A FEW THOUGHTS AS TYROD TAYLOR EXITS STAGE LEFT (CLEVELAND)
Tyrod Taylor in his three seasons with the Buffalo Bills was an average NFL quarterback on a below average NFL team.
There. I said it. I know some of you think the 2015-2016-2017 Bills would’ve been an above average team with almost any other QB in the league.
Buffalo traded Taylor to Cleveland Friday for the 65th pick in the 2018 NL draft. Some of Taylor’s many detractors believe that was his greatest contribution to the Bills.
Taylor’s won-lost record with Buffalo was 23-20 (I’m giving him credit for winning his first career start for the Bills in 2015, when he lined up as a receiver and Matt Cassel took Buffalo’s first – and his only -- snap of the game. He handed off to LeSean McCoy for a six-yard loss. Cassel got the “official” decision in the 27-14 victory over Indianapolis because he was the starting QB.
Taylor had a few impressive career passing stats for Buffalo, particularly his low interception rate (1.3 percent) and positive TD-to-INT ratio (51/16).
Most of his other passing stats were not impressive. A few reasons why:
1-The team stressed the running game, not a bad strategy with McCoy and Taylor. In Tyrod’s three seasons, the Bills ranked 28th, 30th and 31st in passing yards and 1st, 1st and 6th in rushing yards. Cam Newton was only QB with more yards rushing than Taylor over that span.
A team among the NFL leaders in rushing is not going to rank high in passing. Simple math dictates that.
2-He threw a decent deep ball but was below average in the intermediate passing game.
3-Buffalo arguably had the NFL’s worst receiving corps in 2017.
Taylor’s future in Buffalo was obvious when he was benched in favor of rookie Nathan Peterman for last season’s November 16 game at the Los Angeles Chargers. Taylor got his starting job back only because Peterman was brutal in a 54-24 loss.
I believe Taylor will do fine in Cleveland. Browns fans have suffered through a long line of QBs worse than Tyrod. Cleveland figures to select one of the hot-shot QB prospects in this year’s NFL draft. One reasonable projection is for the Browns to select Penn State running back No. 1 Saquon Barkley overall and their latest “franchise quarterback” No. 4.
Taylor would be a bridge QB this season as the rookie learns the NFL ropes. There won’t be much pressure from the fans and media as he replaces departed DeShone Kizer, who had a mostly awful rookie season. The Browns were 0-16 last season and Taylor likely will get much of the credit for the team’s inevitable improvement.
Perhaps Cleveland will design an offense focusing on the multiple skills of Barkley and Taylor’s mobility. Tyrod also should benefit from impressive targets in Jarvis Landry, Josh Gordon (if he can he stay out of trouble), Corey Coleman (is he a bust or might he be a late bloomer?), promising tight end David Njoku and pass-catching running back Duke Johnson Jr. (74 catches last season).
It was time for Taylor to go. Most of the WNY media and much of the fan base had seen enough of him and he took – in my opinion – too much of the heat for the team’s shortcomings.
I’m also relieved that Tyrod is gone because defending him was a losing battle and extremely frustrating.
HARD TO BELIEVE SU, ARIZONA STATE ARE IN AND NOTRE DAME IS OUT
I know the NCAA Tournament selection committee has assorted formulas and rationale to determine the 68 teams for the men’s basketball tournament.
But how Syracuse and Arizona State – Wednesday night opponents – are in while Notre Dame is out is a mystery to me.
Notre Dame was 20-14, including 8-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Syracuse was 20-13, including 8-10 in the ACC.
Notre Dame – minus injured stars Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell – defeated Syracuse 51-49 January 6 at the Carrier Dome.
Colson, a pre-season All-American, missed 15 ACC games with a foot injury. The Irish were 6-9 overall without him and 14-5 with him. He’s healthy now. Didn’t that mean something to the selection committee? It should’ve meant a lot.
Syracuse has played shorthanded, defended well and shot poorly all season -- and understandably struggled down the stretch.
Arizona State, coached by Bobby Hurley, started this season with a 12-0 record, including wins over Xavier (102-86 in Las Vegas) and Kansas (95-85 at Kansas). The Sun Devils were ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the December 30 game at Arizona. They lost 84-78 and haven’t been the same since. Arizona State was 8-11 thereafter, including 1-5 in the last six games.
