Which Way For the Offense?
Is Boom going to be the one? (J.Davidson: O-Zone)There is little doubt that Beanie’s injury is going to be the major topic of discussion for the next 11 days and hopefully not beyond that. If you believe the early reports and rumors, it looks as if his big toe will be healed in time for the USC game and Buckeye fans should have no worries.
However, what if it lingers beyond Sept. 13th? Which direction do you think JT will take the offense and more importantly, who gets the bulk of carries.
From early results of our current poll, most of you believe Boom Herron will get his opportunity to carry the load. Jason touched on the rise of Boom last week, but he only carried it 5 times for 17 yards against YSU and had no catches, simply not enough touches to form an opinion. I liked the way he ran for his first game and will be anxious to see him get 15 or so carries this week.
The crew here at 11W have not been the biggest fans of Mo Wells and his production over the last three years, but starting late last season, I have sensed a different back and that showed again on Saturday. He averaged 7 yards per touch (6 for 42 yards) and he seemed very effective running the pistol formation with TP. I still don’t think he can be the primary back, but his change of pace could be crucial to OSU’s success in the coming weeks.
Brandon Saine wasn’t used as much on Saturday, but that still could be the lingering effects of his injury in fall camp. Tressel doesn’t like to rush players back and Saine’s touches could still be limited until USC.
Then again, Bollman and Tressel could take the opposite approach and let the QB’s and WR’s get most of the work. I think Ohio State’s passing game is going to be awesome this year. I know there is still some distrust of Boeckman, but 14-19 for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns is not a bad start. His feet were happy again, but The Todd even admitted to that and we can chalk it up to first game jitters.
11 Buckeyes caught passes Saturday and that group doesn’t include T. Washington or Saine. With the early emergence of Devier Posey and Lamaar Thomas, Tressel has a minimum of 7 receivers he can throw out there. I don’t care how good USC, Oklahoma or Florida is, if JT can rotate receivers the entire game and get effective QB play, there is no defense that can stop the attack.
I know, I know, what about LIC? Terrelle was impressive in his first game, but I don’t think he is going to take the offense away from Todd. What we saw of TP on Saturday is what we will see all year. His touches may increase as the season progresses, but I don’t see the coaching staff forcing him to do too much with Todd at the helm.
With that being said, how exciting is this kid going to be? I try not to look ahead too much, but the only seniors amongst the WR’s and RB’s are Robiskie and Mo Wells…sick.
I want to know your opinions. Beanie is out and you are the offensive coordinator, which direction do you take? Do you trust anyone to run it 20 times a game or do you turn it over to the quarterbacks and wide receivers?
I am floored by the response we received for the 11W stickers, but don’t worry, we have plenty. I was going to try and get them out this past weekend, but real life called and everyone will now have them for the USC game. If you are still interested, please email me corey@elevenwarriors.com
I would expect more of the same for OhioU, as for USC. Rotate players frequently, and keep them fresh for a 4th quarter surge. I don’t view the YSU game as “experimentation”, rather, rehearsal for USC. Much the same as was done for Texas in 2006 (heat was a primary concern there).
Oh, I run with Boom and Saine. Mo can spot them. And if that don’t work, leave Brandon in to pick up blitzes, and throw the ball. Hell, throw it all day long. Speed Kills.
Throw Posey, Mike Hartline’s brother, Thomas, Dane, Robiskie, Washington, Saine, Nicol, Ballard the ball. All day long. If Texas Tech can do it, we sure as hell can.
Of course, I’m still pissed off that we didn’t throw the bubble screen to Bam Childress enough. So I may be holding a grudge.
Ron raises a good point. JT rotated the o-line against Texas the second year we played them and the fresh legs helped us dominate the time of possession.
TP is the real deal and is going to be awesome to watch progress. I was at the game Saturday and for the most part the crowd seemed kind of blah except or Script Ohio, the start of the game, and when TP had his number called. The kid doesn’t run so much as he glides.
Call me a homer, but with this much talent on both sides of the ball coupled with the senior leadership, it is a disappointment if we aren’t celebrating on South Beach in January.
I’m not sure if he’d get the bulk of the carries, btu I wouldn’t be surprised if Rasta Wells got the start vs. OU because he’s a senior.
The Vest said he will decide later in the week if Beanie will play this week. I say rest him even if he is healthy enough to play. No need to rush him back against the Bobcats.
If Beanie sees the field this week, I’ll change my name to “Sheridan Fett”. Guessing game until kickoff on the 13th, my friends. And then he goes off for 250 while “injured”, putting him in the early lead for the Heisman.
