By now you know the stats. You’ve read the numbers. The Ohio State defense absolutely destroyed a Wisconsin offensive line that was receiving accolades from throughout the college football world. Going into this game the Badgers had only given up two sacks so far this year. By the time it was over, Wisconsin quarterback Scott Tolzen had been brought down by Heyward, Gibson, Williams, Wilson and Holsen who got him twice. When they didn’t bring him down with the ball, they brought him down just after he got rid of it.
Not only did they make life miserable for Tolzen, they held Badger running back John Clay, who’d been ripping up big yardage to less then three yards per carry on 20 tries. They scored two touchdowns off interceptions and other then the fake kick, managed to keep the Badgers out of the end zone all together. They were on the field for more then 40 minutes and still had the stamina to get the job done.
During the past 16 games, the Ohio State defense has not allowed any one player to notch 100 yards rushing. In the past four games the Buckeyes have only allowed three touchdowns — one of which was on a fake play.
This should be good news for Buckeye fans. Rarely does a defense put up numbers like that and we should be celebrating.
But unfortunately, it is not enough to win the Big Ten. Buckeye fans want to see Ohio State compete on a national level as they rightfully should. And with a defense like this, we should be playing on a national level. Problem is, as we all know, the defense can only take you so far. Without an offense to go with it, we will never be recognized as a national contender.
On the other side of the ball, the Ohio State offense put on a performance exactly opposite their defensive team mates. The Bucks boast an amazingly talented quarterback with a receiving corps to match yet Ray Small put up eight more yards on his kick return then the Buckeyes put up passing all game. This against what should have been an outmatched Wisconsin secondary.
Early in the season, the concerns were focused on the offensive line. Since the Navy game, they’ve stepped up and given Pryor the protection he needs. Buckeye fans are also quick to jump on Pryor. He’s got amazing talent yet halfway into his second season at quarterback, he’s lacking the development expected at this point. Again though, the problem is not with Pryor himself.
That leaves only one thing, something every Ohio State fan has complained about all year, offensive coaching. From the play calling to player development, until Tressel makes serious changes, this team is going to stagnate as an “almost.”
It is painful the talent this team is throwing away. The problems with play calling have been obvious but it’s more then that and Pryor’s development is merely a symptom of the problem. Although we’ve seen moments of greatness, from passing technique to hesitation on the run, something is lacking on the practice field. Something is preventing this kid from being the quarterback we all know he can be. Either Pryor is uncoachable and fails to learn or isn’t getting the coaching he needs to develop into the top ranked quarterback he can be.
Unfortunately, I’m going with the later.
To see this kid’s frustration at the end of each game demonstrates Pryor’s desire to improve. The question becomes, do we have the coaching talent to help him get there? Is he getting the help he needs with his technique? Is he being taught how to mentally prepare? Is he learning how to use the confidence in his talent to take him to the next level? From everything I see at this point, he doesn’t. And if he doesn’t have the coaching he needs, does the rest of our offense?
It’s obvious that Tressel needs to hand over the play calling. As much as we all love the football of the Woody Hayes era, college football today is about big plays and big points. We are reaching a point where the conservative, Tressel style offense is hitting it’s limits. It’s also wasting a field full of talent. But beyond play calling, we also need offensive coaches that can develop the talent coming into Ohio State. Unlike the NFL, a college football player is a work in progress. Top notch facilities are nothing without the trainers to go with it.
As a head coach and leader, I think Tressel is great. However, as much as he loves to stay true to the program and reward those on the inside, it is time to take things to the next level. He needs to hire the best and give them the room they need to turn the Buckeye offense into a powerhouse worthy of the Buckeye defense. When he does, good luck keeping us from the BCS title.
