Tag Archives: Ohio State

LEBRON JAMES INTERVIEW WITH KENNY RODA 11-27-13

LeBron James Interview with Kenny Roda 11-27-13

RODA REPORT 1-2-14

Either Urban Meyer/Ohio State and David Shaw/Stanford didn’t respect Michigan State’s defense, both are too stubborn for their own good, or they just had a major brain cramp by calling the plays they called in late game situations against the Spartans defense in the Big Ten title game and the Rose Bowl.  Why play to the strength of Michigan State’s defense in those short yardage situations? Stupid coaching decision by two of the very best coaches in college football!

Speaking of stupid, you could argue the Browns front office is just that after firing head coach Rob Chudzinski after only one year on the job. From everything that was said all season long and even before that, in last year’s off season, the team was supposedly building for 2014 and trying to establish continuity and stability. Instead Chud gets canned after one season and Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi are back to drawing board of yet another coaching search.  In order to fire Chud, this next coach they hire better be the second coming of Bill Belichick and what scares me is that the guy they reportedly have the most interest in, Josh McDaniels, they feel is the second coming of Belichick. Only time will tell if getting rid of Chud was a good move or if indeed the “Three Stooges” are running the Browns!

I have a bad feeling that after winning 24 games in a row, Ohio State is on the verge of losing its second game in a row in the Orange Bowl versus Clemson. The Buckeyes defense, which gave up a combined 75 points and over 1,000 yards in its last two games to Michigan and Michigan State, will be without two of their best defenders against the Tigers in cornerback Bradly Roby and defensive end Noah Spence.  How is that defense supposed to stop Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins if they couldn’t shut down the less explosive Wolverines and Spartans with a healthier defense? Add to that Braxton Miller has been very pedestrian in throwing the football in his last four games and this has the makings of another BCS Bowl disappointment for OSU. I expect it to be a shoot-out and the team that has the ball last will probably win the game, so let’s hope it’s the Buckeyes have the pigskin last.

If Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles join Teddy Bridgewater in this year’s NFL draft, it’ll be interesting to see who is ranked highest on the QB list by the media and more importantly by NFL teams.  I don’t see a slam dunk in any of those three like I did with Andrew Luck. Will Manziel’s backyard, crazy legs style fly in the NFL? While Bortles has the size, does he have the experience and the smarts? Bridgewater looks to be the most complete of the three, but the lack of competition he played against in college; does that move him down in the rankings? I want to see these guys at the combine, hear about their interviews and see them with Jon Gruden at his quarterback school before I give my final rankings, but for now I have it 1) Bridgewater 2) Bortles and 3) Manziel.

Here’s the dilemma the Cavs have right now after a (10-21) start. If they make a trade for a player like Pau Gasol will that really impact their chances of making the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference this year and how much will that benefit them in the long run? On the flip side, if this season is headed in the wrong direction and it’s going to take another year for this team to be a legit playoff team, would it benefit them more if they ended up in the lottery one more time for what is considered to be one of the deepest NBA Drafts in recent history?   That’s the decision owner Dan Gilbert and G.M. Chris Grant have to make. The team has been healthy all season and with the off season moves of Bynum and jack they are still a lottery team as of today. Would adding Pau Gasol via a trade with the Lakers really make that much of a difference and gain them valuable playoff experience or would they be better suited to take their chances back in the lottery and maybe land so-called future stars like Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle or others?

OSU FINAL THOUGHTS

I was shocked at how poorly the Buckeyes came out of the gates and played in the first quarter, a quarter they had dominated all season! I don’t know if it was because they took Michigan State lightly or if they felt the pressure and played tight. Whatever the reason, it was a big factor in losing to the Spartans.

I’m still trying to figure out why Tom Herman and Urban Meyer didn’t give the ball more to Carlos Hyde. He’s been the best player on this team since he returned from his 3 game suspension and “Ride Hyde” to victory worked so well leading into last night’s game. Very poor decision making by the Buckeyes coaches and in it cost them the Big Ten title and more importantly a shot at the National title.  I never was worried about the coaching match up in the game thinking OSU had a big edge, but Mark Dantonio and his staff outcoached Urban Meyer and his staff.

Braxtion Miller is good, but he’s far from great. While he made some improvements throwing the ball this year, he still has a long way to. You can’t go 8-21 in a championship game like he did and expect to be a champion. Another solid off season and more games will hopefully make him better suited to lead the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title next year and maybe more.

The Ohio State defense was their achilles heel and they were exposed in great detail the last two games, giving up 41 points and 603 yards to Michigan and 34 points and 438 yard to Michigan State.  It’s not all Luke Fickell’s  fault, but his time as the Buckeyes defensive coordinator has to end. He hasn’t coached up these players to the point where they’re getting better, instead they’re getting worse!  In fact, since he took over as head coach and in the last two years as defensive coordinator, the Buckeyes have played some of the worst defense I’ve ever seen at Ohio State.

The “Silver Blanks” gave up 34 points in the last two 4th quarters costing them one victory and almost another. That’s right they were outscored 20 to 7 at Michigan only to be saved by Tyvis Powell’s interception on the 2-point conversion and after taking a 24-17 lead over MSU, the Spartans erased that lead with the game’s final 17 points, with 14 of those coming in the 4th quarter.  If you can’t protect a lead, you usually don’t win big games

The Ohio State wide receivers are still just average. In their first big test against a physical secondary they all had trouble getting open with the exception of maybe Philly Brown. Major progress needs to be made there in coaching and recruiting.

