Welcome this weeks group to tBBC Round-table to discuss the loss in (Un)Happy Valley. If you have that twitter engine be sure to give them all a follow! Super-fans Angie and Dianne as well as former Buckeye Basketball player Eddie Days joins us this week and they all have some pretty good thoughts on the loss.
https://twitter.com/atj1971/status/790992023599722496
Coach is ready lol @ The Ohio State University https://t.co/2jpDEOPFHd
— Eddie Days (@edays10) September 29, 2016
(Deep Breath) Knowing now that JT Barrett actually had a good night statistically and is the leader we thought he was, what really went wrong with Ohio State’s offense? Or is it really JT?
Angie – JT is a leader. He is THE leader this young team needs. I consider him my favorite QB at OSU. We have the weapons, but we don’t seem to use them. How can we go from week one, when it seemed like the offensive players were at an Oprah Winfrey taping, “You get a TD and you get a TD and you get a TD” to Saturday night? JT carries the ball a lot more than I think he should have to. It is an ordinary expectation when he takes off running. The defense knows it’s coming and they are ready.
What went wrong? The offensive line wasn’t able to protect JT and give him the time he needed. It was frustrating to see so many passes dropped. Even the short-yard passes. I’d like to see more 1st and 10 passing. Why wait until 3rd down? It’s rare that we ever throw on 1st down. Introduce a new play occasionally. Not a “trickery” play but I’m sure that playbook has more to it than we’ve seen. Urban has said Curtis Samuel is a play-maker and yet he barely played. Change up the snap count. When a defense gets a running start, change it! Keep them guessing. It’s like giving them answers to a pop quiz. All the surprise is gone.
There is also something to be said about having a bye week before playing the opponent you want to beat more than any other on your schedule.
Dianne – I am a huge fan of JT. Even in the midst of a difficult game, he remains confident and calm. You can tell the other players rely on him. That being said, he can’t do it all. He needs to trust his guys. And so do the coaches. Yes, we are a young team, but turn them loose. That’s what we did at Wisconsin. At Penn State our play-calling was so predictable…even I usually knew what was coming next. I agree with Angie. Pass more on first down. Add some more plays to the repertoire. Use Samuel! Our special teams had just a horrible night! It’s hard to overcome mistakes like that. Penalties are killing us. The option looks more like 2 guys fighting over who’s going to get the ball. Mostly just shake up the predictability. I know the Buckeyes will fight back. That’s what they do. One game at a time and we’ve got this.
Eddie – I don’t think it is JT, I think he is the leader we need. At times this game had a ‘last year Michigan St feel in a play-calling sense, but especially with the halftime lead, it felt like we would be fine. That being said, we played a very opportunistic team and they took advantage of our lack of execution and bad 4th quarter. I think sometimes we relied on JT to make a big play and it can be hard for any star player in any sport to make something happen when both teams know what’s coming. Just like Zeke and Michigan St last year, I think Curtis Samuel could have been implemented more and there could have been more variation in play calling when things became stagnant, but again I think there is always the thought of ‘we’ll get it together’ or ‘we’ll break one soon’ when it comes to OSU, because, well, we usually do.
You knew that the Silver Bullets would have an off night but not against Penn State. What were the Lions doing different than anyone else that made it “look” easy?
Angie – The only thing that was off about Saturday night was the 17 points in the 4th quarter. I wouldn’t say the Lions made it look easy against our defense. It was the 2 blocked kicks that helped them more than our defense failing. After the field goal that made the score 17-21, the “White Out” player became a factor. The noise level was louder from that point until the end of the game.
Dianne – The Nits’ RB played exceptionally well, but the long pass really seemed to open it up for him. Usually our pass defense covers better than that. I’ve never thought the white out was a big deal, but once they got ahead, the fans took over. Speaking of fans, where were ours? There was very little scarlet in the stands. I thought for sure that adjustments would be made at the half…maybe they were, but if so, PSU made better adjustments. Buckeye coaches were completely out-coached in the 2nd half. Clock management sucked. Our receivers often seemed out of position with confusion in the play. I’m not advocating major coaching changes but Meyer needs to look at what can be done to shore up our weaknesses in the coaching department.
Eddie – I think that the defense did a good job until the 4th when things seemed to snowball a bit with the blocked kicks and the crowd getting into it; they kind of took the momentum and ran with it at that point. I honestly think that the atmosphere along with a team that was playing kind of unfazed by who we are and with nothing to lose, was the difference, and again, they were very opportunistic in capitalizing on the mistakes we made, missed calls, etc. There could have also been a lack of adjustments on our part due to how things were going until the 4th qtr, but the scoreless 1st and 4th qtrs also hurt us.
