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Purdue Recap: A Time to Rant
David ThurmanNov 13, 2011
Dave Thurman (10:35 pm)
"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it," George Santyana
Sometimes maintaining a blog is cathartic. It lets you vent and get stuff off you chest. And this week I feel like their is an elephant sitting squarely on my chest! The only question is where to begin.
Rarely have I been more disappointed with a game. Two years ago when Ohio State got beat at Purdue it was a case of looking past the Boilermakers, as the Buckeyes made five turnovers, and got caught by a trap game. But that was a good OSU team that came back to win the rest of their games, including the Rose Bowl. This year's team had no excuse. They had played poorly the previous week against Indiana and had every reason to be hungry. Consider that they had the motive of revenge, trying to atone for the 2009 loss in West Lafayette, as well as the chance to move beyond the flat performance against the Hoosiers the week before. And, they had every reason to believe that winning out would secure a spot in the inaugural B1G Championship Game. Yet they still came out totally uninspired and played terribly.
Obviously the blame starts at the top. This is a poor coaching staff, and worse, they simply don't learn anything from past failures. Tell me what the staff has done to improve as the year has progressed. Tell me any major adjustments they have made in scheming or play calling. They keep doing things the same way, even when those things aren't working, and that is extremely frustrating. Both the offense and defense have continued to use the same schemes even when they have met with complete failure, and that is simply unacceptable.
I have heard all the talk about how Luke Fickell is a good coach, who just needs time. Well, Ohio State isn't the place to learn on the job. Although I like him as a person, and think he has some potential as a coach, the fact is he has mismanaged this team too much of the time. I am not a football coach, and don't even play one on television. But I can analyze talent enough to know that you don't put Antonio Underwood out there in a big game on the road. All week I worried about this, because he just isn't a good player - at least not yet. It is one thing to run block against an abysmal Indiana defense, but when asked to pass block against a mediocre Purdue line, he wasn't up to the task. Most of us figured this would be the case. Blame Bollman if you want, and he is the worst offensive coordinator in major college football, but I put the onus on young Mr. Fickell. A head coach has to make the key calls, and playing Joe Bauserman against Nebraska, and Antonio Underwood against Purdue adds up to an epic fail. Forget scheming, if you can't analyze talent then you won't last in coaching.
Well, with that brief rant out of the way, let me mention a few things I noticed on Saturday (and I'll warn you that most of them aren't good):
"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it," George Santyana
Sometimes maintaining a blog is cathartic. It lets you vent and get stuff off you chest. And this week I feel like their is an elephant sitting squarely on my chest! The only question is where to begin.
Rarely have I been more disappointed with a game. Two years ago when Ohio State got beat at Purdue it was a case of looking past the Boilermakers, as the Buckeyes made five turnovers, and got caught by a trap game. But that was a good OSU team that came back to win the rest of their games, including the Rose Bowl. This year's team had no excuse. They had played poorly the previous week against Indiana and had every reason to be hungry. Consider that they had the motive of revenge, trying to atone for the 2009 loss in West Lafayette, as well as the chance to move beyond the flat performance against the Hoosiers the week before. And, they had every reason to believe that winning out would secure a spot in the inaugural B1G Championship Game. Yet they still came out totally uninspired and played terribly.
Obviously the blame starts at the top. This is a poor coaching staff, and worse, they simply don't learn anything from past failures. Tell me what the staff has done to improve as the year has progressed. Tell me any major adjustments they have made in scheming or play calling. They keep doing things the same way, even when those things aren't working, and that is extremely frustrating. Both the offense and defense have continued to use the same schemes even when they have met with complete failure, and that is simply unacceptable.
I have heard all the talk about how Luke Fickell is a good coach, who just needs time. Well, Ohio State isn't the place to learn on the job. Although I like him as a person, and think he has some potential as a coach, the fact is he has mismanaged this team too much of the time. I am not a football coach, and don't even play one on television. But I can analyze talent enough to know that you don't put Antonio Underwood out there in a big game on the road. All week I worried about this, because he just isn't a good player - at least not yet. It is one thing to run block against an abysmal Indiana defense, but when asked to pass block against a mediocre Purdue line, he wasn't up to the task. Most of us figured this would be the case. Blame Bollman if you want, and he is the worst offensive coordinator in major college football, but I put the onus on young Mr. Fickell. A head coach has to make the key calls, and playing Joe Bauserman against Nebraska, and Antonio Underwood against Purdue adds up to an epic fail. Forget scheming, if you can't analyze talent then you won't last in coaching.
Well, with that brief rant out of the way, let me mention a few things I noticed on Saturday (and I'll warn you that most of them aren't good):
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1) This was a game where the Buckeyes did nothing well. The 2011 OSU team has been pretty weak, but there have been a couple things they have done quite well, namely rushing the ball and special teams. But on Saturday at Purdue, against a porous run defense, Ohio State averaged 3.5 yards per carry. That is not good enough for this year's team to have success, and is a shock considering that Purdue came in giving up 4.5 yards per carry. As for special teams, there were no big plays, at least in a positive way, that might have turned the game around. However, there was a breakdown on the extra point attmept with 55 seconds remaining, that kept the Buckeyes from escaping West Lafayette with a victory. Anyway, as I look back over the contest, I can't highlight one thing the team did especially well.
