Skull Session: Tim Beck Gets Comfortable, Philadelphia Eagles Love Ezekiel Elliott, and Urban Meyer Fires Up the Gymnastics Team

By D.J. Byrnes on April 15, 2016 at 4:59 am
Jerry Emig is looking to bury a body before he reads the April 15th 2016 Skull Session
Jerry Emig, Urban's enforcer
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This week's NSFW ANTI-WORK #BANGERS:

 TIM BECK SADDLES UP. Tim Beck caught most of the criticism for Ohio State's offensive ineptitude during the 2015 season. Such are the perils of replacing the founder of MENSA.

Beck not only faced criticism for his work last year but also for how he handled criticism (namely by not meeting with reporters during turbulent times).

Beck, however, was candid about his failure to prepare the offense for the Michigan State game.

From dispatch.com:

“We didn’t execute. They did. You ask yourself, ‘Did I prepare our guys to go out and beat those guys?’ Probably not, obviously. We didn’t beat them. I always start pointing the finger at me.”

This is a new year, though. Ed Warinner will remain in the box, and this will be Beck's second year in Meyer's system, which is a far cry from working under the likes of Bo Pelini, who was last seen screaming at Missouri Valley Football Conference referees somewhere off I-76.

“Ed is a great coordinator,” he said. “He sees a lot of stuff up there. There’s no doubt about it. I think we’re a good team. We have proven that together. I think that’s what (Meyer) saw — that we needed a team up there to be able to help and see all elements of the game.”

[...]

“It’s so much different than what it was,” he said. “Knowing the system, knowing how things work, knowing our players, it’s incredible. I can focus a lot more on getting them better and understanding them and coaching the quarterbacks. Last year I was like, ‘What’s that?’ and trying to learn all the stuff on the fly. It was extremely difficult.”

This isn't to say criticism of Beck in 2015 was unfair, but I did think it was unfair how the co-offensive coordinator took 100% of the blame. Let's hope the Beck haters leave that criticism in 2015 and give him a new slate this fall.

 FLY, ZEKE, FLY? The Philadelphia Eagles own the No. 8 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The most ruckus a running back created in Philadelphia last year was when LeSean McCoy brawled with off-duty police officers over bottle service... and McCoy did that as a member of the Buffalo Bills.

Should Ezekiel Elliott be there at No. 8 (which is no guarantee), look for the Eagles to pull the trigger.

From cbssports.com:

If the Eagles stay at No. 8, and especially if two quarterbacks are gone by then as widely expected, then I continue to hear running back Ezekiel Elliott is the pick. They are in love with him, they have done extensive work on him, they have parted with accomplished veteran running backs LeSean McCoy and DeMarco Murray the past two years, they need an identity on offense and they are going to be limited at the quarterback position no matter who wins the job. So a run game is imperative. This kid has a top-10 skill set and is plug-and-play and I don't see him getting past Miami at No. 12. This very well could be the second straight year we see a back go in the first 10 picks. While I have been skeptical that the Eagles would actually move up, again, to land another quarterback, some other executives believe GM Howie Roseman is deadset on making a huge splash in this draft, which could well include drafting a passer very high. We shall see.

Iggles fans will only expect 300 yards and two touchdowns per game from a Top 10 RB, so no pressure at all, Zeke!

 URBAN WANTS PISSED OFF GYMNASTS. The No. 3 Ohio State men's gymnastics team will look for its first national title since 2001 this weekend when the NCAA Tournament comes to Columbus.

 Go ahead and put the rent money on the Buckeyes:

Bad financial advice aside, I'm disappointed they didn't release audio of this speech. Meyer has a psychology degree from Cincinnati, but how did he go about motivating gymnasts?

"4-6 SECONDS, A-B, AND I WANT YOU PISSED OFF WHEN YOU HIT THAT POMMEL HORSE!!!!"

These are the things that keep me awake at night.

 ROLL SNYDER. Kyle Snyder just can't stop winning accolades.

Per an Ohio State release:

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fresh off a victory last weekend at the Olympic Trials in Iowa City, Kyle Snyder added another major award to his trophy case on Thursday when USA Wrestling named him the 2015 John Smith Award winner as the Freestyle Wrestler of the Year. It is the first time that Snyder has won this prestigious award.

Snyder won a gold medal at 97 kg/213 lbs. at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. in September, becoming the youngest American to win a World title at the age of 19.

Snyder opened with a 2-1 win over past World medalist Pablo Oliinyk of Ukraine. He followed with dominant wins over Radoslaw Baran of Poland, 8-0 and Jose Diaz of Venezuela, 11-1. He won the semifinals over tough Abbas Tahan of Iran, 6-3. In the finals, he scored a late takedown to beat 2014 World champion Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia, 5-5 by criteria.

To make the U.S. World Team, he had to defeat 2012 Olympic champion and 2011 World bronze medalist Jake Varner for the top spot. He defeated Varner in the finals of the 2015 U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev. in May, 2-1. He later stopped Varner in two straight matches in the championship series of the U.S. World Team Trials in Madison, Wis. in June, 4-1 and 3-0.

Four days ago in Iowa City, Snyder became the first active Buckeye wrestler to make an Olympic team with two wins over Varner in the championship round by an aggregate score of 10-1.

If Snyder continues his path of destruction he might not return to Ohio State because the United States military will be interested in using him as the next generation of American war machine.

 DRAKE JOHNSON DOING OKAY. Bizarre story out of Ann Arbor: A forklift ran over Drake Johnson during stretching drills, which earned the running back a one-way ticket to the hospital. Apparently Johnson is lucky to be alive.

Dr. Jim Harbaugh, however, says he's recuperating well:

 THOSE WMDs. Debunked fire science could exonerate a convicted arsonist... 21 brilliant books you've never heard of... Researchers crack Google's and Microsoft's URL shorteners to spy on people... The sugar conspiracy... The names that break computers.

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