Browns?
Bengals? No! The Buckeyes are the
best Football team in Ohio
After this week of
preseason games, I am convinced that OSU is the best football team in Ohio.
By Bill Smith
Off line: The Browns may have the best LT and LG of
the three teams but overall, I'll take the Bucks. Both the Browns and the Bengals O-lines were
pummeled by a Detroit Lions D that didn't have Shaun Rogers. The Lions?
UCH! Boone, Rehring, and company
have more than proven themselves. RG
Hadnot? No. Santucci and Whitworth? You've got to be kidding. BUCKS
WR: Don't
tell me about the great players you have that are injured. Show me what you've got. Edwards running around a practice field in
his stocking feet? How old did you say
he was—6? Chad Johnson couldn't make the
game Saturday because he had an appointment with his event coordinator helping
him plan his 18 touchdown celebrations!
Those guys don't count.
How does
the Bengals combo of Chatman and Maurice Purify grab you? It grabs me in the stomach like a couple of
bad egg rolls.
Don't like
them? How about Sanders and
Leggett? Stallworth doesn't count
because he is a carpetbagger. Sanders
went to BG because he would never see the field at OSU. I'll take Brian Robiskie, Brian Hartline, and
Ray Small any day in the week and twice on Saturday. BUCKS
TE: I will
give you Winslow as the best of the three at catching passes. But Winslow and Utek together can't equal
Rory Nicol's ability and willingness to block.
PUSH.
RB: Don't even ask! You could put Harrison, Wright, Watson
together and it wouldn't begin to equal either of the Wells in ability, speed,
toughness, or focus. Perry isn't a bad
back but he is as tough as bone china with hand painted periwinkles. BUCKS!
QB: Carson Palmer loses just
because his of his mouth, which by the way includes a split lip after playing
Will Smith and the Saints last night. We
would ask him, but he's not allowed to talk about OSU anymore.
Brady
Quinn? Yea, he's supposed to be this
superstar in waiting. Well we are
waiting and so far haven't seen much yet.
He can't hit the flair out of the backfield, and he can't stand in
against a blitz. I don't think so.
I'll take
the combination of Todd Boeckman, Terrelle Pryor and company. They make better decisions and are better
coached. BUCKS.
Defense:
D-front 7: The
Browns front was tissue paper last year (disposable but not necessarily very
strong). They rebuilt it and I like Rogers when he is
motivated. Against his former team, he
was motivated. The rest is suspect. The Lions quarterbacks had all day to
pass. The Browns have Wimbley and
McGinest. Wimbley is more reputation
than performance and contrary to rumors, McGinest is not older than dirt—he's
older than rock!
The Bengals
lost their best pass rusher to free agency.
They had two excellent linebackers.
One is out of football due to injury and the other will be out of jail
soon. They don't count. Don't the Bengals have Geathers? Yea, but it's Bobby not Jumpy. Oh.
DT's are Peko and Thornton. I
like Peko tea as long as you make it strong enough. Sorry different spelling.
I will take
the OSU D front 7 as a whole or position by position. Neither pro team can match Heyward or
Wilson. And neither team have any
players the quality of Laurinaitis and Freeman. BUCKS!
DB: Don't
look for much pass coverage from the Browns.
They traded Bodden their best CB to the Lions for Rogers and he is not starting there. Wright and McDonald are OK and have a
promising future. As commercials on the
NFL Channel tell us in the NFL it's NOW that counts. Both safeties are hurt and they don't tackle
that well when they are health. But
Sorensen and Adams are the best you can do?
Not good.
The Bengals
are not exactly famous for great DB play over the last few years. Hall isn't bad but he goes for the
interception rather than covering his guy.
The rest are Joseph, White and Ndukwe (??). Not too good.
I will take
the Bucks. Michael Jenkins is another in
the long line of Pro bowl OSU DB's. He
would have been the top DB in the draft last year as a Jr. Neither pro team has anyone in the backfield
that can match his ability. The rest of
the Buckeyes are not only better and faster than their pro counterparts, the
Buckeyes are much deeper than either the Browns or the Bengals. BUCKS.
Some may
challenge my analysis and I have to admit, I may be just a little prejudiced—OK
a whole lot prejudiced but that is what I think. Leave a comment to tell us what you think.
Bill Smith is a
former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com. He has
also published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com