Recent Comments
Hey, that's just a fact.
I have a reply for that so don't make me use it. 
Reading this thread, having a few beers, and getting really close to just saying....
"SCOREBOARD!"
But I won't do that quite yet.
And you think that's the wrong confident outlook for a player to have?
He's implying that the team wasn't prepared to handle it.
Put another way, do you think Ohio State improved as an offensive line last year from the Virginia Tech game to the Alabama game?
If yes, do you think it was because a better understanding of the blocking scheme, plays, etc. or do you think they improved physically (i.e. got noticeably stronger, faster, etc.)?
He clearly says that VT has a great team, great coaches, and great players. What more do you want him to say?
His implication is that OSU has better players, and that if they adapt their strategy, that a similar result isn't possible.
I've read French's stuff, that's the main reason I'm posting here because I appreciate his deep insight into the game of football. That being said, I don't take his word as gospel and I think some of the points he makes are actually a slight to the opponents that Ohio State played later in the year, as well as the improvement that OSU obviously made last year.
I posted this thought in another thread (I think, maybe this one) but Ohio State had the second youngest offensive line in the entire country last year. I bring this up not as an excuse, but as a fact. They didn't even handle a base 4-3 that Navy played with undersized cadets. They didn't gel and understand the scheme. Obviously both OSU and VT were young teams, but the cohesiveness and understanding of the BASE blocking scheme is a paramount understanding for a great football team. If we didn't grasp the base scheme fully, how were they going to understand the adjustments against a front they've never seen? The worst thing a football player can do on the field is think. It makes you slow. Read and react, that's the way to play high level football.
Our guys weren't there yet, and the players, scheme and inexperience played a huge role last year. I don't think it's trash talk to say any of that.
"It wasn't like we were getting beat for those sacks," Decker said.
The implication is that OSU unquestioningly has better players, who were beaten just because the scheme didn't match up. He's implying that the game was a fluke.
As much as we'd like to pretend it doesn't happen, this is one of those "commitable offer" situations. However, for us, we don't tell 300 kids they have an offer and then pick our favorites of those who "commit." His offer right now is conditional on him getting his transcript in order - and I'm not sure if it's just getting his grades up or there was an issue when he transferred.
Because that comment implies that it was simply the scheme that won us the game. It completely disregards the fact that VT might actually have superior players at some positions. The impression (and yes, I understand it's just my impression) I've gotten from OSU fans, players, coaches, etc. is that the bear alignment simply caught OSU off guard and once they fix that little thing, they'll wipe the floor with VT. However, as has been said repeatedly, the bear alignment was just a different way Foster lined up his defense while keeping all the same basic principles the same, which is vastly different from what other teams normally do week to week (I'd recommend reading some of French's stuff about the defense to get a better idea).
The play I pointed out above (and a lot of them actually) were VT guys winning one-on-one battles, which I get the impression OSU's players now believe to be impossible.
How is that motivation? Not that I really care, because both teams will be motivated to the hilt, but how is this bulletin board material? He said VT played really well, had a great scheme with great players?
I'm confused how y'all are misconstruing this.
If these Ohio State comments aren't motivation to do this again, I don't know what would be.
How do you construe that Virginia Tech didn't win any one-on-one battles from this quote?:
"I don't think they just won every one-on-one battle. They had a great scheme and they had a great game plan ... and they have really good players.
It was a combination of winning the point of attack, scheme and players. But Decker's point was that it wasn't just getting manhandled upfront.
I personally think that's a pretty fair, level-headed assessment.
Dadi also respectfully disagrees. At least one of his sacks was him completely embarrassing their right guard.
Also, Kendall and Facyson repeatedly won one-on-ones. It wasn't all about numbers.
*EDIT* Here it is. Skip to 5:52 to see what I'm talking about.
Yeah, I mean, what he said is technically somewhat true, but Bud has been doing that to teams and lots of good o-lines for 20 years. There's a reason he's forced the most sacks since '96...
If only football were as simple as going 1-vs.-1 all the time without any tricks or disguises.
|
10 years 12 months
# | Virginia Tech Football Recruiting: 2016 WR Phillip Patterson Commits to the Hokies Our WR class sucks about as much as bacon, pie, or a Guinness milkshake.
Hint: all of those things definitely do not suck.
*EDIT* I'm really, really happy with the direction this subthread went. And for anyone who doubts, blend 3 1/2 scoops of choclate ice cream with a can of Guinness, then come back and let me know how much better your day just got.
Hahahaha, it's just been a very, very, very long offseason and I'm missing football a whole bunch. Gotta have something to obsess about.
So you don't think our offensive line improved as a group last year in any way shape or form? Or dare I say, even may have improved more than your DL did over the course of the year?
Would that be possible, or would there maybe be any evidence of that?
The main issue with last years game was our offensive line. That was brutally obvious. Not to make excuses since both teams were young, but Ohio State had the second youngest offensive line in the country last year. They didn't play very well against an undersized Navy team that played a straight 4-3.
So here we are with an O-line that can't even block a normal front effectively, and they are thrown something they've never seen before. Its very difficult to adjust your blocking scheme if you don't even understand your base. That's why adjustments were so difficult to make if not nearly impossible.
We have all heard that the last thing you want to be doing on the football field is thinking, you need to be reading and reacting. We were abused up front physically and mentally, 100% no excuses, you beat our ass at the point of attack on our offensive side of the ball.
It was a culmination of a lot of factors, but I can guarantee you that our adjustments this year to Bud's wrinkles will be very different than they were last year. Let alone the fact that we may actually have the ability to force our offense on to your defense.
It will certainly be fun to watch to say the least.
that's generous
7
But I think the O-line is too good this year to get abused like they did last year.
Well putting it that way, it is a darn shame we are returning everyone on D-Line... just sayin. What was it 6 sacks?
'_'
|
10 years 12 months
# | "Ohio State players ready for rematch with Virginia Tech" By Mark Berman he very rarely runs the exact same defense against a team two years in a row
not only does Paul Johnson completely disagree with you here, but he knows that there are 6 or 7 teams that run the exact same defense every year...it just comes down to who has better players. CPJ gives the advantage to OSU
I have facts too.