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I don’t think Tressel gives a hoot what anybody else thinks. I haven’t played QB since junior high, and could make better decisions than our QB is making on the field. I come from an intense research background in Biomechanics, where we work to improve technique through computer modeling, and I’ve submitted the problems with Pryor’s motion to Tressel via email, and he just dumps them on the floor, and doesn’t even respond back. He has some nobody in charge of QB development at OSU, where we need a guy like Sarkisian. Look at the improvement UW has made in one year. Just astounding. Granted, Tressel isn’t throwing the ball out there, and Jake Locker has good technique, but Pryor just doesn’t have drop back QB skills, nor a good throwing motion. He shortarms every throw, relies entirely on arm strength to move it downfield and has horrible footwork, often flat footed or falling back as he throws. At this rate he will be undrafted by the NFL.
Everyone thinks of Troy Smith and how Tressel helped him improve, but Troy could throw, and run when he took over. Pryor can only run at this point. I would make him a wide out and have someone else taking snaps if it were my team.
Jimmy Vespe, class of 1989, former Varsity athlete tOSU.
I don’t know how much of this I can take. Yes, we won the game but our offense looks like sh.. We without a doubt have the worst offense of any top 10 ranked team. That is unacceptable at The Ohio State University. Our defense cannot continue to bail us out game after game. We are horrible!!!! I mean that…It’s Horrible! There is no continuity. There is no consistency. Play selection sucks. The frustrating thing is I donâ??t even know who to blame. No wonder it is a hidden secret as to who is coordinating this quagmire. In all the years of my association with the Buckeyes I haven’??t seen anything like this. I don’??t ever remember having this much talent on the offensive side of the ball and it being this anemic. Absolutely no punch. No one has any swagger. We have no confidence. We suck!!! I blame the coaching. All I can say is that our young men are not prepared physically and mentally to play the game. I’m trying to stay optimistic. Please someone! Give me a reason to be optimistic. When will we see a change? My question: “When you watch other top tier teams play from other conferences do you notice a difference in play call?”? When have we felt that kind of excitement. It’s been a long time. This is how bad it has gotten. I fell asleep. My son had to wake me and tell me I was snoring!
Next time, please don’??t wake me.
@bosshawk
” I blame the coaching. All I can say is that our young men are not prepared physically and mentally to play the game.”
I don’t buy that at all. It’s reactionary to clame that a team was flat or wasn’t well prepared because they didn’t play well. The fact is that Terrell Pryor is not a consistently accurate thrower, has trouble recognizing coverages, and has no elite playmakers to this point to emerge and help him out. Herron and Saine are good but they aren’t top notch Runningbacks and Posey has talent but has trouble at times getting separation quickly off the line and Sanzenbacher is just not that good. Also, our offensive line is young and needs time to gel. Pryor is a sophomore, when he is a Senior hopefully the reading defenses will have come along by then, and accuracy, while to a certain degree is coaching, really also is just something a player has or doesn’t and Pryor to this point doesn’t.
Just don’t try to sell me on this whole “the coaches didn’t mentally prepare our players well enough.” That’s armchair analysis with no basis.
Obviously I can’t spell. clame = claim.
I’m sorry but something is missing between player and coach. Someone has to take responsibility for the constipated offense we possess at OSU. I think coaching is the most likely culprit. Afterall, how many top notch 5 and 4 star players do we have on the offensive side of the ball. Yet, we can’t score points. I don’t think you blame the talent. The talent is there. When you observe the play selection and technical aspects of what our players are doing something is missing. Maybe Terrelle needs a little bit more than a former assistant video coordinator instructing him as a quaterback coach.
I don’t think our players are put into situations to succeed on offense. Everybody knows what’s coming on offense. 105,000 fans usually knows what’s coming. If we know, believe me the opposition knows. There is no reason for us to have the stats we have on the offensive side of the ball. With the talent we have it is inexcusable. Who would you hold accountable Mr. Rogersworthe?
Other coaching staffs throughout the country have similar talent and they score points. Even lesser talented teams score points. Please tell me why we cannot score points? Why do we rank in the lower third in the country when it comes to offensive firepower? Something is terribly wrong!
