R.M.S. Tressel

The sad voyage of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel



(HT: WLA for the 'copter 'shop)

Time to get new plates, dude

So you're a huge Buckeye fan living in New Jersey.  You get the scarlet Mercedes.  Add a Buckeye license plate holder.  Now, you need just one final thing to make this the ultimate Buckeye mobile: a Tosu-centric vanity plate.

Since you live outside Ohio, you have more choices.  You come up with the perfect one (no, "FUCK MICHIGAN" doesn't fit and isn't acceptable - even in Jersey).  Yes, it's available!

You wait.  And when the plates finally get there, you can't get them on fast enough.

Until today.

Oops.

Now the man's wife and entire family - who went to Michigan - are having the last laugh.

No, this isn't Terrelle Pryor's latest discounted ride

(HT: Andrew)

MZone Exclusive: New Ohio State Logo

In the wake of Tressel's resignation and the ongoing scandal swirling in C-bus, the MZone has learned that Ohio State will be changing their traditional logo - "Ohio State" across a block "O" - to something a little more honest.

The Best of Tresselgate

In the wake of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel's quitting before he got fired resignation, we put a few of our favorite posts about the scandal in one convenient place for all your linkage needs.

You're welcome.

Sincerely,

The MZone

SCRIPT O-LIE-O!

TRESSELGATE DOUBLE FEATURE

And back for a special return engagement:

TRESSEL-I-AM

Two weeks ago - before Yahoo! Sports posted a story claiming that Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel knew about Buckeye players trading merchandise for free tattoos more than eight months before the school said it was made aware of the allegations - The Vest was photographed reading Dr. Seuss books to a group of school children in Ohio:

Well, in light of the recent allegations in C-bus, may we suggest the following for The Vest's next reading to the kids:

 An excerpt:

We looked!
Then we saw him step in on the mat!
We looked!
And we saw him!
Terrelle and his tats!
And he said to us,
"Why do you sit there like that?
I know it is wet
And the sun is not sunny.
But we can have lots of fun
Lots of fun with booster money!"


"I know some good bars to go to,"
Said the QB.
"We can drive in the new car
The new car dealer just loaned me!
We will take the car, take the car out for a ride.
My coach
Does not care, so I have nothing to hide!"


Then Sally and I
Did not know what to say.
But Terrelle said Coach Tressel
Would look the other way.


But our fish said, "No! No!
Make Terrelle go away!
Tell that Cat with the Tats
You do NOT want to play.
He should not be here,
He should be on probation!
He should be suspended
With the rest of Buckeye Nation!"


"Now! Now! Have no fear.
Have no fear!" said the QB
"I won't get caught
Since my coach just ignores me.
Why, we can have
Lots of fun doing my thing
With a game that I call
Selling my championship ring!"

An excerpt:

I do not like the game's laws and its rules
I do not like them, they're only for fools
I did not like them during the days of Clarett
I do not like them nor have been busted just yet
I let Terrelle Pryor get his free tats
Then claimed, "Oh, I did not know about that!"
I do not like the rules they have about class
The N-C-A-A can kiss my Vest-wearing ass
I do not like the rules out on the field
And if we get busted, I'll surely appeal
I do not like the rules here in the 'Shoe
And our fans do not care as long as I beat the Blue
I do not like rules here or there
I do not like them ANYWHERE!


REDLINED FIRST DRAFT OF OSU LETTER TO NCAA

Yesterday, we printed in full Ohio State's letter to the NCAA regarding Tresselgate.   Since then, portions of an earlier draft of the letter have been leaked.  Initially, in addition to missing the first two games of the 2011 season and paying a $250,000 fine, Ohio State officials considered banning Coach Jim Tressel from spring practice and summer camps.

And that's not the only shocker.

In the MZone exclusive below, we have obtained a copy of the heavily edited rough draft of the last "Conclusion" paragraph of that letter.  As you'll discover, significant changes were made before it was submitted.

The institution was wondering when the other shoe was gonna fall regarding the charade that is Cheaty McSweaterVest.  How the hell it took this long is beyond us is very surprised and disappointed in Coach Tressel's lack of action in this matter.  His behavior in this situation is par for the course out of character from him and is contrary to his proven history of saying one thing in those bullshit self-righteous books he pawns while doing another behind the scenes of promoting an atmosphere of NCAA compliance within the football program.  Since this shit has been going on ever since his hiring as the head football coach in 2001 (i.e. Maurice Clarett, Troy Smith, etc.), he and his staff have ignored attended the NCAA rules education sessions on a consistent basis, regularly made up sought interpretations, and self-reported an almost laughably huge fuckload of nearly 400 secondary violations.  His lack of truthfulness action in this matter appears to have been the result of thinking he was above the rules and wouldn't get caught as usual indecisiveness regarding the appropriate actions to take in this specific situation in which he was placed if you can even begin to wrap your head around what a huge set of stones it took to even try to pass that nonsense off as a plausible excuse, as opposed to a blatant disregard of NCAA legislation stretching back to his Youngstown State days.  Nevertheless, we recognize that because he wins a lot of games and beats Michigan, we look the other way when we can and offer the insulting slap on the wrist punishment in this letter now  that he should have forwarded this information in some manner to appropriate institutional officials.  With the exception of this mistake that you know about, he is a man  of integrity and high moral standards if you set the bar somewhere between, say, Pete Carroll and the SMU program during the Eric Dickerson years. 

This institution really hopes you'll buy the ginormous load of horse shit in this letter in the same way you shockingly believed the whole 'Cam Newton didn't know' steaming pile appreciates the cooperation of your staff in this inquiry.

