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Game Thread Game One: #1 Ohio State 35, Northern Illinois 12 (9/2/06)

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Game

OSUBuckeye4Life said:
I dont think you should be able to just toss out the INT. Although, I do agree with you I think Laurinaitis played well enough to hold onto his job and I dont expect him to lose his job. Kerr however is another story. I was just mentioning who I think played well off the bench at LB.





As I said above, I agree.
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I didnt get to watch the whole game yet but i thought the LB play was spotty, especially outside pursuit, the 1st NIU TD was bad , bad. But i am happy with the first game overall

:osu:
 
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Buckeyeskickbuttocks said:
Wolf proved to be a very good back, and the ONLY thing worth a damn in NIU's O, if you ask me. He's a humble guy, and a quality kid, I wish him the best.

Mili was right, though.... they fed him the ball all game long (as they should have, considering) even in the face of a huge deficit
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I guess I watched a different game, then.
Their O-Line, especially that left tackle, did a good job of run blocking. Their line was very good at getting out and getting to the linebackers.

The most disheartening thing to me about our D was the inability of the LBs to get off blocks or fill the right gaps. Kerr was on the ground consistently. Homan looked pretty good, though.

Wolf definitely was their only skill position weapon, and still we couldn't stop him. TX has many weapons. I hope we can put up 45 on the longhorns.
 
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hats off to superman today... he was something else. G-force should have taken that bet w/ mili :p

OHJL107090218_1024x768.jpg
 
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Analysis

First of all, I would like to congratulate Wolfe on an outstanding performance. He is quite possibly the best back in College football - certainly top 5.

On to the buckeyes:

::Offense::

OL:
Looked good in pass protection all game long, but took some time to get rolling in the running game. Our outside running blocking was definitely better than our inside blocking.

QB:
Troy Smith looked good on everything except the deep ball, which were good throws but underthrown. The Texas DB's have the make up speed to break up those underthown passes.

RB:
Pittman looked good, Maurice Wells looks like he has improved, but Chris Wells is a very special back. Given any sort of room to run and he will pick up chunks of yardage. He needs to be more carefull with the ball. When the game is on the line, Chris is the guy I want carrying the rock.

FB:
Not impressed. The lead blocking was not up to snuff. I miss the days of Jamar Martin.

WR:
Everyone looked good here. Ted Ginn looks improved in his route running, but he still has a long way to go with his blocking. Ray Small looks electric. I would like to see what he can do from a more traditional receiver role.

TE:
Decent blocking in the run game. Good blocking in the pass game. Pass catching is kind of sketchy.


::biggrin:efense::

DT:
The killer P's looked good, especially Patterson who was especially disruptive. Delinger also looked good when he was in there.

DE:
Richardson and Gholston were amazing. Didn't see too much from Wilson, but I liked what I saw there. Barrow looked very good against the run. I never saw Rose.

LB:
Lets start with what I didn't like. I thought that JL was downright bad in all phases of the game. Grant looked better in all phases of the game, but I'm still concerned about his ability to stuff teh run between the tackles. At SOLB, Freeman looked incredible in pursuit, but he doesn't have that physical presence of Carpenter, Hawk, or Schlegal. I don't think that Carp or Hawk would have let Wolfe get into the endzone. At WLB, Kerr seemed like he was always a split second away from making the play, but would get washed out at the last second. I saved the best for last. Homan looked great today. He was physical, fast, and tenacious. Homan looks like the one player that is capable of carrying on Hawk's legacy. I didn't really notice anyone else. I think I saw Terry get some playing time, but he didn't really do much.

S:
Anderson Russell looks great, making plays all over the field. Mitchell was terrific as well, showcasing great instincts and smarts. No one else really stood out here. Our safties missed far too many tackles.

CB: Malcom Jenkins looks like he is developing into the next great corner at OSU. Just like the safties, there were way too many missed tackles, however they were getting blatantly held most of the time. these guys are going to have to play well if they hope to contain Pittman and Sweed.

::Special Teams::

K:
0/2. Neither kick was very close. I really hope that this isn't a problem spot for us this year.

Return:
Ted Ginn looks like Ted Ginn. Jamario is going to make teams pay for kicking away from Ginn. Even Gonzo looked pretty good returning kicks. This should definitely be a bright spot for us this year.

Pressure:
We got very close to blocking punts on several occassions.


::Overall::
This team is incredibly talented, but there are chinks in the armor. One of the kickers is going to have to step up, and it looks like there is going to be a big drop off in our run defense.
 
