I'm not going to complain about being able to wear flip flops and athletic shorts outside in the middle of October, but I refuse to be okie-doked by Old Man Winter. I know that scrub is lurking around the corner, chain-smoking Marlboro Reds, drinking the last remnants of a King Cobra 40 oz. bottle, and biding his time.
Not this year, Old Man Winter. NOT THIS YEAR.
J.T. BARRETT CAN READ. J.T. Barrett is good (and Rutgers knows it). But there are a lot of good quarterbacks who can't make the correct read on a zone-read play. J.T. Barrett is not one of those quarterbacks.
From Austin Ward of ESPN:
Herman has an idea how often his current quarterback is technically making the “right” read based on whatJ.T. Barrett is seeing from a defense, pegging that number at around 85 percent. But it’s the 7.8 yards per carry on zone-read rushes that really matters, because the Buckeyes have plenty of evidence that there’s no other hard-and-fast way to measure decision-making after watchingBraxton Miller operate for the last three years.
Thanks to his blinding speed, uncanny juking ability and incredible acceleration, Miller was capable of making the “wrong” reads and turning them into positive gains or touchdowns. Without his dynamic athleticism, it was reasonable to assume that quarterback runs wouldn’t be nearly as dangerous or prominent in Ohio State’s offense after the season-ending shoulder injury Miller suffered during training camp.
But Barrett has been able to keep that a staple of the attack by consistently making what could be pegged as plus-worthy decisions if the Buckeyes were monitoring them the same way they would a quarterback’s completion percentage. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Barrett ranks seventh among Power-Five quarterbacks with his 156 yards on 20 designed zone-read carries, and his 7 gains of 10 yards or more are tied for fifth.
I have a hard enough time making the correct zone-read playing Madden, so I could only imagine the challenge of doing it while 260-pound men are en route with bad intentions on their mind.
Rutgers' defensive line can get after the quarterback, so I assume the zone-read will be featured heavily in the offensive gameplan to keep the defensive ends honest. (Just some early morning #layman's #analysis for y'all.)
RUTGERS GOES HARD ON SPECIAL TEAMS. Ohio State's special teams units have earned massive praise from Urban Meyer this year, but Rutgers coach Kyle Flood is also a special teams disciple.
From Bill Landis of the Northeast Media Group:
The Scarlet Knights have blocked 40 kicks since 2009, the most in the nation during that span. They lead the country with five blocked kicks this year.
Also looks like Kyle Flood takes a similar approach as Urban Meyer to special teams, in that players earn playing time through performance on special teams:
"Guys want to be on that team because they know that team has had success and they feel like if they're on it they're going to have a success," Flood told Ryan Dunleavy of MyCentralJersey.com last month. "It's a good self-fulfilling prophecy, for sure."
Urban Meyer has taken notice:
"They have a really good punt block team is where I'll start," Meyer said Tuesday when asked what sticks out about Rutgers. "They're very aggressive. They bring a different look so you can tell they spend a lot of time on it."
I used to think Urban Meyer's talk about special teams was his own brand of #coachspeak, but the results are in the pudding. It looks like we could have an old fashioned special teams duel on our hands on Saturday afternoon.
I'd like to think Jim Tressel will enjoy Saturday's affair with a warm glass of milk from his abode in Youngstown.
RUTGERS HAS A LOT TO GAIN. It's a story that hasn't changed in over a decade for Ohio State when they face 98% of Big Ten teams; the opposing team has much more to gain by defeating Ohio State than Ohio State does in defeating the opposing team.
Such will be the stakes Saturday, and it looks like Rutgers knows the opportunity on their doorstep.
From Steve Edelson of The Daily Record:
“It is exciting,” Flood said. “It’s one of the bonuses of the Big Ten. You get to play against some of the most storied programs in the history of college football. I’m certainly not naïve to that. I think it’s an opportunity for maybe more people to get a little bit of a snapshot into what our program is and the kind of people we have in our program.”
[...]
So this is so much more than just a chance to go 1-0 this week. It’s an opportunity to remake perceptions, increase donations and engage a region like never before.
