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- Thread starter ScriptOhio
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buckeyesin07
Veni. Vidi. Vici.
From the HC and DC positions? Yeah. But that's irrelevant to his coaching of the LBs.
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Systems_id
Head Coach
LB play has been utterly abysmal this year and is arguably the main culprit of the bad defensive play. I read that something like 180 yards of the Iowa were to either the TE or RB. That's been a recurring theme all year. Most of Mayfield's passing yards were to the TEs and RBs as well. It's even worse when you realize many of these same LBs got significant playing time last year on a dominant defense.
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You kind of undermined your entire post with this opening. The LBs have been woeful and deserving of much criticism, but Dante Booker could never play MLB (despite his physical gifts).
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Please allow me to rephrase: do you think a Fickell coached defense with this level of talent would have let Iowa hang 55 on them?
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bukIpower
Head Coach
We shouldn't have been in a position where we didn't have a Mike... You can't recruit with the mindset that any of the LB recruits can play all 3 positions. No, it takes a certain make up to be a great MLB. We saw with Raekwon that if you play MLB in high school you can bet that he'll be pretty good in college.
Shoot that's why I think Borland is our best MLB. Because that's where he played in HS.
Shoot that's why I think Borland is our best MLB. Because that's where he played in HS.
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I think the LBs were pretty iffy in 2011 & 2012, forcing 200 lb Shazier with one knee to play Mike in The Game, and a converted fullback to man that spot in 2012. The overall defensive play in 2013 was not great. That said, I do think Fickell would produce a more consistent unit then what is being trotted out there right now.
Booker was well known as an amazing specimen with questionable LB instincts/toughness.
Worley is playing out of position.
But Baker was hoping to be a top-2 round pick, and he's been dreadful in a large portion of his snaps. He has incredible talent but is struggling with basic tenets of the position.
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Systems_id
Head Coach
Considering the fact that Indiana hung 49 on us back in 2012? Possibly.
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That was the year that our depth at LB was so shallow we had to start a converted Fullback?
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Yes due to misses like Dorian Bell, Scott McVey, Ejuan Price and others for varying reasons, and improperly rated guys like Sabino, Klein, etc
Which was on fickell.
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Hstead
Legend
I have played both, M and S. There is literally very very little difference between either. you have almost identical responsibilities most of the time. Maybe some other LBs will chime in. Booker could play Mike as easily as he plays Sam and vice versa. Run responsibility is still A or B gap most of the time, and pass responsibility is a TE or RB, most of the time, or flats and hook zone, but as far as skills required to play each position, they are almost identical. Size is not that big of deal either. I can find a million 220lbs Mikes that are/were All Americans.
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Then why did Worley go from a pretty darn good backer to a liability?
Why do they look for grown men at that position?
Athletically some can bounce between the two. I disagree that they're interchangeable, particularly in a league filled with throwback rushing attacks (Iowa, UW, UM even MSU at times).
As for size, that's not what I'm talking about. Dante Booker is the most physically impressive specimen on the team. That does not change how terrible he'd be at the Mike spot.
Meanwhile Brian Rolle was shorter than most kickers but so instinctive, disruptive and physical that he overcame his physical limitations, and they didn't replace his play for multiple seasons, turning instead to one-kneed Shazier and starting fullback Boren to survive.
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Hstead
Legend
I believe Worley has gone to a liability at Mike for the same exact reason Baker has gone to a liability at the Will, the same exact position he was a star at last year. Coaching. Preparation. Film Study. Anticipation. Understanding.
Why do you think Baker is all of the sudden a liability playing the same position?
You have to be equally physical at Sam and Mike. Yes, grown men fit at Mike, but please don't infer that you can get by at Sam with a "non grown man" because that isn't happening either.
I will go find a bunch of examples around the NFL and college where guys have been interchangeable between S and M and then you can disagree with those too.
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I think Baker freelanced quite a bit last year but has become worse in this deployment. He also does not have four elite NFL commodities backing him up at MLB, S and CB (x2).
Simple question: do you think Dante Booker could play MLB?
How about listing some of them at Ohio State. Can 3 down Mikes play outside? Sure. Can many of the SLBs play inside? Some could but not all.
p.s. I think Baker's actually the SLB in this defense (or at least he was last year), though I believe they switched the terminology around so in reality he's still a Will as it pertains to our discussion about typical LB spots.
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