Just a few things I personally would like to see this off season.
1. Braxton needs to get use to playing with no one in the backfield, right now I dont know if I can call him a "spread QB" after his 2012 preformance. Though it may have been electrifying whenever UFM and Herman wanted to really space the field with an empty backfield we saw a derp play by Xbrax. Hopefully another season in this system allows him to play out of an empty set which allows more of the "QB scrambles" that UFM was talking about and we see more potential for an aggresive aerial attack.
2. Let me start with i'm a big fan of El Guapo, but there are some thing's he just doesnt bring to the table. The ability to take the ball to the house is one of them. We lacked long run's from the RBs all season and frankly when you're a predominatley run orriented squad you're going to run into problems when you can't threaten a team with a long run. Adding Jordan Hall for another season should be the answer he adds the ability to run the sweep, off tackle, options, and screens and has enough wiggle in space to make something small into a big run. Expect to see them both in the same backfield to run the triple option and to flex them out for a missmatch but I would be suprised if Hyde gets close to the same amount of carries Hall does. Another big offseason like last year and J.Hall could be exactly what we needed in this offense.
3. The front seven needs to get in the backfield and finish, I expected big things from Withers after all of those nasty pass rushers we saw him coach at UNC and all of those Florida D-lines we saw at UF. Though we lose 6 of the front 7 there is a ton of hope. We need guys who can cause some mayhem in the backfield to step up and I think that fits the 2013 unit much better then last years squad. Lets face it this coming years D can only go up from a sub par showing in 2012, the soft coverage was often exposed from a lack of pressure and a lack of prusuit would cost us too many chunk plays. With a TON of talent awaiting their chance to play in the front seven we need someone to step up and captalize on playing time off an inexperienced unit. The sooner that happens and we get a coherrent unit the sooner we get to playing good D.
Just wanted to get some non-recruiting banter on the forum, this bowl ban is making most of us crazy! I would love to hear anything else you guys think we need to see a more improved 2013 season?
Disagree, El Guapo can do it all. One hell of a back. The WR's need to improve more than Hyde and Braxton.
I Would add LB's to the list as well. But I like the topic during the dead period
Hyde is gonna pound the ball for tough yards but he will not have many defenses fearing long runs, he just doesn't have the break away speed. He also doesn't catch the ball well out of the backfield either. I wouldn't say that he can do it all.
He's been top 5 in team 40 time since he got here. I'm pretty sure the 6-7 year he actually had the top 40 because Pryor was coming off ankle surgery and didn't run.
No disrespect, but I disagree with you on each area.
First, this offense is built around having additional players in the backfield.
Second, Hyde broke several long runs this season. Also, his presence as a legitimate threat and a blocker led to Braxton breaking several long runs this season (and Braxton just being a hell of a player).
Third, I'm not worried about our front 7 getting in the backfield.
Thats fine with me, this is the reason I wrote this post
Fair enough. I'll go a little more in depth. I am scared about Braxton being in an empty set based on the way he played against a blitz and how little he was really able to establish a consistent passing game. I think the presence of Hyde was critical in passing sets because of the extra blocker.
As for the Front 7, I thought they did a nice job of penetrating all season long, but it wasn't until Boren moved to MLB that the front 7 was at its best. Hankins and Simon lived in the backfield, but we were still getting gashed because the linebackers couldn't defend or finish against the quick pass. The front four will struggle to get over the loss of Hankins initially, but I think Bennett, Hale, and Schutt will really flourish. The big loss really is Boren. We will need a MLB to step up
Good point.
It's really not the front 7 that got gashed against Cal and UCF; it was the cornerback opposite Roby each time, and when Roby did miss a tackle, it was off to the races for the little Cal RB and the slot guys for Indiana and UCF.
Our DBs were not NC quality. Barnett was bad after he returned from injury and Bryant and Howard gamble too much. O Johnson is the worst tackler ever and Pittsburgh Brown got lucky 5 times where receivers dropped balls thrown between he and Johnson.
To increase my popularity even further, please name a big play that Big Play Jordan Hall has had since arriving in Columbus. Philly got better ... J Hall did not.
The longest run from any player not named Braxton was by Rod Smith and was for 33 yards in the Nebraska game. Hyde does have the speed to break the big one his problem is when he gets to the second level he looks for contact as opposed to breaking away from it. Good tough runner though.
I agree with you that he does look for contact in the second level, but at the same time, I feel like most of Hyde's runs were designed between the tackles, in the teeth of the defense and in the middle of the field. Those types of runs aren't typically the ones that break for long gains, especially against defense that stack the box in anticipation of the run.
Just noticed this...good looking Johnny. Helps to actually know facts as opposed to saying OSU's offense was breaking runs all year long like Cal's third string back Bigelow...
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
In no particular order:
Braxton finding the open receiver, and throwing a catchable ball too him.
not having as many dropped pass attempts
way better tackling
better 3rd and long defense, led by a pass rush that actually "rushes" the passer
stomp a mud-hole in Purdue
Offense id say need to find that "Percy harvin" speedster to go along with miller and Hyde and receivers need to improve on getting seperation ... That as well as Braxton maturing in the offseason should have great things from the offense
defense well just need solid play out of young lb's and hope the d line starts to look like an sec clone
I wouldn't say Hyde doesn't have the ability. He showed in 2011 that he could break off big runs.
In order:
1. Tackling- The games against Cal, MSU, Indiana, and Meatchicken were closer than they should have been because of this.