Suckers, Sincerely,

Larry Gordon Gee, President

Moe John Bruno, Faculty Athletics Representative

Curly Gene Smith, Director of Athletics

cc: The assclown who tried to fuck with The Game 

    Mr. James E. Delany

Daftar Juara Piala Liga Prancis (1995-2010)

Inilah daftar Juara Piala Liga Prancis:

1995 Paris St Germain (PSG)
1996 Metz
1997 Strasbourg
1998 PSG
1999 Lens
2000 Gueugnon
2001 Olympique Lyon
2002 Bordeaux
2003 AS Monaco
2004 Sochaux
2005 Strasbourg
2006 Nancy
2007 Bordeaux
2008 PSG
2009 Bordeaux
2010 Marseille

Koleksi Gelar Berdasarkan Tim:
3 gelar - Bordeaux dan PSG
2 gelar - Strasbourg
1 gelar - Lyon, Metz, Lens, Monaco, Sochaux, Gueugnon, Nancy, Marseille

Cue the Munchkins

Tressel resigns

"After meeting with university officials, we agreed that it is in the best interest of Ohio State that I resign as head football coach. The appreciation that Ellen and I have for the Buckeye Nation is immeasurable."

Daftar Juara Liga Champions Eropa (1955/56 s.d 2011/12)

Inilah daftar juara Liga Champions Eropa dari musim 1955/56 s.d 2011/12:

1955/56 Real Madrid
1956/57 Real Madrid
1957/58 Real Madrid
1958/59 Real Madrid
1959/60 Real Madrid
1960/61 Benfica
1961/62 Benfica
1962/63 Milan
1963/64 Internazionale
1964/65 Internazionale
1965/66 Real Madrid
1966/67 Celtic
1967/68 Manchester United
1968/69 Milan
1969/70 Feyenoord
1970/71 Ajax
1971/72 Ajax
1972/73 Ajax
1973/74 Bayern München
1974/75 Bayern München
1975/76 Bayern München
1976/77 Liverpool
1977/78 Liverpool
1978/79 Nottingham Forest
1979/80 Nottingham Forest
1980/81 Liverpool
1981/82 Aston Villa
1982/83 Hamburger SV
1983/84 Liverpool
1984/85 Juventus
1985/86 Steaua Bucuresti
1986/87 Porto
1987/88 PSV
1988/89 Milan
1989/90 Milan
1990/91 Crvena zvezda
1991/92 Barcelona
1992/93 Olympique Marseille
1993/94 Milan
1994/95 Ajax
1995/96 Juventus
1996/97 Borussia Dortmund
1997/98 Real Madrid
1998/99 Manchester United
1999/00 Real Madrid
2000/01 Bayern München
2001/02 Real Madrid
2002/03 Milan
2003/04 Porto
2004/05 Liverpool
2005/06 Barcelona
2006/07 Milan
2007/08 Manchester United
2008/09 Barcelona
2009/10 Internazionale
2010/11 Barcelona
2011/12 Chelsea

Daftar Klub Dengan Jumlah Gelar Terbanyak
9 Real Madrid
7 Milan
5 Liverpool
4 Ajax, Bayern Muenchen, Barcelona
3 Manchester United, Inter
2 Benfica, Juventus, Nottingham Forest, Porto
1 Aston Villa, Borussia Dortmund, Celtic, Crvena Zvezda, Feyenoord, Hamburg SV, Olympique Marseille, PSV, Steaua Bucharest, Chelsea

Daftar Jura Liga Inggris (English Premier League)

Berikut ini adalah Daftar juara liga utama inggris/english premier league dari musim 1990/1991 sampai dengan 2010/2011

    * 1990/1991 - Arsenal
    * 1991/1992 - Leeds United
    * 1992/1993 - Manchester United
    * 1993/1994 - Manchester United
    * 1994/1995 - Blackburn Rovers
    * 1995/1996 - Manchester United
    * 1996/1997 - Manchester United
    * 1997/1998 - Arsenal
    * 1998/1999 - Manchester United
    * 1999/2000 - Manchester United
    * 2000/2001 - Manchester United
    * 2001/2002 - Arsenal
    * 2002/2003 - Manchester United
    * 2003/2004 - Arsenal
    * 2004/2005 - Chelsea
    * 2005/2006 - Chelsea
    * 2006/2007 - Manchester United
    * 2007/2008 - Manchester United
    * 2008/2009 - Manchester United
    * 2009/2010 - Chelsea
    * 2010/2011 - Manchester United

How Much to Install?

As a firm believer in KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) philosophy, I liked this article by Alan from The Press Box Analysis talking about why Less is More with regards to playbooks.

Chris from Smart Football with Why Every Team Should Install its Offense in Three Days.  The Air Raid offense is really tremendous from the standpoint of having as few plays as possible to attack every area of the field and to complement the other plays in its system.

Tony Demeo article on Installing an Offense - Year One

A good article on the methods of memorizing playbooks by NFL players here.

Eric Winston, Houston Texans OT, had a good quote in this ESPN article about the size of playbooks:

"I've always wondered why coaches preach 'execution, execution, execution' and have 500-page playbooks. It's hard for those things to coexist."

Also, I am working on revamping the site and updating all of the files (long overdue).

Links

Deuce with Defense...The Basics.  He also talks about some good ideas in installing a defense.

The Press Box Analysis with good quotes from college coaches in his article What's the No. 1 stat that separates winners and losers in CFB?.

Coach B Dud with OL videos here. 

Football Coach Academy with 7 Elements Important to Building a Successful Program by Bob Stoops.

Brophy with the hook-up:  Bama post with Nick Saban's 2009 defensive playbook.

Blitzology with Blitz of the Week #17. 

Brandon envisions 120K in Big House, name change to Really Fucking Big House

Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said further expansion at The Big House could lead to a capacity of 120,000 people.  Brandon said nothing is definite and it all depends on if the wait list for tickets gets large enough and it's affordable for the school.

According to the Detroit News story linked above:

"One thing I'd love to do is close in at least one of the ends," Brandon said. "The south end of the stadium is the place we would start.

"If we were to take the bleacher system up to the top of the (new) scoreboards, which would be even with the elevation of the east and west towers … it would take the total capacity of the stadium up close to 119,000, maybe 120,000." 

