Buckeye Blogger NetworkBeen welcoming QB’s with open arms since 2010
.. not so much, but I’ve a few thoughts on this year’s NFL Draft and, to me, the relative paucity of Buckeyes chosen. The pre-draft chatter regarding Buckeyes indicated that there likely were not many going to be drafted and those who were, not going very high. Let’s start with the draftees.
Who Got Drafted?
This section won’t take too long to cover, since there were only three Bucks drafted.
Jonathan Hankins New York Giants 2nd round
A good pick for the Giants. They need help in defending the run, and Big Hank should provide it. You can be sure that Coach Tom Coughlin will demand high effort from Hank. A year under Urban may help with this transition.
John Simon Baltimore Ravens 4th round
The Ravens need help at LB, so Simon should get a legitimate opportunity to make the team and see playing time. I see this as a good match between a hard-nosed player and a hard-nosed organization.
Reid Fragel Cincinnati Bengals 7th round
I was hoping to see Fragel go higher, but glad that the Bengals took a flyer on Reid’s potential. I’m going to be interested to see his development. [Note to opposing coaches: when Bengals are in goal-line situation and Fragel checks in as eligible receiver, you need to pay attention to him.
It’s that time of year again! Time for the Super Bowl! The Cleveland Browns are once again spectators and luckily for all of us here in Ohio so are the Pittsburgh Steelers. If we can’t go at least they aren’t either. How about the Buckeyes that are going to the big game? We’ll dig into it… Let’s rumble!
San Francisco
Four former Ohio State Buckeyes will be on the field on Super Sunday and they all will see significant action. Ironically, they all will be on the same sideline and wearing red.
Ted Ginn Jr, Donte Whitner, Alex Boone and Larry Grant will represent THE Ohio State University in the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans, Louisiana as members of the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl 47. Read More
Weekly updates and miscellany from around the world of college sports…
Urban Meyer's Secret Identity?
Buckeye 411
“To be able to lead, you have to serve first,” Posey said. “I feel like being on scout team, helping the younger guys and being in the meeting room and telling them the little tips that I have allowed me to understand the game more and it humbled me as well. That’s what I needed going into this process and going to the next level. Through this process, everything you hear is what you can’t do and everyone’s tearing you down. Going through the draft, you’re going to hear a lot of negative things and then, when you get into camp as well, you have to be humble as well. You have to serve the team and show them you can play. I felt like I learned all those lessons this past year.”
“Every day at practice was a challenge, so I definitely think that will pay dividends,” Brewster said of Ohio State. “It really comes in the preparation the last couple weeks and really, four years of college. Now, it’s just show time and it’s time to go out there and do it. Anytime you get a chance to go against the best, you want to measure yourself.”
This picture marks the one and only occasion in which a Michigan player actually got within 8 feet of Troy Smith
We had a couple of interesting pieces to publish today, so the countdown had to wait until the street lights went on….thanks for your patience!
There’s only ten days left until the Ohio State Buckeyes take the field for the opening game of the 2009 season. Now is the time that you begin to literally taste the excitement. You can begin to smell the air in Ohio turning crisp, that genuine aroma of fall that you don’t truly recognize if you’re not from the midwest. To me, that is the actual essence of college football.
Day #10 could have had so many great athletes recognized here at The BBC.
Or we could just go with the guy that still thrills us all here in Ohio and still gives them nightmares in that state up north.
Yeah, let’s go with Troy Smith.
Ohio State football has long been a force, and no single man can be credited with being the savior of the game (well, maybe Woody). But earlier this decade things did not look so good for us until Troy Smith returned the Buckeyes to greatness.
Justin Zwick was our quarterback in 2004, and we struggled a lot with him at the helm early on. It actually took a 55-yard FG at the buzzer to beat lowly Marshall. More than half of Zwick’s passes ended up incomplete or in the hands of our opponents.
Then the losses started coming. An OT loss to Northwestern showed just how bad things were about to get. The murmurs about removing Zwick for Smith began to turn into screams. The next week, a loss at home to Wisconsin started Buckeye fans into panic mode. Tressel felt the heat to make a switch at QB.
