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WinterBorn
Guest
I am sure we will hear plenty of noise from both sides for much of the game. Its the 4th qtr that will quiet the LSU crowd.
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WinterBorn
Guest
OK enough with the nightmare material
What I have said shouldn't be your nightmare. Neither should Nick's amazing recruiting.
Want something to have nightmares about? Alabama is probably the youngest team in the SEC. We have few seniors of any consequence. Ingram is about to start his junior year. So is Julio Jones. Trent Richardson is a sophmore. Hightower is a sophmore.
We lost a couple of defensive starters, but the people behind them had plenty of playing time this year.
FUCK THE POLICE
911 EVERY DAY
Mon hopes they all die and thinks that football loves are all irredeemable annoying assholes.
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WinterBorn
Guest
Ok, we are inside 6 weeks till the season starts! I'm ready for some football!
The preseason pundit's picks have quite a few matching Ohio State and Alabama for the NC.
What do you think, Mott? Ready to see Tressell and Saban face off for all the marbles?
The preseason pundit's picks have quite a few matching Ohio State and Alabama for the NC.
What do you think, Mott? Ready to see Tressell and Saban face off for all the marbles?
Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
Well there's a good possibility of that. We have a lot of defensive starters returning.
Let's start with two guys I followed in high school. Ross Homan and John Simon. Homan is from my alma mater Coldwater on the west side of the state and Simon is from Cardinal Mooney on the other side of the state in Youngstown. Homan and Simon played against each other in the State championship game in which my alma matter Coldwater came from behind by 3 TD's in the 4th qtr. (Mooney had a big advantage over Coldwater in that theyr are an urban private Catholic school that makes no bones about recruiting talent whereas Coldwater is a public school in a small farm town of about 4,000).
Simon is a beast. He's a huge and atheletic and quick. Having him and Cameron Heyward on the defensive line is going to give defensive coordinators fits. Homan led the defense in tackles and will probably make 1st team Big 10. He's projected at a slightly higher NFL draft rank then Laurenitis was. Homan doesn't put up a lot of fancy stats. His 40 tims is nothing to sing about and he's not the strongest linebacker on the team but boy does he product out on the field and leading the team in tackles is an impressive stat.
On offensive line Brewer, and Boren are all NFL calliber with Boren being one of the best run blockers in college. It boils down to their two young tackles Shugart and Adams stepping up their game. Both were rated as the #1 offensive lineman in the nation in their recruiting class. If they step to that potential this year the OSU will probably have the best offensive line in college football.
Running back we have a lot of depth but nothing spectacular. It boils down to Brandon Saine. This could be a break out year for him. He's one of the fastest backs in the college game and he has the size and strength to move piles. His lack of elusiveness and being injury prone has delayed his development but with 10 second speed in the 100 yard dash....I bet he does well. If he can step up his game he'll surprise a lot of people. The rest of our backs are good quality college backs but are nothing special though we do have depth.
Recieving is our biggest problem. This year you'll see a underclassman Jake Stonebruner at TE that looks a hell of a lot like Oklahoma's Jermaine Gersham. He's 6'8", 265 lb and runs a 4.6 40, runs good routes and has good hands and is a good run blocker. A good thing cause OSU's week point will be at WR. Devier Posey is a top notch reciever and Dane Senzenbacher is an excellent possesion reciever going over the middle (if he can survive a full season doing that.). None of the rest of the Buckeyes recieveing corp impress though they can fill roles. However, with Pryors running ability Stonebrunner should be able to take up the slack and give opposing defenses nightmares.
With Pryor, we got one of the best QB's in the country. If he shows as much improvement this year as he did last year. Watch out.
On Defense, we have Heyward, Larrimore, Simon and Nat Williams. They are arguably the best defensive line in college football. Heyward will be a high first round draft pick for sure. At LB you have Homan plugging the middle and Etienne and Sabino on the outside. Etienne is a freak at 240 lb with 4.4 speed. Sabino is just as fast but only 215. Expect to see our opponents run to that side of the field. In other words, if you can't throw the ball you're going to have a tough time beating the Bucks as they have the horses to stop the run.
As for corners you didn't hear the names of Chimidi Chekwa or Devon Torrence last year did you? Well that's cause they did a great job of shutting down most of their opponents. At safety you'll be seeing Jemale Hines at Safety. This kid is something special and you'll be seeing him in the NFL.
All in all, I don't think it's a stretch to say this is the best OSU team Tressel as fielded in terms of quality players across the board.
Are we the best in the nation? I don't know. We'll find out but were certainly one of the top 5 teams in the nation.
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WinterBorn
Guest
Sounds like fun.
Ok, so Bama's D lost 9 starters, but brings back plenty with playing time last year. And Donta' Hightower is back in top form. Josh Chapman is replacing Mt Cody, and is the strongest man on the team. When you can bench 500 you can move an O lineman.
Mark Barron is the best safety in the SEC, and led the conference in interceptions last year.
We have two new receivers to compliment Julio Jones, Marquis Maze, and Darius Hanks. The QB still hasn't lost a game. And our backfield is probably the deepest of any team in the country. Ingram and Richardson each put over 100 yards against the Texas D that hadn't allowed a single runner to do that all year. And Eddie Lacey is a phenomenon waiting his turn.
Minister of Truth
Practically Perfect
Everytime I see SEC I think of regulating the stock market. 
Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
You don't need much of a defense with Ingraham and Richardson. Just hand the ball to them and defy your opponents to stop them. That's why your QB hasn't lost a game. If you run across a team that can shut them down (and don't think there are to many that can) then Bama will have problems. I don't think LSU can make it through there schedule with out losing 2. The pundits put Bama at #1 and rightfully so but my money is on the Gators. I think it will be a horse race between their QB, Pryor and Locker for best QB in the nation.
Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
Moot point Topper. LSU aint going to the NCG. No way you'll make it through the SEC schedule undefeated which is what it will take for ya'll to go. FSU and Bama can lose a game and still make up ground. LSU can't. OSU on the other hand has an excellent chance of going undefeated and if they do, like it or not, the'll be in the big dance and LSU won't.
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WinterBorn
Guest
McElroy does a little more than hand it off. But his best feature is that he doesn't do stupid things. Thats all we really ask of him. There are hints that our passing game may open up a bit more this year.
The Gators may pop up and surprise some folks. Personally, I think if Mallet at Arkansas stays healthy he will be the top QB. But without a defense they don't stand a chance.
Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
Miami will be a good indicator on the Bucks. There a top 10 team and if the Buckeyes crush them.....then things will look real good for the Buckeyes.
Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
Mallet's a fine QB.
Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
Again, moot point. LSU won't be there with two SEC losses. There to far down in the polls.
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WinterBorn
Guest
But in those years Alabama sucked, Auburn was iffy, and Arkansas was a pushover. The SEC West is a bit different now.
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WinterBorn
Guest
We host Penn State and visit Arkansas in September. That will have us facing two very different styles. If we survive them both I will breathe easier.