crazybuckfan40
Head Coach
Back with the second installment of this years season. A couple days late as I hadnt had time to view the game again.
Offense:
Wow, is about all I can say once again. Troy Smith is leading this offense to places we havent been in a while. The execution is great and it is clear that Tress has an abundance of confidence in Smith. I think we could put up 50 on just about anyone in the country if we needed too.
QB's: A+
Once again Smith gets and A+. I think he has also propelled himself to the fore front of the heisman race.
RB's: A-
Pittman - continued to run hard and is always impresseive. Also did a great job of blocking. Top 5 rb in college football IMHO.
Wells/Wells - Both did what was asked of them while in the game.
WR's - A because of some drops.
Ginn - Once again he shows his improvement. I think his stock is rising and could become a top 10 pick if he continues going the way he is going. On pace for about 18 td's for the year.
Gonzo - What a huge game for him. He is about as solid as they come and is really taking advantage of having Smith getting him the ball and Ginn lining up on the other side of him. He beat the safety all nite long. Probably a top 15 pick that he was smokin'.
Robo - He also showed great, just had that one costly drop, but he has great hands and I dont think he will let that happen again.
TE: - B
Nicol - Once again very good blocking. I think he is the best since Hartsock.
OL - A.
Once again the line continues it solid play. Barton is moving himself into first round territory. I don't think he evers misses a block, even against the stout d-line he was going against.
I have touched on it in Boone's thread, but once he can latch on and stay latched on he is going to become a great left tackle. He has the ability to get a push, but needs to improve the footwork to be able to stay latched on. It will come with more PT, and the guys he played against this week were one of the better ones we will see all year.
Datish, Downing, Shaefer, and Rehring have all played very solid football. It was also great to get the whole second line in at one time. Just shows the depth we have and the confidence that the staff has to be able to put them in a game of this magnitude.
Overall the offensive unit is going to be tough for anyone to stop. Way too many weapons. If we are stopped it is b/c we stop ourselves.
Defense:
The Defense was faced with 11 total drives for the game. Out of them 11 drives they broke down like this:
1 TD
1 missed FG
1 INT
1 fumble
6 Punts
1 end of game.
We forced 3 3 and outs and 7 of the drives were 5 plays or less. Same as last week. Meaning that our defense has seen 22 drives.
They have had 6 3 and outs and 14 drives that were 5 plays or less. Now that is some stiff defense.
Also Texas was only inside the 20 2 times and game away with only 7 pts. That is pretty impressive.
19 pts in 2 games is also very impressive.
We didnt really get the sacks, but we were able to get pressure and I think we got enough to rattle McCoy at times. They also did a lot of short passes and things to that nature, so it was hard to get to the QB.
Once again we were rotating guys like crazy. I believe that all the guys we played last week played along with Amos and Rose getting time this week. The only guy that was absent was N. Patterson and still havent heard a reason on that.
We also ran basically two different formations all game. They were the 4-3 base formation and Nickel base.
We were in Nickel 40 times. Usually this consisted of Animal Jr. and Freeman at lb and Washington/Jenks as the corners and Smith as the nickel back. We also played Grant and Homan a few times in this formation too.
We were in the 4-3 for 24 plays. This usually consisted of Animal Jr. in the middle with Terry and Homan on the outside. Washington also stayed in at corner during these situations. Kerr also got a few plays in and Grant and Freeman rotated in at Outside.
It also seemed that we were lining the lb's up a little farther off the ball than usual and playing the safeties back deep and giving up the 7-10 yd. run, but avoiding the big play.
Overall we had a good TEAM defensive effort. We made some big plays and forced 2 huge TO's. It seems that right now the coaches have the philosphy of bend but dont break and so far it has really payed off. We are a young defense and we fly to the ball.
Texas didnt go down the field alot, much in part to great coverage and the ability for us to pressure if he stayed back there long enough. The only big pass they really had was the jump ball to Selvin Young which was a poorly thrown ball, but ended up being the right pass as it was underthrown and Jenks got turned around. We were also able to limit the runs after they gashed us at first. It was obvious that they didnt want to run much option after we were laying the wood to McCoy each time he pitched it.
I think a lot of credit has to go to Haecock and Fickell for the adjustments and game plans. They do an amazing job.
DE's: B
They didnt show up in the stat column that much, but they were facing a tough task agains the guys they were going up against. They got pressure at times and forced plays back inside at times, but at times they let plays get to the outside, but a lot of times that was b/c of double teams, which meant it was more the lb and safety's responsibility to be there.
