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Ohio Football Topic
Topic: Upon Further Review
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AlumDadDad
9/9/2017 12:47 PM
After having the benefit of the clarity of thought that the morning after sometimes brings, here are my thoughts:

1. Purdue appears to be a much better football team than they have been in the recent past. I say "appears" because it's only been 2 games and there is a lot of season left. I hope they surprise a couple of Big 10 teams this season. Maybe that will take a little of the sting away from last night.

2. OHIO is not as good as we were tempted to think they were. In spite of all the coach speak from last week, some (or many) of the players did not approach Purdue with nearly as much intensity as they should have. That much was obvious. Perhaps last night's beat down will re-focus those individuals. I just stinks that it was on national TV (and the ONLY game...). It does us absolutely no good to steamroll a terrible FCS team in our first game. In fact, I believe it does us quite a bit of harm.

3. Nathan Rourke made his case to be the starting quarterback. That being said, I still like Maxwell. I think that he can be a great quarterback for us. He has all the physical tools, and I really like the fact that he is very intelligent (National Honor Society, near the top of his HS class), and has a lot on the ball (Eagle Scout). My observation is that most of his misses are overthrows. I think those are due to the mental part of the game, not the physical. The young man just needs to settle down. Either game time nerves or too much adrenaline, or both. That sort of stuff is coachable. I can't imagine that he's missing passes like that in practice, or he would have never been named starting quarterback to begin with (contrary to what some of the conspiracy theorists may say on this board). I REALLY want to see our coaches develop his talent further, rather than wasting it. I think Rourke should start next week, I really want to see Maxwell developed.

4. On a selfish note, I really hated seeing us play that poorly on national TV last night. I work with many OSU fans (most of whom have never taken a single class at that institution, by the way). They all know that I bleed green, and now I'm going to have to tolerate their smug condescending comments next week. ARRRGGGH!!!

5. I'm going to refrain from calling out any particular players, but some very talented players, especially on the defensive side, were almost invisible last night. Was Purdue REALLY that good last night???
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allen
9/9/2017 12:59 PM
AlumDadDad wrote:expand_more
After having the benefit of the clarity of thought that the morning after sometimes brings, here are my thoughts:

1. Purdue appears to be a much better football team than they have been in the recent past. I say "appears" because it's only been 2 games and there is a lot of season left. I hope they surprise a couple of Big 10 teams this season. Maybe that will take a little of the sting away from last night.

2. OHIO is not as good as we were tempted to think they were. In spite of all the coach speak from last week, some (or many) of the players did not approach Purdue with nearly as much intensity as they should have. That much was obvious. Perhaps last night's beat down will re-focus those individuals. I just stinks that it was on national TV (and the ONLY game...). It does us absolutely no good to steamroll a terrible FCS team in our first game. In fact, I believe it does us quite a bit of harm.

3. Nathan Rourke made his case to be the starting quarterback. That being said, I still like Maxwell. I think that he can be a great quarterback for us. He has all the physical tools, and I really like the fact that he is very intelligent (National Honor Society, near the top of his HS class), and has a lot on the ball (Eagle Scout). My observation is that most of his misses are overthrows. I think those are due to the mental part of the game, not the physical. The young man just needs to settle down. Either game time nerves or too much adrenaline, or both. That sort of stuff is coachable. I can't imagine that he's missing passes like that in practice, or he would have never been named starting quarterback to begin with (contrary to what some of the conspiracy theorists may say on this board). I REALLY want to see our coaches develop his talent further, rather than wasting it. I think Rourke should start next week, I really want to see Maxwell developed.

4. On a selfish note, I really hated seeing us play that poorly on national TV last night. I work with many OSU fans (most of whom have never taken a single class at that institution, by the way). They all know that I bleed green, and now I'm going to have to tolerate their smug condescending comments next week. ARRRGGGH!!!

