Post by doc on Oct 23, 2018 14:35:28 GMT
I like to take a few days after a rough game to absorb what I saw and make a more level headed assessment.
Saturday night was a cluster. People were wringing their hands about the Purdue one all week long and it turned out to be a bad omen. I see two huge problems with this team...
One - they can't run the ball. The past 6 years Urban has had a dual threat QB who opposing teams had to respect for the run. Dwayne Haskins has a far better arm than Miller or Barrett but he is not a runner. So you have a pocket passer running an RPO offense who is never going to run the ball. I think Haskins is amazing but in the offense OSU is running, it's not a great fit. You can't scrap the offense but in hindsight they probably should have made some adjustments to better suit the QB they're playing. You have to build the team around the strengths of your personnel. Haskins is a great talent but he's been put in an offense that benefits from the talents of a dual threat QB and his lack of running ability is killing the running game. Doesn't mean he's the wrong guy, it means the offensive coaches haven't made the correct adjustments to maximize the talents of the skill players.
Two - for as long as I can remember, and I've been watching Ohio State football games for 50 years, Ohio State has almost always had a stud, first round draft pick/All American Linebacker - Randy Gradishar, Tom Cousineau, Chris Spielman, Pepper Johnson, Rick Middleton, Bob Brudzinski, Eric Kumerow, Craig Powell, Andy Katzenmoyer, Na'il Diggs, Matt Wilhelm, Bobby Carpenter, AJ Hawk, James Laurinaitis, Ryan Shazier, Darron Lee, Raekwon McMillan, Jerome Backer. Who do we have this year? Tuf Borland, Malik Harrison and Pete Werner. Harrison has been serviceable but the other 2 are nowhere close to what OSU needs at linebacker. None of them were blue chip recruits. There are a few top 50 recruits, 5 star recruits who play sparingly. I find it hard to believe they could whiff on 5 star recruits. Granted some of them are young but I'd rather live with the mistakes of the youth than deal with 2 guys who just aren't doing the job. Is this a matter of poor coaching? Is it a matter of loyalty to older players? I don't know but I think the biggest issue with the defense is the linebackers just aren't doing the job.
Saturday was an eye opener. Purdue was 0-3 and kept getting better. Ohio State looked unbeatable through 4 games and has regressed with each successive week. The BYE comes at a time where they need it - players are banged up, hopefully they get healthy. I also hope they make the adjustments to maximize ALL the offensive talent and seriously reevaluate the linebacker position. I thought when they gave Hilliard a shot due to injury he did well - at least he made tackles. Something needs to be done. Just because the guy's name is Tuf doesn't mean he is.
