Assessing the Celtics at the Trade Deadline

As the armchair general managers and rabid sports radio callers amp up their intensity this week, Danny Ainge will remain very much in the background. Many will demand ludicrous trades while others will defend the current Celtics roster. National writers figure to focus prominently on the Celtics due to the team's unique position at the trade deadline.

But Ainge, in his truest fashion, will spend the next week frantically denying trade rumors while concocting all types of trade proposals behind the scenes.

It's become a recent tradition in Boston. The trade deadline rolls around, fans clamor for moves, and Ainge is faced with the impossible task of improving a team which often lacks sufficient assets while maintaining a dangerous playoff contender. Two seasons ago, Ainge shocked Boston by trading away defensive stalwart Kendrick Perkins. Last year's shortened season saw Ainge do nothing at the deadline, despite a poor start.

So what should Celtics fans expect this year?

It's imperative that Celtics fans do what they must to fight off fantasy trades and wild, elaborate schemes. What's often lost as the deadline looms closer is a sense of realism. Often, fans confuse wants and needs, necessities and luxuries.

This year is no different. The popular name as of tonight is Josh Smith. A week ago, Dwight Howard dominated trade rumors (shocking, I know). All the while, the threat of a Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce departure remains.

Realistically, you shouldn't hold your breath over Josh Smith. It feels as if this is the third year running Josh Smith's been linked to Boston, yet the outcome will most likely stay the same. Smith isn't a natural fit in Boston. His combination of ill-advised shots and unfortunate brain cramps don't fly with Doc Rivers selfless system. Couple that with Smith's imminent free agency, and the Celtics simply don't have the means to acquire or afford Smith.

The same goes for Dwight Howard. On the verge of a max contract, Howard likely wouldn't stick around in Boston. Fortunately, we don't have to worry about this rumor, due to Rajon Rondo's season-ending ACL tear.

So what do the Celtics have to offer?

Of the healthy, useful assets (sorry Fab Melo) the Celtics have limited options. There is the potential of trading Kevin Garnett, but that would hinge on Garnett being persuaded to waive his no-trade clause. A deal of Garnett for Eric Bledsoe and Deandre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers is a realistic, potentially franchise altering trade.

Unless Ainge decides to go all-in on Josh Smith, Paul Pierce won't be leaving Boston. Neither is Avery Bradley. That leaves Jeff Green, Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, and Brandon Bass as useful talent. If Ainge can find some way to spin what's left of his bench into a prominent scorer, more power to him. But as of now, the trade deadline looks bleak.

There are certainly options out there. J.J Redick is an intriguing name. Redick is due for a multi-year contract in the off-season, and could help a contender instead of toiling away on a horrendous Orlando Magic squad. Perhaps Ainge looks for a rental in the form of Monta Ellis or Paul Millsap, although both would command reasonably talented players in return. The Celtics could also go the buyout route too, much like they did with Troy Murphy.

Ainge has a penchant for making the blockbuster move. Knowing this, Celtics fans will be forced to go through this week on red alert. But with the options in place now, it's likely the Celtics will sit tight through the trade deadline, content to ride out the season with what they have.

Thank You, Big O

With news of WEEI and Glenn Ordway effectively parting ways at the end of the week, fans of Boston sports collectively felt some level of shock and surprise. For me, despite reading various reports in the past few weeks hinting at major shakeups at WEEI, the news was blindsiding.

Ordway's imprint on the Boston sports media scene ranges far and wide. As the various articles and stories come out in the next few days, it will become easier and easier to learn of the far-reaching influence Ordway had on many of the figures who dominate the media-scene today.

As an 18 year old kid, I missed the height of Ordway's career. A pioneer of sports talk radio, Ordway took what was a fledgling, almost niche community in the 90's, and transformed sports talk into a 24 hour, 365 day a year superpower. Combining his talents as the play-by-play voice of the Boston Celtics and a natural voice for hosting radio, Ordway replaced Michael Andelman in WEEI's drive-time slot en route to creating a record breaking afternoon radio show, The Big Show.

Now of course, I can't rehash on the beginning as well as those who were around. Born in 1994, I like to think I grew up with WEEI on in the background, a sports-talk radio baby before I could even comprehend what it was.

However, what I can do, is pay homage to all that Ordway has done for me, despite never actually meeting "The Big O."

For the few that read my blogs, some may have never heard of Glenn Ordway. But most of you do know me, and know my passion for sports as well as sports media. Most of this can be attributed to Ordway, and WEEI as a whole.

