him at pretty much everything … yikes.
Let’s attach real figures here: Tuitt has a minus-3.2 on run defense, according to Pro Football Focus, which is not good at all. It’s one of the worst on the Steelers, in fact.
Thomas is a minus-15.6. Which I imagine is a grade the good folks at PFF save for defensive lineman who actually will escort a running back — by plush limo, no less, with wine and song — all the way into the end zone.
Out of 47 defensive ends in the NFL who have taken at least 25 percent of their team’s snaps, Thomas ranks a robust 46th. The Chargers’ Kendall Reyes is holding up the rear.
jg007: No sports question today. I’m sure you’re mostly used to it by now, but does the relatively constant “Day-john”-ing of your name ever bother you at all? Even Mark Madden still hacks it like 25 percent of the time. Why get it right most of the time and then get it wrong at random times? I’m not hating on him. It’s just an accurate observation.
DK: Nicknames stick with you in sports, and they only stick harder the more you fight them. I got that one from the hockey-playing days — of which Mark was a part for a long time — and it never left. So that carried into the Post-Gazette offices, where we worked together, etc.
I actually think it’s kind of neat because it reminds me of some good times at the rink.
Seriously, no big deal.
BillTull: The Pirates should have at least one significant move left, right?
DK: Two starting pitchers. That’s it.
Steel By Design: Every team the Steelers face until the end of the regular season ranks in the bottom 10 in rush defense. Can Le’Veon Bell realistically handle 25-30 carries per game for the rest of the season?
DK: Here’s hoping they get a little inventive in that regard. He’s now touching the ball 24 times per game, including pass targets, by some math I did earlier in the week. That’s begging for trouble.
One more this week …
pterp: Hey DK, what trade do you make to unload Pedro Alvarez?
DK: No fake trades here, my man. Fantasy sites are everywhere. My hands are full with reality.
SuckMeter: Over 6,000 subscribers doesn’t suck at all in just four months. Besides myself, any big name celebs you can mention that have signed up? Seth Meyers? Snoop Dogg?
DK: Just you and Seth are the only ones I’ll name. There are several others, but I’ll respect their privacy as I would anyone’s. (Seth let his be known on Twitter, and your agent leaked yours to TMZ, so those don’t count.)
Thanks to all for a terrific time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got get a ride from Cam Thomas to the nearest Starbucks, running back in tow. We’ll probably run over Beau Bennett on the way.
November 25, 2014
Tuesday 12 Qs: Brittle Beau, Mitchell, Neil
by Dejan Kovacevic • Live Qs at 5 • Penguins, Pirates, Pitt, Steelers
Beau Bennett is checked by the Islanders’ Thomas Hickey on Saturday in Uniondale, N.Y. — GETTY IMAGES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 2 p.m. and offers you a chance to dictate the discussion.
Thanks to the new commenting platform, by the way, there’s a very good chance we’ll be able to conduct this chat on a live chat platform as early as next week.
UPDATE 2:01 p.m.: And away we go …
jayjay_667: Snark free honest thoughts of whether Beau Bennett can fill a top-six role by the postseason? (Without tired cliche “fragile” commentary.)
DK: Whoa there, Snark Police! Hang on just a minute here. Let’s be crystal clear on this: Bennett being fragile deserves neither your quotemarks nor your preface that it’s a tired cliche. It’s a fact. A stone-cold fact. He is injured more often than he plays. It’s been going on ever since he turned pro. It’s highly unfortunate, but it’s also very real.
And it’s anything but a factor to be discarded, whether discussing Bennett’s future in the short or long terms. Doing so is willfully sticking your head in the sand.
That might be your choice on this, but it sure isn’t mine.
I don’t like to carry analyses across sports, for the most part, but I think this one’s fair: When a football player has an injury history, it follows him. It’s viewed as real and treated as such, both by the team and even the fans. When a baseball player has an injury history, especially pitchers, it follows him. And it’s viewed as just as real by those inside and outside.
But in hockey, if you bring that up, my goodness, you’re questioning a hockey player’s toughness! And nothing is more sacred than a hockey player’s toughness!
It’s all hogwash. Really is. No one, myself included, questions Bennett’s resolve or his toughness or even his training regimen and work ethic. (When I do that, I say so explicitly, as LaMarr Woodley can attest.) Because none of those are Bennett’s issues. Rather, it’s that he’s brittle. Which means he breaks easily. Tough things can be brittle, too, but they still break.