2) Braxton Miller has ice in his veins. We all know that Miller is a work in progress. Not only is he young but Braxton has had to deal with poor play calling, inexperienced receivers who don't run good routes, and a line that is not overly proficient at pass blocking. His passing statistics are certainly not impressive, but nobody can question his heart or his ability to make plays when the game is on the line. Given a good offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, along with some better receivers, there is no reason Miller can't become a star.
3) Luke Fickell lacks that certain something that defines great coaches. Every truly great coach has an aura about them that inspires confidence. Some do it with fiery speeches and fist pumping on the sideline. Others, quietly analyze, make changes, and get their team to buy into the scheme. Woody had that certain something and so did Tress. In spite of his recruiting prowess, Cooper never had it, usually biting his fingernails at crunch team while his team tight end up. Well, at least to this point, Luke just doesn't have that undefined characteristic either. Instead, he usually looks like a deer in the headlights. I would love to see him get emotional on the sidelines just once. I would be thrilled to see him throw caution to the wind at some point, like you expect young coaches to do. And, yes, I would have loved for him to go for it on 4th and 1 in overtime. On the road, playing poorly on defense, he could have called a timeout, rallied his team, told them that Woody Hayes believed that if a team can't get a yard they don't deserve to win, and then sent them out to succeed. I screamed out loud when he sent in the field goal unit Maybe you do that at home. But this was his chance to define himself and he failed. This is the same guy who saw his team implode late against Nebraska and Wisconsin. Sure, Braxton's backyard heroics saved his bacon against the Badgers, but it should have never come to that. I keep hoping that Luke will rise to the occasion but I don't think it is going to happen this year.
4) There is a reason people have been clamoring for Ryan Shazier. Again this comes back to analyzing talent. The 2011 linebacking crew has lacked speed and playmaking ability. Many have lobbied for Shazier and given the chance he came through big time. Sure he'll make some mistakes but he will also make plays, and that is what this team needs more than anything. Shazier is fast, fearless, and instinctive. The Silver Bullets seem to have found their next star. Speaking of stars, where was John Simon on Saturday? He has been the man all year, but was missing in action on this afternoon.
5) Things may not get better until 2012. Last week in the Family Feud I surmised that Ohio State would lose one game on the road - either to Purdue or Michigan. My feeling was that this just isn't a good enough team to consistently take care of matters away from home. Well, I think I was wrong. At this point, I doubt they lose just one game on the road, because I will be shocked if they defeat a much improved Wolverine squad in Ann Arbor. And, unless they improve, they will have their problems against beleaguered Penn State next Saturday at home. So, I think 7-5 looks pretty good from where I am sitting, and not the 8-4 I had predicted.
2) Braxton Miller has ice in his veins. We all know that Miller is a work in progress. Not only is he young but Braxton has had to deal with poor play calling, inexperienced receivers who don't run good routes, and a line that is not overly proficient at pass blocking. His passing statistics are certainly not impressive, but nobody can question his heart or his ability to make plays when the game is on the line. Given a good offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, along with some better receivers, there is no reason Miller can't become a star.
3) Luke Fickell lacks that certain something that defines great coaches. Every truly great coach has an aura about them that inspires confidence. Some do it with fiery speeches and fist pumping on the sideline. Others, quietly analyze, make changes, and get their team to buy into the scheme. Woody had that certain something and so did Tress. In spite of his recruiting prowess, Cooper never had it, usually biting his fingernails at crunch team while his team tight end up. Well, at least to this point, Luke just doesn't have that undefined characteristic either. Instead, he usually looks like a deer in the headlights. I would love to see him get emotional on the sidelines just once. I would be thrilled to see him throw caution to the wind at some point, like you expect young coaches to do. And, yes, I would have loved for him to go for it on 4th and 1 in overtime. On the road, playing poorly on defense, he could have called a timeout, rallied his team, told them that Woody Hayes believed that if a team can't get a yard they don't deserve to win, and then sent them out to succeed. I screamed out loud when he sent in the field goal unit Maybe you do that at home. But this was his chance to define himself and he failed. This is the same guy who saw his team implode late against Nebraska and Wisconsin. Sure, Braxton's backyard heroics saved his bacon against the Badgers, but it should have never come to that. I keep hoping that Luke will rise to the occasion but I don't think it is going to happen this year.
4) There is a reason people have been clamoring for Ryan Shazier. Again this comes back to analyzing talent. The 2011 linebacking crew has lacked speed and playmaking ability. Many have lobbied for Shazier and given the chance he came through big time. Sure he'll make some mistakes but he will also make plays, and that is what this team needs more than anything. Shazier is fast, fearless, and instinctive. The Silver Bullets seem to have found their next star. Speaking of stars, where was John Simon on Saturday? He has been the man all year, but was missing in action on this afternoon.
5) Things may not get better until 2012. Last week in the Family Feud I surmised that Ohio State would lose one game on the road - either to Purdue or Michigan. My feeling was that this just isn't a good enough team to consistently take care of matters away from home. Well, I think I was wrong. At this point, I doubt they lose just one game on the road, because I will be shocked if they defeat a much improved Wolverine squad in Ann Arbor. And, unless they improve, they will have their problems against beleaguered Penn State next Saturday at home. So, I think 7-5 looks pretty good from where I am sitting, and not the 8-4 I had predicted.
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