Purdue Game Cheers and Jeers

I’m going to be straight with you — I really didn’t pay much attention to the Purdue game. Sure, I watched the game, but I wasn’t really watching it. It all started when the renobs at ABC muffed the punt and exposed us all to the Horror that is Notre Dame football. Keep that trash over on NBC. So thanks to ABC, I missed Michael Jenkins special teams punt block and consequently the only TD of the day.

Nevertheless, some nuggets can be gleaned from Saturday’s non-performance. Time to pass out the Cheers and Jeers.

Before we get started, let me start out with a couple disclaimers: I am an optimist. I love the way Brian chastised his fellow fans: “Sports suck sometimes, especially when you care so much about something you control not at all.” And Massey’s little phrase “Become unnecessarily upset because of amateur athletics if…” Both of these encapsulate the way I feel. I am an eternal optimist and find it hard to criticize young men that are really just as frustrated as we, as fans, are. That being said, I am still able to recognize areas that are lacking and can benefit from improvement. Let’s start with the Jeers:

Jeers

Offensive line – Let’s get this one out of the way. Something drastic needs to happen (and may be happening). It’s clear the unit as now constituted is not gelling and getting no push. This line is not cutting it against anyone. Now would be the time to give the younger kids their chance, but injuries are preventing that right now.

Coordinators – I’m not a fan of placing a large portion of the blame on coaches, because in the end, it’s all about execution. But I can only beat that drum for so long. After a while, I’m left convincing nobody but myself. These guys up in the booth are not amateurs. They are the ones being paid. They are the ones that deserve the scorn and blame when things stagnate. And right now, the offense is quickly becoming overrun with algae and pond scum.

Creativity – And here’s the crux. Get these guys a craft table. Seriously, where is the creativity? The imagination? Watching the Texas/OU game, I was jealous seeing defenses attack, offenses consitently have success and actual excitement. Something currently lacking right now on our sidelines.

Cheers

Defensive line – We’ve been harsh on the front four this year, and it’s warranted. They haven’t been playing very inspired thus far. You lose a guy like Vernon and there’s going to be a drop-off. But we don’t have run-cloggers up the middle which causes problems for the LBs. We need push up front and we really haven’t been getting it. We finally got pressure on a QB this week and it was good to see Silver bullets in the backfield.

(Again, broken record and all, but we sure could go for some creativity with the d-line play. Some twists, some stunts, SOMETHING)

Malcolm Jenkins – Of all the seniors that came back, Jenkins has had the biggest impact, and has become The Man the last couple of games. Good on #2.

Etienne Sabino – Of all the freshmen this year (besides you-know-who), I was most excited to see what Etienne Sabino could do. While he’s seeing limited time on D, he’s been making a name for himself on special teams. A TD doesn’t hurt. Keep it coming.

Who are you passing the cheers and jeers out to?

Comments

  1. My cheer- is to Pryor. Yeah he didn’t have a good game, but the look on his face after the game he KNEW he didn’t have a good game. He knows that he has work to do. Hopefully no where to go but up.

    My Jeer- Goes to the WR’s. Need to get on Pryor and let him know “hey im open” & try to catch the ball before running. That is the first thing they teach a WR. Catch then run.

  2. cheers:
    wells didn’t have a great game (read: only 94 yards) but it is clear to everyone that he is the crux of our offense. he’s hurt, then we’re hurt, get better chris.
    jeers:
    pryor. i hate to write this and i think that he needs this as well. he has waaaay too much talent and needs to let it go. i keep forgetting that the last rebuilding season (read: troy *heart* went 8-4) was much tougher than this one is turning out to be. that being said, this freshman is the real deal, i still believe that. do what we know you can do LBiC!

  3. el Kaiser – you made the same mistake the renobs at ABC made at halftime, calling Jenkins “Michael.” Tressel wasn’t having any of that – “Michael played for us in 2002, we’ve got Malcolm this year.”

  4. I was thinking of how much Etienne Sabino’s first year is similar to AJ Hawk’s. Hightly touted, both made names for themselves on special teams first, big hits, exciting tackles.

    Hawk also ran a blocked punt in for a TD his first year.

    Sabino plays in the middle, right? Wonder if he’ll earn Laurinaitis’ spot next year.

  5. @zach – Catching the ball before you run? That’s just crazy-talk!

    @lance – Beanie’s yard were grind-em-out yards. He ran mean once again.

    @SM – Yes, yes. You win the prize. You found my super seekrit jab at Jackie boy.

    And yes, we’ll be seeing a lot more of this Sabino kid next year.

  6. ATLBuckeye says

    Cheer: The Freshman Class – Between Pryor, Posey, Thomas, Brewster and Sabino, I know I’m not the only OSU fan who has to grab a pair of sunglasses to look to the future. Thomas proved with the opening KO return that he needs to be on the field a lot more, and I think we’ve all been pushing to see more Posey and Sabino.

    Jeers:

    1) Tressel – Listen, the guy’s a great coach, period. But he calls the plays and our playcalling is atrocious. Week after week, we put forth a vanilla offensive gameplan. If Tressel pulls this crap against Penn State, we’ll be down 28 by halftime. Freshman or not, we have a pretty good QB and the best RB in the country. Why have we cracked 30 points only once this season? Exactly. When your star RB is saying the playcalling sucks, then guess what? It’s not just the armchair QB fans and the playcalling actually sucks.

    2)Rehring – Somebody please make sure the kid never sees the field again this season. My goodness.

  7. Cheers:
    Pryor in the post game knowing that he didn’t play gret, but got the win. A win is a win and as #2 said “The hell with it.”

    Jeers:
    The OSU Offense for 60 minutes. You know you’re going to get everybody’s best shot, and they’re going to play lights out against you, but you have to put more than field goals on the board. Lets just hope this was a bad week, and everyone shows up this week, or MSU will take it to the Bucks.

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