The Silver Bullet: Father & Son Bias on the Buckeyes
 
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Will DeVier Posey be a 1,000 yard receiver in 2010? We think so.
Dave and Drew Thurman (8:03 am)

Thursday night around 7:30 PM, the pigskin will fly off the tee and the much anticipated 2010 season will finally begin.  Nobody knows for sure what all will take place, but here are a few predictions to sink your teeth into and ponder, and disagree with in the remaining hours before kickoff.

1. Terrelle Pryor will throw for over 2500 yards and 25 touchdowns, but finish second to John Clay in voting for Big Ten POY.

Pryor's mechanics and throwing ability is always going to receive some scrutiny, but his consistency will improve in 2010. Tressel has already given Pryor the green light to air it out more this season, and with the weapons around him these seem like very attainable numbers. As good as this year could be for Pryor though, we feel he falls short of the Big Ten POY. He simply has too many weapons around him, and we all know these honors go to guys who have to put the team on his shoulders all year long.   

2.  Either Jamaal Berry or Jordan Hall will take a kickoff to the house.

We just learned that Berry and Hall will be returning kickoffs, so expect some fireworks. The last few years have been pretty mediocre in terms on special teams, especially in the return game, and these two youngsters should provide a much needed spark.

3.  Despite all the good tailbacks in the backfield, Brandon Saine will separate himself from the pack and total over 1,200 yards of total offense.

Saine's versatility provides matchup nightmares for opposing defenses, as we learned last year. The Buckeyes have too many tailbacks for an 1,000 yard rusher in 2010, but Saine's hands out of the backfield will help him accumulate around 1,200 yards of total offense. It should be a great senior campaign for Saine.  

4.  Jake Stoneburner will NOT catch more than 30 balls this year.

Stoney is definitely going to make the tight end position relevant again in Columbus, but there are simply too many talented playmakers on offense. Our guess is that he is a two catch a game guy, which would leave him just shy of the 30 reception mark.

5.  Ohio State will receive the first half kickoff in every game but one.

Yes, we all know Tressel's strategy - he likes to get the ball first. Most opposing coaches have no problem with this, most probably think he is partially insane. There always seems to be one coach who wants to outsmart Tressel and take the ball first, like it's the key to the Buckeye game plan. Typically it's a desperate coach like Ron Zook. Mark it down, it will happen! 
 
 
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Game Day with the Thurman's
Dave Thurman (10:13 am)

With less than a week until Ohio State's opener against Marshall, it is time to get geared up for the best time of the year, a three month span filled with an abundance of sights and sounds unlike anything else on the planet.  Buckeye football is so much more than just a game, it is truly a spectacle - an event that sends chills up and down the spine.  Every fan of the scarlet and gray has their own favorite tradition, and just for fun, I have polled our family of four, as we think back to twenty years of Buckeye games.

-Courtney: The baby of our family is about to turn 21 and she can't remember a time when she didn't attend or watch OSU games.  Being a bit of a fashionista it is no surprise that she says her favorite part of Ohio State game day is getting dressed in Buckeye gear, complete with peel off tattoos on her cheeks.  She also loves the tailgating as we try and arrive plenty early, listen to a CD of TBDBITL, and enjoy some delicious pregame food.  Don't think she doesn't enjoy the game, though.  Courtney can tell you every position on the field and what formation they are in, as well as other nuances of the game.  And last year as we were tossing the pigskin before a game, an OSU fan walking by shouted, "Hey she passes better than Pryor!"

-Susan: Momma is a born and bred Buckeye who went to Princeton High School north of Cincinnati, which sports scarlet and gray colors themselves.  She is also a musician, though, and so she loves the band and gets pretty fired up when they play the Buckeye Battle Cry.  Still her favorite game day tradition is the O-H-I-O cheer.  One story comes to mind.  We were in Bloomington, to watch the Buckeyes take on the Hoosiers, and they had just annointed their stadium "The Rock."  Each person entering that day was given a slip of paper with instructions to start a R-O-C-K chant.  Well, the home crowd gave it a valiant effort, but as soon as the cheer started it was literally drowned out by O-H-I-O.  The poor Indiana fans were defeated before the game even began.
 
