• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

2015-16 Ohio State Quarterback Discussion

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
jwinslow said:
qb runs aren't simply nice. They are a central tenant of this offense and a major factor in JT's successes and failures this year.

Braxton did not need an extra 150 yds through the air. He needed a bit more efficiency, especially on third down, and he needed a lot more help from the receivers who had their lunch money taken on almost every challenged catch.

Ignoring rushing yards when evaluating a dual threat qb is as reckless as just looking at overall statistics. I brought them up because that strongly refutes the bad game verbiage about that performance.of course you need balance. That means better play from the qb position. It means much better play from the h back position to properly constrain the defense and set up the pass. It means catching short and intermediate passes to move the chains (something Devin, Evan and dontre have all struggled with and which Devin did a great job with on Saturday ). It means having players who can go out and make big plays in traffic or break a shortly ain for six (something they were not good at doing last year )
Again, consider what MSU did to us. What they did to Nebraska's 2-headed monster of Armstrong+Abdullah. What they almost did to Mariotta (who actually is the most electric QB in the country for my money) - until he beat them with his arm 17/28 318yds 3TD.
Do those numbers look a little familiar to 16/26 300yds 3TD?
Of course he would not have thrown for 300, but that is not a metric of success. How well he moved the chains, did the little things and took advantage of big play opportunities would be a much better evaluation of his success. I I think Braxton would have run for 150 on Sparty. Against that much worse spartan secondary, I like his chances of hitting 175-200 yds through the air.

I don't think either performance would outclass the other qb if he hit that stat lin3.
Click to expand...

Projections are one thing. How many times did Braxton actually DO IT? JT has better passing numbers, REAL, ACTUAL STATS, as opposed to projected 'what if' numbers that you attribute to Braxton, and JT CLEARLY is a threat to take a keeper to the house, as evidenced by the fact that he has the longest QB run in Ohio State history, and against a pretty good run defense in Minnesota, as opposed to Indiana circa 2012.

Braxton needed better efficiency? Guess what? This redshirt freshman is more efficient than Braxton has ever been.

The same receiving corps that quote unquote wasn't good enough for Braxton to put up big passing numbers last year managed to have 300+ yards receiving, 6 TD catches, and 10 different guys catch the ball in a game last year. Yeah, I know. Cal and FAMU sucked. Whatever. The next time Braxton throws for 300 or hits 10 different receivers will be his first.

I love Braxton. JT is something else.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
jlb1705 said:
Coach Meyer's comments fly in the face of this. It may be mostly the same names, but according to him (and I happen to agree), the competence level of that unit is much different from last year.

Everybody is clamoring for somebody to "break one" because that's the sexy thing, but the fact of the matter is that big plays was about all the wide receiver group could be counted on to produce the last couple years - Devin Smith being chiefly responsible for that production. Among returning players, it's been the short-to-intermediate stuff that's been lacking.

I don't understand how people can think this receiving corps isn't fundamentally different from a year ago when Michael Thomas - the leading receiver - is an embodiment of that transformation. He's breaking big plays from short routes and is the go-to pass catcher - but last season he was redshirting as a sophomore because he wasn't good enough. He clearly isn't the same player that he was a year ago, and neither is the wide receiver group as a unit.
Click to expand...

The fundamental difference is a QB who can read a defense and find the open guy.
 
Upvote 0
Something that I don't think has been mentioned very often is how rarely Barrett puts the ball on the ground. 3 fumbles this year, none of them lost.

Miller fumbled 10, 9, and 8 times in 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively, losing 5, 5, and 3 of those fumble.
 
Upvote 0
lvbuckeye said:
Projections are one thing. How many times did Braxton actually DO IT? JT has better passing numbers, REAL, ACTUAL STATS, as opposed to projected 'what if' numbers that you attribute to Braxton
Click to expand...
:lol: Thank you. I wasn't aware that real stats beat guesses. The topic was kuj's severe bias for passing yards as a measuring stick. JT was lighting up Minnesota in the first half in a very Braxton like performance.
and JT CLEARLY is a threat to take a keeper to the house, as evidenced by the fact that he has the longest QB run in Ohio State history, and against a pretty good run defense in Minnesota, as opposed to Indiana circa 2012.
Click to expand...
JT has improved steadily as a runner throughout this season and his offensive efficiency has followed suit. That was my point. You can't be connor cook in this offense and expect it to thrive.

JT is an agile power back with surprising quickness. He is not a home run hitter, though he has had a number of big chunk plays because of his vision, smarts, quickness and strength.

Braxton is an electrifying home-run threat with a howitzer that struggles with the little things and that will make it tough to supplant JT. He'll still play a ton either way.
Braxton needed better efficiency? Guess what? This redshirt freshman is more efficient than Braxton has ever been.
Click to expand...
See above.
The same receiving corps that quote unquote wasn't good enough for Braxton to put up big passing numbers last year managed to have 300+ yards receiving, 6 TD catches, and 10 different guys catch the ball in a game last year. Yeah, I know. Cal and FAMU sucked. Whatever. The next time Braxton throws for 300 or hits 10 different receivers will be his first.
Click to expand...
Cal 271 yds 7 guys.
PSU 252 5 guys.

or

Famu 215 yds 10 guys
Purd 233 yds 9 guys (not counting the 3 after he left the game)

Will Barrett be hitting 10 guys against Michigan? Or is that a stat typically limited to the flag football played against bad defenses?
I love Braxton. JT is something else.
Click to expand...
which is why they will need both next year, because both excel in different areas
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I know what the parties are saying now, but I won't be at all surprised if Braxton graduates and plays his final season elsewhere.

How can you put JT on the bench after this performance?
 
Upvote 0
pnuts34 said:
Meyer and Herman are too creative to keep both on the bench. The playmakers will get the ball regardless of their so called position.
Click to expand...
Which is why I believe the issue may be Braxton's ego. Not saying he has an ego problem, but somebody has to start. Somebody will get most of the snaps. If I am a 5th year senior and two time B1G POY it is hard not to be that guy. But the QB who gets most of the snaps is likely to be the one who is better at reading defenses and putting the ball on target.

Miller could become the role player to end all roll players. I shudder to think the plays we could run. But if he is willing to take on that role he is a better man than I.

"If Braxton comes back next year (and I think that he will), then the Buckeyes will have two Heisman Trophy candidates at quarterback."

You know what they say - if you have two Heisman candidates you don't have any Heisman candidates.
 
Upvote 0
jwinslow said:
People whine about urban running up the score already. Imagine the numbers and whining if/when Braxton is the one running out the clock, surely with more freedom to pass the ball to keep his star player happy. the tears would be delicious and the stats would be unprecedented
Click to expand...
yeah no kidding... The back up QB will be a Heisman contender and a top 5 QB in the nation. It's just we have another top QB in the nation as well. We will SMASH over all records because as it is right now either Barrett or Braxton will be playing heavily against the back ups to close out games.

My take is JT just hasn't something that Braxton does not... The ability to read the defense and find the open man without just using his athletic ability. Braxton got where he is today by making a move or two and then going 50+ yards but JT is making a living right now involving all of those around him which ultimately makes him more dangerous. I don't think it's a mistake that a player from MSU and now the head coach (Jerry Kill) have stated that JT is just better rounded and that while he's not the athlete Braxton is he doesn't need to be when he can throw the way he is capable of.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top