College Sports Arena

by **e0y2e3** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:13 pm

Whoever at TOS started this Zach Boren starting at MLB rumor needs to be shot.

Buckeyes by 21.

Fuck Indiana, one of the few states shittier than Ohio.

by **motherscratcher** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:25 pm

spread is Buckeyes by 18. That seems low after last week. Is there any reason tho think Indiana can hang?

by **e0y2e3** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:28 pm

Meyer has been talking about the reason all week, a let down game (and the UAB game comes to mind and the fact that this is a three step drop/screen offense).

There is a lot of reason to think they can score a bunch against this D, which is built as a Tressel style kill the B1G running/play-action offenses D.

That said, Meyer has said, twice now in pressers, that they had a GREAT week of practice.

I just want to see Rod Smith get a score at the college near his home. I really want him to keep evolving.

by **furls** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:28 pm

e0y2e3 wrote:Whoever at TOS started this Zach Boren starting at MLB rumor needs to be shot.

Buckeyes by 21.

Fuck Indiana, one of the few states shittier than Ohio.

It is a dumb rumor but sadly I am starting to wish it was true. MLB play has been pretty HEINOUS thus far. Seriously, the weakest part of the entire team and it really isn't close. We do get CJ Barnett back this week, so that is probably good. He is better in coverage than OJ.

Indiana is better than their historical levels of shittiness. Doesn't say much, but they are better. I still say the Bucks run all over the 100th ranked rushing D in the country to the tune of 56-20.

by **e0y2e3** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:39 pm

OJ over Pitt Brown is a HUGE upgrade as well. I can't believe how shitty Pitt Brown has been and against a team like this the STAR matters a ton.

by **furls** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:59 pm

Yep, Barnett coming back significantly upgrades 2 positions in the secondary.

Indiana played a nice half against MSU last week, hence the line. I feel pretty good about the Bucks -18. When this O clicks there is no way IU can slow them down. If the Bucks can avoid the shitty quarter they could easily put 60-70 on this IU team. The only thing I would worry about is if Meyer decided to use the IU game to work on the passing game once they get a lead. It is not a bad strategy, the need to start making Brax a passer at some point (hopefully not for the first time when the running game is completely shut down!) and I think they will push the pass some, but they will run to their hearts content.

by **FUDU** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:08 am

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 1:58 pm

OSU-31

IU-13

I think the offense comes out sluggish again. And they'll frustrate us with 900 bubble screens. Tackling has been laughable so far.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 2:23 pm

Nathan Williams is out today. I guess we will all be puzzled as JT Moore gets snaps much to all of our shock and dismay. Noah Spence will come out and largely be ineffective because he is not physical enough. I guess our best look will have Simon at WDE and Bennett as SSDE.

by **e0y2e3** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:20 pm

The Simon/Bennett look is what was planned in the preseason, so I would assume we get a lot of it.

by **e0y2e3** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:53 pm

THIS ZACH BOREN SHIT IS A RUMOR, RIGHT?!

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 6:10 pm

Lots of people are saying it. I think it may actually be a possibility. What the fuck does that say about our problems at LB? We are going to take the best FB in the NCAA and a critical part of our O (Boren has a key block on nearly every big play) and put him at MLB? Holy shit. Curtis Grant must be fucking retarded if he just got passed on the DC by a guy that hasn't played a snap at that position since HS!

Granted Boren was defensive player of the year for the state of OH, but still.

Mike Mitchell may actually be the most important recruit remaining on the board in the 2013 class. Hell, if he commits he may be the most important commit in the class.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 6:25 pm

So Duane Long, a guy that I really respect of BN, is saying that Boren is starting at MLB tonight. HOLY SHIT. I am starting to actually believe this now.

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 7:05 pm

Why is this a damn 8pm game? More drinks I guess.

by **e0y2e3** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:23 pm

Boren is warming up w/ the LBS.

I'm just lost.

by **e0y2e3** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:25 pm

furls wrote:Lots of people are saying it. I think it may actually be a possibility. What the fuck does that say about our problems at LB? We are going to take the best FB in the NCAA and a critical part of our O (Boren has a key block on nearly every big play) and put him at MLB? Holy shit. Curtis Grant must be fucking retarded if he just got passed on the DC by a guy that hasn't played a snap at that position since HS!

Granted Boren was defensive player of the year for the state of OH, but still.

Mike Mitchell may actually be the most important recruit remaining on the board in the 2013 class. Hell, if he commits he may be the most important commit in the class.

I have faith in the Freshman, Meyer is riding them as hard as he is in pressers for a reason, but yeah, an MLB in this class is vital.

That's why we just offered Mr. Sleeper from University school in Florida.

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:26 pm

What's not to get? Our starting FB is now our starting MLB. Happens all the time.

by **e0y2e3** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:28 pm

Players don't not practice a position in 3.5 years and move mid-season like this, ever.

