Skull Session: J.T. Barrett Improves, Big Play Ben Victor, and Not-So-Special Teams

By D.J. Byrnes on October 9, 2017 at 4:59 am
Denzel Ward crunches a Maryland bro for the October 9th 2017 Skull Session
182 Comments

Good morning, Buckeye Kingdom.

The local team won; that team up north lost, and we're attacking Monday like Denzel Ward protecting the Shoe:

via 11W PRODUCTIONS

You're damn right it's 40 hours later and I'm still mad about the call. Those (Michigan???) refs robbed us of the best play of the season thus far.

At least we'll always have that GIF.

ICYMI:

Word of the Day: Polyglot.

 AND THE GUNSLINGER FOLLOWED. J.T. Barrett (and the entire offense) played poorly against Oklahoma. This much we know.

It led to fans, including me, saying Urban Meyer should kick the tires on Dwayne Haskins.

Barrett, for his part, has improved in every game since Week 2. 

Against Maryland, he flashed the ability to throw receivers open.

From landgrantholyland.com:

However, against Maryland, at least a top-60 team, the improved performance from Barrett was much clearer to see. It wasn’t that he feasted on lesser talent (although that did happen), it was how he feasted; with unexpected arm strength, impressive anticipation, patience in the pocket, and touch when needed.

On the first drive of the game, Barrett was able to thread the needle to find Johnnie Dixon for a big gain. On the play, you can see the Maryland DB jump the route, anticipating an interception. However, Barrett put so much zip on the ball (not something that this QB is known for), that he was able to sneak the ball through for a 35-yard gain.

via 11W PRODUCTIONS

In addition to his increasing arm strength, Barrett also seems to be improving on his ability to put the ball in the optimum place for his receivers (and only his receivers) to come down with the ball. Later in the first quarter, Barrett fired a dart into the back of the endzone, high and in front of Binjimen Victor, where no Terp defender had a chance to get in the way.

The play calling, which used the one weird trick of accentuating players' strengths, has looked better, too. I'm still not sold on dicing a defense like Penn State's or Michigan's, but it's impossible to ignore the improvement—even if it comes against inferior competition.

If the local team improves every week, it's not going to be fun to play come November.

But that's not my problem.

 BIG PLAY BEN VICTOR. Ben Victor arrived on campus with an undersized frame that still screamed "playmaker." It didn't happen overnight, as Victor admitted earlier this year he had no clue what he was doing in 2016.

He hasn't dominated an opponent from start to finish, yet it's clear he's developing a red zone chemistry with Barrett that will be a problem for Big Ten defenses down the road.

They showcased their rapport against Maryland.

From theozone.net:

In the second quarter, after Maryland cut the Buckeye lead to 14-7, Victor capped the ensuing drive by beating a defender on a post route and bringing down an eight-yard scoring strike from J.T. Barrett.

It was the second week in a row that Victor scored, following his 23-yard touchdown against Rutgers. He finished the game with four grabs for 55 yards, and it was clear that he is starting to emerge as a top target close to the goal line.

via 11W PRODUCTIONS

“Down in the red zone, top shelf, that’s where the ball has to be based on coverage,” said Barrett.

I want to believe the receivers are maturing right before our eyes. I want to believe it so bad.

Nebraska is No. 63 in pass defense. Not sure that qualifies as a stiff test, but it will be another positive development if they repeat their performance under the lights in Lincoln.

 NOT ALL WAS NICE AND GOOD. My headline for the game:

OHIO STATE MAIMS MARYLAND IN MOST FRUSTRATING 48-POINT VICTORY OF ALL TIME.

Outside of Branden Bowen's season-ending injury, which I won't be ready to talk about until tomorrow, the most infuriating thing is Ohio State could've had 60 points in the first half without numerous special team debacles.

via 11W PRODUCTIONS

From Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch:

It goes by the name of special teams; for the Buckeyes, they were anything but special in an otherwise dominating performance. That coach Urban Meyer, a special-teams maven, seemed less than ebullient after the game, was tipping off what’s likely to be a special week of practice headed toward a game at Nebraska.

