Block O Table – Spring Game Recap
This month’s (May) Block O Table comes courtesy of long time reader Ken, lifelong Buckeye fan a Muskingum College graduate (class of 73)1. Like us, Ken is part of the Buckeye diaspora, whom we pray for a safe return to the Great State of Ohio. Unlike us, Ken lives in the “hinterlands of Western New York”, a more liveable part of the United States than our current situation. He’s a lifelong Buckeye, and has a proud Buckeye fan and son living in Las Vegas to demonstrate the family’s commitment to the Scarlet and Gray. He agreed to help me out here with this month’s feature, providing a few questions before the Spring Game, on the Spring Game, for the lot of you to consider.
01. Which designated starting player (offense, defense, special teams) struck you as being “better than advertised”? Why?
02. Which designated starting player (offense, defense, special teams) disappointed you (either mildly or beyond belief)? Why? What do you see as remedy?
03. What is your impression of the play of the ‘meaner’ offensive line?
04. What is your impression of the reconstituted defense? Did anyone stick out?
05. What did you think of offensive play-calling? Were you disappointed?
06. From what you saw at the Spring Game, what is your guess for how the season will unwind? Should DickRod, and whoever he decides will be the QB, be concerned?
I’ll provide my answers later, but I await your thoughts from the Spring Game in the interim.
- Muskingum College is a great area, if you ever have the chance to wander around. [↩]
Vico,
Thanks for the kind introduction; your check should be arriving any day now.
A note to OHDenizens, please chip in whether you saw the game live, on local (OH) teevee or via the intertoobies. I caught most of the game on tv10.com or 10tv.com (or whatever the hell it’s called) and the live streaming was more like incontinence. Of course, you’d understand that what passes for college football in ‘these here parts’ are UB Bulls and Syracuse, so I guess the “streaming” looked pretty good.
Finally, I want to thank Vico and the OHD Team for letting an ol’fart help out.
O-H-I-O
Ken
I am also a Buckeye living in disapora, but unlike you Vico I traveled to Columbus (900 mile drive) for the spring game. You should be ashamed. But you live in Alabama, so you must already feel enough shame.
01. Which designated starting player (offense, defense, special teams) struck you as being “better than advertised”? Why?
This is somewhat of a lame-out, but I think Terrelle Pryor impressed me with his growth more than anyone else. He was 13-18 for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Some of those incomplete passes were easily catch-able balls, and those drops were the fault of the wide receivers, not TP. Although he took a sack or two, those were the result of poor line play, and not because he held onto the ball for too long, like he often did last year. If I could fault one thing, I would say he still plays a little too emotional. Emotion and passion are good, but I would prefer to see him a little more Troy Smith-esque, calmer and more collected.
02. Which designated starting player (offense, defense, special teams) disappointed you (either mildly or beyond belief)? Why? What do you see as remedy?
I didn’t know someone could be as big as Mike Adams and still get pushed around like Mike Adams done got did. Adams essentially engaged in slap fights with the opposing defensive end, getting knocked backwards constantly and several yards deep. The QB he was “protecting” had to consistently and immediately step up into the pocket, thereby limiting that QB’s effectiveness and shortening the time WRs had to run their routes. Adams seems to have no leverage, he doesn’t seem to knock the edge rushers back on their heels at all. I don’t see him as the answer at left tackle. Marcus Hall? Bueller?
03. What is your impression of the play of the ‘meaner’ offensive line?
See above re: Adams and his slap-fight tendencies. Boren looked mean and is built like a tank, but I did see him get knocked on his ass more than once. The right tackle play was pretty sad as well. However, the center portion of the line–the two guards and the center—held up admirably. While the QB was often forced to step up into the pocket immediately, knowing full well that the pass rushers would get a good push, the center of the line often gave the QB enough time to make his throw. The line didn’t get good push for the rush, however.
