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So much of our success or failure starts with the OL. Our running game was weaker this year. Is that because we had injured backs or because the holes were smaller? For that matter, did the OL contribute to the RB injury problem? How often was our QB rushed in the pocket? How often did we give up untimely sacks? Give me a MAC-leading OL and I like our chances--suddenly our QB and our RBs are getting high praises. When your program really is rolling is when you have a solid situation at each position. That starts with identifying talented recruits, signing them up, and building them up. When you get there, that position "reloads, not rebuilds", to use an old saw. That doesn't happen overnight, unfortunately, but when you get there, you know you have a solid position coach and program. What positions does Ohio have this? First to mind is Wide Receiver. Dixon does a great job. He gets quality recruits, and he trains them up. Ohio has always seems to have very good receivers, year in and year out. Another one is linebacker, where Coach Collins has done a great job. You lose Russell, you find Poling. Year after year, I never doubt that Ohio is going to be good at linebacker. Another one is DL. Prior to Coach Williams, the defensive line was held together by bandaids. They would bring in Jucos, trying to shore the position up, and were always scrambling to find the right guys. Now the situation is different - they recruit the right guys, and train them up. In 2014 you lost Crutcher, McLeod, and Davis, but the next year was fine. Then you lost Tautuiaki and Purdum, and again, it was fine. This year Ohio loses Laseak, Basham, Sayles, and Strobel, and I predict that it will be fine again. Running back in a another position where you have this, and even with the incredible number of running back injuries this year, Ohio was fine. Defensive back has also not been a problem. Special teams also fits this mold - good every year. Where has Ohio had chronic weakness? Two positions come to mind - offensive line, and Quarterback. These have been the stumbling blocks that have kept Ohio from taking that next step up that everyone wants to see. Everyone harps on the playcalling, but is that the problem? If you don't have the QB, and you don't have the offensive line, plays aren't going to work well. If you have a great OL and a great QB, you can call most anything and it will work. Interestingly, two years ago Vanderbilt hired away two coaches, the Offensive line coach, and the QB coach. This has been a blessing in disguise. I think Johnson is doing a better job than Lightner, and I think that Isphording is doing a better job than Gdowski. Both have been recruiting a much higher quality athlete. Both have seen players progressing faster. Both positions still have major depth issues, however, and both remain the team's weak point. Going back to Williams, he came to Ohio in 2011, and the line was so thin he was forced to play true freshmen Crutcher and Tony Davis. As he built depth, he shored the position up with some JUCO players and transfers (Branz, McLeod, Tautuiaki, Kendric Smith, and Robbins) but now the pipeline is stuffed with guys he recruited. It took 3-4 years for the defensive line to get where it is, but now it's great. Can Johnson do the same for the Offensive line? He's following the same script. The talent he inherited was thin, some starters (McQueen, Lucas, Powell, and Watson), and then behind them, not much. He was forced to play true freshmen (Lowery, McCray, Preuhs), and then to try to recruit to fill the pipeline. He added some JUCO talent to short things up in the short term (Anderson, Cooper, Newton for next year), while he continues to recruit some new talent. Can he repeat the success of Williams, identifying quality recruits, and coaching them up? That remains to be seen. If he's successful, then guys like Trotter, Fernandez, Pleasants, Beadle, Notestine, and Grimes will be all-MAC in a couple years. If he's not, they will disappear like many of Lightner's recruits did. And QB? We've seen Sprague, Vick, and Windham improve under Isphording. We've only seen one Isphording recruit on the field, though, that being Maxwell. I'm hopeful that Maxwell improves dramatically over the off-season, and that come next fall the game is much slower for him. I'm also hopeful that new recruits like Keszei will dazzle us in the future. The jury is still out on Johnson and Isphording, as far as I'm concerned. I have reason for hoping they are going to get the job done. In order for this not to be "As good as it gets", these two positions need to get better. They have been the two consistent problem areas over the last five years. If they do improve, and the other positions remain solid, where we are is definitely not "as good as it gets". As far as other positions, they are all generally solid, year after year. Yes, this year was very, very thin at CB, but I think that was an exception, not