Game Thread Ohio State at Penn State, 10/22/16, 8:00pm ET ABC/WatchESPN

[buckeyemania11]

The bottom line is. After the saftey its 21-7 and the crowd is taken out of it. Instead of going for the kill they go into the same conservative shell they had all game. The oline was bad but the coaches gave a pretty dang predictable script offensive play calling wise the whole game. A now common theme when the weather isnt perfect. Playing not to lose is exactly how you lose games like this to inferior competition

 

[bukIpower]

It's becoming painfully obvious that Weber is not our answer at RB. not much behind him either... just have to find a way the rest of the year

 

[Gothmog8]

Thing is, I wasn't really kidding.

Yeah he totally screwed it up

 

[inliner311]

It's becoming painfully obvious that Weber is not our answer at RB. not much behind him either... just have to find a way the rest of the year

Exactly, if he is getting the majority of carries on a team that hangs their hat on the running game, it's going be hard to watch. He might grow into the role at some point but he needs to add strength and get better foot work/balance. This lost is on the coaching staff deciding that Webber needed to be a focal point today to get better rather than giving touches to Samuel.

 

[buckeyemania11]

I dont see how anyone can blame Weber. When they run the same play in the same situation with him over and over of course the defense is going to be right there ready for it. Its the coaches job to put the players in the best position to succeed. That did not happen tonight.

 

[Dryden]

The constant empty sets have got to go.

So does that awful option play that works like 1 out of every 10 times if that.

My biggest complaint about the option is that they run out of the shotgun, so they're five to seven yards deeper when they run it than an actual option team would be. And take the triple-option/FB dive out of the playbook and throw it away, because running an H-back into the A gap without a lead blocker isn't fooling anybody.

 

[Buckeneye]

Hyde had more big play ablility and is faster than Webber. He had way more power as a RB that I have yet to see from Webber. If Webber was getting yards after contact that moved the chains consistently, we wouldn't be talking about him right now.

Point being is that Hyde was first and foremost a between the tackles power back. He wasn't going to make multiple cuts and turn it east west.

This offense can work with a downhill running game but you had better find a vertical passing threats and consistency in your horizontal attack.

 

[inliner311]

I dont see how anyone can blame Weber. When they run the same play in the same situation with him over and over of course the defense is going to be right there ready for it. Its the coaches job to put the players in the best position to succeed. That did not happen tonight.

This is true, this hangs on the coaching staff but I don't see where they would focus on to bring out the best with him. He is really one of those RBs that is part of a committee to just come in block and take single digit carries, not someone to feature like tonight.

 

[Dryden]

This offense can work with a downhill running game but you had better find a vertical passing threats and consistency in your horizontal attack.

And you can't manufacture a horizontal attack when DEs are 5 yards upfield in two seconds with their mitts in JT's face. Any offense is going to fail when the line can't pass block.

 

[lowbuck]

I realize everyone thinks Urban can walk on Mirror Lake, but he is the HC and the buck stops with him. He's the one allowing all these things everyone is frustrated with to continue. The writing was on the wall last year with this schizophrenic offense and the same people charged with those results are still there. Maybe when everyone stops saying "Beck this and Warriner that" and starts letting Urban take some of the heat for once it will create some action. Shit rolls down hill.

You can think UM is a great HC and still call it how you see it. I tend to think he's given too much responsibility to people who aren't capable of handling it. But even with that said I still think something is different since the natty. It just seems like a little fire, or piss and vinegar, or whatever you want to call it is missing. The body language on the sidelines just seems more subdued, for better or worse. I don't say it be critical, but more to acknowledge it is possible and not unprecedented. The most elite at any given profession can become complacent, or lose their edge, or mental/physical energy or any other number of reasons that make it difficult to continue to be as good or better than the year before. If that wasn't the case nearly every coach would be in a rascal and on oxygen. But more to my point is I think he's given too much rope to some of the ACs than they could handle, and if he wants to get back to full scale domination it is going to be because he personally rights the ship.

The defense could have played better on a couple series no doubt, but they didn't cost us the game. ST screwed us, but even with that if we had some semblance of a solid offense we could have easily had another 3 TDs on the board. The offense is terrible more often than it is amazing, just like in 2015. They would do enough that you'd think you were just being paranoid about it but then when the wheels fully came off it was zero surprise.

I don't know, I just had to say it to shut these Member Berries up... they keep on with...
member when we could move the ball
member when we had tempo
member when we had receivers who could stretch the field and get separation
member zeke
member tom herman

PS: I feel like it is worth re-quoting that Husker fan about Beck when he was at Nebraska that I posted last year... if everyone else is seeing the same thing after he came here then it is a pattern, not anomaly. I think it went something like...
"If a play worked you could be certain you wouldn't see it again all game, but if it didn't you could bet it would be ran all game long"

At this point I would really like to just see what would happen if JT just called the plays. Effective or not at least we might see some continuity and flow out there. I swear that Beck came here and just had to piss in the secret sauce to make it his own instead of following the recipes that were handed down to him. No other explanation for why the same team that boot stomped CFB one year looked so confused and inept the next. This year I felt like we were building upon the correction from end of last year but then I keep seeing the trademark crap of 2015 seep in that you know it is a matter of time before the levy fucking breaks and here it is.

 

[buckeyemania11]

This is true, this hangs on the coaching staff but I don't see where they would focus on to bring out the best with him. He is really one of those RBs that is part of a committee to just come in block and take single digit carries, not someone to feature like tonight.

When you struggle to complete any passes over 10 yards it's going to be hard for anyone to run the ball effectively. Samuel broke one but thats not always going to be the result. The over predictability of the play calling along with the oline being exposed means bad results for everyone.

 

[buckeyemania11]

And you can't manufacture a horizontal attack when DEs are 5 yards upfield in two seconds with their mitts in JT's face. Any offense is going to fail when the line can't pass block.

Yep. Oline better get it together real fast or its going to be a real ugly rest of the season.

 

[inliner311]

Point being is that Hyde was first and foremost a between the tackles power back. He wasn't going to make multiple cuts and turn it east west.

This offense can work with a downhill running game but you had better find a vertical passing threats and consistency in your horizontal attack.

Right, in an offense that gets its chunks of yards from passing and he is the back that keeps the defense honest, Webber could work. He isn't a back that you can feature like tonight. Hyde was better all around to get more yards to be a more focal point of the offense.

 

[Buckeneye]

And you can't manufacture a horizontal attack when DEs are 5 yards upfield in two seconds with their mitts in JT's face. Any offense is going to fail when the line can't pass block.

True. For the most part in the early going I thought the line was solid, especially in pass pro. When the Penn State dline got to pin their ears back, our young line suffered for it.

It's going to take some growing up, a hard look in the mirror by the coaches, playing with fire and a change in early down play calls.

 

[inliner311]

When you struggle to complete any passes over 10 yards it's going to be hard for anyone to run the ball effectively. Samuel broke one but thats not always going to be the result. The over predictability of the play calling along with the oline being exposed means bad results for everyone.

True, I have just yet to see what Webber brings to the table to be effective over the long run if the coaching staff wants to give him starting RB number of carries. Is his ceiling Boom Herron? I don't even see him hitting that because of his speed and lack of yards after contact.