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Buckeye Tailbacks - 2004 (official thread)

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Emmitt Smith, Neal Anderson, Eric Rhett, Fred Taylor et al played under Spurrier

I'd say that Florida's running back tradition over the past 15 years has been as strong as ours. So why can't we pass comparably as well ? I'll buy the weather excuse to a degree, but we have the players and only lack the willingness to employ such a scheme.
 
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I don't think we've had a single QB capable of running Spurrier's offense. CK was great at making good decisions, scrambling, and coming up with some big plays, but throwing 50 times a game? I don't buy it. You work with what you have, and they're doing a good job doing it. We saw what happened to Spurrier when he tried to implement a system without proper personnel in Washington.
 
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We need RBs and should do whatever it takes to bring a couple of great ones in this year -- Javon and Mo Wells would be fine by me.

But poor Louis does have a point that's inescapable: tOSU has never had a truly great QB. Nearly every other Big Ten school has. Where scUM QBs win Super Bowls, Buckeye QBs ride the benches. It's not pretty, but it's true.

You don't have to "scrap 100 years of football tradition" and get pass-happy to acknowledge the fact that tOSU would benefit from a better breed of QB, year-in and year-out. If balance is truly the key to good offense, as every successful coach will attest, then you simply must have a serious passing threat to keep defenses honest. It makes things easier for the RBs too. And lack of it can make good RBs look bad, as defenders jam eight in the box play after play.

I don't know what poor Louis has done to earn so much vitriol, but anyone who has watched the Buckeyes closely over the years has to remember the many, many important games (Bowls and scUM) we've lost for lack of a big-league QB. Suggesting that a better passing attack would help the RBs isn't heretical or stupid. It's common sense.
 
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Mega,


Louis sent some very unsavory messages to people talking about graphic acts with members of their family, some of whom are sick, so the vitriol for "poor Louis" does not stem from this thread, or his responses to it.

Back on task, it's true we haven't had the huge name QB make it big in the pros, but we certainly have had our share go through undefeated seasons (Krentzel and Kern, e.g.) making good decisions and not turning the ball over. We've lost plenty of games because of poor QB play, but we've won many in spite of it as well. Most would agree a better passing game is always a good thing, and many lament the fact that many MAC schools have more "stud" QBs than we do, but there are many factors involved in such things, including recruiting, the system, the promise of playing time at a smaller school as a freshman, etc.

And lest we forget Meatchicken fans booed Tom Brady off the field several times while he was there...only to consider him the prodigal son when he wins Super Bowls. And for every Tom Brady, there is a Todd Collins, Brian Griese, and Jim Harbaugh, and Scott Dreisbaugh, who had (sometimes) solid careers, but weren't all-pros.
 
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I forget what the statistic is but I believe OSU attempted 20 passes or so a game. I know we have rehashed this topic over and over, but I really believe that one of these three guys can make an 8 yard slant or a 6 yard out to move the chains. I realize that these are the bulk of the passing calls that are going to be made. The fact is that we just need an accurate passer that can move the chains.
 
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Napes, it was more like 28 passes a game, and we had quite a few long ball attempts...unfortunately few connected.

(edit) Found our passing stats for last year:
Code: 
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" width="100%">
    <tr>
        <td height="15" align="center" class="TTitle" colspan="11">Passing</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center" colspan="2">NAME</td>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center">G</td>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center">ATT</td>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center">COM</td>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center">PCT</td>
        <td class="TData3"   align="center">YDS</td>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center">YDS/ATT</td>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center">YDS/G</td>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center">INT</td>
        <td class="TSubHead" align="center">TD</td>
    </tr>



    <tr>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>1.</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="left"
            nowrap><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/players/45857/">Craig Krenzel </a></td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>12</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>278</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>153</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>55.0</td>
        <td class="TData3"       align="right"
            nowrap>2040</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>7.3</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>170.0</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>10</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>15</td>
    </tr>



