Blow It Up and Start Over Again – Open Thread Time

Since my theory regarding Big Ten speed isn’t taking hold, I’m pretty much at a loss about Saturday’s game.

The Buckeyes looked terrible on all fronts. Tressel’s idea of the defense not putting the offense in a bad position is great and all when the defense plays their game but a defense can only take you so far. When they have a bad day…ouch.

From Pryor’s determination to throw the ball as he jumps backward to the defense’s inability to pressure the quarterback to dropped kick returns to…just pull us from the top 25. Eighteenth (to as high as 20th) is a gift if we play like that every weekend.

After seeing the game ending face mask penalty, I pounded out the only theory that would sustain me at that point and turned off the computer for the weekend. I returned this morning to see this morning to see the comments section of a number of posts lit up.

I will say this, Purdue played a good game and took advantage of our mistakes. Give them props where props are due.

In an effort to bring the discussion together, I’m going to try to capture the gist of the discussion below. It’s Monday. We’ve had a day to let it soak in, where do we go from here? Post ‘em below:

Hocking Hick
This is indefensible. Sick. Unpardonable.

Tressel needs a new O-Line coach and an offensive coordinator NOW. Those should be the requirements to keep his job.

Boiler_Ditsor
Where did you guys find this Pryor dude….sure wish he woulda came to Purdue…….to clean the locker room after games.

Todd Coykendall
Do the following as soon as the season ends, but not before you salvage what is left of this season:

1. Jim Bollman, Gone / Hire Orlando Pace (who should be retiring) as O-Line Coach
2. Jim Heacock, Gone / Fickell can handle it on his own and he understands “todays” offenses
3. Tressel no more play calling/Hire Charlie Weiss as O-Coordinator (he’ll be out of ND)
4. Move Pryor to wide receiver he’s not a QB and you can’t turn bread into milk
5. Get reputable QB and RB coaches I don’t care from where but they should have at least
played the position at this level of competition
6. Start grooming Bauserman he’s the QB that you’re trying to make Pryor into

JIM
OHIO STATE FRAUDS,EST. 2001.THANK GOD #2 DIDN’T GO TO MICHIGAN.HE BLOWS.GO BLUE
(Sorry, I just can’t resist …Great job against Delaware State Blue. Glad to see the program is back on track.)

Jon
Big Ten football is like Big Ten High School Football.

Mark
Jon Gruden as Ohio State coach – Do you agree with me it’s time for Jim Tressel to go and for Jon Gruden to take over. Jim has a special player in Terrelle Pryor who is getting worse not better. It’s Jon Gruden time! Let’s make it happen!

Nautical Buckeye
The saga continues…. The Ohio State Football coaching staff are blinded by the lights of percieved success and they fail to teach these boys their positions, their skills, and to play team football. Starting with Terrell Pryor…. Terrell you should either transfer to another school and pursue “your” goals or stay here and be an Ohio State Football player… It has been talked about for the past several weeks on 97.1 The Fan that Terrell is an athletic football player and not a quarterback and week after week there are substanative examples of that. Terrell looks like a high school football player who only knows to throw the ball where coach told him to throw the ball. Terrell continues to show he cannot think on his feet. Is Terrell tweeting with the star athletes during the week instead of studying game film? What about after practice, Terrell and the recievers on their own practice running routes and get their timing down. Maybe with that investment Terrell would not have to think about what he is doing but just instinctively know several different recievers are going to be in different parts of the field. What about it Terrell are you going to aspire to be another Michael Vick or are you going to be who you were created to be and buckle down and be a part of Ohio State Football? Shape up or ship out brutha…..

BuckeyeMark53
Let’s give credit to the Boilermakers today. They had a good game plan and the enthusiasm to carry it out. The Buckeyes lost on the strength of 4 turnovers, a bad game plan, and appeared not really interested in carrying it out (until it was too late). It was not pretty to watch, so most of the time, I did not. Let’s hope for a much better effort next week. Go Bucks!!

Jim
This game against Purdue just signifies what I’ve known since last year, Terrelle Pryor IS NOT a very good quarterback. The entire coaching staff should be called to AD’s office and be told ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! There should be repercussions to such stupid, misuse of talent. I am speaking of the talent on the defensive and the ten players (minus Terrelle Pryor) on offense. T.P. should be benched and let Bauserman have his shot. It could not be any worse for the offense, it may even be the spark the team needs. Obviously, the current “starting” QB is a joke.

Frank
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.

pghfrank48
I really cant believe the arrogance of the typical buckeye fan. The offense took a break against the Badgers just look at the stats and the only way this team wins so much is they play 8 homes games ayear, five againist the Little Sisters of Poor, and they expect, respect. A 1-5 team beats them handily on the road and all the air is out of this season. When all is said and done the should drop out of the top 25 and hope they dont have to play the Bearcats as long as Kelly is the Head Coach. Congrats to the 1-5 Boilermakers !!!

