Block O Table: Looking Back, Going Forward
Remember, no. 2 pencils only. Show your work.
01. Be honest: what did you enjoy the most about winning the Rose Bowl? A) Getting over our bowl skid and sending the seniors out as winners? B) Knowing that every analyst on TV predicting this game was not only wrong, but loudly wrong? or C) Winning the Rose Bowl, the doggone Grandaddy of Them All, for only the third time after the 1968 national championship team?
02. Which loss sucked more? USC or Purdue? Why?
03. Yes, Pryor needs to continue his improvement for Ohio State to make a run at a national title. The sun also sets in the west, water is wet, Geddy Lee is the best bass player ever c’mon (NSFW) and the sky is blue. What other player (or position) needs to significantly step up in order for the Buckeyes to be playing for all the marbles?
04. Fill in the blank for the following: If the Buckeyes are playing for a national title in Glendale, it’s because ____________________. If the Buckeyes are not playing for a national title come bowl time, we’ll look to ____________________ as reason why. The single biggest barrier on our schedule to an undefeated campaign is ____________________ and ____________________, a team not normally at the top of the heap, may be a potential upset.
05. The following are my opinions, but they lead to my point. I think Nathan Williams was the breakout player of 2008, turning in an impressive freshman season. Likewise, Dave may not have been our guy in 2009, but true freshman Zach Boren stood out to me in 2009, especially in planting Sean Lee into the turf in hopes that he may take root in Beaver Stadium through the winter. This time next year, who will we talk about as breakout players on either side of the ball? It doesn’t have to be a freshman, as players like Orhian Johnson, and Travis Howard are in the mix.
Extra Credit
Who’s the greater American? Ricky Stanzi or J Leman? The evidence for Ricky Stanzi (Exhibits A, B, C) and, of course, the case for J Leman below.
Conversely: Quién es más macho? Yoyd Bridges o Ricardo Montalban?
- or stickpuck, it’s all gravy. [↩]
Written by: Vico |
01) C. My first recollection of the Rose Bowl was Earle’s first trip in 1980. I still remember the sting of that loss. The Grandaddy has always been a favorite of mine.
02) Definitely Purdue. We had no idea that SC’s season would go south after that game, but Purdue is one of those games that was in the ‘Should win’ column.
03) Left Tackle. Can someone, anyone, please step up and claim this position? The line improved greatly by the end of the season, solidifying this spot can only make it better next year.
04) It will be because Terrelle Pryor finally played as advertised. If not, we will look at failures in player development. I think Wisconsin on the road will be a huge test once again, and I sincerely hope noone takes scUM lightly. Yes, it’s at home, and yes, it’s RichRod, but making it seven in a row is not going to be easy.
05) Hopefully Mike Adams becomes the breakthrough player and helps answer question 3) above.
Extra credit: Is there any greater American than J Leman? I think not. Keep on rockin’ in the free world, J. And, also, Lloyd over Ricardo. But it’s a close one.
les claypool pwns geddy lee
oh, and biggest hurdle on the sched is camp randall
01. Be honest: what did you enjoy the most about winning the Rose Bowl? A) Getting over our bowl skid and sending the seniors out as winners?
02. Which loss sucked more? USC or Purdue? Why?
- USC: We wanted blood for last year, plain and simple. Although I never thought we would blow them out, I had visions of a 3-touchdown Trojan beatdown dancing in my head. When we lost on the very last drive to a team with a freshman qb in his first big game in The Shoe, it was as deflating a loss as I can remember. Now, after the season we know we were better than them.
03. Yes, Pryor needs to continue his improvement for Ohio State to make a run at a national title. The sun also sets in the west, water is wet, Geddy Lee is the best bass player ever c’mon (NSFW) and the sky is blue. What other player (or position) needs to significantly step up in order for the Buckeyes to be playing for all the marbles?
- Pryor: decision making/passing
04. Fill in the blank for the following: If the Buckeyes are playing for a national title in Glendale, it’s because the offensive line can execute. If the Buckeyes are not playing for a national title come bowl time, we’ll look to Herbstreit’s Brutus voodoo doll as the reason why. The single biggest barrier on our schedule to an undefeated campaign is Wisconsin and Iowa, a team not normally at the top of the heap, may be a potential upset.
