Hope

chamrocck

chamrocck

New member
I didn’t like this season either but there is hope.  I recently recall Pat Fitzgerald being mocked as a terrible coach and he’s now got his team in the Big 10 championship.  James Franklin was hot and now he’s not. Scott Frost is here to stay.  I think this was more like a 5-3 team but we blew some games clearly.  The loss of JD Spielman was a killer and cost us at least 1 if not 2 games.  We basically had no way to spread the field which is key in this offense.  Wandale did all he could and was superb.  But we need another downfield weapon badly.
 

The defense has improved and if we get many to return we can have one of the best defenses in recent memory.  Lots of work to do on the offense but I’m chalking this weird year up to getting extra work in.  Sort of a glorified practice season.  We need to establish the power run to open up the passing game.  That’s why Oregon was so effective.  NFL talent like Blount and Barner can wear defenses down where they then couldn’t catch the the receivers and tight ends stretching the field.  We don’t have this yet but use the QB as our runner (takes a toll on the QB for sure) and then we are using Wandale everywhere.  That’s the whole offense and help is needed.  That’s why McCaffrey should be on the field with AM and Wandale.  More weapons better options and results.

 
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chamrocck said:
I didn’t like this season either but there is hope.  I recently recall Pat Fitzgerald being mocked as a terrible coach and he’s now got his team in the Big 10 championship.  James Franklin was hot and now he’s not. Scott Frost is here to stay.  I think this was more like a 5-3 team but we blew some games clearly.  The loss of JD Spielman was a killer and cost us at least 1 if not 2 games.  We basically had no way to spread the field which is key in this offense.  Wandale did all he could and was superb.  But we need another downfield weapon badly.
 

The defense has improved and if we get many to return we can have one of the best defenses in recent memory.  Lots of work to do on the offense but I’m chalking this weird year up to getting extra work in.  Sort of a glorified practice season.  We need to establish the power run to open up the passing game.  That’s why Oregon was so effective.  NFL talent like Blount and Barner can wear defenses down where they then couldn’t catch the the receivers and tight ends stretching the field.  We don’t have this yet but use the QB as our runner (takes a toll on the QB for sure) and then we are using Wandale everywhere.  That’s the whole offense and help is needed.  That’s why McCaffrey should be on the field with AM and Wandale.  More weapons better options and results.
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While there’s pockets of improvement on the defensive side, I’m still not sure I’d cal the defense good. We don’t have a pass rush and our coverage is still way too soft on the back end. Our horrendous 3rd down defense % is a direct result of this and needs massive improvement.

also worth noting- almost every game we played from behind due to how inept the offense was- allowing teams to go more of a milk the clock mode and protect the lead. I’m not sure our defense looks as good in situations where the other offense needs to pass and put up more points.

while more consistent than the offense and they did keep us in games this year, this defense still has massive room for improvement from both a coaching/schematic standpoint and playmakers (mainly a dude who can sack the god damn QB close 8-10 times a season)

 
gossamorharpy said:
While there’s pockets of improvement on the defensive side, I’m still not sure I’d cal the defense good. We don’t have a pass rush and our coverage is still way too soft on the back end. Our horrendous 3rd down defense % is a direct result of this and needs massive improvement.

also worth noting- almost every game we played from behind due to how inept the offense was- allowing teams to go more of a milk the clock mode and protect the lead. I’m not sure our defense looks as good in situations where the other offense needs to pass and put up more points.

while more consistent than the offense and they did keep us in games this year, this defense still has massive room for improvement from both a coaching/schematic standpoint and playmakers (mainly a dude who can sack the god damn QB close 8-10 times a season)
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Pointing this out because over the last 4 games the D allowed a 3rd down conversion rate of around 25%. We don't have a good pass rush, though.

 
Agree with lack of pass rush and I’ve been complaining about that since Gregory left.  
 

Also completely agree the offense (or lack of) hurt the defense.  Need a better run game to control clock and hit gas on opportunities and open up the passing game.  We had neither of these this year.  

 
AM or Luke are only hurt with pass accuracy because they are doing too much all the time.  Designed run, get hit, scramble for your life, get sacked or take off and get hit, etc.  The QB is exerting a lot of energy when we need a quick accurate decision maker getting the ball out quickly.  I’m not saying never use or run the QB.  It works with us at times and I see Texas do it with Ehlinger but it’s not a recipe for long term success.

 
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More weapons doesn’t mean success. Yesterday I think we saw an exhausted Frost give in to the run game. Not sure when rested if he’ll continue to push his agenda or use what works. 
 

Yesterday was the first game of the year with three minutes left that I knew we were going to win. I think we could have easily lost the other two as well as won a couple we lost. We were destined to win three games this year. And regarding progress, I’ll defer to others that know the intricacies of the game, because I see zero progress. 

