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Should OSU football threads go in OT or RealBrownsFans? How bout making a RealBuckeyesFans section? Anway:
Helwagen Chat: Aug. 19 Archive
By Bucknuts.com Staff
Date: Aug 19, 2005
Here are excerpts of Friday's Chat with Bucknuts.com managing editor Steve Helwagen. He conducts these Chats each week for Bucknuts.com subscribers. Remember on Monday, we will have a Chat at 3 p.m. with Scout.com recruiting expert Bob Lichtenfels.
Riptide (Aug 19, 2005 1:11:30 PM)
AD Smith made a comment about OSU doing some things offensively this year that we have not seen historically. Could you get into that a bit?
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:12:47 PM)
Well, Gene Smith is a football guy. He was recruited to play for Woody Hayes but went to ND instead. I think he knows what OSU is known for in football -- running between the tackles, etc. ...
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:14:01 PM)
I took his comment to mean that Ohio State will be utilizing its immense athletic weapons like Holmes, Smith, Ginn, Gonzalez, Hall and the rest to their fullest capability. They won't be bound, per se, by what OSU has been "known for." They will continue to accentuate what they do well -- spreading the field and making some big plays vertically.
Riptide (Aug 19, 2005 1:14:08 PM)
are we goingto be seeing some Air Tressel this year, then?
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:14:56 PM)
That would definitely be weird, wouldn't it? But, yes, I think the secrecy OSU showed in the spring and now in the fall with no open events at all is an indication that they're brewing something big up behind those fences.
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:15:45 PM)
I think fans will need to be patient, though. It may take a few games for the QB situation to settle itself and for one of the backs to jump up and claim that job, too. So it could be a work in progress for the first 3-4 weeks.
hamiltuckbuck (Aug 19, 2005 1:15:49 PM)
Hey Steve, do you have any updates on Ted Ginn?
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:17:14 PM)
I think he is stabilized. He is in University Hospital in Cleveland. As I understand it, he went in to have a procedure and there were some complications. Every indication I have is he should be able to rejoin his team in a few weeks. We just had interviews with Ted Jr. ...
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:17:16 PM)
Man ...
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:18:24 PM)
I want to tell you. That kid is strong. Ted Sr. raised his son to press on in the face of adversity and that's what he and the rest of the Glenville guys are doing. This is what all of that preparation has been about. Say a prayer for that whole family and for Ted Sr. in particular.
missionviejobuckeye (Aug 19, 2005 1:18:41 PM)
Hello Kirk/Steve, 1st time in chat, out here in SoCal, 5 miles from Mission Viejo HS, realistic chances for K. Rueland/Chane Moline???? Moline is an unbelieveable back, watched him break 80 yard run against LB Poly outrunning safety at 236 lbs. last year
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:20:33 PM)
Not sure about Moline. Have not heard OSU mentioned as much with him. Was definitely a good sign for Rueland to visit OSU Aug. 5. He will now devote the next 3-plus months to his high school team, then make visits likely in Jan. We'll see if OSU makes his self-imposed 5- or 6-school cut when calls can be made on 9/1. My feeling is OSU will be in that mix. Butch Reynolds impressed him (as he has everybody else), the stadium impressed him, Tressel impressed him. These were the things he told me.
Antosu (Aug 19, 2005 1:20:42 PM)
I think the season will begin with the rb rotation in this order Pittman, Haw, Wells. How do you think it will end?
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:21:38 PM)
Good question. I think they will all play. I understand Schnittker is back there too as the big back component they had with Branden Joe last year. Pittman is still the guy, for me, though. He can do so much. I hear he is coming on.
INBuckeye (Aug 19, 2005 1:21:54 PM)
I have a question on TV scheduling. Living in Indiana, I don't get to see every game unless its picked up by some larger network. How and when is that determined?
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:23:20 PM)
ABC has first choice each week. A lot of weeks this year they will televise games at noon and 3:30. They're looking for the best teams, the best games and the biggest draws. OSU -- particularly when ranked in the top 10 -- has been one of their favorite teams. Of course, Disney owns ABC and ESPN, so they work together on game selection. ESPN got to chose 2-3 night games before the season, so that involved the OSU-Penn State game this year.
