Good morning Buckeyes!
I hope you're enjoying your Tuesday morning. This is a week packed full of Buckeye football and it's only going to get better leading up to the season.
For instance, today we'll get the first installment of ESPN's all-access series on Ohio State, starting today at 5PM on ESPNU. It will be definitely worth watching, if for no other reason than Goebel's helmet camera.
So everyone needs to go record this for me and post it online since I don't have cable. Deal?
PRYOR SEES SOME NFL ACTION. After not seeing a single snap for the Oakland Raiders during his rookie campaign, Pryor finally saw the field in an exhibition game last night against the Dallas Cowboys.
Unfortunately for Mr. Pryor, his first game ended with an interception on 4th and 26, with 36 seconds left on the clock. As many pointed out, while Pryor possesses elite physical skills, there's a stark difference between college and NFL speeds.
RT
— Smart Football (@smartfootball) August 14, 201@thomasgower: Pryor was Al Davis's pet project. Without Al around, I'm not sure he's anybody's project, and he needs to be somebody's.
But it wasn't all bad for Terrelle in his debut. For one, he trended worldwide. So there's that. Furthermore, there was actual evidence of his progression as a quarterback. Second, he definitely had some good moments, including several nice scrambles reminiscent of his college days.
Look at Pryor. Making Dallas look like Indiana. No college QB was better at getting 8 on 3rd-7.
— Paul Myerberg (@PreSnapRead) August 14, 2012
The problem with that statement is that he was in 3rd and 7 situations way too often, a sentiment Pryor seems to share judging from his opinion on his past quarterback coaching:
Coming out of high school, I was just an athlete that just, whenever the guy was open, I didn’t know what I was reading,” he said. “When I saw a guy open, I threw the ball. Now, coming out of college, I learned to read defenses. I wasn’t blessed enough to be at a powerhouse that you learn that stuff as a quarterback. So, I’m working and I’m going to get good.
Pretty damning of someone, whether Scilliano or his high school, especially when "that stuff" (like reading defenses, audibling, etc) should be basic knowledge for college quarterbacks.
NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND. As Jason reported yesterday, a certain dreadlocked Michigan quarterback boasted that he could take on Usain Bolt, saying "I've watched him run, and I'm pretty sure I can beat him in a 40-yard dash."
Matt Hinton is similarly wary of this claim, and actually does the research to see how confident Denard should actually be. The article has a nice discussion about the prevalance of fake 40 times in college football, where no recruit seems to run anything worse than a 4.6. Hinton writes:
In fact, many track coaches consider anything below a 4.2 or even a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash physically impossible under standard track conditions, although no one really has any good idea because the fastest men in the world aren't timed or trained in the 40-yard dash. Only football players are timed at that distance, frequently under conditions that do not pass muster by track standards, resulting in exaggerated times that should be met with skepticism if not outright disbelief.
Pryor in the NFL, courtesy of @Landgrant33 YOU ARE NOW WATCHING THE THRONE. Stewart Mandel is, at least. The throne in this case is the BCS Championship, as Mandel does a comparative study of the common traits between the past six BCS winners from the SEC as well as their defeated foes.
His results are interesting, if not terribly surprising:
Over the past six years, the SEC's BCS champions have generally excelled by controlling the line of scrimmage, running the ball better, neutralizing the opposing quarterback and protecting the football.
As we've seen over and over again, a dominant defensive line is absolutely critical to BCS success, as is the running game and clock control. Hmm, that style of play sounds awfully familiar to something...
Oh yeah, Tressel Ball.
The good news is that Urban emphasizes an extremely similar style of play at the broadest strategic level. He places such an emphasis on special teams that he personally coaches them. He talks about the importance of field position and the running game. Finally, he spits mad wisdom:
“If you want a bad football team, have a bad defensive line.” -Urban Meyer
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) August 12, 2012
Couldn't have said it better myself, coach.
Mandel then goes on to pick the teams outside the SEC that have the best shot at unseating the king this year. Surprisingly, he picks Texas at the top, followed by Oregon, USC, Michigan State, and Florida State.
While Texas is developing the correct overall makeup - strong running game and defense - I see them being a year or two (and a true starting quarterback) before they truly reach the upper echelon again.
In my eyes, it's USC or no one this year. Sure, they lack an elite DL, but their offense shouldn't struggle to put up points.
DEBATING THE TWO-QB LOOK. Meyer caused some excitment at Ohio State's Media Days by saying that he'd drawn up a package to put Braxton and Kenny G on the field at the same time. Meyer then said that he told the two players about the possibility on Monday as well.
The reactions among the fanbase to this idea have been mixed: it reminds some of Urban's failed 2010 3-QB system at Florida, Braxton probably doesn't need to take any more hits than he has to, or why not stick the best 11 players on the field?
Honestly, I don't think this is actually a package we see on the actual field for more than two or three plays all season. Urban didn't have as much of a choice at Florida, when it was clear that he didn't have a true starter at quarterback. Now he has Braxton, so there's not as much reason to play multiple guys unless it can provide a spark.
Of course, on the flip side, that also means that it might actually be successful once or twice. The experiment of multiple QBs failed in 2010 because there was no single really talented quarterback - that's not a problem with Braxton. Further, I'd take Braxton's athleticism over any of Meyer's other TE/FB/QB hybrid players.
Regardless, there's no need to get too worked up about these statements. Maybe we get a big play once or twice during the season from a Kenny G to Braxton screen pass, maybe not. Either way, it won't be the core of the new offense.
AND IMA LINK HARD. The AIRBHG is real and his power shouldn't be underestimated. You may now pay proper respect by wearing a AIRBHG t-shirt... For Ohio State masochists out there, enjoy this list (and then debate it!)... The SEC as Game of Thrones characters=awesome... OSU clocks in at 2nd in B1G rankings of secondaries. Too high?... The whole family is getting Auburn tattoos. Uh... Some awesome OSU research that makes me want to keep reading Clive Cussler... Fusion reactors sound cool... Worst names in football... Good Lord.
