Dr Z

After letting the interview sink in for a few hours. I think coach said he was going to sit down with Jimmy in a few weeks (somebody correct me if I'm wrong). If he would have already met with Jimmy and requested some input on recruits, would he have not mentioned it? So I'm assuming he hasn't. At any rate, that would have been a great follow up question by those interviewers. On a scale of one to ten, I wonder how much Jimmy will help bring an athlete to the progrum. I hope 10, but fear (the roo) 2. I guess we'll have a better idea next time this year. I'm guessing his name recognition (with a potential recruit) has about a three year window, after that, it won't mean as much. Hopefully by then, we won't need it. In the interview coach Bowden said he recognizes that Jimmy's name means a lot in the State of Ohio.

Thanks for posting, I would have never heard this if you didn't. I think the most interesting part of the interview was the Jim Tressel stuff and what his involvement is going to be. Jim is allowed to talk to football recruits on campus, and TB about recruiting. He has to get 10 thousand more students by 2020, & raise money for basketball arena. TB suggested that Tressel should dot the "I" in Z-I-P-S at halftime. I would actually watch the band if he did that. Best idea I heard so far for Tressel. I like how coach tried to cross sell Browns fans Zips tickets. Buy 3 game Zips pack when Browns are away, & ol' man Weeden ran the same offense that we are going to run. Can you run the interview without a loooong commercial break in the middle 92.3? Bad programming. I'm guessing this is the article TB was referring to when asked how he would do a playoff system. He said he had the answer years ago and wrote about it. Coach expects 20,000 opening night against CFU, but realizes that he needs to win to continue big crowds. He said NEO football fans are educated and they don't put up with bad football. I kind of disagree with that (see decades of losing with the Browns), but I like his attitude. He really gives a great interview. A great spokesman for Akron.

NHL officiating is the best because, they get paid the best, and they have the "war room." The NFL is cheap because they figure the refs are only working 16 games (which is BS in my opinion). NHL refs never miss a replay and let them play when the game is on the line. They don't call suspect holding calls that kill drives, or 60 yard BS pass interference calls. NFL needs to do away with the spot of the foul pass interference call. One out of six of my plays would be a fly pattern to try an draw a pass interference if I was an NFL OC. The NFL should adopt the same instant replay system that the NHL has had for years. The rules committee needs to help NFL referees have a better chance at doing a good job. As the cry for MLB instant replay gets louder and louder, I wonder if they'll adopt the NHL replay model?

You can still attend the awards banquet dinner for $35 and watch me pick up all my prizes.

Consider the source.

One of my favorite things about attending a Zips game is to watch the Zips defensive unit work, and to see how they game plan against an offense. It has been a pretty awful thing to watch the last decade. I'm hoping this changes with coach Amato and his defensive and linebacker experience. 'Inside Triangle' Key to Sucess on 1st & 2nd Down by Pat Kirwan We hear coaches say "it all starts up front." when describing what a good football team looks like. That's not entirely accurate because what coaches really mean is "it starts up front inside." It doesn't matter if your favorite team is in a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense there is an inside triangle that is the foundation of the defense and if it isn't rock solid the rest of the package will crumble. The inside triangles look like this: • The 3-4 inside triangle: Two inside linebackers and the nose tackle. • The 4-3 inside triangle: Two defensive tackles and the middle linebacker. There are different philosophies about the inside triangle with all fronts. Two 4-3 coaches may build entirely different inside triangles. Same for any two 3-4 coaches. For example: • Shade 4-3 inside triangle front: A DT on the outside shoulder of a guard, a nose tackle on a side of the center and the MLB in a gap. • Base 4-3 inside traingle front: But both defensive tackles over the guards and the MLB over the center. It changes from team to team. The Eagles' 4-3 inside triangle is based on quickness with Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson at defensive tackle and DeMeco Ryans at the MLB. The Buffalo Bills have a combination of quickness and thickness with Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams at DT, plus big middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. The Giants have a big thick inside group with Linval Joseph (6-foot-4, 328 pounds) and Chris Canty (6-7, 310) in front of a number of different middle linebackers who are hard to reach for would-be blockers. The shade look usually requires quick One-Gap players who penetrate while the base look has bigger defensive tackles controlling the line of scrimmage. If you're still looking for evidence supporting the inside triangle's importance, consider this from an NFL offensive coordinator: "If I can isolate the inside three on early downs, we always have a good chance to beat that team. We will run right at a bad inside triangle and away from a good one." Continue reading here for those interested Who fits into what philosophy for the Zips this year?

