Joel Klatt: Good listen if you have time.
It's taken two days to process and collect my thoughts on "The Game" watching it unfold from the 35 yard line in A deck Saturday afternoon. But I've seen enough of the comments and personal attacks on the coaches and players on this board in the last 2 days to make myself sit back and pause before spewing nonsense.
Take a moment to step away from the ledge, take a deep breath.... it still hurts. I get it, still sick to my stomach myself. But calling for Day's job? Really? 45-5?
I heard and have read Buckeye fans questioning C.J.'s commitment to the program and how his spiritual beliefs have interfered with his toughness and performance. Really? We're going there? Have some perspective. We need more kids like C.J. in this program. It isn't their job to change their personalities to fit our likes or dislikes. Would you rather root for a bunch of law-breaking thugs?
Nobody had anything negative to say about Knowles' scheme and the progress we have seen since last season until the world was falling after Saturday's defeat. *ichigan played well enough and executed better to exploit OSU's weaknesses. Give Knowles time to figure it out. Knowles committed more resources to shut down the run bc it gave us the best chance to win.... and was successful for the most part in the 1st half. When you do that you leave yourself suseptible to 1 on 1 matchups on the outside and are 1 missed tackle away from an explosive. In these casees they all went for TD's. The players didn't execute in the back end on the biggest plays of the game.....simple as that. It turned the game. I think the other things, including the struggles at times on offense could have been overcome.
Comments about JSN packing it in bc he was unable to return from injury? Really? He attempted to come back twice unsuccessfully. It isn't you rehabbing and putting in the work in an attempt to come back or Eich's thumbs, Henderson's foot, Miyan's knee or any other injuries guys are fighting through for that matter...... it's the 20 year old young men playing through injuries so you and I can sit on our couches and be entertained. They aren't robots. They make mistakes. Come on now, what are we doing here?
These kids poured their hearts out on Saturday. The coaches and players put a lot into this one and they came up short and their hearts hurt like ours. I still feel like we have the better team and the program is in a good place with Day. Need to make the necessary adjustments and changes now to beat *ichigan. They played and coached tight down the stretch and got beat by a good team. To question their heart and their desire to win the game is unfair to the players and staff.
Long story short, and back to Coach Day...... I'm as angry and disappointed as the next Buckeye fan, but questioning if Day gets the Rivalry, or questioning C.J.'s heart bc he won't pull it and run is unwarranted. Be thankful for what he has done for the program the last 2 years and that we have an 11-1 football team to root for w/o tearing down the players. Come on Buckeye Nation, we're better than that.
It's still great to be a Buckeye!!!!