Today in Good Tweets:
https://t.co/qKn7FJzMqc pic.twitter.com/aXN709nMIx
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) February 9, 2022
Guess I will simply have to become a college football coach in order to provide everyone with the scoops they deserve.
Word of the Day: Demure.
WHAT CHANGED? At first, it looked like the Bengals were going to get run off the field by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game.
The Chiefs hopped out to a quick 21-3 lead by the end of the second quarter and didn't seem to be slowing down. The Bengals couldn't seem to do anything to stop Kansas City. Eli Apple, in particular, got absolutely toasted multiple times and the Chiefs' receivers were just running free downfield.
And then it switched. Kansas City totaled just 83 yards in the second half and overtime, including just *16 passing yards* from Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs went from looking unstoppable to getting absolutely shut down. Apple went from getting toasted to offering Tyreke Hill and Mecole Hardman Super Bowl tickets.
It was absurd to watch, but according to Apple, the comeback was actually pretty simple: the Bengals knew what Kansas City was going to run, and they were pissed.
“They got cocky. They wanted to pass. They wanted Mahomes to have the ball in his hands to get rid of us. We knew the concepts that were coming at us. Before the snap, we had a tell of what they were going to do, and then it was about beating their guys to that spot and competing for the ball. And our D-Line played really great in making sure he wasn’t comfortable in the pocket when he was trying to scramble and stuff. They’re one of those teams that knows what they want to do. Especially when they’re in dropback mode. There’s only so many things they can do with different sets. It’s just about their athletes being fast and our athletes being fast, too. Who can keep up with who?”
...
The Bengals players absolutely took their celebrating into consideration through the comeback. Hardman’s dance, especially.
“They f----- up,” Apple says. “Any time anybody does that, it makes you mad as a defense. It makes you want to clean up stuff and make sure they don’t do that anymore. And they didn’t. After the touchdown they got on me, when I didn’t run to make that play on the pick — the pick-flat play — ‘17’ started hitting the ‘quan.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s over. We can’t let that happen anymore.’
“Once you start getting stops, it’s like ‘You all f----d up.’ And they knew it.”
But what a lot of people might not realize is that Apple's first half was the uncharacteristic anomaly – not the second. At least this season.
Just a reminder:
— z - eli apple stan (@bengalsheadline) February 8, 2022
Eli Apple has a higher man coverage grade in PFF than Jalen Ramsey aka the best corner in the NFL pic.twitter.com/DBoKQ7qjrj
I don't know what it took for him to magically start playing like a top-10 pick, but that's what he's looked like this entire season. And he's going to make sure every one of his former teams and every receiver he faces knows about it.
GO LONG. I remember the days in 2015 and 2016 where every other question in media scrums was about Ohio State's ability to throw the deep ball.
That's uh... not a conversation anymore.
C.J. Stroud threw 16 TD passes at 20+ yards downfield last season, the most by any Big Ten QB dating back to 2016 pic.twitter.com/sC3w7jB4Xg
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) February 8, 2022
The fact that the last three Ohio State quarterbacks are in the top-three is extremely cool and good, but also not at all surprising.
BIG TEN BEST? If not for a couple of postponed games, there's an extremely solid chance that a win today would put Ohio State in a four-way tie for first place in the Big Ten.
Crazy developments of Tuesday night leave Ohio State in a tie for the Big Ten lead in the loss column ... technically OSU (14-5 overall, 7-3 B1G) is 1-1/2 games behind co-leaders Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue (all 10-3) ... this is why playing ppd games vs. Iowa, Neb so important
— Steve Helwagen (@SteveHelwagen) February 9, 2022
Of course, that's assuming the Buckeyes would have won both of those games, but Nebraska 0-12 in conference play and I like the odds of beating Iowa at home.
Ohio State is going to get the chance to make up those games, so buckle up for this stretch run. The Buckeyes are very much in this title race.
TALE OF TWO HIRES. Let's play a game of compare and contrast!
Ohio State and Michigan both found themselves looking for new defensive coordinators this offseason (for entirely different reasons, to be fair). The Buckeyes, as you know, hired Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State. The Wolverines have just hired... Jesse Minter from Vanderbilt.
Sources: Michigan is expected to hire Vanderbilts Jesse Minter as the schools new defensive coordinator. Hes a former Ravens assistant who brings experience in defensive system.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 8, 2022
This season, Knowles' Oklahoma State defense ranked No. 5 in the country in total defense (297.9 yards allowed per game) and No. 9 in scoring defense (18.07 points allowed per game).
Meanwhile, Minter's Commodores ranked 118th in total defense (457.3 yards allowed per game) and 119th in scoring defense (35.8 points allowed per game).
I will not comment further because I do not need to.
But I do feel like I need to share this:
I cannot decide if the best part of that comment is calling Minter a "perfect hire" or considering an NFL position coach a "moon shot." Both? Maybe both.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Teardrop" by Massive Attack.
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