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Rumblin’, Stumblin’, Bumblin': Penn State
WVaBuckeye via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The good, the bad, and the ugly has been on a roll as of late and there have been some great contributions by the staff. It amazes me at how little respect fans, and the media in general, have for college student athletes.
First and foremost, they are all kids and shouldn’t be treated like they are worthless or receive death threats (yes I am defending a TTUN player), but I will save that for Bumblin’. Let’s get it going with the good from this week.
Rumblin’
Huge stop on third down by Conley on Saquon Barkley
On a day where it would be easy to choose JT Barrett and/or Joey Bosa, I am going against conventional wisdom here and selecting someone that I am pretty sure is on very few people’s radar at this point and he is playing at a very high level in his first year as the starter of his position. Sophomore CB Gareon Conley is emerging as the best player in the secondary for Ohio State and he likes to hit as much as he likes to cover.
He has 23 total tackles on the season already and is drawing some tough match-ups and has been doing a pretty good job. He was one of the primary reasons that Hackenberg had very few opportunities to throw the ball on Saturday. Never-mind the pressure, if he is able to get rid of the ball in a couple seconds he would have eaten the Buckeyes up. As it was, the coverage unit as a whole was stout.
Conley will be one of those typical Buckeye corners that people love to see play and is sending the message that you might not want to throw his way. Save for a penalty on a late hit (that really wasn’t) and getting juked on a a play early, he is their go-to defender right now.
Lets see what the staff has to say about the Rumblin’
Scott – J.T. Barrett. ‘Nuff said.
MDotySr – J.T. Barrett and Zeke (the model of consistency).
Ken – J.T. Barrett – it’s obvious to humanity who OSU’s starting QB should be.
JC – J.T. He has proven who should be running the show,
Brandon – Zeke! All he does is play hard.
Michael – Barrett. He had over 100 yards rushing, its been a while since we’ve seen J.T. run like that.
Joe — As fans, we have been very quick to judge this coaching staff and the decisions they’ve made to put their players in the best position to win. If we as a collective whole are so willing to criticize, we also have to be willing to step up to the plate and recognize when great coaching and gameplan resolve leads to a overpowering victory.
Yes, J.T. Barrett stepped up to the plate and put the Buckeyes on his shoulders. Without the coaching staff seeing the distinct advantage in the read option though, Ohio State’s offense does not escape the pressure of the Penn State defensive front.
Penn State held Ohio State to just three plays over 20 yards. One of those came in the passing game. What a great adjustment by the offensive staff to realize the best way to move down the field would be in consistent chunks with the read option — especially if they weren’t going to hit on the home run.
Stumblin’
Still in good spirits and handling things well, Cardale is standing alone in Buckeye Nation’s eyes right now.
I honestly do not know what to say about Cardale Jones that hasn’t already been said 1,000 times over. I will say this — I believe the pressure of being ‘the man’ is getting to him. It surprises me in that regard, because he is usually not a guy that gets that way. His real gift during the playoff last year was not buckling under the pressure.
Most experts said that would be his undoing, the lack of confidence in the system.
The stark reality is that he may have all of the physical tools to be a great pocket passer when given time, but there appears to be a real disconnect between him and the rest of the team.
How else can you explain some of the interactions between him and Jalin Marshall and of the offensive linemen? It’s great that he will have a voice to be a leader and that will benefit him at the next level if given the chance, but not in a system where it’s more of a brotherly relationship.
Maybe the whole reason behind sticking with Cardale is to just give him every opportunity they felt they didn’t give him last year? Having the type of post season he did is rare, and his hard work last season paid off huge for the entire team ultimately. This is a different year, and a very different team and maybe Cardale’s stumblin’ is simply because this isn’t his team and is JT’s? Time will tell.
Lets see what the staff has to say about the Stumblin’
Scott – Cardale Jones.
MDotySr – TTUN’s rankings. All I can do is shake my head.
Ken – Christian Hackenberg – I know he had a lot of constraints, but this kid just isn’t that good.
JC – I have 2 – Cardale, unfortunately. But Jimbo’s decision to punt. Fantastic weekend.
