Welcome to this weeks edition of Fans Interact after the squeaker at home against the Mildcats. This weeks guest get to answer some good questions because in-spite of the W it really in some ways felt like a loss to some fans. Let’s introduce you to Chris, David and Elizabeth and see what they have to say!
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I'm not even watching now. I'm listening to @JimLachey64 and Paul Keels. Easing my anxiety. #GoBucks
— Elizabeth ⚾️🙌🏼🌴⚾️ (@osugirl47) October 29, 2016
In spite of the win, fans still seem to be disappointed in how the Buckeyes are playing overall. What’s your honest take on why they’re struggling?
Chris – From an offensive perspective it’s because of a few things. 1- We are very predictable because we don’t stretch the defense with our passing game. JT is going to have to take some chances and trust the receivers to go make a play or two. 2- We are getting away from the “hurry up” style play calling. When we force the defense to set before they are ready, we have way too many athletes for them to account for and i would venture to say we previously scored over 80% of the time when we were in that mode. 3- Receivers are not getting “space” between their defensive backs. Routs are taking too long to break open. Defense is playing “okay” but WAY too many blown assignments in the secondary and the D-Line is just not getting enough push. We are going to have to run a few more blitz packages to help that out. Yes, sometime that is a gamble but with athleticism we have at LB, i feel we should be more creative in that space.
David – The offense (after the first series) is too predictable, not enough WR talent to stretch the field to open it up for Samuel, Weber, and Barrett. The running seems to be too parallel to the line of scrimmage waiting for a block to open a magical hole. A lot of this is due to the youth of the squad, it’s as if the coaching staff is afraid to let them do some complex. On defense, the middle of the field is constantly open. The DB’s are playing too far off the receivers, and McMillan acts like he wants to be on the line. Too much standing around after the play and looking at each other. They get beat a lot with the same play. Tighten up on coverage, bump the WR’s at the line of scrimmage and disrupt the timing.
Elizabeth – The greatest struggle for the team is the overall youth with an anxious fan base. With young players comes a lack of experience. There is unreal talent on this squad that will develop in time. To be honest, fans have to weather the storm of the youth and inexperience. As the schedule became more difficult with 2 big road games they gained
an overtime victory and a tough loss in hostile territory. The greatest difference maker for this team is time and experience with growing pains along the way. I think the area that has the greatest struggle is in the offensive line. The chemistry hasn’t fully developed. The offense is missing the deep pass threat of Corey Smith. He is missed out there big time in my opinion. The team misses his talent and attitude on the field.
Given your answer to the above question, what are the Buckeyes doing well as a team both offensively and defensively.
Chris – Well, we are making the most out of JT and the read option. I do not think there is a better QB in NCAA, that takes full advantage of his knowledge of the game and getting a feel for tendencies that a defense shows. We are SLOWLY getting our running game to be consistent from a player perspective, but the line needs to help too. We take advantage of our downhill running back in Webber, but we need MORE!
David – Barrett manages the game well and runs well, especially in crunch time. Webber is only going to continue to improve, and Noah Brown is a hulk of a receiver. The D-Line has shown the ability to be extremely disruptive and is the most pleasant surprise on the team
Elizabeth – offensively we have a proven leader in JT Barrett. He makes plays and gets yards on the ground. Weber and Samuel will continue to be huge threats as the offensive line improves. Defensively our line has shown to be disruptive.
The Silver Bullets are beginning to allow the bend but don’t break mentality to provide some momentum to the opposition. Put your coaching hat on and tell us what adjustments you’d like to make
Chris – More blitz packages to put heat on the QB;s. We are letting mediocre QB’s sit back in the pocket and dissect our secondary. We need to come faster and more often. Take chances and let thee 4 star and 5 star DB’s earn their stripes. In cover 2, we need to start breaking on the ball so much quicker. I can recall at least a half dozen times when we did close the pocket on the QB and they are tossing “ prayers” that are getting answered. You see how important Darren Lee was last year in the hybrid role. He could BLITZ with attitude and speed, and drop back in coverage. We need someone like that to step up!
