Hello.  Yeah, it's been awhile.  Not much, how 'bout you?  

I'm not sure why I posted, I guess I really just wanted to Banter with you.

Welcome to a rare non-blog edition of Under the Fedora.  I generally usually put these on my Blog Page, but blog posts tend to get lost even during quiet times.  I'm not entirely sure that it's safe out there yet in the Forum, but I've got some lukewarm takes that the people need to hear.

So the Buckeyes lost, and everything sucks.  Maybe you noticed.  I am looking forward to seeing how the team reacts to all the negativity, though the next couple of weeks aren't going to tell us anything.  This season may end up being Urban's best coaching job, if he manages to psychologize his team out of the trap that he constructed for it with his own stubbornness and inflexibility.  Or the team may implode into a 4-loss season (or worse).  I can only imagine what the Forums will be like if that happens.

For my part, I'm OK with the loss by now.  I think Virginia Tech in 2014 was a much worse loss.  That wasn't even a good team.  Oklahoma is a heckuva football team, and I'll be shocked if they don't win the Big XII outright.  It will be hard to watch them give up 40+ points a game against decent teams after they shut down the Buckeyes.  I guess we have to stop making fun of Big XII defense now.

I thought the Pete Thamel article was telling, and hearing actual coaches (who presumably know what they're talking about) saying the same things we've been saying amongst ourselves provides some validation that we are not just having knee-jerk reactions to an ugly loss.  (Looks at the Forum page)  Well, not all of us, anyway...

I really believe that much of the Buckeyes' offensive woes can be assuaged by recommitting to the (non-QB) run.  As our old friend Ross Fulton used to tell us, the advantage of the Spread-to-Run offense is not the QB run, but the threat of the QB run.  J.T. doesn't have to tote the ball 15-20 times a game for the offense to be effective.  In fact, that is counter-productive by making the offense too predictable.  Remember when Braxton ran the offense, and the coaching staff told him to give the ball up on zone read instead of keeping?  It wasn't only because he often made the wrong read (or just wanted to keep it and make something happen), it was also because they call those other guys running backs for a reason.  Dobbins and Weber may be the best 1-2 RB tandem in the country.  GIVE THEM THE BALL.  Were the Buckeyes successful in their 2014 post season run because of Cardale's passing, or because he opted to give the ball to Zeke?  J.T. can be an effective QB with a strong running game that incorporates the QB run as a constraint play rather than a staple. He cannot carry an offense.  I'm not ready to pull the plug on JT.  He is definitely part of the problem, but anyone who thinks putting a freshman QB in there with no other offensive changes is the solution is just fooling himself.  A healthy Joe Burrow may be an option if J.T. continues to struggle, but mainly because I see the offense looking more like the 2014 version under a QB who is less likely to try to win with his feet than his arm.  It is no coincidence that the most memorable losses under the Urban Meyer regime (and aren't they all memorable?) have been in games where the non-QB running game seemed to be an afterthought.

As far as other fixes for this team go, I still can't believe that the Buckeyes can't find a better option at RT than Isaiah Prince. It hasn't been talked about as much as the issues at QB and WR, but the old adage that it all starts up front is an old adage for a reason.  Prince and the O line have to play better against top competition for the Buckeyes to be a great team.  I'm not going to say anything about Zach Smith and zone six, because my momma always told me that if I didn't have something nice to say, then I should say nothing at all.  I commented in the Skully yesterday that if you have six receivers, then you don't have any.  Somebody needs to step up in that room and on the field.  And as for the defense, the best cure is going to be time.  You can't replace virtually your whole secondary and expect not to miss a beat.  The talent is there, it's just unfortunate that they had to face too pretty good passing offenses out of the gate.  The good news is that this should accelerate their growth.

In other news, the Browns actually look like an NFL team.  I was not at fan of the Deshone Kizer pick.  Like everyone else, I saw him play at Notre Dame.  I guess he's just proving again what a rotten coach Brian Kelly is.  Kizer looks to be the real deal.  He has a bona fide NFL arm, and it doesn't appear that the pro game is too big or too fast for him.  He's gonna do some stupid things, as you would expect from a rookie QB, especially one who received virtually no coaching in college.  The Browns defense is legit, though, and it will keep them close in most games.  I'm not sure the Browns win more than 5 games this year, but they will be competitive, and will surprise a good team or two down the road.  I think Kizer gives them a puncher's chance in any game they play this year.