I know we lost 4 REALLY good defensive linemen, and the majority of our depth is young, but isn't it conceivable that, instead of the defensive line being a young and inexperienced weakness, they would and should actually be better than the d line from 2012. Spence and Washington are athletic freaks, we have run stuffers in bennett, schutt, and hill, and we have guys like jamal marcus and tyquan lewis who can rush the passer like Nathan Williams when he was really healthy. Maybe I'm in the minority, but the ONLY part of the defense that i'm worried about is the other two starting linebackers. The Ohio State secondary in 2013 is on lockdown!
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personally can't wait to see jamal marcus play.
I agree here. I think the raw athleticism the young d-line has will make up for the lack of experience. Noah Spence is going to be a monster this year. I'm looking forward to watching this defense.
I am optimistic regarding the talent of Lewis but not sold just yet. He was average at best at the Shrine Bowl and was injured during the state championship game. He has tremendous quicks off the line but slow to react to shifty, lateral moves. His performance may have been contributed to the effects of a bad ankle. Let's hope he improves in this area and catches up to the speed of the D1 game after playing high school ball at a lower division. He may be a year away from helping us.
Hard to say. The D-Line from last season was banged up most of the year, so we never really got to see what they were truly capable of.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
We have to see the young guys come into their own this year. I am cautiously optimistic, but I think we will see a number of mistakes due to inexperience. I am excited to see who will stand out.
All I know is that I am so pumped to see Spence tear through O-Lines. Gonna be a straight up beast!
Agreed that the D-line play will not be an issue this year. Schutt, Washington, and Spence all got significant playing time last year and most importantly, in critical situations. Schutt reminds me of Tim Andersen in 02; a guy who doesn't get a lot of attention, but plugs up the trenches and lets the LB's roam free. I am ready for an all out QB assault by Spence. Last year, I can remember at least 10 times where he was inches from a sack. This year, he gets those.
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Thinking the same about Schutt in comparison to Andersen, that guy was so underrated. Never forget the shot of him consoling a very dazed and confused Ken Dorsey after the final play of the '03 National Championship.
I think/hope by October this d-line is the second coming of super sophs, really just need to get the feel of full game time experience.
Also think the secondary will be integral to the development of the pass rush.....coverage sacks will obviously boost d-line effectiveness as well.
"Success - it's what you do with what you got" - Woody Hayes
I think this years D-line will come close to doubling the sack total from last year.
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men
We need to give this D-line a clever name, any ideas?
the "Sons of Simon"
~Naples Buckeye - "May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." - General George S. Patton, Jr.
I got "Vrabie's Babies".
"Success - it's what you do with what you got" - Woody Hayes
How about "Vrabel's stable"... Seeing these horses we have on defense..
This line is talented..but I don't think they'll truly dominate until 2014.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
The National Championship game is in 2014. That's fine by me.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
I will say this though..I think Spence is 3 and done. Possibly even Washington, just a hunch.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Probably right... Next man up - Bosa, Sprinkle, etc.
~Naples Buckeye - "May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." - General George S. Patton, Jr.
I suggest the OSU Dline be named The Immortals after a Persian military unit that was always kept at full strength. Every year the Dline is great because of the new talent that is ready to contribute.
"Paralyze resistance with persistence." -Woody Hayes
I am not too keen on that name. The Immortals were a group of over 100,000 (once thought to be over a million) of men to attempted, ATTEMPTED, to conquer Greece against 7,000 men (albeit in a tight passage) and barely made it through only to soon get trapped off forcing him to flee back into Asia losing most of his men to starvation and defeat at the hands of Greece.
I would prefer to be the 300 Spartans who stayed behind (with a 1,000 or so other Greeks) that held off that HUGE army for over 2 days until they were betrayed.
Historically, as far as domination over a long period of time I would go with the British Navy. They owned the seas of Europe for centuries and even out battled the mighty Spanish Armada with craft and skill. They claimed so many colonies including the 2 most important of all-time, America and India. Consistent domination with brilliant admirals and captains over and over is probably the most dominating force in regards to conquering.
As for sheer dominance worldwide without actually conquering and invading, American Military far out numbers and dominates than the Immortals. It is funny how we don't truly understand how much our Military controls the world. We don't take over countries but we sure do enhabit them with our embassies and military. I would be surprised if we don't have a small force in each country as we speak!
I do like the name itself though, just don't like the context. I would prefer a name that would have been more of a defensive name like Helms Deep.
You're somewhat mistaken on your facts; the Immortals were a group of 10,000 men, not 100,000. But I suggested the name because the Immortals were an elite group (like the OSU Dline), because they were always up to full strength (arguably like the OSU Dline), and because the name is pretty kickass (natch OSU Dline). Of course they lost occasionally, they weren't called the Invincibles after all.
