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Topic:  LBs

Topic:  LBs
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GoCats105
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  Message Not Read  LBs
   Posted: 11/5/2014 9:41:21 PM 
There hasn't been many bright spots this year, but man Ohio is gonna have a plethora of good LBs for the 2015 squad. Jovon Johnson and Quentin Poling are all over the field and Chad Moore ain't bad. Add Ben Russell back into this mix and it may be the best LB corps in the MAC next year.
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UpSan Bobcat
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/5/2014 10:14:05 PM 
And Blair Brown.
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Casper71
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 2:40:32 AM 
Did anyone else notice a lot of new numbers at CB and Safety along with the LBs? Looks like #13,22,24,25 are gonna play a lot the last two games. Also had a nice DL rotation going. L.C. just might be right, we appeared to have some players...at least vs the Buffs. Where have they been all year?
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L.C.
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 4:46:23 AM 
Casper71 wrote:
Did anyone else notice a lot of new numbers at CB and Safety along with the LBs? Looks like #13,22,24,25 are gonna play a lot the last two games. Also had a nice DL rotation going. L.C. just might be right, we appeared to have some players...at least vs the Buffs. Where have they been all year?

13 is Devin Jones. He looked good early at Safety, but had a knee injury. I thought he was done for the year, and was surprised and glad to see him back. 22 is Brett Layton, a JUCO CB. He was hurt preseason, and missed all the early games, but was able to play the last two games, and I agree, he looks good. 25 is Ingol, a redshirt Senior Safety.

24 is Toran Davis, a Redshirt Sophomore Safety. He has been getting better as the year goes on. He wasn't expected to play a lot this year, but has gotten a lot of PT and experience due to injuries to guys ahead of him (Kristoff, Carpenter, Jones, Scipio, Quallen, and Ingol).

Last Edited: 11/6/2014 7:40:30 AM by L.C.


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OUcats82
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 9:28:44 AM 
It was good to see the defense play well as a whole. I know the rub is "well, but it was Buffalo blah blah" which is certainly fair but I would like to think it helped to build their confidence a little bit. Hopefully the boys grew up mentally as a result of the game and can play inspired D in our final two games.

While it was not the train wreck that TTs safety was last year, there was a little poetic justice on the play when the Buffalo QB was scrambling for his life, heaved up the ball up and we got the pick. I only wish it could have been run in for 6.


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L.C.
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 9:49:28 AM 
OUcats82 wrote:
It was good to see the defense play well as a whole. I know the rub is "well, but it was Buffalo blah blah" which is certainly fair but I would like to think it helped to build their confidence a little bit. Hopefully the boys grew up mentally as a result of the game and can play inspired D in our final two games....

I agree that that was the key. The defense seemed to gain more and more confidence as the game wore on.

Buffalo may not be at the top of the conference, but they aren't at the bottom, either, and their offense was the strongest part of their team, making the defensive performance impressive:
1. In the preseason consensus they were picked second in the East
http://www.stassen.com/preseason/consensus/2014.html#mac
2. Their OL had five veteran starters, all upperclassmen, with a combined total of 137 prior starts.
3. Their offense has been the strength of their team, being held under 27 points only two prior times (Baylor=21, CMU=14)
4. They only lost to NIU by 1, and to CMU by 6


“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus

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Mark Lembright '85
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 9:55:33 AM 
OUcats82 wrote:
It was good to see the defense play well as a whole. I know the rub is "well, but it was Buffalo blah blah" which is certainly fair but I would like to think it helped to build their confidence a little bit. Hopefully the boys grew up mentally as a result of the game and can play inspired D in our final two games.

While it was not the train wreck that TTs safety was last year, there was a little poetic justice on the play when the Buffalo QB was scrambling for his life, heaved up the ball up and we got the pick. I only wish it could have been run in for 6.


