QB Troy Smith (2006 Heisman Trophy Winner)

[Saw31]

And as I stated, if you only look at the opponents defense and think you are seeing the whole picture, your not. This game was basically won before Smith even had to do anything. There's not a whole lot to be learned about Smith from the way this game played itself out, IMO.

And before being accused otherwise, I am a Smith fan. I just happen to be a Zwick fan as well. I hope they both become great OSU QB's.

 

[bukIpower]

Well True, but Smith can't worry about what the other teams offenses are doing just what the defense is throwing at him. Now its also true he game was in hand early but everything they asked him to do he did well, and with only 1 turnover. Which makes me believe he'd be the same way if they gave him more chances to throw.

 

[Saw31]

...but everything they asked him to do he did well...

I can agree with this, but he wasn't asked to do too much. In the next couple of weeks, he will be asked to do more, once we are facing a competent offense and we will need points out of our offense. We will see how he does. I hope he tears it up.

 

[DiHard]

buckipower.....

i have to say that smith has done very well in eliminating mistakes that shoot the team in the foot.....and without question he keeps starting....

by tresselball standards I do believe that Smith is the MUCH better option at quarterback...

I just thought after the first two games that jt was going to finally open up the offense.....that clearly is not ever going to be the case....that being said...t.smith is a MUCH better fit at qb.....

nothing negative against either young man.....just reality...and smith works better for the rest of this year....

 

[slickman]

buckipower.....

i have to say that smith has done very well in eliminating mistakes that shoot the team in the foot.....and without question he keeps starting....

by tresselball standards I do believe that Smith is the MUCH better option at quarterback...

I just thought after the first two games that jt was going to finally open up the offense.....that clearly is not ever going to be the case....that being said...t.smith is a MUCH better fit at qb.....

nothing negative against either young man.....just reality...and smith works better for the rest of this year....

Belichick needs to get Troy Smith. :2004: :2004:

 

[bukIpower]

Very true, Hopefully they keep building this kid up. I hope they see that Troy shouldv'e been 8-8 on Saturday. If they see that why not give him 15-20 or even 25 throws a game?? It'll atleast keep the other team from crowding the box. Troy definatly has the arm to throw strikes so why not do it? I agree that Troy is the better fit in Tressels system....


I was wonder'n what Troy Smiths 40 time is like compared to Krenzels?

 

[osugrad21]

 

[scooter1369]

yup

 

[wdg01]

One thing i noticed is that we converted a lot of 3rd downs in this game. ESPN says 7-11. Can anyone find the last time our 3rd down conversions was that good? The o-line needs to get credit, they are actually getting coached by someone who knows what he's doing :)

 

[Piney]

This past Saturday reminded me alot about the NC State game. (well, except that we actually rushed for some yards) Tressel got a lead, felt confident his offense would keep ahead and played keep away the rest of the game. But besides that.

I think one thing is obvious with Smith in the game versus Zwick. It appears to me that offense comes out with a different type of mentality. The O-Line has blocked better the last 2 weeks. Of course we have seen much improvement in the running game (compared to how awful it was during our 3 losses). Is it because we have a new backfield in Pittman/Johnson? Is it because the offense line started playing with speed and not stepping back before they block? Or is it because Smith leads them better?

I have been a Zwick guy and would have loved to see him perform while the rest of the offense looked like this. But hey, you can't mess with what is working (win wise) and Smith continues. But in the same sentence we still have not seen what Smith can do when he has to pass alot, or lead this team from behind. So he still has questions that need to be answered and hopefully Zwick will be healthy just in case.

 

[strohs]

The o-line needs to get credit, they are actually getting coached by someone who knows what he's doing :)

Yeah really, Tressel must have given Peterson some more resonsiblilty........

 

[HINYG8]

My two cents....

Some questions/thoughts many seem to be overlooking:<O:p</O:p

How many delay of game penalties have been called against OSU with JZ in the huddle v. TS in the huddle?
<O:p</O:p

With Troy the team seems to have a greater sense of urgency.<O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p
Regarding Troy's inability to connect on the long ball...<O:p</O:p

This argument is built upon a fallacy. Troy is playing with early leads so he isn't going downfield as often. Smith has gone long a few times on his FIRST SERIES of the game when the players are still seeking a rhythm. However, as soon as OSU gets a lead we quit going long because JT locks up the offense. I wouldn't call this a knock against TS, but rather a lack of relevant data. BTW, lets not pretend Justin was dropping bombs all damn day, he had TWO great deep balls against the Marshall secondary when they walked their safeties right up the LOS before the snap.
<O:p</O:p

The "quality" of the opponents as it relates to rating QB performance.<O:p</O:p

IU isn't good; PSU has a decent defense but a TERRIBLE offense. That said these are still B10 squads. IU took Minny down Saturday and PSU may not have many wins, but they have not been lit up on the scoreboard either. Now let us look at Justin's wins...Cincinnati (lost to f'n ARMY!), Marshall where we scrapped out a win because Tressel put the offense on a chain WAY to early, and then 97 field goals to beat NCSU, who is hovering around .500 IIRC. What am I babbling about? Both QBs have faced some bad teams. One QB has a solid QB rating; one has a QB rating lower than Bellisari's.<O:p</O:p

