Beloved Buckeyes - Post Game/Season Thoughts

Thanks lolcat. I couldn't have said it better.

I'm bullet-pointing these thoughts out of laziness and the fact that I'm running on a little over five hours of sleep.

• Dignity - so we didn't get to redeem ourselves for the past three Big Game Blowouts (FU, LSUck in Louisiana, USuCk in Southern Cal), but we showed up against a powerhouse of a Texas team that was favored by -9 on  neutral field and held our own. I also lost two hours of sleep because it was actually exciting. We saved face against a Heisman runner-up... 
• Short Comings - Big picture analysis would say that OSU lost because of poor tackling and very poor execution. Too many missed tackles and Pryor galloping out of bounds with no defenders around does not win football games.
• Good Bye! - with a slight dash of "good riddance". I'm mostly talking about Alex Baffoon Boone and Mo "Rasta" Wells (more known for his hair than his running ability). Rehring gets some of this love too, but at least his mid-season "injury" kept him from getting embarrassed, er, from being in the line-up. This is probably pre-mature, but I hope that we Marcus Hall (Glenville) commits and ends up being a mauler at LG next to Shugarts with Browing (RG) and Adams (RT) at the other side. Brewster is the second coming of Mangold. There, I said it.
• Good Bye (pt II) - I'm going to miss seeing Jenkins, Laurinaitis, and even Abdallah (yes, his play in the last 4-5 games hopefully earned him an NFL roster spot). On the bright side, Malcolm will be on my Madden squad next year kicking ass and taking names. 
• Good Bye (pt III) - I'm torn on this one. Beanie Wells was an absolute beast in the first half (+100 yards on 16 carries?!!!!!!) and then he turns into Beanie Baby... He NEEDS to declare for the NFL draft because he's physically not going to survive another full season in the S&G... The guy needs Wolverine's recovery ability... just sayin'. I'm liking Boom Herron's ability to run well behind that putrid offensive line... Hopefully we've got some other guys in reserve for '09-'10.
• Wideouts - Terry Roboskie should be proud of Robo's performance last night. Can't say the same for the Hartline family. I know that Pryor probably overlooked an open Hartline on a few occassions, but there's a reason he was throwing to Posey. When is Flash Thomas going to finally see some PT on offense??!? WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? I'm certain he can run a go route and Pryor can launch the ball deep. It's like breathing.
• Class Act - Todd Boeckman, you would be a great player if you had any mobility/pocket presence. Nice TD pass to the Future. We all enjoyed that. Oh, the double pass interference call on the 2-pt conversion attempt was worse than Ryan Leaf's pro career.
• Shaun Lane - hope he's okay. He's a special teams demon with plenty of pro potential.

Maybe more later....

Monday Musings

(Photo by N. Arnold)

It's Monday... and I'll look like this cat in an hour or so.

• Comedians Tom Papa & Pete Lee are hilarious. It was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise to see Pete Lee a second time (first time in Vegas; live taping of Last Comic Standing). It makes a big difference to give these guys 20 minutes to complete their jokes instead of three minutes.
• Ohio State's basketball team beat a solid Notre Dame basketball team on a neutral court (in Indianapolis). Evan Turner is going to have a break-out year on offense and defense. Diebler looks more comfortable finally draining some 3's and making the extra pass... I think we're going to keep surprising people especially in the Big Ten. Michigan apparently wants some love too after beating the Dukies!
• My fantasy football team had a decent weekend, but I'm falling behind in the points race. Thanks to the Bye-week, I'm looking ahead to Week 15... P.Manning & Wayne v. Detroit is the only cupcake match-up I can see on the schedule. This might not turn out well...
  
• Florida beat the spread. Those guys in Vegas know what they're doing... I'm really sick of Tim Te-blow. As Peyton Manning is quoted as saying, I hope Te-blow "...enjoys playing fullback in the NFL...".
  
