LB James Laurinaitis (official thread)

[DaddyBigBucks]

Originally Posted by Sportsbuck28

The only reason he doesn't have Connor's numbers is because we were up by a lot in most games so he didn't play much beyond halftime, while Connor played nearly the entire game all season.

There is also the small matter of Ohio State's defense actually being pretty good at getting themselves off the field.

OSU opponents ran 756 plays this year.

PSU opponents ran 871 plays this year.

Connor had 15% more opportunities even before you consider the blow-out factor.

But none of these has as much effect as the fact that OSU's defense is fantastic to the last man. PSU, not so much. Laurinaitis has fewer opportunities to make tackles; because if a play is in someone else's gap, more often then not that someone else makes the play.

Why do you think the most prolific tacklers in OSU history (a couple of 36s come to mind) played on defenses that were mediocre by OSU standards? Marek and Spielman played on defenses that weren't REMOTELY as good as this year's defense. Those defenses may well have been just plain bad without their #36 holding things together and making all the plays.

On this defense, #33 is just part of the ensemble. But what an ensemble it is.

[-Laurinaitis33-]

Originally Posted by Sportsbuck28

The only reason he doesn't have Connor's numbers is because we were up by a lot in most games so he didn't play much beyond halftime, while Connor played nearly the entire game all season.

I agree with you there, he played almost the entire game in only about 7 games out of the 12. Also, not to mention he had a few off games, the Penn State game I think he only recorded about 3 tackles and a couple other games he only had about 4 or 5 tackles. But, when we needed him he stepped up huge, like daveeb pointed out his performance against Washington. Teams did a very good job of blocking Laurinaitis, but that opened things up for Freeman, which is a reason Freeman is having a huge year. When Laurinaitis couldn't step up we could count on Freeman.

Connor played consistently the whole year and played the entire game like SportsBuck28 said. If Laurinaitis was able to play the entire game, he would have numbers comparable to other elite linebackers in the country. There is no doubt that Laurinaitis is one of the best linebackers in the country. His numbers may not be the best, but they definitely are still great especially in his situation.

Another thing is, Ohio State does have arguably the best defense in the country, the defense doesn't have to be on the field that long due to the success of the defense on the field. When you look at Penn State and the majority of other schools, they stay on the field a lot longer than the Ohio State defense, causing the opportunity for players to make more plays and get more tackles. I am sure if you put Laurinaitis on a team that was on defense most of the game, he would have tremendous numbers like Connor. After all, Mel Kiper does have James listed as the best linebacker prospect in the draft next year and he was not voted an All-American for nothing.

[Palpie]

Originally Posted by DaddyBigBucks

There is also the small matter of Ohio State's defense actually being pretty good at getting themselves off the field.

OSU opponents ran 756 plays this year.

PSU opponents ran 871 plays this year.

Connor had 15% more opportunities even before you consider the blow-out factor.

But none of these has as much effect as the fact that OSU's defense is fantastic to the last man. PSU, not so much. Laurinaitis has fewer opportunities to make tackles; because if a play is in someone else's gap, more often then not that someone else makes the play.

Why do you think the most prolific tacklers in OSU history (a couple of 36s come to mind) played on defenses that were mediocre by OSU standards? Marek and Spielman played on defenses that weren't REMOTELY as good as this year's defense. Those defenses may well have been just plain bad without their #36 holding things together and making all the plays.

On this defense, #33 is just part of the ensemble. But what an ensemble it is.

In addition to the fewer # of plays, what is the run/pass ratio and how many incompletions did OSU force. Because no one gets a tackle on an incomplete pass. Throw in that when passes were completed OSU's secondary actually made the tackles and it makes sense that James didn't get the raw tackle numbers other guys put up. Heck usually the guys leading the nation in tackles are the one good player on a mediocre defense that a) make nearly every stop (that gets made), b) get to make a lot of stops becuse the defense is on the field all the time and c) usually are making stops 5 yards down the field during extended drives.

[schwab]

Lies, damned lies, and then statistics.

[Bucks21]

Originally Posted by GrizzlyBuck

Congrats Lil-Animal, another in the long line of outstanding backers at THE LInebacker-U

Helped you out.

[WoodyWorshiper]

God I love this kid. People are motivated by different things in life, and obviously $$$ is at the top of most lists. I'm really hoping that "Animal" banked enough $$$ during his Wrestling Career to make it easier for James to decide to come back for his senior year ala Noah last year with the Gators.

Right now, James has to be considered as pretty much on par with all of our all-time greats. Coming back and having an outstanding Senior season could possibly solidify him as our "best-ever."

[great1]

I'm really hoping that "Animal" banked enough $$$ during his Wrestling Career to make it easier for James to decide to come back for his senior year ala Noah last year with the Gators.

I get your point but Noah came back for his junior year

[BuckeyeBullet]

I'd really love to see Laurinaitis spear Noah!

Sorry for the random thought but I just started to think how much I hate that ugly MoFo.