Dr Z

Miles Simon lists the Cyclones the fourth best front court in the country behind Arizona, Kansas and Baylor. I won't argue. This is a frontcourt that wouldn't have made this list in the preseason but has been outstanding thus far. Fred Hoiberg's starting big men of Melvin Ejim, Georges Niang and Dustin Hogue have really been dominant in leading the Cyclones to an undefeated record. Ejim was only the third player at 6-6 or under to lead the Big 12 in rebounding (9.3 a game). He’s waited for his time to shine after Royce White took the spotlight two seasons ago, and a guard-heavy team in 2012-13 led the way. In addition to his rebounding, he's a solid 3-point shooter as well as an excellent scorer around the rim. Niang is one of the craftiest, smartest and most skilled bigs in the nation. He brings the ball up the floor at times and initiates the offense -- and he plays the center position. Around the basket he has soft hands and is very creative with his footwork, making up for a lack of athleticism. Hogue is a junior college transfer who is averaging a double-double (12.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game). His total on the boards is sixth in the country. He can slash to the basket but makes enough 3s to keep defenses honest. He's an excellent athlete and the Cyclones’ best defender.

Iowa State is a good team. I enjoy their style of play. Well coached team. I'm not sure I have seen a team go out of their way to help the opposition after the whistle the way they did. Enjoyed the announcing, every observation they made about the Zips seemed to be correct. I saw some positive things from our Zips that I think they can build on. Can somebody tell me what kind of offense they were playing tonight..other than predictable high passing around the permitter? Where is the simple cutting toward the rim? Terrible offensive game plan. Players need a chance to work harder on offense. Team defense looked like they were tired second half.

Terrible news. Small story.

@Zipmeister, I have to admit, I did read it before you posted, please don't let the other ZN members know, thanks. Thought you might like this link.

This would have been helpful yesterday, if anybody sees something like it at the beginning of the day please post. Prospects to watch

Another victory for the Ragin' Cajuns NEW ORLEANS -- With Terrance Broadway toughing out the New Orleans Bowl with a cast on his broken right forearm, Louisiana-Lafayette figured its fortunes might hinge on whether its defense could make a few big plays BTW Can the poster that wrote about KP16 off season surgery give us an update? Source

Zips favored by 2

Nice job Keener! Merry Christmas (click here) I'm so excited, I just picked up 12 pint bottles for a holiday party today.

They don't seem very good at it. Maggie the monkey is much more reliable. Edit: Change "don't seem very good" to terrible. (click on week 15) Won't direct link to it. I'm thinking of a new algorithm to improve their W/L record

First time I went to that site. How in the world does that formula work? It's a nice place to view ATS.

Packers offensive line ranks 26th with an adjusted sack rate of 8.3%.

The university has announced that Roberto Nelson will not miss any further game time due to his ejection. source

Only a myth in NEO. 26 points per game. 6th worst in AFC, 11th worst in the league. The top 10 teams in this statistical category will likely make the playoffs or just miss.

That's a point. Bortles had an awesome offensive line. Best the Zips played against. Getting four sacks on him shows how well our defensive front was playing at times this year. UFC also had a power running game to help support too. I can still remember the scouting report on Weeden coming out of college, it held pretty true to what he has shown in the pros. Bortles scouting report is much more complete. Almost opposite in some spots (throws well out of the pocket, keeps eyes down field). The two will be drafted for different reasons. PS Your analogy reminds me of the stat they used to repeat over an over on KNR back when Couch played. "Troy Aikman's first season was comparable to his." They had every Browns fan repeating that for years. I can always tell when I talk football with people that listen to local sports talk. I'm guessing the Weedon phrase has been repeated more than once on local airwaves. Thank gawd I don't have to listen to local drivel anymore.

Todd McShay released his first mock. He has Bortles going #3 overall. I wonder how many folks know that Bortles beat Bridgewater in Louisville (#8 team in the country at the time) back in October?

Spark any neurons? Brown and Jenkins listed as Akron has interest.

Popular subject...all of a sudden. PS Walterfootball.com has Bortles going #4 overall. Browns might have to trade up to land him.

A lot of writers (including our own GT) are retweeting this article written by By Dan Shaughnessy in todays Boston Globe. Small excerpt: Trust me when I tell you this whole thing has changed. When I came into this business in the 1970s, it was OK for sports reporters to be skeptical and critical. It was not a crime against humanity if you suggested the Patriots or Red Sox might not win the championship, or perhaps might not be serving the best interests of their fans. It was OK to occasionally poke fun at Haywood Sullivan or Billy Sullivan. Naturally, the Internet is a good source of explanation for this new dynamic. The web gives fans an infinite forum. Fans have a place to read like-minded people. It’s like one giant sports-talk show with no hosts interrupting. It turns out that fans love reading other fans. And, naturally, they all love their teams. What a surprise. Now they expect everyone else to love a team. It’s the wild west of fanboys. It kind of reminded me of CK's recent "quality is in the eye of the reader" post.

Zips are a nine point favorite tonight

Zips Finding Their Way By George M. Thomas “It was a tough time at the beginning and adjusting to that,” Treadwell said. :But I feel like I’ve got it now and as teams continue to guard me different ways, I adjust. “I’m definitely feeling differently. I got in there and watched a lot of game film to find out how teams were going to check me and guard me and things like that.”

I'm trying to decide my favorite post: 1. "Don't even get me started on student attendance/school pride. The lack thereof has becoming sickening. aaWe even have ORU cheerleaders wearing OU & OSU gear after the game, walking out of the arena." 2. "Getting home games at a place like ORU, against good opponents is HARD." 3. "How quickly we've gone from really excited about this team to really wondering about them."

Here is an opinion on Bortles Bortles has a big, strong frame, which suggests he will be relatively durable. That strength coupled with his surprisingly quick feet helps him avoid sacks and make plays on the move. He does a terrific job of keeping his eyes down field and loses almost nothing throwing on the run to his right or left. I don’t think I’ve seen a right-handed quarterback throw better going to his left. The arm strength is there, and he can make NFL caliber throws. When his footwork is precise and he steps into his throws he can look elite. He’s shown flashes of making “window” throws and touch passes over defenders. Anyone remember Bortles first play against Akron? PS I still say playing the quality schedule we played this year is going to make the Zips a better team next year. A good example was Bortles, will we play a better pocket QB next year? PSS Exciting pick? Russell Wilson was a third round pick. That's exciting? The Seahawks were so excited when they picked him, they had just signed (3/$25) Matt Flynn.

So what is the plan then, stay with the current QBs and draft around them? Sign a free agent QB? Who? Trade for one? Who? Drafting a QB has worked for the Ravens, Giants, Packers, Steelers, Patriots, etc. Just because you are bad at a plan, doesn't make the plan bad. Winning now is an NFL philosophy, teams are so mediocre (some like the term parity here) in todays game, it's fairly easy to turn around a franchise in one year, this year's example is the Chiefs. I'm with you on the Panthers. NFC road to the SB will be BRUTAL. Reminds me of the 2005 AFC road to the SB, brutal, but once that team gets there, should be a fairly easy win.

Browns fans shouldn't worry about mock drafts because mocks are never correct. In the same link I provided, Peter King suggested the Browns trade the Indy first rounder for Kurt Cousins, because he is the type of drop back passer the Norv likes. Crazy like a fox. For those that like that kind of stuff, Brent Dustburger suggested googling, Bortles' girlfriend Lindsey Duke.

A ZN member had to remind me that this guy moved from the MAC (WMU) to Xavier. Apparently they have better barbers.