Did anybody else watch this Winner-Loser Day highlight video and then start screaming "SWEEP THE LEG!!!" while completing mundane chores around the ol' apartment?
Me either.
This week's NSFW ANTI-WORK #BANGERS:
- Lil Boosie's "No Juice" video.
- 3:55 of Beanie Wells stiff-arms.
-
Mike Ehrmantraut's best Breaking Bad moments.
ARMANI REEVES MADE THE RIGHT CALL. Despite what idiot radio hosts might tell you, concussions are bad. Now, I don't have a medical degree, but I'd go as far as to say head injuries, in general, are bad.
And despite what the NFL might tell you, I don't think we have all the science about the risks of playing football (especially in this day and age). I applaud Armani Reeves for the courage to walk away, as well as his ability to think like a 45-year-old father of two.
From BCSN.com:
After the season, [former Toledo DE Brent] Williams knew what he had to do. He showed Reeves news footage of Turner and Smith — not from his teammates’ glory years but their current ones.
“It was a tough conversation to say, ‘Armani, I want you to look at these videos. I’m not going to let you live like that. I can’t. If there’s anything I can do to try to prevent you being in that position, we’re going to do it,’ ” Williams said.
So Reeves followed an increasingly worn path.
He walked away.
On the flip side, please spare me with this "FOOTBALL IS IN A CRISIS" talk. Sure, players are walking away, but Ndamukong Suh just got, like, $200,000,000 to be a controlled tornado of human violence. The NFL suffered its worst off-the-field season ever and it smashed records. Industries like that don't just disappear over night.
ASH TALKS TACKLING. Remember when the defense was super into irony and also bad at tackling? Comical, trivial times looking back... but at the time? They weren't fun.
Chris Ash (and Pete Carroll) fixed those woes, however.
From Scout.com:
"The No. 1 thing I'll tell you is we've become a rugby tackling team," Ash said, explaining he was inspired to learn more about such a method after seeing an instructional video from Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll last summer. The video has become very popular over the past couple of years within football circles.
Ash did not simply copy what he saw on the Carroll video, however. Instead he went back through his own archives to compare to what he had been doing, not only in his first spring at Ohio State but also in previous stops at Arkansas and Wisconsin, watching tackling from practices and games. He also watched NFL film, and eventually a trend emerged.
"What we were coaching wasn't actually happening on film, so right then I was like, 'We're doing something wrong.' Because as a coach what you teach, what you work on, you want to see it on film and it wasn't happening. So we changed our tackling philosophy partly because the video inspired us to go back and really evaluate ourselves. When we did evaluate ourselves we found out what we were coaching wasn't showing up on film. So we made a wholesale change to go to what was happening on film."
That's the honesty required of elite coaches. That's why it's so cringe-worthy watching guys like Brian Kelly throw their players under the bus. "It's a bad carpenter that blames his tools," as they say.
CALL MAROTTI THE POKÉMASTER. I understand geography and chances at a more prestigious degree... but if you were offered by the NFL and truly had interests in playing at the next level... how could turn down an invitation into Mick Marotti's dojo?
If you Want to PERFORM the Best, Be TRAINED! by the Best! #TheGrind @markpantoni @CoachZachSmith #CHdesignxr pic.twitter.com/pmDAXufEFN
— Carl Harris (@CH_Designxr) April 2, 2015
Strength. Sensei.
J.T. BARRETT ALWAYS HAD VISION. J.T. Barrett would be a Texas Longhorn right now if Texas didn't goof, but sometimes things have a funny way of working out.
Via J.T. Barrett's Instagram account:
I should start citing myself at the end of my own Tweets.
— @marion_ohio (do not click that link)
IRONDALE SPEAKS. Yesterday, Cardale Jones climbed down off his iron throne and shouted at us from the mountaintop.
Pete Thamel of SI.com was the first to engrave his tablets:
SI: I can’t imagine too many agents were recruiting you in October. What was that onslaught like? You didn’t have much time to make a decision to declare or come back.
