Final Thoughts on the Fiesta Bowl

Well, damn.

A couple of silver linings from the Fiesta Bowl:

I thought overall it was a great game. Ohio State acquitted themselves well and regained some of their tarnished reputation, but take nothing away from Colt McCoy and Texas. That is a great team that many argue should have played for the National Championship. Save for a missed tackle with less than 20 seconds left, Ohio State probably wins that game. By the way, I agreed with the blitz call in that situation. And admit it, Heacock was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. If he blitzes, and the guy scores because of a missed tackle (which he did), everyone scratches their head and says what the hell is he thinking, blitzing in that situation? The only call was to drop into a zone and prevent the TD. If he drops into a zone, and McCoy gets all day in to survey the field, someone gets open and they still might score. No matter how good your corners are, they can’t cover all day with no pressure. Now everyone scratches their head and says what the hell was he thinking dropping into a soft zone? The only call was to blitz and to put pressure on McCoy. You can’t give an All-American all that time. Nope, if the tackle is made, it’s a fairly short gain, Texas has to burn their last time out, and they have maybe two plays left. It’s still anyone’s game.

I’ve read a fair amount of criticism directed at the coaching staff, but my sentiments on that are different. I had no problem with the conservative gameplan on offense for this game, especially with Terrelle Pryor taking most of the snaps. Get too aggressive and make a few mistakes, I think the “here we go again” mentality creeps in and things steamroll against the good guys. What I did like was the Pryor-Boeckman shuttling. I thought Coach Tressel did a great job of realizing when Pryor was starting to get overwhelmed, rattled, go on a cold streak, whatever it is you want to call it, and calling in Boeckman to provide a calming effect with his senior leadership. I wonder if he had done that against Penn State what might have happened…

Speaking of Todd Boeckman, he has made my all-time top 10 favorite Buckeye list for the way he played, and the way he carried himself on and off the field this season. It would have been easy for a guy in his position to fracture the locker room, but he didn’t. He was the consummate teammate and leader, and I hope he is rewarded for his efforts with a job playing on Sundays. If I could paraphrase the junior senator-elect from Minnesota:

He’s smart enough, he’s good enough, and doggone it, people like him!

Now, for the “Tressel Needs to be Fired” crowd: Shut up. Please, you’re embarrassing yourself. Jim Tressel has presided over what is one of the greatest periods of Ohio State football in the history of the program. Do you really want another John Cooper era? Really?

He has been to a New Year’s/BCS bowl in 7 of 8 years, and is 4-4 in bowl games. He has three appearances in the National Championship game, and won it. Until 2006, he beat top 5/10 programs with regularity, and you can argue that with the 2009 Fiesta Bowl that he has turned the corner on the “Big Game Jinx”. He owns Michigan, going 7-1 with a 5 game winning streak, and has won the Big 10 title 5 of his eight years in Columbus. A couple of plays go the other way and Craig Krenzel doesn’t get knocked goofy in Ann Arbor in 2003, and he might be undefeated against Michigan with four NCG appearances and 6 Big 1o titles. Indiana, as an institution, has won the Big 10 twice. Michigan State, 7 times. Northwestern and Purdue, 8 times. Minnesota hasn’t won it since 1967. I find it ironic that a Big 10 championship and a BCS bowl is now considered a letdown. Considering where this program was, I’ll take that all day every day, and twice on Sundays.

I’m not a recruiting expert, but the guys who are say Ohio State has had a top 10 recruiting class four out of his nine years (counting 2009), and with a top ranked 2009 following up a top five 2008 class, Ohio State has the most promising young talent in the program since Woody Hayes was bragging about his 1968 team…at the end of 1967. Terrelle Pryor has huge upside, it seems that the offensive and defensive line issues have been addressed, and guys like DeVier Posey bring WR speed and playmaking ability that hasn’t been around these parts since…Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez, guys Jim Tressel also managed to recruit.

So contrary to popular belief, the sky isn’t falling, Chicken Little. Enjoy what we have now, because whoever succeeds Tressel will be hard pressed to match his achievements. And you’ll probably be bitching about how that guy sucks in comparison to Tressel.

Purple Buckeye One Hitters:

--If I was Beanie Wells, I’m gone. The guy is a beast, but he can’t stay healthy. Make the NFL jump before your stock falls any farther, or you get hurt and don’t even make it to the NFL.

--If Beanie comes back, the running game is in great shape.

--If Beanie goes, the running game is in great shape.

--Randall McDaniel, John Randle, and Cris Carter all made the final 15 for the NFL Hall of Fame voting. McDaniel and Carter are no-brainers in my opinion, and John Randle should be. He has more sacks than any other interior lineman in NFL history, and I think he eventually gets in, but a lot of people look at him as a pass rushing specialist, so I think he has an uphill battle.

--The Cubs sign Milton Bradley, the Cardinals sign a guy with an ERA that was north of 8.00 in 2008. While Milton Bradley is blowing up in the locker room, Royce Ring will be blowing up on the mound. Sweet.

--I do like the Khalil Greene signing. However, I will miss the resistible force (or is it the moveable object) that is Cesar Izturis.

--Off Topic: Although my condolences go out to the Pohlad family, I have mixed emotions about his legacy as Twins owner. Yes, he brought the only major professional sports championships to Minnesota, and he actually got an outdoor stadium deal done, but he was more than willing to sell the team and let them move, and/or contract them for a hefty profit. Marry that up with an unwillingness to keep top flight talent and his legacy is quite a cloudy one.

--2009 NFL Draft: 107 days

--2009 Buckeye Season Opener: 240 Days

--Pitchers and Catchers Report…37 Days

That’s all for now. Take care and thanks to all six of you that bothered to read this.