Call me old-fashoined, but defense primarily keeps the other team from scoring and offense scores our team’s points. Don’t get me wrong, I love strong defense and if two INT’s for TD’s are there, take ‘em. It’s just that each unit has a primary function and needs to work towards improving that phase each and every week. Sooner or later, regardless of defensive strength, you will lose when you don’t score points (vs. USC comes to mind). Something needs to change, but I’m not gonna suggest exactly what that is, because I neither practice with, play with, or coach the team. Having said that, though, something needs to change and you don’t get change by doing the same thing again and again. Someone once said that the definition of insanity is thinking you can do the same thing over and over and get a different result. It’s the old, “if you don’t learn from history, you’ll be destined to repeat it”. I hope and pray that deep down, there’s enough of a realization and innovative spark on the current coaching staff to see it and take action. Go Bucks!
Amen to buckeyemark53! I agree wholeheartedly. We, that love the Buckeyes realize that sooner or later the defense will have a poor game. We don’t want that to happen but when it does the offense has to pick up the slack. Who holds the U.S.C. Trojans to 18 points and loses? We do. That is an impotent offense. Our offensive output has to be more consistent.
I would “blame” the talent. You claim the talent is there, but what proof do we have of this? How does Jim Tressel coach one of the best offenses in the nation in 2006-07 and then in 2009 can’t coach worth crap?
The answer to my eyes is the reason why the offense isn’t as good is because Posey isn’t Ted Ginn, Sanzenbacher isn’t Anthony Gonzalez, the offensive line now is not as good as the O-Line in 2006-07, Herron and Saine aren’t as good of runningbacks, and Terelle Pryor is to this point nowhere near the passer and decision maker Troy Smith was. So you claim that the talent is there, but where is the proof? Who are these ultra-talented undercoached players? And why is Pryor being undercoached and underutilized when Troy Smith wasn’t? Seems to me they probably get the same level of coaching. What makes one better than the other? Who knows? Nobody does. If somebody did, they’d make a fortune predicting top players coming out of the draft and nailing it every time.
Yes, Pryor was a top recruit. But plenty of top recruits wash out. Crompton down at UT Vols was a top 5 QB prospect and he SUCKS. And you can’t blame coaching there either because he got the same coaching Peyton Manning got. Why did one pan out and another one didn’t? Who the hell knows? But if you want to blame Tressel for Pryor, then he deserves all the credit for taking a low level recruit and developing him into a Heisman winner, and then it’s a wash. However, I doubt he coached Smith up amazingly well and is a total retard in coaching Pryor. I think it just has more to do with the individual players themselves.
Ohio State will go 11-1 during the regular season.
This article had so many typos that it was hard to read, two words, spell check. As far as if the offensive woes are related to the players or the coaching I tend to think it is a little of both. I always record the games so I can watch the plays in detail. Many of the plays against Wisconsin were blown up due to missed blocks, many times HUGE plays were stopped because of one missed block. So the play calling was conservative, it wouldn’t make a difference, if the plays are not being executed properly even the most daring play call would be ineffective. This team will get better each week, we won, remember? Instead of complaining about how we accomplished that feat against a very good Wisconsin team that I think will beat Iowa this week, lets support their development and give both the coaches and the players some wiggle room while they earn experience. Pryor will be a great quarterback, Tressel is a great coach, and the Ohio State Buckeyes ARE one of the most dominant teams in the country. Go Bucks.
I gotta say.. I don’t blame the game day coaching on this one.
You can look at the overall results and say that the team is not as well developed as they should be, but the game was managed about as well as we could have hoped for.
Pryor was having a sub-par(for him) game, the staff recognized it and reacted properly. They got agressive when they needed to, then pulled back on the reins when it looked like the offense was going to be ineffective and the defense was going to handle Wisconsin. If not for a fake field goal, we win by 3 TDs and anytime you to that against Wisconsin it’s a good win.
Wisconsin is a better team than our defense made them look.
I agree the offense needs work ( a lot of work), but this week, the gametime coaching was about as good as it could have been considering the skill level that was being displayed.
Wow. Great to see the discussion. Thanks all. And to get this out of the way, sorry for the typos Jeff. This blog is a somewhat obsessive hobby and unfortunately, due to time constraints, I often tend to post first draft stuff and proofread later. Unprofessional I know but it happens.