Against Iowa, with the Buckeyes trailing 17-0, Zwick fumbled the ball deep in his own territory, and the change was made. Troy Smith took over during Ohio State’s worst slump in over a decade and the weight was now on his shoulders.
Smith won 5 of the remaining 6 Buckeye games in 2004, turning a 3-3 Zwick team into an 8-4 Alamo Bowl champion….and a complete destruction over #7 Michigan, 37-21.
In 2005, his starting record was 9-1, which included a come-from-behind win at Michigan 25-21 and a 34-20 Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame.
Then came the dream season of 2006, in which the Buckeyes ended up 12-1. Smith’s final home game was known as the “Game Of The Century” between #1 Ohio State and #2 Michigan. Guess who won?
Wanna know just how much we love Troy Smith in northeast Ohio? We actually didn’t mind that he got drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.
But none of those stats are as pretty as it is to actually watch the man in action. Thank God for YouTube….
“The Catch” against Michigan, 2005;
The play that won him the Heisman against Penn State;
The entire day against Notre Dame;
And then there’s this collection of dominance over Michigan….Troy’s in WAY too many of these clips;
Troy Smith, thank you for all you did for us. This day is for you.
10 days left!
If you’re like most football fans you probably play some form of fantasy football. It gives me the ability to have a rooting interest in any NFL game I watch. I also like to have hometown players on my team but since I live in Cleveland that’s not such a good idea. So if you’re an Ohio State fan and are playing fantasy you may like to have a Buckeye on your team. Here’s a quick look at OSU players in the NFL and what their fantasy prospects might be.
Troy Smith – Baltimore Last year his tonsils gave the job to Joe Flacco and he’s not getting it back anytime soon. If Flacco struggles or gets injured jump on the waiver wire and snag him. Other than that he’s not worth drafting
Antonio Pittman – St Louis Rams He’s number two behind Steven Jackson and won’t get many carries while Jackson is around. If you draft Jackson in the first round he’s worth picking up as a handcuff but other than that probably not draft worthy.
Chris Wells – Arizona Cardinals This is an interesting one. I had high hopes for his rookie season when I saw he was picked by Arizona, but since then I’ve become more skeptical. He missed OTAs to actually finish his spring classes and then suffered an injury early in camp. Meanwhile Tim Hightower has been putting on quite a preseason performance. What does this mean? I don’t know – could go either way. I would definitely draft him but I wouldn’t count on starting him until we see where the season is going. Still I predict quite a future in the NFL for Beanie.
Joey Galloway – New England Patriots Injured last year, now in New England behind Moss and Welker. Could see some production if he’s healthy, and remember it is Brady throwing the ball
Ted Ginn Jr – Miami Dolphins Lots of upside here. Year three is when lots of receivers blossom in the NFL. I’d draft him as my number 3 receiver. He hasn’t shown he can do it yet but this may be the year.
Anthony Gonzalez – Indianapolis Colts His third year in the league. Marvin Harrison is gone. This guy has sleeper written all over him. I predict 1200 yards and 10+ TDS. Don’t jump too soon – he’ll probably slip into the 4th round but he will be a first round worthy pick this year.
Santonio Holmes – Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl winning catch will make him go earlier in the draft than he probably should. Still he’s a good receiver playing for a championship team. Hines Ward is getting older and Holmes will take over main receiving duties eventually. Is this the year? Maybe but don’t overreach for him.
Michael Jenkins – Atlanta Falcons Defenses will be keyed on Michael Turner running the ball and the Falcons two main aerial threats – Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. This should leave lots of one on one situations for Jenkins. He’s developed into a deep threat and could put up some numbers this year.
Brian Robiskie – Cleveland Browns Last year I went against my better judgment and drafted a Brown. That Brown was Braylon Edwards. I learned my lesson. That being said Robiskie has great hands and runs good routes. Someone has to catch the ball in Cleveland. I wouldn’t be against having him as a backup but I’d be wary of anyone wearing brown and orange this year.
