Greetings from C-bus!
Fall has emerged from days and days of 90 degree heat just in time for another scorcher in the 'Shoe (supposedly it was 70 degrees about game time but with the sun, it felt hotter) ... oh, the Bucks scorched another opponent yesterday too.
I don't know what it is about the scheduler, but the Bucks seemed to have had an abundance of green-clad opponents in the first 4 games ... who walked with little more than a stack of green and a loss on their record. But the nonconference season has come and gone, and the Bucks are 4-0.
It was the first time since 1950 when the Bucks ran 83 points up on Iowa that the Bucks have scored as many points and there were more than 100 points combined scored in yesterday's contest. It's enough to make the Vegas bookies head spin. For a while there, I thought the Bucks weren't even going to cover the spread.
Dane Sanzenbacher tied a record with 4 TD catches in the game - the most recent was Terry Glenn with Bobby Hoying at the helm. In that game, Hoying had 6 TD passes, something Terrelle Pryor has not yet achieved. But TP had 6 TDs in the game - 4 passing, 1 rushing, and 1 receiving. The statistics seem to suggest that TP was the first to achieve this feat. TP also accounted for 348 total yards of offense (not a record) in a game where TP played a few more minutes than anyone imagined he might. Good thing.
On offense, 12 different Buckeyes caught passes, including TP. Sanzenbacher led all receivers with 9 catches for 108 yards and the 4 TDs. Herron, Saine, and Posey had 3 each. On the pass from Jordan Hall to TP, Pryor later recounted tales of their high school days, telling the reporters that Tressel called the play telling TP that if he didn't catch the pass to just keep running out of the stadium. In high school, Hall and Pryor hooked up several times including one in the state championship when TP went for 55-60 yards on a Hall-thrown bomb. TP apparently out-jumped three defenders and told the assembled that they could catch it on YouTube. Pryor remarked that Hall has a good arm.
The running game sans Pryor still gives me worries. The morning radio call-in shows this morning were calling Tressel too loyal to Boom and Zoom, particularly since Jordan Hall continues to show promise. Add to the mix the Jamaal Berry 67 yard run and Carlos Hyde's play in shortened time and one can sympathize. I'm just not sure what Boom and Zoom lack and it is hard to tell if yards gained in mop-up duty, granted before a 2nd and even 3rd team line, are a result of talent or fatigue (and give-up) in the opponent at that point. Hall did get some time with the 1's in the game and did not disappoint. I hate that stutter-step that I see in both Boom and Zoom vs the burst I see in the young guys.
The defense let up on the pedal Saturday ... and they knew it. Brian Rolle in particular seemed to capture the theme by saying that the Bucks did not play Buckeye D in the first half of the game and after EMU's third score mid-way through the 3rd period, the defense seemed to wake up. That being said, the Buckeye secondary was full of opportunities for freshman and real-game experience for the back-ups. Prior to the game, Chimdi Chekwa experienced some soreness in his back and attempted to loosen up on the sidelines. He got in to the lineup late in the game, finally, only to get into a rough tackle with his own teammate. EMU to its credit found a weakness in our secondary, sliding the TE into space on all 3 of the pass completions, getting match ups with our linebackers and safeties on the plays. Not sure that Chekwa would have prevented the completions, but the inexperience on the part of Devon Torrence and Orhian Johnson getting just his second start showed. The Bucks had Andrew Sweat back at LB, but on nickel downs, Sweat rotates out in favor of Tyler Moeller, who continues to impress.
I would imagine that our Big Ten opponents will use more of the LB/safety match-ups one-on-one on big TEs and receivers, seeing this weakness. I would also expect that the Bucks may zone up a bit more and personally, I hate the zone because it can be exploited for that short, underneath stuff that works effectively as part of a time-consuming drive. While I don't think IL has the talent to exploit this, no doubt a more experienced QB and offensive scheme will want to find more of these match-ups. I continue to worry about the plethora of injuries on the Bucks D, in particular.
Among those injured yesterday were Jake Stoneburner who rolled an ankle. While Stoneburner tweeted after the game that the ankle was nothing, today he tweeted that it was sore. I like the way the offense has exploited Jake this season, but missing IL might be good given the larger tests upcoming.
