The Burner: Plotting safeties demises, one snap at a time.
Dallas Clark, Dustin Keller, Owen Daniels, Travis Beckum.
Let's let these names simmer for a minute and recall how absolutely beast mode each of these pass catching tight ends were dialing it up Saturdays in the Fall in Bigtentopia.
Clark, with his ability to make a play on the ball, then promptly up shift to that OMGGOODBYE gear typically reserved for receivers, Beckum (NOTE: No video could be found that didn't use an Ohio State defense's image in vain, so instead we go to this clip, which we'll leave up to you to determine the attributes Beckum possesses worthy of our praise)'s penchant for making catches in the narrowest of windows while anticipating monster shots coming from his blind side (his poor knee not withstanding), or Keller and Daniel's innate ability to bring down virtually every 3rd down conversion their teams needed.
The 21st century big-time playmaker tight ends of the Big Ten have pretty sorely lacked a Buckeye representative up to this point in time, and perhaps it's the combination sleep deprivation and our retinas over exposure to LED light by way of NCAA '10, but Jake Stoneburner's off-season move to tight end has visions of scarletplum fairies in #11 jerseys dancing into end zones over the course of the next 3 seasons overriding my normal weeknight thinking patterns.
How do these potential delusions of tight ends having greater than single digit receptions grandeur relate to the schwag you need to don this football fall? Well we here at 11W are recycling conscious; we have to be, if nothing else to make up for my lack of carbon credits flying some 2700 miles every time I want to catch a Buckeye game this fall. But more so than just being "Think Green" minded, we're committed to cost conscientiousness. Why drop another $59.99 when that perfectly good double 1's jersey is collecting dust behind your K2/Houshmanzadeh gear and could be resurrected?
So what other jerseys of yesteryear can you dig deep into your embarassingly unmasculine-sized assortment of potential Saturday wear and give new life for the '09 season?
#10 - Devon Torrence.
For me this is a no-brainer: Troy was an absolute icon, but Devon is the first human being to ever rep both my favorite professional baseball team and the college of my, uh, nourishing mother'dom. With his freak athletic ability, and apparent 2-years-in-the-making Operation Shutdown retirement plan to focus exclusively on football, Torrence has a legitimate chance to establish himself as the #2 corner opposite Chimdi Chekwah by season's end. If nothing else his speed should provide something on special teams, and help me make amends for the last time I wore the #10 while at attendance at a similar Operation Shutdown-inspired performance.
#9 - Rob Rose
So what if Rose's struggled to find his way amidst weight concerns, his inability to establish himself at either end or d-tackle, and completely up to this point failed to live up the promise he showed in the Army American Game of a fews back? It's not like that #9 can really go down any more pegs at this point. Worst case scenario: you erase the lockerroom rancor of 2008, Rob is a competent role player, and you buy yourself another year to figure out what alternative to the #2 jersey 105,000 of your closest friends already have you want to invest in. In a perfect world: Rob breaks out and establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with as a hybrid DE/DT, you look prescient as ever, and the ladies of Chittenden know you on a first name basis.
#7 - Jermale Hines
Speed kills, or so we've allegedly heard, and while Teddy's race horse act was unquestionably something to behold, Hines keeps the Glenville tradition going strong. His versatile ability to man both a roving safety type role and also step up and play linebacker should help account for no shortage of playing time this fall. Plus, who doesn't want to seem like a total football prophet when JH7 comes down with a game clinching INT agains the Nittany Lions or sends Tate Forcier to Sam McGuffie concusion induced SuperJail?
Comments
They need to retire Red Kryptonite's jeresey NOW!
Jersey I mean
I'm getting a #26 jersey....you'll all follow suit soon enough
the 7 is my fav of all times-- I wear it every game day.... Cornielius Greene, Joe Germaine, Chris Gamble, Ted Ginn Jr, now Hines!
Don't forget 9 will be duron carter, 7 is flash thomas too, and another good one is breaking out your old aram olson 43 for nathan williams
Great call, Alex. Clearly I had defense on the brain. Also those Justin Zwicks can return for Dane Sanezenbacher, if you happened to have one of the 06-and-later versions, and for those feeling particularly bold, those Boeckmans can now sub easily for Ben Buchanan.
Who were's 13 this year? I need an excuse to bust out the 13!
It seems you can never go wrong with 2,4, or 7. Every year at least one of those numbers is a good player.
Bite your tongue......
andre amos
I've got an old #8 jersey that I got when Stanley Jackson was the QB, then had to live through Bellasari's reign. But it has since been redeemed by Roy Hall and, hopefully, now DeVier Posey
Def. by Posey. I was really impressed with his Spring Game. Looking forward to big things outta him and Washington.
