Game Thread Game Two: Texas 25, Ohio State 22 (final)

[jwinslow]

1) Michigan's passing attack did not feature their second best WR, Avant, when they utterly destroyed you in the RB. I don't care that they started at midfield almost every drive (whose fault was that again?), they destroyed you through the air.

Our DBs were able to shut down Edwards (the only two big catches he had came against an ailing Fox), who was owned by Youboty all day long (just like Stubblefield before that). So forgive us if we aren't afraid of talented yet unproven WRs from Texas, neither of which will be AA's like Edwards & Stubblefield.

Michigan had Avant against us too, and yet they struggled big time due to our enormous pressure from all sides on Henne, against an offensive line that is quite comparable to yours.

VY is escapable sure, but he can't escape all of the time. And so if we can get some pressure on him, and force him to be Vince Young-esque and continue to force throws, to WRs who will be less than a challenge than Michigan's, then I like our chances.

Schlegel is the slowest of our starting four, and he runs a 4.56 40 I believe. Carp is 4.52, Hawk & D'Andrea are sub 4.5... I think we can handle your TEs.

Honestly, Welch may prove to be good enough to be our second corner, enabling Everett to man up on Thomas if need be.

Or we could bring in Freeman, a freak comparable to Harris from what I've seen.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Jason Avant
Wide Receiver | #8 | Senior | Roster

Age: 22
Height: 6-1
Weight: 210 lbs.
Hometown: Chicago, IL

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=626 border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#292942><TD colSpan=3>Totals</TD><TD align=middle colSpan=4>Receiving</TD><TD align=middle colSpan=4>Rushing</TD></TR><TR align=right bgColor=#c1c1c1><TD align=left colSpan=2>[font=verdana, arial]SEASON[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]RECORD[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]REC[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]YDS[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]AVG[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]TD[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]ATT[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]YDS[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]AVG[/font]</TD><TD>[font=verdana, arial]TD[/font]</TD></TR><TR align=right bgColor=#efefe7><TD align=left colSpan=2>2004</TD><TD>9-3</TD><TD>38</TD><TD>447</TD><TD>11.8</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0.0</TD><TD>0</TD></TR><TR align=right bgColor=#ffffff><TD align=left colSpan=2>2003</TD><TD>-</TD><TD>47</TD><TD>772</TD><TD>16.4</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0.0</TD><TD>0</TD></TR><TR align=right bgColor=#efefe7><TD align=left colSpan=2>2002</TD><TD>-</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>10.5</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0</TD><TD>0.0</TD><TD>0</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Jason Avant has had exactly ONE good game in his entire career, and it was against Northwestern. He may well have been Michigan's #2 behind Edwards, but it aint saying much.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

no not all game but a good percentage, he is much more comfortable with the run/pass option. I would be very suprised if young takes 5 solid "pancake" tackels all game much less by 1 or 2 players. He has become much better since his freshman year at running out of bounds and he has never been one to take square shots. I have no doubt that your D will get in a good shot or 3 but I think 5 would be pushing it.

Note I said if he's on the edge "all day". If he tries to run to the outside to the degree he did against Michigan, he will get popped hard 4-5 times.

To me, scrambling outside is the only time Young is really a big-play threat. He is neutralized as a big-play threat anyime he hands the ball off or throws from the pocket...in those situations he's just another QB.

 

[High Lonesome]

So forgive us if we aren't afraid of talented yet unproven WRs from Texas, neither of which will be AA's like Edwards & Stubblefield.

who said you should be scared? What I said was that if you are using LB to cover VY(as you have said countless times you will use AJ and carpenter) then you will more than likely use a safety to cover Thomas.( you are not going to ask the back side linebacker to come over and cover) Thomas against virtually any saftey is a mismatch because of size. Now I have no doubt that one or all of your LB's could cover Thomas but as has been stated already they are preocupied. All of this can be thrown out the window if VY is still in the pockett. Our Wide Outs will no doubt see man to man coverage as they do not deserve any more respect than that.

 

[buckeyeboy]

I'm not here to give Texas any props, but with the 02 D-Line class they nabbed, anyone saying it's all "hype" (as opposed to a solid unit) has no clue what he's talking about.

I wasn't implying they were all hype--I was just asking (and I used the word "ask") those who watched the UT games if it is possible that Johnson was helping make the D line look good.

I will say this about our defense regarding the fact that a UT fan said something about our defense will have to be in two places at once: unless you have been to the games and can watch the whole field and the ground that these guys can cover in a very short period of time (which rarely is shown on TV broadcasts of the games that only follow the ball), you have absolutely no idea how quick our LBs really are--I haven't watched Freeman that closely and Schlegel moves pretty well, but Hawk and Carpenter are amazingly fast.

 

[jwinslow]

Jason Avant has had exactly ONE good game in his entire career, and it was against Northwestern. He may well have been Michigan's #2 behind Edwards, but it aint saying much.

When you play behind Edwards, and your QB knows that 99% of opposing DBs can't stop the Edwards jump ball TDs... you aren't gonna get much love.