Many around C-bus have been abuzz today about the "run-up" in the score yesterday. In fact, Tressel has put up 50 or more points 5 times since coming to OSU. And of course, Wisky put up 70 yesterday too. Tressel did not seem to intentionally run up the score - the long run by Berry was a nice bonus and Kenny Guiton's TD was a good play by the popular back-up QB. That being said, TP's 6th TD of the day was on a trick play. Sure it gives the opponent something to think about and Posey threw a TD pass last season but I do wonder if Tressel isn't trying to "pad the stats" of his young charge, Terrelle. I'm okay with that if he is ...
Next up ... Illinois. Illinois is 2-1 and did not play Saturday. The game is at noon eastern on Big Ten network. While the Purdue loss last season taught us to never look too far ahead (hear that Texas!), I do expect that the next two games (Illinois and Indiana) will be speed bumps on the road leading to the next big showdown - at Wisconsin 10/16 (night game). The Big Ten season starts today! There are no small games!
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Weekly Awards
The coaches have released their list of weekly award winners:
Safety Tyler Moeller, with an interception, a forced fumble, three tackles and a TFL, is the defensive player of the week. Tight End Jake Stoneburner, who had five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown reception, is the offensive player of the week.
There was no player of the week selected on the special units. D'oh!
Mike Adams was named as the Jim Parker lineman of the week. Ross Homan received the Attack Force award on defense. The Jack Tatum big hit of the week will be decided Tuesday by player vote.
Players of the week on the scout teams: QB Kenny Guiton (offense); Dionte Allen (defense); Julian Vann (special units).
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
Safety Tyler Moeller, with an interception, a forced fumble, three tackles and a TFL, is the defensive player of the week. Tight End Jake Stoneburner, who had five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown reception, is the offensive player of the week.
There was no player of the week selected on the special units. D'oh!
Mike Adams was named as the Jim Parker lineman of the week. Ross Homan received the Attack Force award on defense. The Jack Tatum big hit of the week will be decided Tuesday by player vote.
Players of the week on the scout teams: QB Kenny Guiton (offense); Dionte Allen (defense); Julian Vann (special units).
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Ho-Hum
Greetings from sunny C-bus:
It is said that the important thing when you play a less-talented opponent is to not let them hang around and think they can compete (hear that UM?).
In fact, the best OU tackle of the day might have been when the OU Bobcat mascot made a surprise attack on Brutus when the teams ran out to start the game. It had 105,000 fans rolling in laughter.
But, for the Bucks, it was no laughing matter but it was all business.
Clearly, the Bucks heard the message to take out OU early, loud and clear and clamped down on OU early and often. The first half was about as perfect a game as the Bucks have played this year, save the INT at the end of the half - the first turnover of the season. Pryor had a period of 16-straight completions, a new OSU record easily passing the previous 13 straight (Bellisari and Boeckman shared the record) and Pryor was throwing the ball to a number of receivers across a number of routes.
But all was not perfect ...
The Bucks gave up another kick-off return TD - but for a penalty. The Bucks had little ground game in the first half - or the game for that matter - against an inferior opponent.
But some things are better upon further review ...
The re-loaded defense is as tenacious a defense as the Bucks have fielded since 2002. The Bucks' d-line is just loaded with a mix of experienced talent - Cam Heyward, Nathan Williams and Dexter Larimore - and young talent - Johnathan Hankins and John Simon, for example. Heyward sets the tone for the defensive line and the defense for that matter. He is a well-known perfectionist. He was upset apparently in the first half when a sack eluded him, but he made up for it with the fumble recovery and short run following. The linebackers are a mix of run-stoppers and speed. Ross Homan is a sure tackler that can cover. Brian Rolle has speed and tenaciousness. He's firey and hits like a safety. Tyler Moeller can tee it up on anyone. With Andrew Sweat out with injury, we had a mixture of bodies. All made stops. Then the walking wounded in the secondary. Joining Moeller is the steady Jermale Hines and experienced Chimdi Chekwa who did not disappoint coming off of a career game vs. Miami. CJ Barnett is now out for the season and Orhian Johnson filled in ably. Devon Torrence has been a stud in the secondary all season, but there were a number of injuries in the secondary in particular: Torrence, Travis Howard, Donnie Evege, and Dorian Bell. Howard appears to have the worst of the injuries though Evege appeared to have a broken arm, perhaps.