Not exactly sure how I feel about that.  Part of me is like "cool" while another part wonders is another 10,000 bodies inside the stadium (and their cars outside the of it) a good thing?  A what point does it start to negatively affect the gameday experience?

My biggest beef is that no matter how big the stadium gets, the ticket prices will continue into the stratosphere.  I think it sucks ass to know that even if they were to squeeze a million people in there, they'd still continue to charge folks $70 - plus the @#$% seat license fee! - to see Michigan sodomize EMU.

This actually reminds me of an old post and picture on The Onion entitled...

University of Michigan Expands Michigan Stadium to Seat Everyone in Michigan

No longer sure if that belongs on The Onion or instead the front page of the Detroit News circa 2046.

MZone exclusive: Ray Small goes to class

OSU fans react to Small breaking Columbus Code of Omerta

Rings, cars, tattoos, exclusive discounts, extra cash??

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah... old news for the Ohio State Football program these days. The real shocking story out of Columbus this morning is the fact that Ray Small is actually attending classes, something he very rarely did when he was a member of the football team. In fact, we here at the MZone have obtained an exclusive image of Ray Small going to class this morning.

According to the Ohio State Student newspaper The Lantern:

In his four years in scarlet and gray, Small – who is back at OSU pursuing a degree in sociology – totaled 61 receptions for 659 yards and three touchdowns. He returned a fourth-quarter punt 69 yards for a touchdown to seal a 26-14 victory against Ohio University on Sept. 6, 2008. Small spent time on the practice squads of the Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins.

In case you have not seen the story with the other boring stuff about program wide rules violations and omnipresent buckeye discounts, check it out here. As you are reading this, keep in mind: the NCAA rules are stupid, everyone is doing it, you are just jealous, these kids are poor and need tattoos & nice cars, Jim Tressel loves his players and was just trying to protect them, and Michigan sucks.

USC loses appeal, sphincters tighten at Tosu

According to ESPN, the NCAA infractions appeals committee has notified USC that all penalties and findings against it have been upheld.

If I wasn't a football coach,
I'd be a motorcycle cop

USC claimed in its appeal that the penalties were excessive.  Yeah, well, so were USC actions during the Carroll years.

The Trojans will lose 30 scholarships over the next three years, won't be eligible to play in this year's Pac-12 title game or a bowl game, and upperclassmen can still transfer to any 1-A school without having to sit out a year as is the norm.  According to USC head coach Lane Kiffin, this last penalty amounts to "free agency."

Seriously, Lane?  Wow.  Takes a giant set of stones calling this penalty "free agency" considering the way you treated your commitment to Tennessee.  Huge set.

The rejection of USC's appeal doubly sucks for Kiffin and crew as I seem to recall they had been recruiting normally, hoping the NCAA would lighten the penalty load.

Oops.

And I can't imagine they're feeling too good in C-bus upon hearing this news, either.

The NCAA president recently said they're going to crack down harder on cheaters.  With the mighty Trojans unable to get a better deal upon appeal, one has to think the NCAA isn't going to let Tosu and Tressel get off by letting The Vest simply miss a couple meaningless early season games that they'd win even if they let Woody's corpse call the plays (and don't even bother bringing up the meaningless "fine" assessed against Tressel).

Yes, it's going to be a sweaty summer in C-bus.

UPDATE: Former Tous receiver Ray Small said he sold Big 10 rings for cash and got special car deals.  

If a U-M story falls in the forest and MGoBlog doesn't cover it...

Last week, former Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame.  Carr joined not only Michigan coaching legends Bo Schembechler and Fielding H. Yost in the Hall, but other icons of the game such as Bobby Bowden, Paul "Bear" Bryant and Knute Rockne.

Needless to say, it's a hell of an honor.

On top of all that, due to his longtime charity work and fundraising for C. S. Mott Children's Hospital, the new cancer floor slated to open this fall will be named after Carr.  At the request of the floor's chief benefactor, the seventh floor will be called the Coach Carr Pediatric Cancer Center Unit.

There are some who might even say this second achievement is more of an honor - and more impressive - than the first.

In any event, if you're a media outlet that covers Michigan sports, especially U-M football, these two events - that were announced the same weekend - are not only an obvious story but, I'd dare to say, a must cover.  A no brainer.

As such, Carr's selection to the HOF and the Mott honor were covered by the local news broadcasts, the Detroit and A2 newspapers, as well as written up on several Michigan blogs.  Heck, we even came out of of our off-season semi-hibernation and deviated from our tired timely posts about The Troubles in C-bus to put up something.

But the one place you didn't find anything of note on either of Carr's two honors was on the biggest Michigan football - and to my knowledge, biggest college football - blog in America: MGoBlog.

Somehow the most-read Michigan football blog - by a wide, wide, wide mile - didn't deem the selection of the third winningest coach in Michigan football history to the sport's Hall of Fame worth a post.

In May.


Oh, it was mentioned on the main page a couple days after the fact.  Here:

I can't recall how I got to this article from The Daily (not that Daily: the Rupert Murdoch one) on Lloyd Carr being a nice dude who's in the Hall of Fame hurrah. In thirty seconds the generic newspaperese will fade from my brain, but I'll always remember the time I went to that site to read an article that was a half-meg 768x3072 image and marveled at how random the selection process for executives is. I know it's an iPad app and all but raising a giant middle finger to Google is maybe not the best policy.

I'd call that "damning with faint praise"...if indeed it were praise, which I'm not sure it is.

Look, I get that MGo didn't-slash-doesn't like Carr.  Fine.  That was clear when he was coach, clearer still when Rodriguez was in A2 and continues to be oh-so-clear to this day.  But to not even cover the above accomplishments, to pretend they didn't even happen - on the biggest, most read Michigan blog in the country - borders on petty.

