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The nickel back at Ohio State....secret weapon? maybe...

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Buck94

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In reading some of the results of the spring practices from other teams this year (USC, Miami, TSUN), they all seem to have 3 and sometimes 4 good to outstanding WRs. In most cases, this would give them a definite mismatch advantage with a 3 or 4 WR set. However, this appears to not be the case against OSU. It seems OSU could have up to three outstanding nickel/dime DBs on defense this year. Youboty, Ginn, Everett, and even Mitchell could be more than most WRs would care to handle given their collective size, speed and athleticism.
Why I think this is significant is that OSU will certainly face this match-up with TSUN and could face one of the other teams in a bowl game if OSU plays up to its potential next season. Teams my find out very quickly that there is no drop off in effectiveness when OSU goes to a nickel or dime package and they will need to decide whether they want to face 5 or 6 outstanding DBs or the best LB corps in college football.


How OSU fares defensively in these key match-ups and how the other team adjusts could be a significant factor in OSU having another outstanding season.


(This is based on my belief that the D-line, while not as good as last year, will be able to consistently provide pressure on opposing QBs and will be solid against the run.)
 
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I absolutely agree. I'm sure WashState and TexTech, among many others, thought they'd be able to beat us throwing. Nobody's been able to do it, save Gamble's bite at Wisconsin. Our depth at DB is extraordinary.
 
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We lost the game at wisc and mich, becuase we lost th etemp of the game, we let them beat us up on the line.

As to the question, i see it straighting up with the d line, if they can all go 1 v 1 with lineman we should be alright, but if we can get guys like smith, scott, anderson, who need to be double teamed by lineman we should be fine, cuz we will have the ability to create pressure with our lbs,putting the opposing qbs on their ass. Ask cody picket, all world qb, with all world receiver, did nothing.

i then think it goes to the lineacking crew, the two best against the pass (hawk and...) id like to say carpenter, but i havnet seen schelegel in big ten caliber games, kerr-does he have speed to match up against guys like everett of miami or holmes of usc, i dont know. The other possiblity is matthews,

The dbs well who is even goin to start back their, you have to think fox will be back their getting picked on all the time as he has been the last few years, Salley is the only for sure, the other saftey witner/mitchell, if you put mitchell and salley back their you have an incredible upside with size, speed, and flat out fear cuz they can hit like nobody's business. Then underwood on the other side of the field fighting for time with youboty.


If it was my team, this is who i would play.

de-frasier
dt-pittock
dt-patterson
de-richardson

though i would expect a heavy rotation with penton, green, kudla, and maybe some reggie arden

linebackers, i would use them interchangable with a 4 man rotation
This will keep them fresh and flying around the field, i believe we should utilize our deep and athleticism, the guys id rotate

hawk
carpenter
schelegel
d'andrea
kerr
freeman*as he progresses, only a tad though

DBS

cb-fox
cb-underwood
i would be tempeted to see a little ginn, but youboty will probably be the third cb
fs-salley
ss-mitchell, with whitner
nb-whitner
db-my best athlete (ginn) put him on lock down on the 4 receiver
 
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I agree with your starting DB and rotation...

I think both Mitchell and Whitner are capable of starting and may share time. Everett is solid as well and is a heady player. He made a great play as a freshman against WSU with his interception.
 
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It depends if Whitner starts or not. If he starts, I don't know if Mitchell is the ideal NB-generally you guys w/ more coverage skills at that position. Then again, Will Allen played NB in 2002, so it could all work out. I think Ginn might be tried out a WR ala Gamble just to get the ball in his hands a few more times a game.
 
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I think whitner has got to start. Sometimes I think we overlook this very talented kid.
I agree with stx, I'm expecting Ginn to get in on offense. If he is everything as advertised, then we'll be seeing a lot of him on Saturdays.
After seeing him in the army game,I am very excited about him returning kicks. This could be the best return guy we've had here in a long time.
 
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Could be...not sure. According to one of the "blogs" in certain coverages i think the SS is responsible for the TE. Anyway I seem to recall Whitner having trouble with the Michigan TE? Anyone know for sure?
 