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:25:28 PM)
No matter where you live in Indiana, you should be able to see every Ohio State game this year. ABC will cover Miami and SDSU regionally and I imagine Indiana will get those. Texas is a national 8 p.m. game on ABC. ESPN has Penn State. ABC or ESPN will carry almost every OSU game, though the times have not been set for the rest yet. There may be 1-2 games that get bumped to ESPN2 or the ESPN-Plus syndicated package, but even then there are over-the-air local stations in Indiana that will show those games to you. You just need to check Bucknuts each week. We'll have the full TV data for each game in the Game Data we publish each Monday or Tuesday before the game.
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:26:01 PM)
If you don't have cable or ESPN, I can't help you there (ha ha).
redondo (Aug 19, 2005 1:26:10 PM)
Hi Steve - I have a question about picture day. When, for example, ABC televises a game and they show the head shots of the starting lineups at the beginning of each half, are those pictures taken on the recently past team picture day by the university and made available to the network(s), or does this happen some other day some other way? Thank you.
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:27:15 PM)
Since ABC, ESPN and ESPN-Plus are all under one umbrella, they have those head shots taken at photo day, just as you expect, and they're used on all of those broadcasts all year. They do not make the players available each week for that.
BuckeyeDave (Aug 19, 2005 1:27:32 PM)
In the Gonzalez article, Gonzales referenced "game Goals". can you shed any light on Coach Tressel's game goals and whether or not you think the Buckeyes will achieve them on a consistent basis?
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:28:41 PM)
Just in general, OSU has a list of stated goals for its offense and its defense. Could involve turnovers, converting in the red zone. I know as a general rule, they want to rush for 200 and pass for 250. That's pretty lofty, but that's their goal. They have crunched the numbers and found when they're able to do one or the other, I guess, they rarely lose.
missionviejobuckeye (Aug 19, 2005 1:29:11 PM)
For the Buckeye in Indiana, gey Direct TV, haven't missed a game for 4 years although several are pay for view....but worth every cent, and time away from the wife!!!!!
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:30:23 PM)
I agree, but ABC if they're showing OSU that game should go to Indiana, too. The college pay per view packages really come into play for people who live outside the Midwest and get an ACC or Big East or Big 12 or Pac-10 game instead of OSU on their local ABC station. Like I said, stick with Bucknuts each Mon. and Tues. and we'll tell you where you need to be.
grimes (Aug 19, 2005 1:30:39 PM)
Was last year the last "down year" OSU wil face for the forseeable future? The talent is now just soooo deep. Sometimes it seems that JT has such a long term vision that the early season or previous year is just a practice session to develop players for what is coming .
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:33:19 PM)
I would not say that, although the early returns on the incoming freshmen are extremely strong so maybe they're ready for a 3-4 year run. Next year, honestly, could be a transition year. Yes, they'd have Smith/Zwick, Ginn, Gonzalez and Pittman back. But the defense will be decimated, even worse if Youboty would leave. They'll need some young guys to really come through big there, especially at DE and LB. But, I'd say they should not fall below 9-3 or, at worst, 8-4 any time soon. Moreover, they should be in the hunt, like this year, for some 11-1 and 12-0 seasons. There is too much talent there. You just hate to lose so much off one side of the ball at one time.
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:33:50 PM)
One quick note ...
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:34:19 PM)
Gary called earlier to say that Chris Wells ripped off a 70-yard TD run on his first carry today in Akron Garfield's scrimmage against Canal Fulton NW.
Antosu (Aug 19, 2005 1:34:27 PM)
Will M. Wells surpass Pittman or Haw during the season...Even if they stay healthy?
SteveHelwagen (Aug 19, 2005 1:35:12 PM)
No, I don't see that. Can he get hot and have some 100-yard games like some freshmen in the past? Yes, he could. But do I see him sustaining that over a whole year? I'm not sure. He has been impressive so far, everybody says.