Another win, another week of drama surrounding Ohio State's underwhelming offense. Such is life on the quest of becoming just the fifth repeat national champion in the last 40 years.
This week, fresh off Urban Meyer reaffirming Cardale Jones is his starting quarterback, the Buckeyes look to right the offensive ship against the Broncos of Western Michigan. Will that happen? Will the Buckeye defense continue its dominance? We turn to Ramzy, Andrew and Kyle for those answers and more in the latest episode of the 11W Roundtable.
After much public unrest about the quarterback situation, Urban declared Cardale Jones his starter following Wednesday's practice. What's your take on the situation? Did he make the right choice? Or it is maybe even more important that regardless who he picked, he sticks with that guy for at least the near term as the offense searches for cohesion?
Andrew: I love both of these guys, but I have been on the Cardale bandwagon for a long time now. Maybe it has to do with his Twitter game or the fact that he was magnificent for the three biggest games of the 2014 campaign, but he has been my guy for a while now. After last week, I changed my mind and gave the nod to JT.
My take on this situation is that they need to roll with one guy and stop making this "dilemma" a weekly thing. Neither one of them has looked good since the VT game, so you can't really say that one has separated himself from the other. JT is getting my vote for a few reasons; primarily because he makes better reads and his intermediate passing game is superior to that of Mr. Jones. Cardale clearly has elite arm strength, but we haven't seen someone step up yet to fill the void of Devin Smith. Thus, the short and intermediate passing game is that much more important right now.
As we inch closer to conference play, I think sticking with one guy becomes that much more important. Huge fan of both, but JT has my vote at the moment. Meyer has raved about his intangibles and I think that could be something the team needs right now. Here's to hoping that Cardale (and his line) get back on track this weekend. I think he will and I believe it may put an end to the controversy – even though I am #TeamJT.
Kyle: Although Jones was the pick this week, I still think we'll see both QBs take meaningful snaps against WMU, as both are still auditioning for the role of full-time starter. Neither has outplayed the other by a wide margin in any game this season, and until someone does, we may see the carousel. However, once one guy clearly performs better, it's important to keep that guy as the full-time starter both in games and in practice. That way, they have time to build up a rapport with the receivers in time for November and beyond when the schedule gets much more difficult.
Ramzy: Without much separation between the two it's very hard to keep an arm and size like that on the bench. I imagine that when the snapping, sloppiness, playcalling and perimeter blocking issues sort themselves out Cardale will be the cheatcode dream Urban wants to have on the field. He isn't interested in 200 yards of rushing/250 yards of passing/35 points a game (I think those were Tressel's actual, stated game goals). He wants, probably, literally, double all of that. Cardale and the underperfoming personnel he has right now should be capable of that.
J.T. still gets to start at captain, presence and all-around wonderful teammate. He'll be fine.
Braxton Miller had just four carries for seven yards, zero catches and only a handful of snaps in the wildcat last week. What’s your take on putting him in that formation with OSU struggling to find continuity at QB and Miller yet to throw out of the set? Is it essential to ensure he gets enough touches? Does it take any pressure off Jones/Barrett?
Ramzy: The defense he faced Saturday was selling out to protect the edges and guard against against lateral runs that the Buckeyes proceeded to repeatedly run right into. It doesn't matter how many carries Braxton gets if they're doomed to fail. There are some things you can't spin out of. Oregon showed an odd front in the national championship game and Tom Herman ran counters against it all night long with success.
Andrew: I don't think Braxton in the wildcat is really taking any pressure off the other quarterbacks, but I do think it's necessary to keep giving him touches out of the formation. All of the weapons on offense may be making it tricky to get him the ball, so I have no problem with him taking some snaps at quarterback.
There have been some complaints about the offense being too predictable when he's lined up back there and that may very well be true. I think it's fairly obvious that he will throw the ball at some point down the road and I'm sure Urban will be asked about the likelihood of that every week until it actually does end up happening. He's one of the most explosive players in the country; throw it to him, hand it to him, snap it to him, do whatever you have to do.
Kyle: Braxton taking snaps should only occur in short-yardage or goal-line situations moving forward. Defenses will keep completely ignoring any potential passing threat and he'll be running against nine men in the box, for the simple fact that no one on this planet believes he is there to throw the ball. He's much more valuable coming in motion, taking handoffs, and getting the ball in space instead of between the tackles. I'd like to see him involved much more heavily in the screen game than taking snaps at QB in the future.
The playcalling always takes a hit from fans when OSU doesn’t score 100 points but I’m more interested in your thoughts on Ed Warinner as a whole. The OL has struggled and there’s also noise about the team’s OC not being up in the booth versus on the field. What’s your take on Warinner, the OL and playcalling through three games? Has he struggled to adjust to his new role?
