My Quickie (CFB, NFL)

My version of the Quickie:

1. Ohio State's offense - Still mildly offensive (behind the offensive O-line), but managed to churn out 45 points. How 1/3 of Pryor's completions went for TD's is mildly ridiculous... Give me Block-O! Also, it was good to see the play-calling involve actual passing plays & our WR's show up...
   
2. Ohio State's defense - FortunatelyKafka's Tebow impression didn't last the entire game. I'm convinced that Marcus Freeman is injured (or just ridiculously over-rated).
   
3. OSU-NU referees - Awful. Disgusting. Horrendous. Vomitous. The missed holding calls, the garbage late hit penalties, and the ball-spots were just a few of their transgressions. Was it too cold to throw that holding flag? I suspect the umpire wanted to keep his hands warm (in his pockets).
   
4. Heisman - In my head, Beanie is a Heisman contender, but he probably finishes no better than 3rd this year the way Harrell, McCoy, and Tebow (found his mojo) have been playing. I suppose Michael Crabtree gets a few votes too since he's playing on an undefeated team. Wouldn't it be dramatic if Crabtree steals votes from Harrell and McCoy/Tebow wins??
5. Penn State - I am still bitter from last Saturday night (because I was there), so deep down I was rooting for the Iowa Hawkeye upset. #1 in black made the kick, #1 in black got some serious tail on Saturday night, and Penn State's hopes to be #1 were erased for the season. I wonder if Daryll Clark is being blamed for the loss...
   
6. BCS/Playoff - People need to understand that the BCS, NCAA & Div-1A (FBS) college football is ALL ABOUT MONEY. Until this changes, there will never be a playoff system that works for all 106 interested parties. Hey Pete Carroll, win your games and you're in. You have no room to speak after losing to OREGON STATE. OREGON F-ING STATE!@!!!!

My way too early predictions:

• Texas Tech beats Florida (BCS Championship Game)
• USC beats Penn State
• Boise State beats Missouri
  
• North Carolina beats Pittsburgh (would anyone watch this?)
• Alabama beats Utah

Now, onto a League that utilizes a playoff format...

1. Baltimore's running back by committee (McGaayyhee, McPlain, Rice Noodle) is a fantasy nightmare. It's worse than Denver's situation.
2. Tennessee Titans - who saw this coming? I need to check the Football Prospectus...
3. Big Ben should have waited another week before attempting to return. Arguably, the same result transpires behind Leftwich v. Colts... Bob Sanders makes the Colts D completely different. Jekyll & Hyde effect...
   
4. Is this finally the season for the 'Zona Cards??? Playoffs???
5. Fantasy Player OY = Drew Brees. And I picked Peyton 11th overall...
6. Fantasy Flubs OY = All players on IR
   

For the OSU fan in me, The Jekyll & Hyde just made me think of next year's RB class: Jamall Berry & Carlos Hyde.. J&H t-shirts anyone?

Daily 5 (Sick @ Work)

Five things I would love to see this Saturday night when Ohio State plays Penn State in the 'Shoe. My "silver bullets" if you will.

1. 3-4 Defense: We've got a lion's share (no pun intended) of linebackers. Imagine this line-up: Heyward, Gibson, Larimore + Freeman, Laurinaitis, Sabino/Spitler, and Homan. Swap in Hines once in a while if necessary.
2. Dual QB Pistol: Boeckman still has an arm and can read coverages. Picture Boeckman in the Pistol formation with Pryor to his left and Beanie behind him. I ask you this defenses around the world; now what?
3. More DB/Safety Blitzes: I'd like to say more blitzes period, but our coaches aren't bright enough to bring creative pressure... See bullet point #1. How do you think the Patriots and Steelers do it? Reference: MNF game 10/20/2008.
4. Birth of a Star: Let Pryor pass the ball for 200+ yards. tOSU ran the ball two-thousand consecutive plays against Michigan State. I'd also like to see some screen passes, reverses, and WR sweeps to keep the defense honest. If Boeckman could do it last year, Pryor can do it this year.
   
5. Cow Bells: what's more annoying than a roar or Zombie Nation? Cow bells. Rhetorically appropriate in Columbus, Ohio.

Hey Coach, which guy am I supposed to block again?