I expected the refs to call a safety on that play prior to the Buffalo QB heaving that wounded duck!
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Jeff McKinney
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 10:57:30 AM 
It seemed to me that the lateral pursuit from our LBs showed improvement vs Buffalo. They looked very athletic and fast at times. Hope this carries over to NIU.
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sargentfan
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 11:00:06 AM 
I'll agree that our LBs have been better than expected this year, but I don't maybe its just me. But it seems like we only really notice them against the bad teams we have played. Against the teams that beat us its been hit or miss if we see any great plays from them.
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OhioCatFan
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 4:09:55 PM 
L.C., I believe it the BG, not NIU, that UB lost to by one point.


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TheBobcatBandit
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/6/2014 4:53:26 PM 
sargentfan wrote:
I'll agree that our LBs have been better than expected this year, but I don't maybe its just me. But it seems like we only really notice them against the bad teams we have played. Against the teams that beat us its been hit or miss if we see any great plays from them.


I thought they were pretty good against Kentucky but regardless I really like the way this teams shaping up. We're going to be a major threat next year and should make a run for a MACC. Our defense is going to be one of the best in the nation next year and if our offence can just limit turnovers and be average, above average we will be very good.
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Monroe Slavin
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 12:32:27 AM 
' D going to be one of the best in the nation next year'...That might be a bit too much to expect.


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TheBobcatBandit
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 1:05:06 AM 
Monroe Slavin wrote:
' D going to be one of the best in the nation next year'...That might be a bit too much to expect.


I mean right now we're 60th with points agaist and that's with an offence who punts very frequently. Tell me again how many starters we return next year on D (and O)
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L.C.
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 7:48:05 AM 
TheBobcatBandit wrote:
Monroe Slavin wrote:
' D going to be one of the best in the nation next year'...That might be a bit too much to expect.


I mean right now we're 60th with points agaist and that's with an offence who punts very frequently. Tell me again how many starters we return next year on D (and O)

The Bobcats will return 10 starters on Offense, losing only Cochran. L. Smith has also started some games. On defense they return essentially 8 1/2 starters. The big losses are Crutcher and McLeod, but K. Smith, Kristoff, and Ingol have each also started some games, and Tony Davis has played quite a bit.

With very, very light losses, I agree that Ohio will clearly be wearing the eyepatch again next year in the MAC East, along with WMU in the West, who has similarly light losses.


“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ― Epictetus

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TheBobcatBandit
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 1:35:36 PM 
L.C. wrote:
TheBobcatBandit wrote:
Monroe Slavin wrote:
' D going to be one of the best in the nation next year'...That might be a bit too much to expect.


I mean right now we're 60th with points agaist and that's with an offence who punts very frequently. Tell me again how many starters we return next year on D (and O)

The Bobcats will return 10 starters on Offense, losing only Cochran. L. Smith has also started some games. On defense they return essentially 8 1/2 starters. The big losses are Crutcher and McLeod, but K. Smith, Kristoff, and Ingol have each also started some games, and Tony Davis has played quite a bit.

With very, very light losses, I agree that Ohio will clearly be wearing the eyepatch again next year in the MAC East, along with WMU in the West, who has similarly light losses.


Yes with returning all of those players on D we'll maybe not one of the best in the country but certainly top 25 and hopefully our offence will be top 50
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Paul Graham
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 3:29:21 PM 
Did something happen to Blair Brown? Did he play in the second half?

Hopefully he's ok because this D looks great when we have all of our starters. So nice to see Jones back in the D-backfield.

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Bcat2
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 3:45:47 PM 
Paul Graham wrote:
Did something happen to Blair Brown? Did he play in the second half?

Hopefully he's ok because this D looks great when we have all of our starters. So nice to see Jones back in the D-backfield.



If he was out it might have been in response to the Bulls needing pass more. I sure hope he is well and just cursing a coach who might take him out for more pass protection.


"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men." JFK

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Monroe Slavin
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 7:00:37 PM 
Nxt yr, questions re d-line & d-backs..based on performance this yrr and personnel next yr.