• BCS: Oklahoma v. Florida - WRONG! Texas should be in this game. Florida is going to win by double-digits. Penn State v. USC in the Rose Bowl - when is this game not going to be played in USC's back-yard? Should be a good one. Utah v. Alabama in the Sugar - should be a one-sided affair to prove that Utah didn't belong (just like Hawaii last year v. Georgia). Ohio State v. Texas in the Fiesta Bowl - I think OSU can give Texas fits on both sides of the ball considering the number of points Texas has given up this season. Hopefully Pryor will give Mack Brown nightmares of VY... Cincinnati vs. Virginia Techzzzzzzzz... Huh? Sorry, I started nodding off there...

The economy & market still sucks.

BC-meSs

As a scarlet & gray bleeding Buckeye fan, I've come to terms with the fact that two consecutive losses in National Championship game results in being treated like a Port-a-Jon by the NCAA, BCS Apple IIe and IBM 1981 PC computers, and the ESPN ("Empty Suits Posing as kNowledgable") analysts. However, I am sick to my stomach over still having to read about how certain individuals think that our program is sub-par to the likes of non-BCS teams. Maybe this is what Charlie Weis feels like after eating his 30th cheeseburger.

I have a short OSU counter-point to the stone-throwers of a good 10-2 season:

• Boise State - Did Boise State play ANYONE of Southern Cal's or Penn State's caliber this season? Please, just name one team. Mighty Oregon struggled to beat a below-average Purdue team in overtime.
  
• Utah - see above. They beat a HORRENDOUS Michigan team by two. Nice work. Also needed TCU's kicker to miss not once, but TWICE...
  
• The Ohio State loss was to USC (on their home turf) without Beanie Wells. Not saying the outcome would have changed, but to have a RB to control the clock/possession, would have changed the 'feel'. I'm going for respectability here...
  
• Penn State's vaunted "HD" offense needed a late game fumble by a freshman QB to shift the tides. Just sayin'.
  
• On the topic of "who's playing well at the end of the season", give Ohio State some credit too. Beanie is healthy again, Terrelle Pryor boosted his QB rating to > 150, and the defense is starting to play more inspired football to compliment the aforementioned two-headed monster.

One last thing to note - Ohio State ENDED UP in the 2007 Championship game v. LSU thanks to teams like West Virginia, Missouri, and USC's explicite desires not to go. It's like my senior year HS prom date, everyone else had dates and well, a month prior to the event, no one else had asked her. I just ended up going with her. However, my experience was equivalent to Ohio State's...

On a similar note, the 2006 Championship game v. Florida was like every drunken experience I've had. The first few drinks go down awesome and you feel fantastic, then it all comes to a screeching halt via black-out and the next day you have an 18-hour hangover...

It's already been noted by just about every Longhorn fan on the planet, but how you beat a team head-to-head on a neutral field and end up on the face-down side of a flipped coin is ludicrous. Hello? It is obvious to me that the Big 12 is being run on the same Apple IIe's as the BCS.

My Quickie (CFB, NFL)

My version of the Quickie:

1. Ohio State's offense - Still mildly offensive (behind the offensive O-line), but managed to churn out 45 points. How 1/3 of Pryor's completions went for TD's is mildly ridiculous... Give me Block-O! Also, it was good to see the play-calling involve actual passing plays & our WR's show up...
   
2. Ohio State's defense - FortunatelyKafka's Tebow impression didn't last the entire game. I'm convinced that Marcus Freeman is injured (or just ridiculously over-rated).
   
3. OSU-NU referees - Awful. Disgusting. Horrendous. Vomitous. The missed holding calls, the garbage late hit penalties, and the ball-spots were just a few of their transgressions. Was it too cold to throw that holding flag? I suspect the umpire wanted to keep his hands warm (in his pockets).
   
