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Bitching about the 2004 Season

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Nutty: "Dick Tressel coaches the running backs and they haven't performed. Not sure if that's talent, coaching or the play of the guys up front."

I stand corrected. However, I can't criticize the running backs coach. As the old saying goes, you can't make chicken soup out of chicken you-know-what. I just can't blame this all on the O-Line, Nutty (see above). I just can't do it. They haven't even gotten a chance to succeed.

"Coach Tressel brought in John Peterson to be the recruiting coordinator and according to Rivals we have the #2 class in America at this point."

Where's the sure-fire stud RB in this class to this point? Where is the Adrian Peterson? Where is the Clarett, Robert Smith, or Reggie Bush? Why does this area concern me so much but is "poo-poo'ed" by the coaching staff?

Again, another dead-horse I've beaten: go into the living room of the best HS RB in the Nation. I don't care if that RB lives in Dublin, Ohio, Anchorage, AK, East Bumblefuck, New Jersey, or Bullprick, Arizona. Go to the kid, say this is Ohio State. This is Running Back at Ohio State. Other than QB at Notre Dame, this is the most hallowed and publicized position in the sport. There's six Heisman winners, countless Hall of Famers, and 100 NFL Draft Picks that were RBs at Ohio State. And here's the kicker: there's no Eddie George, Robert Smith, and Raymont Harris at 1st/2nd/3rd string ahead of you. You have a chance to play now, and get Heisman consideration at the bright old age of 18. Here's the LOI, sign now, and we'll see you for Summer Camp. Then go to the 2nd best HS RB and do the same. Then the 3rd. I have no idea why this isn't getting done and I'm dumbfounded why this wasn't done last recruiting season. This team would be 5-0 with five blowouts if Adrian Peterson was our TB.

"Lou Holtz tried to lure Mark Snyder away to be the DC at South Carolina and I think he knows a thing or two about coaching."

I have no doubt that Snyder is a talented Defensive mind. My only point is that he's not ready now. In 2006, Mark Snyder may be the best DC in the country. But as of right now in 2004, maybe South Carolina is a better fit for him: they have no expectations to win and he can go through his growing pains there. They should've gone out and hired someone who's ready now. Then in 2006, after Holtz has made Snyder ready from prime time, go out and get him back. Again, operate as if this is Ohio State. This is one of the 13 (or so) schools in the nation that can act like a monopoly. Like U.S. Steel. Like your local cable company. Like the New York Yankees. In two years if Tress approached Snyder at South Carolina and offered him the DC spot here, you think he's not taking that in a heartbeat?

"If Snyder had Will Smith, Darrion Scott, and Tim Anderson up front I suspect the defense would be playing better."

No question. Agreed. But that aside, I can't give Snyder a pass for getting caught in a base D over and over again for the past four weeks (yes, FOUR: he was guilty of it in the Marshall and NC State games too).

strohs: "recruiting?? have you noticed the classes we have brought in the last few years?"

See my recruting issue in my reply to Nutty above. And kudos for being the first beer I ever drank at age 10.
 
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Sloopy45 said:
I stand corrected. However, I can't criticize the running backs coach. As the old saying goes, you can't make chicken soup out of chicken you-know-what. I just can't blame this all on the O-Line, Nutty (see above). I just can't do it. They haven't even gotten a chance to succeed.
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I agree with you and I think there is plenty of blame to go around. Our senior running backs, who have been outstanding citizens and guys, are probably not Ohio State caliber running backs on the field. In time I think Pittman will be a good one. I like Erik Haw and I'm not sure why he's redshirting considering who will be left next year. Clearly a Clarett type talent would make the line look better but the backs and the line have work to do.

Sloopy45 said:
Where's the sure-fire stud RB in this class to this point? Where is the Adrian Peterson? Where is the Clarett, Robert Smith, or Reggie Bush? Why does this area concern me so much but is "poo-poo'ed" by the coaching staff?