Gonzo doesn't look that great on paper either, but I'd say he's clearly someone that can make some noise as a WR.

I agree he's not the greatest, but not having him was a big difference, since Breaston could now be covered by their 2nd best CB if they wanted.

 

[High Lonesome]

you have absolutely no idea how quick our LBs really are--I haven't watched Freeman that closely and Schlegel moves pretty well, but Hawk and Carpenter are amazingly fast.

I think I have an idea, there was this blur that wore #11 at DKR last year, I figure it will be about like that

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

I think I have an idea, there was this blur that wore #11 at DKR last year, I figure it will be about like that

What he meant was you don't know just how fast our LBs actually are, not whether you had an idea of what a fast LB was. Face it, many opposing fans (not necessarily you, HL) see Hawk and Carpenter as two "big ol' white boys" who can hit...they have no idea that we have two LBs with 4.46 40s (Hawk and D'Andrea) along with two more at just over 4.5 (Carpenter and Schlegel). The "runt" of those four is Hawk at 245. They can definitely put a hurtin' on ya'll...

 

[High Lonesome]

Well they ARE WHITE :crazy: , speaking of underrated white guys, i would really really like to see James Aston earn some playing time before his time is up. I think my highschool has put 2 or 3 people in the NFL and they were all linemen, would be cool to see a skill player get some PT at osu.

 

[martinss01]

They don't return a single receiver who has caught a TD in college. A 7 rating seems a bit high.

texas te's are also listed in the wr category.

The tight ends get most of the glory with Vince Young throwing and Texas has a great one in David Thomas

a great te mixed with high levels of unproven talent at wr... id have to know more about their te's to know if this was too high. but judgeing by the cover, i have no arguements.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

When you play behind Edwards, and your QB knows that 99% of opposing DBs can't stop the Edwards jump ball TDs... you aren't gonna get much love.

Gonzo doesn't look that great on paper either, but I'd say he's clearly someone that can make some noise as a WR.

I agree he's not the greatest, but not having him was a big difference, since Breaston could now be covered by their 2nd best CB if they wanted.

I don't disagree with the first part of that. Edwards got all the balls. Gonzo probably wouldn't be as great as we think he was if D's got to concentrate on him. Don' tget me wrong, I love what Gonzo brings to the table, but when a D has to match up with Holmes and Ginn first, having Gonzo is a plus. Whcih brings me to Breaston. If Avant was so good, and we already agree Edwards was, why didn't Breaston make all kinds of noise? His Rec. numbers are quite pedestrian. Maybe it's cause Mich. couldn't figure out who was the number 2 as between them? Whatever the case, It was Edwards #1 and Avant and Breaston a DISTANT second. Ohio State has 1a and 1b in Holems and Ginn and then Gonzo. A difference, in my opinion.

Avant is solid at best, but he never took much pressure off Edwards. Holmes freed up Jenkins, Ginn freed up Holmes, and Gonzo free's up Ginn and Holmes (in a reverse logic kind of way) Breaston and Avant never did that for Edwards. Good thing for Michigan, Edwards could usually make a catch despite his stone hands.

 

[jwinslow]

I agree with most of what you said. Only thing I'd add is that Breaston was hurt most of last year, so that was part of the story. Now maybe if he wasn't such a pansy he could have contributed more... but we'll leave that discussion for another game.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

To what extent is the hype about the UT D line the product of the fact that last year opponents were probably more worried about Johnson, therefore leaving 1-1 matchups between their O lines and UT's D line? I ask only b/c sometimes the stats of a teammate of a superstar player (and hence their ability) can be overly-inflated by offenses keying on the superstar (like Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice at UI).

No you didn't use the word "ask" You made a statement which did more than imply Texas' D was "hype" it said so directly.

I'll let it go, though. Maybe you just typed too fast for what you were thinking.

I agree with most of what you said. Only thing I'd add is that Breaston was hurt most of last year, so that was part of the story. Now maybe if he wasn't such a pansy he could have contributed more... but we'll leave that discussion for another game.

Fair enough

 

[xrayrandy]

" What he meant was you don't know just how fast our LBs actually are"

DJ ran a 4.54 FAT at the combine. If you use the standard hand to FAT conversion factor from track (0.24) that comes to 4.31 hand. If you add 0.24 to your LBs times they are equivalent to 4.7-4.8 FAT, pretty good speed for linebackers, but not in DJ's league.

 

[osugrad21]

pretty good speed for linebackers, but not in DJ's league.

Of course not...in your realm of hyperbole, what in S&G has been in the same league with anything wearing burnt orange?


As far as the argument for VY getting on the edge all day...he might. However, unlike Michigan, tOSU will have a SS instead of LB waiting on him. However, he might go to the weak side...such as on a bootleg pass, or a waggle if you will. Hell, that only brings him into AJ Hawk's flat with a MLB steaming down the crease to seal off the cutback lane and a pretty damn fast DL in flat pursuit.

You are right...that could be scary.

I hope he survives.