04. What is your impression of the reconstituted defense? Did anyone stick out?
I saw a defensive line that played very hungry, with a high motor, and I was encouraged by that sight. The linebackers struck me as undersized. I saw a lot of sloppy arm tackles, and several missed tackles. The secondary seems talented and big, but they all play as if they were on islands. There doesn’t seem to be good chemistry between that unit yet, and I hope that changes quickly over the summer. The hype is on Moeller right now, but I think that’s just cause he’s seen as a scrappy blue collar player. In reality, Jermale Hines is the real stud. One on play, Bauserman hung Posey out to dry with a pass over the top, and Hines could have absolutely leveled Posey. I’m talking knocked out cold. Hines wisely pulled off the hit, and Posey actually shoved Hines to the ground because Hines pulled off. But come Big 10 play, methinks Hines will take at least several players out of the game.
05. What did you think of offensive play-calling? Were you disappointed?
When Pryor was on the field, especially in the early going, we saw a lot of 4 and 5 wide sets. The WRs would run short routes, and Pryor would immediately hit them for short gains (or losses). I’m sure this is a solid way to build TP confidence, but I do miss the long ball threat. I don’t recall any play action whatsoever, and I think we need to re-develop that play. Smith to Ginn via play action was deadly. We need a WR that can get separation from his corner, and I didn’t see speed out there which was on a Ginn-type of level to make the play action tenable.
06. From what you saw at the Spring Game, what is your guess for how the season will unwind? Should DickRod, and whoever he decides will be the QB, be concerned?
I think this team will be too young to beat USC, unless TP has a game like Vince Young in the 2006 Rose Bowl. USC has to reload on defense, but they have experienced players in the wings. Our other tough test will be Penn State. The homer side of me wants to think we can beat PSU at home, but I have serious doubts. I think we will have 2 losses rolling into the Michigan game, and that Michigan will give us a good game in the big house. However, I do think our talent is more than good enough to eek out a win up north, and we should be heading to a new years day bowl. But the BCS streak will most likely end.
Jeez, I pity you guys in the diaspora – it’s gotta be rough, but at least it’s not as rough as it used to be. I spent two football seasons in D.C. some years back – pre-Internet and -GameDay Package years, mind you – and it sucked to miss so many games. Anyway, I had plans to go to the ‘Shoe but came down with a wicked cold, so instead I woke up at noon, set the DVR for Channel 10 from 1:30-3:30, went straight back to bed and ended up watching it at about 2:00 Sunday morning. FWIW, Jeff Hogan and Dom Tiberi were effing HORRIBLE – boring, tongue-tied, mistake-prone, etc. Bobby Carpenter was super-goofy too, but he’s at least got the excuse that he doesn’t get a paycheck for being a SPORTS JOURNALIST ON TELEVISION. They should have just put the Keels/Lachey feed on the TV broadcast.
1. If the important criterion here is “better than advertised”, then I think it’s Taurian Washington – we keep hearing from Tressel that he’s “getting better”, and “needs to be more consistent”, and stuff like that, but he damn sure looks ready for prime time to me. Maybe he’s got route-running or running-play blocking issues that I don’t catch (you know, the things SPORTS JOURNALISTS ON TELEVISION are supposed to point out to guys like me), but to me he’s a guy that we need to be getting the ball multiple times a game this year.
2. “Flash” Thomas. I’d say he’s one muffed kick – in a real game, that is – away from Tressel never sending him out for a return again. Where the offensive plays that are called for him are concerned, well let’s just say Percy Harvin he ain’t – not even “-lite”.