05. The following are my opinions, but they lead to my point. I think Nathan Williams was the breakout player of 2008, turning in an impressive freshman season. Likewise, Dave may not have been our guy in 2009, but true freshman Zach Boren stood out to me in 2009, especially in planting Sean Lee into the turf in hopes that he may take root in Beaver Stadium through the winter. This time next year, who will we talk about as breakout players on either side of the ball? It doesn’t have to be a freshman, as players like Orhian Johnson, and Travis Howard are in the mix.
- Etienne Sabino
Extra Credit
J. Leman
Tough to stay inside the lines, but here goes:
01. A) getting over the bowl hump
02. Purdue. The USC game was early enough, I think that Pryor (and Tressel) were trying to get their sealegs under them for how to run the offense. Purdue was a total clusterfick, absolutely no excuse for it from any standpoint.
03. Left tackle has to be earned by someone. The blindside edge really needs to be secured, both in pass protection and run game.
04. National title game because of TPryor. If not, Jim Bollman, because he still can’t get offensive line insynch. Biggest barriers will be Wisconsin and Iowa. Although Iowa will be losing almost its entire O-line, Kirk Ferentz seems to be able to coach-up whoever is next in the pipeline (lookin’ at you, again, Jim Bollman).
05. TWashington will have breakout season.
EC. J Leman, no question. Conversely, Senor Bridges, por favor.
01. Be honest: what did you enjoy the most about winning the Rose Bowl? Living in Pasadena, with relatives in Oregon. In other words- Suck it, west coast.
02. Which loss sucked more? USC or Purdue? Purdue- Broke the “we don’t lose to anyone who’s not a BCS team” streak
03. What other player (or position) needs to significantly step up in order for the Buckeyes to be playing for all the marbles? We need to see more development from our offensive line- they meshed in the latter parts of the season, but they need to be firing on all cylinders from day one in 2010
04. If the Buckeyes are playing for a national title in Glendale, it’s because our defense continues to be among the best in the NCAA.
If the Buckeyes are not playing for a national title come bowl time, we’ll look to the BCS as reason why; there’s a possibility that, again, we could have numerous undefeated teams next season… someone will have to sit out.
The single biggest barrier on our schedule to an undefeated campaign is a night game at Iowa and Mich1gAAn, a team not normally at the top of the heap, may be a potential upset. The Game is always up for grabs.
05. Keith Wells has the ability to step in for Thad and excel; John Simon will be a monster in 2010.
J Leman and Senior MontalKahn.
01. I’d say a combination of A) & B) –getting over our bowl skid would help shut up some of the analysts on TV and give us a little bit of credibility in the media eyes… of course, they (media) could twist things around and say that the PAC10 sucked and give us no credit for the win as well. And then the lemmings of the world would continue to buy into the media perception and say that we’re slow and that tress can’t coach… (wasn’t it 4 years ago that tress was one of the best big-game coaches? And now he’s terrible?)
02. USC – we had the game won. Beating a team that embarrassed us the previous year is redemption in my eyes… As for Purdue, we were just showing them mercy and love; since they were having such a rough season and because Bob Griese wasn’t getting as many gigs when Chris Spielman set him up with the Pablo Montoya comment…
03. The game is won in the trenches… the OL will need to continue stepping up and giving Pryor time to make plays and creating holes for the run game. I think that’ll take a lot of pressure off of Pryor because I think the expectations are pretty high right now… (once again, the media lauding Pryor taking the ‘next step’ and now if he has a bad game, who knows how some people will react…). DL should improve with all the starters that are coming back… losing Worthington will be tough (Thad Dog to a lesser extent); but hopefully people will step up.
04. Fill in the blank for the following: If the Buckeyes are playing for a national title in Glendale, it’s because The Silver Bullets are flying around and the offense is consistent. If the Buckeyes are not playing for a national title come bowl time, we’ll look to inconsistency or me not wearing my lucky jersey as reason why. The single biggest barrier on our schedule to an undefeated campaign is Iowa (@ Iowa) and Wisconsin (@Camp Randall), a team not normally at the top of the heap, may be a potential upset.
