We move onto our second first-round matchup with a pair of former B1G wrestlers so you know these guys are tough. Representing the University of Indiana is Jason Jordan and representing the University of Minnesota, we have Shelton Benjamin.
Joe's #4 Jason Jordan vs. Jonah's #5 Shelton Benjamin Joe: Jason Jordan is basically a younger version of Shelton Benjamin, so early on, I gotta say that I like my chances in this matchup.
Jonah: I would agree if Jason Jordan was healthy, but I’m pretty sure he had to retire due to a neck injury. I mean he’s been out for a year and a half, I’m pretty sure he’s got serious problems. With that health issue it’s at least a toss up between two fantastic wrestlers, should be a hell of a grappling match.
Joe: If Jordan is even close to healthy, I still give the edge to him. The longer you are out of that wrestling room, the more those skills deteriorate. At this point, Shelton probably isn’t winning a high school state championship. He was a freak of an athlete, but he’s down to just really good athlete as age has sapped him of some of that explosiveness, and I feel like the younger version will not be denied in this matchup.
Jonah: Jordan might win, he’ll probably injure his neck and the announcers can shit talk him for being legitimately injured like they did in one of his last angles. He’s not healthy enough to professionally wrestle so his health when it comes to shoot fights is probably pretty low.
Joe: How dare you. Professional wrestling is the toughest sport out there, being in a fight is a breeze. Still, if we are thinking that this tournament is happening in 2019, the neck issue is probably too big of one for him to properly come back fully healthy, so let’s give the edge to Shelton Benjamin.
Another week, another dominant win for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and it's always nice to be able to go into these things with only positive things on my mind. Let's go over the things that stood out from the 42-16 win over the Hoosiers.
Offensive Line Domination
This was the best game Iowa's offensive line has played this season as they absolutely dominated Indiana up front. Not only did Nate Stanley have plenty of time, but both Toren Young and Mekhi Sargent had huge holes to run through the entire game. The entire game is one of the big keys as Iowa's offensive line has really done its best work by wearing down teams in the first half before getting those big runs in the second half. In this one, they dominated from play one. Still, the best moment was near the end of the game. Iowa faced a 3rd and 13, and it was clear that they decided to just go for a field goal and called a run play. The only problem was the offensive line dominated to such an extent that Mekhi Sargent went for 14 yards and kept the drive alive for Nate Stanley to get his sixth touchdown pass. When Iowa is doing their conservative play calls, and they're still leading to big plays, things are going really, really well up front.
The Underrated Linebackers
I would just like to take some time to give some love to Iowa's linebackers. It was by far the biggest question mark heading into this season as the Hawkeyes graduated all three starters from last year. The most sure thing, Amani Jones, lost his job after one game. His replacement, Jack Hockaday, got injured, and yet Iowa still kept marching on. Even though Iowa primarily played two linebackers today in Kristian Welch, and Dijmon Colbert, they know where to be and just don't make big mistakes. Competence is an underrated attribute as these guys knowing where to be means that it's really hard to exploit any specific aspect of the Iowa defense.
Amani Hooker Makes the Defense
The reason Iowa was only able to play two linebackers for most of the game was that Amani Hooker basically acted as a third linebacker in Iowa's defense, and this forced change may be the best thing to happen to Iowa. Playing two linebackers and Hooker at the nickel back position means that Iowa doesn't give up a noticeable amount in the run game while being much, much better in defending the pass. Iowa has always struggled with the changing college football game as teams are able to spread out Iowa and attack the linebackers with speedy receivers, but with Hooker in the game, it diminishes those opportunities. Also, at safety, up in the box, hell, probably even on the defensive line, Hooker just knows where to be on a football field, and he can consistently make plays because of that. Iowa had two safeties with interceptions today, and Hooker was still not just the best safety on the field, but maybe the best defensive player period. He's the puzzle piece that completes the defensive picture for the Hawkeyes.
We Want Bama
I'm only half joking. I watch this Iowa team, and it has gone from, "Is this team really freaking good?" to "Holy shit, this team is really freaking good." Iowa gave away that Wisconsin game which sucks, but it's not all that hard to see Wisconsin losing twice on the B1G schedule while Iowa has a legitimate chance to run the table. They will be heavy favorites in every game but at Penn State, and Penn State is a very good team, but I'm honestly not sure if they are better than Iowa. The offensive line is improving, the tight ends are unstoppable, the running game is solid, Brandon Smith has given Iowa legitimate receiver, and Nate Stanley has shown tremendous improvement throughout this season and just keeps getting better. Also, the defense, especially with a healthy Matt Hankins (I have a suspicion that Julius Brents may have usurped Ojemudia as the other starter) is downright terrifying. Run the table, and then take out Ohio State, why can't we take on Bama in the Playoff? And up until that last sentence, it's not just me being a homer; this Iowa team looks special, and I am so excited for the rest of the season.
24. Kevin Orie
Let's just address the elephant in the room. Kevin Orie should not be this high on the list. His 1998 was TERRIBLE, but guess what? This is my list, and I'll do what I want. I freaking loved Kevin Orie, and no nerd is going to come in with his "stats" and make me think anything other than Kevin Orie was the greatest Cubs third baseman since Ron Santo. Still, his 1998 was terrible.
But before we get to 1998, we need to go back a little further to show how good Kevin Orie was. In 1992, Orie tore it up as a sophomore for the University of Indiana where he hit 20 home runs on his way to a 1.249 OPS. His junior year wasn't quite as good, but he still had an 1.067 OPS which is not too shabby. This was enough for the Cubs to select him 29th overall in the 1993 draft and send him where he was solid in Low-A for the rest of the year.