Mo is a good RB and an even better teammate as he has never talked trash about playing time to the media and never transferred to 1AA for playing time. Mo has worked hard, but has been the victim of playing in the wrong kind of offense. He is not a bruising back and cannot get the hard up the middle yards. He is however, much like Darren sproles… quick and shifty and does his best work with space ahead of him— hence the success in the pistol formation. Finally, a nice change of pace to keep the defenses honest. IMHO– this is what we should have ran as a change of pace vs LSU last season with Henton a few series at least to burn LSU’s defense who was putting so much pressure on the QB. USC will be forced to stay honest and that will allow the RB’s to get some yards and have some short outlet passes. Beanie being out for the OU game might be a good thing and allow some players some extra playing time and a chance to work out a few wrinkles. Beanie will be Beanie and get his come USC…
“Sheridan Fett”?
What a wonderful reminder of how bad the boys in blue looked on Saturday. Nicely done!
Mo Wells will never be the loadbearer for this team, but I feel he was always misused. He’s a scatback, a quick and shifty guy, and the coaches always wanted to run him up the gut. He and Saine are going to be better used splitting out as WR and running the option or pitches, so on. Once the defense is spread horizontally, I think Mo will do a lot better with the draws and such.
Back to the question, why not trust “Running back by committee”? Keep Mo Wells in the “Pistol” formation, “Boom” in an “I” with Curtis Terry at fullback, and keep Saine in there everytime the Shotgun is called (as an option running attack). I would NOT leave it up to the QB’s & WR’s…! T.Boekman can’t keep his confidence when stirred. I saw glimpses of him gettin too excited when our “O” line couldnt hold. Please tell me why our “O” line can’t hold off the Penguins? How are we supposed to be sold on them come L.A.? I feel like everytime we panic, we resort to the WR’s and try to force feed them the ball. Especially when our line decides to fold. Dont get me wrong, we have a lot of talent but very little experience with the depth. I hope we look back at Texas and keep the fresh bodys on the field at all times…!
Although the focus of the post is to talk about the running backs, I still think the running backs are only a side story to the real hinge upon which victory will turn: the OSU defense. There is so much focus on Beanie’s foot and Herron and Saine and the rest, WRs and Pryor, but the way we beat USC is by preventing them from scoring points. I can’t remember any team beating USC in a shoot out, outside of Texas and that was only because they had Vince Young. We won’t out-offense the track-team-in-pads fieled by USC, but if we play hard-nosed, 2002 Buckeye-era hit them in the face defense, the Trojan will rattle early, and the Trojan point total will remain low. USC seems to implode in the 4th quarter whenever their opponent can hold them to a low point total.
It looks like September 13th could feature two offenses that will implement a multi-tiered tandem at the RB position, both marked by smaller but zippier players. I know our team technically did not “struggle” against YSU, and I was really excited to see the new faces get in there and make some plays. But our Bucks simply aren’t “explosive.”
Maybe it’s because I’ve watched them for such a long time, but I don’t think our team looks as sharp, as daring, as fierce, or as elegant as some of the other teams out there. For example, how come our receivers can’t break a tackle and bust a huge gain? Why can’t someone get wide open downfield?Why are our DBs still dropping cupcake interceptions handed to them while they’re in that zone coverage? What the heck is up with our return game?! It’s pathetic.
I don’t think we’re as strong as we should be, and I don’t think our team is going out there with an all-or-none, carpe diem, there’s no tomorrow mentality the way it seems USC or the SEC team approaches its games. Maybe it was the nature of the YSU matchup, maybe it was the practice-scrimmage game plan Tressel and crew brought to the table, but it didn’t leave me with a good taste in my mouth considering they’re going to be entering the lion’s den on the 13th.
Todd Boeckman has to be lights out. Our RB’s need to be fearless. Our defense needs to put the pressure on Sanchez for the entire game. And I’m sorry but without Beanie Wells, we stand no chance. Unless Robiskie and Hartline can show that they can be gamebreakers when it counts, we need Wells in the backfield destroying people for 5-6 yards a carry.
I hope the Buckeyes win, of course, and I think they have the team. But so far I’ve been wrong about Clemson, Illinois, Michigan State, Stanford, and Michigan. So what the hell do I know?
I honestly say that I agree with what Steve mentioned above. I saw no fire, no passion, no real sense in urgency with the bucks last Saturday. I love the bucks just as much as any die hard fan but I was not impressed with what they showed on Saturday. And what was with the crowd? I understand it was lowly Y State but there was no excitement. I understand beanie getting hurt was a ball crusher and even i sat mute for awhile when i saw that happen. I need to see more fire out of this team. there is no way in H3ll that Y State should have held us to 5 field goals. We should have scored 60 points in that game. I was expecting a shut out by the defense so that didnt surprise me. All I have to say is if we bring that same mentality against USC, we’re going to get laughed out of that stadium and all the sh*t that has been talked about us all year will be legit. We dominate a weak conference and the cupcakes we schedule but, when it comes to playing with the big boys we cant compete. WAKE UP OHIO STATE!!!!!!! ITS TIME TO PLAY…
I agree with Matt. Against USC, we will rise and fall on the strength of our defense. I don’t like our chances if it’s a shootout. I would rather see traditional Tressel-ball.