Went down to the big lights of the Queen City on Saturday to trade lay-of-the-land information with other Ohioans like the country bumpkin I am.
I've sparred with Cincy and its denizens throughout my career, yet my stances have softened over the years—most infamously in May 2015 when I issued a #DJByrnesFlipFlop on Skyline Chili.
I now consider myself a fan of the Over the Rhine district, as I am of any up-and-coming chic neighborhood featuring imaginative art and the challenge of remaining vigilant against a non-violent mugging.
The history screaming from the German architecture is another painful reminder Columbus' downtown is so generic it could've been designed by a seven-year-old playing the original SimCity for Windows 95.
Let's hope the real estate capitalists don't gentrify it into a boring wasteland of luxury condos, Bikram hot yoga studios, and brunch spots with ampersands in their name like they did the Short North.
OTR businesses that should interest you:
- Rhinegeist Brewery. A must-see attraction for anyone that enjoys destroying their sanity by slurping IPAs while standing around a converted 19th century warehouse.
- Revolution Rotisserie & Bar. Good but not great poutine. Was a bigger fan of the the surly middle-aged man who argued with his wife by saying "Stop it" over and over before walking out like a petulant child (to do drugs, probably). He returned 15 minutes later like he hadn't made an ass of himself and embarrassed the person who cared about him most in front of strangers. That woman deserves a Purple Heart.
- Taft Ale House. Hey kids, become president so 104 years later non-descendants can use your visage to peddle overpriced cocktails (redundant, I know). The food and atmosphere is on point, though.
- Macaron Bar. Slander the French if you want; they run the culinary and dessert game.
- The Rook OTR. A chill bar with a dizzying amount of board games, all of which I hate. Piqua Whitney whipped my ass Connect Four. I went to drop a puck and another patron looked me in the eye and said, "You're about to lose." Sounded like fake news to me. Whitney promptly handed me my first Connect Four loss since 1997. I'd say that was the most embarrassing moment of the weekend but she went on to whip me in checkers without moving a soldier off her back row.
- Lucy Blue Pizza. Gloriously greasy pizza that will have you saying "#Blessed" the morning after drinking 100 IPAs like a dipshit.
Critical feedback for the sachems of Cincy from a college dropout who has never held an elected office or studied city planning: The city looks like a the a bombed-out industrial capital when entering via I-75 South.
Hopefully they have the vision and foresight over the next 8-10 years to maintain the history that makes it unique city while dealing with the overall population loss.
ICYMI:
- Taron Vincent, the No. 1 defensive tackle of 2018, committed to the local team last night.
- The impact of Vincent's commitment (spoiler: it's good).
- My product diary that got me, the man who doesn't use conditioner and hasn't shaved his chest or used cologne since 2004, labeled a metrosexual by men with ashy skin.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Cavort.
MAKES YOU THINK. The local team lost its best defensive tackle last year and remained one of the most talented defensive lines in the Big Ten. Despite the talent, the Buckeyes ranked 78th in adjusted sack rate.
The line returns everyone from 2016 and adds Chase Young, Haskell Garrett and Jarron Cage this summer. Entering the 2017 season, it's worth asking: Is the 2016 lack of sack production concern for 2017?
From landgrantholyland.com:
The issue isn’t with the line’s ability to create havoc overall, either. If you include tackles for loss in the equation, the defensive line ranked 19th in line havoc rate, first in stuff rate (which measures the rate of tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage), and first in power success rate (which measures the effectiveness in short-yardage situations). The line was incredibly effective at generating havoc plays in the run game — it was more or less just an issue with getting to the quarterback.
But there does seem to be some kind of issue with the pass rush. There’s not much of a difference between the pass rush on standard versus passing downs (78th and 90th), but passing downs success rate was poor relative to the rest of the defense’s play (34th). And that’s despite the use of the vaunted Rushman package, which packs the line with four defensive ends.
My guess is that this is an issue with specific personnel assignments and scheme more than any single issue by itself. As you can see from the talent ratings of the top three ends at .9277, it isn’t like there is an overall talent problem. Instead, as Ross Fulton has suggested, it might be more about what these ends are asked to do relative to their overall strengths and weaknesses. It’s possible that none are truly elite pass-rushing specialists, despite them being excellent players overall.
