Is Brandon Saine Hurt?

• thedynasty1998

  

  se-alum;499257 wrote:BTW, Miami's defense is anything but "soft". They are allowing less than 3yds a rush and have 14 sacks on the year.

  
  I actually tend to agree with you, but leading up to the game that's all we heard due to the Wisconsin game last year. I was fairly impressed with Miami's defense.
• centralbucksfan

  se-alum;499257 wrote:I think Saine is getting less carries, due to lack of production. .

  
  Not sure I agree with this. He had a 100yd game vs Marshall, 1st game, on only 9 carries. He came back against Miami and had only 12 carries. As I have stated many times, Tressel is going to pretty muc split the carries between Boom and Saine. He then tends to lean on the one who is hot at different times. And again, our offensive philosophy is not what it has been the past couple of years. OSU is looking to pass much more and open up the offense. I mean EM is one of the worst rush defenses in the country...and Tress/OSU came out throwing the ball all over the field. That told me a lot about what we are going to see this entire year. Much like Troy Smith senior season. Tress now trusts Pryor to do about anything in the offense.
• 0311sdp

  As I said in August, Saine and Herron are not elite running backs, Saine is a great receiver out of the backfield but does not consistantly run hard while Herron is just not that good. If the Buckeyes want a better running game, any of the next three backs (Berry, Hall, Hyde) are better running the ball than these two are, but Tressel is loyal to the upper classmen so nothing will change.
• Blanket

  Berry needs to get more involved in this offense for them to really start clicking on the ground.
  
  At some point, the real lack of a running game is going to bite Ohio State badly.
• OneBuckeye

  

  Looks like the coaches are listening to suggestions. Tressel said in his presser today Hall will get more looks at RB and we will see saine at WR #3 more often this week.
• j_crazy

  

  get Berry in the mix, that guy is a stud. Best RB on the team IMO.
• OneBuckeye

  

  j_crazy;500274 wrote:get Berry in the mix, that guy is a stud. Best RB on the team IMO.

  
  I agree he has been a beast on KR and in mop up duty. I will reserve my judgement till he gets carries with the 1s. Which I hope he gets a couple soon.
• OneBuckeye

  

  Apparently D. Long agrees with everyone.
  
  http://bucknuts.com/index.php/component/option,com_idoblog/Itemid,1347/id,10959/task,viewpost/
  

  I am trying to understand the back situation. It just doesn't make any sense.
  
  I look at what I am seeing on the field so far this year and I am not seeing what Brandon Saine, moreso than Dan Herron, is doing to hold onto the starting job. I see a big, fast back but one that lacks explosion, quick feet and vision. I see a back that does not make people miss.
  
  What I see is most important but the stats back up what my eyes are telling me. Saine is the starting back but is fourth on the team in rushing yards. He has less yards than the number four back on the the team. I had one fan tell me that Saine is averaging 4.7 a carry. Take away his longest run of the year, a 45-yarder, and he is averaging 3.5 yards per carry.
  
  Let's be fair. Jaamal Berry has more yards but he also has a 67-yard run. Let's take that away from his total. He still has rushed at a 7.8 yards per carry clip and only has 14 less rushing yards after you take away the longest run for both, despite having 21 less carries.
  
  I know Jim Tressel has talked about Saine being the best receiving back he has ever coached but I see a back who has one more reception than his back-up, Dan Herron. I don't know about Berry but Jordan Hall caught more passes as a back than he had runs. He looked better to me as a receiver than he did as a back in high school.
  
  Picking up blitzers, and blocking in general, is something that young backs need to pick up. Maybe someone out there is paying more attention than I am. Has anyone seen a memorable blitz pickup or just a great block from Saine?
  
  This is a critical element to winning the national championship. If everything falls into place it will be Ohio State versus Alabama in the national championship game. A brilliant defensive mind like Nick Saban will figure out that attacking Pryor is the key to beating Ohio State. The Buckeyes are a one-dimensional team. Well, at least right now.
  
  We saw a glimpse into what can happen to this team in Alabama-Arkansas game. Ryan Mallett put up 250 yards and threw a touchdown pass in the first half against Alabama but in the second half he threw for 107 yards and two interceptions as Saban ignored the pedestrian Arkansas rushing attack (which had 64 total yards as the Razorbacks leading rusher had 42 yards on only 6 carries with 14 coming on one carry) and attacked Mallett.
  
  That is what we are looking at if the offense does not find the balance that Jim Tressel always preaches. Loyalty to seniors is an admirable trait. I would hope all coaches would want to make sure those that have worked the longest and the hardest have the first shot at playing time. As we look around the country, we know that is not always the case.
  
  However, loyalty to seniors should always be trumped by what is in the best interest of the team. That is what both coach and senior should make the utmost priority. There is no way the Buckeyes are the best team they can be with the depth chart at running back as it stands right now. Many are calling for Hall or Berry. I would love to see that happen but at least start Dan Herron. He has more yards and is just as good a receiver. He is a class act and a character kid all the way. Forget about the stats. Just look at the film. Who is the more impressive back?
  
  Coach Tressel should make the move and the team-first player I believe Brandon Saine is should understand.
  

• j_crazy

  

  moving saine to the #3 WR slot would fill 2 needs nicely. I love this idea.
• krambman

  

  For the record, OSU is 14th nationally in rushing so far this year averaging 240.3 yards per game. We' actually ranked 15 spots higher in rushing than in passing. Just something to consider.
  
  We also shouldn't forget that early last year it didn't seem like we had much of a running game as we were stuggling to find an identity on offense and then after the five turnover loss to Purdue we committed to the running game and averaged almost 260 rushing yards per game over the final five games last season.