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2008 vs. 2002 Position by Position Comparison (MLB)

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2002 vs.2008 MLB

  • 2002- Matt Wilhelm

    Votes: 9 10.7%

  • 2008- James Laurinaitis

    Votes: 52 61.9%

  • Too close to call

    Votes: 23 27.4%
  • Total voters
    84
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now dont get me wrong, laurinaitis is great in pass def but I vividly remmeber wilhelm making plays as well. in fact i seem to recall a beautiful diving int he had in 2002 but im drawing a blank on the game. either way we as buckeye fans have truly been lucky to have both these guys on our side at one time.

:pimp:
 
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brodybuck21;1206973; said:
now dont get me wrong, laurinaitis is great in pass def but I vividly remmeber wilhelm making plays as well. in fact i seem to recall a beautiful diving int he had in 2002 but im drawing a blank on the game. either way we as buckeye fans have truly been lucky to have both these guys on our side at one time.

:pimp:
Click to expand...

I think you're recalling his pick of Kyle Orton in the second quarter at Purdue, the "Holy Buckeye" game.
 
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I will never forget how MW's aggressiveness helped set the tone in the national championship game. He laid it all on the line the entire game and played possessed, everything he had was left on the field. I cannot vote against him even though JL has had a great career so far for the scarlet and grey.
 
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thanx BB73 that is correct. it was a great diving catch. i have always liked wilhelm and most especially his play vs cryami in the champ game. that dude was jacked out of his mind that night. what an awesome performance.... hold on...ive got something in my eye.....:biggrin:

:oh:
 
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BB73;1206099; said:
I'm willing to make this call in Laurinaitis's favor. He hasn't had the 2002 DL playing in front of him to free him up, but he done enough to win a couple of national awards already.
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Bingo. As much as I love Wilhelm (and Lord knows I do), Laurinaitis just doesn't have anywhere near the defensive line in front of him. And he's already got a Butkus under his belt.
 
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brodybuck21;1206973; said:
now dont get me wrong, laurinaitis is great in pass def but I vividly remmeber wilhelm making plays as well. in fact i seem to recall a beautiful diving int he had in 2002 but im drawing a blank on the game. either way we as buckeye fans have truly been lucky to have both these guys on our side at one time.

:pimp:
Click to expand...

He had an incredible pick against WSU too.
 
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Wilhelm was a rock. As steadily good as anyone we've had. Laurinaitis has been spectacular at times and disappeared at others. I still gave JL the slight advantage by taking the dominant DL that Matt had in front of him into account. At least some of Matt's consistency and JL's disappearances have to be due to DL productivity.
 
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Laurinatis is a great player, but you have to give it to Wilhelm. Forget about the DL he was playing behind, he should be judged by what he did as a player, and as far as that goes, I don't remember him missing a tackle that entire season. He was versatile enough to run down the bubble screens that Purdue employed and absolutely stuff McGahee in the NC game. His hit on Dorsey in OT is arguably the play of the game, because it gave Dorsey a bad shoulder that led to a key incompletion on 2nd n goal.

Laurinatis can certainly get there or even surpass Wilhelm, but right now Wilhelm is the benchmark.
 
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Bear Buck, any more of those clips you got just get 'em posted.

I would still take The Animal, because of the difference in the D lines. Even pukey Fouts pointed out in the NC game that both Vilma (for Miami) and Wilhelm benefitted from great D Lines in front of them.

And having Mike doss behind you (as opposed to, say, JamO) certainly gave Wilhelm the freedom to launch himself over the scrum and try to make fantastic plays.

Shoot, Laurinaitis has to fight through his teammates every day just to hold on to his spot.

Let's get this summer over with, damnit!

Go Buckeyes!
 
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hey upnorth, all great points. i am most definitely a big laurinaitis fan and have defended him on more than 1 ocassion in talks with friends. im as ready as you are for the season to kickoff. 6 weeks away my friend!

:oh:
 
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BearBuck27;1208757; said:
YouTube - Matt Wilhelm & Darrion Scott against Wash St.
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What a great read by Wilhelm! Had the run covered and still recovered from the fake to make a play. The WSU game is my missing piece from the 02 season, I was working that day and have never seen the game. I really need to download it sometime. I've seen the Scott hit many times and it never gets old. There's a great still pic of that play where Scott and Gesser are both completely parallel to the ground. That's one thing that the 02 D did so well, get to the QB early and often, and take them out of the game. Silver Bullets, Baby!
 
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