Archives for August 2008

LOLBucks – UM Epic Fail

H/T: TOGTM

Mark Sanchez injured

FootballESPN is reporting that USC QB Mark Sanchez dislocated his kneecap in practice today.

Supposedly, the injury “was not serious.” The good news for Sanchez is that, when healed, his knee should be 100% (or better, as is often the case for joints after intensive physical therapy). The bad news is if your knee dislocates once, it’s very likely to happen again. Not good news if you’re just starting your quarterbacking career.

As far as being ready for OSU, Sanchez is now listed at ‘day to day.’ Treatment for a dislocated kneecap typically requires six weeks of immobilization. However, it’s probably a pretty safe bet USC has a top-notch physical therapy program, and Sanchez will see action much earlier than usual. How much earlier remains to be seen… I’m guessing that his knee may be at or near 100% by the time OSU comes to town, but he may not have as much experience or practice behind center as Carroll would hope for.

NFL-Preseason Vernon Gholston Shot

I wanted to get this up as I was watching the Browns/Jets preseason game last night, but just ran out of time. So I figured while I watch the Olympic opening ceremonies would be a great time to post a little OSZeus Beefcake:

It’s from a couple months ago, but it’s the best shot I could find of him in a Jets uni and his new #56.

You can check out this action shot of Mount Vernon, moments away from almost ending Brady Quinn’s life last night.

Shape up or Ship out

By way of the Dispatch:

As had been rumored for months, the junior cornerback said yesterday he has been suspended for the opener against Youngstown State and the next game against Ohio University for breaking unspecified team rules. He would not elaborate.

“My first game will be USC,” Washington said, referring to the third game of the season Sept. 13.

Backup safety Jamario O’Neal also confirmed he will miss the first two games because of a suspension. They, along with Eugene Clifford, who left the team during the summer, were first disciplined for something that occurred during the spring.

No word yet on Dough Worthington’s punishment.

The Monkey and I have discussed this at length, but it seems like the one thing that the team has lacked recently is true leadership. Beanie and Laurinaitis have been good leaders on the field, but there needs to be someone off the field that will get in guys faces and keep them in line. These little discretions do nothing but distract the team. Distractions is the one thing the this team does not need, especially going into a certain game in September.

Shape things up, boys.

Click…Click…”Thug Life”

The above headline conveys an entirely different context to UGA and Bama fans this offseason, but to the OSU faithful it can really mean only one thing…duh…

Ohio State has started tinkering with the “Pistol” offensive set. This offense has been linked to a few teams in D-1, but is exclusively showcased by the Nevada Wolfpack. I am pretty sure that most OSU fans heard the rumors in the offseason, but it was on display for BTN subscribers to view last night at the OSU televised practice.

Chris Ault's Pistol Offense Wiki
“Pistol” formation

With this formation, it would seem that having Todd or TP in the gun position with Beanie, Saine, or Herron behind them would cause all kinds of havoc for the linebacker corps, as they would have to wait a an extra second to the see the tailback come from behind the QB before committing run or pass. It should also give Todd or TP an extra second or more for the passing game. I am by no means an expert on these topics, but any additional flavor or trickeration to the OSU offense will always be a good thing, as it varies from vanilla to butter pecan throughout the season.

Other Benefits and refuting some misconceptions of the Pistol Offensive Set from the “The Pack Critic Blog”

The advantage that the Pistol provides over a standard shotgun is that it allows a true north/south running game, but it also gives the passing game the advantages of the shotgun. The Pistol isn’t so much an offense as it is a framework for an offense. You can run a huge variety of offenses out of the basic Pistol formations.

While I dont imagine this will replace the standard “I-Formation” in the OSU Playbook anytime soon (try…ever), you can already see where this is going…*giggle giggle*

i can haz Pistol offense?

A History Lesson provided by Jacobs Field

Cleveland IndiansEvery once in a while a special moment will occur for the general sports fan. Sometimes these moments will include your favorite team, which can be all sorts of awesome or a craptastic dose of terribleness.

Being an Indians fans has been a tough go for the YNBA this season and most seasons, but there have been a few occaisions, such as seven years ago today, that will always manifest a little warmth in my heart (notably the sub-cockle region). The Cleveland Indians trailed the Seattle Mariners 14-2 in the seventh inning at Jacob’s Field. Yeah…if you dont remember the outcome, believe it..the Indians scored 12 runs over the final 3 innings to tie the game and added another in the 11th inning to win 15-14.

Omar Vizquel

Joel Skinner…Holding people at 3rd Base since 2001.

(HT: Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times)

Welcome back

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

Camp has started and things are looking good for the Buckeyes.

