OSU Monday

OSU – Troy State Review

Terrelle Pryor…..Welcome to the “Shoe”…….I mean the Show!!!!

For only the second time (in my lifetime at least) Ohio State started a true freshman at quarterback. You may have heard of this kid. Terrelle Pryor?!?! In a move that I was openly against, Jim Tressel decided he had seen enough mediocrity from Todd Boekman and went with the untested freshman in the game against Troy State. 4 touchdown passes later, the Buckeyes came away with a 28-10 victory.

I was in attendance at the game so I might be able to say that I saw the official start of what could be a very promising career by young Mr. Pryor. At least that was the commentary of my 8 year old son. I have to admit that I was pretty stunned when he mentioned that as we were walking back to our car. From the mouths of babses…….It got me thinking about what I had just witnessed. So, what did I see you ask? Well….I thought Pryor played really well given the circumstances. His first touchdown pass was a nice 13 yard touch pass to tight end Rory Nicol in the back of the end zone. The next two scoring passes were darts thrown from 38 and 39 yards to Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline respectively. BTW – Nice to see you back in action B2. The 4th score was another laser thrown to Hartline. In between those scoring plays, Pryor demonstrated poise (for the most part) and an innate sense of calm running the offense. He also ran for 66 yards on a series of designed runs and broken plays. I can’t detail enough how impressed I was with his performance. That fact was amplified when I learned that Troy State came into the game with a top ten defense nationally.

So….what worked?

Hello Terrelle…see you later Todd – I guess it’s safe to say that Todd Boekman’s days as the starter are over. He looked tentative when he was in the game (under throwing his receiver on the two passes he attempted). More importantly, the fans and the team seemed to loose focus and energy when he entered the game. I was of the opinion that he played good enough last season to A) win the Big 10 and B) beat Michigan and that he should not lose his starting job because of his poor play against LSU and USC. Indeed he played without confidence in those games but I do not believe those losses can be pinned solely on him. Anyway, Tressel saw it differently and the rest…so they say….is probably history. With a game next week against a seemingly vastly improved Minnesota team, TP will get a taste of Big 10 play before the Buckeye’s trip to Madison in two weeks. Yikes….I think I’m going to be pretty nervous about that game against the Badgers.

Lowering the “Boom” - With Beanie Wells missing his 3 game with his mysterious foot injury (can we please get a definitive diagnosis on his toe?) Boom Herron stepped in and played his best game. I saw him run with better vision, confidence and with some power hitting the holes. He finished with 95 yards on 20 carries. During the pre game warm-ups Wells was running all over the field (albeit in sweat pants) and he looked pretty healthy running onto the field with the rest of the team at the start of the game. Come on JT, the USC game is over. It’s time to let the public know what’s going on with Beanie’s big toe.

The return of the Silver Bullets – I wasn’t aware of the fact that along with a quality defense, Troy brought a pretty potent offense too. Although I found myself cringing as swing passes, screens and draws always seemed to go for 6-8 yards the Buckeye defense stiffened when necessary and help Troy to 97 yards rushing and 218 yards passing. Both numbers were well below their season averages coming into the game.

What still needs work?

Offensive line….better….but still needs work – I didn’t notice it at the beginning of the game but staring left guard Steve Rhering was not in uniform. Coach Bollman decided to move starting center Jim Cordle to the guard spot and started freshman Michael Brewster at center. Since there were no botched snaps or false starts/holding penalties on Brewster I guess you could say it was a successful debut. I think focus should shift to the right side of the line. I haven’t been impressed with the play on Ben Person and Bryant Browning in any game this year. Maybe it’s time to look at Shugarts and Adams at those positions. I’m just saying…….

Tackling – I lost count of how much yardage Troy gained because of missed tackles. At one point in the game I turned to the guy sitting next to me and mentioned that we had better tighten up the tackling before game with Penn State, Illinois and Michigan. Those teams will all field fast, shifty guys that operate well in space. There is definitely room for improvement in this area.

Play calling – As I have mentioned before on this blog, the play calling on both sides of the ball has been terribly vanilla in every game this year. I was listening to the Buckeye pre-game show on the radio driving to Columbus and the radio guys were in agreement that the coaches were continuing to play things conservatively until conference play starts next week. I almost drove off the road wondering why they would wait until Minnesota to open things up instead of showing more last week against USC. You’d have to stretch things pretty far for a good answer on that. I guess Buckeye Nation is prepared to be patient on this front. I for one am most annoyed with this aspect of the season.

Now what…….?

Pryor showed more than enough to ease fears that he is not the man to lead this team. The thought of having a healthy Beanie Wells back (at some point….I hope) to compliment Pryor is actually pretty exciting. Defenses will have to plan for both players running around the field and this should free up the passing game. Establishing a balanced offensive attach has always been critical in navigating conference play.

I’m hoping…no praying….that Heacock has multiple schemes up his sleeve that will be unleashed in the coming weeks. I thought Rob Rose, Thad Gibson and Nathan Williams played strong and fast and they should be set free on more blitzes in the weeks to come. The defensive backfield has been playing better this year but I think they still need to work on the fundamentals of tackling. Put that all together and I think we may have something to work with over the rest of the season.

This week, the undefeated (yes 4-0) Minnesota Golden Gophers come to Columbus. I have no idea how or why they are playing so well this year after going 1-11 last year. Big House Bob asks me for this review on Monday each week so I don’t have time to come up with a definitive scouting report. Having said that, I think I’ll ride the ever expanding coattails of Mr. Pryor this week. I have it 38-10 Buckeyes.

Go Bucks!!!!

Buckeye John