Holy cow. Am I glad I went to that game today. Here are my random observations:
* Wonderful to see Prince make so many adjustments from last week. Almost all I formation in the first half, many times with two tight ends. Also, lots of pulling action! As a result, helloooooo running game! It was BEAUTIFUL to see so much I formation. This really encourages me that Prince was willing to make this adjustment.
* Freeman allowed to make plays with his feet, obviously. And man, can he. Obviously not an option quarterback, but what a nice dimension to have a pocket passer who's so mobile and tough to bring down.
* FREEMAN! When the chips were down, he leads two touchdown drives. Makes the plays. Brett Favre-like. Seriously. Those last two drives, it loked like Brett Favre was out there, running around, just willing his team to victory by scrambling, throwing on the run, doing whatever it took. He's still gonna have rough periods this year, but folks, today's performance at the end of the game in his first start is the stuff movies are made of.
* What's up with the kickoff coverage? Seriously, guys. Man up and make the plays. They almost cost us the game.
* LEON FRICKIN PATTON. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a running back. Not as shifty as Sproles, but bigger and has enough moves and SPEED and ACCELERATION to make defenders look really, really stupid. It was a pleasure watching that kid run today. That kickoff return was INCREDIBLE!
* Defense obviously got tired in the second half, but made the big plays at the end of the game when their backs were against the wall. And, overall, held O-State to less than their average offensive production.
* Did I mention how nice it was to see 90% I formation?
* MOREIRA! I award him
for his clutch catches at the end of the game.
* MARCUS WATTS! Guy's a frickin' stud.
* Cornerbacks--great job against those big O-State receivers.
Folks, the rest of this year is probably going to have more downs than ups. But after watching this game today, I'm greatly encouraged. We have some young, real talent. We have a head coach who will make the adjustments he needs to make, even if it means making some big changes to the formations and plays that are run. Most importantly, we have a team that found a way to win when the chips were down, with units who stepped up and made plays when other units put them in a bad position.
There are still issues, but I feel so much better now than I did three days ago that I can't believe it.
