I'm not the first to broach the topic of whether or not it's time for the Buckeyes to explore alternative options at the quarterback position, but I'll kick-start a blog on the matter here and try to be as reasonable as possible per my own perspective.

So let me dive right in.

First, one of my pet peeves in the business world is when a failed executive gets promoted or protected because of his or her “invaluable experience,” regardless of the quality of said experience or else the trajectory of it (i.e., is the arrow of the exec's experience producing progressively better or worse outcomes?)

In the case of J.T. Barrett, the arrow has clearly pointed downwards. Not only do opposing coaches know it, they even openly talk about it, which BTW, is rare in the world of sports, where coaches don’t like to discuss opposing weaknesses, lest they sound like bad sports, or worse, they give away their game plans.

However, Barrett’s limitations have become so glaring that they don’t even bother to hide it anymore. After all, fans and sportswriters across the country already discuss it ad infinitum, which brings me to my next pet peeve:

Coaches who are the last to either recognize, admit or adjust to what everybody else knows.

This begs the question, what do we know?

For anybody who hasn't been hiding under a rock, we know that Barrett is a quarterback who has outcome-impacting limitations in the passing game, and not only has this allowed other teams to stop Ohio State's air attack with predictable results, but in doing so, they've effectively collapsed the whole Buckeye playbook.

In other words, you can attack the receiving corps and offensive linemen if you like, and much of this criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they’re all basically playing on crutches for as long as J.T. Barrett is taking snaps.

To that end, it's worth noting that even when guys run good routes and block well, Barrett is still sub-par at best (certainly as compared to any legitimate Power 5 program), and as most football experts agree, whenever you can take away one key aspect of your opponent's game (i.e., in this case, passing) on account of the limitations of a single player (especially the quarterback), everyone else will suffer.

Meanwhile, even if you don't think Barrett is all that bad, is he really adding value to the offense, which contenders for championships typically require?

I don't think so.

As soon as teams figured out the nature and extent of Barrett's limitations, they’ve enjoyed success against the Buckeyes. I would argue that D’Antonio was the first to scheme accordingly at Michigan State, which explains their 'uncanny' success at stopping our offense. But now, the secret’s out—everyone knows it.

Indiana’s coach openly discussed it last week, as did Wisconsin’s defensive coaches last year, not to mention every last pro scout who's watched him, and I might add, who do people think Dabo Swinney was talking about when he said that the Buckeyes were "in trouble" after he watched Ohio State’s film?

Well, maybe it wasn't 'only' Barrett, but I’ll guarantee you one thing—Swinney certainly didn’t see a QB who could lead and overcome OSU's offensive limitations.

Speaking of which, even if we concede the latter exist beyond Barrett, don't we need to explore playing a QB that offers more hope of overcoming those limits?

As for Barrett himself, let’s face it—people have discovered that he has a toxic combination of a weak and inaccurate arm with a long and slow wind-up plus an inability to quickly read and respond to defensive coverage, whether identifying open receivers or else having the confidence and competence to complete passes.

Yes, he’s a decent runner, but besides the fact that (to me) he looks like he’s lost half a step since his freshman year, he now slides whenever possible to protect himself, and of course, he and opposing defenses are more than happy to let him pile up meaningless 'garbage' yards. Oh, and because defenses know he can’t throw, he is increasingly bottled up in the run game as teams stack the deck against him, knowing all of his tendencies and weaknesses.

So much for the benefit of experience.

So it is that any meaningful run production from him is declining, too.

Now, I realize there's a contingent that persist in arguing to keep playing him because of his many records and experience, all of which really amounts to saying that he should play because of his reputation—never mind the undeniable trends per the ever-mounting bad outcomes, or for that matter, never mind that with every passing game that he plays, his reputation only suffers.

I'm afraid that Urban Meyer is solidly, and to some degree, understandably, in the Federal Protection Program for Barrett, but I hope there's a statute of limitations. (Emphasis on the word "limitations," if you know what I mean.)

Personally, I was really encouraged when Meyer said that the offensive output against Clemson was unacceptable, and then he backed it with coaching changes. Well, those changes have been made, yet the outcome remains the same. 

In fact, not only have 7 of the last 8 quarters of football failed to back Meyer’s promise that we'd no longer see anything like the Clemson performance again (actually, we’ve pretty much seen nothing but a repeat), it can be argued that the offense has been unacceptably anemic for the past five games.

IMHO, that’s not on the coaches, that is, not unless you count the 'opposing' coaches, all of whom have figured out Barrett and now blatantly dare him to be as bad as they’re convinced he will be...and then he is.

With increasing frequency and intensity.

Meyer, Wilson and Day can’t throw the ball (or fail to throw it, as the case may be, being clueless as to where to throw it or else lacking the confidence to throw it), although they're undoubtedly foolish to call passes while Barrett is at the helm.

Sure, the coaches could and should call more runs, and while I definitely agree with those fans who suggest this would improve our production, well, given the harsh reality of Barrett’s brutal limitations, who would argue that an offense without the semblance of a credible passing threat can win a National Championship?

But, okay, let’s forget the absurd idea of championships for the time being and focus on the only question that matters:

Will Meyer do what’s right to improve the central problem on this team (the passing game) to correct the main reason we're losing games (an ineffectual offense), so that we have a better chance of winning the next game? Then the next after that?

If so, then Barrett either needs to sit on the bench or (at the very least) Meyer needs to consider platooning him. After all, he’s done it before at Florida, successfully so, and I think it’s safe to say that Barrett is not a passing down quarterback.

But, alas, as they say in the world of self-help, the healing only begins when you first own up to your limitations. To that end, Meyer needs to own up to the Buckeye's biggest limitation: It’s J.T. Barrett. The QB position and the ability to throw the ball are just too important to an offense.

Any coach who disagrees might check to see if Georgia Tech has any openings.

As for Battett's fate, I know, I know! He's truly a great kid and hard worker with a great record and stellar reputation, but he’s just not credible passing threat.

Everyone knows it. 

I hope Meyer admits it with a simple acknowledgement, such as, “our passing game is not good enough, and we're going to explore options to make it better.”

While he’s at it, he might explore firing his old playbook and/or possibly force-feeding it to his offensive coordinators (as some have suggested), because if J.T. somehow isn't the really the issue and our eyes defy us, we just might have a much bigger problem, namely, the game has passed by Meyer.

I seriously doubt it.

But, hey, let's find out: Bench JT or else play him in spots to see if we can get our mojo back. Let's explore the crazy idea that if you hit wide open receivers in the end zone, it just might make a difference.

Finally, for those who say benching Barrett is an overreaction, I have to ask: Given that Barrett has probably taken more snaps than any other quarterback in college football, and in fact, perhaps more than any quarterback who’s every played for Ohio State, how much more evidence do you need to make a change?

How many more bad experiences do we need to prove that experience isn't always 'all that'?