BTN All B1G Defense/Special Teams

http://btn.com/2012/05/01/all-spring-defense-special-teams-honorees/

Interesting read. Good to see us with one such "honoree" at each of the first two levels of D. And with so many starters back, most of whom played well in '11, I'm not particularly concerned about our secondary.

But still---every time I think "defense", I scratch, then shake, then hang my head remembering the effortlessness with which OSU's moribund offense went through us like we weren't even on the field last November...and in most situations, with the frickin' game on the line, not during garbage time of a contest we'd long since put out of reach.

We can only hope it was an aberration, largely brought on by the pressure in our men's minds to get that ugly Scarlet and gray monkey/albatross off our backs.

Yeah Mike but you can't point at one game and say that's how we were.

IMHO Ohio did some things on offense that we were not ready for. Add to that they had just gotten Posey back and we were in trouble.

That was an ugly game. I sat there and watched receiver after receiver run wide open and then exhaled as Miller overthrew them.

Whoa---wasn't it Posey's THIRD game back?? And wasn't it the same OSU team that was held to 14 points at the 'Shoe by PSU the week before?

Granted Fickell and Co., much to their credit, came up with some new wrinkles for us...but by the second half, as astute a defensive staff as Matty's is should have been able to make adjustments. Yet, well into the
fourth quarter, after the TD pass to Kevin Koger that gave us a "comfortable" 37-27 lead, they needed all of five friggin' plays to go 80 yards and again cut it to three.

And as you (and every announcer I heard on TV) said, the middle of the field was wide-open all day.

But I'll go along with your take: it could have been an aberration, not to be repeated in '12. If any staff can correct such glaring deficiencies, OURS can.

I thought it was his second game back but we're splitting hairs.

And you should know you can not compare one game to another. Every single game stands on it's own 2 feet.

Yeah, that was an ugly win. But there's the #1 word again. WIN! Last 5 years we'd lose those games.

THEstjoemfan wrote:

And you should know you can not compare one game to another. Every single game stands on it's own 2 feet.

You can say that again---when you're talking OSU playing anyone-but-Michigan, versus playing Michigan.