Buckeye Monday on Tuesday

Buckeyes Win Season Opener

In front of an opening day record crowd of 105,092 (most quiet) fans, the Buckeyes squeaked out a hard fought 31-27 win over a pesky Navy team. With so many questions floating around about this team before the season started I was anxious to see if any of them would be answered in the first game.

#1 Would Pryor show more poise in the pocket and accuracy on his throws?
#2 Would the offensive line show any improvement from last year?
#3 Would Boom Herron and Brandon Saine be able to pick up the running game after the loss of Beanie Wells?
#4 Would the new linebackers demonstrate the ability to play disciplined and fast against Navy’s flexbone offense?
#5 Wound any of the new players stand up and make a name for himself during the game?

My answers to these questions follow here……

I thought Pryor looked great for the entire game. A few dropped passes and one untimely interception took away from an otherwise very solid performance. My biggest concerns going into this year was his ability to be more consistent with his mid-range passing game. Although his throwing motion is still a little mechanical he certainly demonstrated the ability to hit the deep outs and crossing patterns to his receivers. This was a welcome sign of improvement as these types of plays will help to open up the running game as well as the deeper passing attack. He showed a willingness to run with the ball when necessary and he still has the ability to shake off would be tacklers with relative ease. Overall, I think the game was a positive first step for him.

The offensive line was the biggest disappointment for many Buckeye fans. The ground game clicked when running to the outside on sweeps and options but seemed to always slow down during attempts to run between the tackles. I don’t have any specifics to point out other than the Buckeyes outweighed the Navy front three by over 40 pounds a man. I was hoping that at the very least they would be able to run inside behind Boren and Miller on the left side. This was not the case. Much improvement needs to be made in the next five days before USC rolls into Columbus. Unfortunately, Coach Bollman has never shown the ability to produce radical improvement by this unit on a game-to-game basis. I guess I’ll have to cross my fingers and hope for the best for next weekend.

I thought the combination of Herron and Saine was pretty effective. The both ran hard on the inside and outside of the line. Saine in particular seems to have bounced back nicely from an injury plagued season last year. I’m optimistic that the Buckeyes can count on 150 years out of these two every game.

After giving up a long touchdown drive on Navy’s first possession, I thought Coach Heacock made some great changes to the defense. The defense was able to effectively control the Navy offense through the middle of the third quarter. Brian Rolle was all over the place playing with speed and attitude. He’s going to be fun to watch during the rest of the year. Hollman was solid if not spectacular on one side. Austin Spittler was slated to open the year as the starting middle linebacker replacing James Laurinitis. He debut was disappointing to say the least. I think Jermale Hines played better and should get the start against USC. He’s just plain faster than Spittler and we’ll need all the speed we can muster against USC and their never ending options at tailback.

New players stepping up included Rolle, Hines, and Duron Carter (he’s going to be special). Each made enough plays (in Rolle’s case…he made THE play at the end of the game) to warrant continued playing time. Although not “new” to the system I thought Dex Larimore and Thad Gibson looked good playing on the d-line and Kurt Coleman made numerous plays throughout the game from his safety position

I have to admit that I had left my seat with ten minutes to go in the game so I missed Navy’s furious comeback. Sportscenter highlights provided views of both the good and the bad plays that I missed. In the end a win is a win so I’m happy. Navy is a tricky team to prepare for. They are disciplined as hell and are not afraid to run the ball down the field three or four yards per play. I was very impressed with Ricky Dobbs at quarterback. You never think of Navy as being able to pass the ball when the situation calls for it but he made some nice throws that certainly kept Navy in the game.

Over all………what worked?

Well, Pryor impressed me on several fronts (mentioned earlier). He’s gotten better at throwing on the run (right side only….definitely not moving left). He completed several “touch” passes over the linebackers but short of the safety help on several plays. Those were not passes he showed he could make last year. I thought he made great decisions running the option and he can still be a force when he decides to run with the ball. Again, tacklers seem to bounce off him on initial contact. He reminds me even more this year of Vince Young as a runner. He’s just so big and fast.

The running game was competent but and I like the different looks that using Saine and Herron allow for. I didn’t walk away from the game with any significant worries about the running game.

Having read numerous articles about never using the tight end in the passing game, I was pleasantly surprised with how much Jake Ballard and Jake Stoneburner were used. At the very least throwing to the tight end in this game will give other teams something to prepare for in upcoming games.

For once, I was pleased with the in-game changes Heacock made to deal with the Navy attack. I was sitting in the Navy section in the upper deck and was a little disappointed with how easily they marched down the field to match our opening score. I turned to the guy sitting next to me and commented that we usually struggle with the opposing offense for at least the first half before changes are made at halftime. Happily this was not the case as adding more speed on the field seemed to be the change that helped to shut down Navy for the next two quarters.

What didn’t work?

This is easy. The offensive line was underwhelming at best. I didn’t see any great improvement from last year and we totally lacked the ability to run between the tackles for the entire game. This has to change…NOW. Unfortunately, there is no reason for me to believe this is going to happen.

I was happy to see Taurian Washington get a chance to play. Unfortunately, his two drops proved very costly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get the start next week but I expect to see more Duron Carter. That’s fine with me.

The Spittler experiment at linebacker may be over before it gets started. As mentioned earlier, Hines saw significant time and demonstrated he can be a force at linebacker. I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of Etienne Sabino. By all accounts he’s big, fast and mean. Sounds like the perfect mix to throw at USC next weekend.

I think the team and the fans totally let their collective guards down in the second half. Taking a 20-7 halftime lead seemed to take the air out of everyone’s sails. It was hot as hell in the Shoe on Saturday and the students were not back on campus (and won’t be for another few weeks). Maybe the heat, the lack of students and an early comfortable lead can be blamed for the second half showing. I think the coaches and the team captains need to do a better job of keeping the team focused for the full sixty minutes. Certainly for next week.

What does it all mean?

This team has a long way to go before it can rightly be considered a viable contender for a BCS bowl bid. I don’t see any way they can hang with USC next weekend. I don’t see a blow out like last year but the result will be the same. Night games in the Shoe are always tough for the opposing teams. Matt Barkly will be making his second start and it should be a great game. I hope the fans do a better job cranking up the volume for the entire game. I’ll go with 31-17 USC. Additionally, I’m still liking my overall 9-3 prediction made in the Buckeye Preview on this blog a few weeks ago.

On a side note, congratulations to the Wolverines. I didn’t see any of the game but by all accounts the play of Forcier was better than expected and the defense stepped up in the game. I hope all UM fans are excited about the promise shown on Saturday. Keep it up. 75 days until….The Game!!!

Go Bucks!!!

Buckeye John