Again, another dead-horse I've beaten: go into the living room of the best HS RB in the Nation. I don't care if that RB lives in Dublin, Ohio, Anchorage, AK, East Bumblefuck, New Jersey, or Bullprick, Arizona. Go to the kid, say this is Ohio State. This is Running Back at Ohio State. Other than QB at Notre Dame, this is the most hallowed and publicized position in the sport. There's six Heisman winners, countless Hall of Famers, and 100 NFL Draft Picks that were RBs at Ohio State. And here's the kicker: there's no Eddie George, Robert Smith, and Raymont Harris at 1st/2nd/3rd string ahead of you. You have a chance to play now, and get Heisman consideration at the bright old age of 18. Here's the LOI, sign now, and we'll see you for Summer Camp. Then go to the 2nd best HS RB and do the same. Then the 3rd. I have no idea why this isn't getting done and I'm dumbfounded why this wasn't done last recruiting season. This team would be 5-0 with five blowouts if Adrian Peterson was our TB.
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I totally agree with you and I've said it before...while I can understand having trouble landing a big time receiver or quarterback, given our offense, there is no reason we shouldn't be able to land a top quality running back or two every year. I'm sure Clarett scared a few guys away while he was here. There are big names out there this year that we are in on(Mo Wells, Jonathan Stewart, Jason Gwaltney, and Ringer to name a few) and we clearly need to land a couple of them.

Sloopy45 said:
I have no doubt that Snyder is a talented Defensive mind. My only point is that he's not ready now. In 2006, Mark Snyder may be the best DC in the country. But as of right now in 2004, maybe South Carolina is a better fit for him: they have no expectations to win and he can go through his growing pains there. They should've gone out and hired someone who's ready now. Then in 2006, after Holtz has made Snyder ready from prime time, go out and get him back. Again, operate as if this is Ohio State. This is one of the 13 (or so) schools in the nation that can act like a monopoly. Like U.S. Steel. Like your local cable company. Like the New York Yankees. In two years if Tress approached Snyder at South Carolina and offered him the DC spot here, you think he's not taking that in a heartbeat?
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I guess I'm not prepared to say Snyder isn't ready yet. What would Dantonio's defense been like the last couple of years with the d-line he had? I knew we were going to miss Will Smith, Darrion Scott and Tim Anderson, I just didn't know how much. Teams have been running on us, we never pressure the quarterback and our linebackers aren't free to run around and makes plays anymore because the d-line can't keep blockers off them. Is that Snyder's fault? I don't know.

Sloopy45 said:
No question. Agreed. But that aside, I can't give Snyder a pass for getting caught in a base D over and over again for the past four weeks (yes, FOUR: he was guilty of it in the Marshall and NC State games too).
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I'm not giving Snyder or anyone else a pass, I just see enough things going wrong that I can pin it all on him. There is certainly plenty of room for improvement and I'm sure he'd tell you that.

Appreciate the discussion, Sloops.
 
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Nutty: "I like Erik Haw and I'm not sure why he's redshirting considering who will be left next year."

Agreed. If this is preaching to the choir, call me the head choir boy. I don't think he wanted to waste a year of Haw's eligibility to give him 5 (on average) carries per game this year. I can understand his thinking there, but it means completely sacrificing the running game this season.

"Clearly a Clarett type talent would make the line look better but the backs and the line have work to do."

Again, the '02 season is a great platform upon which to base this discussion. In the nine games where Clarett was healthy, the O-Line looked great, and the team averaged 45.22 carries per game, 217.44 YPG, 4.81 YPC, 34.11 PPG, and 2.89 TDs on the ground per game. The leading rusher in those games averaged 131.11 YPG. In the five games where Clarett was out, the O-Line looked awful and all those numbers dropped dramatically (except for carries per game which was only slightly lower): 44.4 CPG, 144.2 YPG, 3.25 YPC, 20.6 PPG, 1 Rushing TD per game, and the teams leading rusher averaged a meager 76.8 YPG.

Its a domino effect: if the RB can't get it done, the line looks awful, the coach can't call enough running plays, and the O-Line looks worse because it can't wear down the D-Line later in the game. I can't blame this on the O-Line. As individuals, I think there's big time talent there.

"I knew we were going to miss Will Smith, Darrion Scott and Tim Anderson, I just didn't know how much."

Hey, I agree 100% with you. As you know, I've been beating this drum since BEFORE any of them graduated. They were special players. But again, I can't complain with what's there: Richardson, Fraser, Pitcock, etc. all look like players. Are they as good as what we had before? No. But they're still good enough to where we shouldn't give up 33 points to NU and 24 points to a putrid Whisky offense.