I don't understand it.  It's impossible to find a former player who says a bad thing about the man.  There was never a hint of scandal during his tenure.  He won five Big 10 titles in 13 seasons and the school's only national title in 60 years.  Yet the disdain seems almost personal.

Was he a perfect coach?  Of course not.  No coach is.  And we were just as critical as anybody after The Debacle. 

But MGoBlog's anti-Carr sentiment feels like it even bled over into the coaching search-slash-hiring of Brady Hoke (who was on Carr's staff).  It seems every compliment toward Hoke is backhanded or prefaced with an "I don't mean that as an insult" disclaimer, every great move explained away as simply "not screwing up." Which isn't surprising considering that after Brandon named Hoke as head coach, MGo had this to say:

This is a stupid hire. It will always be as stupid hire and David Brandon just led the worst coaching search in the history of Michigan football. He managed to chase off half of an already iffy recruiting class, hired a Plan C coach on January 11th, probably ensured the transfer of the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, and restricted his "national search" to people who'd spent at least five years in Ann Arbor. Michigan just gave themselves a year of USC-level scholarship reduction voluntarily.

Well, not only did the "Plan C" coach a) not chase off half the recruiting class nor b) ensure the transfer of the reigning B10 OPY nor c) give themselves a USC-level voluntary scholarship reduction, but such slams feel especially hypocritical in the wake of those who were often lambasted on MGo for not being "all in" for Michigan's coach even after the program posted back-to-back losing records for the first time since black and white TV - let alone before the latest hire had led so much as a single practice.

The post quoted above went on to say:

A completely average coach should be able to take 20 returning starters on a 7-6 team that sees the schedule ease considerably and get to 9-3. That's good, because that's probably what we hired.

I'll ignore the "damned if he does, damned if he doesn't" trap behind that statement for a second to simply say that if Brady Hoke goes 9-3 this season, he should be named Coach of the Year.  Period. 

Look, there's a reason MGoBlog is the biggest U-M-slash-college football blog around - it's damn good.  It provides the most in-depth Michigan football coverage on these here Interwebs, always has new content and is really funny to boot.

I read MGoBlog regularly.

I'm also a fan of Brian Cook, the site's founder, curator and blogger extraordinaire.  He was our first guest on the old Internet radio show Benny and I used to host and very supportive during The Cowherd Thing.  There's a reason he was able to ditch whatever job he had to follow his passion and turn his love of Meeechigan into a career.

But the continued Lloyd bashing-slash-Hoke-hating-slash-kinda-grudgingly-giving-him-the-benefit-of-the-doubt-for-now stuff is, well, beneath him and his site.  For better or worse, due to his site's size and influence, MGo is the Michigan blog of record and Brian is the Peter Parker of Michigan blogging.  And with that great power comes great responsibility.

Steve Mariucci - QB Play - Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder

Steve Mariucci goes over some QB drills with Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder.  He has some good points about throwing on the run.  Also, he gets both QBs on the chalkboard and has them explain some pass concepts.

Steve Mariucci - QB Play - NFL Network - Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Throwback uniforms?

Thanks to the loose lips of Brian Kelly, everyone knows Michigan and Notre Dame are going to be wearing "throw-back" uniforms when we play on September 10th. The real question is what will these new/old uniforms look like?

This morning Brian shared a "leaked" image from the Free Press. Yikes. Let's hope that the fine folks at the Free Press worked as hard on this one as they did researching what counts as practice time and adding up all practice/stretching hours the Wolverines in 2008.

It didn't take long for the fine folks at Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Community to work up a bunch of options to show what this could look like. HT to Chris Creamer contributor JJSCOTT for putting this together. I don't much like the shoulder and arm stripes, but for one game, I can live with it. Of the three here, I like #3 best. Please, Please, Please don't use the "neon yellow" version of maize in #1.

A Quiet Confidence

I recently attended a Ferrum College alumni function that was attended by Men's Basketball Coach Bill Tharp,  Ferrum Head Football Coach David Harper, and by Assistant Football Coach Bobby James. It was a chance for alumni to gather and congratulate Coach Tharp on his teams amazing season where his men's program finished 23-5. The men's basketball program had, at one time, an eleven game winning streak, and fell in overtime to the eventual conference champion North Carolina Wesleyan. "We were one play short" Coach Tharp commented. It was a tough way to end, but the future looks bright for Ferrum in the upcoming season.

Of course I spent a good deal of time talking to Coaches Harper and James, and I was able to ask a few questions about the upcoming season. I was pleased to hear that they have had a good recruiting campaign, and have some transfers that will be very helpful. There are question marks about certain areas, but overall, I got the feeling that things are falling into place, and while a lot of it depends on who shows up for camp in August, Ferrum will field a team to be reckoned with this season. There was a quiet, almost unspoken confidence. There are questions still to be answered, but I have a good feeling about this year. Time will tell, but we are fast approaching August...the start of camp, and kickoff in September.   Stay Tuned-              

Go Panthers!

Things only people in Ohio would do to their bodies

Every now and then, one of our readers sends us something so perfect for the MZone, we can't get it up on the site fast enough.

Case in point is the pic below from Jon (aka @MonkeyWrench32 on Twitter).  It's one of those reader submissions for which a mere "HT" or simple "Thank you" hardly seems adequate. 

Actually, it was difficult even typing the "Thank you" above.  You know, due to the coffee still coating the keyboard and computer screen after the spit-take.

Behold...

I Ohio Ohio?

I know what you're thinking: Somebody did this to their body?!  On purpose?!

This tattoo is so egregiously bad, I'd almost think it's some photoshopped fake. But we are talking about Ohio. And they do have, shall we say, a "thing" for their tattoos there.  Although, even if it was free like most tattoos in C-bus, this dude (I hope it's a dude) got ripped off.

ED. NOTE:  It took me a couple viewings of "I Ohio Ohio," but I just realized I wasn't looking at someone's belly.   I kept thinking as I looked at the picture, Maybe this is fake.  I don't see the belly button.  Where the hell is belly bu-- Ohmygod.