The offensive unit has dazzled with TP's new command of the passing game and inserted into the mix has been Jake Stoneburner. A local Dublin kid (Dublin Coffman HS), Stoneburner moved from WR to TE and has gotten a lot of looks this season with the ball. Stoneburner has shown the receiver's ability to get open and has the size of a TE. Stoneburner caught 3 passes vs Marshall and the rumor that the Bucks were going to throw to the TE appeared to be amazingly true. But yesterday, Stoneburner caught 5 to join Posey and Sanzenbacher with 5 a piece. And Jake got his first TD catch in his OSU career. Stoneburner has 9 catches on the season for 110 yards. Compare this to Jake Ballard who had 14 catches in all of last season's 13 games.
The offense has yet to really hit the ground running, so to speak. I spoke too soon annointing Brandon Saine as the answer. He seems unable to be the consistent go-to guy and the coaches seem to be trying to keep the carries between Boom and Zoom relatively equal. Jordan Hall again showed some pizzazz, mostly on special teams and perhaps the best rusher of all is still TP.
And the special teams remain the weak link. While the Buckeye returns on punt and kick-off have actually looked solid with Hall and Jamaal Berry back there on returns, coverage remains problematic. A few changes were made in the mix of personnel yesterday - Jordan Hall was out there on coverage and there were other first-teamers out there from time to time. The lane discipline remains the issue and the inconsistency in the kickoffs and punts is not helping matters. The short kickoffs immediately expose the Bucks to a run-back and solid punts have resulted in the speedy Bucks over-running the returner. A slight miss on a lane assignment can spring a returner. But, in the course of yesterday's games, I saw a phenomenal number of run-backs. Are the returners all just too fast for a coverage unit?
So, if we were to click down through the team's attributes through three games, I'd probably point to the following: defensive line - check; linebackers - check; secondary - check with an injury caveat; offensive line - improved with room for improvement; passing game - check; running game - incomplete; kickoff and punt returns - adequate; kickoff and punt coverage - failing grade.
And I would also say that we are seeing a more open playbook than a year ago, for sure.
Next up: Eastern Michigan. This is a team that did not win a game all of last season and is 0-3 coming into next Saturday. The game is at 3:30 eastern on ABC.
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
It is said that the important thing when you play a less-talented opponent is to not let them hang around and think they can compete (hear that UM?).
In fact, the best OU tackle of the day might have been when the OU Bobcat mascot made a surprise attack on Brutus when the teams ran out to start the game. It had 105,000 fans rolling in laughter.
But, for the Bucks, it was no laughing matter but it was all business.
Clearly, the Bucks heard the message to take out OU early, loud and clear and clamped down on OU early and often. The first half was about as perfect a game as the Bucks have played this year, save the INT at the end of the half - the first turnover of the season. Pryor had a period of 16-straight completions, a new OSU record easily passing the previous 13 straight (Bellisari and Boeckman shared the record) and Pryor was throwing the ball to a number of receivers across a number of routes.
But all was not perfect ...
The Bucks gave up another kick-off return TD - but for a penalty. The Bucks had little ground game in the first half - or the game for that matter - against an inferior opponent.
But some things are better upon further review ...
The re-loaded defense is as tenacious a defense as the Bucks have fielded since 2002. The Bucks' d-line is just loaded with a mix of experienced talent - Cam Heyward, Nathan Williams and Dexter Larimore - and young talent - Johnathan Hankins and John Simon, for example. Heyward sets the tone for the defensive line and the defense for that matter. He is a well-known perfectionist. He was upset apparently in the first half when a sack eluded him, but he made up for it with the fumble recovery and short run following. The linebackers are a mix of run-stoppers and speed. Ross Homan is a sure tackler that can cover. Brian Rolle has speed and tenaciousness. He's firey and hits like a safety. Tyler Moeller can tee it up on anyone. With Andrew Sweat out with injury, we had a mixture of bodies. All made stops. Then the walking wounded in the secondary. Joining Moeller is the steady Jermale Hines and experienced Chimdi Chekwa who did not disappoint coming off of a career game vs. Miami. CJ Barnett is now out for the season and Orhian Johnson filled in ably. Devon Torrence has been a stud in the secondary all season, but there were a number of injuries in the secondary in particular: Torrence, Travis Howard, Donnie Evege, and Dorian Bell. Howard appears to have the worst of the injuries though Evege appeared to have a broken arm, perhaps.
