What's Wrong & How to Fix It (Merged)

[LordJeffBuck]

Obviously, over the past few days, many posters have expressed opinions about what is "wrong" with the 2005 Buckeyes, but very few have had any constructive solutions on how to "fix" the problem(s). Well, here's your chance. I've come up with several areas which might be sources of concern:

1. Coaching

a. Instruction (technique, for example)
b. Game planning & schemes
c. Adjustments during the game
d. Overall philosophy​

2. Talent

a. Physical ability
b. Execution
c. Chemistry
d. Intangibles (mental toughness, for example)​

If you propose a solution, then please be specific. If you think that the Bucks need an offensive coordinator, then who's the guy to hire. If the schemes are not working to your satisfaction, then what would you do instead. If the Bucks don't have enough talent, then how can the staff recruit better, or be better teachers of their current players. This is not another thread to whine about a tough loss, but a chance for you to express some well-reasoned opinions about a team which is struggling a bit right now.

 

[vrbryant]

I would say that unless you have a phenomenal talent behind center, you don't fuss with this sort of offense wherein the quarterback is encouraged (or not discouraged, even) to 'make plays' with his 'feet'. I think Smith's play versus Michigan last year gave a lot of people the idea that he had Josh Harris or even Vince Young-type skills, and it's just not the case. Personally I would prefer that the offense throw the ball twelve to fifteen times per game, spending the remainder of the time in 'big' sets designed to grind the ball. Yes, Ginn and Holmes are talented, and it would be fantastic if we still had a field marshal like Krenzel who can simply get the job done without trying to (or needing to) be the star of the game. In terms of 'fixing' things, I simply hope that in two years, when (presumably) they hand the reins to Boeckman, that somehow Ginn has decided to stick around and the defense reloads. A more traditional pocket passer with one stud wideout to work to and an offense built on running the ball - all combined with a shut down D? Sounds like 2002 to me.

 

[sandgk]

Obviously, over the past few days, many posters have expressed opinions about what is "wrong" with the 2005 Buckeyes, but very few have had any constructive solutions on how to "fix" the problem(s). Well, here's your chance. I've come up with several areas which might be sources of concern:

1. Coaching

a. Instruction (technique, for example)
b. Game planning & schemes
c. Adjustments during the game
d. Overall philosophy​

2. Talent

a. Physical ability
b. Execution
c. Chemistry
d. Intangibles (mental toughness, for example)​

If you propose a solution, then please be specific. If you think that the Bucks need an offensive coordinator, then who's the guy to hire. If the schemes are not working to your satisfaction, then what would you do instead. If the Bucks don't have enough talent, then how can the staff recruit better, or be better teachers of their current players. This is not another thread to whine about a tough loss, but a chance for you to express some well-reasoned opinions about a team which is struggling a bit right now.

Well I am somewhat surprised no-one has piped up with constructive suggestions. I'll give you my two cents worth - which opinion is likely properly valued

1. Coaching

a. Instruction (technique, for example)
On instruction one area I believe can be improved is to bring in a high quality running back coach to replace Dick Tressel. However, my reasoning for this is not just because of a desire to see a state-of-the-art running attack, it is to eliminate having a family member be part of the Head Coaches staff. Suggestions - bring in a RB coach of the level of Eddie Gran (presently RB coach Auburn). Next on the list might be an ex-Buckeye who knows the ins and outs of how to play RB, Byars or Eddie George either would be good additions.
b. Game planning & schemes
OK - I guess this is the area in which everyone's favorite fix (a new OC) might go.
This one area for improvement in which I am heavily conflicted. More so because we know from all the JT has said in the past that the real reins of power would still be in his hands - thus which incoming OC would willingly put their career in idle mode while essentially playing the role of OC? In addition, you have the issue of timing of such a hire. A fix this big will not happen until the bowl games are done. That said I propose 2 candidates. First on my list would be Gregg Brandon of Bowling Green - want more wide open offense, he can scheme it for you. Second on my list would be an out-of-the-box pick, Mike Locksley, presently with Illinois. He would bring an added benefit of strong recruiting connections in the South (particularly Florida) and East Coast states. Locksley could be considered a safe pick for RB coach, though he might look at that as downgrade in position title, versus an upgrade in program and overall national standing.
c. Adjustments during the game
The ability to adjust I believe is fine on the Defensive side of the ball - it is on the Offensive side that we need extra work. Bring in one or more of the OC or RB candidates above and I think Offensive adjustments improve.
d. Overall philosophy
We must recognize that JT's current philosophy is safety first, scores and glitz second. Even if a new OC comes in I don't see that changing anytime soon in a big way. However, JT might find a way to loosen the reins and get more out of this offense. In big bowl games he has done just that. He could help our cause by letting the Offense live more up to its potential.
​

