COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer met with the media Wednesday evening following practice. He provided some updates on his football team and also looked ahead a bit to Illinois on Saturday. Here are the highlights.
+ Jerome Baker has been cleared and he will play. Dante Booker is still questionable. Meyer isn’t going to get into who will be playing where.
+ Meyer believes they have found their identity offensively. This is a very balanced offense right now, but that still depends on what the defense gives you and how things are going. They did a great job of getting the ball to the tailbacks last week and that will continue to be a focal point.
+ Mike Weber wasn’t full speed the first half of the season. He had a great week of practice so far. He is full speed now.
+ There isn’t really a battle for the backup spot right now because it’s hard to do that during the season following Joe Burrow’s injury. He is full go and on call.
+ This is a wonderful group of seniors. This is a special group. “And I’m indebted to them. We ask them to jump and they say how high.”
+ Senior Day ceremonies don’t really impact the game. Once the foot hits the ball, you move to football. And then next week is Senior Tackle. It also depends on the group. Just because you’re a senior doesn’t mean you’ve earned anything, but you don’t want this group to leave.
+ There are no other injuries out of the blue like Baker and Booker coming that Meyer is aware of right now.
+ It can be awful preparing a game plan when you have a young quarterback. There will be some anxiety next year. There is a comfort zone you have with a Tebow or Braxton or J.T. Barrett.
+ Illinois is a very young team. They are in a complete building mode. “They’re betting the ranch on them.”
Urban stated earlier in the season that he wanted other teams to fear the balanced O. If opposing teams don’t fear the run or the pass, the D will clamp down on one or the other. No doubt did OSU do much better giving the RB’s the ball, but they also did a terrific job with their blocking and new blocking schemes that lead to a faster Weber rushing for his buck sixty two gashing MSU pretty much up the middle. That wouldn’t have happened if our sideline passing game wasn’t sharp with nifty receivers who made certain that MSU paid close attention to the sideline! Believe that JTB forced passes in the IA game, instead of taking what IA gave them. His first pic against MSU was late in the first when he was forcing the ball due to time constraints. He threw some nice balls, but his Red Zone passes left something to be desired.
I think all he’s saying is, he has more trust in a seasoned quarterback. If you know football, you DO the things the defence gives you. If they’re loading the box with nine players and giving you the long ball, you throw the long ball. If the defence is playing in front of the receivers, you throw underneath. The best chance for an offense to make plays is reacting to what the defence is doing. Simple football.
ED- OR, you force your will on the defense. Its not a rocket science comment to say a coach trusts a seasoned qb more than a rookie- the key is to read between the lines of what this particular coach is saying.
When Barrett plays awful, the media asks Meyer about the back ups. Then he said they arent game ready. Now he says they are ready to go. Now after never giving the back ups any playing time he is already making excuses for next year saying there will be some anxiety next year>
Eric- yep, I noticed that too. Unless I am greatly mistaken, each QB he named in the example were “young” quarterbacks at one time. To his credit- if that’s the word- Meyer sure snowballs a lot of folks with this kind of qualifying. He’s just building a nice soft landing spot for next year, when any legitimate criticism for himself is voiced, like it was this year. OSU is not the place to soft pedal expectations, Coach- that’s for UM.
I’m not sure what you guys are reading i to these comments. Burrow has been on call since he returned. As has Haskins.
A coach walks out onto the practice field beginning Spring ball and states in no uncertain terms. “We recruited every single one of you because we believe that you’re the rights fit for Ohio State and THIS program. You know exactly what to expect in your classrooms and now you will be clear on what we expect for your athletic scholarship. We operate a power spread run base offense. Learn it, get comfortable with it because THAT’S WHO WE ARE. THAT is our identity.
CEO Meyer. YOU don’t recruit anyone who doesn’t fit your offense. If you do………you’re an idiot who is doing nothing but candy shopping rather than recruiting for immediate results.
Bullet point number 2…here we go again. Was it REALLY that difficult to “find” this team’s offensive identity? The coaches ignored it for weeks at a time is more like it. Notice how he qualified the heck out of his comments… “depends on what the defense gives you, and how things are going”. What? Don’t good offenses TAKE from the defense there, coach? The Illinois game needs to be loaded with rushes by players who are NOT the quarterback, as does UM.
Yes, here we go again. You guys are nothing if not predictable. And now you’re saying COACH Meyer is an idiot if he recruits a player who may not fit what you think his preferred type of offense is? SO, you’re implying that COACH Meyer should pass on a blue chip 5 Star player who is being recruited by every top team in the nation but who wants to go to OSU because he MAY not fit into your idea of what OSU’s offense it? Here’s an idea: Why don’t you give COACH Meyer a call and tell him what you think? Then post back here and tell us how the conversation went. It should be amusing.
Hey Walt- we’re in your head….
Sunshine pumpers and yes men are the ones who are predictable. Stroke the ego of the CEO. Recruiting players that do not fit the problem is I D I O T I C, period, and, it doesn’t make any difference how many stars he has, or what the experts think his talent represents. If a player doesn’t fit the system it will not function the way it’s designed, or to its fullest potential. Just like fast athletes don’t always translate to fast football players and visa versa.
You fear those who oppose your narrow between the eyes point of view because it challenges the god complex you’ve associated with CEO Meyer. Step away from the prepared soundbytes and think for yourself.