Only 60 days remain until Oregon State vs. Ohio State. WE'RE ALMOST HOME.
ICYMI:
- B1G athletic directors want a national weekly injury report to maintain the integrity of the game in the wake of sports gambling legalization.
- Forecasting the chances of Buckeye (and committed) QBs of starting.
- Have a tailgate recipe the world needs to know about? Submit it to the Official 11W Tailgate Cookbook. The author of the highest-voted recipe receives a $50 gift certificate to Eleven Warriors Dry Goods.
Word of the Day: Febrile.
BIG BOYS BOON FOR DWAYNE TRAIN. A quarterback can only be as great as his offensive line allows. Sure, athleticism and seeing the escape routes in a collapsing pocket can help, but even Tom Brady would look average if five stiffs blocked for him.
The same is true at Ohio State with Dwayne Haskins. He needs his offensive line to play to the Buckeye standard so he can do the same. They should be up to the task.
From lettermanrow.com:
The Buckeyes have experience with Isaiah Prince and Michael Jordan both bringing multiple years in the starting lineup with them to training camp. They have no shortage of skill based on the recruiting rankings over the last few years, with guys like Wyatt Davis or Josh Myers pushing for playing time and Thayer Munford poised to take over the top spot at left tackle. There is flexibility with multiple Buckeyes capable of sliding around to different positions, whether it’s guard to tackle for somebody like Bowen or potentially using Joshua Alabi as the ultimate do-it-all blocker capable of playing everywhere from the center to the edge. Realistically, Ohio State has everything it could possibly need.
And all of that should work in Haskins’ favor.
Yes, Ohio State has what it needs yet that's no guarantee that happens. Center concerns me; other than that, the Buckeyes should be okay upfront as long as they stay healthy.
Teams should have to blitz to get to Haskins. And if that happens, expect opponents to get diced.
BARRETT "TOUGH TO CUT." I wouldn't bet on J.T. Barrett making the Saints opening day roster. His commanding presence, however, may be enough to earn him one.
From 247sports.com:
While that may be the case, it looks like Barrett could find a spot on the roster, whether that's as Brees' backup or as a practice squad player. According to NFL scouting expert Dan Shonka, Barrett is in a good position following the spring minicamps and heading into preseason with the Saints.
"He’s going to be hard to cut," Shonka, who helped organize the East/West Shrine Game that Barrett played in, said. "He’s like E.F. Hutton when he came into the room for the East team. Everybody just stopped and listened. It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. It was just like, ‘Holy cow, this guy has got a presence about him.’ He’s kind of flat lined. He doesn’t get really high or too low when he makes a mistake."
I wish I could divert ten of his leadership points into arm strength, and I'd feel about 500% about his chance of making the opening day roster.
Playing on the practice squad ain't a bad gig, either. May not come with a lot of glory; it comes with more money than most entrance-level jobs.
LEARNING FROM THE BEST. Eddie George has added another title to his bag of eclectic tricks; he's now a financial advisor who recently mentored Jerome Baker and former Michigan State running back Gerald Holmes on what it takes to succeed off-the-field in the NFL.
The most shocking thing about this... Eddie cusses! Who knew? Not me.
MICHIGAN: SAME OLD SOB STORY. Even the most professional prognostications about Michigan seem to be "¯\_(ツ)_/¯ they might be good if Shea Patterson can play well???"
From Bill Connelly of sbnation.com:
Jim Harbaugh’s fourth season could be a lot like his first two: top-10 quality and close games against other elites.
…
The receiving corps is infinitely more stable, too. Former blue-chipper Tarik Black had 11 catches for 149 yards in three games before missing the rest of the season with injury, and he joins another former five-star (sophomore Donovan Peoples-Jones), senior slot receiver Grant Perry, and tight end Sean McKeon.
There are also plenty of young four-stars — junior tight end Tyrone Wheatley, sophomore Nico Collins, redshirt freshman Oliver Martin, true freshman tight ends Mustapha Muhammad and Ryan Hayes — who could emerge.
Still, so much depends on Patterson and a system that remains somewhere between uncertain and stodgy. The Wolverines proved in 2015 and 2016 that they could play elite-level ball without elite-level quarterbacking, but a strong season from Patterson would give them a margin for error that they haven’t yet enjoyed under Harbaugh.
Patterson may be good. The more consistent variable is Harbaugh's offense will be overcomplicated and janky. Those are two qualities you can take to the bank, and it's going to take a lot more than Shea Patterson's best season to overcome them.
I still tab Michigan for three losses in 2018! (Save this tweet.)
THOSE WMDs. App developers sift through your email... Polish charity gets huge phone bill thanks to a stork... The glamorous grandmas of Instagram... Ice Poseidon's lucrative, stressful life as a video game streamer... Did Satoshi Nakamota write this book excerpt?
