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QBs are judged by championships

unfairly, but that's the deal

The Schiano thing speaks to another sort of splintered perspective. You're saying the coach would've addressed it early on. I assume you mean early last season, maybe after the suspension? Because here's the thing. You know who built the two best OSU defenses in the Urbs era? That'd be Schiano. His first two were better than Ash's, notably better. Should he have been fired after doing that back-to-back years? Or are we prisoners of rather emotional moments.

As to the Schiano thing, I was using this as an example of Meyer's loyalty. Last season when the defense was giving up chunk plays to EVERY TEAM THEY PLAYED (even Oregon St), there should have been a "Come to Jesus" moment between Meyer and Schiano. (The first thing I would have done is told him that he cannot play exclusive man to man coverage as half the defense was playing with their backs to the ball).

Did that happen? I don't know, but I do know that things never got better. I truly believe that Meyer gave Schiano too much freedom to leave it alone and hope it got better. I also believe that had Meyer come back this year, Schiano would have been welcomed back with open arms.

Is the issue that Schiano was too wedded to scheme, whether he had the talent for that scheme or not?

For example, if he had an aggressive attacking defense that relied on players being able to perform in straight man coverage, and he HAD players that were capable of doing that, he could have the two best defenses in the Meyer era. And then if he stuck to that scheme despite the fact that his players weren't capable of holding up in straight man coverage, all of a sudden the exact same defense would lead to big chunk plays.

You have to recruit to fit your scheme, or you have to scheme to fit what you've recruited. It sounds like maybe he failed to find the right pieces for his scheme but never adjusted. 

OSU put a CB into the 1st round and a safety into the 2nd round of the 2016 draft. They then put two CBs and one safety into the first round of the 2017 draft. 

Since, 1 first round CB into the 2018 draft, and one 4th-round CB into the 2019 draft. 

Maybe they just didn't have the horses for the scheme in the 2018 season, and Schiano never did anything to adjust?

Is the issue that Schiano was too wedded to scheme, whether he had the talent for that scheme or not?

For example, if he had an aggressive attacking defense that relied on players being able to perform in straight man coverage, and he HAD players that were capable of doing that, he could have the two best defenses in the Meyer era. And then if he stuck to that scheme despite the fact that his players weren't capable of holding up in straight man coverage, all of a sudden the exact same defense would lead to big chunk plays.

You have to recruit to fit your scheme, or you have to scheme to fit what you've recruited. It sounds like maybe he failed to find the right pieces for his scheme but never adjusted.

OSU put a CB into the 1st round and a safety into the 2nd round of the 2016 draft. They then put two CBs and one safety into the first round of the 2017 draft.

Since, 1 first round CB into the 2018 draft, and one 4th-round CB into the 2019 draft.

Maybe they just didn't have the horses for the scheme in the 2018 season, and Schiano never did anything to adjust?

This runs deeper than simply placing the blame for the defensive failures strictly on Shciano. The other defensive coaches share in some of the blame also, such as Alex Grinch. But I believe that is was Schiano's scheme to stay in man to man coverage despite the big plays there were giving up.

I believe that in the seasons prior to 2018, they did have the personnel to play his schemes for the most part. However, the issue last year wasn't necessarily tied strictly to the DB's. The LB's were a major part of the problem also. They were out of position on many occasions and forced into coverage's that took them out of position to make plays and limit chunk plays.

Knowing this, they never adjusted to the personnel they had. IMHO, they just kept hoping that the players would just get better I guess. But the scheme didn't change much.

However, now those same players are still in the defensive line up and are making the plays they didn't make last year. Some of that is maturity. But a lot of the players have stated that they have learned a lot from the new defensive coaches, especially Jeff Hafley. They have said that the coaching staff has simplified the defense and it has allowed the players to play without having to over think their assignments. Without being there myself to witness it, I have to take their word for it.

But all of that being said, my point is that Meyer was loyal to certain players and coaches to a fault. I remember reading that he considered Schiano a close personal friend. The Zach Smith situation demonstrates some of this. Smith was a terrible receivers coach. He finally gets let go, they hire Brian Hartline and all of a sudden, players that were mediocre in the past, are being drafted in the early rounds. Go figure.

As for JT Barrett. I still am very happy that he was our QB for 3 1/2 years and appreciate everything he did for the team. He will be considered an all time great. All I was saying in his regard is that when you see what Burrow is doing at LSU, it kind of makes you think what has changed for him and why wasn't he able to crack the starting lineup in Columbus. It is just frustrating that we HAD a QB that is about at the same skill level as J. Fields all along, but we never utilized him. I'm not upset with Barrett, just bewildered that had Burrows been given a chance, maybe we make the playoffs last year. (But as bad as the defense was, it is probably a good thing we didn't).

But as for how things have worked out, if I could go back, I probably wound't change a lot. We have fields for at least 1 more season and the team is looking as good as they ever have. 

Cardale Jones was a first round draft pick in name only.  How's that working out?


Oh, and NFLness has little to do with college greatness.  Barrett had an all-time great career, and maybe when he's 50-60 years old, he'll get his due.  But the way he's treated by OSU people is sad.

You are only seeing (hearing) from the vocal minority of negative noras that every fan base has. Most of us appreciate JT for who he was and what he did. 

That said we are always disappointed when we don't go 15-0 and win the national championship. 

The owner publicly came out and supported Trump.  Penn State fans are college educated and the big drinkers are millennials. Neither is exactly a hot demographic for Trump supporters.

That's funny because Trump doesn't drink - sure acts like it some times.Him and Zack Smith should tweet each other

As for the Entitlement aspect, maybe OSU fans do feel that way. But when you break down last season for what it was, it becomes quite apparent that the coaching staff let this team down. Sure they went 13-1 last year, but that defensive performance kept them out of the playoffs. And Almost all of the same players are back this year. A defense that was ranking outside the Top 50 in the country, is now arguably one of the best in the country. THAT is on the coaches last year.

NOB bringing his A game.Ya BS on the entitlement thing.I was a wee little lad when the '68/69 Buckeyes won the whole thing.Had to wait 34 yrs for the next.Being a Browns/Indians fans I've never witnessed a Trophy raising.But damn when you get the chance pull out all the stops - it is never certain you get back.Saban realized that 2 yrs back at half time of a National Championship Game do what's good for the Program not a player

Wait, we can’t be invoking the time he had Smith and Thomas. 

You invoked that you thought JT was a record setter,I'm pointing out the NFL talent that surrounded him his 4 seasons of play.It's easy to be a saint when some one else is setting the stage for your miracles.We had a known quality in a decent running QB who couldn't go over the top.Yet there were 2 guys who could stretch the field behind him.Saban took the chance Urbz didn't - pretty simple stuff.These were being discussed on the Buckeye Boards ad nauseam during the 2016 season