Not horrible, but room for improvement and I think they will improve and start getting to the QB more.
I also know that it was a phantom call, but JRich has to watch himself that is 2 PF's in two games.
DT's: A-
Once again teams arent going to run between the tackles against us that much. The guys up front did a good job of controlling the blocks. It was the outside guys that were getting to our lbs and letting the play get outside. Denlinger is getting a lot of time and he is a future stud.
LB's: B
Once again the LB's played a solid game, but still have room for improvement. I give the group an overall B, but alot of that has to do with the Big Ten Defensive player of the week coming from this group. Right now they are still struggling to get off some blocks, not filling in time, missing tackles, and catching on some tackles.
Kerr: Just doesnt look like he is going to have the senior season some had hoped for. Only got a few plays.
Animal Jr.: Easily the best defensive player. He had the huge FF and INT that really put the game away for us. I think I figured out where some have been disagreeing about his play. When in the 4-3 he does a good job of getting to the ball carrier in the hole and playing between the tackles. At times when it seemed like he wasnt making it outside, it was plays when we were in Nickel and he has to make those plays. He is not necessairly middle anymore. He is struggling with cut blocks this week and last. He is also catching at times. His reads are right there tho. He played a great game and is just going to continue to get better.
Homan: I have already voiced my opinion on him. He is doing a lot of catching in tackling and just needs more time, with weights getting himself stronger and being there a half a second sooner. He is there tho, so that is damn good for a true freshmen with 2 games under his belt. Reminds me a lot of AJ when he was thrown into duty his freshmen year.
Grant: One good one bad seems to see what I see of Grant in the little time he is in there. I still think he is our best tackler, but he gets taken out of the play to easily at times.
Terry: I know some were really impressed here, but there were times when he was clear out of the play. He played best when we went to the 3-4 type formation with Gholston standing as a leo backer and Terry up on the line. I really think he would be great at rushing the passer out of that formation. He also had the TFL while playing that position too.
Once again we played six, I still think the PT is going to dwindle for some as it did for Grant and Kerr. The snaps are going to be harder to come by come big ten season.
S's: C
B Mitch:Not sure of his responsibilties, but He wasnt there in the run game at all. I know we have been spoiled with Whitner, Doss, Salley, but he has to make some plays. he was there against NIU, but not there aginst Texas. I still think alot of it had to do with scheme or at least that is what I am hoping.
N. Patterson: DNP, still curious about that one.
JamO: He is starting to show flashes. He did give up the touchdown, but it was a good route and good throw, he was just a half step behind. I can't wait till the light goes on and hopefully it is sooner rather than later.
A Russell: Nice to see him get more PT. I think he has earned it. He seemed to be there at times in run support and had nice coverage. He is a star in the making.
CB's: A+
Jenks, Washington, Smith, Amos just shut down them great Texas receivers. They were on them all nite. Jenks had that great coverage on the jump ball to Sweed. They were also there in run support when needed. Overall just a great nite.
Good Things:
- Once again all the guys playing. Have to love the depth of the team.
- I like to see some guys take steps forward. Laurn., Russell, Washington, Jenks, Terry, Homan, Gholston.
- Texas didnt get hardly anything thru the air, a combo of good pass rush and good coverage. I think our secondary is much better in coverage than stopping the run.
- Only 7 points!!!!!!!!!
- 2 TO's!!!!!!!!
Negatives:
- 7-10 yd. runs. Just too many of them. These need to be cut to 3-4 yd. runs, make teams abandon the run then try to pass against our secondary and let our d-line pin their ears back.
- Some guys taking a step back. Freeman, Mitch - I know I might be being a little hard on these two guys, but I thought they were the best on the field in week one and week two you hardly heard from them. I am just hoping that it was scehme.
- Cut blocks. They need to practice all week how to beat these and they will see the ball carrier much sooner.
- Deliver the blow dont take the blow.
Overall another good game and puts us in great position to set up for a nice run this season, but one game at a time and Cincy is next. Major trap game, I see us sleepwalking in this one. There might be some upset people complaing that we are not that good next week at this time.
Edit: Forgot to mention the kicking game.
AJ was lights out and he could end up a Ray Guy canidate by the end of the year. He really helped out the defense with field position.
It was good to see Petrey knock one through. I think that will help his confidence. All of his PAT's are right down the middle and look like they are hit well. I think he will be ok in time, and I will have confidence in him if the game is on the line. Also I love his kickoffs. We havent missed a beat there for a couple years now.
