K92

Activity on the board has been very sparse since Saturday's game. Most of the people who make the observations and comments I love to read have been A.W.O.L. When it comes to being a sports fan I have always tried to keep everything in proper perspective and take things in stride, but I left Akron feeling sad Saturday night and it carried over into yesterday as I was unloading the tailgate gear. The silence tells me I'm not the only one.

Unfortunately, Buffalo and Eastern are on the road and the away losing streak will probably continue. I think the Zips go 2-10. Wins against VMI and Can't.

So sad and so true. Zips fans are trying to find any bright spot they can, but this is a program in disarray. It's worse than I thought. I was really hoping to see the Zips be competitive this season. Now I am reduced to the hope of seeing them look competent at some point.

It was pretty much game over after the interception. Looked like an incomplete pass to me, but they reviewed it and the call stood. Dunno. The Zips definitely folded like a Dollar General™ tent in a gale force windstorm after that, though.

Hey, hey, hey now.

1. Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre2. Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale3. Sierra Nevada California Common4. Thirsty Dog Barktoberfest5. Columbus Pale Ale6. Sierra Nevada Weizenbock7. Sierra Nevada Juniper Black Ale8. Red Hook Copper Hook9. Brooklyn Oktoberfest10. Anchor Steam11. Rogue Dead Guy Ale12. Red Hook Pilsener13. Red Hook Longhammer IPA

I am going to get my assortment this afternoon. Have no fear about the slow start, CK. I see this endeavor as a personal challenge.

Yes! T. Boone in the booth! Now grab a paddle, Hoss!

Bless you. I don't consider either to be real beers, and am pleased beyond belief that I won't have to consider drinking one to help raise the total.Rock on, DiG!

How come they never seem to show T. Boone at the game? Cause he's three sheets up in the luxury box? What gives? I want to see Boone smackin' dat paddle!

I thought Bum said that, but I couldn't remember about who, so. I googled it and came up with the Bryant quote. Thought if it was written on the internet, it was true. Thanks for the vid, Dr. When I was a kid I loved to watch Earl Campbell.

CK, you said "we had to drink 100 different beers" as if it were some kind of sacrifice you had to make.

JZ84 is The Tailgate Gourmet™. Sounds good, but I don't see anything about Mango beer.

To answer my own question...nope. If you get cut by the Bungles, is that it?I can't believe the crap stew Cincy is serving at QB this season.I wonder what Brian Kelly would give for Dan LeFevour right now?I wonder what the ND players would give for a coach other than Kelly?

The coaches who preceded Saban and Meyer must have done a wonderful job of stocking their rosters with great players so that Nick and Urban could be so successful right out of the gate.Isn't there an old saying of A great coach can beat you with his players and then turn around and beat you with your players? A great coach can make fair talent look pretty darn good. A bad coach can make that same talent look terrible.I believe it was Bum Phillips that said Bear "Bryant can take his and beat yours,and then he can turn around and take yours and beat his.”If you are around my age, just thinking back about that character Bum makes you smile a little bit.

Lot 9between 1 and 1:30right now at least 7, probably 10Italian sausages, burgers, whatever other people bring. not sure yet.Do you know how early I can get into lot 9? We arrived in lot 34 between 9 &10 last year. Would like to do the same this year if we can get into the lot. So far, the only guy coming with me for sure is my brother-in-law. Got another couple of "maybes". I am going to set everything up for a dry run at our HS game Friday night. I haven't decided to fix ribs for Friday and have brats Saturday or vice-versa. I know I will be bringing some delicious brown ale on Saturday. That is for sure.

What lot are you tailgating in? When are you arriving? How many people are in your party? What's on the menu?

I think that perhaps too much is being made out of the style of offense. To me, it is much more important to have a coaching staff that TOTALLY understands the theory and intricacies of the system and then can IMPLEMENT the system, tailoring it to the roster to maximize the efficiency. I don't think there is anything wrong with the "Charlie Weis" offense. We just don't have anyone who understands it like Charlie running it. We only have the playbook and I think it's a partial playbook.

You summed it up quite nicely, CK.

Recruits really have nothing to do with it for me. It's the potential fan base. This week I've taken a ton of heat about being an Akron fan, from fellow Akron-area residents!! It's sickening. It's demoralizing. I'm not looking forward to work this week. Still won't bow down to Columbus. I am not a fan of playing Ohio State. Especially as the first game. Akron has a .036% chance of ever winning against them. Until Akron can compete with and beat lower level Big10 teams that OSU dominates year after year after year, why do we schedule them? If the miracle win could ever happen, it would be seen as a fluke and an indictment on them, not an endorsement for us. We don't even try to go down there and win. We obviously have the strategy of avoiding injuries as our game plan. Fine and dandy. Great. There is not one person who decided to come to the Temple game because of this game. On the other hand, how many people who maybe had a small glimmer of interest in the Zips, had it extinguished by the showing yesterday? The home opener should be a joyous event, with some optimism and excitement beyond the die-hards who are going to be there no matter what. Who in the hell would want to come along as your guest to Temple now? Everybody that has been looking forward to (maybe, just maybe) increased interest and attendance, just got their parade rained on. A momentum killer like yesterday is deadly for a program with no momentum. The only positive is a paycheck. And it's not worth it. I wanted to bring a small crew of guys with me to the home opener. Guys that aren't Zips fans now, but are football fans. Guys that like to tailgate. Guys I have been working on to turn into Zips fans. What are the chances they are going to want to come now? Slim and none. This is a buzzkill and it pisses me off.

Finally got home tonight and was able to watch the game. I was getting score updates while I was working, but saw no highlights (lowlights?) until I got home. Trying to keep it positive: I like to watch Steiner hustle down the field on punts. Anthony Holmes was the lone bright spot in the secondary in the first half. Saw him on the field for 2 plays in the second half. What happened? Nice leaping catch by Suel before halftime. Chiz played ALOT today and kept banging. Although yards were hard to come by, I still saw his cutting ability and I still have high hopes for him. Nice one handed catch too. I like LR8's running ability. One nice return by Antoine Russell. Couple of nice blocks by Rossi in extremely limited playing time. Defensive line actually looked pretty good to me. James Harvey sure played alot. Hazime looked good. I think we will see some good things from Griggs and Wilson in MAC play. Saw Monster Hands in there! Keeping it real: The offensive game plan was beyond pathetic. No imagination whatsoever. If you're gonna pound the ball with Chiz, get Rossi in there to block. What's with all the one-back, double tight formations? 100% vanilla play calling. Does Latina deserve to wear the albatross on this or has RI got him on a short leash? Bullshit needs to stop. How many passes did LR8 get knocked down today? Ever think about rolling him out a little bit? This is common sense for anyone who has ever WATCHED football, never mind coached. How about some blitzes on defense? When you are playing a better team you gotta take some chances on this side of the ball too. We took no chances on either side today. Well, one. The corner blitz by Holmes. Our secondary is lacking. Many people expected that, but the LB's were on their heels all day. These guys weren't tackling, they were catching. The Zips need to make lots of improvements this week in preparation for Temple. Players and coaches. Mostly coaches, though.

Rock on, Cornbread!

Wish I could be there with you all tomorrow. I've got an auction, so I will have to sneak peeks at ESPN Score Center for game updates when I can on my phone. I was going to try and avoid hearing anything about the game until I got home and watched the recording, but I decided that will be impossible. There always seems to be someone in the crowd giving Buckeye updates. For those going down to the Barley House, if you like spicy food, try the jalapeno burger. It is delicious.

Buffalo.