Mike Nugent – Tampa Bay Buccaneers Don’t ever draft a kicker before the last round. And Nugent may not even have the starting job in TB. Stay away.
Tonight, the Cleveland Cavaliers will begin their second-round series of the NBA Playoffs. All season long has been a quest, and this is the next step for the wine and gold. I have no doubts that this team will be ready and focused as they take the series from Atlanta.
But as tipoff approaches, I’ve been noticing how hard it is to muster up some sense of rivalry for this game. as a fan, this is a hard series to swallow.
The first round was easy for us to get fired up….it was Detroit, our mortal enemy in more than one sport. If we get to the third round, it’s either Boston (our nemesis from last year) or Orlando (whom we battled all year for supremacy in the East), and in the Finals, it’ll probably be the Lakers, and a massive LeBron vs. Kobe war.
But Atlanta? How the hell do we, as fans, get really fired up? Honestly, it’s a serious dilemma.
It’s hard to hate Atlanta. When you take a serious look at them, you begin to feel sorry for them…and that’s not good for rivalry purposes. I’d better have a long discussion with my inner monolgue and see if I can come up with a reason to consider Atlanta a rival town.
My Inner Monologue (MIM) – “Atlanta’s had some great athletes! Let’s hate ‘em for that!”
Their best athlete ever is Michael Vick. Vick is certainly worthy of some hatred, but once he was put behind bars, the hate tends to fade away…the system worked, just forget about him. It’s easier to hate a criminal when he HASN’T been behind bars for his crimes…like, say Ray Lewis.
(MIM) – “Yeah! Ray Lewis! GRRRRRR I hate that fucker! Is he from Atlanta? Let’s do this!”
No, Lewis is from Florida, and played for Miami before being a a Baltimore Raven. We can’t blame Atlanta for this black mark on the human race.
(MIM) – “OK, who else ya got in Atlanta? Anybody else to get fired up over?”
Other great athletes from Atlanta – Hank Aaron and Dominique Wilkins. Aaron’s never been a target of anger, except from white supremacists who didn’t want Babe Ruth’s record broken. Knowing that just makes him more likeable. Wilkins was never particularly productive in terms of bringing bile into the throats of anybody except Celtic fans…and that is another reason to like the guy.
(MIM) – “Ummmmmmm, baseball! Can we hate Atlanta because of the World Series of 1995?”
No, we’ve kinda lost our distaste for the Braves, even through Chipper Jones and his massive cold sore took us down in the Fall Classic 14 years ago. Not playing the Braves in a meaningful game since tends to destroy a budding rivalry.
(MIM) – “Yeah, Chipper Jones! We hated him back then! Let’s rekindle that! Where’s that jagoff at now? Let’s go!”
Jones plays for the Atlanta Braves still. He’s 37 years old, has played for nobody but the Braves.
(MIM) That’s…..kinda sad. Let’s see….Atlanta is in Georgia, home to the SEC….does that count? We can hate on the SEC!
Sure, it counts, but when has Georgia done anything damaging to our beloved Buckeyes or the Big Ten? If it were Florida or Louisiana, I could drag out some anger. But Georgia? No, guilt by association via a collegiate conference is not going to sustain a mood worthy of a rivalry.
(MIM) – “OK, I’ve got a good one. The Republican candidate for Governor of Georgia has admitted to having sex with a mule….and he doesn’t think that will hurt him with the voters of his state! How’s that?”
The charges on that are actually TRUE. Neal Horsley has admitted to sex with farm animals, and claims he would kill his own son if it helps his home state of Georgia to secede from the United States.
But doesn’t that make you feel sorry for the voters of Georgia? I mean, if they vote the guy in, then maybe we can mock them as a state…but hell, any moron can run for public office no matter how stupid he is.
(MIM) – “Hey, wet blanket! How the hell are we supposed to get excited for this series then?”
That’s my point. It’s like our second-round opponent two years ago when we made The Finals….New Jersey. There was very little to that matchup, and very little to remember about it besides the series win we took.
It’s time to make a new rivarly. One that lasts four games and gets put in the books as we move on to a REAL rival in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Game 1 is tonight. Just win and let’s move on.