an ongoing problem. Disagree vehemently. You go on at length but miss the forest for the trees. Historical results of this staff are informative insofar as ability to develop talent and to adapt to circumstances. Yes, AJ returns. But the losses at D-line and linebacker, at receiver (Smith, Reid), and the uncertainty at qb...We lose All-MAC talent of the type we haven't see here in years. I think that you predicted 12-2 for this year, L.C.. We'll end 9-5 or 8-6. Predictions are nice. The achieved record is much more informative. Sure, you could be right that next year will be all sunshine. But that defies both logic and history. Okay, do your personally attacks, now (not directed at you, L.C. or R Fox). Where's the band?! WHERE"S THE BAND?! DesignspiritUSA.com The Pets On The Go Collection of pet gear travel bags The Holiday Tote Bigg Bagg Collection--over-sized, reversible, extra pockets; now love carrying packages as much as you love shopping! Back to Top L.C. General User Member Since: 8/31/2005 Location: United States Post Count: 10,073 Status: Offline     RE: As Good as it Gets    Posted: 12/9/2016 9:26:48 PM  Monroe Slavin wrote: Disagree vehemently. You go on at length but miss the forest for the trees. Historical results of this staff are informative insofar as ability to develop talent and to adapt to circumstances. Yes, AJ returns. But the losses at D-line and linebacker, at receiver (Smith, Reid), and the uncertainty at qb...We lose All-MAC talent of the type we haven't see here in years. I think that you predicted 12-2 for this year, L.C.. We'll end 9-5 or 8-6. Predictions are nice. The achieved record is much more informative. Sure, you could be right that next year will be all sunshine. But that defies both logic and history. Okay, do your personally attacks, now (not directed at you, L.C. or R Fox). I expect that you would disagree, as will others, but that's what discussion is all about. This is an appropriate thread for such discussion, unlike, say, a thread regarding the recruitment of a specific young man. As regards this year's team, when they played well, which was most of the time, they played about as I expected. Unfortunately, however, they also had some unexpected lapses, losing to EMU and Texas State, plus some second halves that weren't impressive. I did forecast that they could beat WMU, but they fell slightly short. I'd compare my forecast to yours, but you didn't make one at all, so I guess mine is closer. “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus Back to Top OhioCatFan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Athens, OH Post Count: 14,016 Status: Offline     RE: As Good as it Gets    Posted: 12/9/2016 11:09:40 PM  L.C. wrote: . . . I'd compare my forecast to yours, but you didn't make one at all, so I guess mine is closer. To which Monroe should answer: "Touché!" The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA "It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right." Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org Back to Top Campus Flow General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,957 Status: Offline     RE: As Good as it Gets    Posted: 12/10/2016 1:59:28 AM  Bcat2 wrote: Uncle Wes wrote: If we go back to 2011 Ohio is 10-4 with a bowl win and a narrow loss in the MACC. After two championship games in 3 years there was a sense at that point in Frank's 7th year the tide was starting to turn for the program and it start rolling out division titles with some MACC wins on a regular basis. 2012 & 2013 had disaster collapses. 2014 and after a poor recruiting class the cupboard was low in talent to where it had been. Momentum of the program was derailed and its just now starting to return. The question is are we about to turn the corner on the backs of excellent defense regardless of a few replacements or are we heading back to a 6-6 nadir? With recruiting keeping pace and the future schedules Ohio could be turning the corner to the success levels I've talked about. "2012 & 2013 had disaster collapses." To each his own. NIU & BG. this season, going from the MACC game to 5-7 & 4-8 respectively might be "disaster collapses." Ohio swung down to 7-6 and 6-6. This low cycle was higher than the previous which was 4-8. Ohio is currently cycling upward which has been enjoyable, for me at least, to watch. Not being on the team I do not, like some, pretend to suffer from the losses. "disaster collapses," when bowl eligible seasons are "disasters" to Ohio fans well .... to each his own. 2012 Ohio was preseason Top 25 in many magazines with a fully loaded squad. The team started 7-0 ranked in the Top 25 then in a tailspin finished 4-4 in the MAC with no appearance in the MACC. How can that be described as anything less than a disaster? That team was a MAC preseason poll near consensus team to win the MAC. 2013 Ohio was Tettleton's senior year and the team starts a solid 6-2 but again slides at the end of the season to finish 7-6. You can draw a parallel to Ohio's 6-6 season in 2014 to NIU's and BG's this year as a rebuilding year. But when NIU and BG were expected to be very good they didn't mysteriously dissapoint. Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Bcat2 General User Member Since: 7/6/2010 Post Count: 4,295 Status: Offline     RE: As Good as it Gets    Posted: 12/10/2016 7:05:14 AM  Uncle Wes wrote: Bcat2 wrote: Uncle Wes wrote: If we go back to 2011 Ohio is 10-4 with a bowl win and a narrow loss in the MACC. After two championship games in 3 years there was a sense at that point in Frank's 7th year the tide was starting to turn for the program and it start rolling out division titles with some MACC wins on a regular basis. 2012 & 2013 had disaster collapses. 2014 and after a poor recruiting class the cupboard was low in talent to where it had been. Momentum of the program was derailed and its just now starting to return. The question is are we about to turn the corner on the backs of excellent defense regardless of a few replacements or are we heading back to a 6-6 nadir? With recruiting keeping pace and the future schedules Ohio could be turning the corner to the success levels I've talked about. "2012 & 2013 had disaster collapses." To each his own. NIU & BG. this season, going from the MACC game to 5-7 & 4-8 respectively might be "disaster collapses." Ohio swung down to 7-6 and 6-6. This low cycle was higher than the previous which was 4-8. Ohio is currently cycling upward which has been enjoyable, for me at least, to watch. Not being on the team I do not, like some, pretend to suffer from the losses. "disaster collapses," when bowl eligible seasons are "disasters" to Ohio fans well .... to each his own. 2012 Ohio was preseason Top 25 in many magazines with a fully loaded squad. The team started 7-0 ranked in the Top 25 then in a tailspin finished 4-4 in the MAC with no appearance in the MACC. How can that be described as anything less than a disaster? That team was a MAC preseason poll near consensus team to win the MAC. 2013 Ohio was Tettleton's senior year and the team starts a solid 6-2 but again slides at the end of the season to finish 7-6. You can draw a parallel to Ohio's 6-6 season in 2014 to NIU's and BG's this year as a rebuilding year. But when NIU and BG were expected to be very good they didn't mysteriously dissapoint. Well Phil Steele had Bowling Green winning the East and NIU actually was ranked second overall in the MAC in his composite of unit by unit ratings, ahead of Toledo. So, not sure where you get that their seasons were expected "rebuilding" years. Really, you don't believe NIU and Bowling Green fans are feeling every type of disappointment including "mysterious." You know better. I like how 5-7 and 4-8 are excused "rebuilding" seasons for NIU and Bowling Green while 7-6 an 6-6 are "disaster collapses" for Ohio. Sir Wes, again, to each his own. You must be pleased with how Ohio exceeded expectations and represented well in the MACC and how Ohio's athletes are gaining recognition among the elite in the MAC. All very good for Ohio. Last Edited: 12/10/2016 7:31:45 AM by Bcat2 "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men." JFK Back to Top Campus Flow General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,957 Status: Offline     RE: As Good as it Gets    Posted: 12/10/2016 7:52:06 AM  Bcat2 wrote: Uncle Wes wrote: Bcat2 wrote: Uncle Wes wrote: If we go back to 2011 Ohio is 10-4 with a bowl win and a narrow loss in the MACC. After two championship games in 3 years there was a sense at that point in Frank's 7th year the tide was starting to turn for the program and it start rolling out division titles with some MACC wins on a regular basis. 2012 & 2013 had disaster collapses. 2014 and after a poor recruiting class the cupboard was low in talent to where it had been. Momentum of the program was derailed and its just now starting to return. The question is are we about to turn the corner on the backs of excellent defense regardless of a few replacements or are we heading back to a 6-6 nadir? With recruiting keeping pace and the future schedules Ohio could be turning the corner to the success levels I've talked about. "2012 & 2013 had disaster collapses." To each his own. NIU & BG. this season, going from the MACC game to 5-7 & 4-8 respectively might be "disaster collapses." Ohio swung down to 7-6 and 6-6. This low cycle was higher than the previous which was 4-8. Ohio is currently cycling upward which has been enjoyable, for me at least, to watch. Not being on the team I do not, like some, pretend to suffer from the losses. "disaster collapses," when bowl eligible seasons are "disasters" to Ohio fans well .... to each his own. 2012 Ohio was preseason Top 25 in many magazines with a fully loaded squad. The team started 7-0 ranked in the Top 25 then in a tailspin finished 4-4 in the MAC with no appearance in the MACC. How can that be described as anything less than a disaster? That team was a MAC preseason poll