Mike Meals
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The View from Beyond the Shoe: A Nation Divided
Mike Meals via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
On Saturday, our beloved Buckeyes took to Ohio Stadium to battle the pesky Indiana Hoosiers. Most people in the media and in Buckeye Nation scoffed when Urban Meyer said of the IU defense “They’re the best defense we’ve faced, and that includes Oklahoma.” Considering the Hoosiers haven’t beaten Ohio State in nearly 30 years, it’s easy to understand why everyone thought Coach Meyer was using coach speak to pump up his team and not to give IU bulletin board material.
But as I pointed out on Saturday morning in my “#B1GThingsToKnow” twitter posts, Indiana really does have a much better defense this year. IU Head Coach Kevin Wilson went out and hired Indiana native Tom Allen as his Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach. Allen’s leadership has completely turned around the IU defense, making them better in every aspect of the game. Through 4 games in 2016, compared to 4 games into the 2015 season, IU has improved their Points Per Game Allowed, Total Defense, Passing Defense, Touchdowns Allowed, Three and Outs, Third Down Conversions, and has even given up less 20+ yard plays. What this shows us is Urban was right, this is a great turnaround and a fantastic defense.
#B1GThingsToKnow – IU:
After 4 games
2015: gave up 16 TDs on D
2016: only 8
Also less PPG, yards, & more 3 & outs@The_BBC
— Mike Meals (@mmeals) October 8, 2016
Urban knew on Monday of last week that he and the Buckeyes were going to have their hands full when J.T. and company were on the field. He also knew that the game plan would have to be built to exploit the weaknesses of this newly improved squad, and his offense was going to have to execute. They couldn’t roll into The Horseshoe on Saturday just expecting Indiana to roll over and be the same IU that’s lost 27 some straight games to the Men of the Scarlet and Gray.
So what happened? Indiana turned out to be pretty damn good. Were they as good as advertised? Yes, they were the best defense that Ohio State has faced this year. IU forced the Buckeyes play a game where they were not able to do everything they wanted, as they wanted, when they wanted. Barrett was not his normal self, going only 9-23 passing for 93 yards with a single touchdown and the first interception of the year that can’t be all put on J.T. He also was forced to carry the ball a career-high 26 times for 137 yards with a touchdown.
Why is this a problem? There are a couple reasons. First, J.T. should not be rushing 26 times against Indiana. Not that he can’t handle it, but that is a lot of unneeded contact on what is arguably the most important single player on the field this year for Ohio State. If we need Barrett to carry the load to win the Big Ten Championship Game, I can understand that. There are important things on the line. But against IU in the second B1G game of the year? Ohio State should be able (and was able to) simply out-talent IU. The other issue is a 9-23 passing game, in good weather, simply isn’t getting the job done.
Who is to blame for this game? Do we blame Urban Meyer, the man with 3 National Championships and the best active winning percentage in college football today? Do you blame the offensive coordinators, Tim Beck and Ed Warinner, for their play calling and game planning? Do you assign blame to the players on the field for their execution? Do you blame the success at Ohio State we have recently seen, to the point where a 290 yard, 4 touchdown rushing day seems like a “bad game” to the fans? Do you not blame anyone but instead tip your cap to IU for making the Buckeyes become mostly one dimensional and, in-turn, tip your cap to the coaches above for finding a way to win? Even if it is an “ugly” win in eyes of fans and media, do you just say a win is a win and let it go?
Personally, I don’t want to see J.T. taking that many rushes or hits. I personally am excited and happy we won, but I think the game plan and play calling were bad. Just as I did for the Michigan State game last year, or the Penn State game the year before. I think it is ok to be critical of this team, based on the coaching and talent they have, even when they win. And I know that this coaching staff and these student athletes would all say they could play much better (and many are already saying that).
But therein lies the problem. There are two factions in Buckeye Nation this week. One that says we should be accepting of the “ugly win” and sometimes you have to do that in football. The other says we should expect the team to live up to their potential, and while happy we won, they will be critical of the game plan, play calling, and execution.