Kyle: The OL has struggled to create running lanes the past couple weeks, without question. In my opinion, that's been the biggest problem with the offense and play-calling as a whole, as the staff seems to be adjusting the game plan in the middle of the game to account for these failures. They're forced to be 'cute' earlier than they'd like to, which is making their philosophy look disjointed. The run isn't setting up the deep pass as it did so well in the second half of last season. The noise about where Warinner sits is just that though, since there have been countless play-callers at every level that have had no problem calling plays from the sidelines.
Ramzy: 1) Failing to score 28 points a game with this personnel - one TD per quarter - is an objective failure of the coaching staff. 2) Jacoby Boren's snaps all seem to veer sharply to the right, and why that's been allowed to persist for three games is baffling 3) Billy Price has had three of the most forgettable games for an Ohio State offensive lineman since Jim Bollman was on the staff. That falls on the OL coach and the OC. Hey, it's the same guy.
My take is Warinner has head coaching aspirations and needs high profile OC experience for his resume (sorry, Kansas; sorry, Army). Helping coaches with necessary career fulfillment is an important part of any organization and Urban likes coaches who want their own program. If the performance suffers because of this, that fulfillment becomes secondary and a corrective action is made. The next two weeks - against very marginal defenses - are huge for him.
Andrew: Thinking back to last year's offensive line and how much they improved over the course of the season makes it tough for me to worry about the unit right now. The interior portion of the line has especially struggled, but I have faith that Warinner will get things turned around. I do think it's a little strange not to have the offensive coordinator up in the booth. At the very least I would expect Tim Beck to be up there.
It's been said before, but regardless of who the offensive coordinator is, this is Urban's offense. I don't think the playcalling has been especially bad, I think the biggest problem has been the execution. A lot of the complaints I've seen have been about Zeke and his lack of carries. I think that was probably a fair argument for the VT game, but he's carried the ball 50 times since then. Getting 27 carries against Hawaii is not a good thing, but it was probably necessary based on how the offense was struggling.
Urban and the offensive staff seem to be figuring out exactly what they have especially at receiver. Are too many guys playing or is it a myth rotating so many guys at the H and wide receiver spots can upset continuity? Would you like to see this handled differently or is this simply necessary early in the season?
Andrew: I think the rotation is still necessary at this point in the season. Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson's suspensions may have caused a few guys to get thrown into the fire a little sooner than planned. When you have so many skilled players all vying for one position, it makes sense to rotate them a bit. Over the next few weeks I would expect someone (Jalin) to settle into the WR spot opposite Michael Thomas, but I'm guessing the rotation at H-back will continue throughout the season.
Kyle: Getting guys like Parris Campbell and James Clark involved early in the year is fine, and a necessary way of finding who can contribute at this level. Once B1G play starts though, I'd expect the staff to start stabilizing who plays and when, much as they did last fall. In the mean time though, I don't think anyone is OK with the amount of touches Michael Thomas is receiving, as he's clearly one of the best players at any position on this team and has been abusing opponents in every game one-on-one.
Ramzy: There was an enormous gap between last year's seniors and Michael Thomas and everyone else on the roster in part because the WRs signed in the 2012 recruiting class were Thomas, Riquan Southward and Frank Epitropolous. Can you even name the last Ohio State receiver to show up and suddenly deliver results? Devin Smith had 14 catches in 2011. Jalin Marshall's receptions were skewed last year by pop passes. Braxton has played three games. Corey Smith...does too many Corey Smith things. Dontre Wilson does them too. James Clark and Johnnie Dixon had major surgeries.
This situation is about a one-year recruiting gap and tenure. Receivers especially take time to develop and they need to be both healthy and free from the proverbial doghouse to do so. It's going to be an uphill climb for Zone 6 regardless of how the coaches determine who sees the field.
I surmised OSU’s best starting front four could be (L-R) Tyquan Lewis, Adolphus Washington, Joey Bosa and Sam Hubbard thus putting Tommy Schutt on the sidelines especially in non-obvious rushing downs. What’s your take on the nose guard situation so far? Would you like to see the personnel handled any differently that what we’ve seen?
Kyle: As we saw last fall when Michael Bennett was at the nose, and later Washington, that position is an unforgiving spot that just eats up double-teams and allows others to make plays. Bennett's production increased while Washington's went down last year when they made the switch, and all of a sudden Adolphus is making all kinds of plays now that he's no longer there. On passing downs though, the 3-man line is causing huge problems thanks to athleticism provided by the blitzing linebackers, so there is no need to alter what they're doing. Let Schutt do the dirty work on early downs, clearing the path for Washington to make plays, followed by an aggressive zone blitz from one or more linebackers against the pass.
