Not a good weekend for my teams in the W/L column

Well, this was an all-around shitty weekend for my favorite teams. The Buckeyes lost to an up-and-coming Illinois team on Saturday afternoon, the Browns blew a nice lead and lost to the Steelers on Sunday afternoon, and then the Colts sucked up the field on Sunday night against the Chargers.

I'm OK with the Buckeyes loss. As long as they beat up Michigan this weekend and end up playing in the Rose Bowl, I am OK with it all. Illinois really had a strong game plan by Ron Zook and their guys executed it, especially Juice Williams. I had watched U of I play a few other games earlier this season and they showed flashes of a top 25 team, but they really put it together on Saturday for a complete game. No small feat in the Horseshoe.

I am about 75% OK with the Browns loss. Granted, the expectations were pretty low going into the Steelers game, but it just sucks to have the division leader on the ropes and be unable to knock them out in the 4th quarter. Plus, a Steelers loss would have helped give the Colts a bit more breathing room as they struggle to hold onto the #2 seed in the AFC. It's almost as if the Browns are playing well in spite of their coach at this point. Romeo Crennel is simply NOT a good head coach. Poor game management, use of timeouts, challenges, clock management, etc. In a way I am hoping for a late season collapse by the Browns just to increase the odds of Crennel losing his job at the end of the season. The first round draft pick is going to the Cowboys anyway, so who cares.

Ah, the Colts. All I can say is, the Chargers really suck. Actually, the players are really good--it's the head coach that sucks balls. I've never been impressed with Philip Rivers either, but they should still be able to win games with players like Tomlinson and Gates. Just get the ball in their hands. It would be great to get a few starters back on the field here in Indy though. If I have to see Aaron Moorehead's bulgy eyes on TV again I am going to puke. I can't believe the Colts keep him on their roster year after year. I was OK with Craphonso Thorpe's performance. Someone needs to tell Bryan Fletcher and Ben Utecht's asses to just run their routes, catch the ball, and either fall down or run out of bounds immediately. They both always look like they are going to fumble the ball as soon as a defender gets close. I am all for the mentality of "fighting for every yard", etc., but when you never get anywhere and all you get is a mob of defensive players trying to hold you up and rip the ball out, it starts to seem counterproductive. I swear to god if I see Fletcher try to stiff arm some dude again I may throw my frosty mug through the wall.

All in all, it was a shitty weekend of football watching in my house. The only thing I really enjoyed was finally watching the Knocked Up movie DVD. Great fuckin movie. I haven't gotten to the bonus features yet, but I have heard they are hilarious as well.

Does this make me a bad Buckeyes fan?

As a loyal fan, I rarely want one of my teams to lose a particular game. I am a bit torn regarding my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes playing against Illinois this weekend. I think it is in the best interest of the team and us fans. I love that Ohio State is ranked #1, tied for tops in the Big 10, etc., but I REALLY want to beat the team from up north the following weekend, but not have to face LSU in the title game in January. If we just barely lose to U of I this Saturday, and then destroy the team we play the following weekend, we would still win the Big 10 and should go to the Rose Bowl, thus avoiding another embarassment against an SEC team in the title game 2 years in a row. I guess LSU has looked vulnerable lately, so OSU may have a chance against them. If the Buckeyes win out, they will stay #1, and it will be interesting to see what happens if Oregon wins out and then LSU, Oklahoma, and Kansas all lose. Of course, everyone will complain about the Big 10 and Pac 10 not having a championship game like the other conferences do. I like the Buckeyes chances against Oregon more than LSU or Oklahoma. We could take Kansas, I think. Although I thoroughly enjoy watching Kansas football games for nothing more than the action shots of Coach Mangino on the sideline.