I, personally, think it is okay to be critical of the team for not playing up to their own level. I am not going to be leading the calls for Tim Beck’s head on a stake this week, as I am not suggesting anyone loses their job (as a coach or a player) from this game. I do think we should be critical to expect these mistakes to be taken care of and not repeated. We all know a game played exactly like this one but against a better opponent would be disastrous for the Buckeyes and their National Championship hopes.
I’m not saying the Buckeyes need to go full “Civil War” this week. We do not need to have the program tore apart in order for a rebuild to take place. This team needs to be tough upon themselves and make sure they learn from this week, improve on it, and move on. And as the fans of the Buckeyes, we need to realize that it is okay to expect perfection, and to demand that things be fixed when that is not achieved.
I also know a few very important things. We are so lucky as Buckeye fans that a 21 point Big Ten victory leaves us something to complain about. If a team like IU wins a conference game by 21 points, they would probably hang a banner in Assembly Hall. So I understand the argument that we should be accepting of the win, no matter how it came, and move on to Wisconsin.
We gone pick it up next week #BuckeyeNation I promise you !
— Dontre Wilson (@treydayy_) October 9, 2016
I also know that Urban Meyer will not accept this game, and everyone associated with the program will be pushed to be their best before the Buckeyes roll into Camp Randell next weekend. The last thing I know is that if the Buckeyes leave Madison next weekend with a good road win, none of this will matter because winning seems to cure all that ills us.
And that is what Buckeye Nation needs. We need a good, clean, hard fought road win. Something we all, media and fans alike, can feel good about. Something that allows the Buckeyes to enjoy a victory. Something that re-unites Buckeye Nation. Because as we all know, united we stand, divided we still beat Michigan but we fall short of that National Tittle we want.
And that is not a world that I want to live in.
The post The View from Beyond the Shoe: A Nation Divided appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Mike Meals via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
On June 16th, 1858, future President of the United States Abraham Lincoln famously proclaimed “A divided against itself cannot stand.” This speech has been referenced thousands of times since then, in more settings than I would even want to imagine. But Lincoln made a great point. If two sides of a nation can not get along, the nation would fall. Now, he was referring to the United States of America and a social issue that Lincoln took upon himself to end. But his statement still rings true today.
On Saturday, our beloved Buckeyes took to Ohio Stadium to battle the pesky Indiana Hoosiers. Most people in the media and in Buckeye Nation scoffed when Urban Meyer said of the IU defense “They’re the best defense we’ve faced, and that includes Oklahoma.” Considering the Hoosiers haven’t beaten Ohio State in nearly 30 years, it’s easy to understand why everyone thought Coach Meyer was using coach speak to pump up his team and not to give IU bulletin board material.
But as I pointed out on Saturday morning in my “#B1GThingsToKnow” twitter posts, Indiana really does have a much better defense this year. IU Head Coach Kevin Wilson went out and hired Indiana native Tom Allen as his Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach. Allen’s leadership has completely turned around the IU defense, making them better in every aspect of the game. Through 4 games in 2016, compared to 4 games into the 2015 season, IU has improved their Points Per Game Allowed, Total Defense, Passing Defense, Touchdowns Allowed, Three and Outs, Third Down Conversions, and has even given up less 20+ yard plays. What this shows us is Urban was right, this is a great turnaround and a fantastic defense.
#B1GThingsToKnow – IU:
After 4 games
2015: gave up 16 TDs on D
2016: only 8
Also less PPG, yards, & more 3 & outs@The_BBC
— Mike Meals (@mmeals) October 8, 2016
Urban knew on Monday of last week that he and the Buckeyes were going to have their hands full when J.T. and company were on the field. He also knew that the game plan would have to be built to exploit the weaknesses of this newly improved squad, and his offense was going to have to execute. They couldn’t roll into The Horseshoe on Saturday just expecting Indiana to roll over and be the same IU that’s lost 27 some straight games to the Men of the Scarlet and Gray.
