Start Spreading the...

Ball all over the field. It's pretty evident that that is what the Niners need to start doing to be productive on offense. Their first half effort against Green Bay was horrible. Then, like someone flipped a switch, they came out in the second half pitching the ball all over and scoring at will.

I swear we've seen this before... Oh, that's right. Just a few weeks ago in Houston. Sure the Texans and Packers D probably let up a little in the second half with huge leads. I'm sure that pressure returned once the Niners cut it a two score game. Yet, in both cases the Niners were able to make it a one score game.

One of the biggest gripes fans had about Mike Nolan was his unwillingness to change. He was going to do it his way and everyone else be darned. I am starting to get the same feeling from Singletary and Jimmy Raye. The Niners have gone to a spread look in both games and scored 21 points in a half. So, explain to me why you would not want to run this more often.

Two of the biggest draft picks in your recent history, Smith and Crabtree, came from the spread system. Vernon Davis has caught most, if not all, his touchdowns from the formation. Frank Gore is great receiver out of the backfield and I would argue one of the best pass blocking RBs in the game. You have Morgan, Hill and Walker chomping at the bit to get on the field. Your O-Line has shown it cannot maintain blocks or move the line of scrimmage. With all those factors telling them otherwise, Raye and Singletary spent an entire half yesterday running into a brick wall. I am starting to see a definition of insanity reference coming on here.

I am not saying that the spread offense is a panacea. This team has issues. The entire team looked like it forgot to get on the plane in the first half. The D could not stop the run game nor get pressure through the supposedly porous Packers O-Line. The Niners line continues to struggle and now is dealing with further injuries. These three things all need to be addressed. But most of them will have to wait til the off-season. The Niners can change their offensive philosophy now. The coaches would have us believe otherwise and that it makes the team one dimensional. The play on the field doesn't support that. The scoring numbers are higher and Gore's rushing numbers are just as good out of the spread and single-back as they are from the I-formation.

This is about a philosophical change. One that if not made soon, could result in some other changes...

Kings Need a Shooter

I never thought I would say this, but the Kings need a shooter. Last night's game against the Bulls was an indication that, with Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia out, the Kings are lacking a consistent shooter.

Like the Kings, the Bulls were playing scrappy. They were clogging the lane, daring the Kings to shoot from the outside and there was no one to answer the call. It was a far cry from recent Kings teams where as soon as the ball crossed mid-court there was a good chance it would be shot by whoever touched it first.

I am glad shots were not going up from all over the gym, but someone has to be able to shoot from the outside to keep teams honest. It is clear that without K-Mart and Cisco, and to a lesser degree Nocioni, this is a weak spot for this team.

At one point Tyreke had a wide open three. He double clutched it and tried to force a pass inside. Turnover. The confidence in his shot was gone. Donte Greene, who last season would jack three's with no hesitation, was willing to shoot, but his shot is still the weakest part of his game. Sergio Rodriguez was zipping beautiful passes all over the place, but you can tell he believes he has no jumper. Beno was the only one with a consistent stroke and yet Sergio was playing well enough that he couldn't get off the bench.

Don't get me wrong, if this is the biggest problem the Kings have in the short term, I'll take it. Nocioni should be back soon. K-Mart and Cisco, soon enough. In the grand scheme of things, it's actually quite encouraging that this team is only losing when their outside shots aren't falling. That's a far cry from teams of the recent past.

The Okafor Discussion

After reading the recent Bee article about a discussion between the Kings and Hornets that would send Kenny Thomas to New Orleans for Emeka Okafor.

In name value this sounds like a big win for the Kings. In contract and overall value this is a horrible deal for the Kings. Okafor has huge money, 5 years, $62.5 million, left on his deal. This would give the Kings two near max contract deals and a bunch of young talent that will quickly be running out of team options. In other words, they'd be right back in salary cap hell.

Let's not also forget that Okafor has a history of back problems. These have not been there since turning pro, but last time I checked back problems don't get better as you get older.