Yeah, I can't believe they didn't list #4 for senior, and projected captain, Safety Kurt Coleman, who's going to be the leader of the defense...4 picks last year, looking for more this year.
I've got a scarlet #4, and a white #7.
I bought that one from a guy on ebay. Even though he has good deals, I will never buy a jersey from him strictly out of fear.
I wish they'd revise the tradition of the #36 jersey
Gotta go with #2:
Chris Carter, Mike Doss, Malcom Jenkins, now Pryor
Don't sleep on Rolle.
ive got a 13, 10, 80, and 33. i rarely wear anything but the 33 anymore. i am a white guy. larry bird is my favorite basketball player ever. so it shall be.
i have a 28, an Eddie George jersey (osu legends, nike, not the knock off shizz) and a 1999 OSU basketball jersey #22(ahh memories) that i bought my freshman yer of high school
Oh, and i used to have a number 11 but the dryer killed that one after one season. The numbers just don't hold up like they used to. From now on I only buy ones with stitched-on numbers
I've got a white number 10 jersey and I love it. I believe the player who had that number played some of his best games on the road!
I have a #2 (Doss), #7 (Ginn), #10 (Smith), #13 (Convict), #32 (Diggs), #33 (Laurinaitas), #36 (Spielman), #45 (Griffin), & #47 (Hawk) jerseys. (That’s all I can think of right now.)
I used to have a #39 (Jamar Martin) that I gave to a friend as part of a "New OSU fan Starter kit".
I also had an AJ Hawk Fiesta Bowl Jersey that somebody gave to me as a gift...... Unfortunately, they didn't realize that a XXL is a nightgown on someone who is 5'10" 180lbs. So I gave that to my pops.
I'll check after work to see if I have anymore.....I hope I have at least 1 more so I can credit myself with still owning double digit in Buckeye Jerseys!
my fav troy smith game was the 2004 scUM game. outta nowhere to stomp those d-bags! It was an amazing game to be at.
#32 = Diggs? It's gotta be Tatum in my mind.
I have an authentic #28, #7, and #22 with my name on the back. Back in 2002, eastbay would let you customize your favorite teams jersey with your name and whatever number you want. As long as it is not the same as a current player.
Yeah, that happened to me. Do not put them in the dryer...just hang them up after the wash and let them air dry.
I wasn't alive when Tatum played for us.... I was just stating that when I bought it, it was representing Diggs. (If I was saying the player I would prefer them to be for do you really thing I would say Maurice for #13.....hell no, it would be Damon Moore all the way!)
Hear, hear!
supposedly if your turn them inside out and use low heat it will be ok, but i just pop hem in for a minute to get rid of wrinkles and air dry them now.
i wasn't alive then either, but in my mind #32 will always = jack tatum, esp since most jerseys don't have the names on the back
how could you leave out the first #7 i remember cheering for as a kid, Joey Galloway-All -The - Way.????
Man has a point there
I found a $10 #80 at Foot Locker in the mall two weekends ago. Not too shabby.
My bright orange jersey now has a hole bunch of numbers
This Luke guy is giving me a headache with his wordiness.. please tone it down for the love of god.. It's not necessary.. it just sounds like he is trying to hard.. its ruining the simplistic nature of this blog
I'm not sure who should be hurt more: Luke for you calling his writing out or the rest of us for being called simplistic. :)
I love Luke's blogs, don't change a thing.
I got a #25 Antonio Pittman jersey for $20 the year he left. Now Im pullin for Rocco Pentello to have a break out season so I can be the first kid on the block to rock his gear.
I tend to agree with Baba Booey actually. I know, I know, everyone's a crtici. I don't think Luke is a bad writer, I just think he is trying a little too hard in his first few swings to hit a home run. Sometimes, less is more. The appeal of 11W is that it is relatively simple and unadorned, and hence why people keep coming back. The over-the-top wordiness: I have to be honest, but it reminds me of Michigan grads.
In any event, I have faith in the 11W powers that be in their selection of writers. I hope Luke will ease back a little and while still maintaining his own style, keep things in sync with the overall thrust of 11W.
Tres ironical that I criticize a guy's writing, while spelling "critic" incorrectly. Fail.
And then you top it off by inventing a word: "ironical"
True dat. It was almost like whoa! where the heck did Troy Smith come from? This guy is amazing!
iron·ic
Pronunciation:
\??-?rä-nik also i-?rä-\
Variant(s):
also iron·i·cal Listen to the pronunciation of ironical \-ni-k?l\
Function:
adjective
Date:
1576
1 : relating to, containing, or constituting irony 2 : given to irony <an ironic sense of humor
I will smack the next person who uses the term ironical rather than ironic.
