I thought Pat Forde's article on the OSU-Iowa game was well done.
Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes got it done their way - ESPN
Here's the rather wordy commentary I e-mailed to him, (returned because he apparently doesn't ever empty his e-mail), which I paste here just to see what, if any, reaction there is to it. It like to think that it tries to explain why I find it so frustrating to be a Buckeye fan right now despite being in what is, for the most part, a glorious era of Buckeye football.
"As an OSU alum and diehard Buckeye fan, I have to compliment you on this article, which was accurate, well-written, and fair.
Being an Ohio State football fan right now is incredibly frustrating because this era reflects the whole history of the program: Great overall success leading to a grossly disproportionate number of bridesmaid rather than bride finishes due, in large part, from being afraid to win games on offense. Based on his success at YSU, I thought Jim Tressel would be different, that he would finally be the "closer" Ohio State has needed . . . and with the help of a once in a generation DL and an overconfident opponent he did manage to close the deal once. Based on the overall strength of OSU's entire athletic department and fanbase, OSU's inherent recruiting advantages over all but a handful of schools (USC, UT, UF and maybe just a few others), and the weakness of the rest of the Big Ten, this should be the "Golden Era" of Ohio State football, and it almost is, but the limiting factor is Jim Tressel's refusal to recognize the flip side of his strengths.
As far as Jim Tressel's strengths go, he IS a great coach overall because he's both a great human being and a "grinder", which translates into strategic, persistent recruiting success, the building of a team full of character (reflected in their resilience after tough losses, their perennial academic success, and, for the most part, their good conduct), meticulous planning, generally outstanding defensive and special teams, and an utterly unflappable demeanor in the face of adversity. There is nobody on Earth I would rather have to run a college football program that alums can be proud of "in the class room, in the community" and, for the most part, on the field, and there is no rational argument to fire him and perhaps get stuck with another Earle Bruce or John Cooper.
The flip side of all his genius for preparation and control and his even keel is that it makes him a lousy offensive coach and playcaller because there's an emotional and instinctual element of feel to offensive play calling that simply isn't consistent with being an even-keeled, ultra-prepared control freak who thinks that the job of offense is "not to lose." I beg for the OSU offense to hurry up to the line after the defense forces a big turnover or something otherwise favoring the offense occurs and throw a play action pass or a misdirection pitch even as I KNOW that Jim Tressel is going to eliminate all momentum gained by having the offense shuffle up to the line, wind down the clock, and run the ball up the middle (Exhibit A: OSU's possession yesterday after Iowa kicked the ball out of bounds and tacked on a personal foul giving OSU the ball on the Iowa 45 and Terrelle Pryor's visible emotional deflation from the obvious lack of his head coach's trust). I beg for the OSU coaches to have a plan B involving misdirection and screen or shuffle passes on days when the offensive line isn't holding up against a tough pass rush (did OSU's staff not watch the film of Kentucky beating LSU in 2007 before getting utterly outcoached by Les Miles' staff in the BCS championship game?). I see a team that recruits at least top 25 offensive talent perennially finish in the bottom half of the national offensive rankings, even as the defense is perennially in the top 10, and wonder, "how can Jim Tressel not recognize that he himself, and to the extent that they have significant input the rest of his offensive coaching staff, simply aren't getting it done?
I've read Jim Tressel's book and do like to think that Jim Tressel is a great man, but a great man can recognize his own weaknesses, and act accordingly to put the team's needs ahead of his own. Jim Tressel hasn't, and that makes me question my assessment of him as a man even more than my assessment of him as a coach. I believe that if Jim Tressel decided next year to keep doing 90% of what he's doing (even though the play "not to lose" mentality sometimes creeps into the defense, it's not IMO a significant problem there with even reasonably competent offense) but brought in an aggressive, young hot shot QB-coach offensive coordinator and turned him loose to develop an offense and call plays without interference, that OSU would embark on a run of dominance of a kind rarely seen in college football. Unfortunately, I know that Jim Tressel won't do this and have to hope instead that the current staff can nonetheless develop Terrelle Pryor's skills sufficiently that he can transcend the handicaps placed upon him by the offensive, philosophy, system, and play calling, and lead OSU to the national championship in 2010 (BTW, if Gibson and Heyward don't go pro, there is no reason whatsoever that OSU, based on their schedule, should do anything less than go 12-0 and be at least highly competitive in the BCS championship game next year even if Jim Tressel doesn't make any offensive changes).
In sum, OSU currently looks a lot like 1980s Nebraska, and it's a crying shame, because they could be 1994-1997 Nebraska. A circus clown could perennially win 7-8 games at OSU, but while Jim Tressel has shown that he's far better than a circus clown, OSU is long overdue to have more than mere consistent success. OSU should have its magic decade where 3 or 4 crystal footballs find their way to Columbus . . . and it could . . . if only Jim Tressel would show the self-awareness, humility, and cojones to recognize the flip side of his strengths and let it happen.
and Golds Pants for all.
