The first ever Press Box Power Poll

Usually I try and reserve this space exclusively for Ohio sports teams.

That is, instead of writing a column about all of Major League Baseball, we just talk about the Indians and Reds, though to be fair, mostly the Reds.

However, I sometimes enjoy dressing up like Bill Simmons and pretending that more than, like, five people actually read us. More to the point, my bloated ego tells me I have valid insights into the NFL and that you actually want to read about them.

As a result, I present to you the innaugural Press Box NFL Power Poll--a worst-to-first ranking of all 32 NFL teams.

#32 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs have been been outscored 96-203 thus far and have collected exactly zero wins through seven games. They've had two weeks to prepare for a Green Bay team fresh off a frustrating defeat at home against the Vikings last Sunday; expect Tampa to suffer loss number eight this week against the Packers.

#31 Cleveland Browns: Observing this Browns team and the dysfunction that routinely surrounds it is like watching a rusted-out Ford Fiesta blow away an eight-point buck doing 60 miles-per-hour. Cleveland fired its GM, George Kokinis last Monday, warming the seat for Kokinis' long-time friend Eric Mangini. My only question is: As the worst team in the AFC, how many times does Derek Anderson have to prove himself unable to quarterback an NFL offense before Brady Quinn is under center?

#30 St. Louis Rams: A victory over Detroit last week may very well prove to be the only win for a Rams team sorely seeking an identity.

#29 Oakland Raiders: The Raiders competed last week against San Diego, sort of. Now, they'll have a bye-week to prepare for the Kansas City Chiefs--a team they've already beaten this season. Of course, no one in Oakland even cares about the game, it's Tom Cable's apparent affinity for harming those around him that is dominating headlines.

#28 Kansas City Chiefs: A new, offensive-minded coach coupled with a quarterback who successsfully manned New England's high-octane offense a season ago should've produced better results. A 1-6 record shows just how many holes this team has yet to fill.

#27 Detroit Lions: The Lions want so badly for everyone to believe that despite only one win thus far, this team is getting better every week and that quarterback Matt Stafford is the next Matt Ryan. I, for one, was chugging the Kool-Aid, though a home-loss to the hapless Rams last week have since left me sipping.

#26 Tennessee Titans: Vince Young was effecient under center for the Tennessee last week as the Titans grabbed their first win of '09. This week, however, could be much different as the Titans travel cross-country to San Franciso.

#25 Washington Redskins: 'Skins Head Coach Jim Zorn was stripped of his play-calling duties in favor of a guy who was calling out bingo numbers when the season began. Of course, it doesn't really matter if my shi tzu is running Washington's offense as long as the team continues to execute poorly on the field. That said, a defense that has allowed the fifth fewest points in the NFC means that Washington is usually able to stick around just long enough for its offense to blow the game down the stretch.

#24 Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks had every opportunity to make people believe they could still compete seriously for an NFC playoff spot with an impressive performance last week. Unfortunately for Seattle fans, the Seahawks traveled to Dallas and laid a giant, rotten egg, losing in blowout fashion.

#23 Buffalo Bills: The only good news for Buffalo this season is that TO seems to toeing the line in Orchard Park. However, with Head Coach Dick Jauron's seat getting warmer by the minute and the glaring inability of Trent Edwards to consistently maintain offensive rhythm, the Buffalo Bills seems destined to remain mired in mediocrity.


#22 Carolina Panthers: I've wanted to leave Carolina for dead on a multiple occasions this season, but every time I'm set to dial the morgue the Panthers do just enough convince me this team can still make a playoff run. Turns out, Carolina's offense is exponentially more efficient when Jake Delhomme tosses the pigskin to the right team. While the jury may still be out on the Panthers, back-to-back divisional tests with New Orleans and Atlanta will tell us a lot.

#21 Jacksonville Jaguars: Flirting with bad and worse most of the season, Jacksonville has spent much of the 2009 campaign battling small crowds, blackouts and a glaring inability to pressure the opposing quarterback.

#20 Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins may post an unblemished record if they could play the New York Jets every week. Last Sunday's win showed everyone how good Miami is on defense and special teams. The stone-cold reality, however, is they simply may lack the offensive firepower to compete for a second straight AFC playoff berth.

#19 San Francisco 49ers: Alex Smith looked pretty good captaning San Fran's offense in Indy last week and the defense was pretty solid, too. But, back-to-back losses to Houston and the Colts also showed the niners still have some wrongs to right before they can be considered one of the elite teams in the NFL.

#18 New York Jets: Mark Sanchez's inconsistent play has dominated most Jets conversations recently, but Sanchez is not why New York faltered to Miami last week. The Jets lost because the special teams unit couldn't bottle up Buckeye Alum Ted Ginn on a pair of kickoff returns that resulted in 14 Dolphins points.

#17 Chicago Bears: A blowout win over Cleveland last week may have been just what the Bears needed to get back on track after back-to-back road losses in Atlanta and Cincinnati. The Bears will again look to establish themselves Sunday when the Cardinals pay a visit to Soldier Field.

#16 San Diego Chargers: The Chargers are supposed to be better than this, right? At 4-3 the Bolts have lossed a couple of tough games already, including a home-loss to Denver on Monday Night Football.

#15 Houston Texans: Houston is 5-3 for the first time in franchise history and a victory over Indianapolis on Sunday would be probably be the biggest win ever for the Texans as the team searches for respect among fans and pundits alike.

#14 Green Bay Packers: Three of Green Bay's four wins have come against the Browns, Lions and Rams. Call me when the Packers win a game that matters. That said, Aaron Rodgers is the highest rated passer in the NFC and, if the offensive line can give him time to throw, could carry the Pack into the playoffs.

#13 Arizona Cardinals: All the respect Arizona built with an impressive road win over the Giants two weeks ago was stripped away with each turnover committed by Kurt Warner last week in a humiliating home-loss to Carolina. The best weapon at Arizona's disposal is the lame-ass excuse for a division in which the Cardinals play; this inconsistent team appears again destined for nine wins, almost certainly enough to win the division and sneak into the playoffs where it has historically proved dangerous.

#12 Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons seem to be a team that will wins the games it should, but not the ones it shouldn't. This fact should bode well for Atlanta's playoff hopes as the Falcons will play Tampa Bay twice, Washington, Carolina and Buffalo yet this season.

#11 New York Giants: New York has dropped three in a row and last week Giants fans watched in horror as the Eagles gashed the league's top-ranked defense. New York will welcome in the Chargers next week for a game that will tell us a lot about both teams.

#10 Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens snapped a three-game losing streak last week with an impressive rout at home over the previously unbeaten Denver Broncos. This week, Baltimore travels inside the Jungle seeking revenge against a Bengals team it self-destructed against in week four. Baltimore ran the ball effectively last week and if the offense can control the flow of Sunday's game that way, the Ravens will be successful.

#9 Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have won three straight games against Kansas City, Atlanta and Seattle. It's no coincidence that an improved Dallas rushing attack has rejuvinated Tony Romo in the passing game. Each passing week provides more and more evidence that Dallas is starting to fire on all cylinders.

#8 Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles torched the NFL's best defense last week in a rout over the Giants. When Donovan Mcnabb is that good, there's not a defensive unit in football that can stop him. If Mcnabb and the Eagles are able to duplicate that performance Sunday night against Dallas, they'll stake claim to first place in the NFC East.