I agree with Boss on the play calling. In ’02-03, the defensive attack of Tresselball was new and I liked it. When a punt becomes an offensive play, something is going right. It appears that we have a defense bringing us back to that level of play. A few blocked punts and we’re on to something.
On the offensive side though, the playing has become tired and predictable. Boss is right, when the television audience can call the play, it’s time to mix things up.
What proof do we have regarding talent? In Pryor’s case, we do have solid proof in his running ability. When he finally decides to go upfield, wow. How many quarterbacks can run a one-man reverse? Throwing technique, footwork, these are all elements that can be taught and corrected through coaching and repetitive practice. Pryor has shown he can throw the ball. The problem is he needs to do it consistently and he can’t until he develops the technique and decision making.
In Pryor’s case at least, it’s the technical deficiencies that lead me to the coaching.
From the quarterback perspective, there is a difference in coaching. Joe Daniels, who worked with Smith is no longer there. His illness started keeping him from practice since around the time Pryor came on board (and also around the time Nick Siciliano stepped in from a temporary to permanent position to replace him. If you really want to draw conclusions, look at when Boeckman started to slip. )
Siciliano and Tressel go back to Sicilano’s graduate days at Youngstown State working both as a grad assistant under Tressel and later under Heacock. His bio on the OSU athletics site, says he was the “offensive quality control assistant.”
While it’s nice and all that Tressel likes to hire from within, why didn’t he go out and find a top-notch quarterback coach? Don’t tell me he couldn’t have had his pick.
I’m not at practice so I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. I only know what I see on the field and am forced to draw my own conclusions. Yes, we’ve got a young team. Maybe Dave is right in that the conservative play calling is due to an offense that just isn’t ready. Unfortunately, we’re not seeing the development in Pryor that would tell us that this is a developing offense.
Thanks for the clarity Annapolis. I believe we all want to see the same thing with the team. IMPROVEMENT!!!! On the offensive side of the ball we’re just not seeing it. The talent pool has not changed at Ohio State. If anything it has improved. The coaching staff has changed. I’m not trying to point fingers but I do want to encourage all to “step up their game”. Coaches and players need to remember who they are. We’re The Ohio State Buckeyes. Our program and conference is under a lot of scrutiny. When has Cincinnati been ahead of us in the national rankings? The collegiate football climate has changed and unfortunately we haven’t. It’s a new day and we need to keep pace if we don’t want to get left in “3 yards and a cloud of dust”. It is time for us to be innovative and creative. Rogersworthe cannot make me believe the current young men are not as talented as previous classes. We have more talent than ever. It certainly appears that Terrelle and the rest of the team have a burning desire to improve. You can tell that they are not happy with what is going on. Pryor’s class is one of the most celebrated classes to ever don scarlet and gray. I repeat! The talent is there. Let’s develop these young men and allow them to do their thing. They can’t do that in an antiquated, outdated offensive scheme that everybody knows what’s coming.
I’ll never give up on the Buckeyes players and coaches. I only hope they know how hard we are pulling for them. We want them to succeed. It’s time for players and coaches to look at themselves and say “we can do better than this!”
The Buckeyes haven’t had a real offence since Troy Smith left. All they had since was a running back named Beanie Wells running behind a weak offensive line. Does anyone see a pattern? If Tressel is not careful and get a Quarterbacks coach that knows what he is doing, we will have another JuiceWilliams. Two Quarterbacks (Jucice and TP ) with alot of talent, but that talent was never brought to fruition. Tress is a great coach , but need to hand the clipboard over to somwone else.
11 and 1 might be a bit much. The last three games are scarry. I see the buckeyes losing one of them. Iowa is looking the best.
Thats my oppinion for what it’s worth.
And why is Iowa looking the most threatening? Because of what their defense did to Penn State.
Our defense may be able to shred Iowa but if our offense can’t respond (because their defense is shreadding us), then all we’ve got is defensive touchdowns. That may work once and a while but you can’t count on it.