In 1994, he got hurt, and he couldn't get it back on track in 1995, but things finally turned around for him in his pro career in 1996. At Double-A, he put up a line of .314/.403/.480 which was good enough to get a promotion to Triple-A at the end of the year. Even though he only played 14 games at Triple-A, he showed enough to start the year on the big league roster in 1997. In his rookie year, he managed to put up a very respectable .275/.350/.431 slash line and big things were sure to come for Orie in 1998.
Kevin Orie immediately capitalized on the momentum from 1997 as he tore it up in the first series with three doubles and a home run. After the first two weeks, he was totally fulfilling his potential with a line of .308/.364/.487. And then he shit the bed. Four games later, his slugging percentage dropped below .400. It would never rise above .400 again. Just ten games after that, on April 27, his slugging percentage dipped below .300, and would never even reach .300 for the rest of his time on the team. And the Cubs started him nearly every day. But it's not like he didn't have some impact. Here's his one baseball highlight on YouTube.
Damnit, Kevin. Finally, at the end of May, the Cubs sent him to Iowa, as he was hitting .181/.241/.282.
He did well at Iowa and earned a promotion back to the big league club at the end of June, but he was still awful. Finally, the Cubs had seen enough. Desperate for relief help at the trade deadline, the Cubs traded him and Justin Speier to the Marlins for Felix Heredia. I remember being so angry that the Cubs gave up on Orie, because despite his struggles, I never stopped believing in him. He ended his time with the Cubs in 1998 with a slash line of .181/.253/.279
He bounced back to solid numbers for the rest of 1998 with the Marlins, but he fell apart again in 1999. In 2000 and 2001 he put up good numbers at Triple-A, and the Cubs got me way too excited when they signed him to a deal before the 2002 season. I was so excited, because I thought he was destined to resurrect his career. He crushed it for Iowa and got another chance in Chicago where he put up a fine line of .281/.306/.375 in 13 games. Yeah, that's not awe-inspiring, but it's not too shabby in a short period of time. Still, the Cubs let him go in the offseason.
He didn't play in 2003 but crushed it in 2004 with a .988 OPS, and then in 2005, he managed to put up a 1.076 OPS, and neither year he made the major leagues. The man was putting up astronomical numbers, but he couldn't get another chance. In 2006, he crushed it in spring training for the Astros, but got sent to Triple-A to start the season where he played the first game before retiring from baseball.
There are some people that come close to reaching their full potential, but I feel like Kevin Orie was the opposite. I honestly think his career was as close to the worst case scenario as possible, and I don't mean that as a knock. It's just things didn't quite work out. He rarely got chances to succeed, and in limited time, he was never quite able to put it together at the highest level. Maybe he was only a Quad-A player, but maybe he could have dominated in Japan, or maybe he could have succeeded in the MLB if the circumstances were altered just slightly.
I know his statistics shouldn't earn him a spot this high, but this list is more about intangible feelings than tangible production. And no matter how bad things got, I never stopped believing in Kevin Orie. I always had hope that he would be able to do more, and before 1998, hope was the best thing a Cubs fan could ask for.
The NFL Draft has come and gone, and it appears that the Bears have a plan in place. Did I agree with that plan at every twist and turn? No, not really, but I also really enjoyed some of their moves so it all balances out. And they were active, and that definitely made for an exciting weekend. But what's done is done. The picks I like will obviously work out, and hopefully my genius fails me on the picks that I didn't like. So far, I have had the chance to break down:
Finally, we make it to the fifth round, and one of the players that I loved going into this draft, Jordan Howard, a running back out of Indiana. The reason I liked him so much is that he tore up the Iowa Hawkeyes last season with 174 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns. He was big, strong, and fast, and those are three traits I very much enjoy in my running backs. Thanks to Draft Breakdown, I was able to check out his games against Michigan, Michigan State, and Wake Forest.
Something that stands out about Howard's game is that he rarely goes down on the first contact, and he's a guy who keeps his legs churning and always falls forward.
That's the type of run that's not gonna stand out on a stat sheet, but it is so crucial to having a successful running attack. He gets hit two yards behind the line of scrimmage and ends up two yards past the line of scrimmage for a first down.
If you don't wrap up Jordan Howard, he is going to make you pay for it, as even when he gets knocked, his balance and strength is so good that he can churn forward for extra yardage.
This should not be a touchdown, but he shows impressive power and balance in his runs.
He's also solid as a receiver.
I know this isn't some amazing catch or even run after the catch, but I like that he snatches the ball with his hands as opposed to letting it come into his chest, and he follows his blocks into the endzone for an easy touchdown.
Although he can make catches out of the backfield, his blocking leaves a lot to be desired.
That is pretty weak, as he tries to wait on the defender and offers no punch instead of attacking and putting a hit on the guy.
But let's get back to the running, because that is where the bulk of his value lies. For a big guy, he has some moves.
He's not Barry Sanders, but those are some nice cuts to find holes and maximize his yardage before anyone can get a hand on him.
You need some more Howard highlights? Here's some more Jordan Howard highlights.
His game against Michigan was stupid good, and this was a Michigan defense that was renowned for its stinginess throughout the season, and Howard just continually ran over them.
I don't think I've hidden the fact that I am a huge fan of this pick for the Bears. Last year, I wasn't real happy with the Jeremy Langford pick, and although he put up some decent fantasy stats, he was not a very effective running back. I see the Bears starting the year with a committee, but I see Howard as separating himself from the other backs to take the bulk of the carries. He'll have to improve his blocking to become a three-down back, but if you're looking for a guy to run the football, it doesn't get much better than Howard. I think he was an absolute steal in the fifth round and considering the upgrades the Bears have made to the offensive line, he could make a huge impact as a rookie this season.
