Our Honor Defend

It was the first start for a freshman at quarterback since Art Schlichter in 1978.  In 1978, Woody Hayes ended the QB controversy in the opener against Penn State by sending both senior Rod Gerald out, followed by Schlichter, with the freshman lining up under center.  However, unlike Schlichter’s first start that resulted in 5 picks for Art in a 19-0 loss (the last home opener loss for the Buckeyes), Terrelle Pryor fared much better in his equally anticipated start.  Pryor went 10/16 for 139 yards and threw for 4 TDs (with one hail mary INT at the end of the second) en route to a 28-10 victory over Troy.

Most impressive for me, at least, in Terrelle’s debut was his two-dimensionality.  Indeed, Terrelle showed the necessary patience to not think run first, though designed runs were certainly called.  When protection broke down (hmm… Ben Person…), or when a coverage sack was imminent, Terrelle showed the patience necessary to be a quarterback at this level.  Eyes were always down the field, which is definitely a good thing that a true freshman QB of Pryor’s capabilities already has that ingrained in him.  There were more than a few plays were Pryor’s ability to keep the play alive could’ve resulted in big plays.  But then again, Brian Robiskie curiously did him no favors in the first half.  Hmm.  Further, Terrelle even found the fullback on a few of the safe options and Rory Nicol on the first touchdown of the game.  The Nicol TD elicited a phonecall from my freshman roommate with both of us asking each other, “We throw to our tight ends? We do?”.

The passing game was spread out over all options.  Brandon Smith (2-20), in at fullback, had as many catches as the Brians (Robiskie: 2-41; Hartline: 2-55), though the Brians did have a few touchdown grabs (2 for Hartline, 1 for Robiskie).  Nicol had two grabs as well, though one of them was for a loss.  Brandon Saine had a grab for 12 yards.  The passing game for this game is cause for curiosity, if nothing else.  The two most productive receivers (in my opinion at least) in Ray Small and Dane Sanzenbacher barely saw the field.  Small’s absence was particularly curious considering he is the team’s best receiver for this young season (at least in terms of production).  When pressed for an explanation, Tressel only commented that Small is fighting for playing time along with Taurian Washington and DeVier Posey.  I’m skeptical, mostly because if Small is fighting for playing time with the underclassmen, shouldn’t Brian Robiskie?  His half-hearted juggling of that sure 90yd touchdown pass from Pryor was a yank-worthy offense, though I’m unaware how much of that glorified fondling of the ball can be attributed to soreness in his shoulder.  Lest we forget Robo running out of bounds to spoil Pryor’s big play on third down in the first half as well.  Hmm.

I feel that if it weren’t for Pryor getting almost all the snaps, Herron would have had over 100 yards rushing for the day.  As it is, his 20 carries for 94 yards was good enough for tops on the day.  Pryor also chipped in 66 yards on the ground (86 if you control for the 20 yard sack).  On Herron, I hope we’ve found our primary back in lieu of Beanie.  He’s not Beanie, but Boom Herron is a more than capable substitute.  His aggression at the point of attack has improved and he seems to be the only tailback we have that can run between guards and tackles.

Total offensive production was nothing spectacular.  The Buckeyes were more productive than usual on the ground (170 yards) than they were through the air (139 yards).  Some of that can be attributed to the third quarter being a push; most of that can be attributed to special teams.  Troy’s opening kickoff out of bounds gave the Buckeyes a deliciously short field that resulted in the Rory Nicol TD.  The 4th quarter scores came after AJ Trapasso’s punts pinned Troy within their own 5 on consecutive possessions.  Give love to the punter, yo.

Sadly, Gabby insisted that we change bars during half to the one that, as we found out, did not have a thorough Direct TV subscription.  Thus, we had to wait on Penn State eating Temple alive before being kicked over to the beginning of the 4th quarter in Ohio Stadium (with the score 14-10).  That said, there were still some things I picked up on the defensive side of the ball.

First, our front four, again, have not been getting any pressure.  And, as I’ve been saying this problem is most pronounced on the interior.  I thought Lawrence Wilson did good on the end position.  He had a first quarter pass break-up, a TFL and 6 tackles (3 solo, 3 assisted).  Our tackles, however? Hmm.  They bit on hard counts to try to gain an advantage at the line of scrimmage (anticipating the snap).  The offsides penalty (I think it was Denlinger) foretold the impending doom on that drive that resulted in Troy’s lone TD.  Worthington was probably the best performer of that group (1 TFL, 2 solo 2 assisted).  I’m not sure to what extent Abdallah played (Worthington and Heyward were listed as starters), but he didn’t have much to show on the game.  Abdallah and Larimore both had an assisted tackle. Heyward had 3 tackles (1 solo, 2 assisted).  What’s even more troubling for me is that they looked so tired during the second half. Hmm.