05. Jake Stoneburner – seam routes are going to be open with Dane & Posey on the outsides and Pryor’s newfound throwing superpower.
Extra Credit
Who’s the greater American? Ricky Stanzi or J Leman? The evidence for Ricky Stanzi (Exhibits A, B, C) and, of course, the case for J Leman below.
J Leman. Any person with a single letter as their first name (similar to J.Crew – an American clothing company)(and yes, I know it stands for something else), Pat Tillman hair, and wears an American flag tie with everything is a great American. Plus, he got married recently.
However, he does have playing for Zook working against him…
1. C. that is just a great game it looks cool weather porn for northern ohio (oregon didnt drop a highlighter color on their uni) and the team won in a great game
2. USC tOSU wanted blood the shot was going insane just waiting for something to happen two inches away from blocking that punt! it was just so clase and so painful. a win there and this team doesn’t lose to purdont granted we would be bitching about no nc game for the buckeyes but a def possiblity for a split nc
3.besides the obvious entire backfield oline etc. i say the secondary chekwa has to learn to look for the ball torrence is gonna get alot of throws his way and gotta replace both safeties Hines will step in for coleman the other spots starter only has mop up time experience also mollier (if he does come back) coming back to play hines old postion
4.a. overall play and ability to exicute in the running game put teams away, b.coach bollman, c. @wisconsin and dare i say it the scum will be fighting for a bowl game and their coach in the final game. A team to keep us out of the national championship game is Boise State gonna get alot of votes from buckeye haters
5. guessing on this cause u dont know the rotation etc john simon and sabino heyward is gonna get doubled all year
on offence breakout player i hope for t. washington he deserves it
extra cred… isnt even a close just look at that pic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thought i saw a pic of him at the walmart of the southern teams crystal ball extravagaza
also 4. part c. the miami game is gonna be interesting
http://feartheelf.blogspot.com/2010/01/block-o-table-patriotic-edition.html
01. Be honest: what did you enjoy the most about winning the Rose Bowl?
Answer: Getting over our bowl skid and sending the seniors out as winners
02. Which loss sucked more? USC or Purdue? Why?
Answer: Purdue — because USC is at least a respected team from a talent perspective (yes, ‘SC pays their players amongst other things, but they are still a talented and well-coached team) — Purdon’t is a doormat. They didn’t beat us, we beat us. They just happened to be the other team on the field at the time. Just an absolute embarrassment.
3. Yes, Pryor needs to continue his improvement for Ohio State to make a run at a national title. The sun also sets in the west, water is wet, Geddy Lee is the best bass player ever c’mon (NSFW) and the sky is blue. What other player (or position) needs to significantly step up in order for the Buckeyes to be playing for all the marbles?
Answer: RB. We have a good corps of RBs, but we need someone to step up and be the kind of tailback that can break through for a 60yd touchdown run occasionally. We didn’t have that in 2009 like we’d had in the previous years under Tressel.
04. Fill in the blank for the following:
Answer: If the Buckeyes are playing for a national title in Glendale, it’s because . If the Buckeyes are not playing for a national title come bowl time, we’ll look to as reason why. The single biggest barrier on our schedule to an undefeated campaign is and , a team not normally at the top of the heap, may be a potential upset.
05. The following are my opinions, but they lead to my point. I think Nathan Williams was the breakout player of 2008, turning in an impressive freshman season. Likewise, Dave may not have been our guy in 2009, but true freshman Zach Boren stood out to me in 2009, especially in planting Sean Lee into the turf in hopes that he may take root in Beaver Stadium through the winter. This time next year, who will we talk about as breakout players on either side of the ball? It doesn’t have to be a freshman, as players like Orhian Johnson, and Travis Howard are in the mix.
Answer: I surely don’t know for certain, but I’d like to think either Chris Fields or Jamaal Berry will break out on offense, and Etienne Sabino on defense.
