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Buckeye Grades

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Let’s review, OSU ended the 2002 season No. 1, opened the 2003 season No. 1 and currently is No. 1 in 2006. Other than USC and Oklahoma, The Hog can’t think of another school that has spent as many weeks at No. 1 in the last four seasons as OSU.


Um, no?
 
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Can't say I agree with those ratings. Pittman and Wells were unstoppable, including when everyone knew JT was going to run.

I really don't understand how they get a B+, and the LBs get an A-.

Freeman's great athleticism aside, both INTs were thrown right to them. Personally, I felt there were way too many mistakes against the run to get a nearly perfect grade. They showed some nice promise against the pass, but Young & Sims ran at will...
 
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Jeeez

Some of you are a little tough on our linebackers....

The last time I checked, almost zero percent of the interceptions are actually thrown "right to" a linebacker. Linebackers do these little things called "drops" in coverage and cover their zones.

James L. just so happens to drop faster and more precisely than any OSU linebacker I've seen in the last 20 years. He's great at hustling back to his zone, setting his feet and putting himself in position to intercept any pass that comes into his zone.

Also, consider that Iowa failed to break 90 yards on the ground, and I would say that the linebackers had an excellent day. An A- day???? Sure, I agree.
 
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jwinslow;622897; said:
Freeman's great athleticism aside, both INTs were thrown right to them. Personally, I felt there were way too many mistakes against the run to get a nearly perfect grade. They showed some nice promise against the pass, but Young & Sims ran at will...
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Iowa

Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
-------------------------------------------------
Young, Albert 11 51 3 48 1 15 4.4
Sims, Damian 5 38 0 38 0 21 7.6

Not sure if I agree with the "at will" assessment...

Take away Young's one decent run and he is 10 carries for 36 yds...

Do the same with Sims and he is 4 for 17 yds.

I dont see either guy dominating the game...

The LBs are the scapegoats of this defense right now. A few weeks ago, people were actually saying Laurinaitis was not a D-1 LB...now those same people are calling for him to be on the Butkus list? Freeman stepped up...Terry is pushing people. Kerr is becoming a steady player. The INTs were thrown right to them? What is that? The fact that the LBs were in the spot says enough for me...covering that much space in a hook/curl zone or a Mike dropping into the hole is MUCH harder than it looks. The ball was not right to the LBs...the LBs were right to the ball.

Yes, tOSU fans have high standards...but to deny these guys their due respect is ridiculous. High standards does not need to cloud reality.
 
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So you would give them an A- on the game, like the author? That was the context for my comments...

I agree they did not dominate the game, tho our offense forcing them to abandon the run certainly played into that. They only combined for 16 attempts.

Also, I've never liked the 'if you take away X' argument.

I concede the INTs, you are probably right that I'm denying their respect by nitpicking.
 
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jwinslow;623116; said:
Also, I've never liked the 'if you take away X' argument.
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Why? What is more impressive..one big play and a bunch of worthless ones or a steady stream of consistency?

Yes, I would give the LBs a low A or B+ at worst. Did they abandon the run or realize it was not their strength and we were containing it?

Im looking at improvement every week and I am baffled how people are not flipping over to love these LBS.
 
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We'll differ on the rating... I'd put them at a 84% B. I'm coming off more negative than intended... my beef was with the author more than the LBs (how the LBs were ranked above the RBs). I think the cutback by Sims and TD run by Young weighed too heavily on my memory... whereas the stats are a more reliable recollection.

Young was 9-44 at halftime (4.9 per carry). He got the ball twice in the 2nd, then twice more in the 3rd. OSU held him to 4 yards on those two carries, and Iowa never tried again. So looking at the stats, they deserve credit for adjusting and ending Albert Young's carries on that drive.
Did they abandon the run or realize it was not their strength and we were containing it?
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I think it was a little of both. The lead and ridiculous disparity in TOP, combined with the statement by the run D on that lone 3rd quarter drive.
 
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jwinslow;623141; said:
We'll differ on the rating... I'd put them at a 84% B.
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Josh, we can agree to disagree but just a note about grading player performance....84% is VERY good. In fact 84% would translate to a B+/A-

Most positions "grade out" anywhere from 75-80%

Grading over 90% would be an A++
 
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I really thought coming into this game that Iowa would try to establish the run and control the time of possession like Wisky did against us in 03. I think that we got some very good penetration against the run in the first quarter and held Young to "meager" gains (yes, I'm quoting myself, which is very lame). The DL pushed back Iowa's OL and the LBers did their job by finishing up the tackles...most of the time. After our 88 yard drive right before the half, I think we effectively ended the Iowa run attack right there. So from the stand point of us having to contain Iowa's running attack while we build up this lead, we succeeded. However, we are bound to get into some close games in the future, and teams are not going to abandon the run in the second half. I think that we need to play more physical on defense to truly overcome future hurdles.
 
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Iowa's first drive went something like this:
1st down: Tate incomplete to Grisby
2nd down: Young rushed up middle for loss of 1 yard (I think this is the play where Pitcock got great penetration).
3rd down: Douglas dropped a pass

Iowa's fg drive of the night went something like this:
1st down: Tate sacked for a loss of 10 yards
2nd down: Young runs a draw for 11 yards
3rd down: Tate pass to Grisby for 31 yards, First Down
1st down: Young rushed up the middle for 7 yards
2nd down: Young rushed left for 5 yards, First Down
1st down: Young left for 3 yards
2nd down: Tate's screen to Grisby for 2 yards (Laurinaitis made the stop, the kid is playing very well against screens, smart football player).
3rd down: phantom pass interference.
The drive should have ended right there, but it didn't. So our run defense held Young to two more runs for negative yardage and Iowa settled for a field goal.

The next drive, OSU went 3 and out. Then something bizzare happened. The Iowa staff gave up on the run, which was successful on their previous drive. Tate threw a 23 yard completion to the midfield and missed on his next three attempts. Iowa punts. The next time Iowa had the ball, Mitchell intercepted Tate on their first play. Ohio State then scored to make it a 14-3 game.

Upon further examination, I have to say that I was wrong in assuming that Iowa's coaches wanted to pound Ohio State with the run. They had the chance to do that before Ohio State's second touchdown, and possibly would have had a lot of success with it, but they chose to hand the game to Tate. The Iowa coaching staff failed to realize that they did not have enough targets for Tate to throw to or that failing to control the clock would ultimately lead to more chances for a powerful OSU offense that cashed in often on Sat night.

Edit: The drive that has jwinslow and some fans concerned is this:
1st down: Tate incomplete pass
2nd down: Sims runs up the middle for 21
1st down: Tates scrambles for 11
1st down: Sims up the middle for no gain
2nd down: Sims up the middle for 12 yards
1st down: Tate passes to TE for 21 yards (which was set up by success on the ground)
1st down: Young rips for 15 yards to the right for a TD
 
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