Random thoughts on the lack of a barcalounger thread

[FKAGobucks877]

I'm too impatient to wait for Oh8ch's thread. Plus he's slow in putting it up....anyways, here is a short list of random observations from 23C.

QB: Smith looked good today. Obviously not his best game, but we all know he is a big game QB, and he got the job done. I think many of the criticisms thrown his way were actually the result of specific plays and players being called, not him failing to make his reads and/or go through his progressions.

Coaching: As usual, Tress kept it close to the vest...which was fine, once the team woke up. The game was never really in any doubt, but it's still tough to see your team come out so flat. It just goes to show that no matter how hard you try, words are only words. Hopefully the first half of this game will be enough to make this team concentrate on each week's opponent, and not look ahead (or even fail to respect) and overlook your current opponent.

Also, I believe that Tress intentionally showed some things that will serve no purpose but to make Penn State prepare for a myriad of different looks. The first half was nothing but our Offense lining up in different formations, and using all kinds of different weapons. Consider this: before the UC game, PSU had to legitimately try to defend against Ginn downfield, Gonzo all over, Troy's arm, and Pittman's rushing. Now, UC has to prepare to see any or all of the following (plus what I just listed): Ginn in short yardage (running very good routes, I might add), Troy running the option, Troy rushing (called rushes) the ball, the tight end over the middle, and Wells running (potentially) everywhere, not just between the tackles. I believe the implementation of these plays and formations threw our O a little out of whack, but by halftime they seemed to be running smoothly again. I'm glad we had this opponent to (A) work out the kinks, and (B) give teams like PSU and Iowa all kinds of extra things to prepare for in practice.

Defense: Laurinaitis is good. So is Homan. The defensive line gets the gameball, though, as we saw a good indication of what Rose is to become, and the senior tackles were amazing. Negative yards rushing? Outstanding. After week one, I had a lot of confidence in our secondary, and that has grown with each week. I would really like to see some more aggressive play-calling on the defensive side of the ball...but I think that is coming, against our more "highly touted" opponents. If tOSU starts to use their speed (especially at the LB position) to blitz, this defense could go from "good" to "great" pretty quickly.

Offense: Probably the biggest disappointment, although only because they came out so flat. It's tough to get up for a game against such an obviously over-matched opponent, but the Buckeyes can't afford to play flat against anyone, because everyone we play is going to throw everything they have at us, and be pumped, to boot. Still, they recovered nicely, and played a good game overall. I'd like to see better production out of the O line...Smith should not have been pressured as much as he was, but after the Texas game, I'm willing to write that off. I do not believe the line will play that badly again.

That is all for now. I may add more in response to Oh8ch's much better observations, however. If he doesn't post on this thread, I'll move this to his once he posts...