Why doesn’t TP get any blame for his own bad play? Why do we just assume the coaches aren’t working with him properly and it is their fault for Terrelle Pryor’s lack of development? Every report I heard in the offseason was how hard he was working on his development as a passer and his accuracy etc., etc. It seems to not have taken. Why is that the coaches’ fault? Can’t it just be that TP is an extremely athletic player akin to Vince Young? And before you point out that Vince was a better passer, he wasn’t in his sophomore year. He was HORRIBLE at passing in his sophomore year and a lot of Texas fans were either calling him a bust or blaming the coaching.
I just think blaming coaching is a weak excuse when there is no basis for it. Tressel has proven to be able to develop Quarterbacks and talent in general. In fact, I would say in a 10 year stretch he has been one of the best in developing talent. I sincerely doubt that all of a sudden that ability has been thrown out the window in 2009. To me, it’s because TP is a sophomore, had too much hype, and has way less talent around him at this point at the skill positions than Ohio State has had in a long time.
I don’t buy Iowa as our biggest test this year. Regardless of the game against Iowa, I still see Penn State as our biggest test. I think they were flat against Iowa and we may find ourselves trying to match scores against a still potent Penn State offense.
Iowa is still Iowa and will most likely lose one or two before facing the Buckeyes. My guess is they lose the next two weeks.
I could be wrong, but it’s the Big Ten and most things don’t often change.
Yeah, but Iowa showed us what it takes to get through to Penn State. The Hawkeyes left Clark shaken and flustered. They’re going to need to play a much different game against the Ohio State defense.
But then again, here we are. So our defense crushes Penn State. If the offense can’t respond, what good is it.
In response to Rogersworthe, Who said that TP doesn’t share responsibility for his inadequacies at quarterback. Never did I say he doesn’t share responsibility. But he doesn’t stand alone. As coaches and educators when we fail to get through to a pupil it should bother us. We should be willing to find another route to reach our student athlete. These are young men embarking on their athletic careers. Don’t you think we should be providing them with the best tutelage possible? Terrelle and his teammates deserve that.
Think about this. Ohio State has always had successful quarterbacks in the program. They are good for Ohio State and the Big 10 competition they face. We have never had a marquis quarterback go on to a stellar career in the professional ranks. Do you wonder why? We’ve turned out great pros in every other position but never at quarterback. Terrelle Pryor probably has the greatest potential of any quarterback in the program since possibly Art Schlichter. I’m saying get him some helpful instruction. If we need to pay for Montana, Namath or whoever; get them in here to help. Get him prepared. I’d love to see him become the first great Buckeye professional quarterback. He possesses the physical attributes but at this point that is all he has. We know he has the potential. I want to see potential turn into fulfillment.
P.S. – I still think Troy Smith can do it. He just needs the opportunity.
Have you seen my thoughts on Troy Smith and the Ravens?
Here
And again here
More here
And if you didn’t see, Tress had his comments about offense at today’s presser. At this point, I’ve blown the better part of the day anyway. I’ll update with another post soon.
@bosshawk
I agree with all you said, my comeback though is the same: How do we know Tressel and Co. are not bothered by not reaching Pryor? How do we know they aren’t doing everything they think is right to rectify it? To assume they aren’t is foolish because 1) Tressel has shown to be interested in not only creating a winning program but good men and developing his players for future endeavors, including the NFL for the players good enough, and 2) Self preservation. If Pryor reaches his potential, we win a National Championship, Tressel clears away the embarrassment of the past few years. Why would he throw that chance away?
And as to why we have not had a successful QB in the NFL? Well, that’s just how it goes. Outside of USC with Palmer and Sanchez (from what we’ve seen so far), no other college has really produced multiple starting NFL QBs, and many haven’t produced any. It’s somewhat luck, and there are also only 32 openings. If Henne pans out the Michigan will have two, but both of them would be QBs who in college never reached full potential in college and were not developed (I’m referring to Brady obviously).
Developing QBs is not an exact science, and more often than not completely rests on the player himself. It’s just too random not to be mainly a coach forming a talent into a good QB. As I said, Peyton Manning turned out great in a system that outside of him mainly produced nothing from the QB position. USC turns out QBs every 2 years, and their BACKUP is now a starter in the NFL. Is it really because of how good USC develops QBs? Maybe. But I bet it has to do more with how they get the top high school pocket QB in the country every single year.