I along with the OSU coaching staff over hyped freshman Dontre Wilson. I kept waiting all season long for him to electrify us with an amazing kick return or reverse or anything and he failed to do so. Yes he’s only a freshman and maybe that should be more on us than him, but big things were expected and he didn’t deliver.  The thing he’ll be known for the most his freshman season is getting in a fight and getting ejected in the Michigan game and that’s not good.

The national pundits were right. Playing a weak schedule the last two season is probably a bigger factor in Ohio State winning 24 games in a row than playing great football. The highest ranked team the Buckeyes beat the last two years was #16 Northwestern this year and the Wildcats finished the regular season unranked at (5-7) and thus not even bowl eligible. It was a nice run while it lasted, but if you’re being honest, there wasn’t one true signature win over a quality opponent in those 24 straight victories and the one chance they had, they lost by 10 to Michigan State.

Here’s hoping the Buckeyes end up in the Orange Bowl opposite Clemson, because if they were to go to the Sugar Bowl and play Alabama they would get killed. They match up much better with the Tigers and would have a chance to win that game as opposed to getting crushed by Bama and ending the season on a 2-game losing streak!

“INSTANT ANALYSIS” – MICHIGAN STATE 34 OHIO STATE 24

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW – OHIO ST. vs MICHIGAN ST.

Ohio State – “I WANT” Poem

The greatest poem ever recited! This one is for all you Buckeye Fans!

“INSTANT ANALYSIS” – OHIO STATE 42 MICHIGAN 41

REASONS WHY OHIO STATE SHOULD BLOW MICHIGAN OUT

Urban Meyer is a better coach than Brady Hoke.

Braxton Miller and Kenny Guiton are better quarterbacks than Devon Gardner. Miller should be able to throw the ball all over the Wolverines secondary, as Michigan is ranked 9th in the Big Ten in passing defense.

Carlos Hyde is a better running back than all of the running backs combined on Michigan’s roster and will rack up another 100 yard game, just like he did last year versus Michigan.

Ohio State’s offensive line is one of the best in the entire country and will handle Michigan’s front seven which has only 21 sacks all year. There should be time for Miller to throw and holes for Hyde to run through, as well as Dontre Wilson, Miller and Guiton.

Linebacker Ryan Shazier is playing a very high level right now (36 tackles in his last 2 games) and Michigan doesn’t have anyone who can control him. So he and the rest of the “Silver Bullets” will be able to handle a Wolverines ground attack that ranks 100th in the country at only 129 yards per game.

Even though he’s had an average year, cornerback Bradley Roby has a ton of motivation for this game. He’s played better football in recent weeks and he’ll be going up the #2 ranked wide receiver in the Big Ten in Michigan’s Jeremy Gallon.  A good showing in Ann Arbor will allow Roby to bring his stock value back up with NFL scouts.

Joey Bosa and the Buckeyes defensive lineman will be able to put pressure on and get to quarterback Devon Gardner for a few sacks and a turnover or two, as Michigan has given up 32 sacks already this season to go along with 19 turnovers.

The Buckeyes offense leads the Big Ten in scoring and is 3rd in the entire country averaging just under 49 points per game, Michigan is averaging only 33 point per game. Even if the Buckeyes defense should struggle, the Buckeyes can outscore Michigan.

The weather doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a factor as the forecast for kick off at noon in Ann Arbor is calling for sunny skies, 0% of precipitation and temperatures in the mid 30’s with winds at maybe 10mph.

Ohio State has more depth and more talented players from top to bottom and has a lot more to play for than the Wolverines do.  A possible national championship birth is on the line in this game and Urban Meyer has, and will repeatedly remind them of that so they don’t take Michigan lightly.

Bottom line is, Ohio State has more talent, is a better football team, has a better coaching staff and they have something monumental to play for and therefore will be focused.

My prediction  –   Ohio State 38     Michigan 10.

THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES 5 BIGGEST CONCERNS FOR THE 2013 SEASON

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 How will Braxton Miller handle all the hype surrounding his team and the Heisman talk?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Lack of leadership – The loss of John Simon, the guy Urban Meyer referred to as “A Grown Ass Man” last season is a huge hole to fill because he was the ultimate leader on, and especially off the field. That coupled with losing another big time leader in Zack Boren leave big shoes to fill.

Depth – The offensive line and linebacker are above average positions for the Buckeyes this year as far as the starters go, however the depth with both of those positions is very thin and inexperienced.  If the Buckeyes are going to make a serious run at the National Championship this year they will need to stay healthy up front on offense and in the line backing core and Urban Meyer knows that and will try and develop some of the young studs as quickly as possible.

Find a Front Four One of the strengths of last year’s undefeated team was the relentless and unselfish play of the defensive line and all of them have graduated or left for the NFL.  There’s plenty of young talent on the roster to step in and play those positions, but they all lack the experience needed to be a dominate defensive front, especially for a team that is supposed to challenge for a national title this season.

How will they handle PRESSURE? How will a team that had no real pressure to win last year in Meyer’s 1st year while on probation, handle all the expectations that come with this year’s squad.  Most of the pressure will be on Heisman candidate, quarterback Braxton Miller.  If he can handle it and not crack under that pressure, that could go a long way in helping the rest of his teammates handle it as well.

Are they full of themselves? Are they believing the hype and not working as hard as they need to be, thinking they’ll just be able to show up to some of the games because they’re “The Ohio State University” and that will be good enough to get them a victory.  They better not be because teams like San Diego St., Wisconsin, Northwestern and Purdue will be looking to shock the world!