Bosshawk
I live in Atlanta, the hub of the SEC and ACC. I wear my Buckeye gear and I’m immediately the laughing stock of wherever I happen to be. The Big 10 Conference is no longer held in high esteem. Unfortunately, our Buckeyes under Tressel have done nothing to dispel the negative spin on the conference and our institution. The debacle at Purdue on Saturday did nothing to help our tarnished image. Believe me, I’m pained when I hear about our demise from Big 10 antagonists here in the Southeast. We get so upset when we hear Mark May’s analysis on ESPN. Unfortunately, (if we are truthful) he is “dead on it.” We are not a good offensive team.

Out of comparable NCAA schools we rank 91st in total offense. In the red zone we rank 95th. That is deplorable. Not to mention inexcusable! What will Coach’s response be this week to the media and critics? Let’s face it! This is a low point in the illustrious history of Ohio State football. If you are a true fan you can no longer “sugarcoat” this travesty. Call it what it is. At this point it is a total mess. Is there hope? Yes! Hope springs eternal. Hopefully, Tress possesses the wisdom and humility to know that it is beyond the time for change. Whether he realizes it or not, he is under scrutiny. If enough alums call and write the A.D. and President expressing their displeasure it won’t be long before action will have to be taken. That would be unfortunate because I believe coach is a good man but he’s not ready for college football at this level. A coach is only as good as the staff around him. Why is he still trying to call plays? I truly believe there lies his greatest fault. His plate is too full. Be smart enough to surround yourself with the most talented coaches and advisors available. Hopefully, they are battle tested and ready to take on the competition. I just don’t think coaches on our staff fit that mold. Therefore, we struggle (on the offensive side of the ball). GO BUCKS!!!!

Andy
I have little doubt this team will learn from their loss yesterday.. and it’s probably easier to learn from a loss than “skin of your teeth” wins. I’m sick and tired of fans talking about throwing the coaches out and starting from scratch. The talking head radio shows are full of this theme this morning. Don’t they remember how frustrated they were with the 9-3 seasons under Coach Bruce? .. and he beat Michigan less regularly than the Tressel-coached teams. Ultimately, the bottom line is for this team to win. I hope the coaching staff can adjust their game-plan more to the talent they have. Mack Brown did it at Texas with Vince Young and admitted it was a difficult transition for him to make. Yes, coach Tressel made Troy Smith a drop-back, pro-type QB. Maybe Pryor’s talent differs from that of Smith. I just hope the game-plan we see next week shows the progress we expect of the talent this team has.

(later comment) A true fan keeps things in perspective. Every time I see the replay of Desmond Howard striking the Heisman pose against OSU my blood boils – and that was what, 18 years ago? Remember, this is a team with inexperienced players at key positions. Hells bells, Bosshawk, you probably complained about the play calling when OSU ran the table in 2002 with all the nail-biting victories. I think coach Tressel knows his personnel better than we do, and I also think he knows he doesn’t yet have the QB the ESPN talking heads said he was getting, nor the O-Line all the recruiting experts said he recruited. This program is in good hands with Tressel. I’ve got better things to do than call Gene Smith and Gordon Gee to voice displeasure about this loss. This bitter taste won’t last long.

Gulfportcarl
Tressel and the coaching staff should apologize to all Buckeye fans for their pathetic game plan and the performance of their team. The Buckeyes were not mentally prepared play the game, there was no game plan whatsoever. The Buckeye beat themselves with poor coaching and poor execution of what ever kind of football they played on Saturday.
The defense was standing around the whole day. Four to Five defenders around a Purdue receive catching the ball but none were breaking to the ball. The thplay that really pissed me off was 4th and 2 yards for a touchdown and Tressel kicks a field goal. What kind of play was that?
Tressel the gutless wonder no balls whatsoever. Don’t even get me talking about the poor play of TP. Last week you talked about the being a break out game for TP, he sure broke alright. Time to bench him I really mean it give someone else a chance they sure can’t do any worse.

(later comment) YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME! I don’t want to fire Tress, I would love to see him hire any offensive coordinator, to call the plays, because his play calling SUCKS. I would like the line coaches to coach, and the secondary coaches to do the same. Thats where the shake up should come from. obviously they aren’t doing a very good job.
I get sick of Buckeye fans that don’t get pissed when their team loses to a 1 and 5 Perdue. Thats like losing to your local high school, not acceptable by any means. I get sick and tired of fans not getting upset, and say oh well maybe they will play better next game. I want to see some passion from Buckeye fans. It’s OK to get pissed off and upset. It’s ok to expect a team with all that talent to play like it. Losing is not acceptable.

I think that about covers it. Anything to add, post it below.