There were a few times in the past year when I legitimately thought the Browns might be on the verge of competing in the AFC North, or at least avoid looking like such a train wreck.
But now the Browns are 2-5-1, they just fired their head coach, and players are directly comparing him to a hyperbolic fictional television boss best known for his hilarious incompetence.
I can tell you I know a Browns player who directly compared Hue Jackson to Michael Scott
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) October 29, 2018
And now we're back to normal.
ICYMI:
- Urban Meyer affirms that he will be Ohio State's head coach next season.
- Joey Bosa says Nick made the right decision "from a logical point of view"
- Ohio State is practicing with a "tremendous amount of urgency."
- The Buckeyes continue the fight to fix an ailing running game
- Ohio State continues to look for options in the red zone.
- Scouting report: Nebraska.
- Get hype for Dubgate 8 on Nov. 3 at 9 a.m. Sponsors include Buffalo Wild Wings, Land Grant Brewing, Dirty Frank's Hot Dogs, Yuengling and Jack Daniels. Don't forget to vote in the Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Tournament.
Word of the Day: Impecunious.
DRAFT-READY BUCKEYES. It's been a rough few weeks, but Ohio State's still set up for an NFL Draft Buckeye infomercial come April, with three potential first-round picks, including the possible No. 1 overall pick.
From the latest mock draft of Steve Palazzolo from Pro Football Focus:
1. ARIZONA CARDINALS – EDGE NICK BOSA, OHIO STATE
The Cardinals take the best player in the draft and Bosa instantly upgrades their pass-rush after grading at an elite 90.0-plus in his two-plus years of college.
...
16. MIAMI DOLPHINS – QB DWAYNE HASKINS, OHIO STATE
The second quarterback comes off the board in Haskins, who still has some work to do, especially after rough games on the road, but the Dolphins need to take a chance as they look to replace Ryan Tannehill. Haskins has graded at 91.2 from a clean pocket, but only 38.3 on his 67 pressured dropbacks.
...
17. ATLANTA FALCONS – DI DRE’MONT JONES, OHIO STATE
Jones is a disruptor on the interior, ranking third among interior defensive linemen at 92.3 overall to go with 23 pressures on the season.
Though take this with an extreme grain of salt, because this draft has the Bills picking fifth, and I'm not convinced Buffalo will score another touchdown the rest of the season at the rate things are going on offense.
Which leads me to...
TERRELLE PRYOR, BILLS SAVIOR. The Bills haven't scored a touchdown in two games and have just one the past 15 quarters, but that's all about to change, baby!
I'm told WR Terrelle Pryor flew into Buffalo last night. The #Bills have offered Pryor a contract that is currently under consideration, per source.
— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) October 29, 2018
If this happens, they absolutely have to at least give the guy a shot at quarterback.
I know he's not your prototypical NFL passer, but this is a team that voluntarily started Nathan Peterman and then called in 35-year-old Derek Anderson, who hadn't thrown a football since 2016, as their ringer, and he got injured last night.
It's just about impossible to be a downgrade from Peterman, especially when you can also do this:
Or you could put him at receiver, and allow Cardale Jones to claim the throne, as was originally destined, and begin planning the Super Bowl parade route.
JOE BURROW, LEGEND. Speaking of former Ohio State quarterbacks, Joe Burrow has officially reached can't-go-out-in-public celebrity status.
Joe Burrow said a fan waited for him at the airport in Columbus in LSU gear when he flew home this weekend.
— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) October 29, 2018
They said "Geaux Tigers" and asked for a photo.
Burrow said, 'I guess so. Who knows how long you've been waiting here.'
Burrow also had to leave the Athens High game at halftime because he was being mobbed.
— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) October 29, 2018
Imagine what the crowds are going to be like when he dumps Bama next week, out-dueling America's favorite Samoan in prime time.
When that happens, is he a top-5 Buckeye quarterback of all time or just top-10?
EGW NAMED POTW. Speaking of former Ohio State players who played some quarterback in high school, Eric Glover-Williams is doing his thing over at Slippery Rock University, earning conference defensive player of the week honors.
From a Slippery Rock release:
Slippery Rock University defensive back Eric Glover-Williams was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week for his performance in The Rock's 44-21 win on the road at California (Pa.).
Glover-Williams, a junior transfer from Ohio State, earns his first PSAC weekly honor on the heels of his best game at SRU. The Canton, Ohio native recorded an interception and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown in the second half to go along with three total tackles, one solo sack and two pass breakups as The Rock claimed the PSAC West title with a convincing win.
I've got a feeling we're going to see EGW on some NFL roster as an undrafted free agent in a few years, and the rest of the world is going to have no idea where he came from.
"HAPPY TO START A MAN DOWN." The Ohio State women's hockey team busted out new all-black uniforms on the road against No. 3 Minnesota a little over a week ago, and were informed the numbers were too difficult to read and they would be penalized if they wore them again.
The Buckeyes didn't really care.
The team decided to start the game a down a player instead of change jerseys, and they promptly killed the penalty, scored the first goal in the game, and won 3-2.
From Alison Lukan of The Athletic ($):
But, after the series concluded, Buckeyes head coach Nadine Muzerall celebrated the uniforms her team wore.
“We were happy to start a man down,” Muzerall said in postgame comments. “We were excited to wear (our) jerseys … and I’d prefer to be Darth Vader than Luke Skywalker any day.”
...
“Some people said, ‘I can’t believe (you) would start on the penalty kill,’ ” Muzerall said. “I say, ‘why can’t you?’ This was something bigger. For me it was about my team that came to me and said ‘we want to wear these (jerseys), our penalty kill is strong. We’re going to kill this and win the hockey game.’ ”
That's extremely bold on the road against a top-5 team, but if you make that call, you have to back it up. They did, and I respect the hell out of it.
HIGH ROLLER ALERT. I know sports gambling is becoming a bit more mainstream, and some of you might decide to try your hand at it.
A warning, it does not always work out like this:
JUST IN: A bettor, who bet $25,000 on a five-leg parlay on the @WilliamHillUS mobile app, netted $533,055 when the Packers covered yesterday. pic.twitter.com/ktI9kyelCc
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 29, 2018
My brain can't even fathom what it's like to have $25,000 all at once sitting in a bank account, much less letting it all ride on odds similar to correctly guessing five consecutive coin flips (if you're bored, give this a shot and see how many times you would have lost a cool $25k).
Assuming this fellow did not hedge his investment, imagine the absolute rollercoaster in his chest as he watched this play unfold.
Todd Gurley doesn't care about your fantasy team, the spread, or the over/under. pic.twitter.com/xNoc42LdyB
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) October 28, 2018
LINK LOCKER. Mystery submarine spotted in Swedish waters... Japanese pop up served the last meals of death row inmates to diners... Kansas City police recover giant stolen colon... A rendition of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" played on floppy disk drives...