Brandon – Cardale Jones. I really feel bad for him. I’ve wanted Barrett or Miller since spring time but I never like seeing a kid fail like this. I wish he would have came out last year and made his money.
Michael – Cardale Jones. Talk about falling off a cliff. This kid went from Championship QB, NFL draft prospect and starting QB to the guy the other team’s fans want out there.
Joe – College football has slipped and done a disservice to the game with how targeting has been handled on Saturdays. Listen, I am all for protecting players and making the calls that need to be made to change the game, to make it safer overall.
And I get that I’m even in the minority when it comes to protecting the quarterback.
What the higher ups have done though with how players are ejected has created a circus event in the middle of games. While protecting players by issuing this penalty, the NCAA is also fueling the fire of angered college football fans after the penalty.
We saw it Saturday when Cam Williams was ejected for a hit late in the second half. Fans at Ohio Stadium went nuts as he left the field as he pumped them up for making what he believed was a sound football field.
In that state up north, TTUN linebacker Joe Bolden looked like a jockey who had just won the Kentucky Derby, while he did a victory celebration around the Big House after being sent to the locker room for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook.
It’s a disgrace seeing players being able to react this way to football plays that have cost their teams. The NCAA says they want to protect players.
It’s time to protect the sanctity of the game by eliminating these gladiator-like celebrations and making it a point to punish players for not just endangering opponents, but for indulging in the act as something heroic, valiant, and worth celebrating.
Bumblin’
I love social media as much as the next guy and am pretty active on twitter. I enjoy the interactions that I have with all walks of life and enjoy the friendships that are forged. What I don’t like about social media is that it gives a platform to those who do not deserve it. In what world would a person believe that it’s okay to curse and threaten anyone, let alone a student athlete?
This is a crazy world we live in.
Lets’ get something straight first and foremost. College football is a sport, pure and simple. It is there to develop young people into adults and provide cost free educations to most. It does not give the average fan the right to treat them like they own them. It is no different than the cyber bullying that has taken some young kids lives. Suicide is a serious issue among young people and those morons tweeting to TTUN’s punter should be punished, somehow.
Even though tweeting at the punter is a bad idea, is making a T that pokes fun at the kid in the stands any different?
I am not sure what the answer is, but at the very least they need to lose their social media privileges. I know it can be done from the respect that their IP can be identified and then those who are paid to do what they do can make sure they never interact with anyone again. The bottom line is this, they are committing a crime by threatening the person and even more than that, a crime against someone who has done their best to do their job.
Mistakes happen, they will continue to happen. The people who think they can hold these student athletes to a higher standard and call them on it should have to go try the same thing. Put the idiots that were tweeting to the punter back there and send a rush of players after him and see if they can do it. I couldn’t, could you?
Lets see what the staff has to say about the Bumblin’
Scott – OSU trying to tackle.
MDotySr – My Seattle Seahawks inability to hold a fourth quarter lead in the last of four losses!
Ken – UM’s punt team. Ill conceived and ill executed.
JC – TTUN’s faith in the false prophet Jimbo!
Brandon – The rush defense. Losing Josh Perry hurt but this has been a problem all year.
Michael – Run defense. Ohio St has been gashed for huge rushing yards all season. they rank almost dead last in the big 10 in rush defense. Something needs to change.
Joe — I’m going to use this platform again to call out the national media. He guys, do you need a life preserver? Are you drowning and want back on the Buckeye ship that you so easily abandoned?
Hey Mark May and Robert Smith, how does it feel to realize you were 100% convinced a now two loss team was making their way into the College Football Playoff? When are these guys going to realize that their higher ups are setting them up for failure when it comes to long-term credibility?
Besides Mark May. With the decisions he makes, he clearly sets his own agenda. Hey Mark, who are you going to have in the playoffs this week instead of Ohio State? Oklahoma State? A two loss Florida team? Fordham? Valparaiso?
Weekly Funny
I actually remember being able to taste and smell the pepper spray from the ’02 TTUN home game.
