| 20 September 2011
It is early but coach Fickell needs to make some changes and he needs to make them now.
I refuse to believe this Buckeye team went from a top 25 team to one that is going to go 6-6 like many fans seem to think it will be. I absolutely believe this team should win at least 9 games and I think 10, or even 11 is realistic. I watched the talent on this team as high school players. There is plenty of talent. It just isn't on the field right now.
Joe Bauserman came out in the Akron game with a performance that nobody outside of Bauserman and his family thought he was capable of. It looked to be a career changing game for him, and a program changing game for the Buckeyes. It is now looking like a once in a lifetime performance. He is getting worse. Toledo was the kind of game most of us expected out of Bauserman when the season started. I don't think anyone would have predicted that he could be as bad as he was against Miami. I have been trying to think back to the last time I saw a
Buckeye quarterback be that bad. I would say Bauserman against Toledo would be the closest. We saw some bad games out of Steve Bellisari but I do not believe we saw Bellisari be as bad as Bauserman has been the last two weeks.
Starting Bauserman was a great idea in theory. Let the freshman, Braxton Miller, work his way into the starting lineup at his own pace. Let his find his comfort level. Let him adjust to the speed of the game. The key to that working theory was that Bauserman may not be a game changer but he would at least not lose the game for the Buckeyes. He nearly lost the Toledo game and was very much the key to the loss to Miami. "Game managers" at quarterback still have to execute. i am still shell shocked at what I saw last Saturday night.
Luke Fickell is no longer in a position to wait on Miller to get comfortable. I say Luke Fickell, not the Buckeyes, because Miller will be here next year. Unless the Buckeyes get something out of the quarterback position Luke Fickell will not be. I say that this team will not go 6-6. That is assuming the changes are made. I am still of a mind that 8 wins will come this way even with no changes because the Buckeyes will be a good enough running team and still a very strong defensive team, and this is a really down Big Ten this year, but 8 wins will not be enough to see Luke Fickell get the job permanently.
I have been in Luke Fickells corner from the start. I remain in his corner. If the change in quarterback does not happen I will not remain in his corner no matter how many wins we might see. There is no argument that can be put forward for keeping Bauserman as the starter. Miller is going to make mistakes. No doubt about that. He will learn from them. Every game look for him to make more good decisions. At least with Miller we will see positive plays to offset the bad plays. With Bauserman we are seeing no plays.
Quarterback is not the only position where this team can improve overnight.
Carloe Hyde has been good. Better than fans have been giving him credit for. Jordan Hall is better. He is just as effective betweeen the tackles and is quicker. Hyde will still get plenty of carries. Right now the Ohio State offense is better with Corey Linsley in there. Marcus Hall is showing the rust. He too will get reps at both guard positions.
Safety is the last line of defense. The free safety is the last man on the last line of the defense. There is just no way Ohrian Johnson is playing well enough to be the last man on the last line of the defense. I look to a play that I forgot to note in my game review.
On the second touchdown for Miami, the quarterback looks to the flat and finds Tyler Moeller sitting there. He looks to his left and finds a wide open receiver. That is because Johnson has left that zone, for what reason I cannot tell you. He is a safety in the end zone. There is nobody behind him because there is nowhere to go. He is two strides from the backline of the end zone. He can't be reading the quarterbacks eyes because the quarterback is not looking in that direction.
Safety is the same situation as at quarterback. Anybody is an improvement over what we have. It really can't get any worse. It is like being a car that is in the water and filling up quickly. You can't swim? You still need to get out of the car and try.
I can see 8 wins with the current lineup. I know many who disagree with that. The bottom line is that is not enough wins for a contract extension. Make these changes and that contract extension is a mere formality. Don't make these changes, very logical and obviously needed changes, and it will be the proof that a search committee for a new head coach is needed.
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