Current NFL All-OSU Football team...

[billmac91]

I'm not putting a ton of thought into this, so any input is great....just spit-balling a current ALL-OSU football team, and what it would look like:

Here would be my starting line-up. Help fill in the depth or correct any mistakes....

QB: Troy Smith
RB: Chris Wells
WR: Anthony Gonzalez
WR: Teddy Ginn
WR: Santonio Holmes
TE: Ben Hartsock
*Offensive line gets tricky due to lack of players....so hypothetically under current curcumstances, I'm thinking...

LT: Orlando Pace
G: Rob Sims
C: Nick Mangold
G: Alex Stepnovich
RT: Alex Boone/Kirk Barton

Defensively I'm calling for a 3-4:

DE: Will Smith
NT: Ryan Pickett
DE: Kenny Peterson
OLB: Vernon Gholston
ILB: Mike Vrabel
ILB: James Laurinitis
OLB: AJ Hawk
CB: Antoine Winfield/Chris Gamble
CB: Nate Clements
SS: Donte Whitner
FS: Malcolm Jenkins

Offensively, if you had to pull back-ups, even guys not on rosters, I suppose you'd go:

QB: Craig Krenzel, Justin Zwick
RB: Antonio Pittman, Jonothan Wells
WR: Joey Galloway
WR: Michael Jenkins
WR: Roy Hall/Brian Hartline/Robiskie/Drew Carter, etc....
TE: Darnell Sanders

*Again O-line in very tough....
OT: Barton or Boone
G: Doug Datish
C: ?
G: Adrien Clarke ?
OT: Just don't know
*Shane Olivia unfortunately should be on this list, but addiction problems......

Defensive back-ups:
DE: Jay Richardson
NT: Tim Anderson
DE: Rodney Bailey
OLB: Larry Grant
ILB: Na'il Diggs
ILB: Bobby Carpenter
OLB: Marcus Freeman
CB: Antoine Winfield/Chris Gamble
CB: Ashton Youboty
SS: Nate Salley
FS: Shawn Springs

P: B.J. Sanders (not in league)
K: Mike Nugent

Special teamers:
Ryan Reynolds
Anthony Schegel
Will Allen
Kevin Houser
Donnie Nickey
Mike Doss
Donald Washington

Anyways, the biggest weakness is OL depth and QB. I think Troy could be a solid NFL QB but unproven. The WR group is lethal. The depth at WR and DB is astounding. Just loaded. Overall the offense is a huge question mark. Playmakers yes, OL to open it up....no. TE is suspect at best as well.

FB is tough. Not sure we currently have any in the league (last I remember is Jamar Martin). Nick Goings shouldn't count on this list.

So, anyways, what would you change to the list? Is 3-4 the right way to go with our amazing coup of LB's in the league? Or would you maybe go 4-3 and slide Gholston to a more natural DE position in a 4-3 opposite Will Smith? Admittedly, using my 3-4 scheme, we are VERY vulnerable from the NT position. I was just looking at getting as many playmakers on the field.

I think the defense would be a top notch unit in the NFL. That secondary is sick. I put Malcolm at safety just to get him on the field. A unit of Whitner, Jenkins, Winfield, Clements, with Gamble as nickle would be unheard of. A dime package would just be lock-down as well too.

Thoughts?

 

[Jaxbuck]

Honestly all I can think of when I look at that list is what a great team 2005 was and what could have been. :(

Also a good illustration of the areas where the talent production has been good, bad and kind of ugly under JT. Speaking of which.......

We always tries to compare JT to Woody but in a lot of ways he reminds me of Earle. Nothing bad about that, just a lot of similarities I personally have always overlooked before that I'm seeing differently now.

 

[billmac91]

We always tries to compare JT to Woody but in a lot of ways he reminds me of Earle. Nothing bad about that, just a lot of similarities I personally have always overlooked before that I'm seeing differently now.

I'm interested in what you mean by that....

 

[Jaxbuck]

I'm interested in what you mean by that....

First, JT's had more success than Earl Bruce any way you want to measure it. Second, I don't think being compared to coach Bruce is a bad thing in any way shape or form.

That said the talent to the NFL thing is obviously weak in the trenches and that was one of the things that was painfully obvious about Earl's era. By the end of it we were completely outmanned along the LOS.

Both coaches essentially came out of the chute playing for a NC. JT got the breaks and won a close one. Earl didn't get them and lost a heart breaker.

Earl had some great individual talents play under him at OSU. Byars, Spielman, Carter, Lachey are some of the all time best ever at OSU but he could never get it all to click at one time and have a juggernaut team that was a serious NC contender after that first year. He had some solid B10 championship teams but no elite teams imo.

A lot of those same things can be said right now of JT. As others have pointed out elsewhere, he can't seem to get it all together at one time. 2003 defense was great, offense sucked. 2005 both sides were good but TS screw up cost us the early season games with Texas and PSU. 2006 great O bad D etc etc. Great individual talents that are predominatly non DT or OL.

Thats the things your post made me think of. The recent OOC and Bowl game losses have left me wondering if JT hadn't won that first NC game and wasn't a better politician-for lack of a better word-than Earl, would JT be tagged with some sort of "9-3 Earl" moniker of his own? JT getting to follow Cooper while Earl followed Woody adds another piece to that equation as well.

More just thinking out loud than anything.