Offense:
Wow, is about all I can say once again. Troy Smith is leading this offense to places we havent been in a while. The execution is great and it is clear that Tress has an abundance of confidence in Smith. I think we could put up 50 on just about anyone in the country if we needed too.
QB's: A+
Once again Smith gets and A+. I think he has also propelled himself to the fore front of the heisman race.
RB's: A-
Pittman - continued to run hard and is always impresseive. Also did a great job of blocking. Top 5 rb in college football IMHO.
Wells/Wells - Both did what was asked of them while in the game.
WR's - A because of some drops.
Ginn - Once again he shows his improvement. I think his stock is rising and could become a top 10 pick if he continues going the way he is going. On pace for about 18 td's for the year.
Gonzo - What a huge game for him. He is about as solid as they come and is really taking advantage of having Smith getting him the ball and Ginn lining up on the other side of him. He beat the safety all nite long. Probably a top 15 pick that he was smokin'.
Robo - He also showed great, just had that one costly drop, but he has great hands and I dont think he will let that happen again.
TE: - B
Nicol - Once again very good blocking. I think he is the best since Hartsock.
OL - A.
Once again the line continues it solid play. Barton is moving himself into first round territory. I don't think he evers misses a block, even against the stout d-line he was going against.
I have touched on it in Boone's thread, but once he can latch on and stay latched on he is going to become a great left tackle. He has the ability to get a push, but needs to improve the footwork to be able to stay latched on. It will come with more PT, and the guys he played against this week were one of the better ones we will see all year.
Datish, Downing, Shaefer, and Rehring have all played very solid football. It was also great to get the whole second line in at one time. Just shows the depth we have and the confidence that the staff has to be able to put them in a game of this magnitude.
Overall the offensive unit is going to be tough for anyone to stop. Way too many weapons. If we are stopped it is b/c we stop ourselves.
Defense:
The Defense was faced with 11 total drives for the game. Out of them 11 drives they broke down like this:
1 TD
1 missed FG
1 INT
1 fumble
6 Punts
1 end of game.
We forced 3 3 and outs and 7 of the drives were 5 plays or less. Same as last week. Meaning that our defense has seen 22 drives.
They have had 6 3 and outs and 14 drives that were 5 plays or less. Now that is some stiff defense.
Also Texas was only inside the 20 2 times and game away with only 7 pts. That is pretty impressive.
19 pts in 2 games is also very impressive.
We didnt really get the sacks, but we were able to get pressure and I think we got enough to rattle McCoy at times. They also did a lot of short passes and things to that nature, so it was hard to get to the QB.
Once again we were rotating guys like crazy. I believe that all the guys we played last week played along with Amos and Rose getting time this week. The only guy that was absent was N. Patterson and still havent heard a reason on that.
We also ran basically two different formations all game. They were the 4-3 base formation and Nickel base.
We were in Nickel 40 times. Usually this consisted of Animal Jr. and Freeman at lb and Washington/Jenks as the corners and Smith as the nickel back. We also played Grant and Homan a few times in this formation too.
We were in the 4-3 for 24 plays. This usually consisted of Animal Jr. in the middle with Terry and Homan on the outside. Washington also stayed in at corner during these situations. Kerr also got a few plays in and Grant and Freeman rotated in at Outside.
It also seemed that we were lining the lb's up a little farther off the ball than usual and playing the safeties back deep and giving up the 7-10 yd. run, but avoiding the big play.
Overall we had a good TEAM defensive effort. We made some big plays and forced 2 huge TO's. It seems that right now the coaches have the philosphy of bend but dont break and so far it has really payed off. We are a young defense and we fly to the ball.
Texas didnt go down the field alot, much in part to great coverage and the ability for us to pressure if he stayed back there long enough. The only big pass they really had was the jump ball to Selvin Young which was a poorly thrown ball, but ended up being the right pass as it was underthrown and Jenks got turned around. We were also able to limit the runs after they gashed us at first. It was obvious that they didnt want to run much option after we were laying the wood to McCoy each time he pitched it.
I think a lot of credit has to go to Haecock and Fickell for the adjustments and game plans. They do an amazing job.
DE's: B
They didnt show up in the stat column that much, but they were facing a tough task agains the guys they were going up against. They got pressure at times and forced plays back inside at times, but at times they let plays get to the outside, but a lot of times that was b/c of double teams, which meant it was more the lb and safety's responsibility to be there.
