Eleven Warriors

I've talked to a lot of angry people about the way the NFL HoF is run and the selection process is, and I have this to offer.

Cris Carter vs Michael Irvin.

A Hall of Fame for a sport doesn't necessarily HAVE to include anyone based on stats. Irvin was blessed to preform with elite coaching and personnel around him. Cris Carter was not always. Both men are blessed with amazing physical ability, obviously.  But only one of these guys got to use their abilities on the "biggest stage" so to speak, in the Super Bowl. Is the deciding factor of who is better or more deserving of enshrinement based on stats, performance in big games, or even personality?

Hypothetically, if there had never been a Pro Football Hall of Fame and they decided to open one up now, and let a large number of player entries in, just to christen the HOF, so to speak, who would they induct? Being 25 years old, I am not as knowledgeable when looking at the history of the NFL, so forgive me. But the first people looked at would be either all-time innovators at their respective positions (Walter Payton, Jim Brown type), and Super Bowl ballers (Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana type). This is outside of coaches and other entries obviously.

I'm not sold, that even if they selected 267 entries (which they are at currently), that Cris Carter is such a big snub. In 20 years he may not even be in the top 15 of his receiving records, and he rubbed a lot of the wrong people the wrong way. Okay he did it with bad QB play for the most part, but I will get to that in a second. I whole-heartedly think CC should be in the HoF, but my friends get so worked up over him not being first ballot and I don't understand being upset about something like this. Do you think if he had been more personable he would have been first ballot? Or had he won a Super Bowl, same outcome? If you are an athlete in the NFL, you are obviously blessed with God Given talent. But going from Pro-Bowler to All Time Great has a lot to do with timing and luck.

Timing and luck vs Joey Galloway

Okay sorry, I had to take it to this level. If you know anything about me, which, yeah you don't, you could have expected this. And this is not necessarily just Joey Galloways bad luck. Yeah, the QB he caught the majority of his passes from is Quincy Carter (right?). But lets say he somehow comes out in the 1996 draft, and gets drafted in the first round by the Colts, in need of a deep threat receiver. Then who the crap is Marvin Harrison and who is Joey Galloway? I'm sure there are many of these scenarios, but Joey Galloway had 77 TDs and almost 11,000 yards with the likes of Rick Mirer, Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, and Jeff Garcia tossing him the rock. Ok, yeah he couldn't get the Pats offense down later in his career, but look at what he did with what he had. Same argument can be made for Barry Sanders. With his ability behind any other line or in any other scheme he may have been the best ever. Its almost like the butterfly effect of NFL careers.

In Conclusion

What separates a fringe NFL Legend and a Hall of Famer has a lot to do with the right place, right time, because all of the athletes in the NFL are so blessed with talent just to get to the spot where they are. But it also has a lot to do with team outcomes; Super Bowls, dynasty type teams always produce Hall of Famers. And yeah those players are needed to create the "Dynasty" team, but you cant tell me that Michael Irvin was the best WR of his era. What came first, the chicken or the egg? The dynasty team or the hall of Famer? This doesn't mean the dynasty player he should or shouldn't be in the HoF, it is just a combination of a bunch of factors to turn Great NFL Players to busts in Canton, Ohio. Cris Carter will have his year folks.

Answer some of my questions! Criticize me! I don't care!

Ok not literally. But the way these high school seniors create amazing ripples into the landscape of college football is undeniable. In my ever-persistent procrastinating, I decided about a week ago to write a blog post explaining how. Naturally, here it is.

College football to me, like it is to many of us, is a way of life. I was raised into it, even baptized into it. A framed picture of me as an infant being held by Archie Griffin has my back. Yeah, half of my blood is gray. I have been to the shoe, which is 3 hours away, for games at least 30 times, and half the trips were before I was even a teenager. I have an awesome family that shares my passion and that I owe it to. I was in middle school, waiting on every Wednesday for that Buckeye Sports Bulletin in the mail. First section I always flipped to? Recruiting. I couldn't get enough of it. I dreamt of being in that section one day. To be recruited and read about by freaks like me. And though I am physically blessed with great hair, precision eyesight, and Steve Perry's vocal chords, I am no D1 athlete. So I missed the boat on this one. What never left me was my passion to follow recruiting. I knew where everyone went to high school, I knew the ins and outs of guys before they were on campus, I felt a step ahead. I drove around the state, watching the likes of beanie wells, most glenville guys, micah hyde, Chris Borland, anyone I could go see play live, I was there. Weird right? I played a lot of NCAA football on my PlayStation, and would always sim seasons just to recruit. What is wrong with me? I don't know, I really don't. But I regress from reaffirming my buckeye fanhood and overall craziness atop the soapbox of a blog post.

