Hiring Meyer Will be Great for Ohio State, But Not for the Rest of the Big Ten

From Bowling Green to Utah to Florida, Urban Meyer has won early and won big.  And when the Ohio native becomes the next Head Football Coach at The Ohio State University, he will have the talent and the resources to have an immediate impact and turnaround on a young, but extremely talented Buckeye squad

Twenty-five years ago, Meyer started his college coaching career as a Grad Assistant for former Ohio State Head Coach and now mentor and close friend, Earle Bruce.  While at OSU, Meyer would openly tell student athletes that he would one day be the Head Football Coach at Ohio State, fulfilling both his and his late father's dream.  Now, that dream is about to become a reality for Meyer and Buckeye fans.

When Meyer assumes the Head Coaching reigns, he will be positioned to compete for a Big Ten Championship and a BCS birth next season, as Ohio State returns 10 starters on Defense and several talented skilled athletes on Offense, led by Freshman Quarterback Braxton Miller, who Meyer called one of CFB's "best athletes" earlier this fall.  Miller will be the centerpiece of the turnaround under Meyer, as he possesses the unique combination of passing skills and elusiveness to star in Meyer's Spread Option attack.  Miller has shown great promise as a Freshman, running for 7 scores and 695 yards, while passing for 11 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions.  He was also able to lead his team to dramatic 4th Quarter comebacks at home against Wisconsin and on the road vs Purdue.

While Miller must improve his footwork and his accuracy, he is an extremely hard worker who should greatly benefit from improved coaching this spring.  Moreover, he possesses incredible acceleration, lateral quickness and a unique ability to almost always make the first defender miss.

And while it helps that Meyer will inherit a potential Heisman candidate in Miller and arguably the Nation's best 2011 Freshman Class, he will also have the unmatched resources to dominate the Big Ten for the foreseeable future.  

For one, Ohio is the only top-5 High School Football State in the Nation -- Ohio, Florida, Texas, California and Georgia -- without an in-state rival to recruit against.  Moreover, Meyer, an Ashtabula, Ohio, native, has strong relationships with Ohio High School Coaches and should be able to once again "lockdown" the state in the same manner as previous Head Coach Jim Tressel.  Moreover, Meyer is rumored to be adding several Assistants to his staff who also have Ohio ties.  And while Michigan's Brady Hoke is taking advantage of Tressel's dismissal and the NCAA's ongoing investigation of Ohio State in recruiting Ohio this year, expect that to end immediately under Meyer.

Furthermore, Ohio State has one of the Nation's largest Alumni bases, top-5 facilities, storied tradition and tremendous University and Alumni support.  And unlike the SEC where Meyer's Florida teams would have to face physical opponents on a weekly basis with similar elite athletes drawn from both high schools and the Nation's top Junior Colleges, he will not have to worry about that at Ohio State.

While Michigan has improved under Hoke, and Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Nebraska's Bo Pelini and Wisconsin's Bret Bielema have all built solid programs, they simply do not have the recruiting bases in their states to consistently compete with top Ohio High School talent.  Michigan is primarily a high school basketball state, and only produces 3-5 potential impact recruits each year, while Ohio can consistently boast 10-15.  Moreover, the Wolverines appear to be losing a little of their national recruiting appeal, as only 2 out-of-state recruits from their last 6 recruiting classes have been chosen First Team All-Big Ten.

Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin are similar to Michigan in that the states rarely produce more than 3-5 top prospects a year, though each University has been very successful in recruiting and developing linemen.  Furthermore, Nebraska will no longer be able to recruit extensively from the JUCO ranks, as the Big Ten has more restrictive rules and higher standards for accrued credit hours for transfers than do other Conferences like the Big 12 and the SEC.  Pennsylvania's high school football talent has been declining in recent years, and the current situation at Penn State doesn't bode well for the immediate future of the program.

Therefore, each of Ohio State's competitors must continue to recruit outside of their state -- often in Ohio -- to have any chance to compete athletically against Ohio State, who historically cleans up Ohio and goes into Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and occasionally Texas to add speed and talent in positions where Ohio may be thin during a certain year.  Meyer should only make the Big Ten talent gap between Ohio State and their rivals wider, as he will have even better recruiting inroads for the Buckeyes in Florida, Georgia, Maryland (ex-Gator Joe Haden), Philadelphia (current Florida DT Sharif Floyd), New York and New Jersey, while again building a wall around Ohio, the one Northern State whose High School football seemingly remains unaffected by the Nation's vast migration toward the Sunbelt and the West Coast.

And, unlike Tressel, Meyer will be more aggressive on both sides of the ball and will be much more explosive and imaginative on offense.  However, like Tressel, Meyer will have the resources and talent to not only dominate the Big Ten, but to again win a National Championship as soon as his second season in Columbus.

The NFL's Balance of Power Has Clearly Shifted to the NFC

From 2002-2007, the AFC won five out of six Super Bowls, including three by the Patriots.  Those six seasons also boasted several excellent Steelers, Ravens, Chargers and Colts squads.  It was truly an era of AFC dominance.