The guy that coach Bowden recruited to stay, went to a better progrum, the other two didn't. I can conclude from those three instances that TB & staff know their talent.

Always happy to read Rasor's stuff. Looking forward to his next blog.

I would love to hear coach Amato's opinion.

Hixon running with first team today

Will Jamel do the Same?

Donate the jacket to a shelter in Youngstown

Saw this on the same page.

Trubisky will not be at Akron (for now), and I will share additional information. Mentor junior quarterback Mitch Trubisky narrowed his choices down to Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan State, defending national champion Alabama and North Carolina. He visited all five of them, but it was Saturday's trip to North Carolina which sealed the deal despite the fact the 6-3, 200-pounder didn't give the Tar Heels his oral commitment until Sunday.

What if they had kewl names on their backs? Like "HE HATE ME"...wouldn't that be awesome? His little bro was drafted by your Steelers this year?!?!

(B-) I think the 20/20 could have been pulled off better. I'm assuming the 20/20 has to do with vision, since that's the text. (D-) If it means I have to envision the team winning in the year 2020. (A+) If it means we play for the national title in 2020. Art is in the eye of the beholder.

Nice article, three things stood out to me. 1. Coach Bowden thinks he has NFL potential 2. The new staff told him to diet the opposite of the old staff 3. He wants to be a leader All good things IMO. I'll focus on Jarrod a few series this season and report what I see. PS Remember when Zip fans were told Tim Crouch had "Sunday potential?", hope this turns out different. George's article on Jarrod back in April

#5 on the Top Ten Playing With Pain Date: Nov. 2, 2002 Situation: Marshall at Akron. Injury: Broken left tibia. Result: Byron Leftwich went to the hospital for X-rays in the first quarter of a scoreless game. By the time he came back, Marshall trailed 27-10 midway through the third quarter. Leftwich threw for 208 yards the rest of the way but his rally fell short as Akron held on for a 34-20 victory. The outcome of the game, however, long has been forgotten. The enduring image from that night was Leftwich being carried downfield by offensive linemen Steve Sciullo and Steve Perretta after a 41-yard completion to wideout Darius Watts in the fourth quarter and several other big plays.

2009 loss to Indiana killed me. We were favored to beat a crummy Indiana team, and CJ11 gets suspended. This was one of those games that Coach Bowden says "bring your friends to help the progrum." I did, and the Zips fell flat on their faces. I was embarrassed at that game. So for me, that was the worst defeat.

I was less impressed with the article. I wish I learned something. I would love to hear just one of those ideas. EA should have been more specific with his question.

Comments on the Browns from Holmgren Seemed pretty Browns-oriented to me? Photo Gallery from the Browns site A ZN member PM'ed me and said it was a good time. I'll leave it up to that member to post more if he/she chooses.

BIO at East St. Louis HS: A three-time all-conference selection ... ranked the No. 23 center in the nation by ESPN.com ... captained the team as a senior and was selected to the St. Louis American’s All-American Team as a junior and senior ... named to the EA Sports Sophomore All-American Team ... East St. Louis won the 2008 Illinois state championship and captured three-straight Southwestern Conference titles ... three-time first-team all-conference, first-team all-metro and first-team all-area selection ... Coached by: Darren Sunkett. Personal: Born July 2, 1993 ... son of John and Donna Clay ... father played football at Missouri and professionally for the Los Angeles Raiders and San Diego Chargers ... has two siblings, Jade and Jordan Nicole. PS I thought he was speaking of the RB for the Steelers...I had to look it up, now I know.

Chase is the man in the middle...for now. Chase Blackburn ended last season as the Giants’ starting middle linebacker. Now it looks like he’ll open this summer’s training camp as the starting MLB, too. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell confirmed that on Friday when he said Blackburn “goes back to that role” when the full-team minicamp opens next month. There had been much speculation about who the MLB would be, especially after the Giants’ traded for outside linebacker Keith Rivers. Giants GM Jerry Reese had even dropped Michael Boley’s name into the mix for that job. Fewell, though, said Blackburn is still his guy.

Ban College Football? Safety, exploitation at center of debate on college football ban

Sorry, I have to bail on this. Good luck.