(10-26-2017, 09:52 PM)Boston Card link Wrote:Keller didnt play his best game, obviously.
Ummm, yeah. I realize that there is some understatement there, and there is no need to pile on him in public... but it was more than just not playing his best game.
BC
There are several comments quite upset about Shaw's words at the press conference.
As always, worrying about what a coach says at a press conference is silly. Occasionally a coach is trying to explain what they really think, but that's rare. Usually a coach is trying to either make a statement to the team or simply trying to push the media off so he can get out of the room and do something he feels is more worthwhile.
In this case it is overly silly. While you can take a sentence or two from Shaw as not reflecting reality, it seems pretty clear to me upon listening to the whole press conference that Shaw was very unhappy with Chryst's play, was very unhappy with all sorts of aspects of the team's play, and occasionally was defaulting to his "protect my guys after a loss" mode. The other thing he was doing was trying to remember to say nice things about OSU. That part is not only proper generically, it was also true that OSU played FAR better than they have over most of the season.
That said, it is perfectly appropriate to be concerned about what Shaw did.
I have some sympathy for the problem. It's very hard to properly manage exchanging QBs, both for the game at hand and for the season. I am not quite sure when the conditions were such that one had to swap for Costello, but Chryst was becoming increasingly rattled, uncertain and gun shy as troubles wore on and this became significantly worse after the interception. That wasn't going to clear mid-game.
An interesting aspect of this situation is that Costello has been playing in every game starting with UCLA. While in the past two games there was some whining amongst fans that swapping "ruined the rhythm" of the QBs, I still don't really see why this was the game with no room for Costello to play.
By the way, from the sideline shots I saw, I thought Costello looked as if he thought he was going to get into the game. Of course making such a determination from what you see on TV is rather suspect, but I still think Shaw was teetering on the edge of making the swap but for some reason just didn't do so.
(10-27-2017, 09:13 AM)martyup link Wrote:Speaking of stubborn, if I was counting right, I think Shaw ran the jump ball in the corner play five times in a row (including the TD catch). I'm not mad about it because I think it is a safe play with a high probability of success. But, when we moved up half the distance to the goal line three times we might have just punched it in with an ogre formation.
That was an amusing sequence. (Though I think it was
merely four straight.)
On the one hand, after two straight PI calls it wouldn't have taken much of a run in the heavy set to get the 3/4 of a yard needed.
On the other hand, OSU never really defended the play adequately.
The first one worked for a TD.
The second one looked like it was about to work except for a rather egregious PI.
The third one was more borderline both as to whether it would have worked and whether it was PI.
The fourth one the pass wasn't good enough (too high if I remember correctly).
It shows the strengths and weaknesses of the play. If you have the height and strength mismatch, it is extremely hard to defend even if you know it is coming. On the other hand, there is room for error: the pass has to be accurate, the receiver has to catch it, and the ref has to call PI if needed.Â
It did feel like some kind of statement, though what statement I am not sure.
To Chryst that he can make the play?
To defenses that they had better watch out for that play?
To the whole offense that, "I know you can run it in under a yard, but you have to be able to execute some basic pass plays as well"?
By the way, if that play actually works, it should work in the middle of the field on say a third and four.
