The Houndie: Week 1
The Badge of Honor.For us at 11W, one of the great aspects of being an Ohio State fan is watching the former Buckeyes play it out on Sunday. Over the last couple of years, we have tracked the progress of the alum and awarded the prestigious honor of “Buckeye NFLer of the Week.”
However, we felt the award name never rolled off the tongue properly and so over time and with the help of an all important typo, the “Houndie” was born, which will live forever in 11W folklore and be considered the highest honor for former Buckeyes playing in the NFL.
It wasn’t a tough decision this week, as only a couple of guys stepped up in their first games and made an attempt to capture the trophy.
We could have gone with James Laurinaitus, who made his debut for the Rams by recording 14 tackles (10 solo) in their 28-0 loss at Seattle, but we like to pick players from winning teams. The Rams aren’t very good, giving up 446 total yards, but it looks as if Lil’ Animal is going to get plenty of stops in his rookie year, so don’t be surprised to see him nominated each week.
Beanie Wells actually made it through his first game unscathed, but only got 7 chances for 29 yards. He did outgain teammate Tim Hightower on the ground and local writers think he may get increased playing time in week 2, but Hightower caught 12 passes for 121 yards and will be tough to replace as a starter.
In other news: Anthony Gonzalez sprained a knee ligament and will be out 2-6 weeks. Brian Hartline caught 2 passes for 13 yards, while Ted Ginn Jr. had 4 touches for 35 yards. Nate Clements recorded 5 tackles (4 solo), held Larry Fitzgerald to 6 catches and snagged an interception, while the Gun Show got on the board with 3 solo tackles, which was good for second on the team.
But the winner this week is a guy that closed last season with a Super Bowl MVP award and opened the 2009 season with the exact same numbers. Santonio Holmes caught 9 balls for 131 yards and a 34 yard TD, as he not only lead Pittsburgh to a win, but more importantly, my fantasy team. Woot! Pittsburgh uncharacteristically threw the ball 43 times, as Ben Roethlisberger tossed for the second highest total of his career with 363 yards.
Holmes barely lost out to Antoine Winfield last season for the 2008 Houndie, but looks determined to capture the award this year, as long as he can remember to smoke the good stuff in the comfort of his own home.
No love lost for Santonio bla-bla-blazing up. Unless he becomes Ricky Williams LOL
Donte whitner looked pretty nasty last night as well
As much as I hate the Steelers, it’s nice to see Holmes tearing it up in the league despite being a slow, cement for cleats OSU wideout.
yeah, they called whitner’s name a lot last night.
Also – I got santonio on my fantasy team as well, he needs to keep putting up those numbers.
I think if Holmes was one of the OSU greats I could root for him, but my hate for the Steelers runs deep and I don’t think I can bring myself to do it. Maybe I can just hope for him to catch all the balls thrown his way, but for the rest of Big Ben’s attempts to be interceptions.
The Houndie logo is the stuff dreams are made of. Nice work.
Thanks. We got a chuckle out of it as well.
Apparently we are miserable people for questioning the decisions of Herr Tressel.
http://bucknuts.com/index.php/Football-Article/tressel-reviews-usc-game-in-teleconference/menu-id-1346.html
This is going to get worse before it gets better.
“Herr Tress”? Because people are being idiots?
“Someone brought up over at the Quarterback Club, well, we probably should have run a quarterback sneak down in there and, shoot, that’s very valid,” Tressel said. “It was the same guy that said that last year against Penn State we shouldn’t have run a quarterback sneak (on the play in which Pryor fumbled while leading, changing the game). But, yeah, you know, you always question things.
Pryor didn’t run a QB sneak, he tried to run around the entire line to score a 60 yd TD all on his own, and he admitted as much. There’s a pic of Beanie in the background watching him from behind with a WTF type of look on his face.
And, note, that we had BEANIE FREAKIN WELLS in the backfield and not Boom Herron.
Beanie wasn’t getting anywhere at that point in that game and you want to run him up the gut for a few yards? I don’t know about that. But if Tress called that play and it got stopped there would have been critics.
Tress losses to top 5 teams. He doesn’t lose to App State, Stanford, Michigan when they lose to App state (ahem Florida) I’m just tired of everyone asking for his head. Look where he brought OSU! Look at all the good he does! I am beginning to think we have been spoiled and are acting as such. If we beat a good team in a bowl game it will be a good season. I hate losing as much as the next guy but I don’t want to lose to sorry teams. Tress just needs a few more big wins and everyone will be back on the In Tress we trust bandwagon.
