If there was ever a need for a demonstration of Murphy’s Law, Ohio State’s offense against Michigan State might be an apt tool to use. Everything that could go wrong for the Buckeyes did last Saturday when the scarlet and gray had possession of the football.
Nothing went right, and any glimmer of hope that occurred, like the 33 yard pass completion to Chris Fields, was instantly snuffed out before the offense could make anything of it.
With all the on the field issues, the last thing the Buckeye faithful needed were more NCAA issues that crept up at the beginning of this week. With so much unknown, it is time to dive into a little Scarlet and Gray Q&A.
What’s wrong with the offense?
How long have you got? I could write a book this week about what is plaguing the Ohio State offense, but instead I have compiled a list of concerns and ways to fix them.
-Braxton Miller
The first is clearly the Ohio State quarterback spot. Braxton Miller did not look good, and while he didn’t have a whole lot of help, he still did not play well. It is funny how fast fans have turned on the true freshman quarterback. To go from savior to goat in the less than a week had to have left Miller’s head spinning.
The first thing Braxton needs to get better at is decision making. His problem is not so much poor decision making but rather not making them fast enough. Fans often hear about the internal clock a quarterback has to know how long he has before the pass rush is in the backfield.
Miller doesn’t seem to have that just yet. My guess is it comes from the high school level. To go from being the best athlete able to make a play at the drop of a hat at the high school level to being one of many athletes at the college level has to be a difficult transition to make. Regardless though, Braxton needs to learn this quickly.
This can only be changed in practice and improving play habits, but Braxton needs to be given a time frame to use when he is in the pocket. Something in the range of two to three seconds should provide Miller an opportunity to make a quick read in the passing game, and if no one is open make a play with his feet.
-Offensive coaching
To me, this is where the major problem lies.
How often over the last decade have we heard fans complain about “Tresselball?” Jim Tressel was too conservative a play caller, and he just never took chances with far superior athletes.
Oh how I miss those days already.
Jim Bollman, as stated earlier in the season, seems to have a real problem building an offensive game plan. Plus the unit that seems to have been the worst offender of underperforming this season, it is the unit that Bollman coaches: the offensive line.
The two things that really bothered me the most from the game against the Spartans were the total lack of half time adjustments on offense and the lack of plays that set Braxton Miller for success.
The constant half back dives and five step drop passing plays were maddening to watch.
I would love to see Ohio State run some form of play action boot plays or even some option run plays to use Miller’s speed.
How can any coordinator scrap a successful game plan, which was executed well the week before, in the following game?
One solution may be limiting the passing plays to ones that divide the field in to quadrants. Without getting too technical, use pass plays where the flow of the play all goes in one direction. If it’s a pass play, all the routes flow towards one sideline or the other. It is much easier and quicker for a QB to be able to look downfield when everyone is headed in the same direction. Plus this will leave the other side of the field open to scramble and get any yardage possible if no one is open.
I would also like to remind the offensive coaching staff about the use of screens, although you need an offensive line that brings me to my next point.
-Offensive line:
As bad as the line was, Miller didn’t help them with his indecisiveness. If MSU is sending eight guys, it is hard to hold that block for so long. Regardless though, they were atrocious in the run game.
Opening a hole was something the blockers up front could not manage to do very often. When your team’s bread and butter is a running game and you can’t do it then the team is in trouble. Yes Mike Adams is back this week, and while that might improve the running game somewhat, it won’t solve everything.
My best solution is leaving no stone unturned. Put whoever proves they can handle the responsibilities on the field. Everyone should be given an opportunity, and keep changing lines until you find a combination that works.
Is Braxton Miller any good?
You might have heard several scUM fans questioning this very thing. I had a fan tell me that the almighty Colin Cowherd (yes the same one who said Tony Romo is a good quarterback and Aaron Rodger wasn’t) said that if “Braxton Miller is the future at Ohio State, get ready to lose to Michigan for the next decade.”
I could get into how irresponsible as a journalist it is for someone to make an assessment like that after just two start, but I think the important thing is to realize that much of what has transpired hasn’t been Miller’s fault.
I question how much Braxton was in the discussion to start at quarterback all spring and then into fall camp. My guess is the coaching staff had planned on starting Joe Bauserman for the first five games while Pryor was out initially, and when that changed they had already decided he would start the rest of the season.
I’m not sure how much he even figured into the plans, but in my opinion, the offensive coaches prefer Bauserman still to Braxton Miller.
With all of that being said, I will leave with a number: 13. That’s the number of scholarships Braxton Miller was offered as a senior in high school, including Alabama, Florida, USC, and even Michigan.
Thirteen coaches can’t be wrong.
What does the new flurry of NCAA allegations mean for the Buckeyes?
In the short term, it means very little to this team. Instead Ohio State continues to run with the some group of guys they have been for the majority of the season.
In the long term, it might have more of an effect than someone might think. Who knows when or if Ohio State will get DeVier Posey and Boom Herron will be cleared to play?
At some point this coaching staff had expected to be getting all of the suspended four players back for the stretch run in the Big Ten.
Many people have said that it doesn’t matter if Posey or Herron did come back, nothing would save this football team this season.
I don’t necessarily agree with that, but if anything the delay means that the process of getting those two up to game speed becomes even tougher.
As far as the locker room is concerned, I imagine this is nothing new but at some point you have to wonder if the good will in the locker room will start to turn sour on the remaining suspended players.
What do you make of the latest NCAA allegations?
As ridiculous as the charges are, it is clear that one of the offenders (Posey) should have been aware of the overpayment he was receiving.
What is most troubling to me is the fact that many of the recent violations occurred after the original “Tatoogate” broke last December.
If while being heavily scrutinized the compliance department can’t keep an eye on the players, can they do it at all?
Gene Smith repeatedly has emphasized that it is rogue individuals who keep making bad choices. If this keeps happening, it begs the question as to why these rogue players are still on the team.
Realistically, I think DeVier Posey needs to be shown the door, and Boom Herron would be on the thinnest of ice if I were the coach.
At some point the monitors need to be held accountable for the failings of the compliance department, and I think it is time to admit that it is possible a “Failure to Monitor” charge is coming and somewhat deserved at this point.
Should Gene Smith be fired?
Yes!
Smith is the only person that has looked worse than Gordon Gee and Jim Tressel in all of this. It really makes it difficult to keep believing it is everyone else’s fault but his department.
We have heard the phrase “Us against the world” uttered by many a Buckeye during the lead up to the fall season. The players didn’t know it was also them against the athletics office too.
Is there anything positive on the horizon?
Buckeye basketball tips off in a month. Does that help?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
