Posts from February 12, 2007

Mike Lanese grew up in Mayfield Village, Ohio and went to Mayfield High School. In 1981 he led the Mayfield Wildcats to a conference title, earning honors as an All-State running back and Northeast Ohio Back of the Year. He also won the prestigious Lou Groza award as the most outstanding Cleveland-area player. After narrowing his choices for college to Ohio State and Michigan, sanity and good taste ultimately prevailed. He signed a letter of intent with the Buckeyes and went on to earn four letters as a wide receiver, also becoming a co-captain for his senior year. While at Ohio State, he earned several honors, including Academic All-America (twice), Toyota Leader of the Year, and-the one he takes the greatest pride in-Chevrolet Most Valuable Player of the Game against Michigan in 1984. After his senior season, he was named a Rhodes Scholar and spent two years studying at Oxford University. In 1989 he became a United States naval officer and served onboard the guided missile cruiser USS Sterett (CG-31) as a Surface Warfare Officer. He left the Navy in 1993 and eventually went on to the business world.

Mike is currently the Chief Executive Officer of ClearSaleing, Inc. ClearSaleing is an innovative marketing technology company that helps Internet retailers and direct marketers maximize their profits from online marketing campaigns.

Mike lives in Grove City, Ohio with is wife Laura, his son Michael, and his daughters Camille and Francesca.

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3 things Ohio State must do to get ready for the next national championship game

So now that we’ve had a little time to reflect on the last National Championship game, what lessons should we draw from the drubbing that some have called the “disaster in the desert?” Well, for starters, how about not hyperventilating every time we lose. Sure, it was a pasting. And maybe it was little embarrassing for a team that had pretty high expectations. But was it enough to shake the foundations of the entire program? Will it forever be an asterisk next to the Jim Tressel legacy? C’mon - get a clue. And get some perspective. It was a single game in the 100 year history of Ohio State football. And it happened in a year in which we won 12 games, almost went wire to wire as the #1 team in the country, beat two #2 teams and dispatched a very good Michigan team. Oh yea, and then there was that Heisman thing.

The National Championship game did not expose a structural flaw in the program. On the contrary, the mere fact that we were in the game is a testament to the strength of the Ohio State tradition. With the nearly complete turnover in defensive personnel following the A.J. Hawk era, a pre-season #1 ranking was premature and probably unwarranted. And then we proceeded to run the table. Given the way the season unfolded, any objective observer (i.e. someone who lives outside of Columbus) would have to conclude that the 2006 campaign was nothing short of spectacular. Ok, so on an off night we got spanked by the #2 team in the country. That’s football. Anyone remember Woody’s loss to USC in 1972?

It might not happen next year, but a Tressel-coached team will play in a future National Championship game. There are 3 things we must do if we want the result to be different from that of the Florida game:

1. Recruit more athletic offensive linemen. Perhaps the single biggest factor in the Florida loss was our poor offensive line play. When a team rushes its down four and can consistently get solid pressure on the quarterback, you know the boys up front are physically outmatched. The Florida defensive line was quick, strong and relentless. Our guys had heavy feet. I don’t necessarily buy the SEC speed thesis (I’d line Ginn and Gonzalez up in a 100 with any Florida guy), but it was hard not to see a common theme of better, faster d-line play. If we’re going to compete against these guys in a future National Championship game, our line (especially our tackles) needs to get more athletic.
2. Pick up the pace. As my wife frequently reminds me, I watched a lot of football this past season. Over the course of several weekends I was struck by a subtle, but unmistakable, trend among the better teams. They all seemed to have developed a quick game pace. I’m not talking about team speed, but the general pace at which teams initiate and execute plays, from getting the right personnel in the game to calling plays to taking the snap. It also seems like there’s more no-huddle, on-the-fly stuff that you’d normally associate with quirky programs such as Hawaii or Boise State. But it’s not just those programs anymore. Even the traditional programs are getting into the new tempo. I’m not saying Ohio State hasn’t improved its pace. It just hasn’t seemed to improve as much as much as teams in the SEC and the Big East.
3. Play a tougher schedule. Let’s be honest. The Big 10 isn’t a very strong conference these days. Year over year how many Big 10 teams can really compete in the top 25? Maybe 3 or 4. A few more might be competitive in a given season. And the rest struggle to field 22 Division I players and sell season tickets. If we want to beat the best at the end of the season, we have to play the best during the season. I don’t see us defecting from the conference anytime soon, so the only answer is to play a tougher non-conference schedule. How about convincing the rest of the conference to put on a match-up series between the Big 10 and SEC (similar to what they do in basketball)? We’d get a good idea of where we really stand.

Anyone have any other ideas?

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