Eleven Warriors

Too late to make any moves this year.

I hate to say it, but I hope they go after what I just saw tonight.

No excuses for defensive injuries anymore...no matter how injured we are we have 10 times the talent of indiana and it comes down to coaching

Agreed.  This is the most empty that I've felt after a buckeye win in years.  Inexcusable performance by the D.

I think Vrabel will stay. He's such a valuable recruiter, but Fickell? Get him outta heree

Agree with Golden Buckeye. Keep Vrabel (the D-line HAS had a few good games, but was w/out Nathan Williams tonight and Spence was up and down constantly so didn't get a chance to establish himself).

Fickel needs to go. I'm so tired of the corners playing 10 yards off. The lack of LB help underneith really hurt us, though. Boren and Spence (when they had him back up and play pass coverage) were understandably lost.

Can we steal Bob Diaco from Notre Dame and ditch Withers and Fickel?

Diaco had a top ten D at Cincy and has a top ten at ND. Plus he and Coombs have worked together before.

Mr. Fickell, you basically won the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes last year, thanks for your service, you were paid for it big time. Goodbye. You know Meyer didn't really want to keep him.

I appreciate Fickell's loyalty but this is a business. I am starting to believe that we had more than one video coordinator on the team last year.

I think Fickell should have his play calling privileges stripped but be allowed to stay. The only "problem" I see is defensive design. Plays where no one is getting touched and receivers are wide open? All scheme errors. Let Withers call the plays.

Wouldn't bother me in the least if Fickell is gone.  But I agree that Vrabel should stay as a position coach and recruiter (most important) and make Withers the solo DC.  I don't think there's a chance Bob Diaco will be available, as he'll probably get a head coaching job soon.  So my question is, if Fickell is gone, will they bring in someone to replace him or just make Withers the DC?

Fickell as the linebackers coach? How are the linebackers under his leadership this year? Enough said.

Urban stated after the game that Shazier, Sabino, Williams, and Perry were all hurt tuesday, which is when Boren got his first reps. In all honesty, he didn't look bad at all. Better than Klein, IMO

To everyone saying that Vrabel should be kept because of his recuiting prowess:

Do you guys not remember that Luke Fickell was Jim Tressel's recruiting coordinator? Fickell was Tressel's top recruiter, and he can sell Ohio State better than anybody. Fickell was responsible for the majority of Tressel's recruiting classes, and is more vauable from a recruiting aspect that Mike Vrabel. Sure Fickell deserves some blame for this year's LB corp, but doesn't he also get credit for the A.J. Hawk and James Laurinaitis era?

I agree with the position of keeping Fickell, but taking away his play-calling responsibilities.

I say let Fickell go to d-line and move Vrabel to LB's. that's their natural positions. Can't get rid of Vrabel, too good of a recruiter. 

I was at the game and thought I was going to end up leaving embarrassed. The defense is pathetic. 

Just because Vrabel "might" be a good recruiter doesn't mean you keep him. Same with Fickell. What good is a coach if he can recruit like hell but can't do shiz about it?

I hope there's a massive overhaul on the D side immediately after the Michigan game. Fickell is not even a peewee level coach. Vrabel is unproven. He's only been in here 2 frickin years. Gimme a break.

You wanna see how a GOOD defensive coordinator works? Look no further than that team up north. Mattison turned around tSUN's defense in 1 year after 3 horrid years of recruiting under Rodriguez. tSUN has LESS talent on D. They were swiss cheese before Mattison. When he came, he turned one of the worst defenses in college football to a top 30 (20?) overall in one year WITH THE SAME PLAYERS!

You can't tell me a guy like Stoops or someone else with proven commodity can't do a better job with what we have. Fickell is not a d-coordinator. Vrabel hasn't done anything worth noting.

I hope Meyer has a plan to can BOTH Fick and Vrabs.

If you can't see that Fickell isn't the answer, they you're too much of a Fickell loyalist.

Firing Withers eliminates our recruiting presence in the Carolina's. Plus he doesnt call the plays so it makes little sense to fire him. Who would be the candidates if we did fire Fickell?

@Carton

Urban Meyer used 2 DCs at Florida as well, Greg Mattison and Charlie Strong (who called the plays).

