Westy
Offensive Consistency.At times this season, and especially last Saturday against Cal, our offense has looked spectacular and unstoppable. At other times it looks as though they’re impersonating themselves from last year. I want to see the offense have more consistency in their production, few or no three and outs.
Receivers that can catch. This goes along with the offensive consistency. The Receivers need to make catches. Sometimes Miller throws the ball too fast or more rarely just in an awful spot… but too many times a good throw has been ruined by the receiver dropping it.
More ground production from halfbacks. Hall had a solid return with 80 or so yards, but never looked particularly flashy. Hardly anyone else even touched the ball. It was nice to see Miller cut back on his carries and give us hope he won’t be injured from pushing himself on the ground, but someone needs to fill those yards he leaves.
A Defense that tackles. I think I’m going to call the defensive seniors from my undefeated-playoff bound home school Northwood Rangers to see if they can teach our defense how to tackle. It’s the most basic of basic fundamental skills, and we seem to have totally forgotten how to do it. Ryan Shazier is the poster boy for it. He seems more keen on going for the highlight reel smashing hit, than just wrapping up and making sure the guy is down.
Linebackers that live up to their legacy. Boy what I would give to have the likes of AJ Hawk, Bobby Carpenter, Andy Katzenmoyer, or James Laurinaitis back for a few games. These line backers have so much talent and so much potential, but just have no lived up to it thus far. The aforementioned Shazier shows tons of promise, but just needs to tackle!!!!
Gary
Consistency. I have yet to see any consistency with this team. They do pull together to get the W but I would love 4 consistent quarters.
Less Wounded Ducks. Braxton has wowed us with his legs. He has hit some timely passes but he needs to cut down on the missed passes and hit the open receivers in stride.
Secondary Still. I’m not giving up on this. There is talent with those D-Backs, now just to show up on game day.
WVaBuckeye
Straight Forward. No special formations, nothing special. I want to see us really push it with Vanilla this week and give MSU something to think about. As the old fashioned guys use to say, we’re better and we are just gonna line up and run it straight down your throat, come stop us.
Guiton Show. As much as I want it straight forward, I want to see Kenny Guiton without the game being over or Braxton being dinged up. He’s worked his tail off and I think it’s time to see a couple packages and series here and there showcasing him. Throw him a bone before B1G season starts.
Braxton’s Heisman to lose. Again, as much as I want it Vanilla this Saturday, I believe its his to lose. He is making a good case for being the best player out there regardless of the competition and I see nothing but great things the rest of the season. This weekend has the potential to really be the #XBrax360 show. Once the running game takes shape, his running and throwing will be unstoppable.
Joe L.
Improvement. Like Urban said after the game, “The best part about being 3-0 is the chance to go 4-0.” But in all 3 games this year, we have shown things that from week to week have not improved and will need to improve before we go into the B1G season. Most importantly is the defense. Watching the D give up over 500 yds is enough to make one sick to their stomach.
Wrapping Up. We are in the areas to make plays, but we are launching ourselves going for the big hit, but forgetting to wrap, or diving at knees. Between Shazier, Bryant, Barnett, and Johnson I am not sure who needs to improve more.
Braxton get 300 yards of passing. He has been able to show glimpses in the passing game, and this is the opportunity to really have a huge game. To be able to sit back read the coverage and really deliver the ball with authority.
Jim
Shaking off the rust. Jordan Hall looked okay but not great in his first game. He received all of the carries last week at RB and is listed as the starter again this week. If he is going to be the workhorse for the offense, I’d like to see him make a big jump in performance against UAB. Otherwise…
Bri’onte Dunn and/or Rod Smith. Many people expected Dunn and/or Smith to step up big last week in replacement of the injured Carlos Hyde. As it turns out, neither received a single carry. Based on the miscues against UCF, my guess is that they are having difficulty with the playbook. Both are extremely talented players and bring a power running element to the offense that Jordan Hall and Braxton Miller just don’t have. I hope to see them back in action this week.
Better reads on the read option. I still don’t think Braxton Miller is very good at making the give/take read on the read option runs. I’d like to see improvement here each week but based on the first three weeks my expectations aren’t very high.
QB and WRs on the same page. Braxton missed some open throws and the receivers dropped some easy passes (must frustratingly on third down). If they managed to cut those mistakes out and get on the same page the offense would run much smoother.
Malibuckeye
n00bs. I want to see some of the younger players get some time, particularly on defense. This would mean that Ohio State is comfortable and that they’re trying to help their starters get healthy for the B1G- particularly Williams and Simon
Bombs Away. Coach Meyer talked about the need to take your shots… a long TD on a “regular” (not busted coverage) play would be fantastic.
Negative Yardage. While this may sound arrogant, I’d like to see last week’s aggression plus solid tackling against a team that struggles offensively. If this means we “send a message” to the rest of the conference, so be it.
That One Thing. Maybe if I don’t type it, it will come true. (Ed – Keep dreaming.)
Eric
An ass-kicking. Nothing against UAB, and apologies to those with sensitive ears…(eyes?) This offense has shown flashes of brilliance the last few weeks. I want to see them put it all together in one consistent and solid game-plan. Coupled with that, I want to see the defense actually perform like I expect from the Silver Bullets.
The Silver Bullets to reearn their name. Speaking of Silver Bullets, I’m banning this defense from using that nickname until such time they play like they deserve it. Am I allowed to do that? Well, since I just did, yes I am.
A consistent passing day for Braxton. He’s clearly a sophomore quarterback. At times he throws the football like a future member of the league – a la that bullet to Devin Smith for the first passing touchdown against Cal. Other times he throws like I would while standing in the pocket. That’s not what we want our Quarterback to look like. I’d love to see him with great footwork all day long – but it may have to wait until next season.
Absolutely no running from anyone outside of #5. Reverse psychology seems to be a theme this week, let’s roll with it here and see what happens. I just hope this doesn’t mess with any of my other wishes. If it does, it’s Jeff’s fault.
A less embarrassing weekend from the B1G. I’m not going to ask for the B1G to not be an embarrassment; only that they’re less embarrassing than normal for this season.
Janelle
Better Tackling. This was u-g-l-y last week. There just isn’t any other way to put it. I feel like they’re going “in for the kill” and when they make the plays, it’s great, but when they miss, it’s bad news. I want to see that fixed this week.
Braxton, Braxton, and more Braxton. Let’s see the video game numbers again, Brax. Keep making your case for the Heisman.
Offense…for 4 quarters. The eight punts last week were painful. At one point, there were four in a row. That shouldn’t be the case this week (or ever, actually). I’d like to see scoring, and lots of it. This *shouldn’t* be a close game like last week…let’s have fun with this one and watch the offense work.
Jeff
40 points, no more. Because the last time I said that, we went over 50. Reverse psychology, yo.
Better angles. I think our biggest problem with the passing game might be the angles our defenders have been taking. Fix it.
Devin for 10. Devin Smith should have a field day. I want to see him grab ten passes and become the premier WR I know he is.
Jason
100 Yard Back. Can we get a running back over 100 this week?
Sustain. Big plays are great, I’d like to see the offense put together a long 8-10 play drive that results in a touchdown.
FUNDAMENTALS. I’m sure everyone has mentioned it, I’m no exception. Better angles to the ball and for the love of God can we please WRAP the ball carrier.
Keep it in front. Limit mistakes in the back seven and at the least keep the receiver in front of them. Please?
Shut out. Silver Bullets could use it going in to Big Ten play next week.
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