"Paralyze resistance with persistence." -Woody Hayes
I do like the name, but they still got their asses handed to them despite their numbers. and true the Immortals unit was exactly 10,000 but the replenishments come from the Persian Army.
anyways, I do like the name. but they really didn't do so well comparatively so.
I like the name because of what he said above about reloading and all. Plus the particular battle you are referring to is not a fair example because their commanders just bashed them into a wall basically. The immortals could have been the best hand to hand fighters in the world and they probably still would have been beaten up because of poor strategy. Plus they dominated for years before and after meeting the greeks in other parts of the world.
OSU fans have this same argument every year with each other "this year's line will be better than last years"
There's a reason why the guys who started last year started. Everyone says Meyer plays the best regardless of seniority, so if these guys were better, they would have played.
D-line is not something you just run at the qb or the rb; young guys get sucked in when they are supposed to be containing, or go all out on a blitz when a screen pass is called. Experience means a lot, and reading plays you've seen before
I think they have the potential to be better eventually , but to say that 3 sophomores and 1 junior will be better than 3 seniors and an all-american level tackle is funny to me
Urban was sure we had a good line last year; this year he's questioned it already in interviews
I understand your argument, but I think it is flawed. Urban said our o-line was an area of concern last year and they stepped up to the challenge. Also, as someone pointed out above, Spence, Schutt, and Washington all saw significant minutes last year. They will be fine. Am I saying they will be better than last year's d-line? That's yet to be seen, but I think there is enough raw talent on this d-line to be just as good.
Urban didn't question the Dline, he said if the front 7 plays good, it will be a good season. They play poorly, it won't. Simple as that.
I don't think Urban would question this line at all. I think he knows he has major talent there. And as was said above, this line might be young but it isn't without experience. Even Bennett has had a good amount of PT for the last 2 years. Last year Spence was getting some really good PT at the end of the season. I have no concerns with Washington plus there are some veterans on this unit to help.
I don't recall anyone thinking the line in 2011 was going to be all that great. They just lost Cam Heyward and really had a lot going wrong at that time. Plus if you factor in the injury issues and what the Dline should have been last year, it is easy to say this year could be a better line. It certainly has just as much talent across the board!
More what I meant was that he knew the front 4 would play well last year when healthy; they guys were proven.
I think by season's end they will be in good form, but I think the first 5-6 games they will struggle in situations they haven't been in before, as almost any new starter will.
I think all 4 starters on the D-line last year were multiple year starters as well. For example, I think this D-line in 2014 could be ridiculously good, but I think it will be average for an OSU line for 6-7 games this year, and good/very good the 2nd half of the year.
I'm not discounting them, just they will be young and need to have time to make mistakes
I see where you are coming from and remember the clamoring of 2010-11 (I think it was) about how our Defensive Line was going to be better than our 02 unit. By your logic, our defensive line will get worse every year from now on out. Some guys can/have to step up.
I'll wait and see on this year's DL, but the guys who started last year were the best guys last year.
If I'm remembering correctly, when Will Smith was a freshman in 2000, he got playing time, but one of the starting DEs was Brent Johnson. Did that mean that in 2001, when Smith became the starter, that he was a downgrade from the Brent Johnson who played in 2000?
I have no doubt this years Dline will dominate...it will be starting to take full effect by game 3. The LBs will take more time to develop due to not having the exposure to playing time like the Dline was able to get last year (watch for T. Schutt, Spence, Washington and Bennett to make a great impact this year). I believe this is why we may see more of the 3-2-6 style due to having so many great DBs and inexperienced LBs. I still don't think it will be a base D but it will be utilized more often if LBs struggle (which they very well could with the exception of Ryan Damn Shazier).
"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
On paper they should meet or exceed last year's performance pretty easily. The intangibles and leadership that experienced players like Williams, Goebel, Big Hank and especially Simon brought to the line - and the entire team - will be hard to replace. But count me in the group of optimists who think the line will rival the secondary's predicted dominance by midseason.
@HOVENAUT:
Appreciate the help.
Saw a picture of 2013 DT- Billy Price on Facebook getting his award from Indoor State Track and the kid is huge.....Looks like he can go right now....
He reminds me so much of Simon. Bull-nosed, blue-collar Youngstown kid. If he can parallel Simon's career he will be a great.
"Attack the Strong, Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead!"
-Former OSU S&C Coach Lichter
I prefer not to wear scarlet and gray glasses in regards to new starters. I hope they are great, but I don't take it as a given. I would love OSU to have 40+ sacks this year, but talented players have struggled in starting roles before
I could see some struggles against the run occasionally or letting mobile QBs get loose because it takes discipline to protect those most of the time. The athleticism will help them get after the QB, but it could be a negative in certain scenario if they don't harness that athleticism.