Spoiled Buckeye Fans (B@W)

Eight weeks into this year's Ohio State football season, I've finally come to grasps that we (myself included), as a collective scarlet & gray Kool-aid drinking mass, are a bunch of spoiled drunkards. I've refrained from posting on the Bucknuts.com free message boards and bite my tongue in the office when Buckeye debates find their way through the cubicle mazes. Between the media and the masses (via message boards), I've come to the conclusion above based on the following laundry list:

1. Since 2002, Ohio State has finished no worse than #4 in the country (except in 2004). Let's not forget three National Championship appearances - Champ in 2002, runner-up in 2006, runner up in last year. Erase the 2004 season (except the Ted Ginn Jr. highlight reels) and the Buckeyes have finished no worse than #4 since 2002!!! Heck, we've only lost once to scUM during that time period and drubbed Notre Dame and Charlie "ICanHas Cheezburger" Weis along the way. In a society that screams "what have you done for me lately" we've lost perspective on how good Coach Tressel has been to us.

2. It's not like we lost to Youngstown State, or Ohio, or Troy, or Minnesota, or Purdue. Take solace Buckeye fans, it isn't the end of the world. We have a future all-world QB who needs a year to get the system under his belt (and wait for the slow offensive, offensive linemen in front of him to graduate). This guy is a gamer. I'm going to offer up another thought here - the guys around him are holding him back from his potential. Robiskie and Hartline make great possession receivers. Robo was clutch in 2006 when he was flanked by TG-II and Gonzo. He was a perfect 3WR. His limitations were magnified only after we waltzed into the 2007 NC game and he ran into (quite literally) bigger, faster DBs. Hartline, contrary to popular belief, is not the second coming of Gonzo. Ray Small should stay in the dog-house for his on-field performance as much as his off-field shenanigans. Posey has showed flashes of excellence and it looks like Lamaar "Flash" Thomas is getting his shot at least on kick-off returns.

3. Recruiting boon. The 2008 class was pretty special. In fact, I'll go on step further and say as a result of the 2008 class, expectations for the 2008-2009 team were exponentially higher. The coaches, Mr. Brewster, Block O and company brought in another Top 5 class. Unfortunately, I think most of us failed to recognize that most of the kids probably wouldn't get to see the field this year. With 20 returning starters from a NC team, what would you expect? I sit behind a desk all day and I understand that politics and bureaucry exist in every organization, team, or group. We can't get away from it. What if you, yourself, were the starting WR (with three letters) coming off an almost-double digit TD, 1,000 yard receiving season and people were calling for your head/spot? Or worse, you're the 5th year senior QB who's plateaued as a QB and you lost your job not because you're not an intelligent, skilled QB, but because your OL is analogous to Swiss Cheese and stagnant blocking dummies?

4. He's only 19. Yes, Terrelle "the Future" Pryor, is only 19. There's a reason why recruits and freshmen are called "prospects" and not "Pro-Bowlers". Give him a break. Sure, he doesn't make reads quickly and he doesn't know how to throw the ball away (or in his case, flick his wrist) but he hasn't LOST a game for us (i.e. Boeckman v. Illinois) by making mistakes, fumbling or throwing INTs. We've been exposed as a better than average team with a better than average defense with a work-in-progress offense. In a season full of injuries and 'if'-statements, we're all left to wonder what would have happened if Beanie hadn't tore up his toe/foot. Who knows, Boeckman might still be the starting QB and we might have lost by fewer points to USC. Which would you prefer?

In conclusion, it should be noted that the Ohio State football machine is not obsolete or broken, merely in the shop for repairs (like Beanie's toe) and some reconfigurations. It's safe to say that we lost a team for the ages in 2005 (Hawk, Carpenter, Whitner, Pittman, Holmes) and 2006 (Heisman, Ginn, Gonzo). We were fortunate to see teams like WVU and Mizzou take it on the chin late last year to vault our beloved Buckeyes into the NC game against LSU in LSU's backyard. I think it proved that we probably weren't quite there yet and far be it for me to say that these most-honorable seniors have become complacent and lazy having two shots at the NC but the way they're playing this year, maybe they have been.

If you're a golfer you can appreciate this - there's always the next hole or the next 9 or the next 18. 2008 isn't a "complete failure" - we're 6-1 with five games left... and we'll beat up scUM again. Would you rather be 6-6 and beat scUM or 10-1 and lose to scUm? Get off the high horses and appreciate the success our university has had over the last 6-7 years and realize that 2009 and 2010 have potential written all over them.

And realize we PWN Michigan in the 21st century.

Beleaguered Buckeye

So my sacrilegious prediction was considerably 60% correct. I accurately guessed USC's score and picked the winner. I KNEW I should have made a bet on the 11.5 point spread... At least I would have come out a winner even in embarrassing defeat.

