2008 tOSU Defense discussion (official thread)

[osugrad21]

BN$--Defensive Notebook: Slippery QB Befuddles OSU, Takeaways Make Difference

Players discuss the missed tackles, busted contain, and forced TOs.

 

[billmac91]

I'm not sure if there is an explanation for this....an advantage if you will.

Is there a reason the Buckeyes don't hide their blitzes? Whether it's a linebacker, CB, or safety coming, they are at the LOS or approach the LOS showing they are coming.

The blitz rarely occurs at the snap.

Are they intentinally showing who is coming or is it poor timing?

Watching USC against UVA, and then Miami against UF, the thing that stood out was a blitz could come from anywhere, and you had no idea where it was coming from pre-snap. The Bucks, for the last several years have been the opposite. If Russel is coming on a blitz, you know pre-snap. Malcolm Jenkins comes down the line well before the ball is snapped. If Freeman is coming, he positions himself on the LOS outside a DE. Last year Kurt Coleman revealed he was blitzing almost every time he was coming. He'd always come down before the snap. It seems they intentionally show the other team who is coming, but I don't know why yould want that.

 

[Buckeyecty4]

I'm not sure if there is an explanation for this....an advantage if you will.

Is there a reason the Buckeyes don't hide their blitzes? Whether it's a linebacker, CB, or safety coming, they are at the LOS or approach the LOS showing they are coming.

The blitz rarely occurs at the snap.

Are they intentinally showing who is coming or is it poor timing?

Watching USC against UVA, and then Miami against UF, the thing that stood out was a blitz could come from anywhere, and you had no idea where it was coming from pre-snap. The Bucks, for the last several years have been the opposite. If Russel is coming on a blitz, you know pre-snap. Malcolm Jenkins comes down the line well before the ball is snapped. If Freeman is coming, he positions himself on the LOS outside a DE.

I totally agree. We've seen better teams pick this up and get the ball out quickley to the vacated area of the zone blitz.. Flynn from LSU had a field day doing this.. I also saw Ohio easily pick up a number of our blitzing LBs, like they knew who was coming and where to shift the protection

 

[generaladm]

I agree, but it's not always completely obvious. Sometimes, a player shows blitz, then drops back in coverage. Sometimes one player will show and another player will come on a bit of a delay to overload the blockers. Showing blitz can be a bit like putting a man in motion on offense. By telling the blitz from a certain position, it can force the O to adjust or expose their blocking set. I do recall that DB blitzes have been rather glaring, though they do have to cheat up if they want to be in on the play.

 

[Taosman]

I thnk a lot of times showing your coming on a blitz is part of the mind games going on. Teams we have played have said we can bring the blitz from everywhere so I don't really know if teams are reading tendencies or not. Our defensive numbers have been generally excellent so it would seem the proof could be in the numbers.

 

[craigblitz]

Nothing to backup or quantify this yet but it seems the past couple of seasons we have not been nearly as agressive. Before I get bounced I know what the stats say, the stats say we are one of the elite defenses year in and year out. Maybe in the long run we are better of reading and reacting but games against LSU, Florida, and maybe USC it seems to me it would be benificial if we attacked more rather then sitting back and reacting.

Very possible this is a knee jerk reaction to Illinois, Ohio, LSU, Florida games so who knows... will have to do more research to back this up.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

i think a bigger issue is tackling in space. the 2002-2003 was one of the best teams tackling and sticking guys in space. this team (as a whole) does not tackle well in space, if they do make the tackle they dont seem to stick the guy, instead they allow or maybe the backs/wrs get the lean and pick up 2-3 yards after it...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

espn.com

Ohio State defense happy being ordinary

September 9, 2008 7:33 PM

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Nothing about Saturday's game at the L.A. Coliseum screams ordinary. Not the teams, not the players, not the coaches, not the fans, not the rankings, not the implications for both the winner and loser.
But after falling short in several showcase opportunities, Ohio State's defense is focused on keeping it simple.
"You make the plays that come to you," cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said Tuesday night. "One of our coaches said it best. He said, 'Don't try to do something extraordinary. Just do the things that are ordinary great.' ... You don't have to try to force plays."
When Jenkins watched film of Ohio State's losses in the last two BCS title games, he saw defenders caught up in the hype, trying to make plays outside of their job descriptions and, as a result, whiffing on their assignments. By the time the Buckeyes settled down in the second half of both those games, it was far too late.