3. I don’t know. It’s hard to draw any sort of conclusions about UNIT play from a split-squad scrimmage, especially one where it would seem there were rules in place that made it likely that the defense knew whether a run or a pass was coming most of the time. I’ll say this: if Bollman can’t get the tackle position sorted out this year, he’s gonna need some anti-pitchfork/torch/tar-and-feather insurance. If there’s an aspect of Ohio State’s football program where everybody’s patience with Tressel has just about run out, Bollman is it, and I’d bet The Senator knows it. From what Bollman says every time I hear him talk, though, and how he says it – well, the dude just seems clueless. Maybe that’s the problem – nobody on the O-line learns anything or plays with fire because “Bolls” just straight-up bores motherfuckers to death.
4. “Reconstituted” isn’t a word I’d use – I’ll stick with “reloaded” even though it’s a cliche. Let’s be honest here; Ohio State’s defense is as close to a plug-and-play entity (the odd Jamario O’Neal notwithstanding) as there is in college football outside of USC’s whole team (fuckers) and Texas Tech’s offense. Even the “down” defensive years under Tressel have featured Top-10 or -15 squads. As far as Saturday goes, it all looked pretty good. The only thing that “stuck out” to me was Spitler’s leg when The Ghost put that move on him around the 5-yard line on his TD – for a second there I was worried that he’d broken his ankle (and his tib/fib, and femur, and dislocated his hip – that’s how bad Small juked him).
5. I really loved those 15-20-yard seam routes (at least I think that’s what they’re called – maybe skinny posts? you know what I’m talking about anyway) that were being hit by both LiC and Bauserman. Maybe it’s a brain-fart on my part, but I don’t really remember a lot of those the last couple years. I bet/hope we’ll see a lot of them this fall. I was completely surprised to see the lack of TE utilization, but maybe that’s just sandbagging. I hadn’t thought at all about the lack of play-action until Matt mentioned it. But I don’t think any of it is worrisome: Spring football, split squads, Tressel’s crazy rules, yada yada yada. Ask me about the playcalling after USC, not the Spring Game.
6. First things first: “Should DickRod…be concerned?” Are you kidding? He should be TERRIFIED. And not just about us, but about the whole year. Look: His offense is probably – PROBABLY – going to be MARGINALLY better than it was last year, if REPEAT IF Forcier can (A.) survive physically (B.) make the transition from no-contact Spring practice to full-go Division I competition while retaining any of the good things he showed in their Spring Game. These things are far from certain, but he’ll have better line play at least so that’ll help. But here’s the problem, and it’s a BIG one: His defense is very likely – like bordering on certainly – going to be worse than last year’s. And that defense gave up 42 points to us. Not to get too homerish here, but they don’t have a realistic chance of hoping for a win in The Game until 2011 at least, and that’s if LiC skips his Senior year. The disparity in talent is just too big right now. I think what keeps old guys like myself and Ken jittery sometimes is that we remember Cooper losing over and over to obviously inferior Michigan teams, but that’s exceedingly unlikely to happen under Tressel. Note that this doesn’t preclude them “giving us a good game”, or something crazy happening – anything is POSSIBLE, after all. But I’m talking about realistic probabilities here, and those say that Rodriguez is gonna have to crow small for a while yet. Anything more than 6 or 7 (probably 6) wins for them this year will be a miracle.
About the rest of the season: I think it’s a toss-up whether we can beat USC. It’s at our place, there’s a revenge factor, we won’t have Boeckmann gifting them touchdowns, we won’t be psychologically damaged by missing Beanie, they’re breaking in a new QB (again), etc. Of course, like 11W said, right now the Trojans are college football’s Deebo, so you’d be crazy to pick against them. But: This is Pryor’s next big test – he passed the first one late at Wisconsin, failed the second late vs. Penn State. I think he’s dying to pass this one, and I think it would be crazy to bet against LeBron in Cleats. Is that incoherent and on-the-fence enough for you? Ask me again after the 1st quarter.
Penn State I’m less worried about. They’re not going to be as good as they were last year, and last year they were lucky to beat us (helped along, of course, by our horrendous offensive line and a quintessential freshman mistake). I’m skeptical of Darryl Clark’s greatness (as proclaimed by the Nittany blogosphere, at least), and Tressel is at his best when it comes to big B11 road games.