And even if they don’t go 1-0, there’s plenty of value in standing toe-to-toe and exceeding outside expectations on a national stage.
So there we are; Rutgers can even get a W without taking a W out of Ohio Stadium. Sometimes, I hate the Big Ten.
BEANIE WELLS IS FED UP. Beanie Wells was one of my favorite running backs in Ohio State history. Dude was a monster, and I'd like to think he'd be tearing it up in the NFL if his body cooperated.
Beanie Wells' last NFLish action was a tryout with the Baltimore Ravens in October 2013, but that tragically resulted in a torn Achilles tendon for the former Ohio State great.
But Beanie says the torn tendon wasn't entirely coincidental.
From James F. McCarthy of The Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Wells accused his original surgeon, Dr. Gregory Berlet of Westerville and a consultant to the Ohio State Athletic Department, of botching the tendon surgery in October, and misleading him to believe the surgery had been a success, according to the lawsuit filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
[...]
Berlet, who is affiliated with the Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Center in Westerville, operated on Wells in October 2013. This past March 20, the surgeon reviewed an MRI image of the Achilles tendon and pronounced Wells "intact" and assured him that "everything looked good."
But in his lawsuit, Wells accused Berlet of falsely representing the true condition of his Achilles tendon.
I hate myself that my first question while reading this article was, "I wonder if Dr. Berlet was the same guy who performed Braxton Miller's first surgery?"
The article mentions Beanie still wants to try to get back into the league. That's quite the haul, especially considering Achilles injuries are devastating for running backs... but I won't count Beanie out until he officially throws in the towel. And even if he doesn't get back, there are plenty of players who would kill for his career.
B1G BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY. The Big Ten is hosting their basketball media day (men's and women's) today in Chicago. We've sent Youngstown's finest, Tim Shoemaker, to the Windy City to provide all the needed coverage.
Until then, here is the pertinent info, per a release:
Beginning at 9 a.m. ET/8 a.m. CT, BTN and BTN2Go will provide live coverage of the men’s coaches’ press conferences, while the women’s coaches’ press conferences will air live on BTN2Go.
Only interested in Ohio State coaches? I feel that (all times Eastern):
9:32-9:40 a.m. – Ohio State Head Coach Kevin McGuff
10:12-10:20 a.m. – Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matta
11-12 p.m. – Men's/Women's One-on-One Interviews
Speaking of the Basketbucks, it appears ol' Douglas Gottleib isn't too high on the men's basketball team this year:
B1G WADES INTO THE SNAPCHAT GAME. Snapchat, an app preferred by young people for sending pictures of their naked bodies without consequence (but not really) got a new user yesterday:
#B1G is now on @Snapchat! Add BigTenConf for announcements, exclusive behind-the-scenes content & fun snaps! pic.twitter.com/XwCFnbHhHA
— Big Ten Conference (@bigtenconf) October 15, 2014
And, in typical Big Ten fashion, their softball was instantly knocked into the stratosphere:
@bigtenconf @Snapchat Dammit, I don't want to see Jerry Kill's penis.
— Tom Selleck (@HawkeyeBanker) October 15, 2014
I won't lie: I had to ward off the primal urge to send the Big Ten some lewd pictures of my own as payment for all the pitiful football to which they've subjected me over the last decade of my life.
RICH ROD GOES HARD. I'm amused by people who 1) get offended over "negative recruiting" or 2) act like their coach doesn't engage in it.
Rich Rodriguez, a king of kings, however, does not pull any punches on the recruiting trail:
I hardly ever open up my mail, but I must admit this letter is Brutal pic.twitter.com/kfxdK67AqU
— Erik Swenson (@Eiek77) October 16, 2014
Really makes you think how Rich Rodriguez has had success at literally every stop except Michigan. Love that man.
THOSE WMDs. HBO to offer standalone streaming service in 2015... LANCASTER, STAND UP... 15 things you might not know about Ohio... Cool story, CDC... I'm surprised there was a horse that could hold President Taft... Transcripts Kept Secret for 60 Years Bolster Defense of Top Atomic Scientist Oppenheimer’s Loyalty To US... Lightning storm, as seen from space... LBJ is a wise man.
