Better Than 2006?

[buckeyebri]

What most impressed me about the defense Saturday was it's ability to be in position to make the play. The team was very aware of where they needed to be and were able to close fast.

Even though we didn't get the take aways we should have, we also didn't give up any points on our turnovers. This is a very impressive and often overlooked stat.

[pianobuck46]

The best thing about this team, as simplistic as it may sound, is the huge chip on its collective shoulder. I wouldn't count 'em out.

[BB73]

Originally Posted by Jaxbuck

As far as the defense goes lets also be fair and say we haven't played a team yet thats going to challenge our manhood in the middle of the DL and try to pound away at us. We may very well be up to the challenge but being as fair and unbiased as I can be we haven't faced it yet. This is still an area of concern to me untill I see with my own two eyes that we pass the test.

You beat me to posting this. MSU, PSU, Wiscy, Illinois, and TSUN will all try to pound away at our D-line. tOSU will be using a lot less nickel, and I don't think we'll see only 3 DLs unless it's third and very long. Hopefully the run defense remains stout.

[martinss01]

hmmm... my take:

qb - 06 by alot. boeckman could fullfill all of his expectations and he still won't be as good as ts. if he develops like we hope could he win a nc for us? absolutely! but that still won't make him better than ts.

wr's - 07. hartline > gonzo, robo > ginn, small < robo 06 (at present). why do people still say robo is slow? or rather, not fast enough to beat db's deep? we really didn't loose anything other than name recognition. in fact, i honestly believe this years wr core is better than last year right now let alone by the end of the year. the only difference between this years wr's and last years is the offensive scheme and the guy throwing the ball.

tb - 06. sorry, dems just the straight up facts people. it absolutely shocks me how under rated pittman was/is by the tOSU fan base. what are people basing their tb comparisons on? beanie = beanie, wells light = wells light, and saine > pittman? yes, beanie is better this year, yes wells light is much better than last year and im really happy with his progression, and yes saine is playing extremely well. but im sorry to say none of their progression and the addition of saine outweigh what pittman brought to the table. he really was a great tb and his contributions can not be overlooked. well, apparently they can...

0l - i honestly don't know. im not an oline guy so its hard for me to grade whether or not our returning starters progression in addition to the new guys surpase what we lost.

dl - 06. we do seem to be getting better pressure from the edges. but pitcock was a monster. don't let the lb's inability last year overshadow how good our interior line play in 06 was. as of week 6, the edge goes to 06. we'll see how they stack up by the end of the year.

lb - 07 by a gabillion trillion gazillion. last week against minny, freeman played his first game as a lb. THAT was the guy we had all been waiting so desperately to see. it took him a year to get past the knee injury. well, sometimes that happens and thats why coaches stick with guys. lil animal is playing considerably better and im really happy to see grant coming along nicely. though i would like to see homan in the lineup more as imo that is the best talent of the group. but these 3 are already better than 06 and possibly better than the 02 group. they likely won't unseat the 98 or 05 groups, but this has all the talent and desire to be one of the top 5 lb'er groups to play at tOSU.

cb - 07 by bunches. why? because washington is that much better than smith. don't get me wrong, i liked smith. a walkon senior with a ton of ability and he really played well for us. but i personally would have had a real hard time not starting washington LAST YEAR. i know i have said it before, but this group has the ability to be better than the 98 group. which imo would make them the best cb duo in the history of tOSU.

safety - both. prior to the iowa game, last year was better. post last years iowa game, this years is better. russell was our best safety last year until he got hurt. coleman has played young, but well. he's going to be a good one me thinks.

[BB73]

Originally Posted by Dryden

This year, this back-seven is as good as any in OSU history. Chimdi and Donald have really impressed me, and the light has finally gone on for Freeman.

What's the longest pass play we've given up this year?

Only 1 play of 30 yards - here's the longest passing play for each game.

25 yards - YSU
16 yards - Akron
26 yards - U-Dub
28 yards - NW'ern
30 yards - Minny (Decker)
27 yards - Purdue (Keller)

[Carmen Ohio]

Originally Posted by kippy1040

"Carmen" stated that he thought Robiskie was better than Ginn. Well maybe better in catching the ball but speed and moves favored Ginn alittle better there. I think Ray Small is a real deal here.

For the record I said Robiskie is a better RECEIVER, Ginn is FASTER and Small will eventually replace Ginn's contributions. That's the same thing you're saying.

[Big Papa]

Yeah, agree with most of you here. The Defense is one of the best I have ever seen in Columbus. The speed out there, the knack for getting in passing lanes and making picks or knocking the ball down is incredible. What I love the most is that you rarely see a missed tackle, and if someone does make a catch or get through the front line, you are going to get hit and hit hard. You can count on it. I have really been impressed with the play of Anderson Russell. He is quickly becoming and absolute stud on defense. He is everywhere on that field.

The offense still seems to be a work in progress, as most of us suspected it would be. Beanie has run well, Robo has been awesome, Todd has been steady most of the time with glimpses of greatness as well as shots of still being a newbie as the new field general. This is an offense that is certainly capable of playing with anyone, but there is also a lot of room for improvement. I don't have anywhere near the same level of confidence with this Offense as I did last year with Troy, Teddy, Gonzo, Pittman and the boys. As Mili said, we should see some better tests for the Offense in the tougher match-ups coming up.