Buckeyes in the NFL – Week 1

If you are a Buckeye fan you’ve probably uttered the phrase, “my favorite teams are the Buckeyes and whoever is playing Michigan” at least when it comes to watching football on Saturdays.  However if you’re like me I like to keep my eye on the Buckeyes in the NFL and take great pride when they succeed and do great things.  So, as the NFL season goes a long you can keep track of where your favorite Buckeyes are in the NFL by checking out our player tracker here at Scarlet and Game, and we will also take a look back at the beginning of each week and look for any notable performances from the players that once dawned the scarlet and gray.

Ted Ginn Jr. (WR/KR) San Francisco 49ers

It is amazing how much expectations can influence our perceptions of just how good players are in the NFL.  Ted Gin Jr. is drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft and you would be hard pressed to find an NFL expert or personnel person that doesn’t think that he has been a disappointment.  So much so that earlier in the week he took a pay cut because he was expected to be such a non factor in the 49ers plans as a wide receiver.  Then in the span of less than a minute Ginn completely took over the game against the Seattle Seahawks and delivered a kick return for 102 yards and a punt  55 yards both for touchdowns.  Ginn was the cooler and finished the fight, game over.  If the Dolphins hadn’t jumped the gun on Ginn and taken him probably a round and a half too early people would be praising Ginn as a speedster with upside and coaches need to find ways to get the ball in his hands more on offense.  Instead, when asked about Ginn after the game on Sunday, Seattle’s coach Pete Carroll said “we didn’t even think he was going to play today.”

Malcolm Jenkins (S) New Orleans Saints

Most of the time when a CB is asked to move to safety it can be taken as a demotion.  A sign that he’s just not good enough to play corner.  Malcolm hasn’t seen it that way.  He didn’t have a big pick or a huge amount of tackles, but he did deliver possibly the hardest hit of the early NFL season, and that’s what a safety in the NFL is supposed to do.  I have not been able to locate a video of the hit, so if you have it, I want to see it again.

Michael Jenkins (WR) Minnesota Vikings

It has been noted that the Vikings and more specifically Donovan McNabb were awful in the passing game yesterday.  But the one touchdown that was thrown ended up in the hands of Jenkins.  Always nice for Buckeyes to find the endzone.

Beanie Wells (RB) Arizona Cardinals

We as Buckeye fans have know two things about Chris “Beanie” Wells.  He is an absolute beast and has the talent to be a dominant force in the NFL.  And, he gets hurt about as easily as Samuel L. Jackson in Unbreakable.  He was scheduled to have rookie Ryan Williams challenge for carries this year only to have him hit the injured reserve for the year and now the full workload is on his shoulders.  For week one the beast we all know showed up and carried the ball 18 times for 90 yards and a touchdown.  Just like when he was here in Columbus I’m hoping it’s a sign of good things to come, but I’ll keep holding my breath until he proves he can stay healthy.

What to Watch – Monday Night Footbal

Brian Hartline (WR) Miami Dolphins

The polar opposite of Ted Ginn Jr.  Drafted late in the draft and in Miami he’s considered a solid role player in their passing game as the slot guy to go along side Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess.  I wouldn’t expect fireworks from the fourth year pro, but 3-4 receptions for 7-8 yards and a first down or two isn’t out of the question and he’ll keep making Buckeye Nation proud.

Austin Spitler (LB) Miami Dolphins

He will likely spend most of his time on special teams, especially if the Patriots spread the field and go 4 or 5 wide for most of the game.  However it is his second year and he’s likely to assume more of a role in the defense.  Keep your eye on this under rated Buckeye and see if he can begin to make his mark in the NFL.

Chimdi Chekwa (CB) Oakland Raiders

The Raiders lost arguably the best CB in all of football this off season in Nnamdi Asomugha.  While Chekwa won’t exactly be asked to fully replace him, he is going to be part of the group of guys to fill the void.  If he has a bad game tonight you’ll here “Brandon Lloyd beats Chekwa” a lot.  If he has a good game, you won’t here is name at all, and if he has a great game you’ll hear “Chekwa picks off Orton.”  It will be his first NFL action and as a Buckeye I’m excited to see how our former shut down corner will perform.

Terrelle Pryor (QB) Oakland Raiders

He won’t play tonight, but it will be inevitable that the announcers will make a comment about him and how he fits in the future plans for the Raiders.  The question for us Buckeye fans is what are we hoping for from our former QB?

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Two Monday Night Football games tonight, the Scarlet and Game crew will be watching so if you want to hit us up on twitter and let us know what you’re thinking about the games, the articles on the site, or just want to yell at us for no apparent reason you can find the three of us @hewls @ajborland and @THEScottyI