From Buckeye 50 Yard Line:
I have given this plenty of thought and realize I may alienate some
with
my opinions in this article. I can assure you it is not my intention to
persuade anyone or offend anyone. I am merely stating my opinions as a
caring and concerned Buckeye. If you want to turn away, do so now as my
gloves are coming off.
Without looking up too many statistics, currently the Buckeyes are:
1.Dead last in the Big Ten in avg. yds. per game: 354
2.Rank 10th in the Big Ten in points per game with 24.8
3.Dead last in total season passing yards with 917
4.Dead last in total season rushing yards with 855
5.Dead last in 1st downs per game with 20
6.FIRST in TIME of POSSESSION WITH 33:50 per game
(source: Yahoo Sports)
This is pathetic, AND some things need changed immediately. Under Jim
Tressel and Bollman, our offense has been in the bottom 25%
consistently. Worse, there IS NO UPWARD TREND HERE either. I remain
steadfast that it is not the players. They are wanted by most teams in
the country. Sure the guys can play better, but whose job is it to SEE
that they play better?
I am sure the coaches are all quality people. That's not the issue. Jim
Tressel has hired superior defensive coaches and lets them do their
jobs. Our defense takes a back seat to no one. His record and apparent
inability to hire good offensive coaches is approaching insanity. Need
examples?
With Ohio State's reputation for great running backs and the history,
tradition and pride we have here, are you telling me the best Tressel
could hire nationally was his older brother, Dick? His older brother
never was a RB, never coached RB's, and never coached in Div. I prior
to
OSU and was basically brought out of mothballs (football operations) to
coach arguably one of the two most important positions for one of the
top five programs in the country. Is this THE BEST Jim Tressel could
do?
You mean no one else wanted this job? What was Jim Tressel thinking?
I have been around Jim Bollman. I don't know what his real job and
contributions are even though he has the title offensive coordinator.
Jim Bollman is a nice guy, but he is incredibly boring, totally
uninspiring, without emotion and is absolutely NOT a driver or
motivator. Jim Tressel has said he himself "calls" the plays. Has
anyone
ever clarified if there is a difference between deciding which plays to
run and perhaps "calling" them in? Who actually is responsible for
researching and defining the offensive game plans themselves?
None of the QB's under Joe Daniel's mentorship have improved that I
have
noticed. Did Bellisari get ANY better? Did he ever change what he did,
or improve his reads, or did he stay the same and want to run all the
time? Better yet, why did he even STAY at QB? You could make the same
argument for Craig Krenzel. He was a great leader but never really
improved much.
Here however, is what I believe the real problem to be. I believe that
Tressel thinks if he can field an offense that won't turn the ball over
(have you ever thought any of our QB's are scared to death to make a
mistake?), and continually has a superior defense and solid special
teams he'll win most of the time. He sees the offense as an opportunity
to lose a game. An article in the Columbus Dispatch newspaper today
said
it well; "The Ohio State offense looks like a Ferrari sitting in a
garage .... but wheezes and lurches like a '78 Gremlin on the field."
The performance of our offensive line has been embarrassing since
Tressel and Bollman have been here.
I think Jim Tressel has only one option at this point - replace his
entire offensive coaching staff. He needs also to hire a full time
offensive coordinator. Unfortunately, I think the chances of this
happening are close to zero. If I am correct, this puts Jim Tressel
then
at total personal, individual fault and he should then take full
responsibility himself, unless he goes ahead and actually replaces his
entire offensive staff. If Tressel refuses to take action, he should be
replaced.
Better yet, why is Jim Tressel seemingly content to accept this kind of
performance? This is what I don't fully understand. Jim Tressel is a
loyal guy. That I understand and admire. However, when the performance
of an area under your direct responsibility continues to fail, that
senior manager MUST act or be at-fault himself.
Last year, I wrote an editorial to the effect that it was time for Jim
Tressel to act as the executive and fix or replace something reporting
to him which is obviously broken. This notion faded when we started
winning. However, it has resurfaced now and is timelier than ever. This
offense, under the direction of whomever, is a dismal failure with no
upward trend whatsoever. It is time, perhaps past the time, to take
decisive action. As the saying goes; you are either part of the
solution
or part of the problem.
Regardless, change MUST occur. NOW. I am sure Jim Tressel, like
everyone
else has made mistakes since he arrived here. I have no problem with
that, we are all human. However, he will be making the mistake of his
life if he thinks the Ohio State fans are willing to put up with this
much longer, EVEN if we continue to win. What a waste of offensive
resources.