“It’s just too random not to be mainly a coach forming a talent into a good QB.”
Should say, it’s too random to be mainly. Take out the “not” in that sentence.
Rogersworthe, you make some very good points. Believe me. I truly want to believe Tress is doing all he can to develop these players. Deep in my heart I believe he is; but when I watch game after game with the same things occurring one begins to wonder. Maybe his pride and ego is not allowing him to listen to his critics. A wise man listens to critics and implements change when needed. I know he cares about these young men. He shows it in many ways. I still continue to believe Tress will do the right thing by his players. Allow them to be in a position to win. Allow them to grow. I also understand his loyalty to his staff; but don’t you agree……. SOME KIND OF CHANGE IS NEEDED?
@bosshawk
I do agree that the offense is our Achilles’ Heel. Would I like change? Yes, if by change you mean something that makes our offense better. Where we differ is that I don’t know it is coaching that is in need of change and if changed will cure all of our ills, at least in 2009. Maybe Pryor isn’t being developed properly. My point is I don’t know, and unless you are secretly a coach airing his discontent here, you don’t really know either, and based on past performance, we can’t really predict. If we landed a top QB prospect once every 2-3 years and none of them panned out, maybe it is coaching. At least there would be a big enough of a sample size of data to say this is most likely the case. But some of our QBs have panned out (one in complete and utter spades) and some haven’t and the reasons why are totally unpredictable.
The defense is a good example for what I mean. Why is our defense better this year than the past couple of years? Because Brian Rolle, inexplicably without anyone suspecting or predicting it, is a badass playmaker and is WAY more athletic and better than Laurinaitis (sp?). On top of that, our defensive line, which has been anemic the past few years (I don’t think we got within 12 feet of Mark Sanchez last year) is abusing every Offensive Line it encounters. Did Tressel change his coaching on defense and that has produced this result? I doubt it. Did he develop these guys? Well, yes, but not any differently than he developed the Defensive Line in 2008 who couldn’t muster a pass rush against anybody. The guys this year are just better. I don’t really know why, and I am suspect to giving Tressel all of the credit for that, which is why I am suspect in giving him all of the blame when a top recruit fails to develop.
I just think that this year the offense is not going to be very good. The question is, which we will have to see as the season goes along, is whether or not the defense is good enough to overcome that, and if the offense can muster enough to win big games while also avoiding game changing turnovers (a la the USC game).
Hello Rogersworthe, Like I said Ohio State has not had a good offence since Troy Smith and the boys. Except for Beanie, and when he couldn’t play not good things happened. The lack of offence has been an on going problem. If it’s not coaching what is it?
@Gulfportcarl
Well, if it hasn’t been obvious from my last 4-5 posts, the answer is simple: Our players haven’t been as good since Troy Smith and the boys. Not anywhere close to as good. Blame recruiting? Sure, and I guess that could be wrapped up into coaching, but I don’t think that’s what people were saying. Blame coaching? It’s the same coaching that got us the offense of Troy and the boys.
In college football, it’s not the X’s and O’s, it’s the Jims and the Joes. This especially applies at Quarterback. Tim Tebow healthy and ready? Florida destroys teams. Humiliates them at times. Tim Tebow off a concussion? All of a sudden that amazing offense scores 13 points.
What you guys need to keep in mind is that Pryor is still just a kid.
You like to compare him to Troy Smith? Lets do it fairly.
Troy never got any real playing time until his Red-Shirt Soph year (3rd year on the team).
In that season he took over mid season due to injury and finished the year with a passer rating of around 134. His Junior year was pretty good, but it wasn’t until hs 5th year that he really got his game together.
By comparison, Vince Young became a starter as a Red-Shirt Soph and ended with a passer rating of around 128. His career really took off his Red-Shirt Junior year (4th year).
We are looking at a kid in Pryor. At this point in their careers(2nd year), neither Young or Smith were even a blip on the radar, and Pryor is running one of the top tier programs in the country.
