YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Feels SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carla, Nick Libby and I found tickets for the game and made the trip up on Friday. We got in late to the hotel and got a lot of sleep before waking up early and heading into Ann Arbor. After sitting in traffic for an hour, we got parked and started Tailgating.

BIG THANKS to our new FRIEND Pat Hartline, who also tailgates in the Fawcett Center Parking Lot, who was all set up with tents and TV and plenty of food and beverages.

Also made it to our FIRST M-ch-g-n Tailgate with a bunch of New Friends who were family and friends of Debbie Levine's. Everyone better be prepared to see some maize and blue for the first-ever, tailgate AFTER Thanksgiving, next year. We invited some of "them"down for next year's UM game tailgate.

Tickets were amazing!!! 40 Yard Line right in the middle of the Victor's Club sections. Had a few other Buckeyes who were within "high-five" range.

Doing the O-H-I-O Cheer throughout the fourth quarter in the Big House (Hole) was something that every Buckeye needs to experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Listening to the UM fan's complaints really puts all of MY "issues" with Tresselball into perspective!!!!

They are going CRAZY trying to figure whether they should rid themselves of RichRod and start all over and possibly have another 2-3 years of tough times OR do they stick with him and possibly NEVER get back to where they were due to RichRod's spread offense that might not ever work without the proper players OR in the Big 10?!?!?!?!?

While we waited for 90 minutes trying to get out of that "god-foresaken place", we listened to their local sports radio. They have NO IDEA what to do, but they do know that its another December of NO practicing due to missing out on a bowl game.

When the NCAA comes knocking at the end of the year, any type of disciplinary action given out will effectively give the university "cause" to fire RichRod without having to pay him off, due to a clause in his contract. It would be the first violations that their football program will have ever received and would most likely open the door to "boot him out". ????

Not sure who we want to win in a couple weeks: Oregan or Oregan State????

WHAT A CRAZY YEAR!!!!!!!!!

Let me know what everyone is doing for the Rose Bowl. POSSIBLY one more Tailgate at the house on New Year's DAy?!?!?!?!??!?!?

GO BUCKS!!!!!

Jerry

Its M-CH-G-N Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and Happy Rose Bowl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, with all the guys gone from last year, this is still a pleasant suprise. For everyone that will be going out to California, it should be a GREAT trip!!!

I'm not going west, but I just secured some 40 yard line seats for the Big Hole up north on Saturday!!! Hopefully, we will play better and UM will play awful like the past four games.

I'm tired of harping on Tressel's "offensive" Offense, so I will just ask a few questions.

1. What happened to Brandon Saine???
2. Will the Graham kid from UM have 10 or more tackles for loss if we run it 50 times again?

1. Saine scored on a 49 yard run and never was put back into the game. The last two times we had the ball, Herron was in for every play. Everytime he carried the ball, he kept falling down without being hit or he ran into the back of one of the blockers. I kept pointing it out to everyone when they would show the replays on the scoreboard. The last time he broke through the middle, the guy behind me yelled something at me to kind of say, "I didn't know what I was talking about", but before he could get his full sentence out, Herron fell forward again just as he broke free on his way to another TD. I turned around and all the guy could do was "sheepishly" agree. Then on the 3rd down play that Pryor was sacked, Herron was wide open on the right side-line. I'm pretty sure that if Saine was in the game, Pryor would have looked his way since he is such a good receiver. ???

2. As far as Graham goes, I hope our Offensive Line continues to improve. I guess our Lineman could simply grab hold of the guys who run right past them when they are trying to block and get a 10 yard penalty!?!?! That would be worse than having TP or our running backs getting clobbered behind the line of scrimmage. When looking at the replays, it seems like four of the five lineman do a good job and another one is found lying on the ground as his man makes the tackle. The worst part is that it isn't simply one man (though Cordle routinely was beaten like a drum yesterday). I saw each one of them totally "whiff" on a block at least once. GOOD Offensive Lineman at least get their hands on their man on every play. ???