Continued........

 

[bukIpower]

Does anyone else think our defense is always so far spread out?? I know that we need to fill voids and holes as the play starts but I hate how we'll go 3 dlinemen, 3 linebackers, and 5 DBs because I think that leaves us so vulnerable to running plays. Then it always seems like one of our linebackers is in the slot most of the time. So I mean that means we sometimes have 3 dlinemen, and 2 LB's as our front 7. I'd like to see us go 4-3 majority of the time against USC because we need to shut down their running game first and foremost and I think we really are vulnerable when we go small at defensive end for speed.

 

[fourteenandoh]

just doing a little pregame prep, and i'm trying to familiarize myself with the defensive line. i am obviously familiar with wilson and heyward and a little with abdallah. i really think the key to the game will lie in the hands of the front 4. getting the rush from the ends is crucial, but you've gotta get the push from the interior. one problem my novice eyes keep noticing is that the DL doesn't do a very good job of taking up men and letting the LBs do their thing. on the big plays you almost always see someone getting a block on laurinitis. am i wrong here?

looking at the two deep on the official website i see wilson and cam on the ends and abdallah and denlinger on the inside. how do these guys match up with SC? how have they looked so far this year? i was at a bar half watching the YSU game and didn't get to see the OU game. any thoughts?

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

just doing a little pregame prep, and i'm trying to familiarize myself with the defensive line. i am obviously familiar with wilson and heyward and a little with abdallah. i really think the key to the game will lie in the hands of the front 4. getting the rush from the ends is crucial, but you've gotta get the push from the interior. one problem my novice eyes keep noticing is that the DL doesn't do a very good job of taking up men and letting the LBs do their thing. on the big plays you almost always see someone getting a block on laurinitis. am i wrong here?

looking at the two deep on the official website i see wilson and cam on the ends and abdallah and denlinger on the inside. how do these guys match up with SC? how have they looked so far this year? i was at a bar half watching the YSU game and didn't get to see the OU game. any thoughts?

SC has some young guys on the Oline and our guys are more experienced. Wilson is the complete package at End this year, known for his ability to play the run and his overall athleticism (similar description to Jay Richardson, at least on paper). Heyward is another big kid who made a splash last season. He's not the passrusher that Wilson and Gibson are, but he's certainly solid as a rock on the other side. The X factor could be a speedy passrusher like Gibson, although the thing that's going to hurt him in this game is that SC's offense demands you to be very assignment sound, and right now Gibson still got some work to do in that area.

As far as the DTs, Abdallah is a senior who's really beginning to come on at the end of last year. Denlinger is solid, but he was a little banged up from last week. Larimore is solid. Worthington could be the key here. He's got the speed to collapse the pocket, but doesn't have the ideal size (287 lbs) to play the run.

If the ends can play assignment sound football and contain runs to the outside, which I believe they can, then we should be fine.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

We need to Heyward and Wilson to defend the run from their positions...USC will try to get outside, and they need to keep contain and either stretch the play out or force the play back inside...

Gibson and Wilson were in the backfield all last week, but they need to settle and make plays...Sanchez won't be moving like Boo...I think the 4 guys that play inside Larimore, Worthington, Abdallah, and Denlinger along with Rose will be guys that need to play big this week...They need to get some penetration and stay under control...USC has an inexperienced line, but talented, but we need these guys to keep guys off our LB's and S's so that they can make some plays in the run game not 5 yds downfield...

We also need to tackle on contact and not drag tackle...Knock down tackle..

 

[Brandon]

I'm not sure if there is an explanation for this....an advantage if you will.

Is there a reason the Buckeyes don't hide their blitzes? Whether it's a linebacker, CB, or safety coming, they are at the LOS or approach the LOS showing they are coming.

The blitz rarely occurs at the snap.

Are they intentinally showing who is coming or is it poor timing?