#7 Pittsburgh Steelers: Monday's showdown with Denver could see Pittsburgh playing for sole possession of first place if Baltimore can upend the Bengals. Regardless, the Steelers have quieted many doubters with wins over San Diego and Minnesota during a four-game winning streak.

#6 Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals are flying high after dismantling the Bears and will have two full weeks to prepare for Baltimore's visit to Paul Brown this week. I say with absolute conviction this game will come down to which team is able to more effectively run the football against the other. In the first meeting, the Bengals rushed for well-over 100 yards and if Cedric Benson can duplicate that performance Sunday, the Bengals will walk away with a season-sweep of the Ravens.

#5 New England Patriots: Nothing cures a struggling offense like back-to-back games against the Titans and Bucs. The Patriots have since had a bye week to rest before they attempt to cage Miami's wildcat this week and strengthen their grip on the AFC East lead.

#4 Denver Broncos: The Broncos have passed every test they've faced this season, except for Baltimore's defense. Now, Denver travels back to the Mile High City for a date with Pittsburgh. The Broncos are 1-0 this season and another strong performance on a national stage will again command respect from critics.

#3 Minnesota Vikings: No, I haven't yet grown tired of giving everyone who laughed at me when I said Brett Favre would make a serious impact on the Vikings a hearty, "I TOLD YOU SO!!"

#2 New Orleans Saints: The Saints are probably the most complete team in the NFC and it's nice to see Drew Bress garner respect on a winning football team. An impressive comeback win on the road over Miami coupled with a victory over a hungry Falcons team last week proves this team is well-rounded and for real.

#1 Indianapolis Colts: Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL. No question about it. In fact, I'd argue it's not even close. The Colts are unblemished despite an aging offensive line and and an inconsistent defense. At this point, they've got to be the favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Buckeyes suffer in weak conference

Chris Smith, Press Box writer

I was listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio when he suddenly goes into a rant about how horrible the Big Ten is, except for maybe Ohio State. Cowherd didn't give OSU much credit, but he did say that “at least they send people to the NFL,” and also mentioned that if Terrell Pryor would get it together offensively we would be competitive nationally. He concluded that right now we are by far the best team in the Big Ten –which in his tone wasn't saying much.

I started to get offended at first, especially after he played a produced comedy bit in which he poked fun at the ironic fact that we have 11 teams in the Big Ten and how two 4-4 teams are playing for the “Wooden Toothbrush” as the mock play-by-play announcer said something like, “the game was decided by 5 turnovers to 4 turnovers.”

I was already thinking by this point that he might be right so I was out of listening mode. The Big Ten, as much as we want it to be good for the sake of the Buckeyes, is not very good and could use some serious restructuring.

As an Ohio State fan watching our BCS bowl money escape to other Big Ten schools gets very frustrating. In general, Big Ten schools need better coaching staffs.

I know Jim Tressel has come under heat from fans lately for not adapting to the offensive trends that have become popular in college football, but what about the rest of the Big Ten? Other than the hiring of Rich Rodriguez at Michigan, Big Ten football is stagnate in comparison with other conference's offensive trends.

Look at the SEC, which is by far the most dominate conference in college football, how many future Hall of Fame coaches are in that conference? Steve Spurrier, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, maybe even Les Miles?

Now compare that to the Big Ten.

Furthermore, look at how competitive the SEC is for big-name coaches compared to the Big Ten. Other than Rodriguez and Tressel which other coach in the Big Ten has a contract that would rate in the top -10 in college football?

Mediocrity has become commonplace in the Big Ten Conference. The acceptable standard in many programs is simply sub-standard.

That may be hard for OSU and Michigan fans to swallow, mediocrity, but for the rest of the Big Ten that is the standard. Why is that? We get ridiculed nationally for not having a championship game, and our teams historically suffer in bowl games because of the long lay-off.

I have been cursing Coach Tressel most every Saturday for the lack of imagination throughout his offense, but he can only play the teams that are in front of him. If the Big Ten was better as a whole every team would have to be more innovative. It is like the snowball effect, competition builds competition.

So, if I were the Big Ten commissioner what changes could I make?

For one we have to have a championship game. It is not fair to the two historical juggernauts, Ohio State and Michigan that they play every year yet some teams don't have to play either teams –sometimes for a title win-- Northwestern.

My second day as commissioner, I would add another team, maybe two.

Two, if I could convince the other schools to force Northwestern to go to the Ivy League. They are never going to be competitive with their grade standards. They would make a nice fit with Army as an Independent, too.

I would then go on a National search for schools that want to come to the Big Ten and spend money on a football program.

Regardless, I realized that in order to ridicule Jim Tressel I must first blame the Big Ten.The Big Ten is horrible, and Ohio State carrying the flag is starting to wear on our program nationally; but we will not get better on a national stage until the entire conference gets better.

After an easy win, Bucks look toward New Mexico St.

As motivation for today's piece I fired up the 'ol Big Ten on Demand and flipped on Michigan at Ohio State, Nov. 18, 2006.

You know the game I'm talking about. The second-ranked Wolverines invaded Columbus to duel with our top-ranked Buckeyes with the Big Ten Title and national championship game on the line.

The two teams played an absolute classic and when the smoke had cleared the Bucks escaped with a 42-39 victory, solidifying themselves as the best team in the country and securing a place in the BCS National Championship Game

At the time, the game was considered "The Game of the Century."

Now, I like to refer to it as simply, "The Last Time Ohio State Won an Important Game On a National Stage."

No, really, look at the history, three straight BCS Bowl losses, two losses in national championship games, consecutive losses to USC and fumbling away last year's Penn State game at home means the last time Ohio State won a game the entire nation was watching was Nov. 18, 2006.

Today's date is Oct. 28, 2009 and the 17th-ranked Buckeyes prepare for a Halloween date with the 3-5 New Mexico St. Aggies who kind of resemble a poor man's Texas A&M.

The Press Box was fortunate enough to be inside Jim Tressel's press conference yesterday as the coach tried to drum up Saturday's opponent.

"We're going to come out with our guns blazing," Tressel said. "New Mexico St. is a team that's going in the right direction and we have to be ready for them."

Tressel also mentioned specifically Aggies return man, #23 Tonny Glynn and flanker, #10 Marcus Anderson as guys OSU would need to pay special attention.

Of course, any upwardly-mobile, rationale-thinking person knows Tressel's comments are little more than subtrafuse and window-dressing for a clearly inferior opponent.

The Buckeyes are 40-point favorites in Saturday's game.

When asked about being such an overwhelming favorite Tressel retorted, "We haven't scored 40 points very often."

And everyone got an amused chuckle.

(Pressbox insider's note: I sat near the back of the room yesterday, near all the mics and cameras so when Coach Tressel makes that joke my cheap, annoying, hyena-laugh can distinctly be heard on the clip."

Before anyone could look towards New Mexico St., Tressel first reflected on last Saturday's game against the Gophers.

"The two things we talk about most are defense and special teams and we did both very well Saturday," Tressel said. "Meanwhile, our offense was opportunistic and I thought that was critical."

Without question, the Bucks, the offense especially, were better against Minnesota.

Buckeye defenders held the opposing offense to just 17 first downs and forced four Gopher turnovers. Meanwhile, the Buckeye offense posted more than 500 yards of total offense and Terrelle Pryor became just the third Buckeye ever to throw for more than 200 yards and rush for more than 100 yards in the same game.

Pryor's performance Saturday garnered him Big 10 Player of the Week honors.

"Terrelle made some real good decision Saturday," Tressel said. "His progression, balance and decision making were all very good."

