Troy Smith IS the Future!

You already know I'm a huge NCAAF fan. The colleges I applied to had to have 2 things; a good communications program and great Division I athletics. I ended up going to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Yes, I know, the athletics are not the highlight of the school, the academics are. But NU has one of the top communications programs in the country, and it's also a Big 10 school. So I was able to get the best of both worlds. Northwestern's football team is nicknamed the "Cardiac 'Cats," either because we win by the skin of our teeth, lose games in historic fashion or take games into OT. The Wildcats aren't all bad, but other Big 10 schools like Michigan and Ohio State have some great talent. I got to see several NFL players in the making first hand such as Chad Henne, Santonio Holmes, Luis Castillo, James Laurinaitis, Troy Smith, Tony Hunt, AJ Hawk, Braylon Edwards, Nick Mangold, Noah Herron, Paul Posluszny, Mike Nugent, Ted Ginn Jr., Steve Breaston, LaMarr Woodley, Erasmus James, Tamba Hali, Barry Cofield, Anthony Gonzalez, and many more.

Troy Smith was the outstanding QB behind led Ohio State's 12-0 record. During his senior season he completed 203 of 311 passes for 2542 yards and 30 TDs. He won the the Heisman in 2006, and also the Davey O'Brien Award which is given to the best college quarterback. He took OSU all the way to the end, but lost the BCS Championship game to Florida 41-14. Well, for various reasons, including the beating the Gators put on him, his stock plummeted before the draft and he went at the end of the 5th round. The Baltimore Ravens picked him up, and if you ask me, they got a steal. His only drawback is that he's kinda short at 6 feet, but at 225 lbs he's an elusive power runner with a great arm.

At the beginning of the season, he was the 3rd string QB, behind Steve McNair and Kyle Boller. Steve McNair was knocked out for the season with shoulder injuries, and Smith moved up to backup. Now Boller is still reeling from the effects of a concussion, so my main man TROY SMITH will be starting Sunday vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Troy Smith has only played in the last 2 games, and a limited number of plays. In total, he was 8-16 for 82 yards and 1 rushing TD. He picked up his 1st career TD in his 1st game vs. the Colts on Dec. 9, and set up a game-tying drive to send the game vs. the Dolphins into overtime.

I think he has the potential to become a franchise QB, and I'm excited for a good showing. He'll definitely put up some nice numbers, in the air AND on the ground. I think he should be the starter in Baltimore, and with more reps during practice he'll have a better relationship with his offense, and he'll be more confident and comfortable on the field.

**BIG 10 LOVE**

Hate It or Love It

I have a love/hate relationship with NFL preseason games. I love em cuz it means that football, no matter how sloppy and uncoordinated, starts in August, not September. It means that I get to take a look at some of my favorite teams before the season starts, find strengths and flaws, and see how the team gels. Preseason gives you a rare look at guys who never take the field in the reg season, backups, guys who wanna make the team, and rookies. Preseason is also the time of unlikely, untimely, unexpected, devastating, too-fuckin-early-ass injuries. EVERY preseason, without fail, players get hurt. Some with tweaked ankles, others with season ending injuries. The New York Giants played the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night and OMG did we feel it! First of all, the Giants didn't look that great, yet they eeked out a 13-12 win. Baltimore's defense is sick!! The Giants lost 5, count em - 5, guys in this game. Back to back injuries, hell, I even got hurt! Some guys look like they'll be ready to go for the season opener, others are DONE for the season.

1) CB Sam Madison – Pulled Hamstring
He injured this same hamstring last season and missed about 4 weeks. Season opener? It's questionable.

2) FS Will Demps – Dislocated Elbow
He said he's had this injury before in is career and he was back in 2-3 weeks. Doctors, however, say the healing process takes more like 4-6 weeks. We'll see, but as for now, count his ass out.

3) WR Steve Smith – Concussion
He scored the only touchdown of the game for the Giants. Eli really threaded the needle with the pass he threw to Smith in the end zone. As he caught it, 2 defensive players converged on him, he caught an elbow to the head, and he suffered a concussion. He returned to practice Tuesday, and he's lookin like he should be ready to go.

4) PR Michael Jennings – Torn Achilles Tendon

Jennings caught a nice ass pass as he was going out of bounds. Somehow, someway during the scramble the shit popped. You already know how I feel about the Achilles. Damn that Achilles!!

5) C Greg Ruegamer – Sprained Ankle
Backup center, hopefully it stays just a sprained ankle.

Not only that, there was another scare on the sidelines. Third string QB Jared Lorenzen ran out of bounds on a play and stepped on RB Brandon Jacobs foot. Big ass 6'4, 285 lb Lorenzen steppin on big ass 6'4, 264 lb Jacobs foot. Jacobs ended up ok, but damn. We cannot afford to have Jacobs injured, missing games with a foot injury. We all saw what happened to Shaun Alexander last season...

For the Ravens, Troy Smith came out in the 4th quarter and as a Big Ten fanatic, it was nice to see him on the field. He looked good, and if there was more time on the clock he might have been able to lead them to a game winning score. He's fightin for the 3rd QB spot against Drew "Who" Olson, and uhh, the Heisman Winner will get it. He was 4-8 for 60 yards. Smith learning from Steve McNair? He did his thing at OSU, and his future, like his past, is very bright.