Syracuse vs. Arizona State should be a close game. SU can play stall ball and frustrate better teams than the Sun Devils. Arizona State is favored by 1 ½ points.
But I think Notre Dame would beat Syracuse or Arizona State in a First Four matchup Wednesday night. The Orange and Sun Devils will battle for the right to play – and probably lose – to the TCU Horned Frogs in Detroit Friday.
KNIGHTHAWKS CONTINUE IMPRESSIVE COMEBACK
The Rochester Knighthawks, who appeared doomed after a six-game losing streak dropped them to 2-6, now are .500 (6-6 record) after a hard-fought 11-10 overtime victory over the National Lacrosse League defending champion Georgia Swarm last Saturday night on Kyle Jackson’s overtime goal before 7,214 fans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
The top three teams from the Eastern Division will make the playoffs. The regular season is 18 games. The East race is much too close to call: New England Black Wolves 5-4...Buffalo Bandits 6-5...Knighthawks 6-6...Toronto Rock 5-5...Georgia 5-7.
Cody Jamieson had 2 goals and 4 assists to boost his scoring line to 19 goals and 42 assists for 61 points in 12 games. He’s tied for sixth in the NLL scoring race after recovering from serious injuries. Teammate Joe Resetarits has 73 points (23 goals + 50 assists) and trails NLL leader Mark Matthews (Saskatchewan) by 5 points.
The three rookie first-round draft picks out of Ohio State – Brighton housemates Eric Fannell, Austin Shanks and Jake Withers -- combined for 4 goals and 2 assists against the Swarm. Withers won 14 of 23 faceoffs and is 162-of-248 (NLL-best .653) this season.
Reliable veteran goalie Matt Vinc ranks second in the NLL in saves (461), tied for third in save percentage (.789) and fourth in goals-against average (10.94),
Special teams continue to be a plus: second in the nine-team NLL on the power play (.591; 26-for-44) and in penalty killing (.540; 27-of-50).
One possible negative: Only two of the remaining six games will be at home: Colorado March 31 and New England April 21. The K-hawks are 4-3 at Blue Cross Arena and 2-3 on the road.
Rochester plays at the Calgary Roughnecks Saturday and at the Saskatchewan Rush March 24.
BATAVIA DOWNS THROWS HAT INTO THE RING FOR LEGAL SPORTS BETTING
Batavia Downs is prepared for the possibility of legalized sports betting in New York State.
Sen. John Bonacic (R-Mount Hope), the head of the New York Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, introduced legislation last Thursday that would pave the way for sports betting at four new upstate casinos should the Supreme Court knock down the federal prohibition.
Batavia Downs Gaming said in a statement, “Western Regional Off-Track Betting and Batavia Downs gaming are perfectly positioned with existing infrastructure to deliver a sports betting platform to our customers in our 15 counties, including the cities of Buffalo and Rochester.”
In a perfect legal sports betting world, gambling revenues would be used to build new stadiums and/or arenas, like for example, Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
TWINS MAKING THEIR PITCH TO WIN THE AL CENTRAL
Give the Minnesota Twins front office credit for recognizing that the team’s pitching needed a major upgrade if it hoped to seriously contend for the American League Central pennant this season.
The Twins last week made free-agent right-handed pitcher Lance Lynn the latest addition to the starting-rotation sweepstakes. Lynn had some solid seasons with St. Louis and showed last year that he is fully recovered from the Tommy John (elbow) surgery that drydocked him for the entire 2016 season.
Here’s the list of possible starters for Minnesota this winter (it isn’t a bad group): Lance Lynn...Ervin Santana (recovering from finger surgery)...Jose Barrios...Jake Odorizzi...Kyle Gibson...Phil Hughes...Adalberto Mejia...Tyler Duffy...Aaron Slegers. Veteran Anibal Sanchez was released Sunday. Michael Pineda likely will miss this season after Tommy John surgery.
CAN TIGER CATCH SAM SNEAD’S RECORD 82 PGA TOUR WINS?
Could Tiger Woods possibly win next month’s Masters? That doesn’t seem quite as unlikely after his impressive tie for second Sunday in the Valspar Championship.
Tigers still is a long shot to catch Jack Nicklaus in major titles – he trails 18-14 – but suddenly Sam Snead’s PGA Tour-record 82 victories appears within reach. Woods has 79. Jack Nicklaus ranks third with 73.
