Links r Us
10-12-2004, 01:25 PM
Email this story
Commentary: Young Bucks taking their lumps
By Jon Spencer
Gannett News Service
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It would be easy to aim a low blow at the Buckeyes by saying the only time they showed any fight Saturday was during a post-game shoving match with the Badgers.
But that would be patently wrong.
For one thing, OSU's offensive linemen haven't shoved anyone all season.
And, for another, effort wasn't the problem for this Ohio State football team. Talent was. Mature, dry-behind-the-ears, talent.
It was the problem against a veteran Wisconsin squad that returned 19 starters from a year ago. In retrospect, it was probably even the problem against a Northwestern team with 19 incumbents who won four of their last six regular season games in 2003.
Ohio State, by comparison, welcomed back a Big Ten-low 10 starters.
Part of the reason Ohio State doesn't have an identity on offense is because when this season started we needed a program to identify many of the players on offense.
The only truly familiar faces were spectacular wide receiver Santonio Holmes and unspectacular tailback Lydell Ross, who soon may need to enter a witness protection program to hide from unhinged OSU fans.
Who were these faceless linemen with names like Doug Datish and Tim Schafer and Kirk Barton? How much did we really know about wide receivers Roy Hall and Bam Childress, other than that they were bit players before now? Would freshmen like Ted Ginn Jr. and Antonio Pittman be able to help right away?
Defensively, junior anchors A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter must be looking in front of them and behind them and wondering where everybody went.
Gone are defensive line stalwarts Will Smith, Tim Anderson and Darrion Scott. Gone are secondary playmakers Will Allen and Chris Gamble. You don't lose them -- and senior cornerback Dustin Fox for the last 3 1/2 games with a broken forearm -- without feeling a fall-off.
As it turns out, a steep fall-off.
End Simon Fraser, 30 pounds heavier and not nearly as mobile as he was when he arrived on campus, was the only senior starter on defense Saturday. Fox may return for Saturday's game at Iowa, but while heralding his comeback the Buckeyes are lamenting the loss of middle linebacker Mike D'Andrea for the rest of the season to a knee injury.
To its credit, Ohio State isn't using its youth or the departure of 14 players from last season to the NFL as an alibi. Yet. After winning a national championship in 2002 and a second straight Fiesta Bowl in 2003, they, like everybody else, thought they would be reloading, not rebuilding.
These are unchartered waters for the 3-2 Buckeyes and they are drowning in a sea of green (read: callowness). They are trying to come to grips with OSU's first two-game losing streak since the end of the 2000 season. They should forget about the Rose Bowl, Citrus Bowl and even Outback Bowl and start thinking about merely staying bowl eligible.
"It's tough to handle because we're not used to losing, let alone losing two in a row," Childress said. "It's do or die now. We have to get it together."
Do they get it together with the starting pieces already in place, or by shaking things up -- specifically at quarterback?
Many want to make struggling sophomore Justin Zwick the fall guy, especially in light of his dreadful performance Saturday. But put Purdue's Kyle Orton on an offense with a frighteningly bad running game and a line that would have trouble pile-driving Barney Fife and see how he would fare behind center.
Does that mean backup Troy Smith doesn't merit a look when Zwick is floundering? That would be a resounding "no." Until completing two of three passes in the final minute, Zwick was a woeful 2-of-10 for 25 second-half yards. He overthrew Santonio Holmes twice during the game and missed Ginn on a slant-in with nothing but end zone in front of him.
For reasons he isn't sharing, Tressel has obviously decided that Zwick and only Zwick is his quarterback for the long term. Fine. But did he learn nothing from that 1-of-17 stinkaroo from Steve Bellisari over the last three quarters of a 13-6 loss to UCLA in 2001?
Tressel needed to make a change to give the Buckeyes a chance -- has he never heard of relief pitchers? -- and to help Zwick get his bearings. He finished the game with a dislocated finger on his left hand, a sprained ankle and a bruised ego.
Of course, if the Buckeyes were making lineup changes because of bruised egos, they'd be down to their third-stringers by now.
"As far as this snowballing, I don't think so," Carpenter said. "No one is going to duck their head and walk away from this. We're going to stand up and fight. We've got quality guys with a lot of character."
Just not a lot of quality experience.
---
Jon Spencer can be reached at jpspencer@nncogannett.com.
