Monday, November 3, 2008

Ohio State Football -- What a mess....

Disappointed....

I don’t have high expectations. And my hopes have gotten lower over the last two Vest “press conferences”. I realize he doesn’t answer questions, but this time, I think he doesn’t know the answers. I realize it’s early, but he may have a QB on his hands who will not function well in his offense, and I don’t know if The Vest is capable of designing an offense that TP can function well in.

Here's what's wrong at this point:


1- A smoke and mirrors offensive line. Not helped by big, slow guys with cement shoes, and a Zone blocking scheme made for small quick running backs. Nobody uses their hands correctly, or gets low and drives their man off the line. You'll rarely see a pancake from any of these guys, no matter how much of a weight-room hero they be.

2- A quarterback who passes the ball like a bad free throw shooter (and the pass looks like a weak fade-away three-point attempt).

3- A coach with play-calling that is so predictable that he trys to make it sound like a positive in his "press conferences". "Press conferences", because they are classic studies in avoidance and spin.

4- A bunch of seniors -- who guaranteed don't like the switch to a freshman QB, but have to shut up and live with it -- are watching their stock drop, along with the loss of a productive senior year. (See the ESPN/ABC Lauranitis interview before the Penn State game and look at the body language when asked about TP's leadership.)

5- A defense that HAS to be great. After all, we're ranked 11th, with one of the worst offenses in OSU history.

Yeah, given the fact that the Vest handicapped the rest of the season in an overreaction to the USC blowout, we're doing "great"; this is the Big-Ten. -- not the SEC. With a decent passing attack, Beanie could run. Receivers wouldn't have to depend on coming back to the ball to get a reception. You may be amazed at how good some of these guys are once they actually get some passes thrown their way -- in the NFL.

The Vest has no idea where this football team is, and he may not be capable of designing an offense that TP can succeed in.

My guess is that after two years of a failed attempt to integrate TP into a combination of offensive schemes, and despite his physical talent, the Bucks and The Vest will opt for a pro-style QB. If not, recruitment will suffer, and we will be saying hello to a couple of Michigan-like years....

2 comments:

Paul said...

Just awful. I have no idea how we made it to 3 title games under Tressel.

Tongue planted firmly in cheek

jackscrow said...

Neither do I. Tongue... errrr, never mind.

Actually I do.

Weak schedule. Big-10. No imagination needed, so when called upon, there was none.

Have any idea how many players from that team are in the Pros? Might it have been JC's recruits? Forbid THAT thought.

It keeps on going.