The offensive unit has dazzled with TP's new command of the passing game and inserted into the mix has been Jake Stoneburner. A local Dublin kid (Dublin Coffman HS), Stoneburner moved from WR to TE and has gotten a lot of looks this season with the ball. Stoneburner has shown the receiver's ability to get open and has the size of a TE. Stoneburner caught 3 passes vs Marshall and the rumor that the Bucks were going to throw to the TE appeared to be amazingly true. But yesterday, Stoneburner caught 5 to join Posey and Sanzenbacher with 5 a piece. And Jake got his first TD catch in his OSU career. Stoneburner has 9 catches on the season for 110 yards. Compare this to Jake Ballard who had 14 catches in all of last season's 13 games.
The offense has yet to really hit the ground running, so to speak. I spoke too soon annointing Brandon Saine as the answer. He seems unable to be the consistent go-to guy and the coaches seem to be trying to keep the carries between Boom and Zoom relatively equal. Jordan Hall again showed some pizzazz, mostly on special teams and perhaps the best rusher of all is still TP.
And the special teams remain the weak link. While the Buckeye returns on punt and kick-off have actually looked solid with Hall and Jamaal Berry back there on returns, coverage remains problematic. A few changes were made in the mix of personnel yesterday - Jordan Hall was out there on coverage and there were other first-teamers out there from time to time. The lane discipline remains the issue and the inconsistency in the kickoffs and punts is not helping matters. The short kickoffs immediately expose the Bucks to a run-back and solid punts have resulted in the speedy Bucks over-running the returner. A slight miss on a lane assignment can spring a returner. But, in the course of yesterday's games, I saw a phenomenal number of run-backs. Are the returners all just too fast for a coverage unit?
So, if we were to click down through the team's attributes through three games, I'd probably point to the following: defensive line - check; linebackers - check; secondary - check with an injury caveat; offensive line - improved with room for improvement; passing game - check; running game - incomplete; kickoff and punt returns - adequate; kickoff and punt coverage - failing grade.
And I would also say that we are seeing a more open playbook than a year ago, for sure.
Next up: Eastern Michigan. This is a team that did not win a game all of last season and is 0-3 coming into next Saturday. The game is at 3:30 eastern on ABC.
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
CJ Barnett - Out for the Season?
OSU safety C. J. Barnett is out for the season most likely, but against Miami, he made his presence felt. In fact, Barnett was awarded the Jack Tatum Hit if the Week award for his performance against the Hurricanes.
Weekly Awards
Jim Tressel handed out his weekly awards at his traditional Monday luncheon: Terrelle Pryor was the offensive player of the game. On defense, the highly lauded Chimdi Chekwa was recognized. He was also the Walter Camp defensive player of the week and the Big Ten defensive player of the week. On special teams, Devin Barclay was recognized for his 5 field goals. Barclay also shared Big Ten special teams recognition. The Parker Lineman of the week was Justin Boren. Attack Force player of the week was Dexter Larimore. There was no Tatum hit of the week.
Tressel was somewhat sarcastic at his weekly presser - he tongue-in-cheek chastised the media for their lack of innovation in their questions. Many times he was asked about OU and the constant theme seemed to be that this is the classic "trap game". Of course it is. And yes, teams slip up against lesser opponents every year - just ask Purdue. But I think this team has a maturity and charisma about it that won't let that happen. Frankly, too many of the guys certainly on offense know how that loss to Purdue felt.
Tressel also let slip, if you will, that TP got about 12 carries in the game vs. Miami and that 12 carries is kind of a magic number. Interesting.