The post Rumblin’, Stumblin’, Bumblin': Penn State appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
WVaBuckeye via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The good, the bad, and the ugly has been on a roll as of late and there have been some great contributions by the staff. It amazes me at how little respect fans, and the media in general, have for college student athletes.
First and foremost, they are all kids and shouldn’t be treated like they are worthless or receive death threats (yes I am defending a TTUN player), but I will save that for Bumblin’. Let’s get it going with the good from this week.
Rumblin’
Huge stop on third down by Conley on Saquon Barkley
On a day where it would be easy to choose JT Barrett and/or Joey Bosa, I am going against conventional wisdom here and selecting someone that I am pretty sure is on very few people’s radar at this point and he is playing at a very high level in his first year as the starter of his position. Sophomore CB Gareon Conley is emerging as the best player in the secondary for Ohio State and he likes to hit as much as he likes to cover.
He has 23 total tackles on the season already and is drawing some tough match-ups and has been doing a pretty good job. He was one of the primary reasons that Hackenberg had very few opportunities to throw the ball on Saturday. Never-mind the pressure, if he is able to get rid of the ball in a couple seconds he would have eaten the Buckeyes up. As it was, the coverage unit as a whole was stout.
Conley will be one of those typical Buckeye corners that people love to see play and is sending the message that you might not want to throw his way. Save for a penalty on a late hit (that really wasn’t) and getting juked on a a play early, he is their go-to defender right now.
Lets see what the staff has to say about the Rumblin’
Scott – J.T. Barrett. ‘Nuff said.
MDotySr – J.T. Barrett and Zeke (the model of consistency).
Ken – J.T. Barrett – it’s obvious to humanity who OSU’s starting QB should be.
JC – J.T. He has proven who should be running the show,
Brandon – Zeke! All he does is play hard.
Michael – Barrett. He had over 100 yards rushing, its been a while since we’ve seen J.T. run like that.
Joe — As fans, we have been very quick to judge this coaching staff and the decisions they’ve made to put their players in the best position to win. If we as a collective whole are so willing to criticize, we also have to be willing to step up to the plate and recognize when great coaching and gameplan resolve leads to a overpowering victory.
Yes, J.T. Barrett stepped up to the plate and put the Buckeyes on his shoulders. Without the coaching staff seeing the distinct advantage in the read option though, Ohio State’s offense does not escape the pressure of the Penn State defensive front.
Penn State held Ohio State to just three plays over 20 yards. One of those came in the passing game. What a great adjustment by the offensive staff to realize the best way to move down the field would be in consistent chunks with the read option — especially if they weren’t going to hit on the home run.
Stumblin’
Still in good spirits and handling things well, Cardale is standing alone in Buckeye Nation’s eyes right now.
I honestly do not know what to say about Cardale Jones that hasn’t already been said 1,000 times over. I will say this — I believe the pressure of being ‘the man’ is getting to him. It surprises me in that regard, because he is usually not a guy that gets that way. His real gift during the playoff last year was not buckling under the pressure.
Most experts said that would be his undoing, the lack of confidence in the system.
The stark reality is that he may have all of the physical tools to be a great pocket passer when given time, but there appears to be a real disconnect between him and the rest of the team.
How else can you explain some of the interactions between him and Jalin Marshall and of the offensive linemen? It’s great that he will have a voice to be a leader and that will benefit him at the next level if given the chance, but not in a system where it’s more of a brotherly relationship.
Maybe the whole reason behind sticking with Cardale is to just give him every opportunity they felt they didn’t give him last year? Having the type of post season he did is rare, and his hard work last season paid off huge for the entire team ultimately. This is a different year, and a very different team and maybe Cardale’s stumblin’ is simply because this isn’t his team and is JT’s? Time will tell.
Lets see what the staff has to say about the Stumblin’
Scott – Cardale Jones.
MDotySr – TTUN’s rankings. All I can do is shake my head.
Ken – Christian Hackenberg – I know he had a lot of constraints, but this kid just isn’t that good.
JC – I have 2 – Cardale, unfortunately. But Jimbo’s decision to punt. Fantastic weekend.
