DT Luke Fickell (HC Wisconsin Badgers)

[sparcboxbuck]

I think that there has been a shitload of latitude shown in this thread by the mods and many of you should say thank you for not being benched for two weeks.

That said, I am looking forward to an improved passing game that can compliment and extend the running attack. I'm not sure who will be the one to do it, but I know it will be done.

How firm thy friendship?

 

[daddyphatsacs]

I think that there has been a [Mark May]load of latitude shown in this thread by the mods and many of you should say thank you for not being benched for two weeks.

Agreed. I'm partially guilty for saying what I think. I think it's a healthy discussion as long as it doesn't become personal towards coach Fickell. As I have stated, I have no problem with people questioning his decisions or things he has said in the press.....it comes with the job of being HC at Ohio State. These are weird times as an OSU fan.....so likely the dialogue will follow suit. With all of this said, there is an Urban Meyer thread......so keep that kind of chat over there, IMHO.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Luke Fickell should not be the head coach of a top D-1 program at this point in his career.

All that needs to be said.

And you should be posting on message boards at this time in your life.

That's all that needs to be said.

 

[Zander42]

Could they have won the game at that point?

It's not as if this was the first team that lost and didn't use all of its timeouts. How many scores do you have to be down by in that point in the game before it's acceptable to pocket them?

In my opinion, the decision to not call the timeouts was the most realistic assessment we've seen of this team yet.

No, the game was pretty much out of hand at that point, but there was much more to it than that. There is more to being a head coach than practicality. I think it sent the wrong message. It appears that he gave up, hoping for mercy. I think the players will see it that way and fans and press will certainly see it that way. More importantly, I think the tOSU brass and trustees will see it that way as well. It was a mistake, and I think if you ask Coach Fick in ten years about that situation, we will probably look back and say it was a mistake as well, regardless of how the rest of this year turns out.

In addition, the offense needs as many reps as possible, both for practice and confidence going forward. If he calls a couple of time outs, Brax gets the ball back with ~1:30 left or so, and we can go out and do a live 2 minute drill. I mean, why not, you took the trip down there, you might as well play the game to the end.

 

[TresselstillownsTSUN]

Fickell just needs to take control IMO......

His defense had us in the game after being out there ALL night. Had to be hard to see the offense not move the ball. Luke must start calling shots, and start taking a more active role when it comes to the offense. If he doesn't he has no chance of being here in 2012.

 

[Mac]

Fickell just needs to take control IMO......

His defense had us in the game after being out there ALL night. Had to be hard to see the offense not move the ball. Luke must start calling shots, and start taking a more active role when it comes to the offense. He doesn't have a chance of being here in 2012.

FIFY. I don't see him being here in 2012. I like the guy, but I just don't see him having that fire as a HC. I'd love to keep him around, and if he moves into a HC job at a smaller school and work his way up, I think that's what is the best shot at Fick having the best success at HC, IMO. But anyways, good luck the rest of the year Fickell, and GO BUCKEYES!!

 

[MaxBuck]

I thought before the Miami game that it was premature to make a yea-or-nay decision on Coach Fickell's future at Ohio State. I still think that now. But yesterday's game is a big part of the track record he is developing.

Like it or not, his future depends on the performance of the coaching staff as a whole. It's a difficult position to find oneself in, but that's the hand he's been dealt.

 

[scott91575]

I thought before the Miami game that it was premature to make a yea-or-nay decision on Coach Fickell's future at Ohio State. I still think that now. But yesterday's game is a big part of the track record he is developing.

Like it or not, his future depends on the performance of the coaching staff as a whole. It's a difficult position to find oneself in, but that's the hand he's been dealt.

Sadly he is stuck with an OC who hasn't really done any offense coordinating in years. I would say more, but then I would get hit with Buckeye bashing.

 

[Bill Lucas]

He's the coach of the team for at least the rest of the season. I'm not willing to go off after one bad loss and make harsh judgements.

Like 2008 against USC the season starts fresh today. I'm willing to see where our coach and team can go as the season progresses and then form an opinion on how I'd like the future of the program to be addressed.

As always, I'm still wearing my Block O hat with pride. It's always a great day to be a Buckeye.

 

[coastalbuck]

Sadly he is stuck with an OC who hasn't really done any offense coordinating in years. I would say more, but then I would get hit with Buckeye bashing.

Say it without bashing.

 

[scott91575]

Say it without bashing.

but then it wouldn't be funny.

 

[lvbuckeye]

I agree. Who would you give the play calling responsibilities to? Drayton would be the first one that comes to mind. He coached in the Florida system for a few years. The problem is he is our receivers coach and with the very young receivers we have would that have an adverse effect on them? The next guy on the offensive staff would be John Peterson. I don't know how well he would do being the recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach. Then there is Dick Tressel.

and this perfectly illustrates why nepotism is a bad thing, and why NO coach, not even Jim Freaking Tressel, should be above reproach from the AD.

i love him, but Tressel needed to ditch Bollman and Doc YEARS ago. now Jim is gone, and we're stuck with them... the bubble on the first drive nearly made my head explode. it was like, 'you guys asked for a quick pass all week, now here it is. see, it didn't work,' when that play should not have been called in that situation. what sense does it make to break tendency before you've even established it? smart football


it shouldn't take a Heisman winning QB, a first round RB and two first round WRs to crack the top 20 in offense. with that kind of talent, we should be looking at a top 20 ALL TIME offense...

 

[scarletngray]

You cannot win at this level without a decent QB. Fick's only chance of survival is rolling the dice and going with Miller. IF he can avoid the mistakes and turnovers he has the talent to be a good, if not great QB.

There is no other option imho...

:osu:

 

[Tanner]

The fact that some people here are ok with not using the timeouts is just beyond me. If you're down 40 points, then maybe, I guess. But they were down 11 points. There are still things that can happen at that point. Is it a long shot? Of course. But I'd rather hope for a long shot than just call the busdriver and tell him to warm up the bus. Why not just take your players off the field so noone gets hurt?

Unacceptable decision by Fickell imo

 

[Jaxbuck]

My first reaction since the spring has been that it will be a damn shame if Bollman costs Fickell his job.

The more I've thought about it, if LF's judgement is lacking to the point where he thought that handing the offense over to Bollman carte blanche was a good idea then he probably doesn't need to be the HC at OSU anyway. If this horrific decision didn't bite him then another one would. Best to discover the lack of judgement early and start working on the replacement.

If Luke was forced to keep Bollman then he could have at least interjected himself or some other offensive coach into the mix enough to limit the damage. Either way its been botched. Badly. Too badly for a guy with a limited track record to overcome.

There is simply no excuse for a QB who is on scholarship at a school like OSU not being able to complete a forward pass, not for any single one of them. Its an inexcusable lack of development. I don't care who left early, Bauserman has been one play away from being the starting QB for a couple of years now. No way he should be this far from serviceable.