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Purdue Game Recap: Turnover Edition
David ThurmanOct 17, 2009
Pryor accounted for 4 of the 5 turnovers Saturday // Photo via espn.com
Drew Thurman (10:07 pm)
Not since the days of Bellisari have the Buckeyes looked as bad as the did Saturday against the Boilermakers. The coaching was bad, the offensive line got outplayed, the special teams sputtered, the defense looked tired, and oh Pryor added four turnovers. There were so many things that I noticed that trying to write a recap isn't exactly an easy task, even though I thought about things my entire drive home. Outside of a few players, the entire team looked bad and there is plenty of blame to go around. With that said, here is my attempt to break a few things down...
No Offensive Identity:
Watching the offense is frustrating for about a thousand different reasons, but I think it starts with identity. From week to week there is no consistency, and no "go to" plays or players. Are the Bucks a team that wants to spread things out, or have a pro-style offense, or run the ball with power? What is the bread and butter? Ray Small mentioned this last week that the playbook is as big as it has very been in his career, and it's pretty obvious the offense hasn't mastered any of it. With a struggling quarterback, average offensive line, and young position players, one has to wonder why things have not been simplified. They looked lost, and simplification seems needed!
Pryor's Problems:
It was very hard to watch Pryor with the ball in his hands, and every possession against Purdue was an adventure. Multiple times there was miscommunication and Pryor threw the ball miles away from anyone. He also took five sacks, had two fumbles, and threw two interceptions. So yes, it was an adventure. Honestly, I am not sure he will be able to pull things together this season. As I mentioned above, an easier playbook would probably help, but right now he has no confidence. He looks scared and nervous, and on top of that, I don't know if we have the offensive staff to help him. His mechanics and decision making are awful, and I don't see that changing this season. The thing he can change this season is his attitude. He is way too animated for a leader, and his very obvious expressions of frustration are having an affect of the entire offense. He needs to start rallying his teammates on the sideline, needs to quit moping, and needs to be a leader for an offense that is hungry for one (Koo's words on this are good).
Not since the days of Bellisari have the Buckeyes looked as bad as the did Saturday against the Boilermakers. The coaching was bad, the offensive line got outplayed, the special teams sputtered, the defense looked tired, and oh Pryor added four turnovers. There were so many things that I noticed that trying to write a recap isn't exactly an easy task, even though I thought about things my entire drive home. Outside of a few players, the entire team looked bad and there is plenty of blame to go around. With that said, here is my attempt to break a few things down...
No Offensive Identity:
Watching the offense is frustrating for about a thousand different reasons, but I think it starts with identity. From week to week there is no consistency, and no "go to" plays or players. Are the Bucks a team that wants to spread things out, or have a pro-style offense, or run the ball with power? What is the bread and butter? Ray Small mentioned this last week that the playbook is as big as it has very been in his career, and it's pretty obvious the offense hasn't mastered any of it. With a struggling quarterback, average offensive line, and young position players, one has to wonder why things have not been simplified. They looked lost, and simplification seems needed!
Pryor's Problems:
It was very hard to watch Pryor with the ball in his hands, and every possession against Purdue was an adventure. Multiple times there was miscommunication and Pryor threw the ball miles away from anyone. He also took five sacks, had two fumbles, and threw two interceptions. So yes, it was an adventure. Honestly, I am not sure he will be able to pull things together this season. As I mentioned above, an easier playbook would probably help, but right now he has no confidence. He looks scared and nervous, and on top of that, I don't know if we have the offensive staff to help him. His mechanics and decision making are awful, and I don't see that changing this season. The thing he can change this season is his attitude. He is way too animated for a leader, and his very obvious expressions of frustration are having an affect of the entire offense. He needs to start rallying his teammates on the sideline, needs to quit moping, and needs to be a leader for an offense that is hungry for one (Koo's words on this are good).
Why Abandon the Run?
One of the most confusing things that Tressel and the staff did on Saturday had to do with the running game. Saine came out looking sharp on the first drive, gashing Purdue on the ground and through the air to help set up Pryor's touchdown run. After that, he touched the ball all of six times. SIX TIMES! He even looked sharp in second quarter when he had a 15 yard touchdown run brought back on a holding call. Yet the staff completely went away from using him, and instead tried to throw the ball more (31 attempts) and put the running game on Pryor's shoulders (21 carries). This made absolutely no since for any reason. Why put more on struggling quarterback? Why make the offense one dimensional? Why not allow your tired defense to get some rest after being on the field for two-thirds of the game a week ago (and for a ton more Saturday)? I understand we played from behind in the second half, but the run was abandoned long before then!
