2008 Football Rumblings

[osugrad21]

CPD

Ohio State Insider: Tressel won't give up offensive control of Buckeyes

by Doug Lesmerises Thursday September 18, 2008, 8:48 PM


Marvin Fong/The Plain DealerOhio State's Jim Tressel on delegating the playcalling on offense: "I don't know, maybe my ego wouldn't let me. I couldn't read comic books all day. I've got to go watch film."
COLUMBUS -- As some frustrated fans call for new looks from Ohio State's offense, the man making the calls isn't planning on giving up one of his favorite parts of the job. Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis surrendered his playcalling duties this season. OSU head coach Jim Tressel can't envision following suit.
"I don't know, maybe my ego wouldn't let me," Tressel said Thursday. "Or maybe I'm a workaholic. I couldn't read comic books all day. I've got to go watch film."
Since Tressel had just finished explaining how he seldom tells the defensive coaches what to do or what to change, he figured without his playcalling, he'd be a man without a purpose.
"I'm not sure I could not help on either side of the ball," Tressel said. "What am I going to do, go eat bon bons?"

This is not the first time this topic has been broached. After falling to 3-2 in 2005, Tressel said allowing someone else to call plays had been discussed at times, but "I'm not sure that would interest me. I like being involved."
In 2005, Ohio State's total offense ranked sixth in the Big Ten and 32nd in the country; in 2006 it was second and 26th; in 2007 it was ninth and 62nd; and this year it is 10th in the conference and 88th in the nation entering Saturday's game against Troy.
While Jim Bollman holds the title of offensive coordinator and suggests plays during the game, Tressel makes the final call.

Cont..

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Sports Spotlight: Leaders need to step up fast for Buckeyes
Friday, September 19, 2008
BY TODD PORTER
[email protected]

COLUMBUS They are experienced. They are talented. They are motivated. They have the heartbreak scars of two national title losses.

It's also been said Ohio State has leadership, with 20 starters returning from last year's national runner-up. But leadership isn't just an age or experiences. It isn't just walking with a swagger.

It's knowing there's a reason to walk with swagger. It's getting in teammates' faces when they're not pulling their weight. Does Ohio State have that? No.

Three games into the season, including a resounding 35-3 loss to Southern Cal last week, help make that argument. The Buckeyes looked sleepy against Ohio and bored against Youngstown State.

When Troy Smith had his Heisman Trophy season, taking Ohio State to the national title game, he was the leader of that team. Former players will tell you he wasn't shy about getting in a teammate's face ? or even a coach's. Smith was fond of telling players to go visit the Wizard to find some courage when a hurt player needed to be on the field.

Who's that guy for Ohio State this year?

Todd Boeckman? He's a nice kid you'd want your daughter to date.

James Laurinaitis? He's the guy you'd want chaperoning your daughter's prom.

Brian Robiskie? He's the guy stopping traffic to walk your grandmother across the street.

Can nice guys finish first?

Terrelle Pryor has that moxie, but he's only a freshman, and freshmen better keep their moxie locked away early on. Pryor may get to unlock that door Saturday against Troy after Head Coach Jim Tressel said Thursday there is a chance the freshman could start.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

BSB Free

Video of the interview with JT about calling plays, etc

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

OSU notebook: Injury will cost Wells another game

Friday, September 19, 2008 2:54 AM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells has seen improvement in his injured right foot, but he will miss his third straight game Saturday. Coach Jim Tressel yesterday said Wells' foot responded much better to back-to-back practices this week than it did last week, but said Wells still wasn't "functionally ready" to play.
Tressel would not put a timetable on Wells' return to action, either.
"He's got to be able to function at the Beanie level," he said.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Always a Buckeye
Tomorrow is now

