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RB Maurice Wells (Official Thread)

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Here's an excerpt from Jeff Amey's always excellent "By The Numbers" column on The Ozone:

Maurice Wells continues to be an enigma to Ohio State fans. He seems to be firmly entrenched as the number two halfback, and Buckeye fans have a hard time understanding why, and would like to see Brandon Saine get more carries. Buckeye fans also seem to be concerned with the number of carries that Maurice seems to get into center of the line when that doesn't seem to be his forte.

Things aren't always what they seem to be, however, and that goes for this situation as well. First and foremost, one of the bigger differences I've seen between Saine and Maurice is in pass blocking. The difference isn't huge, but it does seem that Maurice is better at it. Second, nearly all of Maurice's rushing attempts in this game were on plays that he has been most successful in the past running. He ran only one power play (which he has been unsuccessful running), one stretch play (only slightly better), one sweep and four draw plays (his bread and butter plays). There was no reasonable expectation for him to be unsuccessful on the day. My one gripe with Maurice continues to be that he goes down too easily to first contact.
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Looking at the play selection, that should address fairly clearly whether or not JT "knows" how to utilize Mo Wells. Five out of the seven runs that were called for Mo were types that he's suited to running.

The problem with a draw, of course, is that there's no lead blocker. It relies on selling the pass so that the LBs aren't shooting the gaps. If they are, or if they stay home, or if the OL doesn't tie up the DL, then the back isn't going to get through the hole cleanly and into space. Of course, when set up and executed properly, the draw has great potential for a smaller back who is harder to see and who can make a LB miss once he's past the first level.
 
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yeah but at the same time a fan can want one thing...like go for it on every 4th down for example, but you've gotta have a coach who knows how to make the right call, and theres no coach i'd trust more in any sport than j tress... but yeah i think we all know this offense could score even more points and win bigger, but once we've got some points, with our defense, Tressel knows its time to put the game in cruise control. I think a lot of people just wanna see more of saine
 
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One thing that isn't going to happen is JT sitting Mo Wells or "abandoning" him for Saine. Mo has come in here and done a job for JT and stayed because he is a Buckeye and JT is not going to throw that away. If he did I think he would break one one the cornerstones of being JT and the way he runs his program. One of the biggest things I have noticed about Tressel is that he is extremely loyal and does not desert his players, especially the ones who persevere.
True Mo doesn't achieve what we all want every play but who does? Both Beanie and Saine get stopped behind the line. And while Mo does go down easier a lot of that is just because of his size and his type of player.
So get used to JT running the team the way he wants to.. live with it and enjoy.
 
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Saine might have more talent or ability than Mo, but Tressel could give less of a shit. The players that get on the field are the ones that are the most technically sound at all aspects of their job. Saine isn't a great blocker at this point in his career, and he makes some frustrating mistakes from time to time. The risk vs. reward is high for a kid like Saine and often times Tressel isn't willing to take that risk. (Against Michigan, that's a different story.)
 
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rocketman;970597; said:
Saine might have more talent or ability than Mo, but Tressel could give less of a shit. The players that get on the field are the ones that are the most technically sound at all aspects of their job. Saine isn't a great blocker at this point in his career, and he makes some frustrating mistakes from time to time. The risk vs. reward is high for a kid like Saine and often times Tressel isn't willing to take that risk. (Against Michigan, that's a different story.)
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Nice post rocketman, I agree.
 
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[quote='BusNative;97427;6]Let me be the first to say that I thought Mo Wells made some great runs today. He broke some tackles and ran with tremendous heart. Of course Beanie had another great game, but Mo stepped up and played very very well.[/quote]

My thoughts exactly! Good Job MW
 
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Very solid. On one particular run, he drove a pair of PSU tacklers forward for another yard or so. The OL cleared some space, and just like Beanie did last week, he moved the chains in the final minutes to maintain possession. This was a good step forward in his development.

Edit: Final stat line on Mo -- 13 carries, 55 yards for 4.7 per carry with a long of 17; kick returning: 2 returns of 22 yards each for 44 total return yards.
 
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So, it was the offensive line. Thank goodness they didn't shut down in this game, cause Mo had an awesome game. Moved the chains, and had some great runs on 1st and 10 and 2nd and 10. Truly great game for Mo, and we needed that.
 
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Last night was the best I have seen Mo Wells hit the open hole all year. He had two runs last night where he hit it decisive and if it wasn't for one of the PSU LB's getting a slight hand on him to slow him down he would have had two long TD runs. I have long thought he was just a little to indecisive in the backfield but have seen signs the last few weeks that he had turned the corner. If he keeps developing like I expect he will with our coaches he is going to be a HUGE weapon the rest of this season an into next. Great to see him play well and I love the kid's character, all the talk was that he was going to transfer before this year but he stuck it out and is clearly working hard at getting better. That says ALOT about the type of person he is and I hope for even better things from him, he has earned it.
 
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