Other Tressel Decision Issues:
If Pryor's decision making is going to be put under the microscope, Tressel's does also. I just mentioned abandoning the run, but there were a lot of other bad decisions. First, the play calling was obviously unsuitable. He seemed intent on throwing the ball with Pryor in the pocket. I am not sure what Pryor has done in recent weeks to show that he is capable of such of bold pursuit, but nevertheless that's what Tressel did. Not only did Pryor throw the ball here, there, and everywhere (including to Purdue), but it allowed their defense to pin its ears back. The Buckeye offensive line was awful all afternoon, yet Tressel just kept dropping Pryor back in predictable ways on predictable downs. No diversity, and we got to see Tressel yet again be hard headed about making Pryor into a pocket passer. No doubt, I hope he becomes a much better passer, but when is the staff going to realize that it isn't happening this year.
Second, Tressel's situational calls are questionable too. When the Buckeyes were down 23-7, they finally started putting together a solid drive. Pryor got the Buckeyes down to the three yard line on a 35 yard run, and they needed a touchdown badly. What did Tressel do? Run three plays to the short side of the field (as he did much of the day). The worst one was the call of third down, where they ran off-tackle with Pryor just as they had on first down. They ran the ball to the right side (the short side), when the opposite side was wide open with nothing more than one corner covering. Then the icing on the cake was kicking the field goal on fourth down. I understand he wanted points, but Purdue went down a negated the field goal with one of their own on the next drive. We needed momentum and points, and that was not the time to be conservative!
Did Anyone Play Well?
My dad and I tried to think of who actually played well, and we concluded only two guys did a solid job. The first was DeVier Posey, who had nine catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. The guy is an unbelievable talent, and hauled in a ton of tough catches. The other guy was Chimdi Chekwa. There were other defenders who may have looked better on the stat sheet, but had missed tackles and assignments. Chekwa though was solid in coverage all day, had a few really nice hits, and brought in a big interception. Outside of those two guys, there are a lot of guys that should take some personal blame. I know the team was beat up and tired after a tough contest against Wisconsin, but the team looked flat. The special teams guys fumble and bobbled balls, the defensive line got very little pressure, the offensive line gave Pryor very little time, and so on. You can get the picture.
Big Ten Officials Stink:
I am not going to blame a loss on the officials because the Buckeyes didn't really play well enough to win, but when is the Big Ten going to evaluate these guys? They made numerous awful decisions on Saturday. Like....
#1 - They didn't replay what looked to be a one-handed grab by Dane Sanzenbacher. What is the trouble in at least looking at a close play like that, isn't that what replay is for? Come on.
#2 - Gibson recovered a fumble deep in Purdue territory after a Coleman strip, which would be negated. After rewarding the ball to the Buckeyes, the refs huddled up and decided they had blown the play dead. Not only was that a terrible call, but it wasn't true. The play happened right in front of me, and there was no whistle. The Buckeyes were up 7-3 at the time, and would have gotten the ball inside the ten yard line. You have to wonder if a 14-3 lead would have changed the outcome.
#3 - In the second quarter they called back a 15 yard run by Saine on a phantom holding call (Bryant Browning). It was a terrible call, and if that was holding, they can call it on every play. Pryor would fumble the next play, crediting the refs with killing the momentum yet again!
All in All:
This game changed the outlook of the season in a major way. Pryor has lost his confidence, and with him so has the offense. They need to figure things out, because they will win none of the last three games of the season playing this way. Even if they gain a little momentum the next few weeks, you have to believe they will at least lose one of those games (@ PSU, Iowa, @ Michigan). I don't want to give up hope (and I won't), but the Buckeyes may be looking the Outback Bowl in the face!