Other than that, I don’t really see any toss-ups on the schedule. I think we lose either one game or no games, and that the BCS streak stays intact. The MNC game isn’t outside the realm of possibility.
My response is now up. Thanks Vico…keep the hard work up! Go Bucks!
http://www.osusilverbullet.com/4/post/2009/04/block-o-tablespring-game-recap.html
I think I can squeeze this in before I get to get off work.
01. This was a coming out party for the receivers, though I think we knew what the score was coming in to the Spring Game. Posey was looking like the guy, but needs to be more consistent. Washington is impressing, but needs to be more consistent. Ray Small, though, ran like Terry Glenn on Saturday. No, I won’t go there, per se, but I was really impressed with how smoothly he ran out there on the pitch. We all knew he was coming along, but that was particularly impressive. The popular answer here is likely to be Tyler Moeller, but since I’m more confident that Small will see the field (and see more of it) than Moeller, I’m opting for Small.
This may sound a little strange, but I liked what I saw from Grant Schwartz as well. James Jackson looked pretty good too.
02. Bauserman and just about everyone from the offensive line apply here. Botched first snap aside, I don’t think Bauserman effectively read the oncoming blitz. That, or his right tackle (Mike Adams initially) didn’t read the defense correctly and collapsed in when he should’ve picked up the outside heat. I think that’s the QB’s responsibility to make that read and inform his right tackle. I don’t think Michael Brewster had a good showing either. I seem to remember him holding on for dear life more than I’d like him to. This is not okay. Mike Adams needs to stop dicking around and show everyone that he’s really capable of being that good because the alternative — Andy Miller — … … oh God.
Lamaar Thomas deserves consideration here as well.
03. Happy thoughts… happy thoughts… happy thoughts… happy thoughts…
Realistically, it’s hard to read too much about the offensive line this game considering how much those guys were playing away from their usual positions. Again: Mike Adams at RT, Brewster at guard, Cordle (back) at center, Browning at RT. Considering that the Buckeyes lost almost a third of their scholarship players from last year, including 3 starter at the line, only had one incoming freshman playing (Mewhort, and out of position), had Shugarts injured (a big blow for the meantime), and had to divvy up the remainders to field two teams, the Spring Game was essentially a lost day for the offensive line. Factor in that the Spring Game is more or less a celebration of the program than it is a display of any quality of football, and I’ll try not to be too negative here.
Still, the only consistency I saw was from Boren. Good road grader, struggles in pass protection. I was not impressed with Brewster this game and I’m terrified about what will happen if we’re forced to play Andy Miller. There’s a long way to go, so let’s get to it.
04. The only position that I was not able to get a good read from was the secondary. I loved what I saw from the defensive line. I fear if it’s becomes to easy for them (against our offensive line), that they may become too complacent or underprepared for real opposition. Thad Gibson looked good. The interior played with a high motor. Goebel played to the whistle. Outside the line, the linebackers had a great showing. Rolle and Moeller were everywhere. Sabino racked up a number of tackles and no one talked about him. Storm Klein looks like he’s benefited greatly for the months of preparation. It seems like the only name I can think to speak critically of is Andrew Sweat. He missed that tackle that sprung Marcus Williams for the slow trot to the redzone. Outside of that, a good showing from the defense.
If anything, the good showing from (basically) all the linebackers should complicate sorting out the first team for the meantime. Maybe that’s a bad thing? Doubt it.
05. I’m disappointed with any offense not centered around the Notre Dame Box. I see all this spread mumbo jumbo and the return of the flexbone, but no Notre Dame Box.
Really, though, the playcalling was rather conventional. I’m fine with it being conventional, so long as the offensive line isn’t being pushed 4 yards into the backfield. I don’t care how exotic it looks; I just want it to work.
