Special Schadenfreude: OSU on their QB and Offense Situation

Submitted by StephenRKass on

So, over at Eleven Warriors, one of the key Ohio State blogs, they have great discomfort over their team. Specifically, fans are really struggling with their QB situation, and with their offense. Here's a sampling of thread links:

LINK:  Chris Spielman, Bobby Carpenter, and Cris Carter on the QB Situation

Discussion on how they view the QB sit, with some tweets. Here's one:

Chris Spielman said he's doesn't know why Urban Meyer is going with Cardale Jones. Said the timing between QB & WR is not there.

LINK:  What's the Panic Meter with the Offense?

Discussion not just on QB situation, but entire offense. Here's a sample post:

If Ohio State doesn't beat this Maryland team by 28 points (the same Michigan beat them) and dominate throughout, panic is the right word. How could it not be? You'll have seen the team not perform as well as your rival against a common opponent, right before hitting the meat of the B1G schedule.

LINK:  This Offensive Debacle Finally Makes Sense

Convoluted discussion and theory on why things are going so poorly with Ohio State's offense.

Also, apparently their live board really melted down on Saturday, with extremely inappropriate and racist comments about Cardale. A good reason not to go to a totally live and totally anonymous chat.

For being 5 - 0, and the number one team in the country, Ohio State fans are really nervous and struggling. Oh, and one other thing. I haven't seen nearly as much in the way of thinking Harbaugh is a lousy coach. They still think he is half crazy, but not too many think he is a lousy coach. In fact, a lot of them really, really wish he would go to Miami:  they realize that the jig is up for OSU dominance in the Big 10.

This is the kind of schadenfreude I really love. I mean, the schadenfreude of Texas fans? That's just piling on. The schadenfreude of Buckeyes? Them are some delicious, tasty nuggets.

VicTorious1

October 5th, 2015 at 8:27 PM ^

I don't think that Ole' Miss or Georgia is worse than anyone that OSU has played.  In fact, I think they are likely better by a decent margin.  At the same time, I don't buy that Ole' Miss and Georgia are "legitimate" top 10 teams until they've gotten through the meat of their schedules.  Who have they played?  I'm not certain that OSU would've lost to either/both Georgia and Ole' Miss.  Perhaps they would have.  But who have either of those teams played?

Ole' Miss: UTM, Fresno State, Alabama, Vanderbilt and Florida.

Georgia: Lousiana Monroe, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Southern University and Alabama.

ThadMattasagoblin

October 5th, 2015 at 8:34 PM ^

Georgia and Ole miss aren't really that good but are much better than NIU/Hawaii/Indiana. The buckeyes had a couple of narrow escapes so I have a sneaking suspicion that they would not do well with a schedule like that based on the eye test. For now they are playing on the fumes of the 2014 national title until they beat someone good or start winning by more than one score against pathetic competition.

ThadMattasagoblin

October 5th, 2015 at 7:52 PM ^

All I'm saying is if they played the way they did against Hawaii, NIU, or Indiana against wisconsin , Ole Miss, or Georgia they'd be at 3-2 or 2-3 right now. Playing weak competition affords you the luxury of playing like shit and be undefeated as we saw in 2013 or MSU this year. If they don't improve they'll get plastered by someone good.

StephenRKass

October 5th, 2015 at 11:26 PM ^

If OSU and Michigan win out, and Michigan beats OSU, I would do many things I've never done in my 56 years.

  • eat a whole lemon
  • burn a couch
  • have a goofy smile on my face for days
  • buy and wear a Michigan jersey.
  • send glorious texts to my lawyer nephew who went to OSU and hung around the OSU sidelines.

Ok, I've had a goofy smile on my face before. When I got married. When my daughter was born. When we adopted twins. When my daughter got married, and when she moved away with the Navy. But as regards Michigan football, this would be the most epic thing EVER. I don't know if it could be topped for me.

Gofor2

October 6th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^

Just two games after OSU destroyed the hopes of another Michigan team, fired another Micigan coach! They beat the piss out of Saban and Alabama, the same coach that beat UM so bad recruits started decommiting.
The SEC is no more difficult than the BiG, not this year. There is Alabama, which UM can't beat, but OSU can. Beyond that they have nobody. I would rather us have to play anyone in the SEC to get to the playoff than have to play UM at the end of the year. No just this year, every year.

Gofor2

October 6th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^

That the OSU offense last year at this point averaged 6.37yards per play. It is the exact same this year, 6.37 yards per play. The major difference is two fold, red zone conversions have struggled, and turnovers lost.
Both of which should get better as the year progresses. I hope.

