| 07 November 2010
Last week I did a blog about whether the Buckeyes could have won the national championship as beat up as we are. I threw out a few ideas about making another run next year. The one that kept coming back to me was the possibility of the most potent offense we have seen in some time. I put some more thought into that since I made that post.
The offense will return eight starters including three offensive linemen, not to mention the return of Marcus Hall. Pryor will be back. I do not think there will be much discussion about him going early. He is so much improved but any thought of him going early means he will not have a good pro career. He is still not ready. Pryor has been wise in his decisions from choosing this style of offense over the read option, an offense that would have played to the skills he had coming out of high school better but would not have prepared him to play in the NFL, to the decision not to try and play basketball. He has been so focused on being an NFL quarterback and being prepared. I think he quickly makes the decision not to try and leave early. The other thing to keep in mind is the NFL has found a key factor in what determines whether a quarterback will do well or not. Quarterbacks who stay through their senior year have a better success rate. Bet the farm Pryor is aware of that.
All the backs return and I include Zack Boren in that. He has been the best fullback of the Tressel era. He is a great lead blocker and can do damage when we give him the ball. Stoneburner will be back at full health.
My concern is at receiver. Does Posey return? I think he would be nuts to leave but he could. We lose Sanzenbacher, Washington and Schwartz. That would leave Philly Brown as the Buckeyes most experienced receiver should Posey lose his mind and decide he is NFL ready. It is a great receiver class which makes him leaving all the more insane. Lets assume sanity prevails and he stays. That still leaves us with Philly Brown as our second most experienced receiver. Think about how little he has played and it makes him a veteran as far as the receiver corps go. Someone has to step up. We need at least three to run a nice chunk of our offense. I haven't a clue as to who the third receiver might be. I am hoping for T-Y Williams. I thought it would be Chris Fields but he let Brown jump over him and has not gotten on the field in his own right. What I mean by that is if he was looking good, just jumped over by a superior player in Brown, Jim Tressel would still find a place for him to get some reps. That has not happened. What happens at receiver tells us if this is the most potent offense since Troy Smith and Teddy Ginn left town.
On defense the line is an embarrassment of riches. We lost three starters last year and this years line is as good and may be better. Next year there is even a stronger case for the line being even better.
We lose Rolle and Homan but I doubt the staff is losing any sleep over who will step in. Both have been really good players here. I think Homan has never been appreicated here. He has been an outstanding player. When I look over at my bench and see Sweat, Sabino and Bell sitting there, I don't bother to look for any others. I am thinking those will do just fine. There is also the possiblity of play as freshman caliber LBs in Anthony Wallace and Curtis Grant still choosing the Buckeyes. I am not worried about linebacker.
The defensive backfield is where this team is going to be vulnerable. It is where I start to doubt our chances to be in the hunt again. We lose both corners as Devon Torrence and Chimdi Chekwa are seniors. Anyone who thinks we will be just fine needs to take the scarlet and gray colored glasses off for awhile. Howard and Evege were the backups by default. The buzz was Corey Brown was being moved back to safety, where I said he hould have been in the first place, before he was injured. That is how lost he as. Dominic Clarke was behind Brown in the pecking order. We can hope that they get better. I am hoping Doran Grant is one of those in the mix next year. We should hear soon whether Akise Teague joins him. Corner is one of those spots that is so much about natural skill. I have no problem throwing them in there especially considering what I have seen with the current backups.
Safety is another concern. At least one spot. We only got a glimpse of what C.J. Barnett can do. I am confident he will pick up where he left off. We still have nobody to play strong safety. Jermale Hines is a senior. I have been impressed with what I have seen of Aaron Gant but he is a senior too. The only other strong safeties on the roster are Zac Damicone and Chad Hagan. I saw Hagan looking like a full-fledged linebacker on the sideline at a recent game. There are some that question whether his health will ever let him suit up at all. I hear Damicone has been hurt. Why is he playing special teams. I need to see him be the starter here before I believe it. Maybe the freshmen, Cash and Tanner can help. Lets hope.
Then there is the schedule. It is not friendly is it? Wrong. It is. Playing at Miami, at Nebraska, at Michigan and with Michigan State, Wisconsin and Penn State at home, it is the kind of schedule that hardens a team and impresses the voters. It is exactly what we need. The fact is the lack of schedule strength has been why the Buckeyes are staying down the BCS rankings this year since the loss.
In the end I think if we find another receiver and a couple of corners we could be in better position to make a run next year than this year.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