2. Talent

a. Physical ability
We have plenty of talent, with great physical ability. I think we should be forward looking here and address the issue of "those that got away." I.e., recruiting. Our recruiting is much better than adequate, though it gives the appearance of being too selective on an academic basis. Still that is something up with which we shall have to learn to put. Ohio State is not going to risk returning itself to the days of 0.00 GPA's for its football players (Germany anyone?). APR demands careful attention to a player's academic prospects. This year and next it will seem that Ohio State is putting up too much of a barrier to entry. Look back in say 5 years and I think we will all be very glad that the coaching staff and internal academic screening insists on recruiting good scholar athletes. Why, because it will preserve future scholarships - AND smart players are exactly what you want. That is it is not just about pure physical ability - of which, to re-state, we have an abundance.
I might also mention again that a Locksley hire as OC would give us an improved in-road to the Southern States -- and its abundance of prep talent.
b. Execution
Execution is something that can always be improved or honed.
c. Chemistry
I think the team chemistry is fine with Smith as signal caller. For the future Boeckmann seems to work very well with the O when given reps.
d. Intangibles (mental toughness, for example)
The only intangible about mental toughness with a single player that comes to my mind is whether Ginn is presently fully into the games. His apparent desertion of a North-South running style, turn on the jets and juke the safeties at speed, is perplexing.
A team mental toughness issue could be argued to exist for
Night games, on the road, after a Bye week.. Does it help that Tressel explicitly comes out and say that he really does not like night games at all?

​

 

[jwinslow]

The talent is not the problem. Roy Hall is a pretty great jump ball WR, and the others are dynamic speedsters (and there are 3 of them). The problem is the QB. Boeckman may be good due to years in the system, but I like Robbie's pure talent a lot better. He impressed me live at the N/S game, and blew me away at the Big33. That is not a guarantee of success, but I like his arm better than Boeckman's.

Coaching is a huge problem here. Troy was a lot more effective pre-UM last year. He was inconsistent, but he was very good at turning good coverage into a 7 yard gain on the ground. Now, he is terrified to run b/c of all of the coaching. While this is good, last game we saw that he is not the best QB at going thru his progressions. It might be a lot more realistic to have him look for two options and then have freedom to take off.

He throws an outstanding ball on the run... sometimes better than in the pocket. We have not designed enough plays around him rolling out threatening to run or pass.

We desperately need an OC, if only so we can get the play to the line of scrimmage. We won games, so I could look past the horrendously stupid method of running the QB to the sidelines every game, but saturday was a prime example. Our last drive, he got there with few seconds, and in front of a hostile student section, he ended up having to take a timeout. That timeout would have given us the ball back. I like the BG OC idea, I'm gonna agree with you. We have obviously recruited for a spread offense, now we need to execute.

We do not need an OC to put up huge numbers. We need one that gets us to the line with 20 seconds left on the playclock. That can run a conservative offense that isn't predictable all of the time. We need one that any other major university in america would be interested in hiring (we don't have that).

it would be fantastic if we still had a field marshal like Krenzel who can simply get the job done without trying to (or needing to) be the star of the game. In terms of 'fixing' things, I simply hope that in two years, when (presumably) they hand the reins to Boeckman, that somehow Ginn has decided to stick around and the defense reloads.

IMO people have a very idealized memory of Krenzel. He would get it done with this offense, and we would probably win both close games this year. But he struggled a lot with his passing too. He just didn't make mistakes, or take big sacks, like TS. He wasn't that great of a passer either (McMullen fits that bill). Also, there's no way Ginn's going anywhere until he starts getting the ball with space to run.

 

[osugrad21]

I have some concerns about player development at various positions and the OL scheme/philosophy...

When this offense is executed...it is effective and sometimes even exciting. When it isn't, it is ugly as sin.

We do not need an OC to put up huge numbers. We need one that gets us to the line with 20 seconds left on the playclock.

That is as much Bollman's fault as JT's...the eyes upstairs are responsible for defensive personnel changes, tendencies, etc. If he is not getting info in fast enough and tOSU is not making their personnel changes quick enough, it is an issue.