No, you’re miserable, pathetic people sending some spit-flecked all-caps e-mail about how terrible of a coach he is. If the outcome of a game affects you so much that you have to assault a coach’s email box, you’ve got problems.
I’m guessing 90 percent of the e-mails sent straight to Tressel are not of the constructive criticism variety, but more like the vitriol we’re seeing all over the Buckeye intertubes these past few days.
speaking of insults and going overboard. i am not gonna say pot meet kettle, but…you aren’t exactly above the fray.
That’s a cop-out, to fixate on a few psychotics sending all-caps emails and using them for straw men to say, look, these people are completely out of hound and have no point on Tress’s lack of big game playcalling. 1 game, okay. 2, fine. But no, not 6 in a row to top 5 teams. That’s a dynasty. You can’t discredit the strength of the argument by focusing on a few bad applies and painting with a broad brush.
In response to whether he’d consider hiring a true OC (like every other majory elite program), Tressel gave his classic aw-shucks, never say never, then followed it up by saying over my dead body will I give up playcalling. That answer, to me, is not good enough. He asks his team to make all kinds of sacrifices, and yet he can’t give up playcalling, which is he obviously loves and refuses to sacrifice. And while I love Tress and want him to stay as a more CEO HC, he knew getting into the job that he’d face adversity, and he gets compensated extremely well, in neighborhood of $3.5 million a year, to deal with that stress. So excuse me if I don’t get all teary-eyed because the Coach got a few nasty emails. It doesn’t change the fact that Tressel-ball no longer works, and that his refusal to go the OC route coupled with his flippant response mocking the same passionate fans who patronize the OSU athletic department to an insane degree and justify his huge salary is biting the hand that feeds him.
Do you not realize that after three straight blowouts, we’ve come within three points of our last two “elite” opponents? That we were a fumble away from beating Penn State?
The chips just haven’t fallen our way lately. We’re coming closer now than we did against Florida, LSU and USC the first time around. When one of these games breaks our way, you’re going to be singing his praises. I agree that we a need a new offensive coordinator, but Tressel has earned the right to point at Big Ten championship rings and say “calm down”.
And secondly, Tressel clearly referred to just “some” of the e-mails. The fact that he felt sorry for them indicates, to me at least, that they were emotional freak-out e-mails and not rational critiques of his offensive strategy.
*shakes head*
Jimmy T, never read what the internet writes…EVER.
agreed
is that supposed to be jim bollman on the houndies logo?
What I want to know is, where are the people who thought a Beanie less offense may actually be better than one with Beanie? That idea died pretty quick once the season actually started.
I have to confess that I thought the offense would be more prolific without Beanie. Not to take anything away from Beanie and his freakish skills, but I thought it would be more wide-open than what we’ve seen so far (and I do think it has been more wide-open, but only by a small amount).
Pryor hasn’t developed as much as many of us thought he would.
I am getting a little sick of the digging on Tressel. Why is it that when USC manages 10 total points of real offense (4 plays from the 2 yard line had nothing to do with play calling and everything to do with a stud O-line) it’s that they were facing an amazing defense, but our offensive struggles are because we flat out suck? I thought USC was supposed to field one of the best defenses around year in and year out – the numbers definitely prove it. I’d imagine that most quarterbacks short of Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, and Colt McCoy could have looked pretty shitty out there as well.
Not saying Pryor didn’t stink it up, or that I don’t wish we had a better offense, but maybe the offense looked bad because, just as we did, the Trojan D figured us out and played to stop what we are good at.
Definitely. Petey is a defensive coach first and foremost and they’ve had some of the best defenses of this decade the last handful of years.
Seven years ago this kind of game would have been accepted as a close defeat with the defense and offense playing as expected. It’s good to see that we have replaced molecular physics majors with actual athletes on the field, but results simply are not showing. This is the problem: in 2002, we had a goddamm NFL defense on the field when we went 14-0. Tress really didn’t do much with the offense and he still went without a loss. Any one of us would think that the same gameplan would work year in and year out if we had done the same in our second year coaching D-1 football. It’s unfortunate, but I still think that Jimmy thinks 02 is gonna happen again, which it’s not. The game is changing, strategy is changing, but the Buckeyes aren’t. Being old school, I like that, but enough is enough.