I was one of the ones rooting for Pryor to come to TOSU. He could have made the easy choice and gone to play for Rich-Rod. He would have fit in easier there and probably become an instant star with his running abilities. Yet he chose the tougher choice and came to Columbus to develop into a pro style quarterback. He has made improvements and will continue to improve. I love the fact that he takes every poor performance to heart and really wants to get better. Nothing made me madder than to see that goofy grin Joe Germain always seemed to have on his face when he threw an interception. Watch Pryor after a bad play..he’s pissed at himself and rightly so.
He’ll get there guys.
Give him time.
Dave , you forgot a freshman quarterback from USC drove the field and beat us. You can’t use the excuse he’s only a sophmore. These kids come to college theese days with all the talent and already prepared to step in and take over. I thought TP takeing over for Todd Boekman last year was wrong. I’m not the coach so I go along for the ride. As a loyal fan I have to believe the coaching staff knows what there doing, Now i’m not sure.
Did you watch the game? The quarterback play was just about even.
Barkley had 18 more yards on 6 more attempts.
It was the inability to stop Joe McKnight on the final drive that was the downfall of the Buckeyes.
Actually, I thought they contained him well most of the game. Much better than I thought they would. (Jim and I discussed what we thought would happen prior to the game). I figured that our success would depend on how well we stopped McKnight..and it did.. we were winning the game the entire time that we were effectively shutting him down.
I was proud of the guys that night..and I think we may get a rematch in January.
Dave, I bleed scarlet and gray. I also was proud of their play.
TP most the #1 recruted QB the year he came out. Maybe we should try to expand our recruting
borders. The bottom lin is TP is not getting the proper coaching from the QB coach and offensive coordinator he needs. My opinion until i’m shown differently.
Yea.. sorry I didn’t mean to come off as harsh as it may have sounded.
I do believe player development is an issue, but I think where the staff is lacking the most is in being able adjust when needed.
We’ve seen it time and again. While we handle teams with inferior talent, we cannot win a big game against equal or greater talent.
Maybe it’s too many years or dominating the Big Ten and usually having the best talent, but in a world where Boise St. is ranked far ahead of the Buckeyes and can go to a title game by beating Oregon, Miami (OH) ,Fresno State , Bowling Green ,California-Davis ,Tulsa ,Hawaii ,San Jose State ,Louisiana Tech ,Idaho ,Utah State ,Nevada , and New Mexico State, it just goes to show that we need to be able to win them all, not just against the Northwesterns of the world.
That ability to adjust has been an ongoing problem since the BCS game against Florida if not earlier. Instead of responding to a top team exploiting our weaknesses, we just pound away with very little creativity. This has been a frustration for some time.
As for the coaching, there has been a significant change since Smith and that is the loss of Daniels. While it doesn’t explain the rest of the offense, it does point to the lack of improvement in Pryor.
I do agree that Pryor got thrown in much earlier then Smith, Young and others. But then you’ve got quarterbacks like Colt McCoy (a different style qb), Barkley, Tebow who all started young. Maybe that is due to talent but again, at the risk of repeating myself, I just want improvement.
I’lbuy that, and improvement would be a blessing, especially with the toughest part of our big ten schedule coming up. Lets hope for the best and we will have to accept anything less.
@Rogersworthe, Dave Smith & Gulfportcarl
I think you’re all right. We are a little impatient. I know TP is just a true soph but when we look at the physical athlete we say: “Come on! Let’s get going!” Our expectations are probably too high. However, I do question why some feel that talent at the skill positions has diminished. According to “Rivals” and other experts on recruiting we have superb talent. Over the last three years we’ve finished very high when it comes to recruiting. What schools have finished ahead of us in recruiting high school talent? Not many. Were Dervier Posey, Brandon Saine, Lamar Thomas, and others overrated? I don’t know. Maybe so. However, they came in with great press clippings and YOUTUBE video. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen enough of these players to make a determination as to how good they are. With the offense we run they’ve not gotten that many opportunities. How many times have Dervier Posey or Lamar Thomas even touched the ball? I just don’t see Coach Tressel utilizing the talent that we have. The more potent offenses such as Florida, USC, and others feature multiple players in a variety of offensive schemes. Why can’t we do that? You cannot make me believe we don’t have the talent to be more innovative and creative. Coach plays too safe. He plays not to lose. He takes no chances and that equates to boring football. It means losing to top tier out of conference foes. It’s not very entertaining. Matter of fact, I’m probably more excited when our defense takes the field. What is the biggest offensive play of the season thus far? Has there been a big offensive play this season? That, my friends, is a problem.