And yet "I Ohio Ohio" is only a mere appetizer to the humdinger below I stumbled upon while working on this post.  Take a gander at "Ohio, Bloody Ohio."

 

And this one I know is real because there's a video of it getting done. 



Yes, America, somebody is walking around with that on their body.  Who, you ask?  According to the tattoo website where I saw it, "This bloody ohio tattoo was done on my good friend Tara at this years Hell City in Killumbus, Ohio."

Yep.  A woman in Ohio.

Naturally.

Ohio votes to allow sports fans to arm themselves

So I'm watching the Colbert Report and he did a segment on a recently passed bill in the Ohio Senate that allows "concealed carry permit holders to carry weapons into bars, restaurants, and open-air sports stadiums serving alcohol."

Yes, you read that correctly: apparently somebody thinks it's a good idea to allow the friendly folks who fill the Horseshoe each Saturday to arm themselves.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong allowing passionate Buckeye fans to bring guns to the games?



Ohio: Where ideas are born...then get shot in the face by some asshole at a football game.

"Go Blue?! FUCK MICHIGAN!" BLAM!

Wallpaper Wednesday: Lloyd Carr College Football Hall of Famer

Congrats to Coach Carr on being selected for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Carr Inducted into College Football Hall of Fame

At the fundraiser for Mott Children's Hospital over the weekend, Brian Griese revealed that former Michigan head football coach Lloyd Carr will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this year.  Carr joins such U-M coaching legends as Fielding H. Yost, Fritz Crisler and Bo Schembechler in the Hall.

During his 13 year career at the helm of the Maize and Blue, Carr went 122-40, won five Big Ten titles and one National Championship.  Off the field, he raised millions of dollars for Mott and was adored by his players (even without free tattoos or too-good-to-be-true car deals).

So while some in the M blogosphere will probably mark this occasion with a really elaborate pie chart post blaming Carr for Rich Rod's troubles, the country's economic woes and the crash of the Navy SEAL helicopter during the Bin Laden raid, we here at the MZone wish to congratulate this class act and great football coach.

Mott Radio-a-Thon

Great cause going on in A2 today!

3-5 Resources

I've got the 2008 GMC (Georgia Military College) playbook files for all you us 3-5 guys.  Actually, I have to include myself now because our DC is switching to the 3-5 this year as well.  For all you tekkies, google docs has a sweet new deal where you can upload an entire folder at once:

Sweet!

Here is the folder link as well as some other 3-5 resources to check out:

2008 GMC Playbook

Coach B Dud - Running the 3-5 Defense  - Excellent article.  The easiest system I have seen for naming blitzes with the 3-5.

Hit 'Em Hard - 3-5-3 Basics, 3-5 Defense Run Fits - Coach Hjorth has a good intro to the 3-5 with more articles to come soon with LB Reads, Blitzes, and Coverages. 

LB Keys in the Odd Stack Defense - William Mitchell - Brunswick HS (GA) - good article about LB Reads vs. I formation, Wing-T / Dbl Wingbacks, and Spread.

Coach Huey.com - many great coaches on here that know a lot about the 3-5 and everything else that you might need.

Also, our HC is looking for some Bellevue (WA) Wing-T cut-ups. Email me at gunrun73@gmail.com if you would be willing to trade.

Hockey Healing

Hats off to the Wings after an (almost) incredible comeback vs. the Sharks.

Even still, as exciting as it was, we all need a little healing now.  Like, oh, this...

Daftar Juara Piala Liga Inggris (1961 s.d 2012)

Berikut ini adalah Daftar Juara Piala Liga Inggris dari tahun 1961 s.d 2012:

1961 Aston Villa
1962 Norwich City
1963 Birmingham City
1964 Leicester City
1965 Chelsea
1966 West Bromwich Albion
1967 Queen's Park Rangers 
1968 Leeds United         
1969 Swindon Town
1970 Manchester City
1971 Tottenham Hotspur
1972 Stoke City
1973 Tottenham Hotspur
1974 Wolverhampton Wanderers
1975 Aston Villa
1976 Manchester City
1977 Aston Villa
1978 Nottingham Forest
1979 Nottingham Forest
1980 Wolverhampton Wanderers
1981 Liverpool
1982 Liverpool
1983 Liverpool
1984 Liverpool
1985 Norwich City
1986 Oxford United
1987 Arsenal
1988 Luton Town
1989 Nottingham Forest
1990 Nottingham Forest
1991 Sheffield Wednesday
1992 Manchester United
1993 Arsenal
1994 Aston Villa
1995 Liverpool
1996 Aston Villa
1997 Leicester City
1998 Chelsea
1999 Tottenham Hotspur
2000 Leicester City
2001 Liverpool
2002 Blackburn Rovers
2003 Liverpool
2004 Middlesbrough
2005 Chelsea
2006 Manchester United
2007 Chelsea
2008 Tottenham Hotspur
2009 Manchester United
2010 Manchester United
2011 Birmingham City
Update:
2012 Liverpool

Koleksi Gelar Juara:
8 Liverpool
5 Aston Villa
4 Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United
3 Leicester City
2 Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Norwich City, Arsenal, Birmingham City
1 West Bromwich Albion, Queen's Park Rangers, Leeds United, Swindon Town, Stoke City, Oxford United, Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough

Believe

We interrupt our regularly scheduled college football blog for the excitement that is the NHL Playoffs.

Tonight, the Wings try to even their series against San Jose at the Joe.  Detroit is attempting to become just the 4th team in NHL history to win a series after being down 3-0.

Go Wings!

To Ohio State, Integrity is Garbage

Over the weekend, got the following email from our pal SiC who, sadly, lives in C-bus:

Taking the wife to a concert @ Value City Arena. Swear to gawd as you walk in they have a tosu trash can with "integrity" posted on it. Had to take a pic.

As SiC said in a follow up email, you can't make this stuff up if you tried!  