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wdg01 said:
Could be...not sure. According to one of the "blogs" in certain coverages i think the SS is responsible for the TE. Anyway I seem to recall Whitner having trouble with the Michigan TE? Anyone know for sure?
Click to expand...

Both positions at times are responsible for covering the tight end. A quality TE is a mismatch for any defense. Safeties, in general, aren't big enough to cover them and linebackers are often times not quick enough. Watch Tony Gonalez from the Chiefs. He runs away from linebackers and muscles safeties using his body to shield them away from the ball in traffic. There really is no answer for a big man with speed. Look no further than the Fiesta Bowl a couple years ago. I was really looking forward to watching Hamby and LI give defenses fits this fall...
 
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this thread is hit it right on the head, whitner would be starting at at least 90 D1 schools across the country, we arent even sure if he will be our nickel back.. we are so loaded in our secondary its scary. If our D-line plays up to potential this could be one of the greatest defense of all time, and next year it should be even better!!! 3 years in a row of the top corner in the country and the top linebacking core too... hoping for a 4th straight year with an all american safety, and a d-line that could be even better than last years which may have been the best in the country.. i am SOOOOO excited to see these guys get on the field, this team could be scary good... maybe our D can outscore the opposing offenses on their own? and if we keep getting more of these big time O-linemen our offense should be top tier soon too..
 
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If a team a decent Qb, they will be able to quite easily pass against our base defensive set because Fox and Underwood are average imo and if matched up against Salley or whoever's starting beside him at safety, they'll do even better. Key will be for defensive line to generate pressure but I've real concerns about our defensive ends doing that when Fraser is supposed to be the best (just how many sacks does he have to date in his career ?). All that being said, we will be facing a lot of first year starting Qbs this year which should help.

Bucknutty, do you really think LI is ever going to play another down at OSU ? It might be Caldwell, not LI, making plays @ TE with Hamby this year.
 
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ya think so huh louis? Well i am willing to place some money on that if you come up with a decent stat we can compare to show how well those quarterbacks do against us.

you did watch this team last year right? everett who is supposed to be more talented than gamble is just average, fox who runs a 4.3 and has never been burnt is just average (will be all big-ten this year) david patterson showed SERIOUS skill at getting to the qb as a true freshman last year, Kudla could be a freak now finally healthy, frasier was banged up after the first game last year but you do remember what he did when healthy right?
cotton, abdullah, maupin, green, gholstin, barrow.. even a few national publications have been drueling over this rotation, im expecting the dl to put up even better stats this year than last.. last year the D-line was the big name and let the linebackers get the stats, this year the linebackers are the big names and i expect that to translate into more sacks for the ends as the backs will be keeping a weary eye out for schlegal, hawk and carpenter all day..
 
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I've never been impressed with Fox. I think too many overlook the scores he has given up and most importantly, all of the pass interferences he has committed trying not to get burnt which keep drives going. I've not been impressed with Underwood. All I remember is him getting burnt for a score because he wouldn't look back at ball. I've not been impressed with any of the other cornerbacks to be honest like Youboty. I like our potential at safety with Salley, Mitchell, etc. but their best skills are hitting, not defensing the pass which seems to be the negative of other recent safeties.

I'm not as confident about the defensive ends generating a pass rush as you are. I remember Fraser having 1 big game against Washington and then disappearing. His health is a factor in considering what kind of threat he is at the position and that's what worries me, plus he's not a big factor when healthy. I don't see much at the position and think we'll struggle there like we have whenever we've broken in new defensive ends like with Smith and Scott, Johnson and Bailey, Finkes and Vrabel, and so on.

Defensing the pass is not the strength of any of the linebackers imo. Hawk has gotten some picks though.

Our defense may have success defending the pass but it will be because we face a lot of green Qbs this year. I think maybe only 4 teams we face this season will return their starting Qb from last year (Purdue, Marshall, Cincinnati, Penn State) and then everybody else is new and that matters a lot. If we were to face a good passing team in a bowl like USC or Florida, I think we'd get exploited big time.
 
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