Petrie holds a really large bargaining chip with Thomas' expiring contract. The kind of piece you use to pick up a couple young promising players with team options and draft picks, not one high (some might say over) priced player. Petrie should think Artest trade, not Webber trade. Think Trailblazers, not Knicks.

The Kings are building and shouldn't forget that. They have had a small amount of success early this season, but this is not the time to get punch drunk and thinking this is a playoff team. There is no need to make quick fixes. Stick to the plan. Clear payroll. Build a core through the draft. Then, add pieces through trade and free agency.

The dividends are starting to show. No reason to change the strategy now.

I'll Have the Crow!

I know it's only eight games into the season, but I have to eat some crow on the Kings. I was really not impressed with their opening night loss. Thankfully they have proven to be a very competitive team and that is all I ever wanted from this young squad.

I give major props to Coach Westphal. He appears to be the right man for the job. His lineup has been in flux and even with the injuries and roster changes he is finding pieces that work. He is not static in his playing time, rewarding players who perform, and penalizing those who don't. Contracts and draft numbers don't seem to dictate playing time under Westphal. It's the way coaches are supposed to operate. His game management is the best I've seen of a Kings coach since, well, ever.

As much as I know it pains some Kings fans, Petrie deserves some credit too. He did hire Westphal, even though I am positive the Maloofs wanted Rambis. After a couple off-seasons of bad contracts, the signings of Sean May, Desmond Mason and Ime Udoka to bargin contracts, were very good moves. Kenny Thomas is performing and Petrie, should he want to, can move him for significant value at the trade deadline. I thought for sure Donte Greene was packed for Reno, but an attitude change appears to have given him new life.

Look, I am not signing up for playoff tickets or anything, but the Kings are a quarter of a way to their win total from last year after only an tenth of the season. For you math wizards, that puts them on pace for forty wins. All this without two of their arguably best players. Do I think they'll get to forty? Probably not, but I don't think thirty is out of the question, and seventeen is a distant memory.

New Season. Same Kings.

It was their first game, but is sure looked like the same old Kings. Initially impressed that a Kings road game was in HD, I quickly realized that it simply meant that I would simply have a clearer picture of a horrible Kings loss.

There it was again. The red carpet down the lane. The lack of effort on the boards. The incessant need to shoot from the outside. Like Yogi said, "It's Deja Vu all over again".

Missing was the toughness, effort, and hustle that we all went into the season hoping we would see. No one, myself included, expected this team to win even 30 games. Heck, I was going to be happy with 20 as long as the losses were because of lack in talent and not effort. This loss had nothing to do with talent.

I know I've seen this before. Thompson getting in foul trouble in the first six minutes (though some of the calls were pretty weak), and arguing every one. Spencer jacking threes. Westbrook running down the lane like there were lights guiding the way. Several Thunder players in double figures. Kevin Martin with a spectacular first half and disappearing in the second. I've seen it all before.

It was all bad, right? Thankfully, no. There was one lone bright spot in this game. Omri Casspi, overcame a rough first half and realized he is an NBA player. He came out in the second half and broke down his defender, hit outside shots, ran the floor, all the things that should make him a valuable member of this team.

What about Tyreke Evans? It's an incomplete. He showed flashes of what will make him a good player but like his teammates he settled for too many outside shots when he clearly had an advantage over Westbrook in the post. It was evident that his shot is clearly the weakest part of his game.

Normally I would say it was only one game, but we've seen it too many times to think this was the exception and not the rule.

My (hopefully) Weekly Rant

So, I have tons of things that I think of every week that I could put into a blog post, but then my darn real job gets in the way and I forget about them. My new goal is that if I cannot get a full post out I will at least post a weekly regurgitation of everything from that week and maybe the week ahead.

• I am so sick of Michael Crabtree. You hide behind your agent and Deion. Be a man. Speak up. Either sign the contract, or tell everyone why you won't. Quit all this crap. You are making far more enemies than friends.