Not all bodies are built equally. Some withstand injury. Some don’t. This has only been true since the dawn of time.
Bennett breaks, man. He breaks a lot. And he breaks after some of the most innocent-looking events you’ll ever see. You can take them as isolated cases and attempt to illustrate why each one could be considered unlucky or would have injured anyone, but you can’t do it forever.
So, if you want to fantasize about Bennett being available to play on the top two lines next spring, go nuts. Totally your prerogative. I’ll limit my options to guys who actually play, thanks.
(Yes, I’ve had caffeine. Really.)
cigars and scotch: More likely to sink any chance of a deep Steelers playoff run: Inability of the defense to improve, or the inability of the offensive playcalling to get out of its own way?
DK: Wow, outstanding. Do I really have to pick?
Hm. Well, I guess in light of this morning’s column, I’ll say the defense. Because even though there will be additional potential with the returns of Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones and maybe even, someday, somehow, Stephon Tuitt getting regular snaps, none of those addresses the secondary. Not directly, anyway. And the secondary is very much the shortcoming of this team as a whole.
You hate to ever suggest that anything in life can’t be better. But the makeup of this particular secondary — Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor are exactly what they are, Mike Mitchell has been consistently blah, and there remains no hard answer to replace Cortez Allen — gives no reason for that besides blind optimism.
The offense is different these days. Todd Haley finally seems through trying to show how clever he is over scoring actual points, and everyone has benefited from it. The talent’s there. No one can dispute that. And whether the talent trumped Haley or Haley got smarter, it would be nice to think it doesn’t matter anymore, that they’ve broken through.
I wrote before the season that, based on the offensive talent and the lame schedule, the Steelers should go 11-5. Well, they’re 7-4 despite absolutely ridiculous losses to the Buccaneers and Jets, so … actually, I’m not sure what that proves related to my prediction.
Never mind.
zidanesdagger: DK, where do you project the Pitt basketball team finishing in the ACC this year? Is that loss to Hawaii just a bump in the road, or a sign that they will be lucky to compete at the top of the ACC, let alone make the field of 64 teams?
DK: It’s a question that would get a much better answer at about midnight tonight, with the Panthers facing No. 15 San Diego State out in Hawaii. That’s their first big-time opponent and a chance to show if the Hawaii loss was a jet-lagged fluke or if they’re really as strong as they looked late last night against Chaminade, especially Mike Young and Derrick Randall on the boards.
I spent some time with Jamie Dixon up at the Pete before this trip, and you could tell he’s at least a little uneasy about having to replace Durand Johnson. He’s got some options, maybe even more than he’d expected, but the clear choice is Jamel Artis, who still needs to be about twice as effective defensively over what he is now, or Jamie won’t play him at all. That’s Jamie’s way, and it’s not about to change.
Overall, it’s a team that needs to find a hard identity, and I’m not sure that can begin happening until Cam Wright is back, probably sometime in December.
Conference prediction?
Eh, I think I now hate predictions after that last reply. But I will say that I didn’t balk when the ACC coaches picked Pitt sixth.
Keith Hadley: What do you make of absolutely no overtures being made to Neil Walker for an extension with the Bucs?
DK: Technically, that’s not correct, Keith. They did approach Walker four years ago. It didn’t go anywhere at the time, and it was never revisited.
I know that Frank Coonelly, in particular, always has been a Walker fan and remains so. And I single him out solely because his say remains final on baseball matters, especially bigger stuff like this, even with all the autonomy he gives Neal Huntington. That’s important to understand up front.
Now, if the baseball people look at Walker’s performance and base it on offense, then Walker’s a nice long-term investment. He turned 29 in September, and there’s no cause or data to support any notion he’s about to nosedive at the plate. Especially not after re-establishing himself — finally — as a legit switch-hitter. If they look at his defense, meaning the more advanced metrics rather than the occasional highlight that tends to resonate with all of us, they’ll see he’s well below average. To me, I don’t care much about that. The bat will and should play at second base 100 times out of 100. It’s a great benefit.