    <tr>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>2.</td>
        <td class="TData2" align="left"
            nowrap><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/players/45856/">Scott Mcmullen </a></td>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>7</td>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>78</td>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>51</td>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>65.4</td>
        <td class="TData3"       align="right"
            nowrap>615</td>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>7.9</td>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>87.9</td>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>3</td>
        <td class="TData2" align="right"
            nowrap>5</td>
    </tr>



    <tr>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>3.</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="left"
            nowrap><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/players/45839/">Justin Zwick </a></td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>2</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>8</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>4</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>50.0</td>
        <td class="TData3"       align="right"
            nowrap>24</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>3.0</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>12.0</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>0</td>
        <td class="TData1" align="right"
            nowrap>0</td>
    </tr>



    <tr>
        <td class="TData4" align="left" colspan="2">Totals</td>
        <td class="TData4" align="right"
            nowrap>13</td>
        <td class="TData4" align="right"
            nowrap>364</td>
        <td class="TData4" align="right"
            nowrap>208</td>
        <td class="TData4" align="right"
            nowrap>57.1</td>
        <td class="TData3" align="right"
            nowrap>2679</td>
        <td class="TData4" align="right"
            nowrap>7.4</td>
        <td class="TData4" align="right"
            nowrap>206.1</td>
        <td class="TData4" align="right"
            nowrap>13</td>
        <td class="TData4" align="right"
            nowrap>20</td>
    </tr>
</table>
 
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The yards per attempt wasn't that bad, but the TD to interception ratio reallly hurt. I think Jayson White ended up at 40/10 even after his poor last 2 games.
 
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Hopefully someone breaks out this year in the backfield.

I'm not sure Mo Hall can , he (and Ross) just seems to go down too easy. I'm not sure where the line is that separates skill and following the play call.

I know, that makes no sense at all.


If it's one of the Freshman to break out , then great. I wonder how much of a difference it will make to the backfield by having Joe back there all season (hopefully).
 
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Joe certainly runs hard. There's a lot of talk about Ross having a make or break season for the pros. The same goes for Joe, I would think. Montgomery came out hard after his last injury and got himself a shot in the NFL. Joe could do it, as well. Joe is Lydell's real competition.
 
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I think part of the reason some people take a dim view of Lydell is that Maurice was so good, when healthy, and Lydell did not dominate in the same way. A big loss that factored into that occurred at about the same time Clarett got injured: the loss of Mike Stafford. He was the most mobile O-linman, and if you look at Maurice's huge runs against T Tech and WSU, they were from the Power-O with Stafford pulling across to clear out the hole ahead of the tailback. Take a look at the '02 Wisconsin game and see how the tailback had to literally wait in the backfield for the guard to get across to the point of attack. Clearly, that doesn't work. My point is, OSU needs to have a mobile guard who can pull across quickly and create an opening, in order for their running game to be consistently succesful. They didn't have that for most of '02 and '03. I'm not sure that even if he'd been healthy, that Maurice would have had the same success against the BigTen that he had against the non-conf. opponents. Don't get me wrong, Maurice was incredibly talented; no doubt about it. But it's not all about the tailback, as Miami's shutdown of Maurice (when he was pretty close to 100%) showed. I think the O-line should be quicker this year; the question is whether they will have the technique and cohesiveness to operate as a unit. If they do, I think Lydell has the talent to be closer to 1500 yards than to 1000.

On a side note, as some of you have alluded to, I think you have to love Lydell's work ethic and attitude. I'd love to see him have a monster season and step up to where he was originally projected to be. I'm hopeful that it can happen.
 
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Anybody worried about the starting RB?

In the Spring game, and more recently in the Jersey scrimmage, the Buckeye's current starting RB has been significantly outplayed by other, younger backs. This comes on top of performance last year which, in competition against real-world opponents, was mediocre at best.

The following questions are running through my head: Is Lydell Ross the Buckeye's best back? Should he be the starter? Assuming he is the starter, how long will JT stick with him if he continues to under-perform?

I would love to be talked out of this anxiety, if anyone can make a compelling case for Lydell having the proverbial "break-out year".

Can somebody please show me some love for Lydell?
 
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