When going to see the latest box-office hit in theaters arguably the worst thing you can have happen is having your "friend" hype up the movie for more than it's worth.  We've all been there, expecting Picasso-like greatness from a dramatic comedy filled with one-liners and "B" rated acting.  Was it good? Yes.  Was it as good as it was hyped up to be?  Absolutely not.  How could it have ever lived up to the stigma of greatness that you were led on to expect.  If you had no expectations for the movie its almost guaranteed you would leave that very same theater with a bit more satisfaction and accomplishment.  Giving the old saying some credibility "life is all about perception."  

Heading into the 2013 season there wasn't many players hyped up more than Braxton Miller.  He came into the season riding high after a monster 2012 campaign in which he proved he was one of the best (if not the best) dual-threat signal caller in the country while leading his team to an undefeated season.  Thirsty for more and a National Title he chose to come back and prove it wasn't a one-year-fluke while trying to capture a Heisman trophy along the way.  Big things were expected from him to say the least and he was on the right path sailing through his first game against Buffalo.

Then came game two.  Another "warm-up" game for the Buckeyes in the path to perfection.  Miller didn't make it two drives into the game before being knocked out with a knee injury.  As he walked to the locker room so did his chances of a Heisman trophy after finding out he would sit out the following week with a sprained MCL.  It's hard enough to win the Heisman playing all 12 scheduled games, and when you are forced to miss one or multiple it handicaps your chances too much to be considered in the hunt from that point on. 

The Heisman was only fools gold anyways.  Sure it would have been nice but Miller's expectations were on a BCS title from the beginning.  He walked out of the San Diego State game with a awkward limp and discouraged as he saw his teammate and friend Kenny Guiton replace him for the following two games.  Guiton was superb.  Taking care of the ball and business when they traveled to California and then routing Florida A&M 76-0 while breaking a school record throwing six touchdown passes in the first half (rips off shirt in Superman like fashion).  Guiton was playing so good there were requests to leave him in even with Miller returning to full health.  you can't deny the numbers he put up but comparing him to Miller just seemed silly, after all Miller was the one who beat out the fifth year senior Guiton over a year ago, lead them to an undefeated season, and was on a Heisman watch during the dog days of summer.  Plus, who's to say that a healthy Miller couldn't have done the same, if not better job than Guiton in the first place.  It makes me want to make a bumper sticker.  Sports; more judgmental than your sister. 

Fully healthy and ready to prove the haters wrong that he was the best quarterback for the job, Miller went out against the Badgers and threw four touchdowns and zero interceptions and helped Ohio State get their first Big Ten win of the season by a score of 31-24.  Things were back on track for MIller, looking in sync and comfortable in all phases of his game.  The following week in a highly anticipated game against Northwestern, Miller regressed throwing zero touchdowns with one interception.  Although they ended up winning those weren't exactly Heisman-like numbers from your star quarterback in the biggest game of the season to date.  Miller later came out this past week and admitted he wasn't up to full strength and fully recovered from his knee injury that sidelined him over a month ago. 

So far this season Miller has thrown for 609 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions through three games while sitting out another three.  He is out of the hunt for the Heisman trophy but has his team is where it needs to be so far to reach their bigger goal of a championship.  He claims to be fully healed from his injury now and says he has no limitations when it comes to moving around and cutting laterally which is one of the best parts of his game.  So expect him to continue to get better as the season goes on and he gains more and more confidence in his knee.  The Buckeyes' only tough test left is visiting the Wolverines in Ann Arbor the last week of the season so expect Miller's numbers to increase as the weeks go by. 

Due to his injury, it's tough to grade Miller on his year thus far.  However, that fact is due to the injury he wasn't able to play and ultimately wasn't there for his team as Kenny Guiton was called on to step in.  Consistency through durability is one of the biggest kept secrets when grading an athlete in sports.  The greatest players in any sport was on the field consistently because of their ability to stay healthy.  Of course it's not always the players fault when they are injured, there certainly is a stroke of bad luck here and there, but the best ones put themselves in the best positions to stay healthy and remove the "bad luck" from their odds.  Look at Peyton Manning for example.  Is he what you would call the prototypical "athlete" in today's modern world of sports?  He's certainly not the strongest, fastest, or biggest man playing the game or even in the top percentile.  What he is though is aware enough put himself in positions not to take the big hits.  By shuffling around in the pocket ever so modestly he is able to put himself out of harms way.  Can you argue with the fact that he is in his late 30s and is the best quarterback playing the game?  At this rate he could play another five years at the same high level.  Why? Consistency through durability.  This has been the first time Miller has gotten injured so we will chalk it up to bad luck, but no matter how good a player is or how talented if he can't stay on the field and play than he can't be compared or graded to the ones who can. 

Miller is a great player and will continue to get better.  The people who had no expectations for Miller will say he is the main reason the Buckeyes have had the success they have had dating back to last year and that if they're going to win a National Title it will be because of him.   The people that expected him to live up to his preseason hype will say he has plenty of things to work on like his pocket passing claiming he's still raw and now injury prone.  I've given you the facts, what you do with them is up to you.  After all, life is all about perception.