Special teams took a big hit and there’s something to that, teams have been close to getting blocks this season. Is this a case of bad scheming or just young players? Explain.
Angie – I haven’t really worried much about the line when when we’ve kicked as much as I have the return. I almost hold my breath when their receiver decides to run it back. We are giving up a lot of yards. Speaking of this specific game, they had a few great plays but the two blocked kicks were game changers. You can’t tell how much that crowd played a part when they were given hope of a win. They were loud and the stadium was shaking.
I have confidence that Urban will keep working on special teams, I guess I am saying they are young. Not an excuse, but it is a factor.
Dianne – If youth had much to do with the kicking problem, it would’ve shown up earlier. I’m not smart enough to see what PSU was doing to get to our kicker. In earlier games, I was just glad no one really went for the block. The Nits knew they had to do something different and they attacked. Our kicker seems to be good enough to get it in the end zone for kick-offs. It drives me crazy when we allow them to bring it out. And our kick returners scare me to death!
Eddie – I think that PSU may have tried some different things knowing that, to beat a team of our caliber, they would have to get some help from special teams. I’ve seen this happen in plenty of games where an underdog may realize that they may not win the game straight up on the offensive or defensive side of the ball, and understand that it may take an exceptional play or two to shift momentum, get the crowd going, get their players going, and to get some unexpected points or great field position. And they did just that. Could have been a lack of focus on our part and not being as detail oriented as we needed to be or just a team that finally took advantage of an underlying weakness we may have had. I do not foresee additional problems with this, as I’m sure this game will be fresh in their memories.
Bonus 1) If you were Urban Meyer, what changes in staff would you make after this performance if any. If not, why do you think the way things are can be okay to finish the season?
Angie – I’m glad I am not Urban. Having said that, I don’t think a coaching change is suggested because of this one performance. We have had a lot of questions as fans, about the coaching and coaches in certain areas for a couple of weeks. I would love to see the offense open up a playbook and use the weapons we have. I don’t understand why Samuel wasn’t used more on Saturday night. I’m not going to call out certain players but it seems there are possibly other choices when it comes to the passing game. If you have someone dropping balls consistently, try someone else. They might drop it, but then again, they might have better hands.
Dianne – I hate the offensive play calling. Tim Beck needs to really step it up or we’re in for a long 2nd half of the season. Use Samuel. Use Noah. Mix things up. Don’t be so predictable with Weber and JT. If things don’t change, Beck needs to go.
Eddie – I do not foresee or think any coaching changes are needed. Offensively, I think the team is to the point where the weapons we have other than JT deserve to be trusted in big moments, because I think we have the plays and schemes available; why we don’t use them when things aren’t going ideally is another question. Defensively, and as a team overall, I think everyone is a week older and wiser, players and coaches included.
Bonus 2) How will the Buckeyes rebound this week against the Wildcats?
Angie – I first want to say how glad I am, that the time has changed to 3:30. I have faith that our beloved Buckeyes will come back and give us a show. They will focus week to week and give that National Championship another shot. I feel that any real champion has learned from a failure and has come back stronger. I think Shelley Meyer was the first to say something about “The sun still rising” on Sunday morning. She couldn’t be more accurate. These players, are someone’s child. They are doing their best, while providing entertainment and learning life’s lessons along the way.
GO BUCKS!!!!!
Side note** If you have never been to a Happy Valley White Out, you really need to attend one.
Dianne – I expect the guys to come out refocused and ready to kick some butt. Hopefully they won’t be over-prepared. This should be a good game to fine-tune some (hopefully) new schemes. I read that Meyer has never won a NC undefeated. So the Buckeyes still have a shot. But the toughest is still to come. I pray the home crowd will get behind them and make some noise. Show the guys we still support them. Arrive early and stay late. Beat Northwestern!
Eddie – As a competitor, I know they cannot wait to take the field again, especially at home. Although the loss stings, our season and championship hopes are far from over in my opinion, and now we see that, if we are not sharp in all 3 facets of the game for a full 60 minutes, we can lose to a team that is more opportunistic or hungry than us, or who just flat out has nothing to lose. I am eager to see what changes are made to the offensive system and how locked in defense and special teams are and I expect a big showing with a lot of enthusiasm from both coaches and players. PSU could have possibly been one of those losses that a team needs to get them over the edge, humble them, and refocus them (for instance in basketball, a team may be undefeated or on a long winning streak heading into the NCAA tourney, and you may hear their coach say that he/she would rather they no go undefeated and/or get that loss out of their system before it cant be undone), and I think/hope this will do us some good as we go forward.
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