One loss and Urban Meyer's players come unglued, but why is this a bad thing?
When you get to a point where one loss cripples the season and initiates what some are calling a near player mutiny, expectations may be a bit too lofty.
Shortly after Ohio State’s home loss to Michigan State on Saturday snapped the Buckeyes’ NCAA record 30-game conference winning streak, several of the team’s biggest names put themselves in the spotlight, whether intentional or not, which ruffled the feathers of media types nationally.
They’re being too selfish, many said. Urban Meyer’s lost control, many quipped.
Ezekiel Elliott’s well-publicized post-game comments critical of his coaching staff spread like wildfire while Cardale Jones’ Instagram post pertaining to his NFL future was viewed by many as a head-scratching expression with another game to play during the regular season.
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In actuality, this proves nothing other than what we already knew about Ohio State — a team packed with NFL talent itching to add another championship to its collection before much of the talented roster jumps to the next level. And for several Buckeyes, they realized this goal ended on the Spartans’ 41-yard kick, so why not be honest with their assessments after the game?
Too often we complain about cookie cutter comments from players surrounded by the media horde. Generic quotes have no lifespan and those perceived as juicy are blown out of proportion to garner attention. When a Heisman candidate as one of the nation’s best backs is excluded from a game plan, why do we all the sudden question him as a player when he speaks on it?
“I’m disappointed in the play-calling,” Elliott said. “I feel like we just weren’t put in the right opportunity to win this game. We weren’t put in the right situations to win this game.”
Elliott averaged 24.4 offensive touches per game coming into the Buckeyes’ most important game of the season, but managed just 12 carries — and no catches — against Michigan State.
Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner is being paid $600,000 in base salary this season and Urban Meyer’s sitting at $5.8 million. It’s a bad precedent to set when these two are above reproach from their players, you know, the guys who facilitate staff-wide bonuses with stellar performances leading to noteworthy wins.
Elliott was frustrated and he spoke from the heart. Let’s avoid chastising a player who wanted his hands on the football to try and help his team win the football game.
Ohio State’s regular season schedule stinks! I’m sorry. This is old news. But, worthy news. When you play one ranked team up until Nov 21, and lose to them your schedule sux. If you would have maybe played stiff competition early on maybe losing now wouldn’t seem so bad to players, fans etc. Ohio State won the so-called play-offs last year (I get it) but their road getting there was much,much,much easier than the other teams. Just a plain and simple fact.
Hell, they even had some difficulty with some of the cupcakes.
I’ll hand it to OSU’s team last year. They got it done. I don’t think they ever should have been in the CFP, but they did what they had to and won the title. But this year… had they not won last season, they never would have even been a top 10 team. Their schedule is absolute garbage. Hilarious that the team falls apart and acts like babies when they do lose.
That’s like the same thing as when Henry only got 13 carries against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl game. Except I didn’t hear Henry complain that he only got 13 carries and blame the coaches after that loss.
no it’s not. henry WAS NOT the starter. yes he played much better than yeldon, still not the starter though so he was not going to get many more carries than yeldon.
Well Yeldon only had 10 carries that game.
Instead of saying it doesn’t apply to Henry, you should say it applies to both of them. The running game was abandoned when it was eating up big chunks of yards.
HE WAS RUNNING ALL OVER OHIO STATE AND NOT BEING A STARTER. IF THEY KEPT RUNNING HIM INSTEAD OF GOING BACK TO PASSING THEY WIN THE GAME.
Well, zeke just keeping it real, real zeke that is. He’s extremely high maintenance and this gives you a glimpse of the chamelon that Meyer has had to be trying to wrangle this collection of talent and keeping everyone happy. Their struggles despite that talent reveal the turmoil, this loss just removed the silencer.
Sounds like trouble brewing in the Ohio State locker room.
Would love to see further melt down against UM this Saturday.
Coming from the cupcake SEC east, LOL
After you lost your drugged up QB – ya’ll got no chance in ATL.
Their defense still canned the landrebelsharkbears.
Yeah didn’t Florida beat y’all….
Once again, without a drugged up QB – they got no chance in ATL.