For all the good things Pryor and the offense did Saturday, it had still only collected seven points at halftime.

"It was disapointing to have that many yards and only seven points; it means we weren't being opportunistic," Tressel said.

That was not the case in the second half, however, as the Buckeyes posted 31 unanswered points en route to the 38-7 win.

"We're getting there, we're progressing," Tressel said.

Of course, injures have been a big storyline surrounding the offensive woes in Columbus this season and just when it looked like the offense was finally getting healthy, the plot thickened.

Tressel announced Tuesday offensive lineman Mike Adams, who left Saturday's game with his foot in a walking boot, will miss at least the next two games and Brandon Saine and 'Boom' Herron are both questionable for the Aggies.

If neither running back can go, it is expected that Jordan Hall would start and Jermil Martin, who carried the ball eight times for 73 yards Saturday, would also see significant action.

Tressel also didn't rule out the possibility that freshman back Jaamal Berry could see some playing time.

"If Brandon or Boom can go, you don't want to give away that year [of eligibility] with Jaamal," Tressel said. "But if those guys are still hurt, we may not have a choice."

Ohio State has had to overcome a slew of offensive injuries this season, but Tressel doesn't believe that has anything to do with the unit's struggles this season.

"If you believe in individual practice and improvement, then maybe that's had an impact, but I don't know that [injuries] have affected the performance of the whole," Tressel said.

For Tressel, this Saturday isn't just about earning a victory, it's about building momentum for the sprint to the finish in a neck-and-neck conference.

"We have to have the right perspective," Tressel said. "Go out, get a win and then realize that we have to get better to beat Penn State, Iowa and Michigan."

Coach is right, too.

The Buckeyes will trounce New Mexico St. Saturday, though I'll happily take the points, and will then begin a three-game-gauntlet to save their season in two weeks against the Nittany Lions.

The team looked pretty sharp last Saturday and if it can duplicate that performance against NMSU, then Buckeye fans may get to see another Michigan game with Big 10 Title on the line.

Bengals make it Look Easy against Bears

Lots of different scenarios were predicted for this game, a 45-10 Bengals romp was not one of them.

Up 21-0 in the first 17 minutes the Bengals never looked back. It was a complete beat down.

The Bengals scored 31 points in the first half, their most in the first half since scoring 31 on Sept. 23, 1990, vs. New England.

After a disappointing home loss to the Houston Texans, the Cincinnati Bengals came out and took the Chicago Bears to the woodshed. They beat them senseless and threw away the escape key. The Bengals surpassed last seasons win total in the process.

When it was all said and done, Cedric Benson had a career day with 189 yards and a TD. He showed the Bears what they were missing with multiple plays of tackle breaking, ankle turning runs. He showed his old team the speed and agility they thought they had when he was drafted fourth overall in 2005.

"He wanted to get back at us," Bears safety Danieal Manning said. "We expected that, and would expect nothing less."

Benson was so inspired that he got a little too excited.

"There were a few times where I may have gotten a little too hyped up, a little too antsy," he said. "A couple of drives, I found myself having to calm myself down and gather my emotions to stay poised. Once I got past that, we were good to go. Keep it rolling."

"Everybody knew. What a wonderful day and a wonderful thing, to go out there and strut your stuff."

He simply looked faster than the Bears D, after his first 31 carries he possessed a nine yard per carry average with only a long of 26. He consistently was getting first downs on seemingly every play. The Bengals finished the game with 30 first downs to the Bears 15.

The Bengals were superb in all facets of the game. QB Carson Palmer torched the Bears secondary for five touchdowns and 233 yards while completing 20 of 24 throws. Every ball was on the target and Palmer was only a victim of two drops on the day and no turnovers. Huge improvements over last week’s drop fest and tight end nightmare.

The O-line had zero penalties and Pamler wasn’t even sneezed on by Bear defenders. The 6’9 Dennis Roland out of Georgia has shown Andre Smith that he will not be just handed a starting position when he is healthy.

WR Chad OchoCinco recorded his second 100 yard receiving game in as many weeks for the first time since Sept. 2007. He hauled in 10 receptions for 118 yards and two TDs. He was wide open in single coverage for most of the game; OchoCinco was making CB Charles Tillman “kiss the baby” all game long.

The Bengals line was dominant on both sides of the ball. After losing the league leader in sacks last week Antwan Odom’s replacements filled in nicely. DE Frostee Rucker had a sack and three QB hits and DE Michael Johnson was in QB Jay Cutler face on numerous occasions.

CB Leon Hall had two INT’s with substantial return yards to boot both times. SS Chris Crocker had a pick as well. Linebackers Dhani Jones and Keith Rivers shut down TE Greg Olson (24 yards) and did not miss any tackles.

Even the special teams had zero penalties. All the long snaps were accurate and punter Kevin Huber only recorded one official punt. Now that is the best way to neutralize the Bear’s stud punt return-man Devin Hester

In a statement game for both teams, the Bengals physically pounded the Bears. The Bengals could do anything they pleased. Carson Palmer looked light years better than Jay Cutler and his three INTs.

The Bengals confidence has returned, making the bye week a lot more enjoyable. Resilient 5-2 sounds a whole lot better than reeling 4-3. With Baltimore and a trip to Pittsburgh on the slate after the bye, nothing has been determined yet. But I think it is safe to say this years Bengals are play-off material.

A preview of the Minnesota game

Chris Smith, Press Box writer,

After last week's train wreck against Purdue it is time to look ahead to Minnesota. I don't know if you can even describe it as “train wreck,” the analogy of a train would seem to imply locomotion, in which the Buckeyes have none. The “Silver Bullet” defense was starting to look like they have been dwindled down to BB's shot out of my Red Ryder gun.

But who wouldn't after spending 38 minutes on the field the week before against Wisconsin, and then carrying this lackluster offense in yet another game. Jim Tressel's offense is like a tick that sucks the life out of all things Buckeye Football.

The only thing I can do is to erase the game from my mind in order to game plan for the next week and to even be able to fathom the idea of watching another OSU football game.

It was a fluke that cannot be explained; there is no way they can possibly play that bad again, so we must erase the game and look at the team that was supposed to go in and make easy work of the Boilermakers.

Minnesota (4-3;2-2) does not pose much of a running threat, evidenced by the fact that Duane Bennett who has yet to reach the 300 yards for the season. Minnesota's most significant win this season has come against Purdue, though the Gophers did compete well against the Cal Bears, then ranked 8th in the country.

The Gophers are ranked 114th in country in total offense averaging, 293 yards of offense a game--who knew there was a team worse on offense than the Buckeyes?

Ohio State is currently ranked 91st in the nation in total offense.

The “Sweater Vest” offense should be able to find seam early seems with Brandon Saine or, God forbid, some designed runs by Terrelle Pryor against a defense that surrenders 164 yards rushing per game.

I look for our defense to dominate Minnesota’s weak passing attack, but the Gophers do have Eric Decker at wide receiver, who is perfectly capable of gouging a defense for long plays and yards after the catch.

The OSU defense proved itself vulnerable last week and I look for Minnesota to use the same passing attack that Purdue utilized until the Silver Bullets prove they can stop it; they will roll out quarterback Adam Weber and do some things to disrupt the pass rush and move the pocket.

The question must be asked, how composed will Terrelle Pryor be after a week’s worth of criticism?

Furthermore, can the offensive line do anything that gives this offense a chance to establish itself and build some momentum going forward?

Finally, it has to get better, right?