Apparently Devin Bass didn't play vs Beefs? Any idea why?



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OhioCatFan
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 7:03:59 PM 
Monroe Slavin wrote:
. . .Apparently Devin Bass didn't play vs Beefs? Any idea why?


violation of unspecified team rules.


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L.C.
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/7/2014 8:52:34 PM 
Monroe Slavin wrote:
Nxt yr, questions re d-line & d-backs..based on performance this yrr and personnel next yr.

D-Backs is easy: You lose Kristoff and Ingol, and everyone else is back. At corner you have everyone back. At Safety you bring back:
Jones: was a starter until he got hurt, and looked very good
Scipio: was ahead of Jones on the depth chart, but got hurt pre-season, and only played a very small amount this year
Quallen: hurt in the third game, hasn't played since
Toran Davis: has been playing pretty well lately
Macer: has played a lot this year
and maybe Carpenter:
Summary: CB will be better because all the corners will be back, and a year older, wiser, and more experienced
S will be better because almost everyone will be back, and they will almost certainly be healthier.

DL is more of a mystery. DE will lose Kendrick Smith, but Basham, Laseak, Sayles, and Smart will all return, so the rotation won't change much. Thus, DE will be unchanged, or perhaps improved with another year of experience.
DT you lose the top two, McLeod and Crutcher, plus a top backup in Davis. You still have Tautuaiki and Purdum, so the starters should be fine. Much depends on how the backups develop (Aloese, Porter, Stephens, Frueauf, etc.)


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Monroe Slavin
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/8/2014 12:27:13 AM 
Isn't what we'll return at db and d-line next year kind of comparable to what we returned this year? This year, I see no particular stars. If injury kept guys out, well, that's part of the game so I don't buy laying it off to that.

No doubt a few new guys will come on and some of the returners could develop. But based on this year and the lack of stars at d-back and d-line for the last handful of years, I'm thinking that we won't be special at dback or d-line next year.

Too bad--because the linebackers are, and will be, good.

All in all, except for a few guys we haven't had any real studs at d-line or dback for many years.


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Bcat2
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/8/2014 7:37:53 AM 
L.C. wrote:
Monroe Slavin wrote:
Nxt yr, questions re d-line & d-backs..based on performance this yrr and personnel next yr.

D-Backs is easy: You lose Kristoff and Ingol, and everyone else is back. At corner you have everyone back. At Safety you bring back:
Jones: was a starter until he got hurt, and looked very good
Scipio: was ahead of Jones on the depth chart, but got hurt pre-season, and only played a very small amount this year
Quallen: hurt in the third game, hasn't played since
Toran Davis: has been playing pretty well lately
Macer: has played a lot this year
and maybe Carpenter:
Summary: CB will be better because all the corners will be back, and a year older, wiser, and more experienced
S will be better because almost everyone will be back, and they will almost certainly be healthier.

DL is more of a mystery. DE will lose Kendrick Smith, but Basham, Laseak, Sayles, and Smart will all return, so the rotation won't change much. Thus, DE will be unchanged, or perhaps improved with another year of experience.
DT you lose the top two, McLeod and Crutcher, plus a top backup in Davis. You still have Tautuaiki and Purdum, so the starters should be fine. Much depends on how the backups develop (Aloese, Porter, Stephens, Frueauf, etc.)


DT will be fine. They are back to containing which will make the LBs the stars, but, don't you love the 61 yards allowed Buffalo vs what was allowed last season. Some might see the DT's TFLs are way down and think they are not excelling at their positions. Not true. Crutch and McCleod are playing better than ever, they are just giving the tackles to the LBs on a platter. DT work is selfless. I thank Crutch and McCleod for accepting their roles and doing it sooooo well.


"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men." JFK

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The Situation
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/8/2014 8:55:42 AM 
Monroe Slavin wrote:

All in all, except for a few guys we haven't had any real studs at d-line or dback for many years.


Another way to say what you've said:

"Yeah we've had studs recently, but those don't count."