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:31 pm

Just tackle on the bubble screen. Because it's coming.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 8:46 pm

LOL

This is going to be an amazing game thread. Probably because everyone is drunk, but this Boren MLB thing is stunning.

by **e0y2e3** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:02 pm

per Rivals:

-Freshman defensive back Najee Murray underwent season-ending knee surgery this week.

-Nathan Williams is out for tonight's game with a concussion.

-Armani Reeves is out for the game with an ankle sprain

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:14 pm

That was a pretty easy TD drive except for Braxton's ten yard loss.

This one is going to be ugly.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:14 pm

Setting the over/under on OSU punts at 3.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:46 pm

hmmm.... I guess I should've anticipated that OSU receivers would drop 2 out of every 3 passes resulting in more punts.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 10:42 pm

Strangest half of football I have seen in a while.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:09 pm

I will call that the Doran Grant FG. He is a weird one. One game he looks like the second coming of Antoine Winfield (slight exaggeration), the next (this week apparently) he is awful.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:19 pm

That Braxton Miller guy is pretty good. 67 yard TD run was nice.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:29 pm

hmmmm.... shane wynn vs. Storm Klein in zone coverage? I think I might go back to that one again if I am IU.

by **furls** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:30 pm

Storm Klein is so bad it is comical.

by **dmiles** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:35 pm

Defense seems to be the opposite of bend-don't-break. In general you aren't seeing them give up too many long drives where teams are converting a bunch of 3rd downs. However the big play scores seem to happen each game.

by **mattvan1** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 1:10 am

tOSU defense is Big12eriffic!!

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 1:11 am

Quick semi drunk takeaways.

Braxton could have had a 4 TD passing game if Devin Smith didn't play half the game with his head up his ass.

Storm Klein is awful.

The pass rush was retardedly bad. I mean no pressure whatsoever.

Where was John Simon?

Doran Grant is terrible.

That dude's foot was OB when he tossed the ball back in bounds on the on side kick. Bad call.

Rod Smith fumbled without being touched.

by **furls** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 10:09 am

dmiles wrote:Defense seems to be the opposite of bend-don't-break. In general you aren't seeing them give up too many long drives where teams are converting a bunch of 3rd downs. However the big play scores seem to happen each game.

I would just say that they are broken.

by **FUDU** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:26 am

I had to listen to a good portion of the game, so was Simon getting doubled a lot? If so, how come they are not adjusting their approach to free him up, or are they and it simply isn't working?

by **furls** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 4:49 pm

Nope not doubled much if at all. Their OL just outplayed the DL and their staff did a nice job game planning for tOSU, although the correct GP is pretty obvious if you have the right personnel.

You can shred this D with the 3 step drop and short passes over the middle where the MLB and safeties are lost in coverage. You can beat them on the outside with the short passing game due to the 7-10 yard cushions. Stay away from running up the middle, or from the outside as it generally is not successful. Just throw over the DL fast enough so the strength of the D cannot get to your QB.

by **neoleo** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:29 am

Even when our defenses were good/great, I wasn't a fan of the star/nickel look, especially when it evolved into our base D.

I hate that we have LB's and Safeties guarding WR's in space. And never (ever ever ever), should Storm Kline be defending anybody in space, especially their fastest receiver. That's a mismatch against our "Stars" too (who wants Pitt Brown or OJ guarding Winn?).

Get some more corners in there and match up, bring some more pressure, whatever it takes, but I'm tired of watching slow guys chase fast guys. It was easier to pull off when you had a dominating D Line and NFL players at LB, but even then it was often a bend but don't break D. Your scheme is obviously flawed if it's designed to be bend-but-don't-break with good/great talent and it gives up multiple big plays every game with subpar talent.

by **furls** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 4:56 pm

I always felt like OSU's 4-2-5 was a bit of a talent equalizer for less talented teams. Generally, I think that your defense should get more conservative if the talent gap narrowly favors the other team. If the gap is really large then you have to force mistakes with aggressive/deceptive schemes.

I almost always felt like tOSU's D was better than the opponents O, therefore they could afford to be more aggressive. Tressel and company took the other approach and said that "You cannot beat our more talented D consistently enough to win." He was usually right. No one said much because the team won and the D was usually very good, although a bit frustrating with its lack of big plays.

This year's D is not good. There are talent issues, there are execution issues and the scheme does not match what they do well. The most important thing though is that this D is bad right up the middle once you get past the DTs. You cannot be weak at MLB and at both safety positions. There are not any options either. Urban's presser today basically confirmed that Marcus and Perkins have no idea what they are doing, Williams and Perry are injured, and Klein is so bad that they are looking for any solution that gets him off the field. He floated the idea of getting Spence and Williams on the field together (one moving to LB or shifting to a 3-4 and playing both at OLB). That may actually work.