Spanning the Ohio sports globe

So, I had every intention of doing a podcast last night, but a house fire in the city made for a long night and I was far too tired to even talk sports by the time I got home.

"Wow Nate, you are just full of excuses..."

Yeah, yeah.

Don't worry though, everything that was going to get tackled last night will be discussed in the following sentences.

Think of this as a literary podcast.

Ohio State will look to recover from last Saturday's huge, embarassing failure against Purdue when the Bucks take on Minnesota tomorrow afternoon inside Ohio Stadium.

Terrelle Pryor has received more publicity this week for playing like his eyes were closed than if he'd torched the Boilermakers' secondary for 400 yards and five touchdowns.

It all started Wednesday when Pryor's high school football coach during the qb's time at Jeannette High School in Pa. told ESPN's Joe Schad the Buckeyes coaching staff was not maximizing Pryor's effectiveness.

"Jim Tressel is a great coach and he's been running his offense successfully for 30 years," Ray Reitz told Schad on Wednesday. "But I'd like to see some zone-read plays where with one mistake [by the defense], he can be gone. With some zone-read plays, they wouldn't be able to take away all the outside runs because he'd be a threat to go between the tackles. ... Give him time to grow. Put the ball in his hands and if there is a breakdown let him run. It doesn't look to me like he's relaxed. It doesn't look like he has rhythm. It doesn't look like he's comfortable."

Reitz concluded by saying that Pryor looked "robotic" and added that Ohio State may be better suited to run a traditional option offense with Pryor.

Clearly, it doesn't take Lee Corso to realize that Pryor looks painfully uncomfortable on the field right now; the reasons for that are many and vary depending on whom you listen to.

Certainly a lot of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff at Ohio State and its glaring inability to decide what kind of offense Terrelle Pryor should be running.

Reitz himself acknowledges Pryor may have been better off in a spread offense simliar to the systems in Michigan or Florida.

What about the University of Cincinnati? Can you even imagine Pryor running rampant in Brian Kelly's offensive system chock full zone-reads and run/pass options?

The fifth-ranked Bearcats feature a quick-strike offensive attack that's averaging more than 450 yards and nearly 41 points per game.

Last week during the podcast, I talked about Cincinnati's dangerous offense.

No disrespect to UC quarterback Tony Pike, or backup Zach Collaros for that matter, but Pryor's explosive running ability coupled with Kelly's offensive genius offers endless possibilities.

If you haven't already, scroll down and read Ian's letter to the editor, especially near the end when he talks about Ohio State's sheer unwillingness to mold its offense to fit both its personnel and the evolving college football landscape.

I understand that Tressel's personality is somewhat conservative by nature and it's therefore tough to ask him to just go against everything he's believed in during a 30-year coaching tenure that has garnered him success at all levels.

But that's when it's time to bring in an offensive coordinator to call the plays and add a different perspective to an offense that is desperately seeking a spark.

Furthermore, the fact that we're even having a "what if Pryor played in this offense or that offense" conversation should serve as a sign the Ohio State coaching staff is just, at all, using his talents properly.

The Cleveland Cavs open regular season play Tuesday night at home against the Boston Celtics. Given Ohio State's struggles coupled with another Browns season mired in absolute, unbridled obscurity (I'm being kind) Cavs fans are positively frothing at the mouth to cheer for a winner.

Fortunately, they have every reason to believe this year's Cavs team will give them something to cheer for as the NBA season looms.

The Cavs will return the majority of its roster that won 66 games a season ago and guys like Daniel Gibson and J.J. Hickson are only going to get better as the season progresses.

Another important factor for Cleveland as it navigates through the season and into the playoffs will be the play of its guards in an effort to relieve Lebron from some of the extraordinary pressure he faces anyway.

It's no secret Mo Williams and Delonte West were enormous failures during last season's playoff loss to Orlando.

Much like Mark McGwire, I'm not here to talk about the past.

Neither Williams nor West, prior to last season, had ever been in a situation where they were expected to substantially contribute to a deep postseason push.

True, both players had, and continue to have, sound, productive careers but to suggest either had accumulated much playoff experience is factually inaccurate.

Now that both players have had a taste of what its like and what is expected of them in the playoffs, I really believe both will respond differently.

Of course, no Cavs preview would be complete without mentioning the acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal in the offseason.

From day one Shaq has said publicly that his mission is to help Lebron win an NBA Championship this season.

A warning to all Clevelanders out there...

I know how fickle you folks can be. If your superstar de jour doesn't come in and immediately meet the outrageous expectations you, as a fan base, set for him the signing will promptly be considered a flop.

The Cavs didn't sign Shaq for the regular season; they don't need him to win the division or finish first in the eastern conference. This is a 60-win club without The Diesel.

The Cavs signed Shaq for the push through the playoffs.

So, please don't be surprised if by New Year's Eve the Big Aristotle is only averaging seven points and three rebounds a game while only playing 28 minutes a night.

You heard it here first.

There is no way Mike Brown is going to let Shaq run himself into the ground over the course of an 82-game schedule when the entire reason for signing him was so the Cavaliers could win 16 games beginning in mid-April.

The regular season will serve as one giant land mine the Cavs will have to side-step in an effort to have their horses healthy come playoff time; and if Shaq can stay healthy and successfully assimilate into Cleveland's offense this is a team that could very well win a championship in what could very well be Lebron's final season by the lake.

The Columbus Blue Jackets dropped their second straight game last night in Edmonton to the Oilers by a final score of 6-4.

Despite falling behind 1-0 in the opening minute of the game, Columbus was able to build a 4-1 lead over midway through the second period.

Much to the chagrin of Jackets fans, the Oilers outscored Columbus 5-1 over the final 30 minutes of the game, including a trio of unanswered third period goals to put the game out of reach.

The Jackets have now lost two in a row after winning four straight. Columbus now has a record of 5-3 record and consecutive losses are hardly cause to jump off the bandwagon.

However, it should be noted the team hasn't won since I spent an entire podcast segment calmoring on and on about how good it is.

That's a coincidence, right?

Seriously though, the Jackets have looked sloppy in consecutive losses that have seen them allow rebounds right in front of the net, get out-hit on both ends of the ice and surrender more power play goals than they had in the previous five games combined.

These facts don't point to the idea that we've somehow overestimated this team, rather they show a glaring inconsistency that has to be shored up if the team is to seriously compete for a division title.

It's true in any sport, teams must crawl before they can walk. That is, rarely do championship teams just happen overnight. Instead, very often what we see is a team make incremental progress over the course of a couple years before finally piquing at just the right time.

The Cavs are a great example of this.

Making the playoffs last year was a giant step for this franchise. However, if it is to build on the success it enjoyed last season, the team must learn to be more consistent, especially on away from Nationwide Arena against tough competition.

The Jackets are back in action Saturday night in Anaheim for the third game of its current four-game west coast road trip.

A letter to the editor

This comment was left by Ian Sample and we thought it was so good that is deserved to have its own space on the blog.

I generally agree with most of what's written on The Pressbox. However, Monday's column on Ohio State totally missed the mark.

OSU fans aren't up in arms because we lost to Purdue; we're up in arms because of the product that was put on the field in West Lafayette.

The offense is stagnant, proclaimed messiah Terrelle Pryor, whose stats were supposed to resemble those of NFL legend Y.A. Tiddle, is dangerously on the edge of becoming a major bust, the defense was mercilessly exposed by a pedestrian Purdue offense and the offensive line resembled a group of fourth graders playing Red Rover.

