Ohio State football is overrated. Before all of Columbus gets in their cars and drives up here to kill me to kick off Michigan week, hear me out. Is it true that OSU has an elite program?Absolutely. Does OSU have elite talent? Sure. Do they have elite coaching? Absolutely not. I don't care what numbers you throw at me, there are two problems I see with this OSU football team...Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor. Let's start with Pryor. I really wanted to like this guy when he committed to Ohio State. I was even willing to give him a pass as he struggled as a true freshman, playing in front of 100,000 fans each week. That would be a little intimidating. Now a junior, I can't think of a bigger disappointment in college football. The talent around Pryor is staggering. Fast wideouts, good offensive line, improved running attack, and a monster defense that can score points for you. Yet I still see this guy throwing passes behind receivers, not running through plays and avoiding contact (even though he's the biggest and fastest player on the field almost every snap), and displaying one of the lowest football IQ's I've seen in recent memory. Forget about reading defenses. It might be safe to say that Pryor may have peaked in last year's Rose Bowl win over Oregon. Then came his tweet after the Iowa game on Saturday (that has since been removed). It was directed at Pryor's "haters" out there, saying talk is cheap, and that they all couldn't fill his shoes while wearing 10 pair of socks. Really? Nice. He came to OSU to get them "over the hump". Well, he's only got one year left to do it.
On to Tressel. For a while, this guy had me as his biggest cheerleader. Clean cut guy, motivator, big into school spirit and tradition, and he beats Michigan...a lot. All great things. The more I see of this guy, the more I hate his coaching style. This year's OSU team looks two different ways. At home, they smash teams, opening up the playbook a little and score points at will. On the road, they play tentative, and the play calling is downright conservative. During Saturday's game against Iowa, OSU was trailing 7-0 and had moved the ball to the Iowa 1 yard line. It was fourth and goal, and Tressel burned a timeout to decide on kicking a field goal. He later said he wanted the points, feeling it was important to get something on that drive. You know what, that's flat out crap. You're Ohio State. You have one of the biggest O-lines in football, a power back in Boom Herron, and a running QB in Terrelle Pryor. You're telling me you can't get 1 yard? 3 whole feet? give me a break. I've seen this a number of times in games against USC, Texas, LSU, and Oregon. All big games, all conservative play calls. It's like Tressel tries to protect his team on the road, opting for field position and field goals. He let's his defense try to win the games for him. The problem I have with that is that you have a pretty damn good offense too. I think coach is good for this team, but he needs an offensive coordinator.
I caught the 4th quarter of today's Browns game. Another close game that we just couldn't seem to put the finishing touches on. At this point in the season, it's time for the fans to stop deluding themselves from the truth. This team is just too banged up to win football games. We're not just banged up, we're banged up at key positions. We're not a deep team, which compounds the injuries. We've found some nice pieces this year with Colt McCoy and Peyton Hillis. Josh Cribbs will be back, Joe Thomas is solid, and Joe Haden looks like a smart draft pick right now. The team is competing, staying in every game, but they just aren't very creative on offense (minus a few trick plays here and there). The game plan will be simple from here on out; pound the ball to Peyton Hillis, short passes from Colt McCoy to minimize the risk, and maybe a little wildcat if and when Cribbs comes back. Today was a classic example of what's going on with this team. Injuries to the O-line had McCoy taking big shots most of the game. Peyton Hillis couldn't run, mostly due to the deficiencies on the offensive line, and we couldn't win a game in which we forced 6 turnovers. 6! The offense was atrocious. No excuses. The team is headed in the right direction, but please let's temper the playoff talk, ok?
Something needs to give in the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacqauio drama. I'm not sure what's being said behind closed doors, but these two guys need to find a way to fight, and fast. After Pacqauio destroyed his most recent opponent, winning his 8th title, it's clear that there aren't many guys left for him to dominate. Mayweather has never lost, and I think he might be a little afraid of Manny, despite what he says. I know this, Floyd is fast, but Manny is tough. He'll hit Floyd, and hit him a lot. I'm not sure Mayweather wants any part of that. Don't hide behind alleged steroid testing disputes. Put up or shut up. The fans of boxing are being robbed b/c one guy doesn't want his perfect record and pretty face to get messed up.
Tonight's Colts/Patriots game was awesome. Once again, Bill Belicheck and company did just enough to slow down and unsettle Peyton Manning, winning 31-28. Tom Brady was flawless again, completing 76% of his passes, but he mixed the run in much better than his counterpart did. Brady continues to destroy defenses, seemingly whenever he wants. Last week he put on a passing clinic at Pittsburgh, shredding their defense to pieces. This week, he managed the game better, mixing in run with pass, short with intermediate routes. He has his Pats steaming towards a rematch with Rex Ryan's Jets later this season. For anyone who knows me, TB is my pick for league MVP. Now go home and enjoy that victory with Gisele! See you all after Thanksgiving.
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