Lots of stuff coming soon around these parts. You can already check out the Look Test and Eleven Warriors has already started looking at the starting units going in to the season.

25 days to go.

Big 10 acknowledges mistakes in last year’s OSU/Illinois game

In which I preface the whining with relevant factual information…
At last week’s Big Ten meetings, Dispatch writer Ken Gordon cornered Big Ten coordinator of officials Dave Parry about the officiating mistakes during last year’s OSU/Illinois game.

Asked if he was upset about the non-called fumble that gave Illinois a TD and momentum for the game, he said:

“Absolutely… I’ve got to be careful what I say, but strong measures were taken. It was not a happy command center at that moment.”

It’s a small statement, but it’s been long awaited. The Big Ten refused to comment on the issue after the game — even after an investigation revealed that the game’s referee, Stephan Pamon, had a history of casino gambling-caused bankruptcy, and had been disciplined the week prior for incompetence during the Purdue/Penn State game.

The Big 10 has not renewed Stephan Pamon’s contract for the 2008 season.

So even though ten months have passed, there’s a satisfaction in this de facto acknowledgment by conference higher-ups that some amount of officiating errors played a role in the outcome of the game.

In which I continue to whine about the game…
I know it’s “balanced and politically correct” of me to say that the fumble wasn’t the reason for the Buckeye’s loss. But I can’t do it. Did the OSU defense fail to force a punt on that last 8 minute drive? Yes. Did the Vest make the biggest sideline mistake of his coaching career in calling a time out, right when Zook was about to give Beanie and Boeckman the ball back? Yes. But both of those situations should be viewed in the context of the earlier abhorrent officiating.

Illinois scored after the non-called fumble, tying the game. It should be noted that, at that point, OSU was dominating. Later, a missed call on an obvious pick play allowed Illinois to score another TD.

In other words, had Pamon’s crew been just a smidge more competent, Illinois would likely have had 14 fewer points late in the game, putting them at least one TD behind the Buckeyes – maybe more.

It is in this context where we must examine the player execution and coaching mistakes of the late fourth quarter. Would Zook have been running QB sneaks for the last eight minutes of the game if his team was down by one or two TDs, or even if the two teams were tied? Not likely.

In which I continue to whine about past trends…
For the past half-decade, OSU has finished at or near the bottom of the 119 Div I-A (FBS) schools in opponent penalties (penalties applied to Buckeye opponents). Consider just the past four seasons:

Seriously – why isn’t this trend a bigger deal to everyone? Regardless of whatever team holds your loyalty, doesn’t anyone else find this trend a mite suspicious?

Or are we really supposed to believe that all of OSU’s opponents for the past five years suddenly displayed their best behavior when playing the Buckeyes?

ZOMG!!!! The Pre-Season Coaches Poll is out!!! A Top 3 “Dine and Dash”

It is the moment that everyone has been waiting for since whenever…

The first installment of poll provided by the coaches (ahem…Grad Assistants and University SIDs) was released in this morning’s USA Today. The “Top 5” looks about right with one glaring exception. Let’s take a quick gander at just the “Top 3” shall we?

Top 3 (First-Place Votes)
1. Georgia (22) – This probably looks familiar to OSU fans. Let’s get on the time machine and head back to 2006. It is amazing how much a whooping on a terrible opponent in a BCS Bowl game can propel you for the next season. We’ll see if Stafford has the capabilities to be a “talisman” for the Bulldogs, or if he turns into the SEC’s version of Anthony Morelli (Million-dollar arm…Ten cent head). Obviously, Moreno is going to bring it, but it will be intersting to see how the carries get split up between him and super-frosh Caleb King.

2. USC (14) – Obviously shirtless video of Pete Carroll and his coaching staff…and “for the love of all things holy” players have created a positive effect for the USC preseason ranking. For a team that has a myriad of questions on the offensive-side of the ball outside of McKnight, a top two ranking is somewhat high (and by high I mean…borerline ridiculous). Oh well, I guess this will be settled on 9/13 when the Trojans host…

3. Ohio State (14) – Returning 40 of the 44 on last season’s two deep, this was supposed to be the year that OSU made a run for the MNC. However, the goal was almost (not really) achieved last season and unfortunately lead to another loss to an SEC team in the BCS Championship game. Enjoy this season Buckeye fans, this is definitely one of Tressel’s most talented teams (if not the most talented Tressel team). If OSU goes into the USC’s backyard and wins convincingly, Georgia will move to #2 no matter how many SEC coaches vote.

Alright. I feel a little dirty now for providing some abbreviated analysis, as poor as it may have been.