To elaborate, Terrelle Pryor, in my opinion, is confused and insecure. He can't read defenses, he flees from the pocket at the first sign of a pass rush, he stares down receivers and God forbid he does get a pass off, his throwing style is so flawed that his passes flutter rather than spiral.

Furthermore, the coaching staff's reluctance to put any blame or responsibility whatsoever on his shoulders tells me that he's not ready to be a leader on this team. That said, the OSU coaching staff has done nothing whatsoever to put Pryor in a position to be successful. Even if the line does protect Pryor long enough to pass, his receivers are well out of his throwing range (which, granted, is only about 20 yards).

The offensive playcalling is atrocious.

Jim Bollman's offensive formations are so obvious that his plays may as well be announced on the scoreboard. Want to tell the defense you're going to run a bubble screen? Put a running back 5 yards off the line of scrimmage and 7 yards to the left of the quarterback.

Because of coaches like Urban Meyer, Rich Rodriguez, and Nick Saban, college offenses have continuously evolved over the past 10 years, but not Ohio State's. While other coaches adapt to the times, OSU's offense has become outright obsolete.

This wasn't just another Big Ten road loss. It wasn't even a bad loss to a 1-5 team that already had home losses to Notre Dame, Northwestern, and Northern Illinois. It was a loss in which one of the nation's most powerful programs was utterly outcoached, outhustled, and outclassed by a hopeless, spiraling, collapsing Purdue team. And it was more than just a loss to shake off and forget about. It's a loss that leaves major questions about the future of OSU football and adds even more damage to a dwindling national perception. What recruit would want to come to Columbus to play Tresselball?

Yeah, OSU can still win a share of the Big Ten title, but most likely they won't.

And, quite frankly, I hope they don't. Why would anyone want to relive another trip to the Rose Bowl to get squashed by USC?

Cincinnati Bengals Michael Johnson: The New Most Important Johnson

Just when it looked like the Cincinnati Bengals had a consistent pass rush for the first time in years, DE Antwan Odom and his eight sacks promptly lands on the IR. Odom tore his Achilles against the Houston Texans on Sunday and is now lost for the season.

To add insult to injury, DT Domata Peko went down with a knee injury as well. His status for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears is in the air. With the pair, the Bengals are third in the league with 16 sacks through six games.

Enter Michael Johnson. The rookie from Georgia Tech was considered a top-10 prospect going into his final year of college, a physical specimen that would translate well to the NFL. The knock on him was his effort. He took plays off, scouts said.

He dropped all the way to the third round in the ’09 draft. He impressed early on in training camp with his 6’7" and 260-pound frame. But like most first year players, the learning curve was steep.

After the first six games of the season Johnson has collected 11 tackles. He has slowly received more playing time as he learns the consistent effort needed to be successful in the NFL. With the way Odom was playing, it was hard for him to even get on the field at all. Now he will be playing a much bigger role for this team.

Johnson has the physical tools to be a disruptive force on opposing QBs. Long arms and quick feet allow him to get penetration in the backfield. He has a pass deflection in each of the past three games. He will block a kick sooner or later in his career.

“Every week he gets quite a few snaps,” said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis of Johnson. “I think Michael played his best football that he played this season yesterday (Sunday.) Hopefully that continues as a trend. He’ll have an opportunity to do more and more.”

While the injury to Odom is a real bummer for Bengal fans, the door is now open for Johnson. If he can put fourth maximum effort on every snap his physical talents will do the rest. DT/DE Johnathan Fanene will start this week for either Peko or Odom. If Peko is ruled out, then Johnson will get his first career NFL start.

If the Bengals want to keep the top spot in the division, they must get big contributions from Johnson. If not, then the secondary will continually be relied upon to defend receivers for six to seven seconds. Just like the last 15 plus years.

I'll take my coffee with three creams, two sugars and a drop of perspective, please

Last weekend was a big one for The Press Box. The opportunity to work from press row inside Nationwide Arena during the Jackets' 4-1 win over the Kings Saturday and the debut of our Press Box Podcast were both firsts in Press Box history.

As always, I want to thank those of you reading this daily, listening to the podcast, "fanning" us on Facebook and generally just for the encouraging words and an affirmation that good things are happening with this little experiment.

To the column...

The year's first BCS Standings were released yesterday afternoon and The Buckeyes were ranked 19th in the country.

Prior to last Saturday, Ohio State was ranked seventh in the AP Poll and though the BCS Standings hadn't yet been released, I'm willing to bet OSU's ranking was higher than 19.

Of course, this 12-spot free fall came on the heels of Ohio State's 26-18 calamity in West Lafayette last Saturday in which the Buckeyes turned in a disastrous performance marred by untimely penalties, poor play on the offensive line and five turnovers (four of which can be traced directly to the quarterback position).

Ohio State fans are one poor performance away from spiking the scartlet kool-aid with cyanide... just but not before they hold a public tar-and-feathering of Jim Tressel at the fifty-yard line inside Ohio Stadium.

I think everyone just needs to chill the hell out.

The Oklahoma Sooners were not even ranked in the first BCS Standings after a 3-3 start which saw them lose to three top-20 teams all without their Heisman Trophy Candidate quarterback Sam Bradford.

The Sooners play 25th-ranked Kansas on Saturday and OU will likely be favored to win that game, despite being the lower-ranked team.

OU fans have got to be among the most disapointed fans in the country right now. This is a team that had serious national title hopes when the year began and injuries and close lossess have totally derailed those aspirations.

How'd you like to trade places with a Sooner fan right now?

The Buckeyes are in a similiar position to that of Oklahoma, only not as bad.

Oklahoma was returning arguably the best quarterback in the country to a team that nearly won the National Championship a season ago and was ranked third in the first poll of the season.

After Ohio State lost a close game to Texas last year in the Fiesta Bowl Buckeye fans had talked themselves into the idea this team could seriously compete for a national championship, myself included, but at no point was Ohio State seriously a threat to compete with the likes of Florida, Alabama and Texas.

I think if we all had objectively evaluated this team when the season began, we could've come to terms with this fact two months ago.

As it turned out, however, we had to endure a heart-breaking game against USC and an embarassing loss to Purdue last week to finally reach the very same conclusion that's been staring us down all along.

This team just had too many holes to fill.

In retrospect, one of the most underrated storylines entering this season was how the loss of our two best receivers and starting running back would effect an offense that struggled last season with all those weapons.

Couple the sub-par, injury-plagued, offensive line with a head coach that would kick a field goal with his team down four points and 10 seconds to play in the game on a fourth-and-goal play at the opponents one-yard line.

Furthermore, all the talk about how Terrelle Pryor has regressed makes me wonder if perhaps he just wasn't quite that good to begin with. Isn't it possible that fans, media and coaches just convinced themselves Pryor was better than he really was?

The last thing I want to do is grab my newspaper, squat down and take a giant crap on this team; that's the opposite of what I'm trying to do here.

Because here's the thing.

Ohio State is still the 19th-ranked team in the country and much like Oklahoma, the Bucks are better than many of the teams ranked ahead of them.

Houston and Utah are ranked 17 and 18, respectively. Ohio State beats either one of those teams.

Are they as good as Florida, Alabama, USC or Texas? Absolutely not.

But there's no way eighth-ranked TCU comes to Columbus and walks out with a win. Boise State is ranked fourth in the BCS. I'm not sure that's a game Ohio State would lose, either.

The Bucks are ranked 19th as a result of a flawed computer-based polling system that requires fluency in trigonometry to accurately decipher.