The game time for the Eastern Michigan game on 9/25 has been announced as 3:30. ABC has opted to pick up the coverage.
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
Tressel was somewhat sarcastic at his weekly presser - he tongue-in-cheek chastised the media for their lack of innovation in their questions. Many times he was asked about OU and the constant theme seemed to be that this is the classic "trap game". Of course it is. And yes, teams slip up against lesser opponents every year - just ask Purdue. But I think this team has a maturity and charisma about it that won't let that happen. Frankly, too many of the guys certainly on offense know how that loss to Purdue felt.
Tressel also let slip, if you will, that TP got about 12 carries in the game vs. Miami and that 12 carries is kind of a magic number. Interesting.
The game time for the Eastern Michigan game on 9/25 has been announced as 3:30. ABC has opted to pick up the coverage.
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
And he might go all the way ... not
Greetings from sunny C-bus:
Cameron Heyward's highlight reel interception had those of us wondering if the Miami Hurricanes were on the road to a comeback emitting a huge sigh of relief ... bullet dodged ... and Heyward might still be panting. The entire defense was trying to clear room for the big man who was trying to score ... or perhaps he just wanted to get tackled to end the struggle. Clearly, Heyward is built for bursts of speed; he's no 100 yard dash sprinter by any means. But for those season-end rewards, the interception will prove useful.
The player of the game - Terrelle Pryor. He proved himself worthy of the Heisman-hype on the big stage. His all-around game was not perfect but it had plenty of highlights and more importantly, no mistakes. Pryor led all rushers with 113 yards on 20 carries for a 5.7 yard/carry average and 1 TD. Pryor also had a workmanlike 12 of 27 for 233 yards and 1 TD. Posey had 4 catches for 105 followed by Sanzenbacher and Saine with 3 catches each and Saine had a TD. Herron had 66 yards on 14 carries. The rushing game was disappointing, particularly from Saine who had over 100 yards a week ago, yet seemed stuffed on every carry this week. At the same time, Saine the receiver was unwrapped for all to see.
Surprice of the game - 4 INTs from Jacory Harris. Harris had nearly the preseason hype of Pryor and had about the same experience level, yet Harris seemed to have not matured his game to Pryor's level. Harris seems to still believe, as young QBs often do, that a ball thrown harder into coverage is somehow a better pass than one thrown out of bounds. Four INTs hampered an otherwise talented Miami offense. Hankerson is a talented receiver - and one that Tressel apparently recruited - yet he had to battle for nearly every catch.
Passing the test - the Buckeye secondary. I thought the question mark coming into the season for the Bucks would be the secondary. The loss of Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russel concerned me - both were experienced and sure tacklers. But Devon Torrence and CJ Barnett looked every bit as capable and frankly more athletic. Torrence had a huge game with 7 solo tackles and 1 assist. He was a ball hawk. Add to Torrence's play the huge hits by CJ Barnett (ankle injury to be determined) and I was breathing easier. Chimdi Chekwa has often been criticized by this reporter for his pass interference calls - his seeming inability to turn his head on tight coverage. But I take it all back if Chekwa's 2 INTs are any measure of the rest of his season. Sure, both were the result of being in the right place at the right time, but I will take a DB with his eyes on the ball every play. He has shown strong improvement this season after two games.
Defensive tackle leader - no surprise, Ross Homan with 10 overall. But it seemed like he had a quiet game.
Surprise offensive player(s) - the O line. Much-maligned last season, the O line has given TP a lot of freedom to run or to pass. They allowed just one sack this week and the 2 offensive tackles were lauded by Jim Lachey during the radio call of the game for shutting down Miami's talented DEs - Vernon and Ojomo - for most of the game. Now, I'm not going to give them too much praise - the lack of an overall running game gives me the jitters.
Praise to the D line - wow. That D line set the tempo of the game. And I also credit Moeller and Hines for being as disruptive this week as last week, given a much different schemed opponent. Heyward, Simon, Williams, Larimore - all were man handling the Miami O line. Heyward was double teamed on almost every snap. Nathan Williams made a statement early - welcome back from your injury Nathan. John Simon flat out loves to bull rush. Larimore was blocking up that middle running lane on nearly every snap. The huge true freshman Johnathan Hankinson - Big Hank - is the first true nose tackle the Bucks have had in a while. You see glimpses of greatness in an 18-19 year old kid. He's a true wide-body but he can move.
