Jump to content

Week 1 (OSU) Thoughts


Recommended Posts

I missed parts of the game and haven’t been able to find a place to rewatch. What I did see was mostly what was anticipated. Small mistakes can be blown out of proportion quickly against a team like OSU.

 

QB - I really hope Finley can bounce back after that beating. My biggest fear for this team came to fruition on the very first play on offense. Bullock filled in admirably and seems to at the very least have more control of the offense this year. We still don’t know if he can consistently hit passes further than 10 yards. 8 of his 9 completions were under 10 yards.

 

RB - Simmons looked very capable and even held his own in pass protection. Kellom definitely has potential with the ball in his hands, but was overwhelmed in pass pro.

 

WR - We didn’t get to see much of anyone outside of Golden. Golden does look much improved, so that’s a positive.

 

TE - Newell made plays when the ball came his way. He, like so many others, struggled in pass protection. Good to see Cravaack make an appearance and catch a pass.

 

OL - Seymore got the start at center. I’m not sure where T. Williams was? Seymore definitely held his own as a blocker. The problem was almost every snap was high. He was eventually pulled and replaced by Morris. If Seymore could get his snaps in order, he would easily be our best option. Morris has a high upside and may end up playing a bigger role than expected. I believe Burrell played every snap at RG. Davis played the majority of snaps at LG. Shor was absolutely blistered at LT. Blanchard came on later in the game and was marginally better. Thomas played RT and was the highest rated OL starter. 

 

DL - The defensive line is as good as advertised. The 4 man rotation at DT is going to be a load for MAC teams to handle. Nunnally is a complete player at DE, but missed at least one clean sack opportunity I saw. Adler played well despite minimal stats. Cheatom and Dall did some really good things when they were in the game. Defensive end is only going to develop and become more formidable from here. Coach Wart deserves some praise.

 

LB - Fish was seemingly everywhere. McCoy was too, but he slipped off of several tackles.  Cooper came in and also played really well. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d put this group of LBs up against any in the conference.

 

CB - I’m not sure what to think of this group. On one hand, OSU has some excellent WRs and made some tough catches. On the other hand, our CBs didn’t necessarily seem that explosive. I don’t think we’re in trouble here, but I do think this is the weakest position on defense.

 

NB - D. Lewis was also seemingly everywhere. His coverage seems to be improved this year too.

 

S - I’m a fan of P. Lewis. He is easily our most complete safety. On the opposite side, David has the athletic ability to be really good, except I saw him either run right by the ball carrier or just whiff multiple times. His pass coverage wasn’t good either. He has to be better. Greenwood and Hunter had encouraging moments in their limited snaps. I think Hunter will eventually be a stud.

 

ST - Special teams were vastly improved. Let’s give credit where credit is due.

 

Coaching - I thought the staff had an excellent game plan from top to bottom. We were just overmatched physically.

 

I watched large portions of every MAC team play this weekend. Nothing about Week 1 has changed my opinion on any of the teams. I’m anxious to see what happens in Week 2 as teams start to get a better handle of who they have and what they are best at.

 

 

Depth Chart and Order of Play:

 

QB:

Finley

Bullock

Roggow

 

RB:

Simmons

Kellom

M. Williams

 

WR:

Norton

Granger

 

WR: 

Golden 

Rush

 

WR:

Polk

Davis

Campbell

 

TE:

Newell

Cravaack

 

LT:

Shor

Blanchard

 

LG:

Davis

George

 

C

Seymore 

Morris

Mobley

 

RG:

Burrell

 

RT:

Thomas 

James

 

 

DE:

Nunnally

Cheatom

 

DT:

Lavea

Murphy

Proffitt

 

DT:

Moore

Kapongo

 

DE:

Adler

Dall

 

LB:

Fish

Spriggs

Benenge

 

LB:

McCoy

Cooper

 

NB:

D. Lewis

T. Thomas

 

CB:

Golden-Nelson

Anderson

 

CB:

Hunter

White

DeWalt

 

S:

P. Lewis

D. Johnson 

Hunter

 

S:

David 

Greenwood

Roach

 

K:

Smith

 

P:

Book

 

KO: 

Jackson

Edited by catdaddyp
  • Like 4
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coaching staff completely dropped the ball on Finley.  I get that he didn't want to come out because he's an effin' warrior.  That's when the coaching staff should have stepped up and looked at the larger picture that Buckeye #33 was about to rupture his spleen and pulled him.  Reason number one being his health and well being and a distant reason number two being the well being of the team for the rest of the season.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, zip-O-matic said:

Coaching staff completely dropped the ball on Finley.  I get that he didn't want to come out because he's an effin' warrior.  That's when the coaching staff should have stepped up and looked at the larger picture that Buckeye #33 was about to rupture his spleen and pulled him.  Reason number one being his health and well being and a distant reason number two being the well being of the team for the rest of the season.  

