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2014 tOSU Defense Discussion

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I was a little concerned about the tackling at first in the MSU game but aside from that piss-poor attempt by Conley (a backup) to tackle Huphrey on the first TD, we were pretty sound. Langford deserves a ton of credit...big man with a forward lean and plenty of leg strength. Plus most of the issues with him were when he was in a pile and no defender could properly square up on him. Quite a few times in open space I saw Lee and McMillan make very impressive form tackles. And considering the tackling has been very good all year, I would say there is no cause for concern right now.
 
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RB07OSU said:
I was a little concerned about the tackling at first in the MSU game but aside from that piss-poor attempt by Conley (a backup) to tackle Huphrey on the first TD, we were pretty sound. Langford deserves a ton of credit...big man with a forward lean and plenty of leg strength. Plus most of the issues with him were when he was in a pile and no defender could properly square up on him. Quite a few times in open space I saw Lee and McMillan make very impressive form tackles. And considering the tackling has been very good all year, I would say there is no cause for concern right now.
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Yeah, I did not think our tackling was poor once Apple was back in. I was disturbed by how Langford would sometimes just run over the D for a couple more yards, but he just seemed to be a beast.
 
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matcar said:
Yeah, I did not think our tacking was poor once Apple was back in. I was disturbed by how Langford would sometimes just run over the D for a coupe more yards, but he just seemed to be a beast.
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He has great size and leg drive...when you can't square up on him in a cluster of OL/DL, he can use it to his advantage and get those extra yards. Hopefully we get some more open shots on Cobb, he is very talented as well.
 
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I said in the summer that I felt that in order for Ohio State to be elite, they needed a defense that would not allow over 20-21 points in ANY game. Not average that, but not give up more than that on any Saturday. Va Tech 35, Maryland 28, MSU 37, etc.

This defense is better in terms of scheme, stats, execution, and eye test than last years, but last year I was puking watching whatever that was. I'm old, and while there are many drawbacks to that, the big advantage is a longer term perspective. Offenses can fail you - no matter how good they are. On a given day they turn the ball over or just don't execute well. You have to couple a dynamic offense with a defense that can get the other guys off the field and limit scoring. The Ohio State defense has done that against some bad teams, and has done it for a quarter or two against a few decent teams, but I really hope they are building toward a defense that can hold up for 4 quarters against anyone. Right now, while I think they are capable, I need to see it.

If they beat Minnesota 66-31 that's impressive, but it's OFFENSIVELY impressive. I'd rather see a score that has single digits in it for Minny. That's what would really encourage me that this team can compete with anyone on the DEFENSIVE side of the ball.
 
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OSUK said:
I said in the summer that I felt that in order for Ohio State to be elite, they needed a defense that would not allow over 20-21 points in ANY game. Not average that, but not give up more than that on any Saturday. Va Tech 35, Maryland 28, MSU 37, etc.

This defense is better in terms of scheme, stats, execution, and eye test than last years, but last year I was puking watching whatever that was. I'm old, and while there are many drawbacks to that, the big advantage is a longer term perspective. Offenses can fail you - no matter how good they are. On a given day they turn the ball over or just don't execute well. You have to couple a dynamic offense with a defense that can get the other guys off the field and limit scoring. The Ohio State defense has done that against some bad teams, and has done it for a quarter or two against a few decent teams, but I really hope they are building toward a defense that can hold up for 4 quarters against anyone. Right now, while I think they are capable, I need to see it.

If they beat Minnesota 66-31 that's impressive, but it's OFFENSIVELY impressive. I'd rather see a score that has single digits in it for Minny. That's what would really encourage me that this team can compete with anyone on the DEFENSIVE side of the ball.
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What defense is out there that is significantly better than tOSU defense? The 1973 defense led by Gradishar that gave up 63 points in 11 games is gone. Not just from tOSU, but from college football. While there are some defenses that might on the rare occasion hold their opponent to single digits (which this team has done), today it is rare to hold opponents under 20 (which this defense has done). In today's world, this is a good defense.
 
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OSUK said:
I said in the summer that I felt that in order for Ohio State to be elite, they needed a defense that would not allow over 20-21 points in ANY game. Not average that, but not give up more than that on any Saturday. Va Tech 35, Maryland 28, MSU 37, etc.

This defense is better in terms of scheme, stats, execution, and eye test than last years, but last year I was puking watching whatever that was. I'm old, and while there are many drawbacks to that, the big advantage is a longer term perspective. Offenses can fail you - no matter how good they are. On a given day they turn the ball over or just don't execute well. You have to couple a dynamic offense with a defense that can get the other guys off the field and limit scoring. The Ohio State defense has done that against some bad teams, and has done it for a quarter or two against a few decent teams, but I really hope they are building toward a defense that can hold up for 4 quarters against anyone. Right now, while I think they are capable, I need to see it.