Yes, the production has not been good, but in terms of creative formations, I think OSU has done that. They have run the option, the spread, dropback, brought Brandon Saine as a Receiver out of the backfield (not revolutionary, but who was the last OSU RB who has done that as often as Saine?), and that weird little fake option dropback deep bomb pass that they trotted out for the USC game and used every game since. In fact, I think some of the problem is how we haven’t picked a lane on offense. We run the spread, dropback, and option, but we don’t run any of them particularly well.
I think the problem with the offense schematically is there is nothing that is the offensive “bread and butter”. All the teams you mentioned have a base offense that in times of trouble they can run in their sleep and they run it very well, and then build differently creative plays off of the base offense. What is our base offense? What do we run well and everybody knows we can do on just about anybody?
Very well said Raoger. With Troy Smith it was Ginn deep on the fly or Gonzolez or Hartline on a crossing rout., Last year TP had Beanie and everyone knew he was goin be 60 % of the offence.
This year we don’t have a good running game, Saine and Heron are alright, but nothing to wright home about. I have no clue what our base offence is, unless it TP running to the corner or our three yards and a cloud of dust running game.
For all we know, TP will have a breakout week this week (I hope so). Once it happens, you’ll see the confidence grow. To me, he’s a talent with doubts. Doubts lead to indecision. Success breeds success and it’s bound to happen, even if it’s not this week. You can tell that most of this season, TP has not been in his comfort zone yet. Being an older guy who goes back to being a fan since 1967, I’ve seen a lot and I continue to love the Buckeyes. My hope springs eternal. Go Bucks! OH-IO!!
buckeyemark I pray your right. I would hate to see all that talent go to waist. This sure has been a hot topic this week, Maybe Purdue will be that day. The first time I listen to a Buckeye Game was when Hopalong Cassidy was playing. Like you I have live thru alot of disapointments
as a Buckeye fan. My problem is I live in Florida with all these dam Gator fans. Have pitty on me.
I do feel for you Carl. Much easier here in ACC country. SEC has got to be tough.
Boss’s run down on talent made me think of Carter. Although not really the discussion at hand, he just reminds me of his father (and makes me feel old). It seemed as though his dad could just keep going up and up and when he finally did come down, he had the ball. Didn’t matter how many recievers were on him.
Although we haven’t seen a lot of young Carter, he seems to have the same in flight capabilities. I’m really looking forward to this kid in a year or two.
Tressel just has to realize there’s a Porsche in the garage. At least take it out on Saturdays. Let’s ride. No need to push the VW on the weekends. Go ahead and unleash the beast. Go Bucks!!!
I know what you’re up against Carl. After being born and raised in Columbus for 52 years, work brought me to Florida, too. I like the area, but there’s gators everywhere! I’m surprised, though, at just how many loyal Buckeye fans I do run into. And the Jacksonville Buffalo Wild Wings is packed with hundreads of Buckeyes for each and every game!! Oh, come and sing Ohio’s praise, and songs to alma mater raise… I’m tearing up, gotta go. Go Bucks!
Pryor should be benched just like Todd B. was last year at USC. And remember Todd did not even have Beanie playing because he was injured. Tress I love ya man but you need to get your act together and get the team concept back. It has become the “Cooper” syndrome at OSU anymore with the putting the emphasis on only one player. Pryor is not the QB he was hyped as. Does anyone remember Paulus from ND some years back. Another overrated QB. Mich dare I say has a terrific freshman QB. Oh well here we go again.