And Georgia got beat by their backup QB, LOL, 27-3.
At least Vandy scored 7 points :)
Once again, without a drugged up QB – ya’ll got no chance in ATL.
OSU is a joke. The most over rated team in the last 15 years. And that’s saying something because Florida State the last few years has been outrageously over rated. But I believe OSU has them beat on that. These overgrown babies are crying and blaming coaches for the play calls but they can’t even execute even the most simple of play calls. It’s all execution!! It wouldn’t matter what the play call is if you can’t execute!! Urban Myer has been a MAJOR success at every single program he has been a part of. So who do you really think is to blame here?? A guy who has proven himself to be a hall of fame coach, or some overgrown babies who got to be so cocky and arrogant that they think they can win just by stepping on the field? They lack discipline. They lack heart. That’s why they’ve almost been beat multiple times this year by nobody teams! As for Elliot… Yea he’s over rated too. And if I were the coach and he came out saying “there’s no way I’m coming back next year,” then I would go ahead and bench him this year. Since he’s clearly so openly unhappy and ready to no longer play for the school, I’d sit his ass and oblige his wishes to no longer play for OSU. Also it’s clearly a point of great stress for him so I’d just have to tell him stress is unhealthy and its only right as his coach to watch out for his health and then bench him so as to relieve him of his stress. Big ass baby. Then watch him go to the NFL and ride the pine there because he ISN’T that good to begin with, and he lacks the work ethic and maturity to do what he needs to do to become a success as a professional football player. He’s a freaking joke. And he just killed his draft stock. Nobody wants an outspoken, self centered ass hole who trashes his own coach. They won’t put up with that mess in the pros.
PS… They’ll lose again next week. Because it all boils down to one word that success depends on… ATTITUDE. Something these pansies need to learn.
Am I the only one that skipped reading this comment…?
Lol… Nope
Nah man… It’s just too much.
attitude equation: your parents tell the media “Missouri didn’t make a big enough deal when their son visited campus” + Elliott only gets yards when he has numerical superiority from blockers / only having to prove yourself against a few equal opponents per year. = over-rated-ness squared. Over-rated-ness = Ohio State
This was the second time this year Ohio State played a power five team that now has a winning record. The other was Penn State.
Coming from the cupcake SEC east, LOL
After you lost your drugged up QB – ya’ll got no chance in ATL.
You still seem butthurt from Florida beating Ole Miss…
Once again, without a drugged up QB – they got no chance in ATL.
And Georgia got beat by their backup QB, LOL, 27-3.
At least Vandy scored 7 points :)
Talk about quoting out of context, Brad, you absolutely blew this one.
I don’t think anyone would have a problem with the quotation from Elliott that you cited.
Comments like the one below are the ones that made Elliott seem like a whiner.
“I think I do deserve more than 11 carries,” he said, according to Cleveland.com. “I think I really do. I can’t speak for the play-calling, I don’t know what was going on or what they were seeing, but honestly, it didn’t work out. It wasn’t working.”
That’s the comment that ticked folks off and which you forgot to mention.
How is being a douche not a bad thing?
We question him not as a player, but as a lousy team player. What about the rest of the players who want to finish the season out as a unit? Elliot and Jones make these selfish comments and fans and fellow players that maybe aren’t going “to the next level” are supposed to be OK with it? Nah, I don’t think so. Self centered at the least.
I personally feel like he has no room to the criticize the coaches when he only got 33 yards on 12 carries…. maybe if he did more with his touches he would get more of them..
THIS IS BS. TAKE UP FOR THE CRY BABY. THEY GOT BEAT WORSE THAN SCORE SHOWED. JUST GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE STATS. IF IT WASN’T FOR THAT ONE TURN OVER ON A BAD PLAY THAT SET OSU UP FOR A TD THEY PROB WOULDN’Y HAVE SCORED THEN. THEY WERE OUT PLAYED THE WHOLE GAME. I THINK IT MORE MSU KICKING THEIR ASS THAN THE COACHING. NOW GO CHANGE THEIR DIAPERS FOR THE CEY BABAIES.