Let's Go Bucks!

Well it is the day after the loss to USC and I slept on it and I think I know what is the problem. The one thing that I noticed last night during the game is that our team has no swagger, no attitude, and no desire. This is a team that should dominate everyone on paper but that is not the case when we play. It all starts up front with our offensive line. On the second drive where we went 17 plays our offensive line was giving Boeckman just enough time to complete passes and our running backs were gaining positive yards. We were moving the chains and that is exactly what we needed to do. We maybe only got a field goal but it was a good series to build on. Then USC went down and scored easily and it seemed that as soon as our offense saw that they lost the fight and just decided to bend over and take it in the butt. We are a extremely physically talented team but it seems that our own players sometimes don't believe that they are.

I also noticed that while we have a ton of seniors on this team there are not a lot of leaders among that group. JL is not among this group, he was trying to get his teammates into this game but it never took. I think on offense we missed Beanie in the fact that I now think he is the vocal leader and he plays with the most attitude on offense and without him on the field they played without confidence.

I am not one of the many people that are calling for Tressel's job because while he lost the NC the last two years he also got us there and not every coach can do that. I do think that something needs to change among the staff. I partially think the attitude problem with the team leads back to Tressel's stoic and calm persona. I agree with Gomer now that Dantonio brought a intensity to our defense that we just don't have now. I think this off-season JT needs to look at his staff and possibly consider bringing in an actual offensive coordinator and have him call plays. This way the play calling will be better and more creative.

There was some good that I found out of this game. Pryor looked good. I still don't think he should start mostly because I doubt he knows more then 20% of the playbook because he still is a true freshman. I do think he needs to be used more and I think that is something we will see. I also noticed that when Pryor was on the sideline he never sat down, he was always cheering and trying to get people into the game. This is the kind of attitude that Boeckman doesn't have. After one play he got tackled and got into the face of one of the USC players and it wasn't a fighting kind of talk but it was the kind of situation where he showed he has the swagger and the attitude on the field. This bodes well for his future.

I also noticed that USC is damn deep with talent. They recruit the hell out of 5 star players and to an extent it shows. The senior class we have now is good but it is not flashy. Most of these players are more lighly recruited players but still good players. I think that looking into the future and as of right now we have a better recruiting class then USC this past year and in 09 we right now have the best in the country. I think the future in that regard looks bright and we still have a chance to have a good season. I am hopeful that the team will come our next week pissed off and destroy Troy and hopefully carry that anger the rest of the season.