One last thing: I do not think we need to worry about losing Chimde Chekwa to the draft early next year. By the end of the game, his skin had to look as burnt as the skin on my turkeys that I deep fried yesterday!!! The entire second half, all Iowa did was pass to the receiver he was covering. Slant routes. Fade routes. Deep Balls. It didn't matter. When he was closely guarding his receiver he didn't turn his head to make a play or he was so far off his man, they were completing everything in front of him. Hopefully, he got that game out of his "career" and he'll play better.

There. I'm done!

As far as the tailgate goes, the turkeys were again a GIANT HIT!!! It is A LOT of work, but well worth seeing everyone enjoy themselves. Then again, we went through 6 gallons of Jerry Juice, so i could have deep fried "road-kill" and I think everyone would have been happy!

WHAT AMAZING WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BEAT Meat-Chicken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerry

ALL RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FINALLY put a solid four quarters of football together on both the Offensive and Defensive sides of the ball!!!

The Defensive Line totally controlled their offense! Cam Heyward had one of the best games by a D-Lineman that I have seen in a long time!!!

How about the new wrinkles on the Offense??? The quick wide receiver passes in the flat completely pulled the safeties and linebackers out of the middle just enough to open it up for a few nice runs. It also kept them from blitzing from all over the place. Running the backs out into the flat made for some additional "easy" passes that gave TP some confidence.

Give some credit to Tress today!!! They actually ran some plays that were "set-up" by some previous plays.

I hope he doesn't wait until the 3rd quarter next week before calling a pass play on first down!!! It gets sooooooooo depressing watching us run off tackle on every first down and getting our lunch handed to us for a loss of two every time!!!

The pass on first down went to Posey for the long TD, so I guess we had them set-up, huh???

BRING ON THEM HAWKEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Win next Saturday and we are GUARANTEED a spot in the Rose Bowl!!!!!!

3:30 PM Game next Saturday, so that means a GREAT season-ending Tailgate!!!

The first Hawkeye, I MEAN TURKEY, will hit the oil @ 11:00 am. I also was contacted by Buckeye Santa today and we should expect a "special" SMOKED turkey to be brought on his sleigh. :)

Oh by the way, UM and ND lost today. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!

GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerry

BEAT PENN STATE!!!

Not much to say about that game. Varsity vs. 8th Grade Team.

I did like the "trickeration" on the on-side kick and the reverse pass!!! It will make PSU have to think a little bit more and practice a little more than just stopping the run off left tackle and TP running around without a clue, because there is no timing between his throws and the receiver's routes.

Will need a near-perfect game next week to win.

GO BUCKS!!!

Jerry

HALF Way There!!!

One good half of Offense will work pretty well with this Defense, so I'll take it!!!

Someone finally figured out that when they play 7 or 8 guys on the line of scrimmage with their safeties up close, that leaves man to man coverage on the outside deep patterns. Next thing you know: two long, wide-open touchdown passes. TP finally decided to run hard and often also.

Minnesota couldn't catch a cold, alone a pass, so I'm not sure how great our defense was, but they didn't have to be with the Gophers ineptness.

The wind and light rain put a little damper on the tailgating, but we were under cover with the wind blocked, the heaters roaring and the beef stew warming our bellies.

We will be celebrating the New Mexico State "Tex-Mex" food heritage with two or three different types of chilis.

See you on Saturday.

GO BUCKS!!!

Jerry

Bring on the Varments!!!

Hopefully our success against ground dwelling rodents (wolverines, badgers, gophers) will continue on Saturday.

The Offense definately has to get better but it will not be because Terrelle Pryor is working hard to become better or doesn't care! TP was interviewed yesterday and is taking all this very hard and is promising better results. He is not blaming anyone but himself for the struggles.

Remember, Troy Smith's sophomore year started out with him as a Kick Returner AND they lost four games that year and things turned out pretty well for both the Bucks and Troy.

Whatever happens, we will still be doing the BEST Tailgate around!!!

Mom and Dad are bringing down Beef Stew to warm our bellies and I'll have some hot cider in the thermos also.

GO BUCKS!!!