To overlook what a DB like Thad Turner, Julian Posey, or Omar Leftwich brought to the program in recent years is disrespect. To overlook what Mike Mitchell and TJ Carrie brought to the program is delusional.

Guys on the D-Line like Landon Cohen, Jameson Hartke, Neal Huynh, Ernie Hodge, Tremayne Scott, Marcellis Williamson, Carl Jones brought everything to the table you could ask of them in this conference..

I'm amazed at what you will go out of your way to say, in a thread about linebackers none the less.

Last Edited: 11/8/2014 8:59:17 AM by The Situation

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Monroe Slavin
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/8/2014 11:47:17 AM 
Tell me how many of those guys were All-MAC then, especially first team All-MAC. Tell me how many of those teams were revered for their level of defense (which to me is only about points given up...stats like yards given up are irrelevant).

Tell me how many of those guys we speak about as hitters.

I'll get heat from you lame-o's from using this time frame, but tell me under Solich how many MAC leading type defensive players we've had at dback and d-line.

We've had a number of good players, no doubt. But I'm talking about 'gotta account for that guy' type players who are the key to winning a MAC title.

But over 10 years there haven't been that many all-on studs.



Your enmity toward me is irrational. I have different opinions. Deal with it. Oh, I'm the only guy who goes somewhat tangential on the thread topics--right.

You could add value by doing a theoretical ranking on college futbol while you're at it. We'd all love that.



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L.C.
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  Message Not Read  RE: LBs
   Posted: 11/8/2014 12:03:28 PM 
Bcat2 wrote:
DT will be fine. They are back to containing which will make the LBs the stars, but, don't you love the 61 yards allowed Buffalo vs what was allowed last season. Some might see the DT's TFLs are way down and think they are not excelling at their positions. Not true. ...

I was wondering if that had happened in the last few games, but I wasn't sure.

For those that aren't sure what BCAT is saying, there are basically two different strategies that a defensive line can use. One is to try to penetrate and disrupt. The other is to rush in a controlled manner, trying to collapse the pocket slowly, and to tie up the offensive linemen, and to hold lanes.

Traditionally Ohio has used the contain strategy for the defensive line, but last year they asked the defensive line to penetrate and disrupt. The goal was for them to break up the offensive play before it started, and to get sacks. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes not. On the plus side, last year Ohio doubled the number of sacks over previous years. On the negative side, the penetration by the defensive line often left gaps unfilled, plus it allowed opposing offensive linemen to get to, and to block Ohio's linebackers. The result was that Ohio was gashed frequently for long rushing gains, and gave up huge rushing yardage last year.

This year Ohio adjusted the defense to a cover-4, and to press coverage, with the idea that the defensive line would continue to penetrate, but that the press coverage would bring the safeties up to help on runs, and the corners up to prevent quick passes. This worked better than using Cover-2 with having the defensive line disrupt, but it still wasn't entirely successful. Some teams still gashed the defense for lots of rushing yards, and long gainers, particularly Marshall and CMU.

Over the years Ohio has had some outstanding defensive tackles that excelled at doing exactly that, plugging up the middle, guys like Shane Yates, Marcellis Williamson, and Neal Huynh. Crutcher is very good at it, too. The thing is, when the defensive line is playing contain, and controlled rush, you don't notice them much. They don't make lots of big, flashy plays. Instead, though, they plug things up and keep the linebackers free to flow laterally to make plays, and the guys we, as fans notice, are the linebackers who are behind them. Thus, behind Yates, we saw Muncy and Russ making plays. Behind Williamson we saw Keller and Renfro making plays. Behind Huynh we saw Keller, Woseley, and Lewis making plays.

If they have indeed gone back to playing contain, that's probably part of the reason that this thread exists. With Crutcher and McLeod plugging up the middle, it lets the linebackers excel. I don't mean to detract from the linebackers, by the way; they are excellent. They are doing a great job, on both runs and passes.


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