Ask and you shall receive, commenters.
I'm back after a short vacation to give you all your fill of totally biased and irrelevant sports talk.
First off, if you are looking for someone to blame for the gap in between posts, look no further than part-time NRTTS contributor The Swinging Gate for setting me back a couple days in school work by having the gall to get married on a Michigan Football Saturday (last week vs. Eastern). Congratulations are in order, and we at NRTTS wish the new Mr. and Mrs. Gate the best. One quick caveat about the wedding: if there was one thing I was counting on by attending a Kardos wedding it was this; I would not have to sit there and endure endless Ohio State rah-rah music. This was all going as planned until the spiky-haired DJ snuck in "That God Damn Charlie Brown Song" (as Papa Coach Deuce calls it - Hang On, Sloopy for you readers a little slow on the upkeep). If The Swinging Gate was Cyclops, that DJ would have a hole in his chest the size of Mike Hart. There are also unconfirmed rumors that The Gate and Old Man Gate gave the DJ a 3D (Dudley Death Drop) through his table when he asked them to pay their bill. Either way, hell froze over that day - luckily global warming has thawed it out.
Now onto the sports landscape:
- Michigan escaped with a win against Indiana over the weekend. The offense spent the entire period between the 2nd quarter and 8:00 to go in the 4th doing their best 2008 impression. The freshman QBs looked like freshman, and whenever some kind of rhythm was established Guard-Turned-Center David Moosman did his best impression of Trey Junkin. The defense looked very average, but this was expected to start the year. Considering the fact that Oregon Clay native and walk-on Jordan Kovacs is the starter at safety now shows you how little depth this defense has. Kovacs was the victim of a few big plays last Saturday where his lack of speed cost the Wolverines. In his defense, he is very good when he plays near the line of scrimmage, as he made a few nice plays in the running game. That will be a key to watch this Saturday, as Michigan State loves to run the ball and throw play-action off of it.
- Speaking of little brother, do not let their 1-3 record fool you. They will be ready come Saturday. I will have more in the upcoming week as far as a preview goes, but I fully expect Michigan State to play an A+ game. Factoring in that the game will be played in East Lansing, this is Michigan (and the freshman QBs) first road game, and I have the Coach Deuce Line at Michigan State -2.5. This has to do with the questionable health of Tate Forcier, the "backs against the wall" mentality they will have, and the fired up crowd they will have behind them. Again, more to come on this game as the week progresses, but Michigan will be in for a dog fight.
- I thought the Bucks looked outstanding against Illinois. Their defense continues to impress me, as Brian Rolle has turned into a legit Butkus Award candidate. The reason for his play can be attributed to that nasty D-Line he has in front of him. If there is a better front 4 in America, I would like to see it. Offensively, they did what they needed to do with those weather conditions. I'm not really sold on either Boone Herron (thank you, ABC color man for giving us the story about how his dad actually calls him Boone...for Daniel Boone) or Brandon Saine. Terrelle Pryor is what he is; a freak of an athlete playing quarterback. In games like that, he will excel because he doesn't have to make plays in the passing game. The real test will be when he gets in the 2nd and 3rd and long situations and has to make plays through the air. Either way, the Buckeyes looked impressive and will definitely be in the mix for another Big 10 Championship and BCS Bowl.
- Has there been anyone more overrated these past 3 years than Juice Williams? He got all the talk about he lead the Illini to a win over Ohio State in the 'Shoe two years ago, but since then hasn't done squat. He has not developed as a passer, and some in the Illini Nation are clamoring for backup Eddie McGee (who did not look much better). Either way, Juice is very one dimensional, and his prospects for the NFL are looking bleak. Now that I've said this, he will run for 150+ and throw 2 long TD passes against Michigan.
- Poor Browns fans - wait, never mind. Poor Braylon Edwards. This born winner is stuck on an abysmal team with no QB and no RB. Not too mention he is too handsome for Cleveland. That city hasn't seen someone that suave since Roger Dorn was playing 3rd base.
- I love all the overreactions we see out of the media after 3 weeks of the NFL. Last week we heard all about how the Patriots and Tom Brady were doomed. All they did was go out and handle a very good Atlanta team, with Brady throwing for 277 and a TD - in the rain. That is the problem with today's media market. It is so "what is the story now" that analysts are forced to make claims that are entirely premature so that they can have something to talk about on the 6 o'clock Sportscenter.
That's all the time I have for today, hope you enjoyed it. I will be back sometime later this week with an MSU/UM preview, among other things.
As always, NRTTS
Coach Deuce
Posts
I can't stand to watch the Browns D. We need 11 more Braylon Edwards' to play on the other side of the ball. Our starting linebackers in the 3-4 are all too slow with too little agility to play zone coverage. Yet, with the rare occasion Kam Wimbley gets to the Quarterback, the pass rush is sorry. There was a play yesterday where eric Barton dropped into zone in the middle of the field and just watched the ball soar over his head into the waiting and unthreatened hands of Todd Heap. It summed up the whole game for me. I don't even think he put his hands up. Not to mention we have Brandon "Ronald" McDonald and David "How am I a starting OLB in NFL?" Bowens as starters on the Defense.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is all leaving out the two incapable quarterbacks.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the lack of a big play (or any play ) running back is really hampering the Browns. Teams don't have to respect the run, so they can play with 7 in the box and take chances on the short passing game.
ReplyDeleteI distinctly remember saying it during the draft, and I'll say it again. The Browns should not have passed on Adrian Peterson.
You're so right. You've gotta believe the Browns wouldn't be an instant playoff team with him, but and actual running threat like Peterson would make the offense a hell of a lot easier to watch on Sundays.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Coach Deuce,...speaking of famous Junkins, I wonder what the Browns famous LB Mike Junkin is doing...along with clifford (don't call me norm) Charlton...they were those crappy brown team's version of the brown's busted love affair with drafting highly touted d linemen a few years back
ReplyDeleteglad to be in the city of champions, where I saw a rare win on the last home game...even that was a loss when all 28 of us in attendance booed manager russell after he lifted zach duke with two outs in the ninth with an 11-1 lead and nobody on base...It was so pathetic I didn't know whether to laugh or cry
remember.. play d or sit on the b
The play that summed up the entire game for me was when they ran a QB sneak on 1st and 10 from the 50 yard line and gained 1 yard.
ReplyDeleteI almost turned off the TV, got in my car, turned that on, and closed the garage door. It was that embarrassing.