 
Drew Thurman (2:04 pm)

With less than a week until the Buckeyes hit the gridiron, it's time to start pulling out the complete scralet and gray wardrobe. This is also the time of year when we all start grabbing up the latest Buckeye apparel out there. So I figured I would assemble a list of my favorite t-shirts, hats, and other gear from around the web. This may just be the first post in TSB history that you will actually want to show your wife.
T-Shirts:
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NIKE RETRO LOGO ORGANIC TEE

Some of you might think the Block "O" is a little boring, but I love the throw back look. Not only that, but it's an organic t-shirt, which are 100% better than crappy Hanes and Gildan tees.
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HOMAGE SCRIPT OHIO TEE

It may be one of the most simple shirts ever, but I don't care, I am a huge fan of the vintage Homage tees. Script Ohio is argubly the best game day tradition out there, and this shirt represents it.
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NIKE WEIGHT ROOM PERFORMANCE TEE

This is Dri-FIT shirt, which may be nice if you are in the stands September 2nd. Dri-FIT shirts are the way to go, especially if you actually get off the couch and do something every now and then.
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11W AMERICAN APPAREL CARMEN TEE

The guys over at Eleven Warriors just released a whole bunch of new designed tees, and this is my favorite. Carmen Ohio is my favorite OSU tradition, and once again the vintage tee looks legit.
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NIKE BLACK 2010 PRACTICE TEE

One of a handful of pretty standard shirts Nike releases every year. Still it's a cool looking tee, and one of the few black OSU shirts I really like.
 
 
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Drew Thurman (11:18 pm)

We are just one week out from the Buckeyes finally being back in action again. This time next week I hopefully will be writing a recap about how well the team looked against Marshall, and how few concerns there are heading into the Miami (FL) game. At this point there seem to be a few more question marks than most of us would like and next week will provide some much needed answers.

The next seven days will be brutally slow, and while you wait, here are some of the things you should be reading.

1) The Buckeyes released the first depth chart of the season today.

Most the reaction around the web has been pretty apathetic about it, but it actually offered quite a few insights. First, a ton of youngsters have made their presence known throughout the two-deep. True freshman like Jonathan Hankins, Christian Bryant, Corey Brown, and Andrew Norwell all find themselves on the list. That doesn't even include the bevy of redshirt freshman and sophomores who help make up a big portion of the depth chart.

Second, the Buckeyes are obviously not near as deep at defensive end as we would like. Adam Bellamy finds himself backing up Cameron Heyward, showing how thin the position really is. Honestly though, the only other option would be Melvin Fellows. With Solomon Thomas behind Nathan Williams and Keith Wells now gone, there really are no other experienced options. Outside of Heyward, Williams and Thomas there is not another upperclassmen on the defensive line depth chart. Something that could hurt down the stretch.

Then there is C.J. Barnett jumping Orhian Johnson on the depth chart at safety. This was the only real surprise, unless you have been under a rock and didn't hear that Sweat has jumped Sabino. There has been some panic because of the Barnett's size and lack of experience, but all those in the know claim this all due to Johnson being injured.

Another note at safety is that Christian Bryant has bypassed Nate Oliver on the two-deep at Star.
 
 
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Will Pryor's scrambling hinder the 25-35 throws we've been promised?
Dave and Drew Thurman (10:41 am)

Family Feud is a feature where Dave and Drew throw their opinions in on various Buckeye football subjects, which many times are quite opposite. This edition takes a look at some of the hot topics that surround fall practice as the team looks ahead to September 2nd...

1) From the practice reports, which freshman are you most excited to see?

Dave: Got to be big Jonathan Hankins. I have waited a long time to see a 325+ pounder clogging the middle for the Buckeyes. It seems the good SEC teams always have a supply of these guys at defensive tackle, but for whatever reason OSU has not had a big run-stuffing DT for many years. I'm not saying Hankins will be the best freshman in Scarlet and Gray, but he is the one I am most pumped to watch.

