People got mad yesterday about my Rolling Stones/Rolling Corpses jape. Some folks even used the occasion to impugn my impeccable musical tastes. Can you believe that? I couldn't.
Here are three songs — songs that I know and love — from three 1970s artists that are/were infinitely more talented than those waxy clowns.
- Bob Dylan, "Hurricane."
- Allman Brothers, "Ramblin' Man."
- BeeGees, "Stayin' Alive."
I wasn't even alive in the 70s, so they should be doubly ashamed for bringing that ruckus to my doorstep. (For complaints/disputes, please click here.)
ICYMI: The full wrap of yesterday's practice can be found on the 11W homepage.
THIS TRAIN DOESN'T STOP. Tom Herman is in Houston. If things go according to plan, Ed Warinner, Chris Ash, and Luke Fickell might not be far behind him.
Can Ohio State continue its run for a dynasty if OSU keeps losing assistants? It's the question posed in this excellent Cleveland.com piece:
"To this day, does [Urban Meyer] completely, fully trust me? I don't know, I hope so," Ash said. "Probably it happened when the season was over. At the end of the day, let's be honest, we can all like each other, but you've got to trust someone to do it. But it wasn't going to be just walk in the door and that trust would be built. Building trust with a player and coach takes a long time, and building trust with a coach and head coach takes a long time."
[...]
Herman has said what he learned most from Meyer was the way he kept a program aligned, with everyone on the coaching staff and roster pulling the same direction in the same way. Ash has mentioned that as well, and it's that alignment that could create consistency in the midst of turnover. It's an ability to change that could keep talent interested in working in Columbus.
"As an assistant coach, I know I can bring him a new idea," Ash said. "If you can prove to him this will benefit our coaches or players or program, he'll do it. Some coaches who have been doing it a long time and have been successful say, 'It's my way and that's it.'"
The only assistants I — the blogger — consider irreplaceable are Mickey Marotti and Mark Pantoni. Thankfully, those guys both appear willing to die in the service of Urban Meyer.
Outside of them, America produces an abundance of brilliant football minds. At this point, what sharp, aspiring mind wouldn't jump at an opportunity to work with Urban Meyer and Ohio State's insanely talented team? As long as Urban continues to have his pick of the litter, Ohio State will be fine.
BTN AT PRACTICE. Dave Revsine was high on the 2015 Buckeyes before he got a glimpse of them in person:
What really amazes me about Ohio St. last yr - they were returning 12% of their offensive production from 2013. This yr, they return 88%
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 23, 2015
The best part about that stat is Braxton Miller isn't included in that 88%.
Here's Revsine after he got a glimpse at the monster:
Hard to know where to begin when praising the Buckeyes. They are as physically impressive a group as we've seen in our 9 yrs of camp tours
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 24, 2015
OL won't miss a beat with Chase Farris. Watched him for 5 straight snaps on inside drill - more than held his own.
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 24, 2015
Some fans are uncomfortable with all the praise being heaped on a team that has yet to play a snap. As somebody who has been dead inside for at least a decade, I normally would concur.
I just refuse to roll that way when it comes to this team, which is coming off a championship run that would've seemed impossible at this time last year.
This year is house money, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to sit back and enjoy the ride. Haters are welcome to take their best swing too.
WHAT ELSE CAN WE CALL SMALL BITS OF INFORMATION? Thought these Sugar Bowl nuggets — I loathe the word "nuggets," but I'm bereft of an adequate substitute — were interesting.
The biggest surprise among OSU coaches in the Sugar Bowl was how well Buckeyes ran against Bama. They didn't think they could. #TheChaseOSU
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) August 24, 2015
Vonn Bell said he and Ash watched the play on which he made this INT "20 times" on film. He knew it was coming.
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) August 24, 2015
On Elliott's 85-yd TD run, Spencer made the key block, taking out 2 players. It was caused by panic. 1/2
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) August 24, 2015
He was supposed to go in motion, but didn't get/hear call from Jones. Desperate, he threw himself into 2 players. Best block in OSU history?
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) August 24, 2015
Evan Spencer took two Bammers out with a single blow? Let's check the tape to confirm.
Spencer is at the top of the formation:
Hahahaha. Evan Spencer is a legend for that one.
FINKES SPEAKS. Matt Finkes sat down for an interview with AthlonSports.com:
What was the most memorable part of the 1995 season?
We had a great team in ’95. We were coming off a down year in 1994 as a team but we had a lot of guys back, had a really good offensive football team. But a young defensive team. Eddie George was our running back. Bobby Hoying was our quarterback. Terry Glenn was our wide receiver. We were loaded on offense. We started out highly ranked and were cruising right along and then ran into a problem in Ann Arbor against Michigan and deflated the season for us. A lot of high expectations, but we didn’t fulfill all that we thought we could.[...]
Even though you beat Michigan in 1994, your era was in the middle of a bad stretch against the Wolverines. You might have a little bit of empathy about this: What’s going on in the Michigan locker room right now in terms of the rivalry?
It was tough. We beat Michigan in 1994, which was the first time in (then-coach John) Cooper’s era. That was a game where it was win or go home for him, and everyone knew it. It wasn’t just the people in the stands; it was the kids in the locker room. We knew if we don’t win this game, Coop’s getting fired. We are able to win that game, but we fell under that same trap the next two years. It’s like a baseball player when you’re on a bad streak and you don’t know why and you don’t know how to fix it and maybe you’re tight. I think that’s what Michigan is going through a little bit. Obviously, the talent level there with the coaches changes has hurt them. With (Jim) Harbaugh in, that’s going to be their biggest challenge, getting over that mental block.[...]
You said last summer that Braxton Miller’s shoulder injury could be the end of him as a quarterback. What did you see that perhaps more optimistic fans didn’t in 2014?That was the injury that basically put my out of the NFL. I tore my labrum at Jacksonville. I knew what that entailed for me just to get back to everyday life and that that point I had just retired, so I’m talking about just swinging a golf club. I knew how hard that would be. The time that it happened to him was right at the beginning of camp. A nine-month, year recovery time didn’t bode well for his chances of coming back and being a starting quarterback. And then looking at his athletic ability, the open-field ability is an elite level. There are probably 10-15 guys in the NFL who have his athletic ability. For him to make a long sustainable career in the NFL, it made a lot of sense to me (for him to move to receiver).
Here's a crazy what-if: What if OSU loses that Game in 94? Who replaces Cooper? Does Ohio State still get Tressel? DO THEY STILL END UP WITH URBAN MEYER?!?
Let me step off that cliff and continue on.
#TURNDOWNSC. USC banned locker room alcohol yesterday. It begged the question: USC allowed locker room alcohol?
Apparently it was so.
From DailyNews.com:
Former USC coach Lane Kiffin also consumed alcohol after games but interim coach Ed Orgeron said he banned it from the locker room when he took over in 2013. Sarkisian brought back alcohol last season and several sources said there was a culture of drinking that existed.
This is believed to be a carryover from his days at the University of Washington, where he served as head coach from 2009-2013.
“There were always beers and stuff around,” said a former Washington athletic department employee who asked not to be identified.
No mention of the illegal Loko? No wonder USC ain't make no playoff.
THOSE WMDs. We're just beginning the auto-hacking era... Why Your Team Sucks: The Cincinnati Bengals... Deep Intellect... Disgust in Rome at mafia don's glamour funeral complete with Godfather music... Video: The Semicolon; or, Mastering the Giant Comma.