The Bowl Championship Series is so complicated that ESPN.com dedicates a page to explain the BCS rankings and how they're decided as well a page to describe what, exactly, the BCS is.

In reality, the Buckeyes are anywhere between the seventh and the 12th best team in the country, falling somewhere between Miami (Fl.), Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Penn State

The cool part is, they've accomplished all this in spite of the myriad of problems outlined above and for all the complaints that we, as Buckeye fans, have against this year's team it still has every opportunity to have a successful season.

Immediately following the aforementioned loss to USC on September 12, I began to consider what was still realistically possible for Ohio State to accomplish this season and two things came to mind: win a fifth straight conference title and play in a BCS Bowl game.

Despite the loss to Purdue, Ohio State can still accomplish both of those goals.

The Buckeyes will host Minnesota and New Mexico State to close out the month of October before three straight tests in November at Penn State, against Iowa and in Michigan.

We'd like to assume the games against Minnesota and New Mexico State will serve as little more than a tuneup for the impending trip through the safari against the Hawkeyes, Nittany Lions and Wolverines.

And if Ohio State can win its next five games it will earn at least a share of the conference crown and probably a trip to Pasadena or Tempe.

Check out part one of the Press Box Podcast for more on Ohio State's chances of winning a Big 10 title.

The argument that if the Buckeyes perform the way they did Saturday again this season they'll lose another game is one I shan't dispute. If we're in Happy Valley Saturday, we lose that by 15+ points.

But that's a different column for a different time.

My underlying point is that simply losing to Purdue is not cause for everyone to freak out and go crazy.

After all, we could all live in Norman right now.

Intermission number two

It seems like most hockey games generate some semblence of a flow very early in the game.

Is it going to be a fast-paced, up-and-down affair? Or will it be a slower, more deliberate game?

The weird thing is that this game hasn't really generated any kind of flow through the first two periods. Neither teams has really dominated play and six combined penalties have really kept either club from sustaining any kind of momentum.

Play has been physical, but not really in the traiditional sense of the word. Like I said, things have been downright chippy and as I type this very sentence Columbus begins its fourth power play of the night.

Fourth time's a charm, I guess.

Raitis Ivanans was sent to the sin bin with about five minutes to go in the period and a patient Jackets power play saw the team finally take advantage at the 17:02 mark in the period when Raffi Torres netted his third goal of the season when he beat Quick, who, again, was quite slow.

Don't worry, that pun will never get old.

The home team takes a 2-1 lead into the second intermission and the real story behind the team's success in this game can be found in special teams.

Not enough good things can be said about this penalty-killing unit. LA had another power play opportunity go by the wayside in the second period as Columbus was able to throttle the Kings attack.

My condolences go out to the professional looking woman sitting about 20 feet away from me as she tries to enjoy a night out with her husband while some drunk douche sits next to her wearing a Steve Mason jersey and screaming at anyone who'll listen.

Finally, it's "Hockey Fights Cancer Night" here at Nationwide Arena and a group of cancer survivors just formed a human ribbon on the ice. Pretty powerful stuff.

The first intermission

The Jackets and Kings are locked in a 1-1 tie at the end of the first period.

The LA got the scoring underway at the 10:08 mark of the first period when captain Dustin Brown took a pass from Ryan Smyth down the middle of the ice and beat goalie Steve Mason glove side to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.

In an unrelated sidenote, the intermission entertainment tonight consist of the Donatos Future Jackets and an eight-year-old name Spencer from the Blue Team just scored on a breakaway goal with seconds to play to give his team the win.

Back to the piece...

The Jackets squared the game with just 46 seconds to go in the first period when Jason Chimera fired an absolute missile from the left slot and Kings netminder Jonathan Quick was far too slow as the puck bounced off the net and almost back to Chimera.

Only two combined goals were scored in the first period, but that number could have easily been higher. Both teams had a pair of power play chances in the opening period and neither could take advantage.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that LA was unable to score on its man-advantage opportunity. Columbus has the best penalty kill unit in the entire league.

That's not just a biased statement, either.

Entering tonight's game Columbus had killed 18/19 power plays this season that number increased to 20/21 after the pair of power plays killed off early.

The game has been chippy, too. Seemingly each stoppage in play saw a Jackets player and Kings player exchange pleasantries on the way to their respective benches.

Finally, and I'll leave you with this thought, I cannot say enough good things about the fan base here in Columbus. The place is nearly sold out, the crowd is into the game and the most impressive part of it all, they clearly understand what's going on.

This is an educated, passionate group of fans; the best in all of hockey.

The first intermission

The Jackets and Kings are knotted at one at the end of the first period.

The Kings drew first blood when captain Dustin Brown took a pass from Ryan Smyth right down the middle of the ice and beat Steve Mason for the first goal of the night.

That goal took place at the 10:08 mark in period one.

Nearly the entire rest ofthe

Live from Nationwide Arena

Greetings from Nationwide Arena. The Press Box is seated firmly on press row as our hometown Jackets look to improve upon the team's best start in franchise history against western conference foe Los Angeles Kings.

Be sure to head inside The Press Box during intermission for an game updates and analysis.

In the mean time, enjoy the pics...

'Cats make case for themselves on national stage

DVR is truly a revelutionary tool. Really. What many thought only 10 or 15 years ago to be impossible is now positively common and the DVR phanominan has completely changed the viewing experience for sports fans.

My work schedule is comprised largely of night shifts through the week. This means that instead of watching the Big East Showdown between Cincinnati and South Florida Thursday night I had to attend the Meet the Candidates event for Perry Township Trustee in East Liberty, Ohio.

I spent a fair amount of time during the days leading up to this game trying to decide how I'd approach experiencing it.

That is, do I insist on text updates from friends, follow the Gamecast on ESPN and try to find some postgame reaction on the radio for my drive home?

Or...

Do I completely ostracize myself from the rest of the sports world, set the DVR, be sure to extend the end time by an hour so I catch the entire game and pretend it's live as I watch it first thing the next morning over a cup of coffee and a bowl of my favorite sugar-coated cereal?

Generally speaking, I choose the former option; I think keeping up with the game is a richer, more honest experience because you're feeling the same way about the game as you would if you were watching it on replay, but you can take some solace knowing that you're not alone in your trepidation, or jubilation, whatever the case may be.

There's just something to be said for experiencing a game live even if you can't watch it first-hand; it's that commaraderie with your fellow fans that's a big part of the fun.

That said, I do think it's easier to grasp the overall flow of the game when watched via the DVR. Highlights are nice, but they rarely tell the entire story, a lot of times the real story in the game is within the details, the incomplete passes, the one-yard runs, etc.

And because I wanted to really get a good look at Cincinnati I made the somewhat difficult to decision to fire up the DVR.

So, what most of you reading this knew before you went to bed last night I learned about an hour ago.

The eighth-ranked Bearcats grabbed a 10-point first half advantage on the road last night and, with their backup quarterback leading the way for much of the second half, built the lead in the final two quarters en route to a 34-17 victory over previously 21st-ranked South Florida.

I think there were a couple of things we could derive from last night's game in Tampa.

The Big East is a competitive conference. I'll grant you that with only eight teams in the conference it may not be as deep as the SEC, Big 10 or ACC but the elite Big East teams can play with elite teams in any other conference.

Thursday's game looked like a game between the eighth-and 21st-ranked teams in the country.

Sure, there were points during the game when each team looked pretty ugly, but neither team had its full complement of players, either.