The game was over at halftime. Our team looked defeated on both sides of the ball and honestly, I don't really remember watching much, if any, of the second half. If OSU somehow makes the long FG and makes it 7-6 and keeps it a respectable 14-6 at halftime, you've still got a shot. You're a TD and 2-pt conversion away from tying it up. Instead, that idiot wearing #17 in white throws a pick-six and you're walking down the tunnel down by 18 at the half. Good night.

It's Terrelle Pryor time. Who cares if he hasn't thrown or completed a pass longer than 10 yards in his college career. He KNOWS how to and he DID IT in high school. The media and CFB pundits talk him down like he's never thrown a pass farther than 10 yards down the field. I'm confident that he does it in practice against a decent (once considered) vaunted defense. You still have to make the pass. He's the X-factor. When you play a mobile QB, you can "hide" the indiscretions of what is currently a MAC or Conference USA-level offensive line. If you can run, that means the defense has one less guy in pass coverage because he has to "spy" the QB. By the way, while we're on the page of putting athletes on the field, take Robiskie (who's inevitably injured) off the field and get some guys with speed on the field. Why do we look slow? Because we have all of our slow players on the field. Devier Posey - track star. Lamarr Thomas - track star. I won't knock Hartline because the guy knows how to run a route and you need that. Put our fast guys out in space and let them work. It's pointless if you want your wide receiver to run the same corner and out routes over and over without at least one fly pattern to mix things up. When was the last time we ran a reverse? Or a bubble screen? Or a double underneath crossing pattern?

It was painful to hear USC's defensive players in the post-game telling the reporters that they knew EXACTLY what OSU was doing on both sides of the ball. (Transition - poor coaching rant).

Bollman is at fault for having four inept returning starters who are malprepared for D-lines that are of equal size and speed (or better). He's done nothing to convince me that he knows what he's doing with those guys in the trenches.

Heacock is at fault for failing to utilize the individual skill and speed of the athletes that I know we have on our team. Soft zone, 3-deep coverage? Give me a break. Dantonio beat up The U in 2002 by playing an aggressive man-coverage, 8-in the box, blitz-style defense. Granted, offenses have become more spread in nature, but that doesn't mean you drop seven guys back in zone on every play. It's an awful scheme and it's painful to watch. It was pretty hard for Ken Dorsey to complete a pass off his backside.

Oh, fire these morons for failing to make any positive adjustments at halftime. Going back to the cookie-cutter BS is not an adjustment. It's conceding victory to the opponent.

I don't want to bash Tressel, but I will critique him for his failure to hire a true offensive coordinator. Once upon a time Ohio State was an offensive machine. We have the talent, but we don't have the right coach to utilize that talent to its fullest. Come on. Ohio State has a multitude of athletes STARTING in the NFL today. You mean to tell me they exponentially improved post-college to crack the starting line up in the pros?

Anyway, I'm not convinced that we can or will beat Troy at home this weekend. The drunk & belligerent student section won't be available for another week. The following reasons leave me weary about Saturday's game:

1. We can't score. 3 points against USC? Not having Beanie means not having a true running game. But again, that falls back on Bollman and the O-Line. Boone embarrassed and talking sh*t? That's three big games in a row. Hmm.. maybe he just sucks? Five turnovers against OU and we only put up 26 TOTAL points. That's 5 points per turnover... sad. Maybe the inability to score in the redzone against Youngstown State should have been a ginormous indicator of things to come (and worry about).
   
2. Quarterback. A two-QB system doesn't work. It hasn't worked and it won't ever work. See Stanley Jackson-Joe Germaine. Justin Zwick-Troy Smith. Boeckman-Pryor. Put the #1 recruit out of high school from 2007-2008 in and let him eat. If your 3-wood isn't working, maybe you should take out the driver... Boeckman might be a 5-wood or a hybrid at best.
3. Dissonance in the locker room. Boeckman is a team captain who I'm sure has his fair share of commited followers in the locker room. Alex Boone extrordinaire included. But for those who are the most competitive, those who hate to lose with the greatest of passions, they must be clamoring for Pryor. I know one guy who's rooting for #2. The other guy on defense wearing the same number. He's also the only guy who showed any visual emotion and heart in the USC game. Needless to say, a divided college locker room may be more viral than an NFL or high school locker room.
4. Hangover. You just lost 35-3. You just got over your jet lag from flying back from the west coast. Hell, you probably feel like you just lost a few thousand bucks (no pun intended) in Vegas. You've got Buckeye fans who are scratching their heads and beleaguered on all accounts. This was supposed to be a team that would come in and dominate with its 20 returning starters and a fresh Top-5 recruiting class.

My fearless prediction for Saturday...

Ohio State - 24

Troy - 22

Somehow we win in a way-too-close one... .