Growing up, I loved going to Fenway Park. Not that I don't enjoy going to Red Sox games now, but the spectacle of driving into Boston on a lazy summer afternoon with my Dad will always be one of my most cherished memories. So perhaps in addition to saying thank you to Glenn Ordway, I should call up my pops and say thanks to him too.

The drive in had two constants. 1, we always took the same route, navigating through back roads and cruising up into Boston through Jamaica Plain, always "avoiding the traffic." 2, The Big Show always dominated the radio dial. Glenn Ordway at the helm, the rotating cast of characters always created fascinating radio. I loved listening. I loved the idea of debating over sports, I loved the banter back and forth, I loved the contrasting opinions and characters on the air. I like to think these commuting trips into Boston with my father spawned an ever-developing interest in sports radio, the foundation for what may become something more than a hobby one day.

Ordway was the only voice on the radio at the time, so naturally I became accustomed to his persona. And while we always didn't agree, and the show wasn't always the easiest to listen to, I respected and admired the production of mesmerizing radio.

But Ordway's "invisible hand" has indirectly influenced me as well. WEEI always maintains relationships with intriguing guests, some of which were columnists in the Boston area. WEEI also airs the Celtics and Red Sox games on the radio. And because of WEEI, 98.5 The Sports Hub recently came to fruition.

Michael Felger, current host of the highest rated afternoon drive show Felger and Mazz, a show which effectively forced WEEI's hand in parting ways with Ordway, got his start on The Big Show. Sean Grande, play-by-play voice of the Celtics, owes his job to Ordway. Mike Mutnansky, current midday host at WEEI, interned with The Big Show years ago.

Hopefully, one day, whether through writing or radio, I too will hold a place in the hierarchy of Boston media personalities. In fact, my first "real world" experience came at WEEI, as I interned for Entercom over the winter break. On my final day, I managed to sit-in with the producers of The Big Show, Ben Kichen and Andy Massaua, and observe what it's like on the other side of the glass.

Imagine that, some punk 18-year old who grew up on The Big Show, was one plexi-glass window away from Glenn Ordway and Michael Holley. And while I never met Glenn, I had the pleasure of screening a few calls, until I managed to screw up the hold-call button (it's an unbelievably easy system, not my best moment) and realized it was almost 6:00.

So while I've never met Glenn Ordway, I feel I owe a great deal of appreciation to all he's done for WEEI, and sports radio as whole. WEEI became the first station in the country to achieve such staggering ratings in the sports demographic. Growing up on sports talk radio influenced my own involvement in starting a high-school show, and becoming more involved in both radio and writing.

So thank you, Mr. Ordway. And while it's sad to see him go, it won't be the end. Heck, maybe one day our paths will cross again, hopefully on the right side of that plexi-glass window.

What Defines an Elite NFL Quarterback?

As seen on dailycollegian.com

Hello everyone. I'd first like to apologize for the recent disappearance. With an internship over winter break, a transfer of schools, and the start of a new semester, I've had my hands full getting acclimated to multiple new surroundings. Now onto the good stuff..

With the Super Bowl coming and going, one of the most popular running narratives resides on the shoulders of the lightning rod that is Joe Flacco. After all, America loves focusing on the quarterback, and the drama and controversy that comes with some of the most influential athletes in sports.

With the spotlight, stardom, and face-time comes criticism and debate, especially when fans and pundits alike attempt to determine the "elite" quarterbacks in the NFL. This is no different for Joe Flacco, who's gone from butt of many jokes during the regular season to a potentially top-5 quarterback in the NFL, as deemed by many around the league.

After all, the QB position is defined by winning. The more weighted silver flashing from your fingers, the higher up in the echelon you are of the greatest quarterbacks.

The term which has been pile-driven into the ground to excessive amounts throughout the last few seasons is "elite." Player X is an elite quarterback because of such, and player Y is not yet elite because he lacks in a certain department. What the term elite now represents is a cop-out, an easy, vague, "for lack of a better word" description of a quarterback who in more cases than not, is just pretty good.

What acts as a safety blanket for the term "elite" is the lack of a tangible way to define an "elite quarterback." By definition, Elite means "A group of people considered to be the best in a particular society or category, esp. because of their power, talent, or wealth."

By rule of thumb, most football fans will rattle off Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady as three mainstays at the top of the quarterback food chain. All three have at least one Super Bowl ring, and are perennial statistical leaders each year. Generally, Drew Brees is added in with these players, despite a regression in 2012 and a smaller body of work for his age. 

After these four, there's a host of second-level signal callers who sometimes creep into the discussion of "elite." This year, it's Joe Flacco. Before Flacco was Eli Manning, and before Eli Manning was Ben Roethlisberger. Soon, Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick, and perhaps even Matt Ryan will attempt to enter this conversation. 