SFU was missing its starting quarterback, senior Matt Grothe, who hasn't played since a 59-0 lambasting of Charleston Southern in week three. Instead, the Bulls were running out true freshman B.J. Daniels who looks more like Juice Williams than SFU fans may care to admit.

The Bearcats were without the services of their fifth-year senior signcal caller, Tony Pike who was lost with a sprained left wrist.

For Pike it was an inopportune time (wait, there's an opportune time?!) to sprain his wrist as there were 25 NFL scouts among those in attendence last night.

The Bearcats, however, didn't really miss a beat on offense as backup quarterback Zach Collaros engineered a trio of scoring drives that included a 75-yard scamper to the endzone on his first offensive play.

The Bearcats looked awfully good last night.

I think it's really sad that teams from so-called lesser conferences have to, not only, win the games they play, but earn beauty points for doing it.

ESPN aired a pair of top-10 teams in consecutive nights and everyone's favorite disclaimer throughout each telecast was, "If you're going to be the (insert ranking here)th team in the country, you can't/have/need/ to..."

It's really not fair. And it's especially not fair to Cincinnati and South Florida because they play in a BCS conference. That is, the winner of the Big East is assured a BCS Bowl bid in the same way the Big 10 or Pac 10 is.

There's not much anyone can do about it, I suppose. This is the world we live in and teams like UC and South Florida just have to deal with it.

The Bearcats unquestionably proved themselves worthy of their ranking last night.

Raymond James Stadium was borderline hostile last night and UC was able to go in there and get a victory, even after looking so bad in the first quarter.

The fact the 'Cats struggled doesn't mean they're unworthy of top-billing; quite the opposite is true. The fact that Cincinnati could struggle in the early stages of that game, come back and make the adjustments they needed to on both sides of the ball, proves they are worthy of that ranking.

Furthermore, Cincinnati did all this against a team that also looked like it belonged. This point ties into my initial point about the Big East as a conference, but USF clearly belonged on the same field as UC.

That Bulls defense suffocated Cincinnati through the first 23 minutes of that game and Daniels spent much of the first two quarters making mincemeat of a bewildered Bearcat secondary.

The Bearcats have six games remaining on their schedule and they'll be favored to win all of them. Their toughest remaining test is one of the only two remaing road games for UC when they travel to Pitt to close the season.

As far as I can tell, if UC wins its remaining games and is not playing in the BCS Championship Game, a crime has occurred..

Some of you reading this may be getting winded as you yell at me about why the Bearcats just aren't on the same level as Virginia Tech, Ohio State or Oklahoma but I'd submit to you that is a charge that cannot possibly stick unless Cincinnati is given the opportunity to play in a game of that magnitude, especially since they come from a BCS Conference.

Now, I'll submit to you that if there are three undefeated teams at the end of this season, UC could conceivably get left out in the cold.

For example, if Florida and Texas are also undefeated at the end of the season, it would probably stand to reason that UC would be not get into the title game.

That's not what I'm clamoring about.

I'm arguing that if, say, Florida is the one of two undefeated teams and Cincinnati is the other, the Bearcats belong in the championship game over any one-loss team.

I guess that means we pull for Oklahoma Saturday afternoon.

Jackets earn comeback win over Flames Tuesday night

The Blue Jackets continued the best start in franchise history last night at home with an impressive 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Last night's defeat was the third in a row for a Calgary team that began the season an unblemished 4-0.

The focus, however, especially in Columbus, was on a Jackets club that continues to win in a variety of ways.

After falling behind last night 1-0 late in the first period, Columbus came out in the second period like a house on fire putting 13 of its 33 total shots on goal in that second period.

The Jackets' persistence finally paid off at 15:32 mark of the second period while on the power play when Anton Stralman was assisted by Derrick Brassard and Rick Nash to net the first Columbus goal of the game, squaring the contest at one.

Columbus would take the lead for good 2:04 later when Kristian Huselius fielded a nifty pass from Nash to beat Flames netminder Miikka Kiprusoff.

Nash's pair of assists last night marked the fourth consecutive multipoint game of the season for the Columbus captain.

After taking the lead, Columbus got back to what it does best--playing really good defense.

That defense, of course, is anchored by Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason who stopped 22 shots in the win, including some huge saves down the stretch in heavy traffic.

Mason was pulled in his last outing in San Jose during a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Sharks and did not play in the team's 2-0 win against the Phoenix Coyotes last Saturday.

Tuesday night's win marked the fourth consective Columbus victory over Calgary; the Jackets have won 13 of 17 all-time against the Flames in Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets killed off their only shorthanded situation of the game last night, it was the 18th penalty kill in 19 chances this season; that's the best penalty kill percentage in the league thus far.

The Jackets are in action again Saturday night when the Kings come to town.

After a win over rival Waterson, Desales sets its sights on Elder

Brad Bohus, Press Box Writer

For most of us Friday is a day to end another week and start a two-day trip of rest and relaxation. This is not true for the Stallions of St. Francis DeSales High school. For the Stallions, Friday is a day of preparation and determination for that night holds the pride and glory affectionately known as Friday Night Football.

With only weeks before the start of the playoffs, hard work is the only means of accomplishment; a shaky 2-2 start saw losses to Cardinal Mooney and Cincinnati Anderson.
Since that defeat to Anderson, the Stallions haven’t lost and last Friday saw Desales get back on track with a nail-biting, CCL clinching win over Bishop Watterson when safety Evan Kendrick intercepted a late-game pass to seal the deal.

Running with the momentum of a three-game winning streak, the Stallions will head down to Cincinnati Elder on Friday.

Led by junior quarterback, Nick Gentile, sophomore slot back Warren Ball Jr. and senior slot back Adam Griffin, DeSales will shoot for the biggest upset of its season against a tough Elder squad.

Gentile, looking to avenge the playoff defeat in the state Final Four last year at the hands of Elder when his brother (Thomas Gentile) was the keeper of the pigskin, will be ready to go at full capacity.

Ball, who did not play against Bishop Watterson due to injury, will be the pivotal factor for the Stallions, hopefully returning the tenacity to the Stallion backfield.

Along with Ball, Griffin, and Gentile, strong appearances from defensive players like Travis Jackson, Kendrick and Chi-Chi Ariguzo may spur the Stallions to a much-needed upset over Elder.

After Friday the Stallions have only two non-conference games against LaSalle on Oct. 23 and Cleveland Benedictine on Oct. 30 to close the regular season.

With the noteworthy pocket presence of Gentile, and the explosive nature of the DeSales backfield, the program is growing into an offensive powerhouse.

While the offense is growing and bathing in potential the defense is another story.
With something of a hole in the line the Stallion rush defense is struggling, allowing 3+ yards per carry this season.

That said, help is on the way.

With new “recruits” enrolling in the next couple of years, a little luck and a lot of practice I predict a state title in sight for the Stallions.

In my opinion, DeSales is one of fastest growing football programs in central Ohio and not too far from the ring.

Ohio State vs USC: The Sequel--do you want to see it?

Moments after the USC Trojans had their BCS National Championship hopes effectively ruined in a shocking 16-13 loss to Washington I got to thinking, could the Bucks and Trojans possibly meet again on New Year's Day in Pasadena?

The Rose Bowl, which traditionally pits the conference champions of the Big 10 and Pac 10 against one another, often serves as a sort of consolation prize for programs like USC and Ohio State who perennially have their sights set on a much bigger prize.