Drew: Without a doubt I want to see Carlos Hyde in the backfield. Hankins is a good pick and I think T.Y. Williams would be as well, but Hyde should have the biggest impact. He's a power back with lots of versatility, and fills an important need for the Buckeyes. I was high on Hyde coming out of high school, even more than Berry, because his film really stuck out to me. I still believe he is a star in the making in the coming years. Everyone wants to talk about Berry and Roderick Smith, but it's time to jump on the Hyde bandwagon.

2) It's official, Marcus Hall will be redshirting because of academic issues.  How big of an impact do you see feel that has on the season?

Drew: I think this is a major blow. One of the greatest strengths of this team was the depth on the offensive line. Not only for rotation purposes, but also because of how easy it is for injuries to happen down the stretch during Big Ten play. I don't trust Norwell and Miller off the bench, especially on what is supposed to be a championship caliber offense. Not only that, but after Hall's pictures at the arrival of camp, I had high hopes for major playing time for him this year.

Dave: I can't argue with you on that. This is big. I guess if there are few injuries to the offensive line it isn't a show stopper. But if the tackles get nicked up, and the Bucks are forced to play Norwell (who you would like to redshirt) or Kerr, then it could be disastrous. I think Miller is serviceable at best, which gives you three tackles you feel fairly confident about. Thankfully the interior of the line is a lot more solid.
 
 
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Drew Thurman (12:05 pm)

The Big Ten Network has been previewing the season team by team, which included Ohio State this week. As bland as the coverage on the BTN can be at times, I will tune into about anything that spends an hour talking about the Buckeyes. One of the things that caught my attention was Gerry DiNardo's comments about Ohio State's need for a big time running back. It also caught the attention of ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.

"DiNardo brought up a good point about the need for Ohio State to have a dominant running back again, and how it will keep defenses guessing against quarterback Terrelle Pryor."

Now I'm going to try to put my bias on hold because I don't hold DiNardo in real high esteem. I've often said that those who can't coach, commentate. And those who can't commentate, commentate on the Big Ten Network. Not only that, but DiNardo did pick Penn State to win the conference last year.

Okay with that out of my system, does DiNardo have a point? Will running back by committee hurt the Buckeyes down the stretch?

Simply, the answer is no.
 
 
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Is this the best passing attack in Tressel's tenure? (Photo via upi.com)
Drew Thurman (10:45 am)

When Tressel told the media that Pryor could throw the ball 25-35 times a game this fall, everyone took note. This sudden trust in Pryor's ability to air it out left most of us laughing, especially considering he has only thrown more than 30 attempts in a game twice during his career. Don't get me wrong, I love the spoken confidence in TP, but wonder in crunch time how quickly Tressel will go back to the running game. For instance, Troy Smith attempted just over 23 passes a game his senior season in what was the most balanced offense in Tressel's tenure. So is the Sweater Vest dreaming?

Well, by all accounts so far this fall, Tressel is sticking to his word. Not only is Pryor airing it out in practice often, but the weapons around him seem ready to breakout the Buckeye offense this year; an offense that was managed and contained a year ago until the Rose Bowl. So the question is - why the sudden change of heart for Tressel?

Most have compared this to Smith's senior year when Tressel finally trusted the quarterback enough to lead the offense. Others have attributed this to Tressel's worries about how good this defense will really be this year. While both of those options could be partially true, I think there is another reason we can't overlook. I think Tressel realizes the amount of weapons he has around Pryor, and that this is the most diversely talented offense in his near decade with the Buckeyes. On any given play or formation Pryor has 4-5 different options to throw the ball to. That is a much different world than the ones some of the former Buckeye quarterbacks have lived in.

Think back to 2007 when Todd Boeckman's only two real options were Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline. Though Robiskie had a solid season, Tressel depended solely on the running game and Beanie Wells when things mattered most. Pryor is blessed with much more talent around him, and defenses will have to be a lot more creative in 2010. I think its this reason Tressel has confidence handing over the keys to the offense. Pryor's not getting a Chevy Cobalt, he's getting a Jaguar.
 
 
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What will Delany do in the end? (Photo via ohiostatebuckeyes.com)
Drew Thurman (6:14 am)

Since the Big Ten Media Days, the conference realignment has once again become a topic of a lot of conversation. Sports writers, fans, coaches and players all want to see a fair divisional split that makes sense, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that it will come at a cost.