That’s one area. The others are financial and depth. Walker has two more years of arbitration, so he’s locked up, essentially, through 2016. That would suit some just fine from the money and baseball standpoints, with other options such as Alen Hanson on the way or the possibility of moving Josh Harrison to second. But ultimately, I’ll bet, it would be more about the money.
I’d rather keep Walker, in that event. There are stupid ways for the Pirates to spend — none dumber than making PR moves to placate people who barely follow the team — but paying an everyday second baseman with a solid offensive history, I’m good with that.
Sean Epstein: Hi, DK. You clearly have very strong feelings about the financial inequities in Major League Baseball and the need for a salary cap. While I agree wholeheartedly, how can there be a cap without revenue sharing and a formula where the players are guaranteed a percentage of the revenue … much like the NFL?
I used to think the players were the bad guys here but now I am not so sure. Why should they agree to a cap on their salaries when the owners can simply pocket the extra cash?
DK: Wow, do I love this Q.
Who ever has suggested that a cap wouldn’t come with revenue sharing and the players getting a guaranteed share?
Seriously, think about this. Because the NFL, NHL and NBA all have the system you describe. And I mean that exact system, where the cap is accompanied by a salary floor, as well as increased revenue sharing and a guaranteed cut for the players.
And yet, amazingly, when the subject turns to baseball, the national media howls about how NO CAP CAN COME WITHOUT A FLOOR as if this is some eureka revelation.
This is what’s known as a red herring. If they float that question out there, you’ll assume that it’s an issue and, thus, not pay as much attention to the real issue.
Everyone knows, even the myopic national baseball media that acts like other sports don’t exist, that every cap comes with a floor, increased revenue sharing and a guaranteed cut for the players. Every cap. Every single one of them. So when you’re discussing a cap, you’re already discussing those factors.
Clearly, though, this red herring works, because I hear this from readers fairly regularly.
Hoagie: Hey DK, what are the chances the Steelers will eat Mitchell’s remaining contract and get an NFL-level safety to help sure up the secondary?
DK: Midseason?
I’d say below zero. Just doesn’t happen in the NFL.
Beyond that?
They’d better at least take a hard look at it. Unless, or course, debating something like that internally shouldn’t happen over a guy who has as many interceptions and passes defensed as you do, Hoagie-man.
Mitchell has been terrible. Can’t be said often or strongly enough.
Oh, and don’t overestimate the cost of cutting him loose. NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed, so the only money he’s assured is $5.25 million. Where it would hurt is as a dead-money cap hit.
MikeAdamsWI: Sid slams his stick against the glass. Pens get two power plays the next three games. Coincidence?
DK: Absolutely. No doubt in my mind.
You don’t lay out how you feel, Mike, so I won’t assume. But I have heard from really smart people who sound at least open to the possibility that this was some kind of conspiracy, and I find that sort of thing amazing.
Give it some thought as to how it would actually play out: Sidney Crosby slams his stick, as you say, on the glass. Shows his disgust with the officiating. OK, we all saw that. But then, the refs huddle and decide, ‘Hey, let’s stick it right back to Crosby and Pittsburgh for showing us up.’ At some point, it has to be spoken or written, so this MUST happen. Right there on the ice. And from there, those refs get in touch with other refs — the guys working the next game or two — and tell them to do the same.
And it’s at that point, one presumes, that Kevin Costner walks across the National Mall to meet up with Donald Sutherland and trade national security secrets by a park bench.
Never mind the sensational insult that is to these professionals. Just think of the risk being taken that could ruin all their careers and life reputations if ever exposed. Because all it would take is for one of them to blurt it out at some point, maybe even after retirement.
And all that over a guy slamming his stick?
This was a real discussion?
There are no lengths at which some fans won’t stop at imagining how a league or refs are out to get their team. It’s the single most ridiculous thing in sports fandom and, again, even really, really bright people are susceptible to thinking it.
Gamardo: Watching the Pens these past three games and not wanting to overreact, but I just can’t help feeling their D-men are undersized and too alike. The Islanders and Bruins just kept crashing into the crease. I know it’s November but does something need to be adjusted?
DK: Ha! Overreacting, my friend, is assuming a grand NHL officiating conspiracy! Your points are anything but.