Barring some incredible upsets, however, it is unlikely that Ohio State or USC can overcome early season losses to reach the championship game this year.

The Buckeyes, who have been the punchline for a lot of jokes by members of the national media will unlikely get the benefit of the doubt from voters after falling short in another nationally televised game against a top-five opponent earlier this month.

USC, too, will need a ton of help if it is to reach the championship game after losing to a team that did not win a single game last season.

Therefore, the two teams are on something of a collision course to meet again on January 1 if each is able to run the table the rest of the season.

It should be noted that neither the Buckeyes nor Trojans can coast through conference play.

After their bye week, the Trojans will head to South Bend for a match-up against a much-improved Notre Dame squad that has scored no fewer than 30 points in any of its game thus far, and in its second-to-last game of the season, USC will play crosstown rival UCLA.

The Trojans should be favored in the rest of their games.

Ohio State has a similarly difficult schedule the rest of its season.

The Buckeyes look to remain unblemished in conference play Saturday afternoon at home against a somewhat underrated Wisconsin squad that has played well in spurts this season.

The month of November serves the Bucks an absolute gauntlet to close the season.

Road games against Penn State and Michigan will undoubtedly be nail-biters.

Like USC, the Buckeyes will probably be favored in all their games except the match-up with Penn State on November 7.

That said, my question to fellow Buckeye fans, do we even want anything to do with USC in the Rose Bowl?

This Trojan team has already ripped our hearts out once this season, do we really want to return to the site of last year's massacre and run the risk of getting humiliated again, this time in the Rose Bowl in what would be a de facto home game for USC?

The alternative would be to root like hell for Oregon later this month and take our chances with the Ducks.

I, of course, have my own opinions on the matter, but I'd much rather hear from you.

As a Buckeye fan, do you want to play USC again this season in the Rose Bowl?

You can let us know in a variety of ways, check out the discussion board on Facebook, post on our wall, or just leave a comment here. Regardless, we'd really like to hear from you.

Solving that pesky QB problem in Cleveland

This column is intended for Browns fan, assuming, of course, the few remaining die-hards haven't already gauged out their eyes with the wrong end of a butter knife or joined the Witness Protection Program.

Derek Anderson made his first start of the 2009 season last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals after Head Coach Eric Mangini benched starter Brady Quinn in the middle of a week 3 tail-kicking in Baltimore.

Anderson filled in admirably in a tough spot, completing 26 of his 48 pass attempts for 269 yards and a touchdown in a heart-wrenching 23-20 overtime loss.

Anderson's touchdown pass represented just the second offensive TD all season long for the Browns.

All told, Cleveland scored 20 points Sunday, the most the team has scored in any game thus far.

The fact that Anderson was able to breathe some semblance of life into an offense that was dangerously close to flat lining has only fueled the ongoing debate by the lake...

Just who should be quartbacking the Cleveland Browns?

The answer is not quite as simple as it may seem.

Brady Quinn is a better overall quarterback than Derek Anderson. That is, he has a greater skill set, he's more mobile and should be the long-term solution in Cleveland.

It's like my buddy Alan said in a chat on August 13, Anderson couldn't beat out Charlie Frye in training camp a couple years ago and everyone seems to forget that.

But here's the thing.

Anderson is not the guy long term in Cleveland. However, he gives the Browns the best chance to win right now.

"Wait," you're undeniably thinking right now, "that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

It's not, and here's why.

Quinn is a better quarterback than Anderson, but Anderson has a couple things Quinn does not: a big, big arm and an ability to play without worrying about throwing an interception or making a costly mistake

Anderson can make more big plays down the field than Quinn and because the Browns are simply unable to sustain long scoring drives, big plays throwing the football are really the only way Cleveland can hope to put points on the board.

The Browns scored their first touchdown last Sunday when Anderson found Steve Heiden on a play action pass in the corner of the endzone. That play, however, was set up by a 29-yard pass from Anderson to rookie receiver Mohammed Massaquoi--a play that Quinn probably doesn't make.

The official scoring summary of that drive: 4 plays, 38 yards.

In the interest of fairness, it should be noted that Cleveland's second touchdown drive midway through the third quarter was a crisp 10-play 63-yard drive that saw the Browns move the ball efficiently down the field.

The last six points posted by Cleveland Sunday was a pair of Billy Cundiff field goals that resulted after a Bengals turnover and a long punt return by Josh Cribbs.

I'm not hating on the Browns or Anderson or Quinn, I'm simply demonstrating my point, which is that Cleveland's feature back right now in the absence of injured Jamal Lewis is James Harrison and the Browns offensive line is inconsistent on a good day.

Consequently, The Browns are simply not going to be able to move the ball down the field with any degree of regularity and therefore the only real chance they have to score points is by creating big plays and Derek Anderson gives them the best chance to do just that.

Brady Quinn will start down the road for the Browns, probably at some point again this season, but right now Derek Anderson should be taking snaps under center in Cleveland.

Now that you know what we think. Let us know what you think, who should be starting at quartback in Cleveland? Comment here or leave a message on our Facebook wall and let your opinion be heard!

Jackets' netminder, Mason, geared up for sophomore season

Steve Mason took Columbus by storm last winter in his first season tending goal for the Blue Jackets.

In 61 games last season Mason posted a record of 33-20-7, holding opponents to just over two goals a contest; one-third of his wins were shutouts and Mason stopped more than 91% of shots faced.

Mason led all NHL goalies in shutouts and GAA (Goals Against Average) a season ago.

As a team, Columbus totaled 92 points last season and earned a playoff berth.

It was the most successful season in franchise history, thanks in no small part to the Jackets' rookie netminder.

Mason was Columbus' third-round pick in 2006--the 69th overall player chosen in the draft and, despite pre-season knee surgery that rendered him inactive for the start of training camp, was called upon in early November after starter Pascal Leclaire went down with an injury.

Mason made the most of his opportunity that night, helping Columbus to a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

Things only got better from there.

Mason stopped 15 total shots in a November 22 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers to earn his first career shutout as Columbus topped Atlanta, 2-0.

As November gave way to December, Mason only got better, in a remarkable 12-7-1 streak he recorded five shutouts and allowed less than a goal-and-a-half a game.

That incredible stretch of netminding garnered Mason NHL Rookie of the Month honors for November and December.

Mason's strong play in goal also earned him the starting job, and paved the way for Leclaire to be traded in a mid-season, deadline deal with Ottawa, along with a second-round pick, for Antoine Vermette.

Regrettably, a nasty, six-week bout with Mononucleosis sidelined Mason in late January and into February.

Even upon his return, Mason wasn't 100% but was thrust into duty anyway for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that Columbus was in a playoff chase and the Leclaire trade left the Jackets without a reliable backup.

Blue Jackets General Manager Scott Howson, during the offseason, admitted that what the team did to Mason was "probably unfair" last season regarding the amount of minutes Mason was asked to log despite his illness.

Depsite the success he's already enjoyed, Mason is determined to build on last season's efforts, "I feel great. I feel ready to go," Mason said. "As much as last season was a good season for myself, I want to do even better this season."

With one game already in the books, he's off to a pretty good start.

Mason stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced in a 2-1 Jackets victory over the Minnesota Wild.

"One season doesn't really prove anything," Mason went on. "If you want to be one of the best in the NHL, you have to do it for 10 or 15 seasons. And I want to be the best."

Check out this fascinating interview with Steve Mason.

The Jackets are in action again tonight on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. The puck will drop in that game at 10:00 p.m. on FS-Ohio.