Ohio State trashes its integrity

Caption contest, anyone?

UPDATE: Our pal Mikoyan did a little 'Shop to the pic and...

Now Playing in the MZone Theater: CARS (no, not that one)

Inspired by the latest crisis in Columbus, this one involving used cars, Hollywood has rushed a new movie into theaters this week.  Luckily, the MZone was able to obtain an exclusive look at the poster.

Foundation being laid for success

After Coach Davis announced his retirement before the start of last season, speculation swirled about the next coach. For me it seemed like a no-brainer....Hire David Harper. This was exactly what happened, and it, I believe, is one of several steps that have been taken recently to rejuvenate and re establish the football program to a contender.

The Hank Norton Center groundbreaking was a huge step in what I think will be a renaissance for Ferrum football. This building will not only provide state of the art facilities to all outdoor sports, it will more importantly serve as a major tool for recruiting. The center is taking shape, and is thought to be on schedule for an Grand Opening towards the end of the semester.

The hiring of Ralph Isernia as the offensive coordinator for Ferrum was the third step in moving the program forward. Coach Isernia has an impressive resume, and has had great success in his previous position at University of Charleston (WVA).

These three steps are not the be all end all to a winning season, but they are rather indicators. Indicators that the administration has thrown its support behind the program. Indicators that positive changes are coming for Ferrum football.

So what does this mean for the upcoming season? I am not really sure, but from what I know right now, things are moving forward. Recruiting is still in full swing as the coaching staff looks to secure potential freshman that are undecided. The returning pool of talent is strong in most areas, but holes need to be filled in the offensive and defensive lines. Ferrum is not a guaranteed conference champion yet, but I feel like the possibility is there for an exciting season.

Look for Ferrum to come out with a new attitude, and a revived determination for success. I believe there will be an "adjustment period" for the players and the new coaches, but make no mistake, Ferrum is on the right track. I believe the upcoming season should be approached with guarded optimism. I would expect Ferrum to  be strong, but still dealing with a learning curve. At any rate, I believe the foundation is being laid for success. Be patient fans, and get ready for the upcoming season.

Go Panthers!

Daftar Juara Liga Indonesia (94/95 s.d 09/10)

Berikuti ini adalah Daftar Juara Liga Indonesia dari musim 1994-1995 s/d 2009-2010:

   1. 1994-1995 – Juara : Persib Bandung  / Runner Up : Petrokimia Putra
   2. 1995-1996-  Juara : Bandung Raya / Runner Up : PSM Makassar
   3. 1996-1997 – Juara : Persebaya Surabaya / Runner Up : Bandung Raya
   4. 1997-1998 – Kompetisi di berhentikan
   5. 1998-1999 – Juara : PSIS Semarang / Runner Up : Persebaya Surabaya
   6. 1999-2000 – Juara : PSM Makassar / Runner Up : PKT Bontang
   7. 2000-2001 -  Juara : Persija Jakarta / Runner Up : PSM Makassar
   8. 2001-2002 – Juara : Petrokimia Putra / Runner Up : Persita Tangerang
   9. 2002-2003 – Juara : Persik Kediri / Runner Up : PSM Makassar
  10. 2003-2004 – Juara : Persebaya Surabaya / Runner Up : PSM Makassar
  11. 2004-2005 – Juara : Persipura Jayapura / Runner Up : Persija Jakarta
  12. 2005-2006 – Juara : Persik Kediri / Runner Up : PSIS Semarang
  13. 2006-2007 – Juara : Sriwijaya FC / Runner Up :  PSMS Medan
  14. 2008-2009 – Juara : Persipura Jayapura / Runner Up : Persiwa Wamena
  15. 2009-2010 – Juara : Arema Indonesia / Runner Up : Persipura Jayapura

A shot at the 'Shoe we can all be impressed with

Got the following email from our friend SiC:

for those of you who remember last summer's "trick shot montage", which included a pic of my Ford Escape in the foreground of the "golf club a bball thru the hoop" shot (which appeared on ESPN), here's this spring's follow up, from ohio stadium.

joey (my junior in high school) is the camera man for the shot-

Houston

My friend has contributed another article:

It is a pleasure to be back on the world famous Coach Hoover blog. Today, I’m going to share another concept I learned from the Urban Meyer/Dan Mullen offense. I am not 100% sure of where it came from, but I was once told a story about this awesome play that they called “Houston.” Rumor has it that it was taken from the Minnesota Vikings with the primary purpose of beating Quarters. Ok, well that’s pretty much it for my story. I have made a few adjustments to the original concept, and overall it has been good for me. I view it as a multi-purpose zone coverage beater. It is OK against man, but not my favorite call. In this article, I will explain the Houston concept as a drop-back pass, show you how it can be effective against different coverages, and then show a few different play-action variations.

Below is the basic play out of a 3 x 1 formation.

As stated before, this play is designed to beat Quarters coverage. The outside receiver to the field runs at 12-yard Curl. The number two receiver to the field runs what we call a “Bender.” He bursts up the hash (slight outside release) and reads the area in front of him. If there is no safety or he feels that he can run by the safety, he will do so. If the safety plays deep over the top of our guy, he will “bend” inside at 12 yards at a controlled speed. The number three receiver runs a Flat route and wants to expand quickly, throttle once he gets outside of the widest receiver, and finally sit out on the numbers if the ball is still in the QBs hand. The backside receiver can run an automatic route, or we can tag him. The default route we want on the backside is a 7-step Speed-Post. We think of a Speed-Post as a deep Slant, where we want to hit the receiver coming out of his break, before he gets to the hash, and at about 17 yards deep. We should only throw this route if the weak-side hash is clear. Ideally, this receiver can recognize a hash safety, and keep his route very skinny. Our Speed-Post will also convert to a Fade vs. a Clouded CB or inside-leverage man. The RB checks his protection responsibilities (basic 6-man half-slide with RB dual-reading frontside), and runs a Check-down route off the Mike, but breaks weak if covered.