There a lot of blame to go around. Starting with Guthrie for scheduling this game, then the staff for not taking him out earlier/helping out the RT who was getting beat pretty quickly every play.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, LZIp said:

There a lot of blame to go around. Starting with Guthrie for scheduling this game, then the staff for not taking him out earlier/helping out the RT who was getting beat pretty quickly every play.

I dare you to spend even 1 day in Guthrie's shoes. There is huge pressure on Athletics to reduce expenses or increase revenue. Most of these money games have been scheduled years in advance. The OSU game represented an opportunity to make some cash. With the realignment going on, these games are going to disappear. A more sane schedule starts next year.

  • Like 2
  • Thumbs down 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rewatched the first 3 quarters again yesterday just because I was so pleased with how we looked.  We were holding our own & definitely not getting pushed around by the best college team money can buy.  I remember days when we'd play P4 teams & I'd just cross my fingers praying we'd ever manage to force a punt on D or get a first down on O.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also wanted to give credit to the announcers from the OSUcks game. They were extremely complimentary toward the Zippers & didn't really try to make any excuses for OSU.  As the teams were going into their tunnels at halftime the announcers said, "Akron has come to play. Akron fans should be proud of their team," or words to that effect.  Coming into the 2nd half they mentioned things they were impressed with during the first half. The first thing they mentioned was Akron's D.  

Edited by Blue & Gold
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OSU has the best announcers in college football: Paul Keels, doing play by play , and Jim LaShay, doing color. They are the best.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, 72 Roo said:

OSU has the best announcers in college football: Paul Keels, doing play by play , and Jim LaShay, doing color. They are the best.

I should have specified I was referring to the CBS television announcers. 😂  

 

But yes, Paul Keels is probably the very best I've ever heard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/1/2024 at 10:35 PM, Hilltopper said:

I dare you to spend even 1 day in Guthrie's shoes.

You mean these shoes?

image.png.641d395c49a8c8d68ed5ccffe65afa5f.png

Ask the rest of the MAC admin and ADs what their view is of this man's shoes...you'd be amazed at how little he is respected.

Edited by zippy-claws
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, zippy-claws said:

You mean these shoes?

image.png.641d395c49a8c8d68ed5ccffe65afa5f.png

Ask the rest of the MAC admin and ADs what their view is of this man's shoes...you'd be amazed at how little he is respected.

That is total BS.  I don't know who gored your ox, but you have no clue what you are talking about.  You can either be part of the solution or part of the problem. That is up to you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can’t give all the information because it’s behind a paywall, but top performers over 25 snaps according to PFF were:
 

OFFENSE

1) Bullock

2) Golden

3) Simmons

4) Newell

5) Morris (was D. Thomas earlier in the week)

 

DEFENSE

1) Greenwood

2) Nunnally

3) P. Lewis

4) Fish

5) Adler

 

SPECIAL TEAMS (10 or more snaps)

1) Roach

2) Kellom

3) Conroy

4) T. Thomas 

5) Tie between Benenge & D. Johnson

 

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Scholarship players that did not make the trip and/or did not see the field.
 

OFFENSE

WR - Myles Walker

WR - Phaizon Wilson

WR - Alex Adams

WR - Jean Louis

OL - Alex Fox

OL - Colin Lyons

OL - Jonas Mann

OL - Tyhler Williams

 

DEFENSE

DE - Kabbash Richards

DT - Zy Brockington

DT - Dimitri Madden

LB - Gage Summers

DB - Iesa Jarmon

DB - Darius Owens 

DB - Silas Proby 

DB - Elijah Reed

 

FRESHMEN

RB - Sean Patrick

WR - Kyan Mason

TE - Khalil Witherspoon

OL - Roosevelt Mitchell

DE - Dahvon Frazier

DE - Jahvon Frazier

DE - Tristen Graham

DT - Elijah Davis

DT - Ronald Hull

LB - Jason Hocker

DB - Keyveon Johnson

Edited by catdaddyp
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...