Buckeyes are fun, Browns are not: While We’re Waiting…

Happy Sunday, WFNY!

With Ohio State playing their first game of the season last night, this sure felt like a Sunday morning when I woke up. But then I remembered I had to go to work. So let’s try that again.

Happy Monday, WFNY!

Ah, yes, the first day of the work week. It must be Monday. It sure felt like a Monday as I made my commute into work this morning. But then I remembered that yesterday, Monday, was Labor Day. So one more time.

Happy Tuesday, WFNY!

I hope everyone had a spectacular Labor Day weekend. Hopefully you all had a weekend every bit as relaxing as mine was.

My internal calendar is all screwed up right now. It’s tough going into work the day after an Ohio State night game. It doesn’t happen often, but the last time it happened was the National Championship game. This one didn’t have quite the same euphoria hangover to it. I guess I’ll resort to coffee to get me through the day. But there were plenty of football related things that happened, so lets talk about a few of them.

*****

Of QB Decisions and Play Calling Confusion

Here’s the part where I feel the need to preface this by pointing out how much I love Cardale Jones. He is a Buckeye hero who will never, ever be forgotten for what he did for this University last year. He is an engaging personality, he is unafraid to speak his mind and share his opinions, and his story of where he was with this team a couple years ago to where he is now is simply incredible. He is everything you want in a college athlete.

But I don’t understand the decision to start him over JT Barrett. I know, I know….the Ohio State coaches know a million times more about football, this team, and these players than I do. I’m not saying my opinion matters. I’m simply sharing my feeling that I don’t understand why Cardale is the starter.

I’m struggling to really see a compelling argument for Cardale being a better QB than JT Barrett. Cardale has a stronger arm, for sure. And when you had a guy like Devin Smith who could burn past any defensive back in the country, it was a nice deep threat.

But in the regular Ohio State offense (not the offense they ran in those final three games last year, which was basically a mix of Ezekiel Elliott runs and deep throws down the field), Cardale isn’t a great fit. Ohio State doesn’t have a deep threat WR right now and they apparently don’t have a desire to give the ball to Elliott anymore. Which puts immense pressure on Cardale to be a very different QB than he was last year.

Cardale didn’t have a very good game against Virginia Tech. He made some amazing throws out of really poor decisions. And that’s what is so tantalizing about Cardale. He seems to make so many questionable decisions on the field, but they somehow always seem to work out for him. And maybe that “it” factor is what the coaches decided to go with. But Cardale didn’t play particularly great last year, either. People have short memories and everyone seems to have forgotten how dynamic and explosive the Ohio State offense was with JT Barrett. Ohio State didn’t win the National Championship because Cardale Jones came in and turned around the offense. No, they won the title because the defense made a miraculous 180 in those final three games compared to how they played in the regular season.

It’s crazy that JT Barrett was voted a team captain as a sophomore by his fellow teammates. He’s the first sophomore captain in the history of Ohio State football. Trying to wrap your mind around the concept of a QB being named captain as a sophomore and the coaches then turning around and giving the starting job to a different guy is crazy. And that’s the luxury Ohio State has right now. JT Barrett would start for almost every other team in college football. And yet the coaches on this team feel Cardale gives them a better chance to win. I’ve never seen anything like this.

I don’t really have a problem with Cardale starting. I just think the team is sitting the better QB and as a fan, that keeps this nagging feeling in the back of my head that this team isn’t going to reach its full potential. But honestly, this Ohio State team is so loaded with talent that it really doesn’t matter. Ohio State can and will win a lot of games with either guy at QB. So this isn’t really a complaint on my end. More of just an observation of my own confusion with the decision to start Cardale over JT.

If I have a complaint about anything, it’s the play calling. If you’re going to go with Cardale Jones at QB, you should probably run the same offense you ran with him last season. Instead, the team tried running the JT Barrett offense with Cardale. That doesn’t work as well. Cardale is a big, tough QB and the designed QB draws are great plays. But running any kind of option game where you ask Cardale to run laterally just doesn’t work as well.

I said all last year that the thing I liked about those three games with Cardale at QB is that his presence made it easier for the team to focus on pounding the ball into opponents with Zeke and just wearing down the defenses. And just when the defense was feeling tired and exhausted, that’s when they would strike and try to make a big downfield throw. If Cardale is the starter, that’s the offense I want to see.

