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- Thread starter sblsw
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Woah... I wasn't able to watch the game live today. Teddy got caught from behind? I'm assuming it was on a route he had to stop or slow down for the catch while the defender didn't have to?
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Cleveland PD
12/10
OHIO STATE FOOTBALL
No Heisman, no regrets for Ginn
Saturday, December 10, 2005Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- Both players were flash-and-dash touchdown makers, one in Columbus, the other in Southern California, and if you caught any preseason Heisman Trophy hype, the names of Ted Ginn Jr. and Reggie Bush were linked again and again.
USC quarterback and 2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart was the favorite, with Oklahoma running back and 2004 runner-up Adrian Peterson right behind him. But conventional wisdom held that players as explosive as USC's Bush and Ohio State's Ginn could shoot to the front of the pack with a handful of spectacular 80-yard runs, receptions or returns.
Racing for 121 total yards and a touchdown against Miami (Ohio) in the opener, Ginn made the cover of Sports Illustrated, a Heisman-like first step.
Tonight in New York, Bush will almost certainly step forward to accept the Heisman. Ginn will watch from Ohio.
"I think every player wonders if they can be there at one point in time," Ginn said Friday, "but you've got to put in hard work and showcase yourself and do things right all the time."
Save for the Miami game, Ginn provided the running theme for the start of the Buckeyes' season - What's wrong with Ted and why isn't he getting the ball? Some special-teams touchdowns ended that talk, but Ginn then mostly blended in during Ohio State's year-end, six-game win streak. He was what he probably was all along - a solid No. 2 receiver behind Santonio Holmes and an electrifying, yet inconsistent, force on special teams.
"A lot of people think he had a down year," Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith said. "I don't think so. Statistically it probably didn't go his way, but he still had a good year. I think he's right where he needs to be."
Even statistically, things weren't that bad. While Smith's development, Holmes' NFL-ready ability and running back Antonio Pittman's emergence behind an improved offensive line took over the OSU offensive identity, Ginn, quietly, got better.
With 1,408 all-purpose yards in 11 games with the Fiesta Bowl remaining, he has outdistanced his 907 yards from 2004. He scored five touchdowns compared with eight last year, but had two returns for scores called back by penalties, and with Pittman carrying the load he was almost completely ignored as an option in the running game. He finished 10th in the Big Ten in receiving yards, and in return average led the conference on kickoffs and was fifth on punts.
The Glenville grad blocked better, ran his routes better and talked to his parents on the phone every night for reassurance. "It's having a feel for the game and things clicking," Ginn said of his greater comfort on the field, "just being a total athlete as far as knowledge."
And he never changed what he said or how he said it, whether he was catching four passes for 138 yards and a touchdown against Illinois or muffing two punt returns against Michigan. He ended most of his thoughts with "have fun," with an inflection that never let you know whether he was having fun or not. "For me, it was just go out and play hard every down and do things right, and don't really get caught up in the Heisman," Ginn said.
He mentioned the H-word on his own. Last season, Ginn's MVP performance in the Alamo Bowl jump-started a Heisman candidacy that had him on every watch list for the start of his sophomore season. He might not make so many lists next September as a junior. Smith may actually be a more talked-about Buckeye Heisman possibility.
"I don't think anybody should take the hype away from him," Smith said. "Sometimes, that's what players need, and they feed off that. I think he did that."
Bush did it much more.
Maybe Jim Tressel and the Ohio State coaching staff will add a few Ginn wrinkles for Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl as they did for the Alamo last year. Maybe some Heisman hype will find Ginn again come Sept. 2 and the opener with Northern Illinois, when Holmes will likely have departed for the NFL and Ginn will be the No. 1 receiver. Maybe not.
"It might be a little different," Ginn said. "[Teams] might look at it and say we kicked to him and [he] didn't do anything, so we might have a chance to kick to him this year."
He didn't have a Heisman-type season, but could teams really forget about Ginn that much, just kick the ball up to him and take their chances?