Jerry

UHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do not know what to say!?!?

Every concern that I have had the past seven season came together and finally formed the "perfect storm" of CRAP!!!

The combination of Poor Execution, Poor Play Calling and for a lack of better terms, an Absence of Any Balls, brought upon us the worst loss that I have seen since the UCLA game out in California back in 2oo1.

My "therapy" will be to post a little each day this week.

GO BUCKS!!!

Jerry

At Least He Is Truthful and Consistent!!!

A quote from Coach Tressel at today's OSU Football Media Luncheon.

"I think the primary responsibility of the Offense is to never put the Defense in poor position."

"And also to make sure that you take opportunities to score points."

As noted by a reporter from the Ozone, "The fact that scoring points was an afterthought could have alot to do with Ohio State's struggles on offense over the years."

It was also discussed that Terrelle nevers audibles at the line of scrimmage, unless it is to an option run, due to the defense being in a "cover two" or "cover three" defense.

Those two things explain a lot (and backs up what many people are saying) about the problem with the Offense.

NOT making mistakes and NOT changing the plays to be more successful when you get to the line of scrimmage is NOT the recipe for beating the top teams in the country!!!!

I'm sure that the Opposing Coaches already know this also!

Don't you think that it gives the other coaches an "edge", when they know that the opposing coach is most always going to take the conservative approach or make the "safe" play call?!?!?!?!?

Tress is a GREAT Head Coach!!!

He just needs to find someone who can take the talent that he brings in and make the Offense be more successful!!!

GO BUCKS!!!

Jerry

Well that was DIFFERENT!?!?!?

It sure is fun watching this Defense, huh?!?!

They fly around and really cause havoc! I sure hope that this year's team doesn't make us all think about "what could have been" if they could have consistently made some plays on Offense. There are more and more people talking about how Tressel should give up control of the offense after this year, but I believe the more pundits he has, the more stubborn he will get.

I just don't understand why the other teams we watch can consistently run plays that completely "fool" the other team, which then results in their defense having to make adjustments on the fly, which usually comes way too late.

We had some running success the past two games after making a few adjustments. Doesn't Tress understand that they also have coaches reviewing our tapes and they come in with ways they have designed to stop what we are doing. It was obvious that Wiscy was ready to stop the running play that worked against Illinois and Indiana.

We should have had another "wrinkle" added that they should have had to make other adjustments to. This would probably make the stuff we had been running successful.

Instead we continue to run off tackle time after time and then throw 5 yard passes on 3rd and 10. We have big and fast receivers but continually run pass patterns where we are coming to a stop, which nelegates the speed and size advantage we have.

Look at the passes that get intercepted and almost ALWAYS the receiver has stopped and is waiting for the pass which usually is either high or low or late! It seems TP throws better to receivers who are crossing the field or running deep patterns.

Thank GOD for the Defense!!!

The Tailgate was nothing special compared to most of our get-togethers, but we will be ready for those pesky Gophers in two weeks!!!!!

Go Bucks!!!

Jerry

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!

Looks like the rain is going to clear out and it should be a GREAT morning and afternoon for a little "get-together".

I have my two propane heaters so it should be nice and warm inside the tents.

Dad will be under his new OSU Snuggie that he received for his birthday. Buckeye Santa (Bobby) will be there early in full-getup to see how many ladies he can get to sit on his lap and ask for a present.

The Sausage is in the slow cooker and will go on the grill with "all the fixins" around noon. Carla made the "family" baked beans. The ones with the burger in them, so i am excited!!!

I'll see you down there!

Go Bucks!!!

Jerry

Same Old, Same Old.

I'm not going to spend too much time on the game. When we play IU, it never seems to be much of a game.

I did almost have a coronary when Pryor threw the pass to Homan for the TD!!! After watching the past five years or so, I thought that the NCAA had made a rule stating that the Fullback was ONLY allowed to block, but it turned out that it was just ONE of the reasons why our offense sometimes seems so BLAH.