CJ: I had like two days to decide. My phone was nonstop ringing, and I was wondering, ‘How did everybody get this number?’ Like I said before, I mean that decision was already tough and trying to decide on things like that, still be with my family in a time of need, answering every phone call and text message, trying to be respectful. It came out of the woodwork, out of nowhere, and I’m wondering how everyone got that number.
And then he dropped a #TBT sermon on Twitter, which was extremely good until he made some tweets that hit a little too close to home for me:
man Twitter is so funny, I think some people think that watching people tweets and commenting are their jobs
— Cardale Jones (@CJ12_) April 2, 2015
9 times out of 10, all yall haters on Twitter, tweeting from a computer
— Cardale Jones (@CJ12_) April 2, 2015
I hope yall cats jump up on the computer desk and spill your coffee on the keyboard
— Cardale Jones (@CJ12_) April 2, 2015
*Wipes sweat off brow* Whew, glad he mentioned coffee — coffee is the worst — otherwise I may have had to retire because all my works would have been in vain.
Long live the King.
GOOD GUY JOSH PERRY. Shifting from one little footballing Gandhi to the next: We already knew Josh Perry was a guy who would go the extra mile, but we got another look at that yesterday:
You can read more about Josh and Jahred's bond over here.
LB Joe Burger also participated in Autism Awareness Day.
MR. INTENTIONS. Erick Smith showed some flashes last season, and I'm now rooting for him big time after reading this quote:
Ohio State safety Erick Smith (@RestUpBoog) wins today's self-description award: "I'm gonna get to the ball with some intentions."
— Ryan Ginn (@RyanGinnBSB) April 2, 2015
Hell. Yes.
ONLY NINETIES KIDS WILL REMEMBER THIS!!! What's the most future NFLer-laden OSU team for which you've rooted?
According to Robert Mays of Grantland.com, it's Ohio State's 1994 team, which he ranks No. 6 overall.
Players: Korey Stringer, Joey Galloway, Eddie George, Terry Glenn, Mike Vrabel, Shawn Springs, Orlando Pace
The 1994 Buckeyes didn’t finish as well as either of John Cooper’s next two teams, but this was the final season with both Korey Stringer and Joey Galloway in Columbus. Galloway, Eddie George, and Terry Glenn make up a pretty good collection of talent on offense, and a line with both Orlando Pace and Korey Stringer isn’t too bad, either.
This team gets an added boost since it is the first one with a shoe-in Hall of Famer in the ranks. Pace didn’t make it on his first try — which is kind of ridiculous — but it won’t be long. The no. 1 overall pick by the Rams in 1997, Pace was among the NFL’s best left tackles in a generation full of phenomenal linemen. Shawn Springs went two picks later to the Seahawks. Add in guys like him and Mike Vrabel, who started a combined 295 games over 14 years, and you’ve got a pretty decent group.
Fun fact: Michigan's highest rated team, its 2006 team (No. 9 overall), lost to Ohio State.
Urban Meyer's 2008 Florida team checks-in at No. 2 overall. Given Ohio State's current recruiting trajectory... Ohio State 2018 (or something like that) class could surpass them all.
ON NEWSSTANDS NOW. Looking for (what I assume is) a good read on a Buckeye legend? Look no further:
The latest issue of WIN with comprehensive coverage of the 2015 NCAAs is now available. http://t.co/cElRXOHA8E pic.twitter.com/uKCaCI8ZZU
— WIN Magazine (@WINWrestlingMag) April 2, 2015
My comprehensive 2015 NCAA wrestling coverage: Logan Stieber can't be beat.
THOSE WMDs. Shaka Smart to Texas... Great reportering, ESPN... I wanna party with Japanese Colonel Sanders... How to get a chill cat... Crew SC midfielder Tony Tchani's long road to stardom... This is me in 50 years... That time Harry Caray's wife almost beat up a socialite at a party... This exoskeleton slips on like a boot and makes your walking more efficient... Here's What a Super Typhoon Looks Like From Space... Police: Man posed as a cop to cut into fast-food line.