As for the QB coming to the sideline every play, that is pretty commonplace. If you are not substituting players every down, you either run the QB over or send in hand signals...which are usually deciphered by midway through the first quarter.

 

[scooter1369]

Coaching
a. Instruction

Let me be blasphemous for just a minute before I get reamed.

Two questions about TG2:

1. Is Ted Ginn best served playing Wide Receiver?

2. When comparing him to the guys behind him on the depth chart, is he the best route runner?

These are my concerns about TG2. Let me address #1.

Is TG2 playing out of position? I believe he is. Ginn can only make the defense better. But while we are so busy misusing his talent on offense, we may never see what made him the consensus #1 ranked DB in the 2004 class. We are loaded with offensive talent. Holmes, Hall, Gonzalez, Dukes, Robiskie, Jordan, Lyons..... We need to be using them and let TG2 be the DB he was recruited as. Which brings me to my next point

Ginn is still learning to play WR. This is pure fact. Seems that the routes he is given are jumped all the time now. If we are going to use him on offense, it shouldn't be the same series of screens, hooks, and reverses that we always use. There is not one man on the field that can cover him one on one down the field. If we are afraid to go deep with him, why is he on the field?

Should Gonzalez be the #2 guy behind Holmes and should Dukes or Hall or maybe even Robiskie or Lyons be the #3?

We all know Ginn can make plays. But the pressure on him to be Gamble/Holmes/Reggie Bush rolled into one is absolutely oppressive. Seems to me that he is rarely open because defenses know he isn't going deep. We never use him that way. We did once against MU and it was a 42 yard TD.

By using Ginn the way we are, defenses know they can sit one guy on Ginn in a short zone and wait for the quick hitch and then tackle him. That makes it too easy to cover Holmes with two and cheat up the other safety to spy Smith or cover Gonzo. Meanwhile, the backers can sell out on the run knowing nothing is going on behind them.

This is just my take. And it boils down that fact that our offense is not vanilla. It tastes like cardboard its so bland.

We are misusing the talent we have on the field and disrespecting the talent we have on the bench by doing so. Period. And that my friends, is coaching.

 

[jwinslow]

BN27 was at the game, and has repeatedly stated that Ginn was open a ton, and that he had 1v1 coverage downfield and never saw the ball. So I think too much of the blame is going on Ginn. Look at it this way, Gonzo was the "crappier" WR yesterday, seeing as he never got open enough to get the ball. I seriously doubt that was the case, but you can see how the perception that's applied to Ginn doesn't seem as fair when applied to Gonzo, altho Gonzo is a better pure WR.

The few times Ginn has had room to go North South, he has (Miami screen, near TD, Boeckman TD, Iowa PR). I think people misapply the criticism of Ginn. I think his problem is that when the play is stopped, he loses yardage. I don't think that he can get many yards on most of his "problematic" plays.

Therefore, that is a scheme problem and coaching problem. The schemes do not give him enough open space, including on normal passes (it wouldn't be hard to send him over the middle instead of holmes once in a while, there are tons of plays where he is such a short option that defenders guard him after the upfield WR). The coaching problem is related to not teaching him to accept when he is corralled adn just go down instead of losing yardage.

 

[scooter1369]

If you go back to the first TD of the scUM game last year and watch it from the endzone as I did, you'll notice something huge.

Ginn runs an out pattern, Gonzo a deep seem post. The second that Ginn makes his cut to the side line, four defenders immediately moved in that direction. FOUR!!! Only one defender stayed home and he did his best to keep up with Gonzo and couldn't.

 

[jwinslow]

If you go back to the first TD of the scUM game last year and watch it from the endzone as I did, you'll notice something huge.

Ginn runs an out pattern, Gonzo a deep seem post. The second that Ginn makes his cut to the side line, four defenders immediately moved in that direction. FOUR!!! Only one defender stayed home and he did his best to keep up with Gonzo and couldn't.

UM's defense is suspect, what's your point? Probably the same coaching approach (definitely not a better one), except this time (PSU) the defenders are piss-poor and are well-schooled in our offense and stay home.

 

[timBUCK2]

New Pre-Game Plan for Night Games

I think we need change our pre-game ritual for night games. We've had 2 this year and dropped both decisions. Our statistics for winning night games are well under average.

Ohio State always seems to be more business-like than the other teams. It's generally a good thing since it makes them more consistent less likely to win/lose big.