So it was confusing to see Zeke more or less completely ignored last night. On Ohio State’s first drive, Zeke had zero carries. Then on the next drive, on his first carry of the season, he took the ball 80 yards for a TD. Then on the next drive, he had zero carries again. On the following drive he picked up 11 yards on the first play of the drive. Then no more carries. He ended the half with three rushes. I often felt that previous offensive coordinator Tom Herman would routinely forget about the RBs, whether it be Carlos Hyde or Ezekiel Elliott. But now with Ed Warinner calling the plays, it almost seemed to be worse. So what’s going on? Is it the system? Is it just a case of trying to avoid running at the esteemed Virginia Tech defense? Is it weird to complain about play calling in a 42-24 win?

A win is a win. There was plenty to like as a fan in last night’s game. There was also a lot to improve on as well. Or, to paraphrase one of my favorite quotes, it showed tremendous opportunity for improvement. In other words, it was good. But it could be even better. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the Big Ten.

*****

A moment for Braxton Miller

This wasn’t the way it played out in Braxton Miller’s dreams, I’m sure. On June 3, 2010, Braxton Miller announced his decision to go to Ohio State. Head coach Jim Tressel had to be thrilled. Braxton had to be excited. But then everything went to hell for the program.

By May of 2011, Jim Tressel had resigned as head coach in wake of the tattoo and memorabilia scandal. Luke Fickell was named interim coach. Joe Bauserman was named starter for the 2011 season. In Week Four of that season, Fickell turned the program over to Braxton Miller, who went on to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Braxton was the one fleeting beacon of hope in an otherwise dismal and bleak season.

The 2012 season saw Ohio State land Urban Meyer to take over as head coach. That excitement was soon dulled, however, as Ohio State was deemed ineligible to take part in the 2012 post season. That team could have unraveled and fallen apart. But they didn’t. And Braxton Miller took his game to the next level in leading Ohio State to an undefeated 12-0 season. Braxton would be named Big Ten Player of the Year in both 2012 and 2013.

In many ways, Braxton helped keep the Ohio State program together and strong as it went through an ordeal that was dismantled so many other powerhouse programs. I will forever be grateful to Braxton for his role in keeping the program strong through those tough, dark years. So it was heartbreaking to see him lost the entire 2014 season to injury, and it was equally tough to realize that he probably wasn’t going to get his starting QB job back in 2015.

But as always, Braxton didn’t let his situation define his outcome. Instead, he just did what he always does and improvised on the fly. Rather than sulk, rather than transfer, Braxton instead dedicated himself to changing positions so he could still help this team win. And boy did he help this team in a big time way in Game One. Braxton Miller is an incredible athlete. His feel for running with the football is unparalleled. And he showcased how those skills will help him as he continues to develop and learn the H-back position.

I just couldn’t be happier for someone than I am for Braxton Miller right now with the performance he had last night.

*****

A few other quick thoughts on the Ohio State-Virginia Tech game

• I was a little underwhelmed with the defense. Losing Joey Bosa was big, but still, I thought the defense seemed a little hesitant and tentative. They weren’t quite the same attacking defense we saw in those final three games last season. It will be interesting to see how things change when Bosa returns.

• Ezekiel Elliott was mostly ignored as a ball carrier, but he still had a huge impact in that game. Elliott was a monster in the blocking game. He was picking up every blitz flawlessly and he was routinely leading the way for Cardale Jones on his designed QB draws. A muffed punt aside, it was a strong night for Zeke in a game in which the coaches didn’t often call his number. That’s the sign of a great football player.

• It was a quiet night for Michael Thomas, but he still had a couple opportunities to showcase his skills. He was defended most of the night by one of the better CBs in college football, and on a couple plays Thomas made Kendall Fuller look silly, either flat out beating him or drawing a pass interference call.

• For the first game of the season, I thought it was a pretty cleanly played game. The refs didn’t make too many egregious errors, there weren’t an abundance of holding penalties, and there weren’t any dirty plays. Things can sometimes be a little sloppy in the first game, especially when it’s a big primetime matchup. Kudos to both teams, the coaches, and the officials for all being ready to go.

*****

Do we have to talk about the Browns?

Over the weekend, here’s some of what happened:

• Terrelle Pryor made the roster as a WR despite playing in only one preseason game and having zero catches.
• The team cut their fourth round pick in Vince Mayle.
• They traded their 2014 third round pick Terrance West, a guy they traded two picks to move up to get, for a conditional seventh round pick.
• Offensive line coach Andy Moeller was suspended indefinitely while he is under investigation for assault.
• GM Ray Farmer now begins his four game suspension for texting with coaches on the sidelines during games.

Sigh. Did I miss anything? God bless you, Browns, for always being there to balance out the happiness and pride that Ohio State gives me.

*****

That’s it for me. Apologies to those who care for no new music of the week, but I just don’t have anything new to talk about right now. Hopefully next week that will change. Have a great short work week, my friends, and Go Browns!