Originally published Tuesday, October 12, 2004
http://www.centralohio.com/ohiostate/stories/20041012/football/1401098.html
Commentary: Young Bucks taking their lumps
By Jon Spencer
Gannett News Service
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It would be easy to aim a low blow at the Buckeyes by saying the only time they showed any fight Saturday was during a post-game shoving match with the Badgers.
But that would be patently wrong.
For one thing, OSU's offensive linemen haven't shoved anyone all season.
And, for another, effort wasn't the problem for this Ohio State football team. Talent was. Mature, dry-behind-the-ears, talent.
It was the problem against a veteran Wisconsin squad that returned 19 starters from a year ago. In retrospect, it was probably even the problem against a Northwestern team with 19 incumbents who won four of their last six regular season games in 2003.
Ohio State, by comparison, welcomed back a Big Ten-low 10 starters.
Part of the reason Ohio State doesn't have an identity on offense is because when this season started we needed a program to identify many of the players on offense.
The only truly familiar faces were spectacular wide receiver Santonio Holmes and unspectacular tailback Lydell Ross, who soon may need to enter a witness protection program to hide from unhinged OSU fans.
Who were these faceless linemen with names like Doug Datish and Tim Schafer and Kirk Barton? How much did we really know about wide receivers Roy Hall and Bam Childress, other than that they were bit players before now? Would freshmen like Ted Ginn Jr. and Antonio Pittman be able to help right away?
Defensively, junior anchors A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter must be looking in front of them and behind them and wondering where everybody went.
Gone are defensive line stalwarts Will Smith, Tim Anderson and Darrion Scott. Gone are secondary playmakers Will Allen and Chris Gamble. You don't lose them -- and senior cornerback Dustin Fox for the last 3 1/2 games with a broken forearm -- without feeling a fall-off.
As it turns out, a steep fall-off.
End Simon Fraser, 30 pounds heavier and not nearly as mobile as he was when he arrived on campus, was the only senior starter on defense Saturday. Fox may return for Saturday's game at Iowa, but while heralding his comeback the Buckeyes are lamenting the loss of middle linebacker Mike D'Andrea for the rest of the season to a knee injury.
To its credit, Ohio State isn't using its youth or the departure of 14 players from last season to the NFL as an alibi. Yet. After winning a national championship in 2002 and a second straight Fiesta Bowl in 2003, they, like everybody else, thought they would be reloading, not rebuilding.
These are unchartered waters for the 3-2 Buckeyes and they are drowning in a sea of green (read: callowness). They are trying to come to grips with OSU's first two-game losing streak since the end of the 2000 season. They should forget about the Rose Bowl, Citrus Bowl and even Outback Bowl and start thinking about merely staying bowl eligible.
"It's tough to handle because we're not used to losing, let alone losing two in a row," Childress said. "It's do or die now. We have to get it together."
Do they get it together with the starting pieces already in place, or by shaking things up -- specifically at quarterback?
Many want to make struggling sophomore Justin Zwick the fall guy, especially in light of his dreadful performance Saturday. But put Purdue's Kyle Orton on an offense with a frighteningly bad running game and a line that would have trouble pile-driving Barney Fife and see how he would fare behind center.
Does that mean backup Troy Smith doesn't merit a look when Zwick is floundering? That would be a resounding "no." Until completing two of three passes in the final minute, Zwick was a woeful 2-of-10 for 25 second-half yards. He overthrew Santonio Holmes twice during the game and missed Ginn on a slant-in with nothing but end zone in front of him.
For reasons he isn't sharing, Tressel has obviously decided that Zwick and only Zwick is his quarterback for the long term. Fine. But did he learn nothing from that 1-of-17 stinkaroo from Steve Bellisari over the last three quarters of a 13-6 loss to UCLA in 2001?
Tressel needed to make a change to give the Buckeyes a chance -- has he never heard of relief pitchers? -- and to help Zwick get his bearings. He finished the game with a dislocated finger on his left hand, a sprained ankle and a bruised ego.
Of course, if the Buckeyes were making lineup changes because of bruised egos, they'd be down to their third-stringers by now.
"As far as this snowballing, I don't think so," Carpenter said. "No one is going to duck their head and walk away from this. We're going to stand up and fight. We've got quality guys with a lot of character."
Just not a lot of quality experience.
---
Jon Spencer can be reached at jpspencer@nncogannett.com.
Originally published Tuesday, October 12, 2004
http://www.centralohio.com/ohiostate/stories/20041012/football/1401098.html