Unfortunately, night games aren't just business. They increase the intensity 2 fold and the fans 5 fold. Penn State (and Texas for that matter) had all day to get pumped up emotionally, while our guys were probably just sitting around watching the clock on the wall waiting for gametime thinking about how we usually lose night games.

We need to have a new pre-game ritual for night games that helps the guys get excited throughout the day. It will help break the stigma that's developing in the locker room too.

One other thing - we really need to watch what we say to the media before the game. Santonio Holmes (and a few others) slipped comments to the media basically likening us to Goliath. Any time you do that, it's just an invitation for David to show up across the field.

 

[scooter1369]

scUM sucks at defense, what's your point? Probably the same coaching approach (definitely not a better one), except this time (PSU) the defenders are piss-poor and are well-schooled in our offense and stay home.

I guess my main point in that post was that Ginn was a great decoy on that play, just as he was on the first TD of the Alamo Bowl.

 

[jwinslow]

I see. Well to that degree, I agree, b/c Ginn has been a horrible decoy. Like I said before, defenses could commit to the upfield WR (often holmes) and leave Ginn out on the sidelines by himself (since he was not far up field, the D was in front of him, and the sidelines could corral him somewhat). You can excuse the coaching staff for dropped passes, Smith not doing what he's taught, or the line not blocking. But the fact that Ginn is repeatedly used in a 3-5 yard out route is not acceptable.

 

[BuckPshrink]

Just a thought:
Ted G's slip in double coverage; 1st. scoring drive would have set up a 7 - zip lead. Tough catch which footing or a lack of may have contributed. AJ's slip during pursuit (I think on 3d. & 6?) which would have set up a punt. Josh squibbing after a slip on K. Troy's botched shovel pass, etc... on-and-on.
All the while, a newly sodded (2 weeks old) field rain soaked 2+ days.
Go back 2 years and we find similar circumstances in Madison.

Key= Both Barry and give the old Lion his due; Coach Paterno are able to adapt and use the weather to their advantage and when a short field happens, score points! It looked as if Coach Tressel developed and stuck to the gameplan way in advance. I have no doubt that equipment (cleats) were subbed prior to KO. The play - calling was not designed for this weather! Both in Madison and State College highlighted experience as the deciding factor. Nor am I ready to write Troy off just yet. Play calling hampered his abilities. Further, Coach Tressel will learn to spur-of-the moment make decisions that allow him to turn the corner. We were out-coached!
Plus, the 'shoe's field has a drainage system that allows such a night to be almost a non-factor. Have we ever designed a system for defeating a shitty playing surface? Coach Paterno did....

 

[tsteele316]

That is as much Bollman's fault as JT's...the eyes upstairs are responsible for defensive personnel changes, tendencies, etc. If he is not getting info in fast enough and tOSU is not making their personnel changes quick enough, it is an issue

you've hit on something here. moving bollman to the booth last season was predicated on his role being to see what was going on down on the field and relay that info to the sidelines so adjustments can be made. it's not happening.

also, what does joe daniels exactly do here? he is allegedly the qb coach and passing game coordinator. given the way this team has looked in that area, he may be best served to retire again and pontificate about how he coached dan marino.

 

[FortGordonBuck]

Does Smith want the win as much as being the winner?

What I think that we have seen is Troy Smith trying to establish himself as the "game winner". I think that he liked that feeling after the Michigan game so much that he wants to "win" every game. It is not enough for him to be part of the winning team-he wants to be the one that won it! He wants the big stats-200 passing/100 rushing, that makes him the MVP. That doesn't match with Tressell Ball, or even with team football, but that is what it looks like is going on. All the coaches efforts to get him to look for all his recievers just slows him down-he is still planning to run, except by then the defense is closing him in. A chance for a great highlight film! No, caught in the backfield, maybe a loss on the play, or even throwing into coverage for an interception.

In short, we have another "ego man". We have the best defense in the nation, but no signs of individual egos there. We have a quarterback that made it clear when someone else had the job that the team's problems were because he wasn't being given a chance to play. He got his chance and made the most of it. I applauded that and I was glad for the team. Since that though, it looks like Smith has become the focus of the offense-he won't use any of the other weapons. If #4 and #11 had some catches, I might agree that #7 was being mis-used. How can we even think that the coaches, the receivers, backs, and the line have all suddenly developed problems-but QB is good because "he beat Michigan"? No, The Buckeyes beat Michigan. If we want to beat Michigan again they had better either adjust Mr. Smith's view of team football or move him to the bench.