Although the AFC has still won six of the last ten Super Bowls, the balance of power has clearly shifted to the NFC, as they arguably boast the NFL's four best teams -- Packers, 49'ers, Giants and Saints -- and winners of the last two Super Bowls.

The Packers are the NFL's only undefeated team at 9-0 and are led by the NFL's best player and highest rated passer, QB Aaron Rodgers, who has five solid receivers and an outstanding tight end at his disposal.  Their talented defense will also send 5-6 starters to the Pro Bowl.  Furthermore, they have one of the NFL's youngest squad's with ten starters who are 26 or younger.

The 49'ers are the League's only 8-1 squad and are lead by a defense that boasts four potential Pro Bowlers -- LB's NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith and DE Justin Smith.  They also possess a physical, rugged rushing attack led by RB Frank Gore.  They beat an outstanding Giants team on Sunday, 27-20.

The Giants are 6-3 and have one of the League's best defenses, featuring one of the NFL's deepest defensive lines, which includes rising second year Defensive End Jason Pierre-Paul -- who has 9.5 sacks -- and veteran Osi Umenyiora.  However, what has propelled the Giants to one of the NFL's top squads has been the outstanding play of QB Eli Manning, who is having his best season, completing 63.1% of his passes for 2,688 yards (298.7 a game), 17 scores and a 97.0 Quarterback Rating.

The Saints improved their record to 7-3 on Sunday with a hard fought overtime victory in Atlanta.  Drew Brees is having another Pro Bowl season, completing 71% of his throws for 3,326 yards, 23 scores and a 101.3 Rating.  His production has been further buoyed by the offseason acquisition of versatile RB Darren Sproles and the emergence of second year TE Jimmy Graham, who leads all NFL tight ends with 62 catches for 873 yards; he also has 6 touchdown receptions.

The Packers, 49'ers and Saints also have three of the top four point differentials in the NFL.

On the other hand, the AFC top four teams -- the Ravens, Steelers, Texans and Patriots -- are all deeply flawed.

The Steelers have a suspect offensive line without a standout offensive tackle, an aging defensive line, a liability at corner, and they lack a true downhill, pounding running back, with Rashard Mendenhall averaging only 3.8 yards a carry.

The Ravens are 2-3 on the road, with losses to Jacksonville and to Seattle, and still have inconsistent moments on offense.  The Texans have already lost Pro Bowler Mario Williams for the season, and now QB Matt Schaub is out indefinitely with an injured foot, while the Patriots entered Week 10 with the NFL's lowest rated defense, as Bill Belichick starts three former undrafted free agents, including two in the secondary.  The Patriots problems are compounded by the lack of a true starting caliber running back on offense.

With the Packers and 49'ers being two of the NFL's youngest squads, we may well be entering a new era of NFC dominance and a true shift in the NFL's balance of power.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers Headline the NFL's Midseason Awards

Top Team:  The Packers were a young team that had an incredible 16 players on the Injured Reserve List when they won the Super Bowl last season, and now that they are relatively healthy and a year older, they are off to a very impressive and undefeated 8-0 start.  Quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to grow and mature and is now playing at the elite level that we saw in last season's playoffs.  He benefits from as many receiving weapons as any quarterback in football and has been buoyed by the return to health of athletic Tight End Jermichael FInley and Running Back Ryan Grant.  The injury to Left Tackle Chad Clifton is a concern, though the steady veteran vows to return this season.  Throw in arguably the League's best and deepest LB corp and three outstanding Corners, and the Packers defense also continues to excel and improve.

Most Surprising Team:  This was a close call between the upstart and overachieving Bills and Jim Harbaugh's 49'ers.  I will give the edge to the 49'ers due to their 7-1 start, which includes road wins at Detroit, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Washington.  Jim Harbaugh has transformed both sides of the ball, with a physical power running game and ball control offense and an aggressive, attacking defense -- not to mention elite special teams.  Moreover, the work that Quarterbacks Coach Geep Chryst and Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman have done with QB Alex Smith is remarkable, while Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio has several starters playing at a Pro Bowl level, including DE Justin Smith and LB's NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis and Rookie Aldon Smith.  Fangio has also helped resurrect the career of LB Ahmad Brooks.

Most Disappointing Team:  The Colts are 0-8, but I always felt that they had NFL bottom-5 talent -- especially on defense -- that was camouflaged by the brilliance of the injured Peyton Manning.  Therefore, I will go with the Eagles (3-4) who many "experts" thought had the most talent prior to the start of the season.  Unfortunately, these experts ignored the fact that the Eagles had a new starter at Center and at Right and Left Guard, and lacked a true two-gap Defensive Tackle and run stuffer, along with not having one difference maker at the second level of their defense, as they Eagles currently start Rookie Brian Rolle, Moise Fokou and Jamar Chaney at Linebacker.  Throw in a revolving door at Strong Safety and the health scare of DT Mike Patterson, and the Eagles have struggled defensively.

Best Player:  Aaron Rodgers is the clear choice here, leading the Pack to an undefeated start by completing 171 of 239 passes (71.5%) for 2,372 yards (338 a game) and 20 scores with only 3 interceptions.  Rodgers also boasts an incredible 125.7 Quarterback Rating.  Simply put, he continues to improve and is the NFL's best player on the League's best team.