It’s too bad that USC hasn’t been fcked for cheating yet because you know they do it more than anybody else, and they have the nerve to flaunt it and think they can get away with it.
Well, at least his trees haven’t been cut down, and he hasn’t been hung/ burned in effigy a la’ JHC.
And Brian you are right. Just like Mo’ Clarrett being gone in 2003.
Can we meet at Chili’s and pass out the Houndies? If so, I am there
I want to get the Whitest Shoes Award.
Bring Earl Bruce back!
I read Matt’s link above and as a Rocket fan I have a plan for next Saturday involving our mascot if you Buckturds can get Jimmy to bend over. This guys been feeding you sugar-coated bucknuts for years and your still lining up to listen to this blowhard who takes a virtual monopoly of Ohio youth and turns them into prime-time dimwits over and over again with his Pop Warner style tactics. Talent alone can win a few games for Jimmy but for several years he’s lost every important game except one 2006 Michigan game.
Tressel’s offensive schemes continue to use receivers mindlessly by not employing screens which allowed USC to shut his run down to a 2.7 yards per carry. No deception was used when he tried the screen and no bootleg fakes to open the field just moronic play calling time and again cementing his legend as one of college footballs all-time big game loser. Where is all that talent Pryor has… why can’t Jimmy devise plays to help display it all. I’ll tell you why, the pressure has got to JT as a self described control freak he’s become suffocated at the big time college level and can’t step up. When he wins he wins on talent alone and that’s why we’d rather see our Toledo stars like Sanzenbacker playing for the Rockets.
I used to drink with Sanzy’s best buddy from gradeschool and high school days. Sanzy’s first college choice would have been Notre Dame; he was a life long Irish fan and wanted to play for the Domers more than anything else. He never got the offer, considered going to Iowa, but ultimately chose the Buckeyes. At no time did he ever desire to play for the Rockets.
Sanzy’s might have ended up a Rocket if Teddy Ginn Sr hadn’t shot his mouth off to clueless clueless JT making him even aware of the kid. As far as all you JT apologists it’s not even debatable that he’s your number one problem and why the rockets or any MAC team has a chance against the Bucks. We can count on Jimmy to be asleep like not challenging that 1st USC TD to save 7pts or not thinking about his 6′6″ 245lb QB on 3 and goal from a foot away. or choosing not to take a 10-7 lead into half or opting for the punt instead of a makeable 53 yd FG. A coach say similar to Meyers could stroll into Columbas and win back to back national championships with the talent there. Blowing out Toledo woun’t matter to all those screaming “can’t wait till saturday” how pathetic. JT can’t go it alone and win big gamesand he refuses to hire a talented staff , so he’ll continue to be ineffective offensively next big game, until then you morons can get happy playing less talent cause that’s all you’ll ever have to have a winning chance.
Sanz already had an offer from Iowa and would have gone there instead of Toledo, even if Ted Ginn Sr hadn’t highlighted his skills.
another internet tough guy calling people morons.
that is all.
And Bro I’m from Toledo, born and raised, I used to party with UT football players, and that program has been in a very bad way for a very long time. Point shaving and all the rest. Amstutz was a terrible CEO coach, was not in control of that program. Beckman should right the ship, but guess what: Beckman is a Tressel protoge, their families go back together for decades.
southbaybuckeye~No we won’t release Maurice Clarrett from the downtown jail for the chance you can sing thanks for the memories.
You’ll get a chance to see ALL of Pryor’s talent this saturday. Beat a horrible, barely D1 Colorado squad and now Toledo is some kind of program? HA. You’ll be lucky to score 10 pts this weekend. We now return you to your life of mediocrity as a Toledo Rockets fan……
if you are interested it appears there are still tickets available for the toledo game on the osu website (or ticketmaster).
That’s because nobody but RocketFan thinks the game will be won by any less than 56 points by the Bucks.
It might just be me, but I’m pretty sure that when the screen jumped to Pryor right before kickoff and a teammate tapped his shoulder, Terrelle looked like he was on the verge of vomiting. I guess I would be nervous too, but you would think that somebody with skills as sick as his would look a little more confident.
You need a Houndie award T-shirt.