5. I'm going to refrain from calling out any particular players, but some very talented players, especially on the defensive side, were almost invisible last night. Was Purdue REALLY that good last night???
I agree with you, Maxwell is not a bad qb. His overthrows could be attributed to his adrenaline. I remember last year when we played Toledo and he had an unforced fumble, I realized at that point that he may not be able to handle the pressure yet. Rourke had a vision and he is executing, he has definitely earned the right to start. As far as Purdue, I hope they do well, but I am not a believer. It looked like we were tackling like we're in OTA's. Purdue's 6'0 190 tail back ran through us, we are much better than that. The pass defense has been bad for a while, we will need to work on that. The defensive line needs to lead our defense and last night they got dominated.
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LuckySparrow
9/9/2017 1:22 PM
I totally agree with the assessment on Maxwell. His problems seem to be mental. It definitely looks like he's thinking too much and playing too tight.
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L.C.
9/9/2017 2:41 PM
I agree completely with your post. I think Maxwell is good, but had too much adrenaline going. As you said, all the throws were high. Rourke seemed more comfortable and relaxed.

The other thing I wonder is how much the lack of contact for the starters in fall camp affects them in the first couple games. They all looked a little rusty. Whatever the reason, the defense was awful. I'm wondering if we see more true freshmen this week, say Coleman or Ceasar? Also, I'm wondering if Poling or Hagan was hurt in the game? I think Grillot and Cunningham both played the entire second half.
Last Edited: 9/9/2017 3:13:37 PM by L.C.
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AlumDadDad
9/9/2017 3:42 PM
I was wondering about the benchings too. Hopefully not injury related...it appeared to me that Poling and Hagan were playing well below what we've come to expect from them. I guess we'll see this week if the benchings were injury or performance related.

On the Maxwell topic, I think about a Post article from last year that described what a perfectionist he is and how much pressure he puts on himself. The two quarterback system, while it was good for the team last night, might make the situation worse for someone like that. One or two series to prove yourself or you're out. A Saul-like approach might be better with someone like him. "It's a game, it's supposed to be fun" keeping the kids loose...
Last Edited: 9/9/2017 3:45:25 PM by AlumDadDad
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CA Bobcat
9/9/2017 4:01 PM
I disagree with all of you about Maxwell. It's nice that he's smart and an Eagle Scout but he doesn't have the "it" factor on the football field, in fact, he has the opposite. He seems afraid to make mistakes and that's a really, really difficult mentality to change because it's likely he's been that way now for about 20 years. Rourke is way beyond where Maxwell is at due to the "it" factor and his "balls out" approach. It may backfire on him/us occasionally but I'd rather have that 1000 times instead of a fear based approach. Our offensive scheme is already conservative and fear based so we can't afford to compound the problem with a QB that pisses down his leg. I'm excited about Rourke and I guarantee the players are as well...you can just see it in their body language. When Maxwell is out there, the receivers look hopeless on the passes that sail over their heads. Relatively speaking, we moved the ball really well with Rourke by ground and by air. I was at the game last night and although our defense was pretty bad, I'm really encouraged by the prospects of our offense. I feel like the defense will find it's way and against MAC competition, I think we'll be fine all the way around.
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LuckySparrow
9/9/2017 5:38 PM
L.C. wrote:expand_more
I agree completely with your post. I think Maxwell is good, but had too much adrenaline going. As you said, all the throws were high. Rourke seemed more comfortable and relaxed.

The other thing I wonder is how much the lack of contact for the starters in fall camp affects them in the first couple games. They all looked a little rusty. Whatever the reason, the defense was awful. I'm wondering if we see more true freshmen this week, say Coleman or Ceasar? Also, I'm wondering if Poling or Hagan was hurt in the game? I think Grillot and Cunningham both played the entire second half.
Poling didn't play the second half due to a minor hip injury. He'll be fine. Hagan got pulled along with a bunch of other starters towards the end of the game. Cunningham and Grillot looked solid.
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cbus cat fan
9/9/2017 6:35 PM
I think this post of mine from last night is relevant on this "Upon Further Review" thread.

Let's put this game into perspective. This was an expectations trap game for the Bobcats. MAC teams have been licking their chops for years to come to West Lafayette, for sometimes the Boilermakers are half decent with a star quarterback but not much else, but often a doormat ripe for the non Power 5 picking.

However, Coach Jeff Brohm is proving to be an under the radar hire as exhibited by last week and unfortunately this week's game. While everyone became fixated with Tom Herman superlatives in the off season, Coach Brohm was quietly preparing for the season with few football pundit expectations.

