{"id":139040,"date":"2021-01-11T22:41:04","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T03:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=139040"},"modified":"2021-01-11T22:42:31","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T03:42:31","slug":"not-so-random-osu-alabama-browns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2021\/01\/11\/not-so-random-osu-alabama-browns\/","title":{"rendered":"Not So Random: OSU, Alabama, Browns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s edition of Random Thoughts centers around Ohio State vs. Alabama and the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trey Sermon<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, losing Trey Sermon after one play was a huge blow to Ohio State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Master Teague is a nice back, but he just doesn\u2019t seem to have the separation that Sermon has, or previous Ohio State backs had. Having said that, he certainly had some nice moments in the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Game over<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, the game was over when Ohio State had the ball at the Alabama eight yard line but wound up kicking a field goal, meaning the Buckeyes trailed 21-17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not matching Alabama\u2019s score was huge and the Crimson Tide made Ohio State pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Najee Harris<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Najee Harris put on quite a show against Ohio State. He\u2019s the real deal and he\u2019s going to make some NFL team very happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeVonta Smith<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow. Just wow. That\u2019s really all that can be said about the Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speed kills<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the Crimson Tide or not, Alabama was impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most impressive thing, at least to me, was Alabama\u2019s incredible team speed, and not just at wide receiver and running back, but at all positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an Ohio State fan, I don\u2019t like to say it, but Alabama was the better team. If you don\u2019t believe that, you\u2019re in denial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin Fields<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He most likely won\u2019t do it, but Justin Fields really should consider returning to Ohio State for another season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

There were questions after the Michigan State and Northwestern games and his draft stock probably took a hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come to think of it, that could be a blessing in disguise. Instead of going to a lousy team where he\u2019s destined to fail, perhaps he\u2019ll wind up with a team that\u2019s able to let him sit for a year and learn the NFL game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stunner<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many people, I\u2019m still stunned by Cleveland\u2019s win over Pittsburgh on Sunday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never saw it coming, never really thought the Browns had much of a chance. I know, any given Sunday, but still, it didn\u2019t seem likely at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a great win for the franchise and its fan base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uh oh\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll admit I started to squirm a little when Pittsburgh cut it to 35-23. It seemed like all of Cleveland\u2019s momentum had shifted to the Steelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All I could see was a record setting first quarter being canceled by a Pittsburgh comeback and win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately for the Browns and their fans, that didn\u2019t happen.
This Sunday<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I fully realize there\u2019s very good chance Cleveland\u2019s season will come to an end against the Chiefs. Yes, I\u2019d like to see the Browns win, but it would probably take a minor miracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, as a Browns fan, I\u2019m pleased with this season. The team now has an identity and seems to have some direction. The coaches and the front office seem to be in lock step. The franchise isn\u2019t a laughing stock now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are holes to fill, especially on the defensive side, but that\u2019s what the draft and free agency are for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This team won\u2019t sneak up on anyone next year, but it should be an interesting season for the Browns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, if you have thoughts on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor This week\u2019s edition of Random Thoughts centers around Ohio State vs. Alabama and the Cleveland Browns. Trey Sermon Obviously, losing Trey Sermon after one play was a huge blow to Ohio State. Master Teague is a nice back, but he just doesn\u2019t seem to have the separation that Sermon has, or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-06 01:13:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139040\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}