That said, why did we go away from the Buckeye Pistol? I liked the Buckeye Pistol. It seemed to be the formation that drew out the best from last year’s line.
06. I have a forthcoming publication in a Michigan magazine headed by MGoPac from MGoBlog where I take the high road, think happy thoughts like my court-appointed psychiatrist prescribed, and said double-digit wins in 2009. I didn’t have the heart to say that I’m fearing a 2004 type of season. Pryor is a badass, and should be in 2009. But even if I’m Indiana, I’m not sweating Ohio State’s O-line. Ohio, USC, Purdue, Penn State and even, yes, Nerdwestern (look at how often we were behind down and distance that game) didn’t think too much of our line. I can’t imagine Rodriguez will be concerned either unless our line gets a lot better.
I doubt USC is concerned either. It seems like they’re getting more mileage out of mocking us for not having a beach anyways. Besides, in spite of playing important early season games against the likes of Auburn, Va Tech and Arkansas, the last one they lost was in 2002 (against Kansas State).
Based on my “stop-action” views of the game…
01. Moeller struck me as better than advertised. I thought that he was a ‘gamer’, but this kid was flying all over the field. I think the back-7 is deep, but I don’t see how you can keep him off the field.
02. I thought that Flash flamed out. A player in a skill position really needs to learn to handle the ball, very disappointing.
03. Well, hard to tell. I thought there were some bright spots with the running game, especially since this was a split-squad game. I like Boren’s intensity. I’m encouraged by Miller’s athleticism at tackle, although I think he remains a work-in-progress.
04. Very encouraged with their play, again considering it was a split-squad situation. I liked Moeller, Rolle and Solomon’s play. They strike me a being on the smallish size for their positions, but hell, a playmaker is a playmeker.
05. I was fairly content with the choice of play calling, probably a result of some of the execution. TP’s passing game looked reasonably sharpe, the receivers REALLY looked like playmakers. TP struck me as being determined to throw the ball, which I thought was very encouraging.
06. The season hinges on the play of the O-line, I’m afraid. Loaded with offensive playmakers (receivers & RB’s), just give them time to let the play unfold. I’m pretty excited about the season, lot’s of folks flying to the ball, high energy. I’m guessing 1-2 losses this year. Of course, this assumes that TP stays healthy; if he get’s injured, all bets are off.
Even though I consider that OSU is in a rebuilding year, RichRod & The Wolverines will still get their arses handed to them by our Beloved Buckeyes. I feel that OSU is too talented at too many positions for UM to compete this year. Heh heh.
I didn’t see a second of the game, so I don’t feel qualified to answer.
Vico……..
I saw some good things and bad.
1st…….. Pryor’s arm didn’t seem to be sore at all. His delivery isn’t the prettiest , but as long as we get results ……..so what , right??
2nd………Tyler Moeller was a ball hawk. That guy is a football player………just needs to add some more bulk to him.
3rd………..The O-line showed some positives…………..I hope it transends to the fall.
4th……….D-line looked great………..pass Defense is still up for debate I guess. And while I am on the Defense………….I watched the Fiesta Bowl with Texas again this morning ( what else am I gonna do ), I hope to heck that Heacock and the boys learn how to adjust to an opposing teams Offense running the hurry up. We looked handicaped and have looked handicaped when teams have done that……….ala Illinois and Penn St. in the past. Look for Pete Carrol and USC to do that very thing come Sept.
5th……….. Boom looks to be running with a fierce , aggressive , style. And I love it!!…………he was hitting holes hard and finising. Brandon Saine showed similar runs in the 2nd half.
6th………LAstly……….The wideouts, they are gonna be fun to watch this yr. There is a stable of talent and speed just ready to be unleashed………….I hope Tressel just lets the boys play…………..because they are gonna make things happen this yr.
Ohhh…………and one more thing. I was still seeing missed blocks on field goal tries………..whats been up with that the last couple yrs?? That drives me nuts……………