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| Oh, we never doubted you! |
Everybody take a collective sigh of relief and breathe in that sweet late summer air. Do you smell that? It smells like victory (yes victory has a smell). It looks like we have a legit title contender in our beloved Ohio State Buckeyes this season. ITS and the rest of Buckeye nation never doubted that this was the year to make a run at the MNC. However, if you are one that puts any credence in what the talking heads have to say during pregame shows, you know the media was still spewing the same old speed argument. I'm looking straight at you Mark May. I have wasted so much time bitching about this guy but he has done it again. His argument that OSU only had "straight ahead" speed and were only fast "on paper" were laughable at best. It is really getting old and whatever credibility he has in the college football world (I can't imagine he had that much to begin with) has whithered away completely. How this guy holds on to a job is beyond me. He must have some really damning pictures of somebody from ESPN because he is wrong WAY more often than he is right. OK, I feel better now. Let's move on.
Unless you live in a cave somewhere you know that the first major hurdle was cleared last Saturday when the Buckeyes beat down the Hurricanes by a score of 36-24. What really stood out to me in this game was the physical and down right intimidating way the defensive backfield played. CJ Barnett was really layin' the wood all game until he was injured in the second half. I know that Mr. Hankerson will remember him for a long time. On second thought, maybe he won't. That hit in the first quarter was vicious and I can see why Hankerson was seeing stars. Give him credit for coming back after that lick though. That dude is a beast.
Thankfully, Ohrian Johnson looks to be healthy again and will step in to fill the position that everyone thought he had in the first place. Hopefully CJ will have a successful surgery/rehab and be ready to go next year. Props also go out to Chekwa (2 picks) and Torrence (blocked FG and a couple pass break ups) for shutting down the "superhuman" speed of the Canes.
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| Always the wheel route. Always. |
It's now time for my weekly flip flop on the play of Brandon Saine. First off I want to acknowledge the catch that tied the game for the bucks in the second quarter. Wow! Pryor lofted a beautiful back shoulder throw and there is no doubt that Saine made a wonderful grab. Why the buckeyes can't figure a way to get the ball in the endzone that easily every time is fodder for another column completely.
Unfortunately, Saine really struggled after that and looked lost in the backfield on several occasions. You have to give credit to the Miami defensive line for disrupting a few of those runs but many times Brandon danced too much looking for holes and missed some cutback opportunities.
Herron filled in admirably and did contribute 60+ yards and that huge 47 yard shovel pass. However, I wonder what Jamaal Berry could do if given 10-15 carries in a game (I know Ian is nodding his head right now). Berry and Hall looked electric in the return game and both came within a fake blade of grass from going all the way. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Loyalty to upperclassmen is a very noble and Tressl-like thing to do but we have some game changers that are riding the pine at the moment. I desperately want to see what they can do if given some more opportunities outside of special teams.
With OSU notching convincing victories in the first two weeks, the team now enters the "murderers row" portion of the schedule featuring the likes of Ohio U, Eastern Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. This would be a good time to address our not so special teams play. I know this has been rehashed more times than Lindsay Lohans rehab status but I wanted to throw my two cents in.
I am not sure what has happened to the kick coverage over the last few games but it is becoming a glaring issue. At first I thought the problem was Tressel giving 3rd stringers and walk-ons their chance to see the field on special teams. That, however, is not the case. It is troubling to see Ross Homan out running his coverage lane and whiffing on tackles which allowed Lamar Miller to house it. Maybe it is our guys wanting to de-cleat these returners but something has to change... and fast. It is virtually a guarantee that gaffes like this will cost us a game and a title shot this year if not corrected.
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| Join us...... |
Finally, I wanted to encourage everyone to join us for our live chats during the game. This past weekend, Ian and I had some spirited debates with fellow buckeye fans. Even a hurricane fan found the courage to enter our corner of cyberspace. Most of the time it was a contest to see who could type the words "pick" or "intercepted" the fastest after watching it live. Of course, that kept us quite busy with JaFOURy Harris at the helm for Miami. All around it was some good interaction between buckeye dorks (my wife says you are one if your reading multiple buckeye blogs daily) and it is a good way to keep the blood pressure down during the game. Come check it out!