Whatever one thinks of our legendary Coach Solich, it would behoove all to realize that the chances of some young gun who will stay in Athens longer than P J Fleck stayed in Kalamazoo is pretty remote. Stranger things have happened, but even my idealistic spirit realizes that sadly there is a ceiling to our rise and the rise of just about any other MAC school.
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Alan Swank
9/9/2017 7:25 PM
cbus cat fan wrote:expand_more
I think this post of mine from last night is relevant on this "Upon Further Review" thread.

Let's put this game into perspective. This was an expectations trap game for the Bobcats. MAC teams have been licking their chops for years to come to West Lafayette, for sometimes the Boilermakers are half decent with a star quarterback but not much else, but often a doormat ripe for the non Power 5 picking.

However, Coach Jeff Brohm is proving to be an under the radar hire as exhibited by last week and unfortunately this week's game. While everyone became fixated with Tom Herman superlatives in the off season, Coach Brohm was quietly preparing for the season with few football pundit expectations.

Whatever one thinks of our legendary Coach Solich, it would behoove all to realize that the chances of some young gun who will stay in Athens longer than P J Fleck stayed in Kalamazoo is pretty remote. Stranger things have happened, but even my idealistic spirit realizes that sadly there is a ceiling to our rise and the rise of just about any other MAC school.
But like a great Springsteen concert, I'll take that one season. We had that in 1994and 2012 in basketball.
Last Edited: 9/9/2017 7:27:54 PM by Alan Swank
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TWT
9/9/2017 8:18 PM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
I think this post of mine from last night is relevant on this "Upon Further Review" thread.

Let's put this game into perspective. This was an expectations trap game for the Bobcats. MAC teams have been licking their chops for years to come to West Lafayette, for sometimes the Boilermakers are half decent with a star quarterback but not much else, but often a doormat ripe for the non Power 5 picking.

However, Coach Jeff Brohm is proving to be an under the radar hire as exhibited by last week and unfortunately this week's game. While everyone became fixated with Tom Herman superlatives in the off season, Coach Brohm was quietly preparing for the season with few football pundit expectations.

Whatever one thinks of our legendary Coach Solich, it would behoove all to realize that the chances of some young gun who will stay in Athens longer than P J Fleck stayed in Kalamazoo is pretty remote. Stranger things have happened, but even my idealistic spirit realizes that sadly there is a ceiling to our rise and the rise of just about any other MAC school.
But like a great Springsteen concert, I'll take that one season. We had that in 1994and 2012 in basketball.
This conversation is moot until the facilities are done. Then value exists in having a 3rd Ohio coach pass the 100 win level. The time will come to bring in a next level coach but its not in the cards near term.
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crackerbaby00
9/9/2017 10:53 PM
AlumDadDad wrote:expand_more
4. On a selfish note, I really hated seeing us play that poorly on national TV last night. I work with many OSU fans (most of whom have never taken a single class at that institution, by the way). They all know that I bleed green, and now I'm going to have to tolerate their smug condescending comments next week. ARRRGGGH!!!
Something tells me they may be pretty quiet on Monday....
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Doc Bobcat
9/9/2017 11:15 PM
crackerbaby00 wrote:expand_more
4. On a selfish note, I really hated seeing us play that poorly on national TV last night. I work with many OSU fans (most of whom have never taken a single class at that institution, by the way). They all know that I bleed green, and now I'm going to have to tolerate their smug condescending comments next week. ARRRGGGH!!!
Something tells me they may be pretty quiet on Monday....
If they played Purdue like they played Oklahoma tonight Purdue just might take them down...but they don't play Purdue this year.
Last Edited: 9/9/2017 11:17:16 PM by Doc Bobcat
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TWT
9/10/2017 12:11 AM
cbus cat fan wrote:expand_more
Whatever one thinks of our legendary Coach Solich, it would behoove all to realize that the chances of some young gun who will stay in Athens longer than P J Fleck stayed in Kalamazoo is pretty remote. Stranger things have happened, but even my idealistic spirit realizes that sadly there is a ceiling to our rise and the rise of just about any other MAC school.
We are getting the opportunities. We just aren't delivering on them. I see our pitch in the future is going to be built around having an academic center and lower amount of travel in the MAC so less stepping away from class time. We need a coach like Brohm that can build a Florida pipeline as he did at WKU and win conference championships. Have the team not only in the conference race at the end of the season but also in the access bowl race. Win those Friday night showcase national TV games. Its about all that can be asked for.
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