Failing grade - special teams. Okay, this was not a reach and props to the blocked FG and to what was nearly a back-to-back runback TD by Jordan Hall. Sadly the turf monster reached up and grabbed Jordan Hall's shoe to stop him after a 47 yard return. But there is no excuse after last week to have not worked through kickoff return coverage. Then to give up a punt. Puleeze. On the kickoff, it was a lack of discipline. Guys out of their lanes, missing coverage and assignments. On the punt, it appeared as though the Bucks overran it. But that's not an excuse.
Worry of the season - RichRod might have something (or someone) in Denard Robinson. He reminds me of Troy Smith his junior year. But hopefully a real defense comes up with some solutions.
Next up - the OU Bobcats. The Marching 100 might be the highlight of the game for OU as they lost to Toledo yesterday 20-13 on 4 turnovers and seven penalties committed. The game is at noon Eastern - weather so far appears nice for next Saturday.
No let up Bucks ... GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
Cameron Heyward's highlight reel interception had those of us wondering if the Miami Hurricanes were on the road to a comeback emitting a huge sigh of relief ... bullet dodged ... and Heyward might still be panting. The entire defense was trying to clear room for the big man who was trying to score ... or perhaps he just wanted to get tackled to end the struggle. Clearly, Heyward is built for bursts of speed; he's no 100 yard dash sprinter by any means. But for those season-end rewards, the interception will prove useful.
The player of the game - Terrelle Pryor. He proved himself worthy of the Heisman-hype on the big stage. His all-around game was not perfect but it had plenty of highlights and more importantly, no mistakes. Pryor led all rushers with 113 yards on 20 carries for a 5.7 yard/carry average and 1 TD. Pryor also had a workmanlike 12 of 27 for 233 yards and 1 TD. Posey had 4 catches for 105 followed by Sanzenbacher and Saine with 3 catches each and Saine had a TD. Herron had 66 yards on 14 carries. The rushing game was disappointing, particularly from Saine who had over 100 yards a week ago, yet seemed stuffed on every carry this week. At the same time, Saine the receiver was unwrapped for all to see.
Surprice of the game - 4 INTs from Jacory Harris. Harris had nearly the preseason hype of Pryor and had about the same experience level, yet Harris seemed to have not matured his game to Pryor's level. Harris seems to still believe, as young QBs often do, that a ball thrown harder into coverage is somehow a better pass than one thrown out of bounds. Four INTs hampered an otherwise talented Miami offense. Hankerson is a talented receiver - and one that Tressel apparently recruited - yet he had to battle for nearly every catch.
Passing the test - the Buckeye secondary. I thought the question mark coming into the season for the Bucks would be the secondary. The loss of Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russel concerned me - both were experienced and sure tacklers. But Devon Torrence and CJ Barnett looked every bit as capable and frankly more athletic. Torrence had a huge game with 7 solo tackles and 1 assist. He was a ball hawk. Add to Torrence's play the huge hits by CJ Barnett (ankle injury to be determined) and I was breathing easier. Chimdi Chekwa has often been criticized by this reporter for his pass interference calls - his seeming inability to turn his head on tight coverage. But I take it all back if Chekwa's 2 INTs are any measure of the rest of his season. Sure, both were the result of being in the right place at the right time, but I will take a DB with his eyes on the ball every play. He has shown strong improvement this season after two games.
Defensive tackle leader - no surprise, Ross Homan with 10 overall. But it seemed like he had a quiet game.
Surprise offensive player(s) - the O line. Much-maligned last season, the O line has given TP a lot of freedom to run or to pass. They allowed just one sack this week and the 2 offensive tackles were lauded by Jim Lachey during the radio call of the game for shutting down Miami's talented DEs - Vernon and Ojomo - for most of the game. Now, I'm not going to give them too much praise - the lack of an overall running game gives me the jitters.