Not horrible, but room for improvement and I think they will improve and start getting to the QB more.
I also know that it was a phantom call, but JRich has to watch himself that is 2 PF's in two games.
DT's: A-
Once again teams arent going to run between the tackles against us that much. The guys up front did a good job of controlling the blocks. It was the outside guys that were getting to our lbs and letting the play get outside. Denlinger is getting a lot of time and he is a future stud.
LB's: B
Once again the LB's played a solid game, but still have room for improvement. I give the group an overall B, but alot of that has to do with the Big Ten Defensive player of the week coming from this group. Right now they are still struggling to get off some blocks, not filling in time, missing tackles, and catching on some tackles.
Kerr: Just doesnt look like he is going to have the senior season some had hoped for. Only got a few plays.
Animal Jr.: Easily the best defensive player. He had the huge FF and INT that really put the game away for us. I think I figured out where some have been disagreeing about his play. When in the 4-3 he does a good job of getting to the ball carrier in the hole and playing between the tackles. At times when it seemed like he wasnt making it outside, it was plays when we were in Nickel and he has to make those plays. He is not necessairly middle anymore. He is struggling with cut blocks this week and last. He is also catching at times. His reads are right there tho. He played a great game and is just going to continue to get better.
Homan: I have already voiced my opinion on him. He is doing a lot of catching in tackling and just needs more time, with weights getting himself stronger and being there a half a second sooner. He is there tho, so that is damn good for a true freshmen with 2 games under his belt. Reminds me a lot of AJ when he was thrown into duty his freshmen year.
Grant: One good one bad seems to see what I see of Grant in the little time he is in there. I still think he is our best tackler, but he gets taken out of the play to easily at times.
Terry: I know some were really impressed here, but there were times when he was clear out of the play. He played best when we went to the 3-4 type formation with Gholston standing as a leo backer and Terry up on the line. I really think he would be great at rushing the passer out of that formation. He also had the TFL while playing that position too.
Once again we played six, I still think the PT is going to dwindle for some as it did for Grant and Kerr. The snaps are going to be harder to come by come big ten season.
S's: C
B Mitch:Not sure of his responsibilties, but He wasnt there in the run game at all. I know we have been spoiled with Whitner, Doss, Salley, but he has to make some plays. he was there against NIU, but not there aginst Texas. I still think alot of it had to do with scheme or at least that is what I am hoping.
N. Patterson: DNP, still curious about that one.
JamO: He is starting to show flashes. He did give up the touchdown, but it was a good route and good throw, he was just a half step behind. I can't wait till the light goes on and hopefully it is sooner rather than later.
A Russell: Nice to see him get more PT. I think he has earned it. He seemed to be there at times in run support and had nice coverage. He is a star in the making.
CB's: A+
Jenks, Washington, Smith, Amos just shut down them great Texas receivers. They were on them all nite. Jenks had that great coverage on the jump ball to Sweed. They were also there in run support when needed. Overall just a great nite.
Good Things:
- Once again all the guys playing. Have to love the depth of the team.
- I like to see some guys take steps forward. Laurn., Russell, Washington, Jenks, Terry, Homan, Gholston.
- Texas didnt get hardly anything thru the air, a combo of good pass rush and good coverage. I think our secondary is much better in coverage than stopping the run.
- Only 7 points!!!!!!!!!
- 2 TO's!!!!!!!!
Negatives:
- 7-10 yd. runs. Just too many of them. These need to be cut to 3-4 yd. runs, make teams abandon the run then try to pass against our secondary and let our d-line pin their ears back.
- Some guys taking a step back. Freeman, Mitch - I know I might be being a little hard on these two guys, but I thought they were the best on the field in week one and week two you hardly heard from them. I am just hoping that it was scehme.
- Cut blocks. They need to practice all week how to beat these and they will see the ball carrier much sooner.
- Deliver the blow dont take the blow.
Overall another good game and puts us in great position to set up for a nice run this season, but one game at a time and Cincy is next. Major trap game, I see us sleepwalking in this one. There might be some upset people complaing that we are not that good next week at this time.
Edit: Forgot to mention the kicking game.
AJ was lights out and he could end up a Ray Guy canidate by the end of the year. He really helped out the defense with field position.
It was good to see Petrey knock one through. I think that will help his confidence. All of his PAT's are right down the middle and look like they are hit well. I think he will be ok in time, and I will have confidence in him if the game is on the line. Also I love his kickoffs. We havent missed a beat there for a couple years now.
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