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Thanks for the reply, really good insight. I think you're definitely correct that the players didn't really execute for OSU. I still think the good reason for that is that you had a bunch of unproven players walking into a situation they had no preparation for. Don't think they knew what they were in store for. And were some things I feel like Meyer/Herman could've tried to do misdirection-wise to counter the aggressiveness, but I just don't recall seeing it (I will admit, I haven't watched that game again since the night they played). I'll say that they had games like VT last year and Penn State last year (and other games in previous seasons) where the defense kept conceding 3rd downs and the offense was kept on the sideline. Then when they'd get their shot, they'd waste a few possessions here or there. Before they knew it they're in a dogfight at the end of the game and they almost lost to PSU in similar fashion. A bad turnover here or there and next thing you know the clock's running out. Almost like they keep looking around like, "okay..so what do we do? Who's going to do what and make something happen? This is typically where we just turn to Braxton and let him run." I definitely don't think OSU executed in the VT game last season...but I still lean toward giving the bulk of the credit to VT and their coaches for exploiting that. That issue slowly evaporated for OSU throughout the season.
Previously, in games like this Meyer used to fall back on a safety net...what we would call the "Braxton Save Us" offense. In tight games it would turn into Miller counter trey left, Miller counter trey right, middle draw. That's when he'd hit you with Carlos Hyde who'd plow for 10 yards a pop after the defense was fixated on Miller...and for the most part it always worked. Urban didn't have that certainty of a safety net to resort to...so they just kept sticking with the gameplan. The o-line was too unknown, Zeke was too unknown and Barrett was too unknown. We saw Meyer turn to Barrett the same way he used to with Miller against PSU and OSU just started pounding the ball with Barrett and Zeke and Barrett won his trust with a gutty performance down the stretch. They didn't have that trust earlier in the season and didn't seem to know where to turn to. I wouldn't be surprised to see BF show some of that zero coverage again...but I'd just be awfully worried about how that might turn out this time. A missed assignment, broken tackle and Zeke's off to the races. Quick slant to 6'3" 215lb Mike Thomas, one broken tackle and he's gone. Quick edge screen to 220lb Miller, one on one with a DB with the ball in his hands...yikes. A better, more experienced version of Barrett, gets the ball out quick and accurately. All of those options were either total unknowns or unavailable last year. Would be surprised to see zero coverage stick around for very long. I still have no doubt that BF will have a tremendous gameplan in place and this is going to be closer than people outside of the Hokie fan populace think.
TKP and Reddit are the only websites I read comments. And occasionally 11W.
WIth things coming to a terrible close, I can say I am absolutely heartbroken for the two who lost their significant others. I can only imagine the loneliness they must feel right now
How did they resolve it?
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10 years 11 months
# | Bitter blog - Wednesday reset: A McMillian story, Vick signs with Steelers and Loeffler mic'd up Banana patch funky right, GO!
Good to see I wasn't the only one thinking this.
BilldozerVT, mstrawther and VTimHokie85, you guys need to get on the TKP tailgate video trailer and make it happen.
SET THE TONE!
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10 years 11 months
# | Bitter blog - Wednesday reset: A McMillian story, Vick signs with Steelers and Loeffler mic'd up Same re: Marshall. I think he misses significant time this year. Good thing we have lots of depth at DT.
It looks like Osterloh may have actually earned himself some bona fide playing time. If that's the case, I'm pretty happy about this. Dude's a monster, worked his tail off to drop weight over the summer and get quicker, and by all accounts played very well at guard after Teller's mysterious demotion. Good for him pushing to be on the field.
HOWDOITURNTHISON
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10 years 11 months
# | Cardale Jones Tweet could mean JT Barrett will be Ohio State's Starter I'll be the first to admit that my comment was a little trolly.
I actually think Barrett is an excellent QB, and agree that he played better against VT than the stats indicate. But I also believe that VT's defense was/is still a bad matchup for him, and prefer the facing the guy that VT has already handled rather than the one they haven't seen.
He's dead. Far to kind a fate for that scumbag. From now on, he'll only be known as "the coward" or "the shooter" to me. He can die alone and forgotten. Remember the people we lost, forget the coward who took them away.
Your vagueness has piqued my interest. What popular handheld device uses a component that requires a chemical engineer to work on it?
Blasting "Enter Sandman" on Continuous loop!
RIP to the victims, and my prayers are out to the families and loved ones.
There is a special place in hell for people like the shooter...
Bud will likely follow this and just add a wrinkle, similar to what he does on a yearly basis with GT. Add something to catch them off guard. Typical Bud Foster.
"Wild Nut Package"
ATLIEN
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10 years 11 months
# | Cardale Jones Tweet could mean JT Barrett will be Ohio State's Starter I'm expecting OSU to run the ball A LOT from a lot of different formations and get a lot of players involved early (QB runs, Zeke, sweeps, screens, etc). I think Urban will stick with this strategy as long as possible. I don't expect to see OSU passing 30 times unless VT gets up a 2-3 scores early again.
Do ya'll have a "Wild Turkey" package? Does it have a name yet? How do you feel about the "Wild Nut"?
RG3 could use a new job...
2. Brewer is what he is, his problems last year weren't about lack of preparation in the summer. He's a risk taker and will continue to be so.
I think, and hope, you are wrong. I think a lot of Brewer's limitations last year were due to a combination of not knowing the offense thoroughly and having good but not great rapport with his leading receivers. I expect a great deal of improvement in his play as a result of game experience, film study, and practice time. (I also thought he played injured a LOT last year, and I hope better health will lead to better play, too. But I may be wrong about that -- there were very few public comments about his health last year.)
ATLIEN
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10 years 11 months
# | Cardale Jones Tweet could mean JT Barrett will be Ohio State's Starter I'm rooting for Jones. He just seems like a fun guy to hang out with.
This is EXACTLY what i have been telling my OSU pals all summer long. Just because you know what D someone is going to run doesn't mean you can beat it. Everyone in the NFL knows what defense the Seattle Seahawks are going run. Their defense isn't very complicated at all, but nobody can beat it because they (Seahawks) have great players that execute perfectly. Same principle applies here. You can prepare to beat the Bear, but if your wide receivers can't get separation and you are being killed by the blitz it doesn't matter. Despite not having the element of surprise, I actually believe this is an even better game to use the Bear against Ohio State. With all the WR/H-back suspensions Ohio State is going to have to rely on complete rookies at WR. I think it is a no brainer that you have to try and make these unexperienced players beat you. Run the Bear, eliminate the threat of Elliott, and trust your corners on an island against unproven receivers.
The sad truth is that even if VT pulls of the underdog upset again this year, aOSU will be still be ranked higher in the polls a week later than Tech will be.
Same here. I think many VT fans expect the OSU passing game be dormant again, just as many Ohio State fans expect the VT rushing game to be nonexistent. Both parties might be very surprised on the 7th.
I probably should relax, but this "we are the champs mentality" seems to wreck every team that attempts to repeat. Ohio State fans talking about beating VT and repeating need to remember that last year is irrelevant. Its a new season and a new team. Blank slate for VT and OSU.
They did it in 2003.
21,272 days? But I can't wait that longgggggg