Observations from the Barcalounger

[LordJeffBuck]

Some questions/comment people directed to me:

Does Ohio State have one of the better defenses in the country this year? Yes, but I hesitate to give it a numerical ranking, since I haven't seen every other "contending" team. I think that it would be safe to say that the Bucks are somewhere in the top 20.

Is the Ohio State offense or defense better right now? About equal, with the offense "trending" up, and the defense "trending" down. The D needs to recover a bit after a couple of rough outings.

Why are you relying so heavily on the Minnesota game to prove your point? Because any defense that gives up 577 yards to any team is, by definition, not great.

Your "I know greatness when I see it" argument is inherently subjective. Of course it is - after the stats, numbers, facts, and figures are argued every which way, unless the evidence is conculsive, the observer must then rely on his subjective experience/observations/standards to form an opinion. I cannot "prove" that this defense is not great, but no one has proven to me that it is (and I feel that I am sufficiently objective to know when I have been proven wrong). Yes, greatness is often subjective, and it certainly is in this case.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I just want to comment on your first point and ask you to name at least 10 defenses you would take over ours.

Some questions/comment people directed to me:

Does Ohio State have one of the better defenses in the country this year? Yes, but I hesitate to give it a numerical ranking, since I haven't seen every other "contending" team. I think that it would be safe to say that the Bucks are somewhere in the top 20.

Is the Ohio State offense or defense better right now? About equal, with the offense "trending" up, and the defense "trending" down. The D needs to recover a bit after a couple of rough outings.

Why are you relying so heavily on the Minnesota game to prove your point? Because any defense that gives up 577 yards to any team is, by definition, not great.

Your "I know greatness when I see it" argument is inherently subjective. Of course it is - after the stats, numbers, facts, and figures are argued every which way, unless the evidence is conculsive, the observer must then rely on his subjective experience/observations/standards to form an opinion. I cannot "prove" that this defense is not great, but no one has proven to me that it is (and I feel that I am sufficiently objective to know when I have been proven wrong). Yes, greatness is often subjective, and it certainly is in this case.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

I just want to comment on your first point and ask you to name at least 10 defenses you would take over ours.

As I said above, I haven't seen everyone....

Off the top off my head, I'd definitely take Virginia Tech, Alabama, and Texas; also Auburn, Florida State, Miami, Georgia, and Penn State are comparable (Oklahoma and Kansas are overrated); so, I guess that puts Ohio State as a solid contender for top ten, and if that's your sole criterion for greatness, then I guess that you most likely win. Here's a vBenjamin....

 

[jwinslow]

do those top 3 count as "great" defenses? cuz texas gave up 21 in one quarter, and 28 by halftime.

The 05 Bama D is the closet thing I have seen to the 02 defense. I'm not sure if there have been any comparable defenses in 03 or 04. That doesn't mean they weren't great ones IMO.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

As I said above, I haven't seen everyone....

Off the top off my head, I'd definitely take Virginia Tech, Alabama, and Texas; also Auburn, Florida State, Miami, Georgia, and Penn State are comparable (Oklahoma and Kansas are overrated); so, I guess that puts Ohio State as a solid contender for top ten, and if that's your sole criterion for greatness, then I guess that you most likely win. Here's a vBenjamin....

I wasnt saying that a top 10 defense makes us great I was just wondering who you thought was better than us. I for one would not trade our D, for anyone in the country. We have faced the a hell of an offensive schedule and still show some good numbers.

As for Bama, there isnt much offense being played in the SEC this season for one reason or other, I think they have games where they will be exposed coming up.

We will see about Va Tech and Miami this weekend.

 

[lvbuckeye]

Yeah, except beat Texas and Penn State....

yeah... when the D and ST consistantly gives the O the ball on the other side of the 50, and all the O can come up with is FGs, it's the D's fault...

when the QB throws pick-6's and is having an absolute terrible game, and the coaches decide to abandon the run just when it was beginning to take it's toll, that's on the Defense...

i know we've lost 2 games this year... but neither one of those games were lost on the defensive side of the ball... the D did everything needed to win both those games, but the O couldn't hold up it's end of the bargain...

i don't want to argue semantics with you about your definition of a great D... this is a pretty damn good defense by anyone's definition, and i'll bet there are about 114 teams out there who would gladly trade their D's for ours...

i am beginning to wonder if you ever have anything positive to say...

 

[Taosman]

Clearly, offenses keep improving and seem to be ahead of defenses right now. The NCAA seems to think this makes for exciting football. I'd have to say their right. Eventually the defenses will start to catch up. But for now the Big Ten looks like the Pac Ten with shootouts every Saturday!