near consensus team to win the MAC. 2013 Ohio was Tettleton's senior year and the team starts a solid 6-2 but again slides at the end of the season to finish 7-6. You can draw a parallel to Ohio's 6-6 season in 2014 to NIU's and BG's this year as a rebuilding year. But when NIU and BG were expected to be very good they didn't mysteriously dissapoint. Well Phil Steele had Bowling Green winning the East and NIU actually was ranked second overall in the MAC in his composite of unit by unit ratings, ahead of Toledo. So, not sure where you get that their seasons were expected "rebuilding" years. Really, you don't believe NIU and Bowling Green fans are feeling every type of disappointment including "mysterious." You know better. I like how 5-7 and 4-8 are excused "rebuilding" seasons for NIU and Bowling Green while 7-6 an 6-6 are "disaster collapses" for Ohio. Sir Wes, again, to each his own. You must be pleased with how Ohio exceeded expectations and represented well in the MACC and how Ohio's athletes are gaining recognition among the elite in the MAC. All very good for Ohio. Steele covered himself this year by picking BG, Akron and Ohio all to be number 1 in the East. With NIU the wheels were coming off last year and they played a very tough non-conference schedule. 5-7 on their schedule is the same as going 7-5 on our schedule. Drilling down into BG, beyond the graduation losses one of the position coaches was arrested in the offseason. They weren't ready to go to begin 2016 and Ohio is lucky to have played them early. I didn't say 6-6 was a disaster collapse I said 2012 and 2013 were. 2014 remember finished with that great comeback Miami win. 2015 had a nice finish and in our last 17, Ohio is 11-6 with the 6 losses by an average of 5.5 points. Unlike Monroe I don't think the all MAC lists are important because great individual performances can be the result of poor unit play so one guy has to do all the work. The linebackers with the most tackles often play on the worst teams where the defensive line isn't making plays. That isn't the case for Ohio this year as the defense stats started up front so its truly reflective strong defensive performance. Last Edited: 12/10/2016 7:52:44 AM by Campus Flow Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top L.C. General User Member Since: 8/31/2005 Location: United States Post Count: 10,073 Status: Offline     RE: As Good as it Gets    Posted: 12/10/2016 8:07:34 AM  Uncle Wes wrote: 2012 Ohio was preseason Top 25 in many magazines with a fully loaded squad. The team started 7-0 ranked in the Top 25 then in a tailspin finished 4-4 in the MAC with no appearance in the MACC. How can that be described as anything less than a disaster? That team was a MAC preseason poll near consensus team to win the MAC. ... Ohio had 19 season ending injuries, most of them in first few games. That's more injuries that I've ever seen before on any team. The team battled on, but apparently the second string wasn't as good as the first string. In addition, that team had to face a problem when BA, which had previously supported the, suddenly turned on them, and began attacking them viciously. These days the team expects BA to attack them viciously, but from 2005-12 it was very different. “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus Back to Top Campus Flow General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Alexandria, VA Post Count: 4,957 Status: Offline     RE: As Good as it Gets    Posted: 12/10/2016 8:55:34 AM  L.C. wrote: Uncle Wes wrote: 2012 Ohio was preseason Top 25 in many magazines with a fully loaded squad. The team started 7-0 ranked in the Top 25 then in a tailspin finished 4-4 in the MAC with no appearance in the MACC. How can that be described as anything less than a disaster? That team was a MAC preseason poll near consensus team to win the MAC. ... Ohio had 19 season ending injuries, most of them in first few games. That's more injuries that I've ever seen before on any team. The team battled on, but apparently the second string wasn't as good as the first string. In addition, that team had to face a problem when BA, which had previously supported the, suddenly turned on them, and began attacking them viciously. These days the team expects BA to attack them viciously, but from 2005-12 it was very different. So can we blame Monroe then for the losses?...:) Most Memorable Bobcat Events Attended 2010 97-83 win over Georgetown in NCAA 1st round 2012 45-13 victory over ULM in the Independence Bowl 2015 34-3 drubbing of Miami @ Peden front of 25,086 Back to Top Showing Replies:   176 - 183  of 183 Posts Jump to Page:   < Previous    1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 View Other 'Ohio Football' Topics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               WHO'S ONLINE There are 178 Active Visitors on BobcatAttack.com 178 Guests 0 Registered Users There are no other users looking at this page.

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