Thursday, September 18, 2008 9:45 AM
By Drew Norman


For the Columbus Dispatch
Drew Norman is a 2002 graduate of Indian Valley High School and a 2007 graduate from the College of Civil Engineering at Ohio State. A walk-on long-snapper on the 2002, '03, and '04 teams, Drew earned a scholarship prior to the start of the 2005 season. Each week, he gives a former Buckeye player's perspective on the game. Click here for his full biography. In my five seasons at Ohio State we played 64 games. 55 of those games resulted in victory, and 9 in defeat. Of those 9, only two could be considered "blow-outs." The 2004 Iowa, and 2007 Florida games would be the two "blow-outs" to which I am referring.
While these two games were played under completely difference circumstances, the feeling following each was much the same. I'm not quite sure there are words that exist to accurately describe how I felt after each of those games. You may have heard the idea that any loss hurts just the same. Well, I'm not going to say that a particular loss is easier to take than another, but I will say that a loss like the one faced by the Buckeyes Saturday night stays with you much longer than any "normal" loss.
In 2004, we traveled to Iowa as a young team in search of its identity. We arrived in Iowa City hoping to rebound from the Northwestern and Wisconsin losses suffered the previous two weeks and fully expected to "right the ship." Unfortunately, as many of you painfully remember, that is not what happened at Kinnick Stadium that day. What transpired that day was Iowa physically and emotionally dominating us from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.
Cont...

 

[Brutus1]

CPD

Wasn't it mentioned in another thread that Bollman calls the plays?

 

[BuckBackHome]

Wasn't it mentioned in another thread that Bollman calls the plays?

I think for years it has been this way: Bollman holds the title of OC, but Tressel calls the plays.

IIRC, wasn't there another coach brought in a few years back who works with the O-line? I'm not talking Bollman.

 

[osugrad21]

Wasn't it mentioned in another thread that Bollman calls the plays?

Sure was...notice JT has plenty of loopholes here in his semantics. Bollman calls the offense and JT sends it in...JT overrules occasionally, but the actual playcalling comes from uptop.

IIRC, wasn't there another coach brought in a few years back who works with the O-line? I'm not talking Bollman.

Coach Peterson

 

[Brutus1]

Sure was...notice JT has plenty of loopholes here in his semantics. Bollman calls the offense and JT sends it in...JT overrules occasionally, but the actual playcalling comes from uptop.

Thanks, Grad, for a second I thought I was dreaming that. The way he says he couldn't give up calling the plays, is that his way of keeping the wolves off of Bollman?

 

[FKAGobucks877]

Tressel admitted in an interview yesterday that he calls the plays. He's said in the past that he takes suggestions from the booth and Bollman, but he's the one making the decisions.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Thanks, Grad, for a second I thought I was dreaming that. The way he says he couldn't give up calling the plays, is that his way of keeping the wolves off of Bollman?

In a word, yes.

We are seeing a man do what a man is supposed to do, he's taking the heat because he's ultimately responsible and dealing with the troops behind closed doors.

From personal experience, if you are lucky enough to ever serve under a true leader of men and do something that makes your guy look bad, if you have any pride whatsoever you just want to crawl in a hole and die first, then you will walk through hell wearing gas drawers if thats what it takes to keep him clean moving forward.

Motivation aside, I just don't know how capable some of these guys are that have JT in the grease right now.

 

[osugrad21]

Tressel admitted in an interview yesterday that he calls the plays. He's said in the past that he takes suggestions from the booth and Bollman, but he's the one making the decisions.

Well believe what you want...no prob. He does call the plays...by sending them in. The actual call comes from up top and JT sends it in.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

espn.com

Big Ten: What to watch in Week 4
September 19, 2008 10:14 AM

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Only eight games on the slate this week, but there's no shortage of subplots, especially on the defensive side.

2. Pryor's coronation in Columbus: Terrelle Pryor and Todd Boeckman will split snaps for Ohio State against Troy, but this game is a chance for the freshman to take control of the offense. If Pryor continues to show good poise and playmaking ability, he'll continue to be featured when the Buckeyes enter Big Ten play. Boeckman will get his opportunities as well, but with the top goal off the table for the Buckeyes, they have to look toward the future.

 

[osugrad21]

Scout$--Still Recovering From USC

Not much here...compilation of quotes throughout the week

 

[sparcboxbuck]

Well believe what you want...no prob. He does call the plays...by sending them in. The actual call comes from up top and JT sends it in.

I can't say that I could see a better way of doing things. It would be interesting to know the percent of plays that get called down that don't make it to the field.

I've got to guess that at some point, if the OCs calls are being ignored over and over, an OC would have to get pretty frustrated... and hit the road.

My guess is that it's a pretty high percentage that come down and go out to the field.