Watching USC against UVA, and then Miami against UF, the thing that stood out was a blitz could come from anywhere, and you had no idea where it was coming from pre-snap. The Bucks, for the last several years have been the opposite. If Russel is coming on a blitz, you know pre-snap. Malcolm Jenkins comes down the line well before the ball is snapped. If Freeman is coming, he positions himself on the LOS outside a DE. Last year Kurt Coleman revealed he was blitzing almost every time he was coming. He'd always come down before the snap. It seems they intentionally show the other team who is coming, but I don't know why yould want that.

I think masking your blitzes is key to a successful defense. We saw it on Sunday night when the Bears beat the Colts. You put your 3 linebackers near the line of scrimmage, and you even bring your safety down near the box. Then, when the QB snaps the ball, your blitzers come through and your other players quickly drop back into coverage. Obviously, you need quick linebackers to accomplish this.

Another great thing at masking is when you have an athletic safety. An example of this is with Troy Polamalu of the Steelers, he can virtually line up on the line of scrimmage on every play, and hes so quick he has the ability to get back into coverage without losing a step, there are few teams who can execute this in college football, but it is a great thing to have.

I think our achilles heel on defense has been that we are too passive on many plays, only rushing our down linemen and dropping our backers into coverage. The defenses who are aggressive usually always come out on top winning the championship(New England Patriots, New York Giants, Florida Gators, etc.)

 

[fourteenandoh]

We need to Heyward and Wilson to defend the run from their positions...USC will try to get outside, and they need to keep contain and either stretch the play out or force the play back inside...

Gibson and Wilson were in the backfield all last week, but they need to settle and make plays...Sanchez won't be moving like Boo...I think the 4 guys that play inside Larimore, Worthington, Abdallah, and Denlinger along with Rose will be guys that need to play big this week...They need to get some penetration and stay under control...USC has an inexperienced line, but talented, but we need these guys to keep guys off our LB's and S's so that they can make some plays in the run game not 5 yds downfield...

We also need to tackle on contact and not drag tackle...Knock down tackle..

theres a lot to digest in this post. well done. first and foremost is tackling. getting in the backfield won't do a damn thing if they don't make the play. sanchez being 'relatively' immobile should help. the part that stuck out to me though is the DE's keeping contain on the plays to the outside. i will definitely watch for that. finally, i guess i was right to mention the DL when looking at the play of the LBs. if the LBs get blocked its going to be a long day.

any opinions on laurinitis' play against OU. spiels said he was flat and was trying to run around blocks rather through blocks. any truth to this?

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I think masking your blitzes is key to a successful defense. We saw it on Sunday night when the Bears beat the Colts. You put your 3 linebackers near the line of scrimmage, and you even bring your safety down near the box. Then, when the QB snaps the ball, your blitzers come through and your other players quickly drop back into coverage. Obviously, you need quick linebackers to accomplish this.

Another great thing at masking is when you have an athletic safety. An example of this is with Troy Polamalu of the Steelers, he can virtually line up on the line of scrimmage on every play, and hes so quick he has the ability to get back into coverage without losing a step, there are few teams who can execute this in college football, but it is a great thing to have.

I think our achilles heel on defense has been that we are too passive on many plays, only rushing our down linemen and dropping our backers into coverage. The defenses who are aggressive usually always come out on top winning the championship(New England Patriots, New York Giants, Florida Gators, etc.)

You do realize that the NYG and Gators get alot of their pressure from their down lineman...They will bring the occasional LB, but we brought LB's on almost every play last year against LSU and it didn't do us any good...

IF you can get pressure with 4 that allows you to have max coverage of 7 guys or if you rush 3 then have 8 in coverage...Hard to find holes, and real hard if there is a ton of pressure and you are throwing into 7 guys in coverage...If you start bringing 6 guys and cover with 5 everyone is on an island, which is ok to take a chance a couple times, but why give a team a higher chance at a big play, if you feel that you can hold them with only rushing 4...You pick and choose times, when you want to make the big play and hope you are right...

Remember Springs against Michigan...He slips the receiver goes for 6...If that wasn't man coverage and no free, that play goes for 10 yards, instead of a TD...

Tress and Heacock believe in making a team go 12 good plays to score than going 2 or 3 plays and scoring...

Thus why you see the soft coverage at time, and give up 5 yards...