 
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krc1995 said:
More weapons doesn’t mean success. Yesterday I think we say an exhausted Frost give in to the run game. Not sure when rested if he’ll continue to push his agenda or use what works. 
 

Yesterday was the first game of the year with three minutes left that I knew we were going to win. I think we could have easily lost the other two as well as won a couple we lost. We were destined to win three games this year. And regarding progress, I’ll defer to others that know the intricacies of the game, because I see zero progress. 
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Kind of off topic but I agree Frost looks drained.  The way he looks in interviews right now he looks completely drained.  That man needs a vacation.

 
I'm watching OSU destroy NW by running Sermon.  Again and again and again....Hoping Frost reviews last night and this game and sees a definitive need to bolster his RB room and development.....Running works....Fields has thrown, IIRC, 5 passes in the 2nd half.....And they've destroyed the 6th ranked rushing D in the country....

 
lo country said:
I'm watching OSU destroy NW by running Sermon.  Again and again and again....Hoping Frost reviews last night and this game and sees a definitive need to bolster his RB room and development.....Running works....Fields has thrown, IIRC, 5 passes in the 2nd half.....And they've destroyed the 6th ranked rushing D in the country....
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But Ohio State has the weapons to beat them over the top, we don't/didn't.  When teams are selling out on the run or playing safeties 7 yards off the line you've got to have a way to loosen that up.  I'm sure somebody smarter than me can give me a good reason we didn't but I don't understand why we didn't at least attempt a few more deep passes.  Even if you don't complete them you have to at least put some fear into the defense that you might go over the top of them.  

 
Farms said:
But Ohio State has the weapons to beat them over the top, we don't/didn't.  When teams are selling out on the run or playing safeties 7 yards off the line you've got to have a way to loosen that up.  I'm sure somebody smarter than me can give me a good reason we didn't but I don't understand why we didn't at least attempt a few more deep passes.  Even if you don't complete them you have to at least put some fear into the defense that you might go over the top of them.  
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Sermon just went 325 rushing yards against the NW D.  Now homds the OSU single game rushing record.  Again, agost the number 6 rush D in the country.  OSU completely abandoned the pass in the 2nd half.  6 attempts.....They din't even try tp keep NW honest.  They just went hat on hat and destroyed them.  NW sold out and still couldn't stop the run.  GRANTED, OSU's entire OL is currently composed of AA and all B1G team, but they didn't abandon it.  

My point being, if Frost embraced the O from last night.  Builds on that as the identity, you can win the west.  Chunk plays came on those long drives last night.  IMHO, because the 4-5 yard runs opened up the passing and those longer runs....We might not ever have an OL like OSU, but we sure as hell can develop N-S road graders.  Throw in PA and some deep routes/slants using TE's and we have something.

 
lo country said:
Sermon just went 325 rushing yards against the NW D.  Now homds the OSU single game rushing record.  Again, agost the number 6 rush D in the country.  OSU completely abandoned the pass in the 2nd half.  6 attempts.....They din't even try tp keep NW honest.  They just went hat on hat and destroyed them.  NW sold out and still couldn't stop the run.  GRANTED, OSU's entire OL is currently composed of AA and all B1G team, but they didn't abandon it.  

My point being, if Frost embraced the O from last night.  Builds on that as the identity, you can win the west.  Chunk plays came on those long drives last night.  IMHO, because the 4-5 yard runs opened up the passing and those longer runs....We might not ever have an OL like OSU, but we sure as hell can develop N-S road graders.  Throw in PA and some deep routes/slants using TE's and we have something.
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What Frost did last night was exactly what he's done since he got here.  The results were just better last night - partly because of the opponent.  Plus actually having their #1 back in the game instead of musical chairs because of injuries.

vs Rugters - 58 runs, 28 passes - 67% run

vs Illinois - 52 runs, 25 passes - 67% run

2020 - 334 runs, 229 passes - 59% run

We weren't better against Rutgers than we were against Illinois because we were more committed to the run.  We simply executed it better.  

Also, our offense isn't nearly as bad as people like to claim.  We turn the ball over way too much.  And we screwed ourselves switching QBs for a couple games.  But we also do a lot of things really well.  We just don't have receivers who are a threat.  If we can get Betts, Martin and Brown ready to roll next year (and Manning?), it will start to look more complete.  And hopefully don't have the entire RB room on IR half the year.

Yards against Northwestern this year:

Ohio State - 513

Nebraska - 442

Iowa - 293

Purdue - 265

Wisconsin - 230

Michigan State - 167

Maryland - 143

Illinois - 107

 
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