TERRY MOSHER

CHASE YOUNG

TOP OF THE TOWN – There are just a few defensive football players I have seen in the last 50 years that jump out for me. The first one was Steve Emtman, the University of Washington defensive lineman that was the first pick in the 1992 NFL draft.  Emtman’s pro career was brief because of injuries, but, man, he was a one-man wrecking crew. Even most double teams failed to stop him. Now there is a second one. He’s Ohio State’s 6-foot-5, 265-pound junior defensive end, Chase Young. In the Buckeyes crushing defeat of Wisconsin last Saturday, 38-7, Young was on the minds of everybody after his four sacks, five tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. His quickness, his aggression, toughness is almost like there is a Superman playing for the Buckeyes.  Ohio State coach Ryan Day said of Young’s impact on opposing quarterbacks, “You start to feel ghosts and see ghosts, especially when he’s on your backside.”  Said co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, “is HHis get-off, his speed, it’s unbelievable. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before. Its ridiculous.” … I was surprised LSU leapfrogged Alabama and Clemson into the top spot in the Associated Press College Football Poll. The Tigers are good. I’m not disputing that after their 23-20 win over a good Auburn team Saturday (remember Auburn defeated Oregon in the first week of the season and Oregon has gone on to win eight straight after that loss), but better than Alabama? Nah, I don’t think so. Although LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, a transfer from Ohio State, is unbelievable. He is one cool customer. The junior has thrown for 30 touchdowns and 2805 yards and is completing 78.8 percent of his passes. There are a bunch of good college QBs this season, including Justin Fields, sophomore transfer from Georgia who is now guiding the Buckeyes with 24 TD passes and just one interception while also rushing for nine more scores, and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, out after having ankle surgery but expected to be ready to play Nov. 9 when the Tide host LSU, Jake Fromm with Georgia, Andrew Gordon of Washington State, Justin Herbert of Oregon and, yes, Washington’s Jacob Eason. I think Tua, Fields and Burrow are the top three QBs. You couldn’t go wrong with having any one of them. The next four — Fromm, Eason, Gordon and Herbert – you can throw in a hat and pick them from that. Gordon is running Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense which is slowly being adopted into the NFL and has Gardner Minshew has shown a signal-caller under that system can prevail in the NFL. Gordon has a quick release, is accurate and a bit cocky, so he would seem to have a good shot should he be picked for the league. Eason has a strong arm and is more of a Matt Ryan type than, say, Kyler Murray. … The Seahawks escaped with a 27-20 win at Atlanta today after leading 24-0 at halftime. Again, the Hawks defense, or lack of defense, became evident in the second half when if not for a Falcon fumble on the one-yard line the Hawks recovered could have been a disaster for them. They host Tampa Bay this next Sunday at CenturyLink and if the put another game together like they did against the Falcons it could be a disaster. They are not a playoff team in my opinion. They are 6-2 and at the mid-point of the season, and there are not any weak sisters left on the schedule. They play the Rams once more and the 49ers twice, play at Philadelphia and Carolina and host the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals, which is probably the weakest team left. I can see them losing to Philadelphia, Carolina, Minnesota, Rams and the 49ers twice.  That would leave their final record an even 8-8. To get to the playoffs I believe they need 10 wins. So where are the two wins coming from that I don’t see?  That’s it for today.

Be well pal.

Be careful out there.

Have a great day.

You are loved.