Buckeye News Around the net for 09/2/08
James Laurinaitis,
Malcolm Jenkins, Fencing, Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Ashton Youboty, Dustin Fox,
Donnie Nickey, Bobby Carpenter, Kirk Barton, Troy Smith, Orlando Pace, Ryan
Pickett, Alex Stepanovich and the NFL cuts.
By Bill Smith
The Good
Mel
Kiper's first top 10 Senior list for the 2009 draft was released last
week. Both James Laurinaitis who
was ranked 1st and Malcolm Jenkins (6th)
represented OSU. Two USC Trojans were
also on the list Rey Maualuga LB at 2 and Brian Cushing LB at 5. The “Big Board” changes even before any games
are played if Kiper has a bad hair day.
In past years, you could depend on his first list as the most accurate.
OSU ranked
6th on the top 25 2008 recruiting classes as reported by ESPN. Miami Fla. was 1st, Florida
was 4th, Georgia
was 5th. USC was 7th, and Notre Dame was 9th.
In the Big
10, Michigan came in 13th , Illinois was 16th , and Minnesota 23rd,
According
to the Big 10 Network, the 25 Best moments of 2007 include the following OSU
references:
18. OSU Wins the NCAA Fencing Title
14. OSU Defeats Cornell in Lacrosse
11. OSU Wins the Men's Soccer Tourney over Indiana and got the NCAA
Finals
2. Illinois beats OSU (with
the help of the Refs) in football. (OK,
so I'm still steamed and the network failed to mention the help.)
Even
though he didn’t play in the Packers’ preseason finale vs. the Titans, we hear
starting WLB A.J. Hawk is progressing steadily from his mysterious chest
injury but may not be ready to go full tilt in the season opener vs.
Minnesota. He might be a week or two
away from returning.
Former Buckeyes on the bubble that should make their team’s
final roster:
Even
after the “final” cut, players that are on the bubble can not breath easy. The next few days will see released players
picked up by other teams. When they sign
a cut player they must release someone from the current roster. Here are those that might still be on or near
the bubble.
Buffalo
Bills CB Ashton Youboty is expected to make the team's final 53-man
roster. As we predicted a couple of
weeks ago, Youboty got the roster spot at the expense of Dustin Fox. If the Bills find a cheap but talented
CB, Youboty may still be let go.
Donnie
Nickey as predicted here made the Titan's roster in part because of his
play in the last 2 preseason games.
Bobby
Carpenter survived the second cut.
He should be safe but still needs to sweat out the next week of roster
shuffling.
Kirk
Barton, a late 7 round choice, has made the Bears. Given the injuries they have suffered along
the offensive line, he may work his way up the depth chart.
The Bad
Baltimore
Ravens QB Troy Smith is recovering from tonsillitis. Although Boller lost the starting QB battle
to Troy Smith in the preseason and doesn’t appear to be in the team’s long-term
plans, sources say the Ravens do view his injury as a major setback for their
club. Baltimore
was hoping to keep rookie QB Joe Flacco on the bench for most, if not all, of
this season. It will be much more difficult to accomplish that if Boller is
lost for the season, leaving Flacco as the primary backup to Smith, who is also
on unsure footing after missing time with tonsillitis. The team signed Casey
Bramlet on Aug. 27 but released him on Saturday. Baltimore is expected to add another veteran
quarterback. The illness has left Smith
dehydrated as he did not eat for four days. He was considered a game-time
decision for the team's preseason game Thursday, Aug. 28. Smith did not play. QB Joe Flacco took all of the snaps in
practice Tuesday, Aug. 26, and could play all of the team's preseason game
Thursday, Aug. 28. Flacco could also win the starting job by default if QB Troy
Smith (tonsillitis) is not ready to go in week 1. According to local sources, Smith is feeling
better, though he looks like he has lost between 15 and 25 pounds after his
bout with tonsillitis. Smith missed the team's
practice Monday, Sept. 1and he is not expected to play Week 1.