Howard and Roby have been amazing on the outside, but you cannot move either of them in. There is no depth at CB or Safety right now. Barnett, Bryant, OJ and Brown are all luke-warm. As soon as I start really liking Bryant he does something retarded.

by **peeker643** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 5:27 pm

The defense will be fine when Meyer gets his athletes and players in there to run it. Way too much to fix and way too many Tressel/Fickell defensive guys to do it all over the course of 6 months or so.

Storm Klein was a miss in any system and he's ridiculously miscast in this one.

Til then, outscore 'em.

And jettison Fickell the day after the Michigan game. He had his 'Good Guy, Took a Bullet' year this season.

by **e0y2e3** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:38 pm

When the LB position is in such bad shape (due to crazy turn-over the past few years, not just this year) you start your all-conference FB at LB and he leads the team in tackles, firing the DC is not the answer.

by **mattvan1** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:45 pm

peeker643 wrote:The defense will be fine when Meyer gets his athletes and players in there to run it. Way too much to fix and way too many Tressel/Fickell defensive guys to do it all over the course of 6 months or so.

Storm Klein was a miss in any system and he's ridiculously miscast in this one.

Til then, outscore 'em.

And jettison Fickell the day after the Michigan game. He had his 'Good Guy, Took a Bullet' year this season.

I think he stays. Everything I have read says the guy is a great recruiter and that Meyer loves him. As long as they point him in the right direction on who to recruit
he should be serviceable as a DC.

by **furls** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:46 pm

We are starting to feel the effects of some giant recruiting misses at LB.

Newsome was a bust.
Bell was a bust.
C. Grant is looking like a bust.
Durham didn't make it as a LB.
Turner is lucky to be alive.
Scott McVey was made of glass as well.
Adam Homan became a back up FB.
Jordan Whiting was a bust.
C. Crowell is made of glass.
Hicks is starting for Texas.
DePriest is starting (as a So) for 'Bama.

If the Buckeyes find a way to land Hicks and DePriest (who both seemed determined to leave OH) we aren't even having this discussion. Could you imagine Shazier and Hicks outside with DePriest in the middle behind this D-Line for 2 more years?

by **fairvis** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:57 pm

Missing on Hicks and DePriest really didn't help. But the washout factor at LB has been insane, far more then any program can really absorb. Couple that with injuries, and they're going to screw up. The end-of-game screwup will hopefully open their eyes and have them notice quicksand can happen. Urbs is seriously pissed, and he's going to challenge their manhood. We'll see who can stand up to it.

All that being said, Zach Boren is a hell of a fucking football player.

by **e0y2e3** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:24 pm

Turner getting shot and Bell being a complete and utter knuckehead is what is really killing us. As Fickel said today, there are serious "of age depth" issues on the D on the whole and it is particularly bad at LB and CB (let's not forget Doren Grant being about as inconsistant as inconsistant can be).

It's bad enough that Urban looked a few JuCos last year and he is (per Rivals) seriously looking at another one now (official for The Game).

by **peeker643** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:27 pm

e0y2e3 wrote:When the LB position is in such bad shape (due to crazy turn-over the past few years, not just this year) you start your all-conference FB at LB and he leads the team in tackles, firing the DC is not the answer.

He's a figure-head/recruiter. His status as some pseudo-defensive coordinator in this scheme is just so much horseshit.

But you know that.

by **e0y2e3** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:32 pm

He's been co-defensive co-ordinator for five years and by all accounts is calling the D right now.

Heacock, one of the most proven DCs of the last ten years period, struggled mightily with this shitty talent last year as well.

If you want to argue that the 4-2-5 is a piece of shit, be my guest, but I have no seen nearly enough from him to call him a figure head at all. And the 4-2-5 did beat Oregon and Arky in the not to distant past.

by **furls** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:53 pm

I think Cam Heyward beat Arkansas.

by **motherscratcher** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:25 pm

Is there anything that can be done? Help on the horizon? We have Braxton for one more year. He can absolutely win a NC. It'd be a shame to fall short because you couldn't find a halfway decent MLB.

by **e0y2e3** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:27 pm

Pray the Freshies (or Grant) grow up in the off-season.

That's it, really. Either that or start a true-freshman. Ironically the Sabino loss is especially huge (since, you know, he was playing at a normal level, max) and he's a senior so....

PS: we have Brax for two more years

by **e0y2e3** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:40 pm

Oh and don't forget Price Furls....

by **motherscratcher** » Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:59 pm

e0y2e3 wrote:Pray the Freshies (or Grant) grow up in the off-season.

That's it, really. Either that or start a true-freshman. Ironically the Sabino loss is especially huge (since, you know, he was playing at a normal level, max) and he's a senior so....

PS: we have Brax for two more years

Yeah, I'm just assuming that Braxton will go early.

Maybe there's a stud juco transfer out there.

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