It’s easy to pile on James Laurinaitis as being a pile jumper (pun not intended, just trying to get this post out).  However, any accusations of pile-jumping basically indicate that Laurinaitis is always near the ball.  He had 12 tackles (4 solo, 8 assisted), including a delicious 9 yard sack with Troy in the red zone (ultimately resulting in the FG).  In that play, Laurinaitis blew by a tackle and the pass-blocking tailback (who futilely tried to rush forward to pick him up) and blew up the play as it started.  Nicely done.  Freeman had 7 tackles (2 solo, 5 assisted), but him whiffing on that Troy wide receiver (not interested in his name) set the gears in motion for the tackling failarity that resulted in the 45 yard TD for Troy.  Ross Homan was a non factor (1 solo, 1 assisted).  However, on a play in the first half (a flanker screen of sorts for Troy), Homan sniffed out the man in motion as the receiver for the play, attacked it before the play began.  The slot receiver for Troy had to commit to Homan, springing forward one of the CBs to make the play and blow it up before it effectively began.  Nicely done, Ross.  That play wasn’t lost on me.

The secondary continues to be the strength of the defense, in my opinion.  Jermale Hines was all over the field for the Buckeyes, tallying a career high 7 tackles (4 solo, 3 assisted).  It was good enough for second on the day for all players.  However, I think most fans took from that game Hines’ sure pick six.  With Troy pinned within their own 5 yard line, the Trojans attempted another screen.  Jermale Hines read it. He jumped it.  He had it in the end zone for six… and he dropped it.  Read it. Jumped it.  Had it… and dropped it.  Hmm.  The star of the game was Kurt Coleman, who in his first significant playing time of the 2008 season (I think he was still injured for USC, but I could be wrong), had a career day.  His strip-pick was the play of the game for the Buckeyes.  He added another interception to his tally in the third quarter.  His 7 tackles (2 solo, 5 assisted) was good enough for third on the day for the Buckeyes’ defense.  Kurt Coleman made a promise to himself to make 2008 a breakout year personally.  He seems to be well on the way to just that.  Hines and Coleman stood out, but Jenkins curiously did not.  He only had 2 tackles (1 solo, 1 assisted) and kind of a dumb interference penalty that gave Troy a first down.

Some other things of note:

• If my thoughts/analysis seem vague or incorrect, it’s because I was watching this game at a bar concurrent with the Crimson Tide being on TV for the locals.  Suffice to say, they were none too pleasant with us, resulting in more than a few times of me having to tell them to shut the fuck up so we can watch the game.
• With Rehring out, the staff opted to put Brewster at center and slide Cordle out to left guard.  It worked, I thought.  I was more than pleased with Brewster’s performance, especially since he’s a true freshman making the move from tackle to center.  Nicely done, big man.
• That said, Ben Person is still cause for major concern.
• So too is our defensive line.  There’s nothing wrong with Heacock’s defensive philosophy of 4 man front and zone coverage (basically: kinda what the New York Giants do) so long as the 4 man fronts are able to consistently get pressure.  In our case, they aren’t.  Only two sacks on the day, with one of them coming from Laurinaitis.  The interior is especially cause for concern because they have the shortest route to the QB.  Hmm.
• This was by far the angriest I’ve ever seen Jim Tressel on the sideline, coming from skull session, or coming out of the tunnel.  This is good, because he at least is emulating the anxieties and frustrations of the fans.  I’m hoping we see Evil Jim Tressel from here on out.  You know, the kind of Jim Tressel that would go for 2 at the end of the game, burn down a goalpost or cheerleader and beat up the rival mascot at the end of the game.
• This is only the Buckeyes’ 6th victory over a team from SEC territory since Woody Hayes (1951.  Before that, the Bucks played Kentucky and Vanderbilt several times before WWII and lost only one of those games).  The Bucks beat Miami (FL) in 1977, 2002 (tee-hee), Louisville in 1991 and 1992, and LSU in 1988.  It’s the first Buckeye victory over any team from Alabama (0-4 before that, with 3 of those being against the Crimson Tide).  If nothing else, the Buckeyes have shown that they’re capable of beating an SEC JV squad.  High-five!
• More Nathan Williams sightings during this game.  Everything I read on Williams is good.  He’s built like a monster truck and he doesn’t have an offswitch.  If he runs the wrong play or can’t get to the QB, he’ll turn field and make the tackle.  He did just that on a 9yd rush for Troy.
• Some consternation follows from this game still being a game in the 4th quarter.  Troy had Ohio State exactly where they wanted, but couldn’t capitalize.  This is true, but it’s also important to note that this was a true freshman QB getting a good test against a more than capable Troy team.  It wasn’t a blowout, but at least for the offense, it was a significant step in the right direction.
• Playcalling questions naturally emerge.  Most importantly, I love Brian Hartline, but I wouldn’t ever give him an end-around.  I’d like to see what Lamaar Thomas could do with one of those, though.  Some of 11w’s commenters are saying that the playcalling was rather bland and pedestrian, given Pryor’s talents.  This is true to a large extent, but one has to take in to consideration other factors.  First, the team’s best tailback (for the moment) is a between-tackles tailback.  Second, the team’s wide receivers are not ideal spread option players.  The pistol seems to be the best framework for Pryor given what else is around him.  It is the best compromise.  Remember, it’s not enough that Terrelle Pryor has to learn from Jim Tressel; Jim Tressel has also acknowledged that he has a lot to learn about Pryor.  As the days go on, I would expect the playcalling involving Pryor to get trickier.  I think there’s more to explore out of the pistol than they have done already (namely: fake handoffs and bubble screens).  I’m not fretting that we’re not doing it right now.