So how do we determine whether these guys are strong enough players to enter the illustrious group of elite quarterbacks?

It's surely some combination of Super Bowl wins, regular season performance, and length of dominance. At the same time, how many QB's is too many when it comes to elite? Can we, in theory, have 7-8 elite quarterbacks in the NFL? That's 25% of the league. If almost 1 in every four QB's is elite, it lessens the value of the highest-level quarterbacks. 

Joe Flacco is the newest addition to the crew. Flacco himself thinks he's elite. Joe Linta, his straight-shooting agent, also thinks he's elite. Conveniently, Flacco is due for a new contract in the coming weeks. He's also the beneficiary of a magnificent playoff run, fresh off the grandest victory in all of sports. Flacco was lights out in the playoffs, creating big plays and taking advantage of his opportunities.

With momentum on his side, let's play a little game. We'll call it the "Anonymous Evaluation" between three players, and take a look at their 2012 season.  

Player A: completed 59.5% of his passes on 551 attempts, threw for 3,702 yards, 21TD's, 13 INT's, and was sacked 35 times. 
Player B: completed 67.2% of his passes on 552 attempts, for 4,295 yards, 39 TD's, 8 INT's, and was sacked 51 times.
Player C: completed 59.7% of his passes on 531 attempts, for 3,817 yards, 22 TD's, 10 INT's, and was sacked 35 times.

Clearly, Player A and Player C are fairly comparable players, and would be considered decent to good starting NFL quarterbacks. Those numbers don't quite compare to Player B, who had a much better completion percentage on roughly the same number of attempts, threw for more yards, and had an abundance of TD's.

With Flacco riding 2012's momentum, some may assume he's Player B. Actually, Player B is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, considered an elite NFL quarterback, did indeed put up elite numbers. Player C was of course, Joe Flacco, who was solid in the regular season but not awe-inspiring. In fact, Flacco compared most closely to Player A, Sam Bradford.

Wait, Sam Bradford?

Joe Flacco, elite quarterback, played to a 2012 level close to Sam Bradford? That doesn't make sense. But it's true. Flacco's 2012 season compared most to Andy Dalton, Philip Rivers,Matt Schaub, and Sam Bradford. 

Let's play again. 

Player A: completed 63.3% of his passes on 443 attempts, for 3,265 yards, 26 TD's 8 INT's, and was sacked 30 times.
Player B: completed 59.9% of his passes on 536 attempts, for 3,948 yards, 26TD's, 15 INT's, and just 19 sacks. 
Player C: completed 68.6% of his passes on 583 attempts, for 4,659 yards, 37 TD's, and 11 INT's, with 21 sacks. 

Player C, clearly the best of the three, is Peyton Manning. Coming off four neck surgeries, Manning still excelled this season and clearly demonstrated "elite" performance. Player A and Player B are fairly similar players, despite not being on Manning's level. Player A battled injuries this year, but still managed to match Player B's TD total while throwing less INT's and completing a better percentage of passes. 

Player A is Ben Roethlisberger, and player B is Peyton's little brother, Eli Manning. 

So let's recap here, statistically in 2012, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers clearly trump the competitors. Ben Roethlisberger was slightly better than Eli Manning, who was comparable to Joe Flacco and Sam Bradford. 

But, because of Super Bowl success, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, and Ben Roethlisberger are considered on equal footing as the original four, despite clearly lacking the statistical prowess to go toe-to-toe?

I understand that Super Bowl's are heavily weighted for quarterbacks. But if we based historical rank solely off Super Bowl success, we would mention Terry Bradshaw in the same breath as Joe Montana. Clearly, that's not the case. But what's lost on fans today is that it's perfectly alright to distinguish between the truly "elite" quarterbacks, and the good regular season quarterbacks who play well in big spots. 

The emphasis on winning still needs to be there. Which is why Roethlisberger and Eli Manning, during the playoffs, are fantastic choices to lead their teams. But Eli Manning is not an elite quarterback, as his entire body of work does not currently match up with the top of the class. In fact, I'd be willing to say Roethlisberger is equal to, if not slightly closer to elite, than Eli Manning.

As of now, there are four elite quarterbacks in the NFL. Manning, Rodgers, Brees, and Brady, most likely in that order. 

So Joe Flacco, while I admire your self-belief, and envy the way you guided the Ravens through the playoffs this year, you are not an elite quarterback. At 28 years old, it's not out of the question that Flacco steadily improves statistically now that the monkey is off his back. But with what is likely going to be a top-dollar contract on the way, he's not worth it just yet.