Best Offensive Rookie:  While Rookies like the Bengals WR A.J. Green and QB Andy Dalton have excelled, Carolina QB Cam Newton has been outstanding, completing 174 of 287 passes (61%) for 2,293 yards (299 yards a game) and 11 scores.  Moreover, Newton became the first Rookie QB in NFL history to throw for over 400 yards in each of his first two starts.  The Panthers GM Marty Hurney was wise to surround Newton with a young QB's best friend:  solid veteran Tight Ends, as Hurney brought in Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen this offseason.   The return to health of WR Steve Smith, a solid offensive line and three starting-quality running backs have given Newton great support in his incredible first half.  That said, Newton's mechanics, touch, pocket presence and ability to read defenses are light years ahead of where most scouts thought he would be at this point in his development.

Best Defensive Rookie:  While Broncos LB Von Miller has been solid, and Bills DE Marcel Dareus is starting to make an impact, the 49'ers OLB Aldon Smith has 6.5 sacks through seven games, even though he has yet to become a starter.  Smith has tremendous edge quickness, bend and natural pass rush skills that remind me of a young DeMarcus Ware.  Moreover, Smith will only get better as he continues to add bulk and strength to his frame, as well as game reps.   What is even more exciting for 49'ers' fans is that all of Smith's sacks -- 6.5 -- have come in the last four games, resulting in Smith being named the NFL Rookie Defensive Player of the Month for October.

*Player statistics are through Week Eight.

The LSU vs Alabama Showdown WIll Feature Several Future NFL Defenders

Last week, I wrote about how the USC-Stanford game would feature more future NFL offensive draft choices than any other game this fall.  This week's LSU vs Alabama contest is not only a matchup between CFB's top two teams, the game also showcases more future NFL defensive draft choices than any other game this season.  While each squad has plenty of future NFL offensive talent, this week's showdown in Tuscaloosa could feature as many as 10 future NFL defensive first round draft choices.

For LSU, the Tigers have arguably the top two corner prospects in CFB in Junior Morris Claiborne and Sophomore Tyrann Mathieu.  If he declares early, Claiborne is a projected top-15 pick in the 2102 Draft, and Mathieu may be the finest defensive player in the nation as a true sophomore.  He has the same cover skills, big-play ability and the toughness that made Vikings CB Antoine WInfield a first rounder when he left Ohio State in 1999.  Rising Senior Safety Brandon Taylor is another player whose best football is ahead of him, as he continues to improve weekly, and hard hitting FS Eric Reid may be the nation's top 2014 Safety prospect.

LSU also features the deepest defensive line in country, with as many as 8-10 future NFL draft choices, highlighted by the top-ranked Sophomore DE in the country, athletic speedster Barkevious Mingo, along with rising Sophomore DE Sam Montgomery.  Both Mingo and Montgomery run in the 4.55-4.6 range and have incredible bend, burst and backside quickness that should allow both to be early choices in the 2013 or 2014 Drafts.  Sophomore DT Michael Brockers is a load and will remind you of a young Marcus Stroud, and many already see him as an eventual first-day pick.  Add in the number one Freshman DT prospect in the country, starter Anthony Johnson, and LSU could boast four future first rounders from their two-deep on their defensive line.   

Alabama, though a little older on defense than LSU, has plenty of NFL talent, as well.  Senior LB Courtney Upshaw, who is projected as a mid-late 2012 first rounder, has NFL versatility in that he could project as a pass rushing 3-4 OLB for a team like the Steelers, Patriots or Chargers, or could be equally as comfortable with his hand in the dirt as an upfield 4-3 DE in a scheme that uses quick, undersized ends like the Colts.  Junior ILB Dont'a Hightower is a physical specimen at 6'4' and 260-pounds and will remind you of former Bama and current Raider standout, Rolando McClain.  Hightower is healthy this year and is playing at a high level.  He is also a great 3-4 downhill fit and projects as a first or second rounder in 2013.  OLB Nico Johnson is another 3-4 projection who should make some noise on day one of the 2013 Draft.

Alabama Safety Mark Barron is generally regarded as the top Safety prospect for the 2012 Draft, showing big-play ability and toughness, though he still needs to polish his cover skills.  Junior CB Dre Kirkpatrick has great NFL size at 6'2" and 193-pounds and is considered a potential first rounder in 2013.  He would be an ideal cover-2 fit for a team like the Bucs, Bears or Colts.  Their other starting Safety, Robert Lester, is considered a potential first-day choice in 2013, as well.  Backup CB Dee Milliner and backup Safety Jarrick Williams also flash exciting NFL potential.

And what would a Nick Saban squad be without a deep defensive line full of NFL potential:  Senior Josh Chapman, a potential first-day 2012 draft choice, is an improving player with a great first step and a strong, sturdy base who shows next level versatility as a potential 3-technique or as a 3-4 Nose.  Junior Jesse Williams is a large 2-gap player who is also flashing future 3rd-4th round skills.

So sit back and relax Saturday night and watch these two great teams battle it out while you witness many of Sunday's next defensive stars.