"Appreciate the discussion, Sloops."

Ditto, as always, Nuts.
 
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scarletflag said:
The only attempt at pressuring the QB that I noticed was from the 3-4. Only sending 1 LB and/or using a LB as a spy isn't blitzing IMO. When Mike D'Andrea is standing in the middle of the field picking his nose there will certainly be an open dropoff receiver.
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Hard to blame Mike D when he was on the sideline....however as for picking his nose I couldn't tell you.

As for drop-off receivers, they will ALWAYS be there in the blitz. The blitz is always susceptible to SOMETHING...as a DC, you must recognize situation with tendancy and decide which are of the field you can give up
 
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The cold reality is that we lost 14 NFL draft picks, a defensive coordinator, a running backs coach, a tight ends coach, and a recruiting coordinator.

If you expected no disappointments along the way and a 2-3 loss season, you were setting yourself up for disappointment.
 
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I din't take WW post seriously and I am pretty sure he is having a good chuckle reading most of the responses - but I can't resist adding a bit of fuel to the fire.

The last time OSU lost its first two Big Ten games was 1992. In 1993 we went 10-1-1.

The last time OSU lost three straight games was 1999. In 2000 we went 8-4 .................and fired the coach.

I could live with as many as five losses this season. I wouldn't sleep much - but I would survive. Next year is another story.
 
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If your players do not execute, it doesn't matter if you are Bill Walsh or Jim Tressel you will lose. This "sorry,pathetic" offense won a national title a few years ago using the same type of system. The PLAYERS are not there. If Vince Lombardi crawled from the ground and took over,guess what he would lose right now.
 
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The other cold reality is that we didn't get blown out by Wisconsin. You read half the posts on this board and you would think they sliced us, dices us, and set us out for the birds.

We were outplayed and the better team won - but that 'better team' lost two fumbles that the officials didn't see. We commited two crucial turnovers that could have changed the outcome. That better team is ranked in the top 12 in the country - not 39th - and they have one of the premier Defenses in the country.
 
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Oh8ch said:
The other cold reality is that we didn't get blown out by Wisconsin. You read half the posts on this board and you would think they sliced us, dices us, and set us out for the birds.

We were outplayed and the better team won - but that 'better team' lost two fumbles that the officials didn't see. We commited two crucial turnovers that could have changed the outcome. That better team is ranked in the top 12 in the country - not 39th - and they have one of the premier Defenses in the country.
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Two turnovers and three missed completions that were guaranteed touchdowns were the difference in this game. It looked worse than it did at the end b/c the defense got wore down from being on the field so much.
 
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There was't one long or even short sustaining drive by OSU in this past game. Lack of maturity and execution are the main ingredients missing here and that's the only reality the coaches and players need to fix. I saw players for OSU so pumped up. Even AJ Hawk, who is normally so mello except when he punishes people with good tackling, was pumped up. Somehow the players and coaches have to fix that soon and then BAM this will be a different team. The potential is there. Not alot of opposing teams come even close to our talent but have the execution and maturity. Thats why they are somewhat more successful than OSU now at this point in time.

ScarletArrow said:
Two turnovers and three missed completions that were guaranteed touchdowns were the difference in this game.
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That turnover by Santonio holmes really killed the team as a whole. Even the fans were out of it after that. You could feel it in th air.
 
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StoRMinBrutus said:
There was't one long or even short sustaining drive by OSU in this past game. Lack of maturity and execution are the main ingredients missing here and that's the only reality the coaches and players need to fix. I saw players for OSU so pumped up. Even AJ Hawk, who is normally so mello except when he punishes people with good tackling, was pumped up. Somehow the players and coaches have to fix that soon and then BAM this will be a different team. The potential is there. Not alot of opposing teams come even close to our talent but have the execution and maturity. Thats why they are somewhat more successful than OSU now at this point in time.


That turnover by Santonio holmes really killed the team as a whole. Even the fans were out of it after that. You could feel it in th air.
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Execution is 90% ... if we cant execute that is a big problem. Defensively I agree with you, I think we are close to being good, and it is only a matter of time. Offensively however I think we need a coaching change with the O-line. This has been a problem for 4 years, and is much bigger than inexperience and youth. Next year will prove to be yet another 90th ranked offense unless we get someone competent in to coach the O-line.
 
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