Just watch how much more successful our offense can be when we use ALL of your skill players, thus causing the defense to have to prepare to cover everyone who is allowed to catch or run it!!!

The Wisconsin game is a 3:30 pm kick-off, so as long as the weather holds, it should be another GREAT Tailgate. Dad bought a bunch of Beer Brats and "Buckeye Santa" Bobby will be bringing his fryer back down and will make his homade potato chips, as well as some other fried creations.
We'll have the TV and Satellite to watch Gameday and the Noon Games. If it gets cold, we'll also have the Propane Heaters to stay warm.
Remember that Dad will be turning 70 this week, so come join the celebration!!!

Go Bucks!!!

Jerry

Birthday Boy

Oh, by the way.

Come down to the Tailgate on the 10th and help celebrate Dad's 70th Birthday!!!

Since he is usually the center of attention anyways, I'm sure that he won't mind even more attention.

Go Bucks!!!

Jerry

Freshly-Squeezed Juice!

Well, that was easy!!!

Defense is looking GREAT and they are going to win us a lot of games in the Big 10 this year.

The Offense still doesn't look like it has a clue. They ran the ball pretty well, but there just no type of "flow" in what they do. And they continue to run the same plays over and over. If they are successful, the defense eventually makes adjustments and stops it.

I guess there wasn't much "offensive creativity" needed today.

The rain really "dampened" the tailgate, but we all stayed dry for the most part underneath the four tents. The TV and Satellite continued to impress and we were able to watch all the early games as well as the Bucks Game throughout the afternoon for anyone who stayed at the tailgate.

MVP goes to ME for the preperation and serving of the Philly Cheesesteaks!!! With all the other foods that we are getting "famous" for, Carla and I really think that the cheesesteaks are the best. Co-MVP may go to the Butcher at Giant Eagle who sliced the roast so thinly.

The next tailgate will be on the 10th for the Wisconsin game. It will be another 3:30 pm Kick-off which makes for a GREAT Tailgate!!!

GO BUCKS!!!

Jerry

Gonna Squeeze some Juice!

I'm not to sure that i like that Illinois had a bye last week and has been working for the past two weeks on figuring out how to beat us. Just heard that they lost both their top LB and CB for the season, so their defense that is pretty weak, is now even weaker. Pryor can hopefully continue what he started last week.

Hopefully our D will continue to show up and make sure that their Offense doesn't get going.

Since its a 3:30 pm game, i think i will do a little cookin', so get ready for the best cheesesteaks west of Philadelphia!!!

To leave a comment, that will go directly to my email, just click on the Title of the Post above. If you want me to respond, leave your email address and i will reply.

GO BUCKS!!!

Jerry

Holy Toledo!!!

Well, it was nice to not have to lose another year off our life from another "Nail-Biter"!

I think the Defensive Line is really going to continue to make a difference throughout the remainder of the season. They really set the tone for the defense. Hopefully, they will be there all season long and will keep us in every game.

We just got back into town Sunday evening and hadn't read, watched or heard anything about the Buckeyes until we went to BW3s to watch the game on Saturday, so i am officially over the USC game. It helped to watch them lose to Washington on Saturday night.

I also just found out that the Illinois game is at 3:30 pm, so that will make for another great Tailgate! Not sure what we are going to have at the moment, but will post soon!

Go Bucks!!!

Jerry

DAMN!!!

Well, the day was perfect right up until the last two minutes of the game!!!

Let me retract that. Everything was perfect right up until the Offense stopped moving the ball about the middle of the 2nd quarter!

The Defense played the best I've seen them play in a long time. We were getting pressure and hitting Barkley and their running game wasn't doing anything much to talk about either.

Now let's talk about the "lack" of Offense!

I've been saying this since the 2002 Season in which we went undefeated. The play-calling has to become more aggressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe we cannot come up with plays that cannot get two - three yards! First and goal and we run a pass play that only works IF the defense screws up and doesn't cover the Tight End who is the only person running a pass pattern.

Then Tressel really tries to fool them by twice trying to run off left tackle which is what we do everytime. ???