"I don't know," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "Might be."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4748
12/10
OHIO STATE FOOTBALL
No Heisman, no regrets for Ginn
Saturday, December 10, 2005Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- Both players were flash-and-dash touchdown makers, one in Columbus, the other in Southern California, and if you caught any preseason Heisman Trophy hype, the names of Ted Ginn Jr. and Reggie Bush were linked again and again.
USC quarterback and 2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart was the favorite, with Oklahoma running back and 2004 runner-up Adrian Peterson right behind him. But conventional wisdom held that players as explosive as USC's Bush and Ohio State's Ginn could shoot to the front of the pack with a handful of spectacular 80-yard runs, receptions or returns.
Racing for 121 total yards and a touchdown against Miami (Ohio) in the opener, Ginn made the cover of Sports Illustrated, a Heisman-like first step.
Tonight in New York, Bush will almost certainly step forward to accept the Heisman. Ginn will watch from Ohio.
"I think every player wonders if they can be there at one point in time," Ginn said Friday, "but you've got to put in hard work and showcase yourself and do things right all the time."
Save for the Miami game, Ginn provided the running theme for the start of the Buckeyes' season - What's wrong with Ted and why isn't he getting the ball? Some special-teams touchdowns ended that talk, but Ginn then mostly blended in during Ohio State's year-end, six-game win streak. He was what he probably was all along - a solid No. 2 receiver behind Santonio Holmes and an electrifying, yet inconsistent, force on special teams.
"A lot of people think he had a down year," Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith said. "I don't think so. Statistically it probably didn't go his way, but he still had a good year. I think he's right where he needs to be."
Even statistically, things weren't that bad. While Smith's development, Holmes' NFL-ready ability and running back Antonio Pittman's emergence behind an improved offensive line took over the OSU offensive identity, Ginn, quietly, got better.
With 1,408 all-purpose yards in 11 games with the Fiesta Bowl remaining, he has outdistanced his 907 yards from 2004. He scored five touchdowns compared with eight last year, but had two returns for scores called back by penalties, and with Pittman carrying the load he was almost completely ignored as an option in the running game. He finished 10th in the Big Ten in receiving yards, and in return average led the conference on kickoffs and was fifth on punts.
The Glenville grad blocked better, ran his routes better and talked to his parents on the phone every night for reassurance. "It's having a feel for the game and things clicking," Ginn said of his greater comfort on the field, "just being a total athlete as far as knowledge."
And he never changed what he said or how he said it, whether he was catching four passes for 138 yards and a touchdown against Illinois or muffing two punt returns against Michigan. He ended most of his thoughts with "have fun," with an inflection that never let you know whether he was having fun or not. "For me, it was just go out and play hard every down and do things right, and don't really get caught up in the Heisman," Ginn said.
He mentioned the H-word on his own. Last season, Ginn's MVP performance in the Alamo Bowl jump-started a Heisman candidacy that had him on every watch list for the start of his sophomore season. He might not make so many lists next September as a junior. Smith may actually be a more talked-about Buckeye Heisman possibility.
"I don't think anybody should take the hype away from him," Smith said. "Sometimes, that's what players need, and they feed off that. I think he did that."
Bush did it much more.
Maybe Jim Tressel and the Ohio State coaching staff will add a few Ginn wrinkles for Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl as they did for the Alamo last year. Maybe some Heisman hype will find Ginn again come Sept. 2 and the opener with Northern Illinois, when Holmes will likely have departed for the NFL and Ginn will be the No. 1 receiver. Maybe not.
"It might be a little different," Ginn said. "[Teams] might look at it and say we kicked to him and [he] didn't do anything, so we might have a chance to kick to him this year."
He didn't have a Heisman-type season, but could teams really forget about Ginn that much, just kick the ball up to him and take their chances?
"I don't know," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "Might be."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4748
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
link
12/20/05
12/20/05
Picking up speed
Facing unrealistic expectations, Ginn rebounds from slow start as sophomore
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>NEAL C . LAURON | DISPATCH </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>After a sensational freshman season, Ted Ginn Jr. was expected to score almost every time he touched the ball. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Expectations came barreling at Ted Ginn Jr. this season like the first man downfield on a punt return.
Ginn tried to sidestep, and got nailed.