Our QB is taught to look through the middle of the field to check for rotation. Houston is a strong-side concept for us, and we want to work strong-side unless we can’t. We will build in backside throws if the coverage rolls strong, otherwise, we will stay strong-side and the pattern will stretch the coverage and give us an open receiver. Based on the specific coverage looks, the QB can accelerate his decision-making process. I will now go through some situations and explain what we want to do.

Vs Cover 2, Sam wall

Against a 2-high look, we will work strong. QB will look through the middle and see if the Bender can win. Here, the Safety is bailing deep, but the Sam is walling off the route from underneath. This tells the QB to come down and go Flat to Curl. The CB is in a bind, and we should have an open guy. Coaching point for the Curl is to recognize the under-coverage and not run into danger (Curl player) if we are open outside. The only hope for the defense is for the Mike to fly out to the Curl, which leaves us with our Check-down. We want our RB to replace the Mike if he vacates the middle, or work to the weak-side if there is coverage on the back.

Vs Cover 2 Mike wall/Tampa 2

Against a 2-high look, we will work strong. QB will look through the middle and see if the Bender can win. Here, the Safety is bailing deep, but the Mike has dropped deep to take it away from underneath. From here, there are two options. The safest bet is to just go to the Check-down right away, knowing that the RB will replace the Mike, and work weak if the Will tries to match him up. The other option is to go Flat to Curl then back to the Check-down. The first option is simpler, but requires a RB that can win. The second option takes longer, but you may end up getting a nice chunk with the Curl.

Vs Quarters

Against Quarters, a couple of things could happen, depending on how the defense plays their safeties. Here, the FS stays on the weak hash. This tells the QB that we have the advantage to the field, so we will work strong. The Bender will either run by the Safety (if Safety stays low) or bend inside if the Safety bails. Either way, the Bender is our first look. I tell the QBs that we only want this if it is obviously there because we have other routes that could be available. After the Bender, we go Flat to Curl. This really puts the Sam in a bind, and we usually get the Curl open. If the Sam covers the Flat and the Mike gets out to the Curl, we go to the Check-down.  

Vs Strong-side Rotation (Cover 3, or Quarters with FS working to the Middle)

Against a strong-side rotation, our QB should hit the Speed-Post. If the Will gets underneath it, we then go Check-down to the RB. If the defense shows rotation early with possible pressure, we want to flip the protection.

Vs Weak-side Rotation

               

Against a weak-side rotation, we will work strong-side. QB will peek at the Bender (which will stay on the hash if it is open) and take it if it’s obviously there. After that we will go Flat to Curl off the Sam. If the Sam covers the Flat and the Mike gets out to the Curl, we go to the Check-down. 

Vs Man-Free

Against a Man-Free look, the QB should treat it as strong-side rotation and go weak. Our Speed-Post has to win. We could also hand-signal our single-side WR to run a different route (Comeback, Post-Corner, etc…) if we feel something would be better.

Vs Cover 0

Against a Cover 0 look, we will alert our receivers that something is up. Our Speed-Post will now break at 5-steps, and the Bender will now become a locked Seam. This allows our QB to know exactly where the receivers will be in what is likely a max-blitz, get-the-ball-out-fast situation. Our QB wants to pick our best match-up and get the ball out.

Vs Cover 2-Man

Against 2-man, we change our attack a little bit. Since we run this play out of 3 x 1 or motion to 3 x 1, it should be easy to identify the coverage. Our single-side WR will convert to a Fade, and should attract the FS with his outside-release. The Bender will have man coverage trailing him, but with wide safeties we can take a shot down the middle. If the Bender does not look good, we go to the RB who is 1-on-1 with the Mike.

Play-Action

Jet Motion Play-Action

Using Jet motion is a great way to get the defense looking into the backfield. We will sell the Jet-Sweep (after the fake our Slot will run a Flare), then take a quick 2-step drop off it and throw from the pocket. Our QB will still look through the middle to see if a) the Free Safety moves with the motion, giving us the backside Speed-Post, or b) the coverage stays 2-high and the Strong Safety is flat-footed, allowing the Bender to run by him. If the deep routes are taken away, we will go Curl to Flare. The Jet-action tends to pull the OLB up to the Flare, and we will get the Curl sometimes. Most of the time, however, we will hit the backside Speed-Post.  

Zone Triple Play-Action

Another play-action variation is off of the zone-read with a pitch back. We bring the backside Slot in motion and it appears he is going into pitch-phase, but then continues on a Flare. The QB fakes to the RB, then takes a quick 2-step drop after the fake. The read progression is exactly the same as with the Jet-action version mentioned above.

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. My goal in this article was to show one of my favorite pass concepts, how it can be effective against different looks, and show a few play-action variations. Hopefully you have a solid understanding of the play, and can use your own creativity to adapt it to what you do in your offense if you feel it can help you. Best of luck to you next season!

60 Y Curl from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Links

New blog, Football Know How, talking about backside tags in the passing game here.

O-li(cense)-O!

We couldn't resist.

Jim Tressel's Vanity Plates

Yes, of course his tags are expired.

Buckeye Bling and One Other Thing

Without Buckeyes and their fans, I have no idea what the hell we'd blog about during the offseason. First of all, who sees the video below and thinks, Damn! I need to get me that hat!



And there's this...

NBA Playoffs Round Two Predictions

With the second round underway, some predictions:

Bulls over Hawks in 6 games
The Hawks won Game 1, but I think the Bulls are simply the better team. Derrick Rose is the best player in the series, and the Bulls are the better defensive team. When you have the best player and better defense, you're usually going to win.

Heat over Celtics in 5
Suddenly the Celtics are showing their age, and they seem to be lacking a true identity ever since they traded away Kendrick Perkins. The Heat are still not firing at all cylinders (maybe next year when they are more used to playing together), but they are easily playing well enough to win this series.

