| 03 September 2011
We have to take into consideration that Akkron was a team coming in off a 1-11 season. I saw a team that is going to be pretty lucky to do better than that this year. That said, I was very impressed with what I saw from Luke Fickell in his first game as head coach. With an inexperienced guy I worry about the little things. I worry about things like organization. I saw a very efficient football team. No personnel issues, having the right people on the field at the right time. I want to see a team that executes well. It was like clockwork.There were a couple of glitches but when you look at who made the glitches, first year players, you don't look at the coaches. You look at the inexperience. I loved the never ending blitzing. Not Fred Pugac style but definitely a scheme designed to put pressure on the offense on every play.
I thought the team looked more physical on both sides of the ball. On defense the front four just lined up and smacked Akron in the mouth on every play. I thought the run defense could not have been much better. I was more impressed with the tackles than the ends. I would not be surprised if Garrett Goebel grades out as the best defensive lineman in this game. He was very
impressive in there. He plays with such great leverage and never seemed to be off balance. He plays with great tenacity. Very impressive game from him. John Simon was on his game. I was so very impressed with Daryl Baldwin, J.T. Moore and Michael Bennett. Baldwin surprised me greatly. the last time I saw him on a football field he looked stiff and one-dimensional. I see a completely different player now.Give credit to the strength & conditioning coach and the defensive coaches. Looking at his body now I do not believe he was as big as he was listed in the Big 33 last year and I do not believe the listed 290 now. Tell me Michael Bennett did not remind you of Cam Heyward. Physical and relentless. He may have a better first step. Yes, I said that. Moore probably played the best of the youngsters overall.
We may need those youngsters. The one thing I was disappointed in was the pass rush. We gave them a hard time but blitzing had alot to do with it. Nate Williams name was called a couple of times but it was the kids that stood out to me. He will have to be better to hang onto his starting job. Not good enough today.
I thought Sweat looked like he could really be a special player. The defensive line dominated the game. What got through was quickly eaten up by the linebackers especially Sweat. I thought Storm Klein had a strong game. He was very physical today and very aggressive. He set up Ryan Shaziers sack. We have enough good linebackers. Sit Sabino until he is healthy.
Travis Howard is talking about going pro? Dominic Clark just had the kind of game that will get tongues a wagging. He had a fine Sugar Bowl. He was an impact player today. Great game.
Did our safeties make a play? I saw Zack Damicone flash a couple of times but overall the safeties were quiet. That says everything about how well the front seven played.
Loved the play calling in this game. I will always be an I-Formation power football kinda guy. That will always be football at its finest. I thought the offensive line graded out as a strong A today. They consistently got a surge. Like with the defensive line, I saw a team playing more physically than before. Not that Ohio State was not a physical team in the past. I think it was more an effective physical before. I saw a punishing physical today. We found the tight end, especially down in the red zone where they can be so very effective. We found the backs.
I give the backs a B-. How many yards did we leave on the field because backs were not running with their eyes. Chris Wells would have run for 200 yards today. Missed cutback lanes. Lack of patience across the board but it really impacted Carlos Hyde in particular. Several times he put his head in a pile and pushed when a little patience would have given him some room.
Zack Boren was simply spectacular in this game. He consistently wins battles. If there is a better blocking fullback in the country I need to see him. Since we are now throwing the ball to the backs I hope the staff notices he catches the ball very naturally and knows what to do with it once he catches it. I love the fullback with the ball out on space.
How about our children running around at receiver? They caught everything, including a couple of balls they probably should not have. They fought for the ball when defenders were close. It is easy to be a quarterback on a day when receivers are catching the ball like this. Outside of the drop by Fragel I don't recall a dropped pass. I blame that one on the coaches. You don't want Reid Fragel running a pattern that is going to make him make a catch away from his body like that. Throw that to Stoneburner, or throw it to Boren. I like what we saw from Verlon Reed. He is a good possession receiver but I want to get the ball in the hands of Devin Smith and Evan Spencer. Both look like players who can make something happen after the catch. It was great, and more than a little bit of a surprise, to see TY Williams earn some playing time. He was having a very hard time hanging onto the ball. You have to be excited about what you saw from this very young receiving corps.
I would never believe that Joe Bauserman could be this good. Nothing in his past performances gave me any reason to believe I would be saying keep this quarterback rotation. He did not have one bad ball today. He was making great decisions and throwing the ball accurately. We talked alot about him being the quarterback who would not lose the game. He looked like he could win a game for us today.
Miller got off to a rough start but you have to like how he finished the game. The best thing is he had so few bad decisions. That is what we want out of him. We want him to make good decisions and grow in confidence. I think we saw him do that very well today.
Ben Buchanan deserves mention for player of the game. He got length and hand time today. Kickoffs were inconsistent and place kicking was awful. We gave up a big return again.
On the coverage. I think Spielman and Meyer were great in the booth. Meyer was very good. One thing I loved was how the play by play guy made some mention of the off the field trouble. Spielman and Meyer said nothing. They were both obviously done with it.
On the other hand, the halftime comment by Mark May about the Buckeyes showed once again that this man has a problem with Ohio State. I do not believe ESPN has an axe to grind with Ohio State. I am absolutely certain that Mark May does. It is very simple. What Mark May does in unprofessional.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