IMO Justin *may* be the QB of the future...but even those who want him back on the field have to admit he didn't show much progression thru his 6 starts. Perhaps he actually regressed. Troy remains a bit of a question to some, but to me he is at least on par with Justin after only two starts, and he appears to be getting better. I think this is a no brainer. You have to start Troy until he starts to make bad decisions or begins to regress. He may not be the best QB on the roster, but right now he is the one getting conference W's. He is the one sparking the effort that was sadly lacking in the Iowa game. People are fired up again, ready for this three game gauntlet with their heads up. Troy is part of that attitude. Right now, Troy is clearly the right guy. Zwick did enough things poorly that the QB controversy was looming before the injury. Since he has gotten his shot, Troy has done very little that he should be benched for.

This is sadly about choosing the lesser of two evils…and looking at W-L records, turnovers, and QB ratings, right now Troy is clearly making less mistakes. He is generating first downs even though the offense is locked down tighter than ever, and he has me thinking we are going to beat that team up North in a couple of weeks.<O:p</O:p

 

[FKAGobucks877]

I just read this entire thread, and nobody has said anything that can be backed up with statistics. It comes down to this (which was alluded to by others): The jury is still out on Troy Smith. His personal ability as a QB has not yet really been tested. We can all guess from the indications we've seen so far, but that's all it is...guessing. Now, having said that, realize one thing - this offense is playing with confidence. And a big reason for that is Smith, and the fact he has led this team to two wins. If Tress makes a change now, that confidence goes out the window, and we're back to square one. DiHard pointed out several things in his post above, and they're all correct...but those changes may be because of the player's confidence in Smith...even if they're not, nothing but harm can come of making a change now.

Also, I'm kind of surprised at some of the reactions here to the offensive performance on Saturday. I, for one, was actually impressed. You loosen up the O just a little bit, and we could have killed PSU. The offense was moving the ball. You realize in the first half, we only had 4 offensive series? That's not a lot of time for the offense to get in a groove, but they were doing ok. If you look at the game as a whole, the stat's look bad, but I don't think the offense really did. Penalties and turnovers killed us. If Ginn's reverse holds up, it's first and goal. If Hall doesn't fumble (and that happened right in front of me, I was 4 rows from the field - no way was that a fumble), it's first and 10 in the red zone for OSU. We were driving down the field when Smith fumbled. The very first offensive series we had, Ginn dropped a pass that hit him in the hands, which would have resulted in a first down. The offense showed all kinds of promise today...you take away one holding penalty and one TO, and the score is atleast 27-10, if not 35-10. And because of the pick and the punt return, the offense was barely on the field at all, especially in the first half. I'm usually a pessimist, but I thought the offense looked very improved.

 

[BuckeyeRob]

the only game where zwick had less than 20 passes was against Iowa. Last week Smith had 24 and this week he had 8.

There's a reason why coach doesn't pass as much with Smith in the game. An ave. of 10yds per catch. Our punter had almost as many punts as Troy completions.

He may have not looked as bad, but I think it's because Tressel doesn't trust Troy passing the ball. And that worries me. He may throw a pretty ball, but there has to be a reason why Tressel doesn't trust him to throw it.

I agree that Smith is getting it done.. but I still wonder if he's the one who will lead this team down the road.

You are out of your freakin tree pal. The reason they didnt have Smith throw the ball is because the buckeyes were up 14-0. They buttoned up the offense and played the CLOCK. I dont see any thing different in how tressel would have called the game had Craig Krenzel been in there.

How anyone can think Tressel trust Zwick to throw the ball and not Troy is totally beyond me..... Troy has not thrown to the wrong colored jersey yet.... Troy has a better completion percentage... there is nothing FACTUAL that you can point to that would support your view.

Up 14-0 against PSU tressel does exactly what he did.... play the clock, run the ball and make them play a long feild for a score. If you thought anything different was going to happen you havent been paying attention for the last 3 1/2 years

 

[ronfel]

I keep reading that the team is playing with more confidence because of Troy's leadership. To me, this is as logical as saying the sun comes up every morning because a rooster crows. We made a number of changes since the Iowa loss, not the least of which was Lydell's suspension and the sudden emergence of a semblence of a running game. As I recall, the team came out with a lot of confidence and enthusiasm early against Wisconsin, got an early lead then fell apart after some bad officiating calls and Santonio's fumble. Playing the little sisters of the poor the last two weeks, we enjoyed early leads and were never challenged, so why wouldn't the team play with confidence.As some have said, the jury is out on Troy, and until he has to come through late in a tight game, as JZ did against Marshall and NW, I'm not willing to annoint him just yet.