Withers always struck me as a big play kinda of guy at UNC, willing to sacrifice some yards in order to get a sack or an interception. I would be interested in seeing what kind of plays Withers will call if given the power.

all I have to say is that I felt this way after the UCF game, the defense is ridiculously bad. We have talented players but zero results thus far. That Michigan State win is looking less and less impressive the more MSU plays on. I'd give Fickell the rest of the season and unless there is vast improvement by the Michigan game then he needs to go. I wonder what his approval rating is, can't be more than 10%. 

I'm not trying to make excuses but our linebacker core is being held together with duct tape and bubble gum.

I read absolutely no blogs above, but if anyone was defending both as if they'll be back...don't bank on it if OSU gives up another 40 point game (even if they win again).  This staff needs Coombs and Withers but not Fickel or Vrabel (or they'll be kept but Withers takes over as Def Coor.).  I know Fick was the sacrificial lamb last year but this defense has good players but they're not being coached well IMHO.  It shows when you can't make a simple tackle or be in the correct position.  In their defense, there has been a lot of injuries at LB and other positions.  However, excuses are like what???  It's time to stop making them...

Its quite obvious that Heacock was the magic in the Silver Bullets, just like Fred Pagac before him. Fickell (and everett withers to a lesser degree) has failed miserably as D Coordinator this year. Luke had better be a recruiter extraordinaire, because the way he coordinates a defense when Heacock isn't around to fix things simply isn't good enough to keep his 750k/year job... and has got to be testing Urban Meyer's patience.

KMP10 - I will disagree with you vehemently about Heacock. The magic in the Silver Bullets was Dantonio. He is the reason we won the National Title. Heacock was an average DC. We did well against bad teams and looked awful against talented ones, for the most part. That being said, he's better than what we have this year.

However, this is frickin Ohio State. There is no reason we should be ha having trouble bringing in a top-notch DC. See how the season plays out, and if we do not show any improvement, I'm sure the necessary changes will be made.

I think tha the players deserve the most blame on this one - too many missed assignments, missed tackles and lackadaisical play (maybe they read the local press?).  I didn't see any Bednarik/Butkus/Thorpe/Nagurski/Outland/Lombardi contestants out there - a couple of individual plays maybe, but no consistent effort.

This may have been the worst overall effort I've seen on an OSU defense in quite some time. 

The other thing you have to consider is that with one or two exceptions, maybe the players aren't as good as we all thought

Then there's the scores by IU special teams and our own special team miscues - is Meyer going to fire himself?

80 points in 2 games?

Is Pagac still coaching somewhere?  Bring him back to Columbus.  He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to interviews, but the man bled scarlet and gray, and his defenses were aggressive and disciplined. 

Honestly, I don't know what the solution is.  But this defense sucks right now and I never thought I'd be saying that about a Buckeye defense.  We can't expect our offense to score plus 50 a game and barely win. 

Pagac is with the Vikings. That would be a great haul for Meyer.

I wonder if the players respect Fickell?  I mean he was their head coach last year and it was a horrible year, he got demoted this year, does he have any authority over these players anymore?  Does he get their respect?  Urban wouldn't have kept Fickell just because, he believed he earned the opportunity to stay, but he's not proving that right now.  Maybe he needs to be demoted again or just let go.  I don't know, but something isn't right.  Some guys are just not good potential coaches.  Maybe Fickell is a good position coach(he has had great LB corps in the past) but not a guy who can make the jump to the next level.  That is possible, not everyone is a promising young assistant who become a great coordinator and head coach one day.  Some just don't make it. 

Don't know if he's the best for the job, but I'd bet money that Pagac would be here in a heartbeat if given the chance to coach in Columbus again.

Coaches coach BUT the players make plays. That said our scheme needs an overhaul; I'm not saying a full blown one from a 4-3 to a 3-4 but they could at least dial up a little pressure with a linebacker or safety up the middle or a corner blitz off the edge. Tackling remains porus with nobody wrapping up; instead leading with their head; Ty Howard and stingers anyone..?? As I said in another post; our Silver Bullets have turned into the Silver Pixies; unacceptable.

There is no pressure! I understand Indiana has a quick throw offense but damn i don't even think there was a batted ball. Indiana was controlling the line of scrimmage.