“There’s a lot of people upset about that and I’m one of them,” Meyer said. “We’ll find out.”

Consider the laundry list of miscues that had him bent over at the waist for an extended period after Sean Nuernberger, who was supposed to be the fix to the ills plaguing the kickoff coverage team with more accurate placement of his kicks, booted the second-half kickoff out of bounds.

via 11W PRODUCTIONS

Coaches love talking shit about respecting special teams like they're Jim Tressel. Meyer's special teams have been mediocre outside of Cam Johnston and when kicking off into the left corner of the field actually works.

It's a lot harder to set aside practice time to work on that, because after all, special teams is the smallest part of the equation.

He'll undoubtedly pay lip service about "getting this thing fixed," this week. I'll wait for the results on the field.

 WHO HAS IT WORSE THAN US? Voters don't recognize Ohio State as the No. 1 football team in the country. That's fine for now, because other fan bases have it much worse than us.

We start in Gainesville, where a moribund Louisiana State strolled into the Swamp and left with a 17-16 victory.

Afterwards, a punter and long snapper trolled Gator coach Jim McElwain.

From theadvocate.com:

After Florida went to Baton Rouge and beat LSU in 2016, Gators coach Jim McElwain told reporters "they got what the deserved," referring in part to the chain of events that brought the game to Louisiana.

After the Tigers held on for a tight win in Gainesville a year later, LSU punter Zach Von Rosenberg offered the same message.

He was joined by long snapper Jake Ferguson, who shouts: "And it should've been worse," completing the words said by McElwain. 

This is undoubtedly Urban Meyer's fault, though I have yet to figure out how.

And hey, Ohio State special teams may be bad, but we can find solace in Bert and Arkansas losing 27-10 to South Carolina in Columbia.

Hogs fans are fed up:

Poor, poor Hogs fans. Could you imagine thinking a guy named Bert was going to lead your program to the promised land in a division overlorded by Nick Saban?

It's almost as foolish as thinking the second best coach in the Harbaugh family would restore Michigan to national prominence. 

The Wolverines lost to the Spartans, 14-10, on Saturday night. Not sure if Sparty made a first down in the second half, either.

Blue's quarterback can't throw or act:

Prayers to Eddie McDoom's No. 1 fan after his favorite receiver dropped a key fourth quarter pass and an MSU DB owned him:

The result turned MGoBlog into Tinder for drunk horny men looking to fight the feelings of inferiority away:

Oh yeah, baby, keep the hits coming.

Woooooo. That hit will keep my high until next week. What else do you got for me?

I tried to warn Michigan fans about Harbaugh's antics.

If Michigan loses to Penn State and Ohio State to finish the year? I plan on eating popcorn among the ashes of the nuclear winter that will descend upon Ann Arbor.

It may take a nuclear winter to fix that offense, too. There are bottom-of-the-barrel NBA roleplayers with more offensive dimensions than the Wolverines right now. 

 SHOUTOUT TO STANDARD DEF. Targeting has come a long way since 2000... as have broadcasting abilities.

Doss would be sentenced to three years of hard labor for a hit like that in 2017.

 THOSE WMDs. A miscellany of words for whatever... Baryshnikov plays Nijinsky in the grip of insanity... Hackers find new way to rip off ATMs... Waymo vs. Uber: Unsealed court documents reveal damning evidence... The blind man who taught himself how to see... The rise and fall of AIM, the breakthrough AOL never wanted... You have Idris Elba's full attention.

182 Comments

Five Things: Ohio State Leverages Stout Defense, Special Teams Edge to Easily Dispatch No. 5 Indiana

Will Howard

Five Things to Know About Michigan As Buckeyes Try to Secure Big Ten Title Bid, Catharsis

Sherrone Moore
View 182 Comments