Praise to the D line - wow. That D line set the tempo of the game. And I also credit Moeller and Hines for being as disruptive this week as last week, given a much different schemed opponent. Heyward, Simon, Williams, Larimore - all were man handling the Miami O line. Heyward was double teamed on almost every snap. Nathan Williams made a statement early - welcome back from your injury Nathan. John Simon flat out loves to bull rush. Larimore was blocking up that middle running lane on nearly every snap. The huge true freshman Johnathan Hankinson - Big Hank - is the first true nose tackle the Bucks have had in a while. You see glimpses of greatness in an 18-19 year old kid. He's a true wide-body but he can move.
Failing grade - special teams. Okay, this was not a reach and props to the blocked FG and to what was nearly a back-to-back runback TD by Jordan Hall. Sadly the turf monster reached up and grabbed Jordan Hall's shoe to stop him after a 47 yard return. But there is no excuse after last week to have not worked through kickoff return coverage. Then to give up a punt. Puleeze. On the kickoff, it was a lack of discipline. Guys out of their lanes, missing coverage and assignments. On the punt, it appeared as though the Bucks overran it. But that's not an excuse.
Worry of the season - RichRod might have something (or someone) in Denard Robinson. He reminds me of Troy Smith his junior year. But hopefully a real defense comes up with some solutions.
Next up - the OU Bobcats. The Marching 100 might be the highlight of the game for OU as they lost to Toledo yesterday 20-13 on 4 turnovers and seven penalties committed. The game is at noon Eastern - weather so far appears nice for next Saturday.
No let up Bucks ... GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Doubts May Linger
Greetings from C-bus:
It took fans just 3 plays on offense to know that Tressel and the team took the "silence the doubters" banner seen outside Skull Session very seriously through spring and fall practice. The playbook remained relatively wide open from the Rose Bowl preparation through Thursday night's game and Terrelle Pryor seemed to have matured a decade between the Rose Bowl and 9/2/10.
Welcome back to Tyler Moeller! Moeller lost a year due to a head injury suffered in a FL bar more than a year ago while on vacation with his family. Moeller however led the team in tackles Thursday night and he looked to be back to form from nearly 2 seasons ago. His lateral speed kept Marshall from turning the corner and he anchors a relatively young and somewhat inexperienced secondary - a point of worry of mine. While Chekwa is the veteran back there, he was the same Chekwa who has lockdown capabilities but he's making the same mistakes - not turning his head to the ball and leaving himself open to the almost certain interference call. Frustrating.
The 3rd receiver position remains open. Sanzenbacher and Posey have locked down the first 2 receiver spots with both making a clear statement in the game Thursday. Perhaps the 3rd receiver might really be Jake Stoneburner? I think that depends on the strength of the opponent's defensive line and whether we need a TE for blocking or in the passing game. And certainly a quick view of Zack Boren as fullback eases your fears when it comes to blowing up holes for the RBs - Zoom and Boom (and definitely in that order). Grant Schwartz caught some balls out there Thursday and it was nice to see the senior get in there but all eyes during preseason were on Philly Brown and Chris Fields and neither showed too much Thursday. Taurian Washington was said to be #3 but he was quiet Thursday.
And boy ... work needs to be done on that special teams unit. Sure, the opening fumble recovery was their work, but the blocked field goal was a missed blocking assignment combined with a low, line drive and coverage of the opponent returns was lacking - blocking assignments missed no doubt. Some discipline is needed in keeping guys in their lanes. I'd also like to see some more consistency in kick off depth and punt distance. Good coverage on the punt with the near-stop just short of the goal line. There's definite speed on those squads. Appears they need discipline.