The disappointing thing to me about Fickell is that he hasn't put a stamp on the team in two years.  There isn't one positive thing that the D does that a person could look at and say, oh that's what a Fickell D does.  He's a young guy by coaching standards, but doesn't seem to have any new ideas.  His coaching to date has been a rehash of what his elders --and betters-- have done.  So, the question becomes if not Fickell then who?  With the understanding that Kirby Smart isn't going anywhere,who are the rising young DCs out there that OSU could grab?  And I challenge you to keep the word "pizza" out of your answer.  

My bet if someone is leaving we ask Jon Tenuta to come back home

When was the last time you yelled WOW after a big hit????  Two season's ago probably.

Ryan Shazier on Zach Maynard against Cal, this year.

I don't believe for 1 second that we don't have great talent on D. Yes many are still young but at times last year, many of these same guys looked better (most of Wisconsin game last year and in several others) and you saw potential and solid play here and there. This year is horrible with obvious regression. Stupid/discipline penalties and trying to strip the ball while the guy continues running for 20 more yards drives me nuts...the running along side the ball-carrier strip works about 1 time a year but we try it almost every time a guy breaks into the secondary vs just stopping him.

Who would be replacement candidates?

Would we lose any recruits?

Take a look at our CURRENT linebacker depth chart and explain to me how we're supposed to stop opposing offenses - Our defensive scheme is designed for linebackers to make the plays.

Currently, our linebacking corp is 1) A wildly talented and yet wildly inconsistent playmaker (Shazier), 2) A not-athletic-enough Senior who has not been able to break through into the lineup until now (Klein), 3) a SENIOR FULLBACK (Boren) and 4) a true freshman who is still learning the system (Perry).

I guess what I'm saying is that there's only SO MUCH coaches can do scheme-wise when your linebackers are this poor.

We are half way through the season. Let's just see what the second half brings, hopefully they surprise all of us and show more improvement than they have thus far.

The LBers we have now can't get off of opposing OL blocks, doubt a 200lb safety would fair any better. 

I agree. He's just too small to take on blocks.

Lets also remember they got points off of the two worst replay calls in the history of retardism

Do we just want to blame Fick and Vrabel because they are part of the old guard?

This is exactly why these guys are calling for Fickell's head. Someone home-grown isn't good enough for some reason.

IMO, if we had one, just one elite LB (like Spielman, Katzenmoyer, or Hawk) and one elite SS/CB (like Winfield, Doss, or Jenkins) this would be a very good defense. Not a NC-caliber one. But Indiana wouldn't have gotten out of the teens against that defense. Shazier and Roby show hints of greatness but they aren't there yet.

All of the guys with both physical and mental abilities on this defense are on the DL. Teams that have offenses built to spread out defenses and make plays thru the air -- this is a defense that they can exploit. Good coaches are going attack, attack, and then attack some more.

So who's left on our schedule that can do that. Not Wisconsin. Not Penn State. I can only think of Purdue and Michigan. And Denard can't throw a ball to save his life. And BTW both games are at home.

When was the last time you yelled WOW after a big hit????  Two season's ago probably.

Ryan Shazier on Zach Maynard against Cal, this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afXmMpoCF9M

Skip to 2:18, unless you want to watch Brendan Bigelow shred our D. I saw enough of that play on Spots Center and in my nightmares...

Our D is definitely built for Downhill teams and Purdue can call their offense spread all they want but they are still pretty downhill.

I assume you mean Doran Grant right?

#14

I thought Luke coached the Linebackers & Vrable the "D" line. Yes  I would prefer to see more pressure coming from "D" line but all in all are ok, especially with the injuries to Simon & others. My concern is when UFM says he needs to get more involved with the defense. This is exactly what he did not want to do. Once UFM gets involved or at least my understanding is what created some of his health issues. I know there is more to that, but it was one of the reasons. I just don't understand why the highly regarded recruits @ linebacker are replaced by Zach Boren. I question the Linebackers Coach for preparing these recruits. How can they not play? I understand they are freshman & sophomores' but it still baffles me.

I like Fickell, but I think at this time he is overmatched.  Tress was high on him, so there's something there.  He might need to figure out his style and what works at a smaller school.  I thought the deer in the headlights look from last year would be gone; but it's not.  With that said, I cannot fully lay the blame for a player "not getting it" on the coach.  Today we (myself included) fall in love with the physical gifts, we tend to forget about the mental side (instincts) of the game.  The problem is you can't measure instincts, so you have to recruit that 5 star and hope his speed in high school wasn't hiding his lack of instincts.