Tiger’s second-place finish was somewhat of a rarity for him:
Nicklaus – 586 career PGA Tour starts...73 wins...58 seconds...36 thirds
Woods – 332 career PGA Tour starts...79 wins...30 seconds...36 thirds.
Tiger earned $572,000 Sunday for finishing tied for second in the Valspar Championship. That’s more money than he made on the PGA Tour combined in 2014 ($108,275), 2015 ($448,598), 2016 ($0) and 2017 ($0).
SUNDAY WIN SALVAGES WEEKEND FOR THE AMERKS
The Rochester Amerks have had an interesting American Hockey League season. Fourteen games left before the Calder Cup playoffs. And this team is good enough to win the franchise’s first playoff series since 2005 (really; that’s tough to swallow).
The Amerks lost last Friday and Saturday nights but beat Syracuse Sunday afternoon at home – in a shootout no less.
Rochester continues to lead the 30-team AHL in overtime games – 26 out of the 62 games it has played this season: 10 OT losses (most in the league), 6 losses in shootouts (tied for the most with Grand Rapids), 7 OT wins and 3 shootout wins.
The Amerks are a decent 14-11-2-3 at home and an excellent 16-5-8-3 on the road.
SHORT SHOTS
The Boston Bruins are 5-0 (outscoring opponents 26-16) with Brian Gionta in their lineup. He has 2 goals and 4 assists and is averaging 14:24 minutes per game.
On this day in sports, Monday, March 12 – 137 years ago (1881) Andrew Watson made his Scotland debut as the world’s first black international soccer player and captain; 115 years ago (1903), the New York Highlanders (Yankees) joined the American League; 33 years ago (1985), Larry Bird scored a Boston Celtics-record 60 points in a game.
On this date in sports, Tuesday, March 13 – 58 years ago (1960), the NFL Chicago Cardinals moved to St. Louis; 57 years ago (1961), Floyd Patterson knocked out Ingemar Johansson in the sixth round for the heavyweight boxing title.
Rochester RazorSharks historian Bill Flynn notes that last Thursday’s 123-99 loss (24-point deficit) to the Yakima Sunkings was team’s worst-ever at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The previous worst BCA loss was by 18 points (110-92) to the Albany Patroons December 31, opening night this North American Premier Basketball league season. The Sharks are 6-15 and in last place in the eight-team league. Rochester hosts the Kansas City Tornados Wednesday, 7:05 p.m., before embarking on a two-game trip to first-place Yakima.
Carmelo Anthony last week passed Jerry West for No. 20 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and playfully suggested that maybe he should replace West as the as the player silhouette on the NBA logo. I wouldn’t object to a fresh logo subject but I’d prefer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Michael Jordan or LeBron James or a few other players before Melo.
Rochester ranks sixth in the nine-team National Lacrosse League in average home attendance (6,638 through six home dates). The league average through 50 games is 8,977.
Rochester ranks 19th in the 30-team American Hockey League in average home attendance (5,122). The other New York State teams: Syracuse 14th (5,425)...Utica 24th (3,917)...Binghamton 26th (3,854).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Monday, March 12
Jerami Grant (24)...Marvin Jones (28)...Dont’a Hightwower (28)...Kevin Porter (32)...P.J. Walters (33)...Mikko Koivu (35)...J. P. Losman (37)...Shaun Rogers (39)...Casey Mears (40)...Raul Mondesi (47)...Isaiah Rider (47)...Rex Walters (48)...Steve Finley (53)...Steve Levy (53)...John Andretti (55)... Darryl Strawberry (56)...Matt Millen (60)...Dale Murphy (62)...Mark Moseley (70)...Amerks Hall of Famer Bronco Horvath (88). Mitt Romney (71) and Liza Minnelli (72) are invited to the birthday party.
Tuesday, March 13
Mikaela Shiffren (23)...Tristan Thompson (27)...Marcell Dareus (28)...Sandy Leon (29)...L. P. Ladouceur (37)...Caron Butler (38)...Johan Santana (39)...Bobby Jackson (45)...Trent Dilfer (46)...Curtis Conway (47)...Chris Zorich (49)...Will Clark (54)...Vance Johnson (55)...Barry Pederson (57)...Andy Bean (65)...Gregg Bingham (67)...Joe Bellino (80). William H. Macy (68) and Charo (77) are invited to the birthday party.