I think that Tressel is a great Head Coach and Leader, but he is NOT anywhere close to being what a team that has the top 5 talent in the country deserves to have for an Offensive Coordinator calling the plays!!!!!

Everyone wants to blame the O-Line and QB and RBs and the real cause is that it is hard for them to be successful when very rarely the other team's defense doesn't know what we are going to do!

Alright, I'm done with the bitchin' (for now).

The Tailgate was AMAZINGLY successful!!! We cooked over 80 lbs of fish and the other things that were brought were also excellent!!!

MVPs of course go to Bobby "Buckeye Santa" and Kevin John for the incredible fish! Also my sister Lisa for her Mac n Cheese and to Linda for the Chipped Beef Cream Cheese spread!!!

Carla and i will be tailgating in Nags Head, NC (OBX) this week. We will be serving Crab Cakes and Shrimp and lots of Fat Tire Beer.

Hope you can join us!!!!!!!!!!!

GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!

Jerry

TIME TO SHOCK THE WORLD!!!

Well, it is official. EVERYONE thinks we are going to get killed on Saturday.

All I know is that NO ONE beats us up in the Shoe!!! We'll be ready!!!

I also know that the BEST DAMN TAILGATE will be ready!!!

A 36" TV with Satellite hook up has been tested and is ready for Game Day, the ND-UM game and any other game that we want to watch!!!! (BIG THANKS TO SCREECH, DB and BOBBY!!!)

The breakfast sandwiches will hit the griddle by 8:00 am and expect lots of munchies and other things right up until we starting cooking the fish @ 3:00 pm.

Leave a comment and let us know if your coming!

Go Bucks,

Jerry

WHEW!!!!!

That was CLOSE!!!

Game Thoughts:

I think we were too worried about all the Pomp & Circumstance and not taking care of business on the field! It seemed like more of an Armed Services Pep Rally than an OSU Football Game!

With that said, the Offense played pretty well (Pryor is pretty amazing!) and the defense will never have to deal with that type of offense for the next 20 seasons. This game was all about our defense having to be disciplined and trying to make sure they covered each option.

Next week it will be "See Ball, Get Ball".

Now, whether we can "Get the Ball" against USC will be the question. My thought is that they will try to stop their running backs and then try to blitz the 18 year old QB and hopefully make him have some issues.

Tailgate Thoughts:

The Tailgate went off better than the Navy QB's option to follow the fullback up the middle for two touchdowns! The Sub Sandwiches were great and the corn was sweet! Thanks to everyone who brought stuff today! MVPs were the chocolate zucchini bread and of course, Mom's potato salad.

Next Week:

World-Famous Lake Erie Perch and Walleye Fish Fry!!! We'll be there early, as usual and will have sausage breakfast sandwiches for "brunch". Expect the fish, chips, onion rings and mushrooms to hit the fryers around 3:00 pm. We'll also have grilled salmon for the "health conscious" tailgaters. :)

Remember, click below to leave a comment on my Game Thoughts or anything having to do with the tailgate.

GO BUCKS!!!

Jerry

Let's Go Bucks!

The Boys are on the field getting ready for the Football Season and I'm in the garage getting ready for the Tailgate Season!

If you click on "Let's Go Bucks!" above, it will allow you to leave a comment including whether you are coming on the 5th, what you may be bringing and if you have or need tickets.

It will be great to see all the "Tailgate Family" again, as well as add some new Friends to the group which happens each year!!!

GO BUCKS

O-H

Getting Closer to the Season and the Excitement is building in Columbus!!!

The Tailgate Menu for the Navy Game is Submarine (Get It?) Sandwiches and Sweet Corn.

I am trying to figure out how to allow people to leave comments to certain aspects of the Blog, including the Ticket Section. Hopefully, I'll have it figured out soon.

PS: The semi-World Famous Fish Fry Tailgate will be held before the 2nd Game of the season! Who do we play that week??? :)

GO BUCKS!!!!!!

Jerry

Welcome

The site is still a work in progress, but please give me some ideas and I'll try them out.

GO BUCKS!!!!!