 C. Grant came in highly recruited with the pyhsical tools, but cannot pick up the game.  That is not a slam on him; it's just the way it is.  I remember watching M. D'Andrea, desparately wanting himt to live up to his bill, but many a time choosing the wrong hole to hit.  It is very hard to teach the "insticts" that slower guys like Speilman, Hawk, and Wilhelm had.  Ideally, you want the player to have both the physical tools with the "instincts" but hey, Lawrence Taylor doesn't come around every day.

AJ Hawk is not slow.

6'1 245 runs a 4.59 - we should all be so slow

You are quick to lump everyone here together in their beliefs. Most here are looking at the fact that a decent defense can be had by coaching along with the talent we do have. We are always elite in talent compared to anyone else in the B1G. In saying we are without enough talent to field a decent defense is saying every other defense in the B1G will be worse than ours. Coaching matters and ours seem to be dropping the ball. Pointing that out is due to concern and wanting greatness. Ever hear Spielman talk? Ask him to be satisfied with mediocrity. You will get a lecture on greatness.

Lougroza, I would also imagine Spielman has much respect for the difficulty in coaching players to their maximum potential. See his record as HC of the Columbus Destroyers (2-15).

IOW, it's not as easy as you think.

Withers is Urban's guy.  It seemed like a good idea at the time to keep Fickell on, and we will always be grateful for him stepping into the meat grinder that was last year.  My guess is that Meyer "encourages" Fickell to take a HC job at a smaller school next year to build his resume, and Withers assumes full responsibility for the D.

osu has freshman talent  on defense, but freshman are inexperienced, some of the experienced players on defense are banged up and cant play or are playing hurt. and imo, the talent level is not what it use to be. so the answer according to the fickell haters, is fire fickell. lets see it is fickell who is on the field and misses tackles. it is fickell who is on the field and is the one out of position. it is fickell who drops sure interceptions. yeah fickell haters, lets blame the poor defense on fickell. makes sense to me. quite frankly, since next year counts a lot more than this year does, i dont understand why the freshman arent playing more, so they can make mistakes in a real game and learn how to play. sure i want the buckeyes to win every game, even if it means little this year in regards to championships and bowl games. but i would rather see the freshmen play now a few plays a game here and there and start to learn how to play, that way come next year they have more than a clue. but first lets blame everything on fickell. oh and by the way 7 wins and no losses sure sounds good to me. a lot better than my fiancees uk wildcats.

Guys the differents is the play calling and the coach is affraid the young guys can not play aggeressively down hill he is tring to keep them from making mistakes by playing that crappy bind but don't break crap. When he let the D go agres. against NEB they where hard to deal with. People score when we play bind but don't break cause the D is in react mode instead of rip there head of mode. I have always been against prevent and bind but don't break D teams that play this have areal tendence to play alot of close games and have not shutouts.

One thing is for sure that talent is not the problem you do have to coach the kids up to speed tho, but there is something that can be said for the starting full back being on the field as a LB that is he was REC here as a LB then switched to FB and with only a few days of practice he did pretty good. the young guys in the LB core need to step it up so that the rest of the D does not look so bad.

My last piont is that Mr. Fickel needs to go back to caoching the LB's more then play calling cause that is what really hurting the D is the lack of LB play RS can not run all over the fields now that sabino is out to stop everything. Coach up the younger guys and boren and let Withers call the D. 

Urban has kept the DC for at least the first year at every new job.  I think it is a difference of styles.  Urban is more fast paced, up tempo; while Fickell is more conservative, keep everything in front of you.  Both styles can be very effective; but not at the same time.  If the old regime doesn't buy in, then something has to (and in Urban's case will) give. 

I have also noticed that whatever Urban complains about in the post game interview gets immediately addressed in the very next game.  One week it's pressure from the D-line, the next it's our DB's in soft coverage; so the coaches seem to be on 2 different pages leading up to the game (scheme-wise).

Too many times Fickell has looked confused or puzzled on the sideline.  This guy was a multi-time state champ in wrestling (I think 4 time) and 4 year starter at OSU, so you know he's a warrior.  Once he regains his confidence and intensity he will be fine; I just don't know it if will happen at OSU.