4. Heisman - In my head, Beanie is a Heisman contender, but he probably finishes no better than 3rd this year the way Harrell, McCoy, and Tebow (found his mojo) have been playing. I suppose Michael Crabtree gets a few votes too since he's playing on an undefeated team. Wouldn't it be dramatic if Crabtree steals votes from Harrell and McCoy/Tebow wins??
5. Penn State - I am still bitter from last Saturday night (because I was there), so deep down I was rooting for the Iowa Hawkeye upset. #1 in black made the kick, #1 in black got some serious tail on Saturday night, and Penn State's hopes to be #1 were erased for the season. I wonder if Daryll Clark is being blamed for the loss...
   
6. BCS/Playoff - People need to understand that the BCS, NCAA & Div-1A (FBS) college football is ALL ABOUT MONEY. Until this changes, there will never be a playoff system that works for all 106 interested parties. Hey Pete Carroll, win your games and you're in. You have no room to speak after losing to OREGON STATE. OREGON F-ING STATE!@!!!!

My way too early predictions:

• Texas Tech beats Florida (BCS Championship Game)
• USC beats Penn State
• Boise State beats Missouri
  
• North Carolina beats Pittsburgh (would anyone watch this?)
• Alabama beats Utah

Now, onto a League that utilizes a playoff format...

1. Baltimore's running back by committee (McGaayyhee, McPlain, Rice Noodle) is a fantasy nightmare. It's worse than Denver's situation.
2. Tennessee Titans - who saw this coming? I need to check the Football Prospectus...
3. Big Ben should have waited another week before attempting to return. Arguably, the same result transpires behind Leftwich v. Colts... Bob Sanders makes the Colts D completely different. Jekyll & Hyde effect...
   
4. Is this finally the season for the 'Zona Cards??? Playoffs???
5. Fantasy Player OY = Drew Brees. And I picked Peyton 11th overall...
6. Fantasy Flubs OY = All players on IR
   

For the OSU fan in me, The Jekyll & Hyde just made me think of next year's RB class: Jamall Berry & Carlos Hyde.. J&H t-shirts anyone?

Daily 5 (Sick @ Work)

Five things I would love to see this Saturday night when Ohio State plays Penn State in the 'Shoe. My "silver bullets" if you will.

1. 3-4 Defense: We've got a lion's share (no pun intended) of linebackers. Imagine this line-up: Heyward, Gibson, Larimore + Freeman, Laurinaitis, Sabino/Spitler, and Homan. Swap in Hines once in a while if necessary.
2. Dual QB Pistol: Boeckman still has an arm and can read coverages. Picture Boeckman in the Pistol formation with Pryor to his left and Beanie behind him. I ask you this defenses around the world; now what?
3. More DB/Safety Blitzes: I'd like to say more blitzes period, but our coaches aren't bright enough to bring creative pressure... See bullet point #1. How do you think the Patriots and Steelers do it? Reference: MNF game 10/20/2008.
4. Birth of a Star: Let Pryor pass the ball for 200+ yards. tOSU ran the ball two-thousand consecutive plays against Michigan State. I'd also like to see some screen passes, reverses, and WR sweeps to keep the defense honest. If Boeckman could do it last year, Pryor can do it this year.
   
5. Cow Bells: what's more annoying than a roar or Zombie Nation? Cow bells. Rhetorically appropriate in Columbus, Ohio.

Hey Coach, which guy am I supposed to block again?

Spoiled Buckeye Fans (B@W)

Eight weeks into this year's Ohio State football season, I've finally come to grasps that we (myself included), as a collective scarlet & gray Kool-aid drinking mass, are a bunch of spoiled drunkards. I've refrained from posting on the Bucknuts.com free message boards and bite my tongue in the office when Buckeye debates find their way through the cubicle mazes. Between the media and the masses (via message boards), I've come to the conclusion above based on the following laundry list:

1. Since 2002, Ohio State has finished no worse than #4 in the country (except in 2004). Let's not forget three National Championship appearances - Champ in 2002, runner-up in 2006, runner up in last year. Erase the 2004 season (except the Ted Ginn Jr. highlight reels) and the Buckeyes have finished no worse than #4 since 2002!!! Heck, we've only lost once to scUM during that time period and drubbed Notre Dame and Charlie "ICanHas Cheezburger" Weis along the way. In a society that screams "what have you done for me lately" we've lost perspective on how good Coach Tressel has been to us.

