the Buckeyes...

[IamLEGENDsince87]

Buckeye fans (me included)/college football fans in general, what are realistic expectations for this years team?

[kayfngee]

I think first or second in the Big 10 should be a realistic goal for the Buckeyes this year. Pryor should be better as a passer and they have the whole spring to work on finding ways to use him better. I look for the defense to take a step back. It should be ok, but not as good as the last few years. I'm guessing they lose to USC at home and lose anywhere from zero to two games in Big 10 play.

[OSUFan_88]

At this point, who really knows.

I expect the offense/passing game to be much better now that Robo and Hartline are gone. Posey, IMO, is going to be the next great OSU WR. If Berry and Hyde live up to the hype, we could have a good running game as well.

That POS Boone if finally gone, so hopefully our QB's are not going to get pounded from the weak side anymore. I'm not too confident about our guards, although I don't know if Cordle is still there or not. The transfer from Michigan, Zach...something should be able to help out as well. Brewster getting another year under his belt will help.

The real wild card for the offense is if Tressel gets creative or if he continues with the 3 yards and a cloud of dust he's been using as of late.

For defense...who knows. The just graduated class took a lot of problems with them, ones that Tressel and Heacock refused to fix *Little Animal.* The secondary may be alright, although Anderson Russell needs to get back to being at least above average. I really like Sabino, Hines, and a few more LB'ers and hopefully they give Sweat a decent shot at winning the job.

Defensive line is...who knows. Lawrence Wilson I think is back again, as are a couple of others, but the real problem is up the middle. If we can get a push/speed at DT, then we will see the return of a great OSU defense. If we continue to be slow, "strong" run stuffers up the middle, then we are in some big, big trouble.

Again, it all comes down to coaching. I really think that Heacock and Bollman needed to be fired this year. If we have another year where we are embarrassed in the big game *USC* then we need to seriously start thinking about getting some new coaches in here that can coach.

Personally, I think Tressel is a few years away from getting canned if he keeps doing what he is doing. We are the running joke of NCAA football right now for our inability to win the big game, and that reminds me of John Cooper a little too much.

[Sportsbuck]

Quote: Originally Posted by OSUFan_88

Personally, I think Tressel is a few years away from getting canned if he keeps doing what he is doing. We are the running joke of NCAA football right now for our inability to win the big game, and that reminds me of John Cooper a little too much.

Are you joking?

Over the past four years we have won four consecutive Big Ten titles, played in four consecutive BCS bowl games with two of those being National Championship appearances, and had a Heisma winner. He's got Ohio State on his best streak ever against Michigan and is 7-1 overall.

The man has won over 80% of his games and has a national title on top of all that... and you think he should be fired if he continues that?

[OSUFan_88]

Quote: Originally Posted by sportsbuck

Are you joking? Over the past four years we have won four consecutive Big Ten titles, played in four consecutive BCS bowl games with two of those being National Championship appearances, and had a Heisma winner. He's got Ohio State on his best streak ever against Michigan and is 7-1 overall. The man has won over 80% of his games and has a national title on top of all that... and you think he should be fired if he continues that?

Yep.

He has gone to four consecutive BCS Bowl games, and has won....how many? His Heisman winner decided to suck in the biggest game of his career. Winning the Big Ten for four consecutive years is fine, but when there was literally no one to challenge you, it's pretty easy.

If I was the AD, I would have told him to fire his coordinators a long time ago. Tress is just way too loyal to his old buddies.

[Sportsbuck]

Quote: Originally Posted by OSUFan_88

That POS Boone if finally gone, so hopefully our QB's are not going to get pounded from the weak side anymore. I'm not too confident about our guards, although I don't know if Cordle is still there or not. The transfer from Michigan, Zach...something should be able to help out as well. Brewster getting another year under his belt will help.

Justin Boren is the name your looking for, he was the biggest standout performer of bowl practices, no one could beat him and he blew everyone off the line.

Quote:

The real wild card for the offense is if Tressel gets creative or if he continues with the 3 yards and a cloud of dust he's been using as of late.

You don't think that having a true freshman quarterback may have contributed to that basic offense? Or the fact that the oline couldn't block to save their lives?

Quote:

Again, it all comes down to coaching. I really think that Heacock and Bollman needed to be fired this year. If we have another year where we are embarrassed in the big game *USC* then we need to seriously start thinking about getting some new coaches in here that can coach.

There's only so much coaching you can do, the players have to do their part as well. It doesn't matter what play you call when Rey Malalauga is eating everyone's lunch up the middle, nor when Clay Mathews is destroying Alex Boone off the edge.

Bollman I can understand... how poor of a job he's done coaching the oline as of late is not acceptable at a school like tOSU. But Heacock? The man completely changed the defense for the better following the USC game. He flustered McCoy in the Fiesta Bowl and held one of the nation's most potent offenses to just 24 points.

The difference between the USC game and the Texas game is day and night as far as the defense goes. Against USC, our blitzes were extremely predictable and we didn't put any pressure on them and got destroyed. Against Texas we have a completely different defense that is coming at McCoy from all angles and just putting the heat on the man all night.

[OSUFan_88]

If Heacock coaches every game like he coached that Texas game, then he'll be alright.

Bollman should be gone. He's the offensive coordinator AND offensive line coach...and the offensive line has been horrible the last few years.

He's been given talent, he just cannot coach it. I seriously doubt that Bollman can coach in the new College Football that has spreads and relies on quickness.

[buckeyefan78]

Two losses: USC and at Penn State

Then you never know with Michigan