Posts from September 9, 2007

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Popularity: 25% [?]

The long network nightmare is over. The rest of the OSU games will be televised on Time Warner cable. I’ll finally be able to watch games in the way God intended, alone in my basement with no distractions other than the occasional need to run to the refrigerator. Fortunately, I was able to catch the game in the next best way: I headed over to the Alumni Grill in Grove City where Ohio State vs. Akron was available on all but one of 30 televisions. Thanks to Kristie for the wonderful hospitality. I watched the game with fun people, knowledgeable fans and great food. I’d definitely recommend the fish sandwich.

As for the game, I’m scratching my head a little trying to figure out what to expect from the 2007 team. Despite an exodus of talent to the NFL, Ohio State still has a well-stocked arsenal of weapons. But something’s missing. And with a good Washington team up next, we’ve run out of time for experimentation. For better or worse, the Washington game will establish our identity for the rest of the year.

A few thoughts on the Akron game:

• Turnovers. Ball security and positive turnover ratios are key tenets of Tressel ball. We had 5 turnovers, including 2 interceptions. One interception was caused by a slip and fall by Sanzenbacher, the other by a bad Boeckman read and throw. Receivers can’t fall coming out of breaks. That’s why they practice good mechanics in slippery conditions. And Boeckman needs to do a much better job of finding the safety on long balls to the middle of the field. These interceptions are characteristic of inexperienced players. A good team will make them pay for those errors
• Quarterback. Boeckman didn’t make the kind of progress you’d like to see in a quarterback between the first and second games. I don’t know if Akron gave him different looks from what he expected, but he needs to do a better job of recognizing blitzes and checking out of plays at the line of scrimmage. I like his poise, though, and he seems to have established himself as a team leader.
• Offensive Line. The offensive line hasn’t looked good in their first two outings. Expectations were high that they’d be able to push around Akron’s front eight all game long. Instead they appeared to be out of sync and ineffective until Akron tired late in the game. I know it takes a while for an offensive line to gel, but I’m concerned with the apparent confusion and missed assignments. We need to get this right before heading out to Seattle.
• Running Back. Beanie Wells struggled again early. In part, you can attribute some of his performance to the offensive line play. But he also looked tentative even when he had a little open space to work with. Once he settled down and found himself in the second half, he looked like the back we all think he can be. He just needs to remember that he’s a North-South guy with good size, strength and speed. I haven’t seen anyone—ever—with a better stiff arm. He really has all the physical tools to be the next Keith Byars or Eddie George. One other question for the running back position: where’s Dionte Johnson? He looked good in practice, and I’d like to see what he can do with the ball on a few carries.
• Defense. You can’t say enough about the defensive play. Akron came in with a limited, but competent offense. And we completely dismantled them, holding them to 69 total yards and 3 net rushing yards. After an uninspired effort against YSU, the front four (led by Gholston) caused chaos at the line of scrimmage. And the linebackers and defensive backs were again superb. Washington will offer a real test to see how we stack up against a good offense with a little speed. But we really won’t know how good we are until we face a fully functional spread offense. I think Michigan already found the answer to that question for their defense– twice.

Popularity: 22% [?]