David – Safety Blitzes, our LB’s are capable of covering RB’s and TE’s because of our athleticism and keep the DB’s closer in coverage to the opponent’s receivers. Use our superior athletic ability like the D-Line (without them we’d be in trouble).
Elizabeth – Offensively the play calling is stale-Be more unpredictable. I would like to see the coaches try a 10 yard out/dig route to Noah Brown. More jet sweeps, WR screens and thrown long more often to loosen up the defense. We seem to lose yards on the traditional option. Stop running that read option on first down. Defensively the linebackers need to turn it up. We also need to amp up the pass rush. Be more creative with stunts and blitzes to put pressure on the quarterback.
Bonus 1) JT Barrett may be unfairly criticized for no downfield attempts. If it’s not on him, where would you say is the problem?
Chris – It’s a combination of a few things. I think a large part is him, but as i stated above receivers need to learn to get OPEN much earlier. The co-ordinators are not getting a free pass either( no pun intended) but we need to open the playbook, on bubble screens, quick slants, and TEMPO to give JT and this receiving core a better chance why we learn to get space. JT is a perfectionist and sometime he over analyzes the defensive line and coverage. Sometimes you just have to trust your initial “gut feeling” and pull the trigger. It’s now always a bad play to throw a deep route “incomplete”. At least then the secondary respects the potential. One of teh main reasons our 14’ team won the championship, started when #12 threw an ill advised deep pass against Wisconsin in TRIPLE coverage in the endzone on our first possession for a TOUCHDOWN! He took a chance, trusted his receivers and they made plays! We won 59-0 in case we forget and the rest is history.
David – The offense is very vanilla. We need to jazz it up by utilizing Samuel in the passing game and giving someone else a shot at WR (Campbell has been disappointing – when he got hurt KJ Hill caught a huge pass = more PT. Use less lateral running by the QB and RB’s, the line is not quick enough to pull that off, have them concentrate on “moving the pile” forward and pass protection, use the option only as a change of pace. The coordinators need to alter the strategy.
Elizabeth- I think the problem is the play calling due to the offensive line. Have confidence in JT as he is a proven leader. Try the shorter passes and run up tempo. We still need that deep threat to develop. Passing opens up the run. When is Corey Smith returning ?
Bonus 2) The first all or nothing match-up is up next against Nebraska. What do the Buckeyes need to do to win and what’s your prediction?
Chris – Easy. Open up the passing game, trust our athletes to make plays. Nebraska as we saw this last Saturday has very little potency offensively other than Armstrong scrambling. A couple decent receives but they are just like Wisconsin. To me, take what we did wrong at Wisky, correct is here and it’s no contest. I am a BIG believer in fans making an impact. I have not been down at the Shoe yet this season. I am heading down there Saturday and will PUMP the team up heading over to the skull session almost to a point of INSANITY. It matters folks. We have a responsibility too. I predict a victory, under the lights of 31-17.
David – We should win without much difficulty. They will be like many opponents, hang with us for a while but our athleticism will wear them down. We might need someone to “spy” Armstrong until the lead is big enough. They need a fire lit under them, as most young teams do. They’ve had their wake up call, now it’s time for the upperclassmen to step up and challenge the “kids” to make this a statement game. The Shoe will be rocking. 41-14, in the immortal words of Scott Hall “One more for the good guys!”.
Elizabeth – A home battle with Northwestern’s best shot and two very tough road games against Wisky and Penn State gives us enough experience to have an edge in Saturday’s Nebraska night game. The Buckeyes need to do anything they can for Barrett to get the ball out faster. Throw in defensive pressure on the their quarterback with creative blitzes and the Buckeyes are home winners in another nail biter, this time, in the Shoe…Buckeyes 31 Nebraska 28.
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