The defensive line this year will be the strength of the team, and I expect Greg Schiano to lean heavily upon it while his talented but unproven secondary earns valuable experience. If it doesn't lead the Big Ten in sacks, it will be by the schematic choices of the coaches.
If every lineman does his part and takes that offseason step in his development, it's hard to envision a collegiate offensive line capable of weathering Larry Johnson's deep rotation for 60 minutes—especially once the secondary gets its sea legs by the second half of the season.
A RARE ARTIFACT SURFACES. Uptight sportswriters always complain about fans attaching "Nation" to their fanbase. I've always felt Buckeye Nation is a worthy label considering the alumni base and coast-to-coast fanbase.
Perhaps we could do better than a single nation, though. After all, the Zwack Museum in Budapest, Hungary, proudly displays a signed Eddie George helmet.
From Redditor cornholesurfer:
I recently toured the Unicum/Zwack family museum here in Budapest and in a display case was a helmet signed by Ohio State RB Eddie George. I thought you guys might appreciate it as much as I did. Seeing this piece of CFB history all the way here in Hungary surprised the hell out of me. It even almost distracted me from the fact that Texas lost to Kansas.
Here's a look:
I need a more talented writer than me to write the definitive biography of George. It's a story that almost tells itself.
CALL ON A BROWN TO RELATE PERSONAL SETBACK. Justin Hilliard committed to Ohio State as a five-star linebacker from Cincinnati in July 2014. Minutes later, four-star DE Jashon Cornell committed.
Combined, the duo melted 11W's servers.
Two seasons later, and neither have yet statistically contribute to the team in a meaningful way. Cornell faces an uphill battle against a ridiculously deep depth chart while injuries hampered Hilliard.
The Cincinnatian recently received mentorship from an unlikely source: former Cleveland Browns standout D'Qwell Jackson, who battled bicep injuries early in his career.
New linebackers coach Bill Davis connected the two.
From 247sports.com:
"I had D’Qwell Jackson on the Cleveland Browns and he had popped both biceps also and I shared that with Justin," Davis said recently. "D’Qwell’s gone on to have a great Pro Bowl career in the NFL. So there’s no issue with the biceps at all."
[..]
Hilliard hopes to follow in his footsteps as he looks to get his collegiate career off the ground.
"I think it probably relieves him because one of the things in my career, if you know of somebody that’s overcome what you’re going through, and has been successful, I think it really helps," Davis said. "So for Justin Hilliard to know that there’s a guy out there, D’Qwell Jackson, who has torn both biceps two different years in a row and then went on to be in the Pro Bowl, that relieves him of a little bit of anxiety and he can go play football."
Even if healthy, I don't expect Hilliard to play anything beyond rotational minutes in 2017. If he stays healthy, however, I'll tab him for a breakout year in 2018.
ONE TIME FOR LARRY JOHNSON Y'ALL. With Taron Vincent's commitment, defensive line coach Larry Johnson deserves a 21 Loko salute for his ability to relate to #teens and convince them to play for the local team:
Thanks
— Larry A. Johnson (@R2X_Rushmen1) April 3, 2017
My favorite part is Johnson does it all without cussing. He's an inspiration to us all.
THE ONE GOOD BASEBALL THING. Cleveland and Cincinnati play baseball today. While hot dogs disgust me almost as much as the 19th century stickball plague returning to our shores, the Bier Stube's Opening Day tradition of selling 10 cent hot dugs is still the one good thing to come from it.
If you're a student, skip class and revel in tradition.
BIG GAME TALK. Gonzaga and North Carolina play for a national basketball championship on CBS at 9:20 p.m. ET, which is a hilariously atrocious time.
Nevertheless, don't be duped into cheering for Gonzaga. Spokane is an agreeably grimy city but Zags fans are Golden State Warriors fans without a trophy. You might like them now; you won't like them if they win tonight.
Signed,
The fella who knew three Gonzaga fans while "studying" in Montana for two years.
THOSE WMDs. How an anarchist Bitcoin coder found himself fighting ISIS in Syria... The hardships of a chef who left fine dining for fast food... ESPN has seen the future of TV and they're really not into it... Stealing Mona Lisa... Where have all the Bob Seger records gone?