The Penguins’ defense is built on speed and skill, though it’s also got more grit than some realize with Robert Bortuzzo, the early-season version of Rob Scuderi, the suddenly snarly Simon Despres and a meaner-than-you-think Kris Letang in front of the net. But no, it doesn’t have that guy who has the speed and skill you want and that size you covet.
Hockey’s advanced metrics are about as crude as a square wheel, certainly compared to those of baseball, which enjoyed roughly a two-decade head start. So there tends to be this misguided, reflexive response now in that tiny community to any mention of a physical defenseman, as if even pondering a guy capable of clearing space is somehow an assault on the holy divinity that is puck possession. Pay that nonsense no mind. The speed, the skill and the smart decisions are No. 1, but they aren’t alone.
So yeah, back to your points, the Islanders had their way, but I saw that as built entirely on speed. And the Bruins had their way, but really we’re only talking about one guy: Milan Lucic. There’s not a crease he won’t crash on any team, even the Kings and Blues. The guy’s just a beast and can pretty much do what he wants, usually without a call because it occurs so often.
Either that, or ALL THE REFS HATE OUR TEAM.
(A-hem. Sorry. Maybe I was lying about the caffeine.)
Bob Maddamma: You mentioned in a piece last week, I believe, that the Steelers indicated that there were legitimate reasons why Tuitt was not seeing the field much. What on earth are they? He seems to be in the play every time he’s on the field. Also, if your defense is giving up 30 points, how much could he actually hurt?
DK: It’s the run stop, Bob, and that’s it. But as you suggest with your 30-points observation, it’s Cam Thomas that’s keeping Tuitt off the field, for the most part. Not when Thomas is at the nose, obviously, but rather, on those occasions he spells Cam Heyward or Brett Keisel at end.
I can appreciate grooming a rookie the right way, but it is kind of hard to digest when the rookie seems to be making up for his shortcomings on run defense with the occasional splash on the pass rush. Those aren’t weighed equally, to put it mildly. Besides, again, if he’s better than the guy playing ahead of him at pretty much everything … yikes.
Let’s attach real figures here: Tuitt has a minus-3.2 on run defense, according to Pro Football Focus, which is not good at all. It’s one of the worst on the Steelers, in fact.
Thomas is a minus-15.6. Which I imagine is a grade the good folks at PFF save for defensive lineman who actually will escort a running back — by plush limo, no less, with wine and song — all the way into the end zone.
Out of 47 defensive ends in the NFL who have taken at least 25 percent of their team’s snaps, Thomas ranks a robust 46th. The Chargers’ Kendall Reyes is holding up the rear.
jg007: No sports question today. I’m sure you’re mostly used to it by now, but does the relatively constant “Day-john”-ing of your name ever bother you at all? Even Mark Madden still hacks it like 25 percent of the time. Why get it right most of the time and then get it wrong at random times? I’m not hating on him. It’s just an accurate observation.
DK: Nicknames stick with you in sports, and they only stick harder the more you fight them. I got that one from the hockey-playing days — of which Mark was a part for a long time — and it never left. So that carried into the Post-Gazette offices, where we worked together, etc.
I actually think it’s kind of neat because it reminds me of some good times at the rink.
Seriously, no big deal.
BillTull: The Pirates should have at least one significant move left, right?
DK: Two starting pitchers. That’s it.
Steel By Design: Every team the Steelers face until the end of the regular season ranks in the bottom 10 in rush defense. Can Le’Veon Bell realistically handle 25-30 carries per game for the rest of the season?
DK: Here’s hoping they get a little inventive in that regard. He’s now touching the ball 24 times per game, including pass targets, by some math I did earlier in the week. That’s begging for trouble.
One more this week …
pterp: Hey DK, what trade do you make to unload Pedro Alvarez?
DK: No fake trades here, my man. Fantasy sites are everywhere. My hands are full with reality.
SuckMeter: Over 6,000 subscribers doesn’t suck at all in just four months. Besides myself, any big name celebs you can mention that have signed up? Seth Meyers? Snoop Dogg?
DK: Just you and Seth are the only ones I’ll name. There are several others, but I’ll respect their privacy as I would anyone’s. (Seth let his be known on Twitter, and your agent leaked yours to TMZ, so those don’t count.)
Thanks to all for a terrific time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got get a ride from Cam Thomas to the nearest Starbucks, running back in tow. We’ll probably run over Beau Bennett on the way.