For the most part, the Ohio State sophomore did not duplicate the bigplay success he flashed in 2004. He fell far short of his touch-to-touchdown ratio from last season.
He was not a weekly fixture on highlight shows. And he was not in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony 10 days ago, as some had predicted in the preseason.
But that doesn’t mean his second season was a failure. His teammates don’t feel that way.
To them, the problem was Ginn did too much too soon, creating unrealistic hype for a still-maturing player.
"People set these ridiculous expectations for everyone," fellow receiver Anthony Gonzalez said. "It’s like if Ted doesn’t have six catches for 180 yards and three touchdowns and a punt return for a TD, somehow everyone thinks he had a bad game.
"But I think he has done a really good job. He’s been solid. His route running, which for some reason people harped on that . . . is great, and he has developed as a blocker.
"I think he had a great season."
It’s hard to get much out of a conversation with Ginn. Through good times or bad, he shrugs. His voice never rises, and he talks mostly about playing hard and having fun.
But he admits that he wasn’t having much fun early in the season. He and the offense were struggling. Teams weren’t punting to him, he ran sideways when they did, defenses paid him more attention, and the end-arounds weren’t working.
"We started off slow, the whole team," Ginn said. "My parents really stepped in and stuck with me. (They) called me every day and we talked every night, just to make sure things were right and just go on with life."
Ginn’s father, Ted, is the football coach at Cleveland Glenville High School, which has produced several Ohio State players. Ted Jr. did go on, and he concentrated on becoming a better receiver rather than just a super-fast kid running around cluelessly in the secondary.
He topped his 2004 receiving numbers and got better as the year progressed. Ginn had his first 100-yard receiving game with 138 against Illinois on Nov. 2 (including a 73-yard touchdown catch) and set a career high for catches with nine for 89 yards against Michigan on Nov. 19.
In the Michigan game, he converted two third downs with catches early, then caught three passes to get the Buckeyes out of a deep hole on the winning drive.
"I’m more experienced working out coverages and having a feel for the game and things clicking," Ginn said, "just being a total athlete as far as knowledge and putting it on the field and playing."
Receiver Santonio Holmes watched Ginn learn his craft.
"He used to be a guy that just stepped on the field trying to make something happen all the time," Holmes said. "He sat back this year (and) evaluated, became more of a receiver. He has grown a lot."
Ginn’s receiving play seemed to rub off on his all-around game, and eventually some of the not-so-old electricity crackled again.
After having two touchdowns called back for penalties, Ginn came back with a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 100-yard kickoff return for another. Of Ohio State’s 73 plays of at least 20 yards, Ginn accounted for 23.
That’s pretty good — just not what some people expected.
"I think he’s right where he needs to be," quarterback Troy Smith said.
Ginn seems to feel that way, too. Maybe he had to take a step back in order to take two forward. Now that he has experience to pair with raw skill, he’s looking ahead to a big year in 2006.
"It’s coming along now," he said. "It’s really starting to turn over to being one of the greats."
[email protected]
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
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crazybuckfan40
Head Coach
Man, I just love how humble the kid is. He takes everything in stride. I think another year in the weightroom and the film room is just what he needs. I think we will see a very polished reciever next year, and hopefully there will be some more holes on the KO returns and Punt returns.
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barlow1802
Troy Has Legs
I would absolutly love for him to put on a little bit more weight and play both ways. Just having #7 line across from a reciever would take him out of the game. Use on offense as a #3 reciever, but I know the fact that he can take any play to the house makes him more valuable at wr. Ginns a good kid and im hoping he'll stick around fo two more years.
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sandgk
Watson, Crick & A Twist
This Sounds Likea Good Idea
From News Journal (free)
From News Journal (free)
One-track mind hurt two-sport star
Ginn Jr.: Skipping offseason routine key contributor to sophomore slump
By Jon Spencer
News Journal
<!-- ARTICLE BODYTEXT --> <!--ARTICLE TEXT--> COLUMBUS -- Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. has a spring in his step and spring on his mind.