Yesterday, the Baltimore Ravens have agreed to terms with
free-agent QB Joey Harrington (Falcons). Terms of the contract were not
disclosed. If Smith would not be
available in week 1, the Ravens needed at least one healthy backup to Flacco.
Ram LT Orlando
Pace is hurt again. It is a shoulder
injury but is not in the same area that kept him out of almost all year in
07. “If there’s good news, it’s that he
says he hurt a different part of the shoulder (than the part that was injured
in Week One in 2007 and ended his season),” a team insider told PFW. “But you
just don’t know about him. It’s still a real wait-and-see type situation.” Pace participated in practice Monday, Sept.
1, and should be fine for the team's Week 1 game.
The Cowboys
cut Tyler Everett.
The
Ravens cut Adrien Clarke.
The
49'ers cut Larry Grant.
The Browns
cut Brandon Mitchell.
The Eagles
cut Brandon Childress.
The Bills
cut Dustin Fox.
The Falcons
cut Doug Datish, Tim Anderson and David Patterson.
While
these cuts are hard to take for the players, there is a chance that some of
them may be signed to the practice squads.
Rich
Cimini, of the New York Daily News, reports New York Jets LB Vernon Gholston
was a disappointment for the team throughout the preseason. Gholston made
little impact in the team's preseason game Thursday, Aug. 28, recording just
three tackles with no sacks or pressures.
From the New York Daily
News: As expected, Eric Mangini turned
the last tune-up into a showcase for the second- and third-stringers, many of
whom will be sweating out the final roster cuts tomorrow. The most prominent
player on the field — certainly the one with the biggest paycheck — was rookie
Vernon Gholston, who finished a disappointing preseason with another hollow
performance.
The Jets'
top pick, appearing in 46 plays at outside linebacker and defensive end, was
credited with three quiet tackles. Gholston had no sacks and no quarterback
pressures, with only one impact play — he forced backup right tackle Winston
Justice into a holding penalty. Another way to look at Gholston's night: He
made fewer tackles than wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, who made four stops in
his NFL debut at cornerback.
"I'm
still learning," said Gholston, making the transition to linebacker from
defensive end. "It's a slow process, moving to a new position. You're
going to hit a few bumps, but I'm getting better."
If all the
injuries to DL and potential suspension of
Johnny Jolly (substance policy) weren’t bad enough, DT Ryan Pickett,
the line’s undisputed anchor, is just now starting to test a hamstring that
sidelined him the first month of training camp and, according to team insiders,
might have adversely affected his conditioning. Packer's GM Ted Thompson
started putting out feelers for help after witnessing his D-line’s lackluster
effort in the preseason game vs. Denver, as the unit’s gap discipline proved to
be a particular eyesore. The Packers appear to have surpluses at wide receiver
and the offensive line that could be appealing to potential suitors. But more
likely than not, one or more of their nine 2009 draft picks would be the most
likely bait should a deal actually materialize.
Atlanta Falcons
OL Alex Stepanovich (back) has not practiced in three weeks and could be
out at least another week.
Editorial: The
Ugly—and stupid to boot.
Chad Johnson
legally changed his last name to Ocho Cinco (Spanish for 85). He has not commented on what his motive might
have been. It is important to know that
a player gets a cut of his jersey sales.
I don't believe that was his motive.
He was just being stupid. By
rule, the league will have to allow him to wear his new last name on his
jersey.
The Bengals
will have as many starters playing for the Hamilton County Penal Team as they
do playing for them. The team now uses a
no huddle offense because according to their parole agreement, none of the
convicted can be within 50 feet of another criminal.
The Bengals
have pawed their nose at the league and the Commissioner's personal conduct
policy by resigning the multi-arrested Chris Henry. To make amends, the team should force the
athlete formerly known as Johnson to wear number 11.
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