One of the most confusing things that Tressel and the staff did on Saturday had to do with the running game. Saine came out looking sharp on the first drive, gashing Purdue on the ground and through the air to help set up Pryor's touchdown run. After that, he touched the ball all of six times. SIX TIMES! He even looked sharp in second quarter when he had a 15 yard touchdown run brought back on a holding call. Yet the staff completely went away from using him, and instead tried to throw the ball more (31 attempts) and put the running game on Pryor's shoulders (21 carries). This made absolutely no since for any reason. Why put more on struggling quarterback? Why make the offense one dimensional? Why not allow your tired defense to get some rest after being on the field for two-thirds of the game a week ago (and for a ton more Saturday)? I understand we played from behind in the second half, but the run was abandoned long before then!
Other Tressel Decision Issues:
If Pryor's decision making is going to be put under the microscope, Tressel's does also. I just mentioned abandoning the run, but there were a lot of other bad decisions. First, the play calling was obviously unsuitable. He seemed intent on throwing the ball with Pryor in the pocket. I am not sure what Pryor has done in recent weeks to show that he is capable of such of bold pursuit, but nevertheless that's what Tressel did. Not only did Pryor throw the ball here, there, and everywhere (including to Purdue), but it allowed their defense to pin its ears back. The Buckeye offensive line was awful all afternoon, yet Tressel just kept dropping Pryor back in predictable ways on predictable downs. No diversity, and we got to see Tressel yet again be hard headed about making Pryor into a pocket passer. No doubt, I hope he becomes a much better passer, but when is the staff going to realize that it isn't happening this year.
Second, Tressel's situational calls are questionable too. When the Buckeyes were down 23-7, they finally started putting together a solid drive. Pryor got the Buckeyes down to the three yard line on a 35 yard run, and they needed a touchdown badly. What did Tressel do? Run three plays to the short side of the field (as he did much of the day). The worst one was the call of third down, where they ran off-tackle with Pryor just as they had on first down. They ran the ball to the right side (the short side), when the opposite side was wide open with nothing more than one corner covering. Then the icing on the cake was kicking the field goal on fourth down. I understand he wanted points, but Purdue went down a negated the field goal with one of their own on the next drive. We needed momentum and points, and that was not the time to be conservative!
Did Anyone Play Well?
My dad and I tried to think of who actually played well, and we concluded only two guys did a solid job. The first was DeVier Posey, who had nine catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. The guy is an unbelievable talent, and hauled in a ton of tough catches. The other guy was Chimdi Chekwa. There were other defenders who may have looked better on the stat sheet, but had missed tackles and assignments. Chekwa though was solid in coverage all day, had a few really nice hits, and brought in a big interception. Outside of those two guys, there are a lot of guys that should take some personal blame. I know the team was beat up and tired after a tough contest against Wisconsin, but the team looked flat. The special teams guys fumble and bobbled balls, the defensive line got very little pressure, the offensive line gave Pryor very little time, and so on. You can get the picture.
Big Ten Officials Stink:
I am not going to blame a loss on the officials because the Buckeyes didn't really play well enough to win, but when is the Big Ten going to evaluate these guys? They made numerous awful decisions on Saturday. Like....
#1 - They didn't replay what looked to be a one-handed grab by Dane Sanzenbacher. What is the trouble in at least looking at a close play like that, isn't that what replay is for? Come on.
#2 - Gibson recovered a fumble deep in Purdue territory after a Coleman strip, which would be negated. After rewarding the ball to the Buckeyes, the refs huddled up and decided they had blown the play dead. Not only was that a terrible call, but it wasn't true. The play happened right in front of me, and there was no whistle. The Buckeyes were up 7-3 at the time, and would have gotten the ball inside the ten yard line. You have to wonder if a 14-3 lead would have changed the outcome.
#3 - In the second quarter they called back a 15 yard run by Saine on a phantom holding call (Bryant Browning). It was a terrible call, and if that was holding, they can call it on every play. Pryor would fumble the next play, crediting the refs with killing the momentum yet again!
All in All:
This game changed the outlook of the season in a major way. Pryor has lost his confidence, and with him so has the offense. They need to figure things out, because they will win none of the last three games of the season playing this way. Even if they gain a little momentum the next few weeks, you have to believe they will at least lose one of those games (@ PSU, Iowa, @ Michigan). I don't want to give up hope (and I won't), but the Buckeyes may be looking the Outback Bowl in the face!
Mitchell Headed to 1st Conference Finals 🔥