Ramzy: #WellActually Schutt has been disruptive as hell thus far, independent of the situation. That's a fun rotation though. Would like to see Jalyn Holmes break through over the next couple of weeks.
Andrew: It's tough to be critical of the defense right now, but I do think the nose guard situation could be a little better. The problem is that behind Schutt there are a number of unproven, younger players. I am intrigued by the notion of moving Bosa inside a bit more frequently. The emergence of Sam Hubbard definitely makes this a bit more feasible. I actually don't think Schutt has played too poorly, but moving Bosa inside a little more can help get your best players on the field more often.
Staying on the topic of defense, this group has been largely dominant ranking in the top 10 nationally in Total Defense, TO Gained, Team Passing Efficiency Defense and Pass Yards Allowed but just 28th in Rushing Defense (106 ypg). At the end of the year, will we look back on the 2015 defense as one of the best in school history? Why or why not?
Ramzy: Statistically it might be because there are some atrocious offenses left on the schedule to devour. The Buckeyes haven't faced a passer that can legitimately bother the back seven yet. I see exactly one - Conner Cook - on the schedule. We probably won't have the right context until the climax of the season and nope, not going to think about how 2006 ended or any parallels to it. Nope nope nope nope.
Kyle: There's a good chance, although we might not find out until the very end of the year against MSU and whoever they face in the postseason. Wherever they net out statistically though, NFL scouts might well make that declaration for us. As many as seven of the starters will be playing on Sundays next fall, with at least three (Bosa, Washington, & Lee) projected as first-round picks by some. On top of that, we're not even including guys like Raekwon McMillan or Gareon Conley, who very well could end up playing in the NFL further down the road. Make no mistake, the Buckeyes have not only recruited well on that side of the ball, but they're getting the most out of the talent that's made its way there.
Andrew: Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love this defense. I get excited when they take the field and always feel like a turnover could be forced at anytime. That being said, I do not think they will go down as one of the best in school history. I think back to the 2002 defense and remember a unit that seemed to consistently shut down both the running and passing games. I don't quite see the 2015 defense being that caliber, but maybe a notch or two below.
Vonn Bell, Joey Bosa, Adolphus Washington and Darron Lee have enjoyed solid starts and could easily be playing their final collegiate seasons before moving on to the NFL. Of this foursome which do you project as having the most successful professional career? Why?
Andrew: Love all four of them as pro prospects, but I am going to give the nod to Darron Lee. I look at the game Ryan Shazier had last weekend and I can see Lee doing the same thing on Sundays. I realize Shazier plays ILB in a 3-4 and that's probably not where Lee will end up, but I think he can be that kind of player. He can get to the quarterback, he forces turnovers and he can play the pass. Tough question, but Lee gets my vote.
Kyle: I think that depends on how we measure success. Bosa's penchant for freelancing may be what makes him a pro-bowler or only allow him to be a situational rusher at the next level, since he won't be able to simply overpower people like he does now. If we're looking for straight-up statistical production, I'd guess Lee could be a guy that ranks near the league leaders in tackles much like former undersized Nebraska linebacker LaVonte David has done in Tampa. However, it's tough to sustain that kind of production for a long time, and I could see Washington settling in as a cornerstone player on a good defense for a decade or more (much like Cam Heyward seems to be doing in Pittsburgh). Guys that are 6'6" and 300 lbs don't grow on trees, and good teams like Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Green Bay always seem to always find guys like him. If I were forced to bet on who of the quartet wins the most rings though, my money would be on Washington at this point.
Ramzy: Bell will play for a decade because he has classic ballhawk skills and can also effectively play the run. Lee and Bosa should have very nice careers, health-willing. I still don't know for sure if Adolphus is in the right spot on the line or playing at the three out of necessity.
The Buckeyes are a 27-point favorite heading into Saturday’s game. What’s your final score? Does Ohio State cover? Who is your game MVP?
Ramzy: They should win a 42-13ish game. Zeke will break 100, Lewis, Hubbard, Bosa and Lee will all get sacks and we'll still be asking ourselves after the game if this is going to be good enough. Ohio State: Where 4-0 makes you question everything.
Kyle: I'd guess that this is the week the OSU offensive line turns things around and looks like the unit we saw in January. Elliott will finally look like the Heisman candidate we've been expecting with multiple big runs and breaks the 150-yard mark, making both quarterbacks' jobs easier. Final score: OSU 49, WMU 10.
Andrew: I expect the offense to start clicking this week and I do think Ohio State will cover. The Broncos' passing game gashed Michigan State a few weeks ago and I think they will put up a couple scores. Give me the Buckeyes by a score of 50-17. Gareon Conley scores on a pick six. Jalin Marshall is the MVP.
