Sports
If you’re a glass-half-empty type, look at it this way: the Predators won but one lonesome game in their playoff series with San José. Two springs ago, in their only other postseason appearance, they gave the mighty Red Wings all they could handle. This is a team that expected more of itself than another first-round exit.
The Preds worked very hard to improve their offense. But in three of their playoff losses, they scored one goal or fewer.
Adding insult to injury, despite a strong regular-season showing, the little team that could still couldn’t dominate the media in its own market. Last week, there was as much or more buzz about the Titans’ upcoming draft selections as about the Predators’ prospects on the West Coast and back in Nashville on Sunday for Game 5.
If, on the other hand, you keep a glass-half-full orientation—and count me among you—the Preds’ campaign wasn’t half-bad at all.
For one thing, they continued to climb the ladder. In 2004, before the work stoppage, the team was the last playoff qualifier in the Western Conference, which earned them a faceoff with top-seeded Detroit. This time around, they claimed the fourth seed—and owned one of the top six records in the whole league for much of the year. They accumulated 106 points, a franchise record; scored 259 goals, another record; and made the arena one of the NHL’s toughest places for visitors to win. Considering the spate of injuries they suffered in the last month of the regular season, and during a couple of earlier stretches, this bunch skated pretty well overall.
|
---------------------------Advertisement---------------------------
|
|
---------------------------Advertisement---------------------------
|
Sure, fans were disappointed by the Predators’ less-than-stellar performance against San José. And, yeah, while the loss of Tomas Vokoun to a blood disorder may have injured the team’s confidence, it does not explain the lack of offensive production during far too many stretches of the series.
But it’s also true that the Preds had the misfortune to draw one of the NHL’s hottest teams. Don’t be surprised if San José reaches the Stanley Cup finals.
And Vokoun wasn’t the only key Predator to miss lots of ice time. And, had the zebras not handed the Sharks what seemed like an endless succession of five-on-three power-play opportunities in Game Two, Nashville might have headed to California up 2-0.
And as Detroit and Dallas reminded us, owning the best regular-season records doesn’t necessarily translate into playoff victories. The Stars were unceremoniously bounced by Colorado last week, four games to one. On Monday night, Edmonton eliminated the Red Wings (giving a boost, surely, to the theory that a benevolent Intelligent Designer is behind the universe).
Quite possibly, the playoff disappointment will provide the Predators with extra incentive next October. They’re still young (unlike Detroit), and they have something to prove. Barring injuries, there’s every reason to believe that their current lineup could take the team even further in 2007.
I for incomplete
Speaking of glasses half-full, depending on your perspective, the Titans last weekend either pulled off a draft-day coup or mortgaged their future to buy a dubious parcel of swampland.
With the third overall pick, Tennessee chose Texas quarterback Vince Young. Then, one round later, they nabbed Southern Cal’s touchdown maker, LenDale White.
Both of those selections are a little scary, for varying reasons. Young (whose selection was advocated here a week ago) has the kind of gifts that can put the heebeejeebees into defensive coordinators. He’s improvisational and unpredictable. Though not as fast, he’s perhaps an even more dangerous running threat than Michael Vick. Last year, he solved an Ohio State defense that included four players taken in the first two rounds last weekend. In the Rose Bowl, Southern Cal never came close to stopping him.
But such an improvisational QB is also scary to most NFL offensive coordinators. A lot of draft experts seemed genuinely conflicted: they were afraid to choose him, but they were equally afraid of going down as the team that passed him over. Even Floyd Reese, the Titans’ general manager, admits losing sleep over this choice, hoping that Vince can do for Tennessee what he did for Texas.
White’s draft stock, meanwhile, took a late plunge after it was revealed he had a small muscle tear. It’s not a devastating injury like a blown-out knee. But it gave some scouts the jitters. And it didn’t help that White, who has a fondness for his mother’s cooking, got a little puffy after football season.
But at USC, White was a devastating runner. Had he not been overshadowed by teammates Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, White would have been a strong Heisman contender. The Titans had him ranked among the 20 best players in the draft. When he was still available in the second round, they snatched him immediately.
Many of the National Media Geniuses regard the Titans’ top two picks as gambles. Maybe so, but they’re eminently reasonable gambles to make.
White, who should fully recover from his injury, will complement Chris Brown to create a solid tag team in the offensive backfield. Since there’s no pressure for him to be the every-down starter, there’s less risk with his choice. I rate him as a steal.
Young carries greater risks. He hasn’t fully learned to read college defenses, much less the complex schemes of the NFL. He throws sidearm. He’s used to working mostly from the shotgun.
But Leinart, the presumptive choice for many, carried risks, too. He’s not mobile. His arm is weaker. And he’s always had the luxury of being surrounded by NFL-caliber backs, receivers and linemen. (In time, Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler, who landed in the catbird seat at Denver, may establish himself as the best of the three QBs in this year’s draft.)
Young often throws from outside the pocket, where his sidearm delivery creates less of a problem. If he’s better working from the shotgun, well, the Titans have a smart and imaginative offensive coordinator. If you’re a scrambling quarterback, as Steve McNair proved, you don’t need All-Pro receivers as long as you have a reliable tight end. (Tennessee has several.)
As with all draft classes, the Titans should receive an I for Incomplete. Reserve the final grade for about three years. But I have a feeling they’ll deserve an A before it’s over.