Thunder over Grizzlies in 7
The Grizzlies dominated game 1, but I am not sure they quite have the firepower to bea the Thunder 4 times. The interior defense of OKC is too good to get abused by Zach Randolph like that every game. The Grizz have solid perimeter defenders to slow down Kevin Durant, but he is too good to be contained.

Lakers over Mavericks in 7
Dallas was game 1 in LA, giving them an upper hand early. But I like the Lakers to win, as they are too good down low. Tyson Chandler is as good as they come defensively down low, but he needs to more help, and I am not sure he will get quite enough on the defensive end. Pau Gasol needs to be huge in this series, and I think he can.

Tressel's Heroes: I know nothing...NOTHING!

Got the following email from MZone reader Bob last week:

I just read the article on Andy’s buffet about making Tressel stay and not firing him.   I had a thought when I read it and wanted to pass it on.

Excerpt from the article:

A few years ago Troy Smith, the Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner, admitted he had received improper benefits from boosters.

Tressel claimed no knowledge.

Before that, running back Maurice Clarett said in an ESPN The Magazine article that the coach, other members of the Buckeyes staff and Ohio State boosters were guilty of numerous N.C.A.A. improprieties, including providing him — and at times others — with free loaner cars, bogus jobs that paid well and passing grades for classes he did not attend. Nothing came of the accusations, and Clarett wound up in prison for crimes unrelated to football.

Then there was Ray Isaac, Tressel’s quarterback at Youngstown State. Isaac ran into trouble with the N.C.A.A. because he received improper benefits, including money and the use of cars.

Tressel, again, said he knew nothing, though Youngstown State eventually admitted to wrongdoing and accepted minor penalties.

We need a youtube extract of Sargent Schultz (from Hogan’s Heros)  saying “I know nothing”

Agreed. Your wish is our command, Bob. See below!

Daftar Juara Copa Del Rey Spanyol (1902 s.d 2011)

Berikut ini adalah daftar juara Copa Del Rey Spanyol sampai dengan tahun 2011:

1902 Vizcaya de Bilbao
1903 Athletic de Bilbao
1904 Athletic de Bilbao
1905 Real Madrid
1906 Real Madrid           
1907 Real Madrid             
1908 Real Madrid             
1909 Ciclista de San Sebastián
1910 FC Barcelona
1910 Athletic de Bilbao
1911 Athletic de Bilbao
1912 FC Barcelona            
1913 Racing de Irún
1913 FC Barcelona
1914 Athletic de Bilbao
1915 Athletic de Bilbao    
1916 FC Barcelona
1917 Real Madrid
1918 Real Unión de Irún
1919 Arenas de Guecho
1920 FC Barcelona
1921 Athletic de Bilbao
1922 FC Barcelona
1923 Athletic de Bilbao
1924 Real Unión de Irún
1925 FC Barcelona
1926 FC Barcelona
1927 Real Unión de Irún
1928 FC Barcelona
1929 RCD Español
1930 Athletic de Bilbao
1931 Athletic de Bilbao
1932 Athletic de Bilbao
1933 Athletic de Bilbao
1934 Real Madrid
1935 Sevilla FC
1936 Real Madrid
1937 Ditiadakan
1938 Ditiadakan
1939 Sevilla FC
1940 RCD Español
1941 Valencia CF
1942 FC Barcelona
1943 Athletic de Bilbao
1944 Athletic de Bilbao
1945 Athletic de Bilbao
1946 Real Madrid
1947 Real Madrid
1948 Sevilla FC
1949 Valencia CF
1950 Athletic de Bilbao
1951 FC Barcelona1952 FC Barcelona
1953 FC Barcelona
1954 Valencia CF
1955 Athletic de Bilbao
1956 Athletic de Bilbao
1957 FC Barcelona
1958 Athletic de Bilbao
1959 FC Barcelona            
1960 Atlético de Madrid
1961 Atlético de Madrid
1962 Real Madrid
1963 FC Barcelona
1964 Real Zaragoza
1965 Atlético de Madrid
1966 Real Zaragoza
1967 Valencia CF
1968 FC Barcelona
1969 Athletic de Bilbao
1970 Real Madrid
1971 FC Barcelona
1972 Atlético de Madrid
1973 Athletic de Bilbao
1974 Real Madrid
1975 Real Madrid            
1976 Atlético de Madrid      
1977 Real Betis              
1978 FC Barcelona            
1979 Valencia CF             
1980 Real Madrid             
1981 FC Barcelona            
1982 Real Madrid             
1983 FC Barcelona            
1984 Athletic de Bilbao      
1985 Atlético de Madrid      
1986 Real Zaragoza           
1987 Real Sociedad           
1988 FC Barcelona            
1989 Real Madrid             
1990 FC Barcelona            
1991 Atlético de Madrid      
1992 Atlético de Madrid      
1993 Real Madrid             
1994 Real Zaragoza           
1995 RC Deportivo            
1996 Atlético de Madrid      
1997 FC Barcelona            
1998 FC Barcelona            
1999 Valencia CF             
2000 RCD Espanyol            
2001 Real Zaragoza           
2002 RC Deportivo            
2003 RCD Mallorca            
2004 Real Zaragoza           
2005 Real Betis              
2006 RCD Espanyol            
2007 Sevilla FC              
2008 Valencia CF             
2009 FC Barcelona            
2010 Sevilla FC
2011 Real Madrid

Jumlah Gelar Juara:
25 FC Barcelona
23 Athletic de Bilbao
18 Real Madrid
9 Atlético de Madrid
7 Valencia CF
6 Real Zaragoza
5 Sevilla FC
4 RCD Espanyol
3 Real Unión de Irún
2 Real Betis, RC Deportivo La Coruña, Real Sociedad (San Sebastián; termasuk Ciclista)
1 Arenas de Guecho (Bilbao), RCD Mallorca, Racing de Irún, Vizcaya de Bilbao

 Referensi: goal.com