• The game between the Steelers and Titans was almost entertaining. Makes me wonder if even though the Niners are my team, I am going to enjoy an entire season of 3-yards and cloud of dust.

• One thing I didn't like about the Thursday game, overtime. I cannot stand the NFL overtime rules. How is it fair that one team doesn't touch the ball? I know, the Titans should have come up with a stop. Well who knows, maybe they would have if the Steelers weren't allowed to kick a field goal on first down to win the game. Look what they did to Ward at the end of regulation to prevent the winning TD.

• How would I play OT? Coin toss to determine possession. Winner gets to choose if they want ball first or second. Each team must get at least one possession. If first team kicks FG and second scores TD, game over. Second team wins. If both teams match score, repeat, but now, no FG's allowed. This will repeat until either team cannot match score. You can punt, if you want, but that is a zero for that possessions. Same for fumbles, interceptions, etc., all are live plays and defensive score ends the game even on the first possession. I'd even be OK with taking FG's out completely.

• What were the Raiders thinking? You send a first round pick in 2011 for a player who will be 30 and may not even be on your team after next year? Did they not think they could have gotten a decent DT/DE in the 2011 draft? If they thought that highly of Seymour, why not just go after him in free agency. It's not like the Patriots were going to pay him.

• Not to mention this is the same team that you gave Randy Moss to for a fourth rounder. Does Bob Kraft have dirty pictures of Al Davis or something? I think what irritates me even more is that the Raider Nation sits by with blinders on and tries to talk about how this was a good deal. Well, I guess in some sense it was. FOR THE PATRIOTS!

• Baseball season appears to be over. Unless the Braves go all miracle and the Rockies, Giants and Marlins fall apart. I like where the team is headed, but they need to add some pop to that outfield and Chipper isn't going to play forever.

• Got my free copy of Madden 10 yesterday. Haven't played it yet. But I'm thinking it will be taking up a large portion of my weekend.

• Is anybody reading this? If someone even stops by I'd appreciate a comment one way or the other. Even if you think it sucks, please let me know.

Crickets...

Holy cow, its been over a month since I've posted anything here... I have had plenty of things I could be posting, but for some reason they haven't made it here. With that, I'll just run down a list of grumblings (in no particular order):

• Welcome Back, Koz! For once Sports 1140 did the right thing and made sure you were on the air, too bad the Kings didn't do the same. Now if we can get rid of Sportsline with Blowhard and Homer, I'd bet their ratings would be better.
  
  
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the Crabtree. Your cousin might as well have stuck a gun in your face and taken the money he cost you with his moronic hold-out statement. Give it up. Just sign the contract and get into camp.
  
  
• Welcome Back, Brett! NOT! Some people just don't know when to give it up. I almost feel back for Peterson. This should be his team and his year and Favre just grabbed the spotlight and hit him over the head with it.
  
  
• I'm Ready for Some Football! I blocked out my calendar to watch the HOF Game.
  
  
• The Braves are playing with my emotions. Don't think they will make the playoffs, but they are giving me hope, which something I couldn't say the last couple years.
  
  
• My golf game needs help.
  
  
• MLB At Bat 2009 for iPhone is one of the greatest inventions ever, second only to the iPhone itself...
  
  
• Should I twitter more? People have actually starting following me so I almost feel obligated to post things.
  
  
• One Fantasy Football draft down (my WR's suck and I have no backup QB) and one to go!
  
  
• SI is going to give me a copy of Madden 10 just for renewing a magazine I just renewed in a couple months ago. Greatest marketing idea EVER!
  
  
• I really want to get excited about the Kings this season, but it is going to be hard.
  
  
• The A's continue to be a feeder system for playoff teams. Wonder if they moved to Sacramento if it would be any better? Probably not, but I can hope.

OK, I guess that is good for now. I'll try and be better about updating this for the one or two people (myself included) that might actually read this.