So what happened? Indiana turned out to be pretty damn good. Were they as good as advertised? Yes, they were the best defense that Ohio State has faced this year. IU forced the Buckeyes play a game where they were not able to do everything they wanted, as they wanted, when they wanted. Barrett was not his normal self, going only 9-23 passing for 93 yards with a single touchdown and the first interception of the year that can’t be all put on J.T. He also was forced to carry the ball a career-high 26 times for 137 yards with a touchdown.
Why is this a problem? There are a couple reasons. First, J.T. should not be rushing 26 times against Indiana. Not that he can’t handle it, but that is a lot of unneeded contact on what is arguably the most important single player on the field this year for Ohio State. If we need Barrett to carry the load to win the Big Ten Championship Game, I can understand that. There are important things on the line. But against IU in the second B1G game of the year? Ohio State should be able (and was able to) simply out-talent IU. The other issue is a 9-23 passing game, in good weather, simply isn’t getting the job done.
Who is to blame for this game? Do we blame Urban Meyer, the man with 3 National Championships and the best active winning percentage in college football today? Do you blame the offensive coordinators, Tim Beck and Ed Warinner, for their play calling and game planning? Do you assign blame to the players on the field for their execution? Do you blame the success at Ohio State we have recently seen, to the point where a 290 yard, 4 touchdown rushing day seems like a “bad game” to the fans? Do you not blame anyone but instead tip your cap to IU for making the Buckeyes become mostly one dimensional and, in-turn, tip your cap to the coaches above for finding a way to win? Even if it is an “ugly” win in eyes of fans and media, do you just say a win is a win and let it go?
Personally, I don’t want to see J.T. taking that many rushes or hits. I personally am excited and happy we won, but I think the game plan and play calling were bad. Just as I did for the Michigan State game last year, or the Penn State game the year before. I think it is ok to be critical of this team, based on the coaching and talent they have, even when they win. And I know that this coaching staff and these student athletes would all say they could play much better (and many are already saying that).
But therein lies the problem. There are two factions in Buckeye Nation this week. One that says we should be accepting of the “ugly win” and sometimes you have to do that in football. The other says we should expect the team to live up to their potential, and while happy we won, they will be critical of the game plan, play calling, and execution.
I, personally, think it is okay to be critical of the team for not playing up to their own level. I am not going to be leading the calls for Tim Beck’s head on a stake this week, as I am not suggesting anyone loses their job (as a coach or a player) from this game. I do think we should be critical to expect these mistakes to be taken care of and not repeated. We all know a game played exactly like this one but against a better opponent would be disastrous for the Buckeyes and their National Championship hopes.
I’m not saying the Buckeyes need to go full “Civil War” this week. We do not need to have the program tore apart in order for a rebuild to take place. This team needs to be tough upon themselves and make sure they learn from this week, improve on it, and move on. And as the fans of the Buckeyes, we need to realize that it is okay to expect perfection, and to demand that things be fixed when that is not achieved.
I also know a few very important things. We are so lucky as Buckeye fans that a 21 point Big Ten victory leaves us something to complain about. If a team like IU wins a conference game by 21 points, they would probably hang a banner in Assembly Hall. So I understand the argument that we should be accepting of the win, no matter how it came, and move on to Wisconsin.
We gone pick it up next week #BuckeyeNation I promise you !
— Dontre Wilson (@treydayy_) October 9, 2016
I also know that Urban Meyer will not accept this game, and everyone associated with the program will be pushed to be their best before the Buckeyes roll into Camp Randell next weekend. The last thing I know is that if the Buckeyes leave Madison next weekend with a good road win, none of this will matter because winning seems to cure all that ills us.
And that is what Buckeye Nation needs. We need a good, clean, hard fought road win. Something we all, media and fans alike, can feel good about. Something that allows the Buckeyes to enjoy a victory. Something that re-unites Buckeye Nation. Because as we all know, united we stand, divided we still beat Michigan but we fall short of that National Tittle we want.
And that is not a world that I want to live in.
The post The View from Beyond the Shoe: A Nation Divided appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...