What's Wrong & How to Fix It (Merged)

[jwinslow]

Originally Posted by FortGordonBuck

What I think that we have seen is Troy Smith trying to establish himself as the "game winner". I think that he liked that feeling after the Michigan game so much that he wants to "win" every game. It is not enough for him to be part of the winning team-he wants to be the one that won it! He wants the big stats-200 passing/100 rushing, that makes him the MVP. That doesn't match with Tressell Ball, or even with team football, but that is what it looks like is going on. All the coaches efforts to get him to look for all his recievers just slows him down-he is still planning to run, except by then the defense is closing him in. A chance for a great highlight film! No, caught in the backfield, maybe a loss on the play, or even throwing into coverage for an interception.

In short, we have another "ego man". We have the best defense in the nation, but no signs of individual egos there. We have a quarterback that made it clear when someone else had the job that the team's problems were because he wasn't being given a chance to play. He got his chance and made the most of it. I applauded that and I was glad for the team. Since that though, it looks like Smith has become the focus of the offense-he won't use any of the other weapons. If #4 and #11 had some catches, I might agree that #7 was being mis-used. How can we even think that the coaches, the receivers, backs, and the line have all suddenly developed problems-but QB is good because "he beat Michigan"? No, The Buckeyes beat Michigan. If we want to beat Michigan again they had better either adjust Mr. Smith's view of team football or move him to the bench.

Perception vs. reality. The entire offense was moved by his speech about humility after the texas game.

Smith does try to make too much happen a lot. But it's a huge stretch to say a QB's lack of vision is b/c he doesn't want to use his WRs. Yes, I'm sure Smith loves getting pummeled by huge defensive lineman... and occasionally scrambling for 5 yards and getting punished again.

[Bucklion]

Originally Posted by jwinslow

Perception vs. reality. The entire offense was moved by his speech about humility after the texas game.

Smith does try to make too much happen a lot. But it's a huge stretch to say a QB's lack of vision is b/c he doesn't want to use his WRs. Yes, I'm sure Smith loves getting pummeled by huge defensive lineman... and occasionally scrambling for 5 yards and getting punished again.

I can't put my finger on it, but it seems to me that Smith tries to make too much happen because of a lack of confidence in something, but I can't quite figure out what...I think you're right, it's not his receivers, so is it his protection, or his ability to throw downfield, or make the right read, or the plays that are being called, or....?

Just seems to me that, unlike CK for example, he just really never looks comfortable and in control out there.

I guess the solution would be to either call more plays with throws that he is comfortable making, or keep an extra guy in for protection, or something...depending on what it is.

[Taosman]

Losing Barton early in the game and having to shuffle the "O" line can't help when playing one of the best defenses in the country,away!

Any word on the Barton injury?

Any word on when Rehring will be back?

Both those guys are among our best lineman and would help!

[BrutusMaximus]

Did anybody notice that when we went into the I and ran the ball, there was ZERO hole there as usual. We need to throw out of that formation. When we're in the shotgun, 90% chance we're gonna throw, when we go in the I, 100% we're gonna run. Predictable?

I may be stepping over the edge just a tad, but I personally think the entire offensive coaching staff needs overhauled.

[scooter1369]

Originally Posted by BrutusMaximus

I may be stepping over the edge just a tad,

Do me favor and get off my fingers. I've been hanging from the ledge since 1 am Sunday.

[FritoBandito]

A few simple, I believe uncontestable, facts about this program -- some of which are unique to the JT Era, others of which are longer-term problems.

1. The OSU has never attracted or developed a great quarterback.

We proved in 2002 that you can win without a great QB, but as a general proposition, truly great teams normally have great QBs. Yet the OSU QB with the most successful NFL career is Tom Tupa. That ought to tell us something. Think of any other position: RBs Keith Byars, Eddie George, Robert Smith. WRs Joey Galloway, Chris Carter, Terry Glenn, David Boston. Linemen like Orlando Pace or LeCharles Bentley; LBs like Vrabel, Spielman or Gradishar; DBs like Winfield, Springs and Gamble etc. etc. etc. But never a QB. Never. Not once. That has been an Achilles heel for decades, not just under JT, and it simply has to be addressed. (I am not implying here that the OSU program is a disaster because it has never had a truly great QB. Far from it. Our success has been exceptional even without great QB play. But without ever having a great one, it's next-to-impossible for any program to achieve consistent excellence.)

2. The current OSU offensive 'braintrust' (a misnomer if ever there was one) is never going to attract or develop a great QB.

No truly great high school QB, or his father, would ever select Bollman or Daniels to develop their budding young superstar. Never, ever. Not a Mark Sanchez, not a Tim Tebow, not anybody.

3. The current OSU offensive staff gets less production out of more talent than any such staff in the Big Ten.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "Never have so many performed with such mediocrity for so long." Year after year, exceptional new offensive talent comes into the program, yet every year, tOSU offense under-achieves. Highly-touted players like Lydell Ross, Bam Childress and Justin Zwick don't get better under the tutelage of this offensive staff, they get worse. Consider this: Michigan State's Javon Ringer is tearing it up as a Freshman. NW's Freshman Tyrell Sutton is this weekend's highlight reel (against the same Wisconsin team tOSU never seems able to beat). But our Freshman phenom, Maurice Wells, can't even get on the field. JoePa's Freshmen WRs are putting up better numbers than our future-first-rounders Santonio Holmes or Ted Ginn. Something is wrong with this picture, folks. And it's not the talent of the players. It's the [censored]-poor player development and gorilla-headed gameplanning of this offensive staff.

4. JT has put tOSU squarely back among the elite four or five programs in the country.

In so doing, he has outgrown the need to surround himself with over-the-hill offensive assistants. Find a bright young offensive mind, who has a recent track record of exceptional player development and gameplanning, and hand the reins over to him. Surround him with a staff of his choosing, let him perform and sit back and enjoy the ride. Any young assistant in the country would accept an offer to take over the offense at tOSU. It would be a young coach's dream job -- just as coaching tOSU defense was for Mark D'Antonio and Mark Snyder.

5. Low-risk, low-scoring offense is not some hallowed OSU tradition. It's not 'smart' football.

Woody's ultraconservative teams racked up scores in the high 30s and 40s pretty frequently. He even laid 'half-a-hundred' on scUM back in the day.

For tOSU program to achieve its fullest potential -- for it to return to the BCS National Championship game sometime soon -- it's going to have to be able to score points. It's going to have to have an offensive staff that can recruit and develop great players, especially at QB. And it's going to have to know how to maximize the productivity of its most skilled players, not use them as decoys or coach them into medocrity.