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Here are my thoughts on the game:

  • The first 15:05 of the game, we looked rock solid, and then in my opinion, it seemed we kind of coasted along for the rest of the game.
  • Wolfe was a stud, and embarrassed the linebackers.
  • I was pretty impressed with the pass defense, with the exception of stopping Wolfe on the screens.
  • Wolfe is probably the best back we'll face this year, and I'm not incredibly worried about the rush defense; although it will need to be solid, next week.
  • Troy Smith showed why he is a Heisman candidate.
  • The red zone play has got to improve, or we will run into trouble, eventually. I thought that once Schnittiker (sp?) left that we'd improve inside the ten yard line, but now I'm not so sure.
  • Ted Ginn and Pittman's play was pretty solid, and other than C. Wells' fumble, he was a stud, as well.
  • Our kicking definitely has loads of room for improvement.
  • And lastly, we need to play mistake-free football, next week, or else we could be in for another let down against UT.
 
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Game

t_BuckeyeScott said:
to me the linebackers didn't stand out at all but I think a lot of this has to do with the vanilla defense they were playing just very basic stuff. that being said those backers are going to have to play much better next week.
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they did have a vanilla defense but i also thought they could have hit a lot harder on the tackling, I thought they were tentative. I also beleive the coaches will sort that out this week.

HAS ANYONE SEEN THE GAME STATS YET?

:osu: Tenn is just beating the snot out of Cal
 
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MrCodeDude said:
The 45 yarder was shanked. He obviously has some talent because the only thing lacking on the 52 yarder was either a gust of wind or just a bit more power.
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The 2nd field goal was off because of a high snap, the holder got the ball down but timing was off. The downfield blocking by NIU was impressive and we did miss a few tackles. All in all if you told me NIU wasonly score six when the game was in doubt I wpuld be thrilled. Young players can let down when you are celebrating TD's all the time. It was almost to easy early.
 
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My notes during the game...this is all based off of an initial viewing and some frantic notes.

There were 3 Heisman hopefuls on the field...not a one of them disappointed.

#1...Wolfe is a special player. I was very impressed with him...although I do think a portion of his success was due to inexcusable defensive mistakes. However, the kid made the plays, followed his blocks, and accelerated like nobody I've seen in years. G-String drove us all crazy with his infatuation...but I wil swallow that pill today. GWolfe was the best RB on the field today.

Offense

--What more needs to be said about the growth of Troy Smith? He checked down multiple times, NEVER flushed early, forced (by my count) one throw, and was unbelievable in a pretty conservatibe plan all day. Great things to come from Troy...

--The OL is all it is cracked up to be. Even though it was an overmatched opponent, the OL seem cohesive and on the same page...how many times can you say that over that last few years? Depth...I love it.

--The stable of RBs...Pitt was his usual steady self. He is not as impressive as Beanie...but he is a guarantee during CDub's grooming. MoW showed signs of brilliance and I look for a more expanded role from him for next week...

--WRs...Teddy is a stud, but we all knew that. I was impressed with Robo and Hartline...both had some impressive catches and seemed to get after it blocking. Ray Small is special...you can just tell there was a chance when he had the ball.

--TEs--Nicol was not great...but he was not bad. Adequate is about all that came to mind during the game.

Defense

9 new starters...high expectations...some disappointment...but reality is that this was a pretty good performance against a special player.

Wolfe gouged the D on a few plays...the 2nd screen for 60some yards was the perfect call against the called defense. Props to the NIU tendency report...

DL--Ghoston was hell off the edge...I liked that. As a whole the DL was good...but not as great as hyped. However, the rotation was VERY free today so there is not to be taken from today imo.

--The LBs were inconsistent. I like Laurinaitis...I thought he met his fits well and made some plays that wer not his. Larry Grant is not used to this speed or the way the D-1 OL get to the second level. When scouting his film, I mentioned his shedding...today, he was eaten up at times. With polish, he will contribute, but JL is my choice for now. Kerr had his chances...I liked Homan though. Kerr will be in position...but is not a gamechanger imo. Freeman was steady all day. However, he was not as aggressive as he can be...nerves, playing the scheme, whatever...Marcus can bring more and will.

--Secondary--Where to begin? Positives...Malcolm Jenkins is a stud. Period. ASmith was adequate at the other corner. However, the safeties and their alley fills were what scared me...Brandon Mitchell is a great Buckeye, but he missed WAY too many tackles today. I counted at least 6 crucial misses. JamO played poor technique and was out of position just as much. Nick Patterson was where he needed to be but he is not a gamechanger. Anderson Russell made some great plays in support also.

Overall, the D changed philosophy after the 1st quarter...I don't want to say the dogs were called off, but they were not attacking all-out as they did early. However, the perimeter play must improve and the safeties must fill alleys. That lacking play is a sign of confidence...guys afraid to make mistakes. They cannot play that way next week against a Texas team that does not rely on one player.


 
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Best Buckeye said:
I didnt get to watch the whole game yet but i thought the LB play was spotty, especially outside pursuit, the 1st NIU TD was bad , bad. But i am happy with the first game overall

:osu:
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NIU only scored one TD, and it was the result of a ridiculous cut by Wolfe between Mitchell and Freeman... the D was there on the play; sometimes you just have to prop the other guys...
 
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