1. Given those choices, I’ll take A). Getting over the bowl skid &c….with a whole lot of relief and, for lack of a better word, what I’ll call “pride” mixed in. B) doesn’t really get it done for me – Buckeye-hate and disrespect is something I’ve gotten used to and sort of don’t care about anymore, and that aside it’s not like there weren’t lots of good reasons to pick Oregon; and C) counts for less than it used to, right or wrong – I mean, there’s just no denying that the BCS and proliferation of other post-New-Year’s bowls has diluted some of the traditional meanings associated with institutions like the GrandDaddy. By the same token, without the BCS, this year’s would have been Ohio State’s FOURTH Rose Bowl appearance since ’97 – not exactly a mundane accomplishment, but also not worthy of the constant commentary that the Bucks’ 14-year absence inspired this year.
2. USC sucked WAY more. No question. It was a totally winnable game, in all respects, and Tressel turtled his way to a loss in such a way as to reinforce all of the worst memes about him (cautious, obsolete, etc.) AND the program, and Terrelle’s boneheaded early pick plus his (Tressel-assisted) hesitant play the rest of the game reinforced all the worst ones about him (can’t pass, head case, etc.). All this in a beautiful, electric, widely-watched setting. The USC loss is the most proximate reason that so few observers took the idea that we could beat Oregon seriously, and was severely deleterious to the Buckeyes’ national reputation.
Meanwhile, I see the Purdue loss as the catalyst to a wildly successful season, a wake-up call that focused the team’s/coaches’ attention in a way that it might not otherwise have been until Happy Valley.
I’ll put it this way – after USC I was angry, and saying things like “Fuck!” and “Goddammit!”; after Purdue I was stunned/bemused, and saying things like “Huh” and “Wow”. Plus, maybe now we’ve got our obligatory every-7-10-years “WTF” loss out of the way for a while.
3. I think the RBs are the ones who need to “step up” their production in order to get us to “the next level”, if that means being not just good enough to win all our regular-season games but good enough to COMPETE in the MNC Game. Barring injuries or other unforeseen incidents, I see improved OL play as a given (plus it’s almost a cliche – months and months and months of talking about them hasn’t gotten us any closer to figuring them out) and competent/excellent options at both Safety positions. But so far we have no reason to believe that either Saine or Herron are home-run-hitters as ballcarriers, and we need that threat. I don’t know where it’s most likely to come from if it does, but it’s nice that there are a lot of candidates.
4. If we’re in Glendale, it’s because we either won all our games or had one loss but beat Miami and were outright Big Ten champs. If we’re not, we will look to Terrelle Pryor as the reason why. The biggest barrier on the schedule is the trip to Iowa. For the last one, “a team not normally at the top of the heap, may be a potential upset”, I’m at a loss…Michigan? I feel funny describing them THAT way, though.
5. I’ll say that Zach Boren and John Simon were 2009′s breakout players – Zach was awesome enough that even Herbstreit/Musberger noticed, but Simon kicked all kinds of ass as well. For next year, I’ll say James Jackson and Etienne Sabino.
EC: I’ll go with Leman as a greater American than Stanzi – Ricky’s act seems a little too much like a tongue-in-cheek Whiskey Tango affectation. Montalban is mas macho, of course – Lloyd is just mas gruff.
1) For me this should be a no brainer, except that I find it depressing once analyzed. It should be B because any idiot that claims to know anything about college football should demonstrate more knowledge than an average fan like me. Then I realized that the outcome won’t cause many to disappear from the sports media because they are dumber than me…and that I find depressing. So I’ll have to just take the joy from the satisfaction that tOSU is now 4-3 in BCS games
2) In hind sight, the USC was more aggravating because it didn’t slay the 2000 gorilla on the Buckeye’s back despite being soooo close. But the Purdue game just plane sucked.
3) I will take Chris Squire over Geddy Lee every day. I also thnk that the OT positions need to be stabilized if tOSU wants to make a run at a NC next season.
4) If the Buckeyes are playing for a national title in Glendale, it’s because _Jim Tressel is the best head coach in America_. If the Buckeyes are not playing for a national title come bowl time, we’ll look to _Terrel Pryor_ as reason why. The single biggest barrier on our schedule to an undefeated campaign is __Wisconsin_ and ___Minnesota_, a team not normally at the top of the heap, may be a potential upset.
5) I gotta say John SImon as the next championship caliber DT will be the next breakout player.
XC) J Leman. The samson hair is so suhweet