2. Dropped passes- All the receivers had this problem, but none were more blatant than Devin Smith's drops. He's easily the most frustrating player on the team.
3. Dropped INTs by the D- I get it, there's a reason they're playing defense and not offense, but i've always found it annoying when CB or whoever drop balls that hit them in the hands.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
Id like to see the DBs learn how to run the cover 4 alot better so we can match up with whoever we play. We missed alot tackles running it early in the year and really got burned. If we can get the LBs to play in coverage like the coaches want we'll be incredible on D in 2013. I think the offense will naturally progress and be much better next year with all the guys returning but its gonna be key for the DBs to step up being the most experinced group returning on D.
I'm confident Miller and the offense will get their acts together. I think the pass defense is the area needed to be improved the most, especially against dink an dunk football. I realize that the defense has performed much better late in the season but still, B1G is not known as a pass first conference.
We also need to get into the habit of being consistent, regardless if it's on offense or defense.
I am hoping the punting game will be vastly improved. Every time Buchanan took a snap to punt, I had to hold my breath. He just took way too long getting the ball off...I welcome Jonny Townsend as a solid addition. I think he'll be worth the scholly.
"The most important play in football is the punt." - Jim Tressel
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
You can take the OSU out of tressel, but you cant take the tressel out of the OSU
* Johnny Towsend, (forgot the h)
yes...true Rural
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
Pretty much. Every time he got blocked you could feel it coming.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
I agree, punter's should be able to kick it in 2 steps.
I'm shocked we have made it this far without someone mentioning our god awful punt team. Special teams in general need to be shored up.
The front 7 outside of Shazier is completely unproven, so they obviously need to make huge strides in the offseason just to be as good as this year's guys, much less better.
Tackling in the secondary.
The passing game. Specifically the drop back passing game.
Edit: I obviously type too slow, you beat me to the special teams. Well played
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
Have to say I respectfully disagree about Jordan Hall being the big play answer at RB. Maybe I'm being a little bit harsh but I've just never been that impressed with Hall. He's reliable and steady, catches the ball well out of the backfield, and has some lateral ability but at the end of the day I feel that he is just another small back without breakaway speed which just isn't a winning combination . . . Echoing the sentiments of a couple other people on the thread, I feel that Philly would be a much more dangerous big play threat when they line him up in the backfield than Hall would be.
Also, wasn't there talk during Spring Ball that Hyde had shed weight and lowered his 40 to around 4.4? If that's actually true then the dude for sure has some big play ability in my book.
There are points I agree with, and points I disagree with... On Braxton, I think a large part of the problem is he still isn't the most proficient quarterback at reading defensive schemes/blitzes... With five wide, he doesn't have the added protection of a blocking back in passing situations. As well, when it's a full spread, there's only two options to defend: Braxton running, or a pass, as opposed to a single back adding a third option in the handoff.
Carlos Hyde doesn't 'take it to the house' the way Beanie used to, but it's not necessary in Urban's offense. His objective is efficient plays, which Carlos is very good at achieving. Obviously he isn't an all-purpose back, but that's why sometimes you have a two-back set, so you have more than one option.
As for the front seven, I'd be happy if the front four could get more pressure and allow the linebackers to fill their gaps in run coverage, read and defend passing situations, and occasionally be added to pressure in situational downs.
Being able to flex out the RB into the slot to stop teams from loading the box was a staple at UF when UFM was owning the SEC, thats what I hope to see out of braxton in the empty set
1. More consistent passing game
2. Replacing the defensive line
3. linebackers other than RDS
"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever
Just an FYI...longest run by a RB was by Rod Smith for 33 yard td run. Hyde had the second longest with 29 yard run. Braxton had the longest run obviously with a 72 yard td against Nebraska. You'll see here on the ESPIN's website....facts help. Our RBs were good for a first down and to keep the defenses on their toes with the Option read runs, which is a "form" of the spread.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
Braxton needs to learn how to read a defense and go through his progressions. He also need to work on foot position and body control so that he steps into his throw properly to become more accurate.
We need the recievers to get better at running routes. It wasn't always Braxton not finding them it was because they were covered or out of position sometimes too.
We need Jordan Hall to teach Jalin Marshall the mental aspect of the utility position so that we have a better playmker suited for the role than Hall is. Hall doesn't have enough break away speed.
On defense we need our front seven to really get better at understanding scheme. They are very young and there will be some bumps. You can have all the athleticisim in the world, but if you don't know what to do with it, it means nothing. (see Curtis Grant)
Christian Bryant needs to stop being such a gambler in pass coverage and stop the stupid personal foul penalties. Really the secondary as a whole has a lot to learn about fundamental football. They have athleticism and good ball skills, just way to many mental lapses.
Special teams needs to stop the stupid mistakes as well specifically the punt team. We also need a big play threat at kick returner. I mean I love Rod Smith, but he is never going to be a premeire kick returner in college football.
Things I'm most concerned about:
1. High snaps - WAY too many of them the 2nd half of the year....like 5 a game or so
2. Big plays - they were limited as the year went on to a large extent but those can kill a D's confidence
3. Health of the O-line; it worked out this year; is it too much to ask for another similar year? I know the depth will be better but unproven
4. Punting - Yes it is important and although BB didn't always boot it 50+, he was pretty good. He also had a lot blocked this year, so that kind of goes along with my concern
5. DT - There was a post about Hank/Goebel being gone, and I'm not sure we have enough big bodies in the program right now to deal with a pounding back for 4 quarters