Here's a great one: I ordered a Mike Doss jersey back in '01 from Eastbay, but when it came in, it was a Steve Bellesari one. I was pissed, but didn't have money to send it back, so I kept it. Over the years I've added a Big Kat/ Archie jersey, a stitched up Nike Herbie throwback, a white AJ Hawk stitched, Troy's replica, and a Beanie stitched replica. The authentic fit like crap so I switched it for the in-between one. Maybe a LiC one next.
New scarlet #9 from ebay...$14.00. Woohoo.
I have no jerseys. Though my boy does have a 28.
Jeresey? You know, that particular typo has a rather nice ring to it. It sounds like maybe it's a crime for some guy who's currently wearing the jersey number of a legend and he's disgracing it. That would be a sort of "Jersey Heresy", no? So for example, Ray Small's foibles are dishonoring the number 4 that was so well represented at the WR position by Santonio Holmes. Is Small now guilty of "Jeresey"?
Then again, not every careless typing mistake can rival the greatness of "out of hound".
Whoops...I almost forgot that Coach T yanked that jersey number from Small last year. Never mind.
As in his jeresey was out of hound?
Jason I meant that as a compliment. I come here because you guys have great articles without a bunch of filler bullshit like some of the other sites. You guys also are creative but you don't overdo it. As someone said, less is more when you are good at what you do. I like luke's article ideas but he is over the top. Here's a rule, if the word or sentence fragment isn't needed to make your point, then leave it out.
Yeah, I don't even risk it anymore.
USA Today posted their summer outlook for the Big Ten. Man, did it wake up the haters in their double-wides.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports...
"dancing into end zones over the course of the next 3 seasons overriding my normal weeknight thinking patterns"
Not counting this season or what? Assuming Stoneburner leaves early? Seriously, I'm asking. He's a RS Freshman.
TOO SOON.
Off-topic, but NCAA 10 was mentioned so...
Anyone else notice that in season showdown, the Florida fans have a HUGE lead in points lost through lack of sportsmanship? Why am I not surprised?
If everything goes according to plan, right? Ha, honestly I just brainfarted forgetting he'd had that injury last year necessitating the redshirt. We'll leave it for posterity's (and me looking sage-like when he peaces early) sake.
rick reilly is the dumbest dude ever "AH YES, THE RYDER CUP. NOTHING GETS MY BLOOD PUMPING MORE THAN A PUDGY SPANIARD MISSING A 5 FOOT PUTT"
home run derby- fine. a dumb pick, but every four years or so it is great. i can give him this
iditarod- an incredible event, but i think rick didn't realize that people could participate in outdoor activities in the winter before he attended this
ryder cup- no one has ever cared about this event. no one will ever care about this event. the idea of trying to introduce a team dynamic into a sport geared toward individual achievement is dumber than dumb
yankees vs sox- a legit pick. fenway is always hopping, one of the best rivalries in all of sport, etc.
america's cup- i'm pretty sure half this list is just rick trying to hint how often he's gotten laid by drunk 50ish foreign women
tour de france- another incredible event, but i'm sorry, no event where you spend 5 hours waiting around for the participants, 2 minutes watching them, and then you leave should count as a great event to see live. the party before and afterwards isn't the event. the event is the event.
UNC vs duke- another legit pick
wimbeldon- rick reilly: "i'm rich, bitch"
kentucky derby- kind of legit, but again, this is about the party, not the event itself
masters- seriously rick reilly is the most boring sportswriter i've ever read. golf golf golf golf war in iraq golf golf disabled kid golf stupid graphic golf golf
OSU/michigan? no. playoff hockey? no. march madness? no. none of those events can possibly match the excitement of seeing sailboats flounder in the distance while you're standing on the edge of a rotted pier, drinking a 12 dollar beer
my list, in no order (haven't seen em all live but it's a better list than reilly's):
-OSU/michigan, at Ohio Stadium
-yankees/sox, at fenway
-UNC/duke, at duke
-the first two weeks of march madness
-iron bowl
-world cup final
-men's olympic swimming relay finals (medley and free)
-champion's league final
-NHL finals
-snowboarding half pipe finals, winter x games (or olympics, it doesn't matter. it's just fun as hell to watch)
I not only was alive, but got to meet Jack "They call me Assasin" Tatum. I was a senior in HS and was going to a party at my BF's dorm. Jack got on the elevator with me and my girlfriend. I will never ever forget his Afro and the fact he had no discernable neck. He said hello to us and we managed to squeak out something. Scariest dude I have ever seen.
If your into skateboarding at all....the maloof money cup is the sickest event in 'extreme' sports...
ah, see, i knew i was forgetting something good. i've seen bits of it on tv and it looks amazing, i'd love to be able to check that out sometime. more of a snowboard guy though, but that's mainly because i'm all about the snow
youtube it kid
http://www.youtube.com/results...
or let me do it for you...lol
true...very true...but it's been a long time since anyone has lived up to that jersey!