ThadMattasagoblin

October 5th, 2015 at 7:06 PM ^

Watching their game with NIU, I was surprised with how many bone headed decisions Urban made despite winning three national titles. I would move Braxton Miller to qb and play him.

UMProud

October 5th, 2015 at 7:22 PM ^

I know...late in the game they were running a typical offense instead of milking the clock.  Maybe that ex Nebraska OC was running the show who knows?  Very strange though...the only other thing I can think of is he was trying to keep stats/points up for the AP rankings?  

Definitely odd decisions though I do agree.

sum1valiant

October 5th, 2015 at 9:03 PM ^

Ummm, yep.  Throwing a single pass once every couple of weeks and throwing the ball 20-30 times per game are not the same (and this isn't considering the amount of reps he'd be taking in practice week in and week out).  He's had to major shoulder surgeries to repair torn labrums, one tear happening during normal throwing with zero contact just six months after the initial surgery.  Every report I read during the summer discussed how odd the second injury was and the immense difficulty he faced in being able to return to original form.  The entire story just sounds like he was never cleared to throw again, and they're rightfully protecting his privacy and not divulging that information.

Lastly, chicken or the egg on the depth chart thing.  I have a hard time believing that a Braxton Miller that never missed a snap due to injury isn't still running the offense today, but that's unverifiable.     

tsabesi

October 5th, 2015 at 9:18 PM ^

Even if he was cleared to play QB, after two major shoulder injuries it's time to start thinking about where he projects at the next level. No NFL team is going to take a chance on him at QB with that history, but he has the athleticism for other places on a football team so it's better for everyone if he starts to learn another position.

StephenRKass

October 5th, 2015 at 7:09 PM ^

I couldn't help watching the OSU - Indiana game on Saturday. My hopes weren't too high:  I figured Indiana would find a way to lose, and they did. But man, OSU fans had to be sweating bullets. They didn't look like a dominant world beating team against Indiana. And they lost one of their receivers, Corey Smith, to boot.

charblue.

October 6th, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^

centered around their running back, not throwing the ball downfield. They've got Braxton Miller who can outrun anyone and they've got Ezikiel Smith who is an incredible talent, what are these fans bitching about. You get Smith an opening, he's gone on any part of the field. You get Miller the ball in space, and he's gone no matter where he catches it.

Cardale Jones is a load. The guy is like Cam Newton without the speed. Not the best passer in the world but an incredibly strong arm. That is why he's the quarterback. Whether he works well with a bunch of first-year or inexperienced receivers is the same issue that Rudock has, without the same arm strength.

Michigan has more offensive issues than Ohio State. The fact they had problems with Indiana is because their defense allowed Indiana to make plays, not the offense. The offense saved their butt in the second half. If the offense had played like it did against NIU, then they have problems. Indiana played to win but typically found a way to lose.

Look, the pollsters will not move a No. 1 team off that perch until they nearly lose and get lucky or if they actually lose. So, all this bleating about the qb situation in Columbus could be stifled if they just made the running game the focal point and then developed the passing game as a change-up part of their game, which by the way, is how Northwestern operates.

charblue.

October 6th, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^

we are defensing against that popsickle stick qb and their backup running game. The only thing that scares me about Indiana is their tempo and getting an offensive rhythm, which doesn't allow your defense to make all those presnap reads and counter moves.

Wolverine Devotee

October 5th, 2015 at 7:13 PM ^

They better be alarmed if Maryland scores on them, much less make it a game.

Maryland is AWFUL. UNLV would beat them. (UNLV is on a 2-game win streak btw)

Willie Henry ate their QB.

Dawkins

October 5th, 2015 at 7:12 PM ^

It's entirely possible that team just played out of their minds for a 3-game stretch at the end of last season and that the actual talent level there is the type that loses to 6-6 Va Tech at the shoe and struggles against Hoke's 5-7 Michigan team.

M-Dog

October 5th, 2015 at 8:34 PM ^

I think Cardale Jones woke up and realized "Holy shit, I'm the QB for the #1 team and now I've got to play like it every week."

It all came so sudden last year, he really did not have time to think about it.  Now he has, and he has the yips a little bit.  He had to be 3rd string most of last last season for a reason.

Also, teams have learned that you have to tackle him.  Nobody is just giving him a little shove anymore like you do other QBs and then wind up surprised when he is still standing and heaves a 40 yard pass downfield.

 

evenyoubrutus

October 5th, 2015 at 7:15 PM ^

In all fairness, five games in to our 5-0 start in 2013 I think we were all pretty dubious about our team's ability to have a good season. And that was AFTER annihilating Minnesota in our first conference game. It's one thing to have a single anomalous bad game here or there, but this is becoming a pattern for them.