2. It's not like we lost to Youngstown State, or Ohio, or Troy, or Minnesota, or Purdue. Take solace Buckeye fans, it isn't the end of the world. We have a future all-world QB who needs a year to get the system under his belt (and wait for the slow offensive, offensive linemen in front of him to graduate). This guy is a gamer. I'm going to offer up another thought here - the guys around him are holding him back from his potential. Robiskie and Hartline make great possession receivers. Robo was clutch in 2006 when he was flanked by TG-II and Gonzo. He was a perfect 3WR. His limitations were magnified only after we waltzed into the 2007 NC game and he ran into (quite literally) bigger, faster DBs. Hartline, contrary to popular belief, is not the second coming of Gonzo. Ray Small should stay in the dog-house for his on-field performance as much as his off-field shenanigans. Posey has showed flashes of excellence and it looks like Lamaar "Flash" Thomas is getting his shot at least on kick-off returns.

3. Recruiting boon. The 2008 class was pretty special. In fact, I'll go on step further and say as a result of the 2008 class, expectations for the 2008-2009 team were exponentially higher. The coaches, Mr. Brewster, Block O and company brought in another Top 5 class. Unfortunately, I think most of us failed to recognize that most of the kids probably wouldn't get to see the field this year. With 20 returning starters from a NC team, what would you expect? I sit behind a desk all day and I understand that politics and bureaucry exist in every organization, team, or group. We can't get away from it. What if you, yourself, were the starting WR (with three letters) coming off an almost-double digit TD, 1,000 yard receiving season and people were calling for your head/spot? Or worse, you're the 5th year senior QB who's plateaued as a QB and you lost your job not because you're not an intelligent, skilled QB, but because your OL is analogous to Swiss Cheese and stagnant blocking dummies?

4. He's only 19. Yes, Terrelle "the Future" Pryor, is only 19. There's a reason why recruits and freshmen are called "prospects" and not "Pro-Bowlers". Give him a break. Sure, he doesn't make reads quickly and he doesn't know how to throw the ball away (or in his case, flick his wrist) but he hasn't LOST a game for us (i.e. Boeckman v. Illinois) by making mistakes, fumbling or throwing INTs. We've been exposed as a better than average team with a better than average defense with a work-in-progress offense. In a season full of injuries and 'if'-statements, we're all left to wonder what would have happened if Beanie hadn't tore up his toe/foot. Who knows, Boeckman might still be the starting QB and we might have lost by fewer points to USC. Which would you prefer?

In conclusion, it should be noted that the Ohio State football machine is not obsolete or broken, merely in the shop for repairs (like Beanie's toe) and some reconfigurations. It's safe to say that we lost a team for the ages in 2005 (Hawk, Carpenter, Whitner, Pittman, Holmes) and 2006 (Heisman, Ginn, Gonzo). We were fortunate to see teams like WVU and Mizzou take it on the chin late last year to vault our beloved Buckeyes into the NC game against LSU in LSU's backyard. I think it proved that we probably weren't quite there yet and far be it for me to say that these most-honorable seniors have become complacent and lazy having two shots at the NC but the way they're playing this year, maybe they have been.

If you're a golfer you can appreciate this - there's always the next hole or the next 9 or the next 18. 2008 isn't a "complete failure" - we're 6-1 with five games left... and we'll beat up scUM again. Would you rather be 6-6 and beat scUM or 10-1 and lose to scUm? Get off the high horses and appreciate the success our university has had over the last 6-7 years and realize that 2009 and 2010 have potential written all over them.

And realize we PWN Michigan in the 21st century.