For Miami, the game Saturday might be like playing a 4th OT although no one on that squad was part of the 2002 game. At least the media is trying to build the game up to be some sort of re-match. Bahhhh. But it is a chance for Miami to prove that they are "back" in primetime, on a big stage. The Bucks must come out prepared to sling it around with some very good athletes and we must be prepared to stop a talented QB in Jacory Harris. I saw him play in person last season at Winston-Salem, a game that Wake should have won. But the thing about Harris is that he's a competitor and has a will to win. A final drive in the waning minutes of the game propelled Miami to the victory when the receiver got behind a Wake DB into the endzone on a long, risky pass play. The Miami team roster is full of Harris' high school teammates. The squad is loaded with speed. Harris was a risk-taker last season - my guess is that Coach Randy Shannon has him more disciplined this year. Miami put the hurt down on their opening opponent Florida A&M. Miami did not fare well against Wisconsin in last year's bowl game, however, which makes me think that Miami will not fare well against a tough, disciplined defense like OSU and the physical play of the Big Ten. That being said, Harris is a gun-slinger. Our secondary had better be ready.
Keep in mind that the early weather forecast for Saturday calls for rain showers. That might favor a ground game from Zoom and Boom ... but it's too early to forecast Ohio weather with any certainty ... in fact the morning of the game might be too early.
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
It took fans just 3 plays on offense to know that Tressel and the team took the "silence the doubters" banner seen outside Skull Session very seriously through spring and fall practice. The playbook remained relatively wide open from the Rose Bowl preparation through Thursday night's game and Terrelle Pryor seemed to have matured a decade between the Rose Bowl and 9/2/10.
Welcome back to Tyler Moeller! Moeller lost a year due to a head injury suffered in a FL bar more than a year ago while on vacation with his family. Moeller however led the team in tackles Thursday night and he looked to be back to form from nearly 2 seasons ago. His lateral speed kept Marshall from turning the corner and he anchors a relatively young and somewhat inexperienced secondary - a point of worry of mine. While Chekwa is the veteran back there, he was the same Chekwa who has lockdown capabilities but he's making the same mistakes - not turning his head to the ball and leaving himself open to the almost certain interference call. Frustrating.
The 3rd receiver position remains open. Sanzenbacher and Posey have locked down the first 2 receiver spots with both making a clear statement in the game Thursday. Perhaps the 3rd receiver might really be Jake Stoneburner? I think that depends on the strength of the opponent's defensive line and whether we need a TE for blocking or in the passing game. And certainly a quick view of Zack Boren as fullback eases your fears when it comes to blowing up holes for the RBs - Zoom and Boom (and definitely in that order). Grant Schwartz caught some balls out there Thursday and it was nice to see the senior get in there but all eyes during preseason were on Philly Brown and Chris Fields and neither showed too much Thursday. Taurian Washington was said to be #3 but he was quiet Thursday.
And boy ... work needs to be done on that special teams unit. Sure, the opening fumble recovery was their work, but the blocked field goal was a missed blocking assignment combined with a low, line drive and coverage of the opponent returns was lacking - blocking assignments missed no doubt. Some discipline is needed in keeping guys in their lanes. I'd also like to see some more consistency in kick off depth and punt distance. Good coverage on the punt with the near-stop just short of the goal line. There's definite speed on those squads. Appears they need discipline.
For Miami, the game Saturday might be like playing a 4th OT although no one on that squad was part of the 2002 game. At least the media is trying to build the game up to be some sort of re-match. Bahhhh. But it is a chance for Miami to prove that they are "back" in primetime, on a big stage. The Bucks must come out prepared to sling it around with some very good athletes and we must be prepared to stop a talented QB in Jacory Harris. I saw him play in person last season at Winston-Salem, a game that Wake should have won. But the thing about Harris is that he's a competitor and has a will to win. A final drive in the waning minutes of the game propelled Miami to the victory when the receiver got behind a Wake DB into the endzone on a long, risky pass play. The Miami team roster is full of Harris' high school teammates. The squad is loaded with speed. Harris was a risk-taker last season - my guess is that Coach Randy Shannon has him more disciplined this year. Miami put the hurt down on their opening opponent Florida A&M. Miami did not fare well against Wisconsin in last year's bowl game, however, which makes me think that Miami will not fare well against a tough, disciplined defense like OSU and the physical play of the Big Ten. That being said, Harris is a gun-slinger. Our secondary had better be ready.
Keep in mind that the early weather forecast for Saturday calls for rain showers. That might favor a ground game from Zoom and Boom ... but it's too early to forecast Ohio weather with any certainty ... in fact the morning of the game might be too early.
GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!
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