Heres a story for you guys, and a little something to think about. We missed out on James Quick today, big deal? Yeah kind of. Will Ohio State survive? Surely. But when you miss out on a #1, a lot can change even if you have a #1B or #2 option. Here is what I'm getting at. In 2008, Ohio state had just finished a season where a big time freshman quarterback looked like he was bound to win a Heisman, and lead his team for 2, maybe 3 more years. But these buckeyes didn't have a back up. Todd Boeckman was graduating, and we needed a Terrell Pryor understudy. Tressel found his guy, in the #4 rated QB in the country, a 4 star guy from Virginia, one Tajh Boyd. The feeling of love, was mutual. Tajh Boyd loved Tressel, loved the campus and the program, and didn't want to go as far away as his second option, Oregon. In the middle of December 2008, he was a lock to be a buckeye. He was the perfect fit to learn under TP, take over the team as a RS junior, and look good doing it. But as he thought about it, and a team closer and with more of a need at QB, Clemson, moved in, he smartly decided to become a tiger, committing after an official in the middle of January 2009. He was looking at spending at least 2 years behind a clipboard at a conservative school and then stepping into the shoes of a QB destined for greatness. Ohio state turns around, needing a QB, and picks up a skinny kid from Texas with a last name no one knew how to say at first, a Kenneth Guiton. Tajh Boyd is now a first team all-ACC QB and pretty dang good one that will be drafted in April. But what if Boyd committed to the Buckeyes, as he admittedly almost did in that December? Think about this. He spends 2009 redshirting, as Ohio state rolls to a rose bowl victory, and in 2010 he sees the field a bit, and flashes greatness on a team that wins the sugar bowl. Then, amongst the turmoil of that next spring/summer, which saw JT and TP exit the program, Boyd steps up and becomes the QB he is now with 3 years of eligibility left and some experience. In steps Luke Fickell, and instead of throwing a true freshman Braxton Miller into the fire, Tajh Boyd steps up, composed and experienced, and makes that offensive coaching staff look serviceable. a 6-7 team is a 9-4 team. Luke Fickell is the answer at HC, no need to go find a new guy. Now, 2012, we have a RS junior Boyd, and a RS freshman Braxton Miller, with Luke Fickell as our head coach. this is in no way a scenario i would welcome, because i am completely caught up in a man-crush on urban Meyer, but is this not a strong possibility? had Boyd chosen the buckeyes, we could have not had the Urban Meyer-led undefeated season, our buckeye hopes maybe wouldn't be so sky-high. Amazing how one decision could hypothetically change so much. I, for one, would not change a thing. I love the ups and downs of this crazy college football life. I am in no way saying this is exactly what would have happened or that you absolutely have to agree with me, i am also not saying that missing on James quick and taking Timmons/Elder/Wilson/Gibson in his place is dooming or helping our program, just something to think about. and remember, these kids are making the biggest decision of their professional football lives, the only decision they really have. just pray that it works out with them if their intentions are good, and know that Ohio state football will rise every day with the sun, with or without them.

It's in the books. The 2012 Season for The Ohio State University is over; unblemished, unscathed. Our Buckeyes wont see live football action for 9 months. Go ahead, get your old lady pregnant now, by the time she is screaming out that puppy, the last time we saw the field will still be that wonderful game we just played this afternoon against the school up north. We, as Buckeye fans, we are confused. Who do we root for? What do we do if there is inclement weather, what do we wear? This off-season will certainly be odd, as we have been blessed with bowl games and many January Scarlet and Gray festivities for years. And still our last memory, Carlos Hyde, under a hat as shiny as the spoon we are fed with, mocking the michigan sideline as time runs out on our aforementioned season. Our bullets flying around Ohio Stadium breaking Sun and Blue hearts everywhere. Ahh, the imagery. Urban Meyer has had bowl preparation every year of his head coaching career minus his year at BGSU, where he still went 8-3 and 9-3, respectively. So we aren't the only one with questions. Will this team continue to grow as fast, without the extra bowl practices? When and who of the incoming seniors will step up into their leadership roles?

So here we sit, digesting jalapeno poppers and Michelob Light, burning as much SEC football into our eyesockets as we can handle until Notre Dame and USC is plopped onto us, with our questions. I'm here to shed some positive light on our postseason banned-perfect season. Heres a few reasons to be excited my friends.

Recruiting. When the EA Sports franchise started making recruiting in NCAA Football games actually fun, I started simulating seasons just to recruit. Its easier to do this when you don't have to worry about other things, like the guy I named after me but way bigger and faster, skipping classes and high ankle spraining his way to 3rd team All-American. That is the extent of my head coaching experience. I truly believe our postseason ban will give the Buckeye coaching staff a leg up on the 2013 and even '14 and '15 classes as well. We will have more time to be in contact with the kids we are recruiting. Yeah we only have maybe 5-6 spots left in this class, but our staff will have more time to evaluate and almost choose who they want. Our program under Meyer and his staff, especially after this seasons showing, has a "buzz" around it for high school kids it seems. We may be the "sexy" pick for some time, and if we aren't yet, just give up your worries to Urban And Co., I promise we will be pulling in top 3 classes that we will looking back on and thinking, "what a class". I ended up using quotations three times in that paragraph, color me personally impressed.

Hunger. The outgoing class of seniors paid their dues. They are one of two classes (our current juniors) to experience three different head coaches at The Ohio State University since the 1940's. They left with a bang, and gosh darn it, I love them. There will be some holes to fill, positionally and emotionally, on this team for next year. But now the incoming seniors have had two years of not winning a bowl game. Of not playing for a conference championship. Of not being nationally recognized as a NC contender. They and the underclassmen now have to sit and watch as the rest of college football, including teams they took care of business against, get to go play in warm weather, enjoy bowl festivities, and feel like overall badasses. This experience wont be motivation next year you say? I say you're wrong. I believe this kids are even more poised and focused for making a big run next year, and now understand even more so how important every game, every series, every 6 non stop seconds of intensity, really are.

My anxiety. This is AMAZING. Can you just sit and think, "Hey, we just beat the Hokey Pokey and his wait-staff, finished undefeated, and no one can take that away from us, ever"? Do it. The season is done, we got every result we wanted, minus 30 more yards for Hyde. You now should be smiling from trashy sideburn to trashy sideburn (thanks "Movember" and weak genetics). No worries, no more Friday road rage before gameday just in case someone on sEcSPN dare talk about our Bucks in a negative light, so we can yell at the tv and scare the cat back upstairs for the night. We are free. Lets watch football in our new shirt from 11W Dry Goods and smile to ourselves when Bret Crylema and his badgers get toasted by Stanford in the Rose Bowl. We did our part, now lets relax for the bowl season; we wont get another chance for a long, long time.