For instances, the Ohio State-Michigan game could be moved from the final week of the regular season. As Adam Rittenberg chronicled yesterday, this idea is starting to gain some momentum. What this means is that Ohio State and Michigan would be split into two different divisions, and the rivalry would be preserved through a "protected crossover." Unfortunately, that would move The Game away from the Saturday before Thanksgiving, as is the current tradition. Instead the two teams would meet on an earlier date, maybe even in October.

I'm guessing that most Buckeye fans will be a bit hesitant about this option, as am I, but it does open the possibility for the teams to meet in the Big Ten Championship. Meeting a second time in December could add some serious fireworks to the best rivalry in sports, and just the idea has some sports writers salivating. Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com had this to say:

"The league has a unique opportunity. Ohio State and Michigan must be separated when the Big Ten ADs divide the league into two six-team divisions for the 2011 season. If the conference's two most marketable, high-profile teams win those divisions going forward, they would play again in the first week of December in the championship game. Ohio State-Michigan for the right to go to the Rose Bowl, possibly the BCS title game, would conjure up visions of Bo's and Woody's Ten Year War."
 
 
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 Drew Thurman (8:51 pm)

The NCAA has been under a lot of heat lately, and rightfully so. It has become a ridiculously bureaucratic entity with little control over the real issues facing the current landscape of college sports. Today we got more evidence to back up this fact as Isiah Thomas, the Florida International coach, was hired as a consultant for Knicks. The best part of the story is that the NCAA is actually alright with this. This is what NCAA spokeswoman Jennifer Royer had to say:

"According to an official interpretation on June 6, 2001, NCAA member institutions are provided the discretion to establish their own policies regarding employment and income arrangements between their athletics department staff members and professional sports organizations. An NCAA coach must, however, still comply with NCAA bylaws as they relate to the recruitment of prospects and the scouting of opponents."

Now I understand that Thomas is a whopping 7-25 in his tenure with FIU, but it still exposes what is completely wrong with college athletics. I think Thomas Beisner of KentuckySportsRadio.com says it best:

"Yep, the organization that wants to keep player representatives, agents and pretty much any other contact related to the pay-for-play portion of basketball out of their neighborhood just co-signed a lease on the house next door with a walking red flag.  Ladies and gentlemen, we live in an era where a student athlete’s bagel must be approved, but a coach can also be an NBA employee. The NCAA. Gotta love it."

Just over a week ago, Tressel and tOSU had to report secondary violations for things like accidentally bumping into recruits and recruits sort of walking with the team during a pep rally. Yet the NCAA refuses to have any problems with something like this? Okay then, I vote Tressel becomes a consultant for the Browns. We all know they need it! 
 
 
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Drew Thurman (8:10 am)

We make fun of housewives getting their kicks watching Joan Rivers over analyze red carpet attire on E!, but today thousands of Buckeye fans will do something just as hilarious. As pictures get posted this evening of the players reporting to camp, grown men with wives and children will flip through hundreds of pictures of the players carrying suitcases and McDonald's cups. Most of this can be credited to how anxious most fans are about the season finally starting, but it does sound a little awkward nonetheless. Here at The Silver Bullet we aren't pointing any fingers, in fact, we kind of got carried away with this whole thing the last few years.

Anyways, what has always made today enjoyable is to get a look at the players you don't see that often. There will obviously be a ton of pictures of guys like Pryor and Heyward, but unless they look hungover or have an amputated leg I really could care less. I'm just glad they showed up. There is always a worry that some of the offensive linemen might check-in looking like Rosie O'Donnell, but Tressel's recent workout plan seems to be working. So, the guys I care to see are the freshman, the third stringers, the future of the team. It's always fun to get the first look at the newbies, even if they will be redshirting or getting mop-up duty during the season.

This year it will be especially interesting to take note of the freshman class entering fall camp. Even though this is an experienced team, one that should be ready for a championship run, there are some very important freshman storylines that should be watched in the coming weeks. The 2010 class may have a more important role than you might think...