While most of his focus is on the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl showdown with Notre Dame, the Buckeyes sophomore is anxiously looking forward to running outdoor track at the school for the first time.
The national champion hurdler and sprinter for Cleveland Glenville High School stepped away from the oval for a year to concentrate on getting big- ger and stronger for football.
Skipping his normal routine, he senses now, might have contributed to his slow start this season. It's almost as if he feels that getting back on the track will help get his football career back on track."It's very important," Ginn said of his favorite spring pastime. "I think track and football go hand in hand; track helps with all phases of (football).
"Guys have their own way of doing things in the offseason. Mine is to get on the track and do everything 100 percent. Both sports wear you down and build you up to be stronger."
It's not as if his wheels completely came off this season. But Ginn will be the first to admit he failed to live up to what, in retrospect, were unrealistic expectations after his flashy freshman season.
Four punt return touchdowns and eight TDs on 55 touches as a rookie set a torrid pace Ginn couldn't maintain this season. No mortal -- with the possible exception of Reggie Bush -- could.
That didn't keep fans from wondering: What's wrong with Teddy?
He wasn't a human highlight reel on a weekly basis.
He watched the Heisman Trophy ceremony instead of participating in it.
The shot-Ginn offense effectively used in last year's Alamo Bowl -- a throwback to the single-wing with Ginn taking the snap from center -- never left the holster.
Only his critics generated noise during the first half of this season.
"I really tried to block that stuff out, stay one with God, stay one with my family and friends," Ginn said. "As long as they've got my back, I just keep moving."
Eventually, Ginn started to shake free. Held to one touchdown in the first five games, he scored four times during the six-game winning streak the Buckeyes ride into the Fiesta Bowl. After having two TD returns negated by penalty, he took a punt back 62 yards for a score against Indiana and went 100 yards with a kickoff the following week at Minnesota.
Ginn topped his 2004 receiving numbers, catching at least three passes in all but one game and finishing the regular season with 43 receptions for 636 yards (14.8 average) and three TDs.
He had his first 100-yard receiving game with 138 against Illinois on Nov. 2 -- including a 73-yard scoring catch -- and set a career high for catches with nine for 89 yards against Michigan on Nov. 19.
He caught three passes on the winning drive as the Buckeyes rallied past the Wolverines 25-21.
So don't tell the Buckeyes that Ginn's season was a failure.
"People set these ridiculous expectations for everyone," fellow receiver Anthony Gonzalez said. "If Ted doesn't catch three touchdown passes and return a punt for a touchdown every week, everyone thinks he's had a bad game.
"But I think he's done a great job. I think he's the most creative player I've ever played with ... in terms of after-the-catch creativity. That, in my opinion, is his biggest weapon."
Staying level-headed -- not getting caught up in the positive hype or negative harping -- is another Ginn strength.
"My parents are always there for me," Ginn said, referring to Jeanette and Ted Sr., the head football and track coach at Glenville. "You can't really get down on yourself. You can't control some of the things. I've been through some tough times and you learn how to bounce back from things."
The Buckeyes have 73 plays this season of 20 or more yards. Ginn has accounted for 23 -- 11 on receptions. Heisman worthy? Maybe not, but not bad for a guy who temporarily got off track, so to speak.
"Truthfully, I think he's right where he needs to be," quarterback and former Glenville teammate Troy Smith said. "Everybody in the stadium knows when Ted gets the ball, he's one move away from breaking it for a touchdown. I don't think anyone should take any of the hype away from him.
"A lot of people think he had a down season, but I don't think so. Statistically, it probably didn't go his way, but he still had a good year."
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BuckBackHome
Wolverine is largest member of weasel family
Hey, how about Sr. coaching the east squad in the Army AA game? Congrats to the whole Ginn family!
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Teddy has struggled at times this season, but he is still one of the most electrifying players in the country. Let's not forget the clutch catches he made against UM with the game on the line. Look for something big on Monday.
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daddyphatsacs
Let the cards fall...
Ginn's biggest problem this year is that he felt the pressure of those around him. I think in the long run a season like this one, for a guy who has only known stardom, will actually make him that much better down the road. Teddy's best days are yet to come.
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