Brandon – Cardale Jones. I really feel bad for him. I’ve wanted Barrett or Miller since spring time but I never like seeing a kid fail like this. I wish he would have came out last year and made his money.
Michael – Cardale Jones. Talk about falling off a cliff. This kid went from Championship QB, NFL draft prospect and starting QB to the guy the other team’s fans want out there.
Joe – College football has slipped and done a disservice to the game with how targeting has been handled on Saturdays. Listen, I am all for protecting players and making the calls that need to be made to change the game, to make it safer overall.
And I get that I’m even in the minority when it comes to protecting the quarterback.
What the higher ups have done though with how players are ejected has created a circus event in the middle of games. While protecting players by issuing this penalty, the NCAA is also fueling the fire of angered college football fans after the penalty.
We saw it Saturday when Cam Williams was ejected for a hit late in the second half. Fans at Ohio Stadium went nuts as he left the field as he pumped them up for making what he believed was a sound football field.
In that state up north, TTUN linebacker Joe Bolden looked like a jockey who had just won the Kentucky Derby, while he did a victory celebration around the Big House after being sent to the locker room for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook.
It’s a disgrace seeing players being able to react this way to football plays that have cost their teams. The NCAA says they want to protect players.
It’s time to protect the sanctity of the game by eliminating these gladiator-like celebrations and making it a point to punish players for not just endangering opponents, but for indulging in the act as something heroic, valiant, and worth celebrating.
Bumblin’
I love social media as much as the next guy and am pretty active on twitter. I enjoy the interactions that I have with all walks of life and enjoy the friendships that are forged. What I don’t like about social media is that it gives a platform to those who do not deserve it. In what world would a person believe that it’s okay to curse and threaten anyone, let alone a student athlete?
This is a crazy world we live in.
Lets’ get something straight first and foremost. College football is a sport, pure and simple. It is there to develop young people into adults and provide cost free educations to most. It does not give the average fan the right to treat them like they own them. It is no different than the cyber bullying that has taken some young kids lives. Suicide is a serious issue among young people and those morons tweeting to TTUN’s punter should be punished, somehow.
Even though tweeting at the punter is a bad idea, is making a T that pokes fun at the kid in the stands any different?
I am not sure what the answer is, but at the very least they need to lose their social media privileges. I know it can be done from the respect that their IP can be identified and then those who are paid to do what they do can make sure they never interact with anyone again. The bottom line is this, they are committing a crime by threatening the person and even more than that, a crime against someone who has done their best to do their job.
Mistakes happen, they will continue to happen. The people who think they can hold these student athletes to a higher standard and call them on it should have to go try the same thing. Put the idiots that were tweeting to the punter back there and send a rush of players after him and see if they can do it. I couldn’t, could you?
Lets see what the staff has to say about the Bumblin’
Scott – OSU trying to tackle.
MDotySr – My Seattle Seahawks inability to hold a fourth quarter lead in the last of four losses!
Ken – UM’s punt team. Ill conceived and ill executed.
JC – TTUN’s faith in the false prophet Jimbo!
Brandon – The rush defense. Losing Josh Perry hurt but this has been a problem all year.
Michael – Run defense. Ohio St has been gashed for huge rushing yards all season. they rank almost dead last in the big 10 in rush defense. Something needs to change.
Joe — I’m going to use this platform again to call out the national media. He guys, do you need a life preserver? Are you drowning and want back on the Buckeye ship that you so easily abandoned?
Hey Mark May and Robert Smith, how does it feel to realize you were 100% convinced a now two loss team was making their way into the College Football Playoff? When are these guys going to realize that their higher ups are setting them up for failure when it comes to long-term credibility?
Besides Mark May. With the decisions he makes, he clearly sets his own agenda. Hey Mark, who are you going to have in the playoffs this week instead of Ohio State? Oklahoma State? A two loss Florida team? Fordham? Valparaiso?
Weekly Funny
I actually remember being able to taste and smell the pepper spray from the ’02 TTUN home game.
The post Rumblin’, Stumblin’, Bumblin': Penn State appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...