If they beat Minnesota 66-31 that's impressive, but it's OFFENSIVELY impressive. I'd rather see a score that has single digits in it for Minny. That's what would really encourage me that this team can compete with anyone on the DEFENSIVE side of the ball.
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Holding offenses is no longer realistic in today's CFB landscape. Offenses are far more advanced than the silver bullet heyday, and when Woody and even Cooper and Tress we're coaching. And the rules are favoring offenses even more to where ticky tack flags are thrown for pass interference on the regular. Our defense this year is far better than what we trotted out last year regardless of the scores. Spread offenses make it far more difficult on offenses. Every team rated in the top 4 in the playoff system has allowed multiple games of 20+ points. Putting defensive players on an island against an offensive player creates a mismatch since there is hardly any backup. And teams with less talent know they can try and even up the field by splitting defenders horizontally and one on one and using no huddle, that's why Nick Saban doesn't want no huddle, his defense is under a disadvantage
 
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@buckeyeintn beat me to it, but I was going to say something similar. How many defenses are out there that have not allowed over 20-21 points in any game? Two minutes of Googling lead me to none on a P5 level. Alabama has 23, 23, and 21 as their top three scores against. I think that's an unrealistic standard with the way the game is played today.
 
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I understand the nature of offense in today's game, and I also understand that when you score in 5 plays and less than 2 min, that has a negative effect on your defense.

Who holds teams to 20-21 points? I would say the teams that are standing on podiums lifting trophies with confetti raining down.
 
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Only two national champions in the past 20 years have held every opponent to 21 points or less in every game. Alabama in 2011 and Ohio State in 2002. And that's only if you take the 7 off the board from Miami in OT.

It used to be more common. If you go to 30 years then 1993 Florida State, 1992 Alabama, 1991 Miami/1991 Washtington, 1990 Georgia Tech and 1986 Penn State get added to the list.
 
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OSUK said:
I said in the summer that I felt that in order for Ohio State to be elite, they needed a defense that would not allow over 20-21 points in ANY game. Not average that, but not give up more than that on any Saturday. Va Tech 35, Maryland 28, MSU 37, etc.
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VT's offense only scored 28, not 35. Maryland scored 24, not 28. Cincinnati also scored 28 points, but two of those TDs were on busted covers by the same DB which seems to have been corrected. Maryland's last TD came in garbage time when we up 45-17, and MSU's last two TDs were in the fourth quarter when we up 18 points both times and playing soft coverage.
 
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Abenaki said:
Only two national champions in the past 20 years have held every opponent to 21 points or less in every game. Alabama in 2011 and Ohio State in 2002. And that's only if you take the 7 off the board from Miami in OT.

It used to be more common. If you go to 30 years then 1993 Florida State, 1992 Alabama, 1991 Miami/1991 Washtington, 1990 Georgia Tech and 1986 Penn State get added to the list.
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Yeah, I think you are hitting on what I really am concerned about. It's not that a defense can't have a bad day or that there is anything magical about 21 ppg or any other number. The question is when a game comes around where you have to limit an offense and can't give up x points, will you be able to do it.

I think Ohio State has shown that they are capable of doing that by playing well in stretches. They just haven't given me enough evidence thus far to know that they WILL do it when they have to.

Minny is as close to a one dimensional team we have played this year, so if there is a decent team that is a candidate for the Buckeye D to be dominant against, this would be it. OSU needs to stuff the run, force pass, and make them pay when they do. If that's what happens, and Minny has single digits or something in that area at the end of the game, now I have something that shows me that they can defend for 4 qtrs vs a competent team. If they give up 20-30, that means that the offense has to win the game - and I'm telling you, that will come back to bite you in the butt at some point.
 
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OSUK said:
Yeah, I think you are hitting on what I really am concerned about. It's not that a defense can't have a bad day or that there is anything magical about 21 ppg or any other number. The question is when a game comes around where you have to limit an offense and can't give up x points, will you be able to do it.

I think Ohio State has shown that they are capable of doing that by playing well in stretches. They just haven't given me enough evidence thus far to know that they WILL do it when they have to.

Minny is as close to a one dimensional team we have played this year, so if there is a decent team that is a candidate for the Buckeye D to be dominant against, this would be it. OSU needs to stuff the run, force pass, and make them pay when they do. If that's what happens, and Minny has single digits or something in that area at the end of the game, now I have something that shows me that they can defend for 4 qtrs vs a competent team. If they give up 20-30, that means that the offense has to win the game - and I'm telling you, that will come back to bite you in the butt at some point.
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Uh, the most one dimensional team we've faced would probably be Navy...
And UC was a pass happy team who outside of 2 plays we shut down. Our defense has stood up and delivered against every team we've faced this year, and you're forgetting that a large chuck of this defense is Frosh and Sophomores. Doran Grant, Michael Bennett and Curtis Grant are our only seniors, how many teams in the nation ranked in the top 10 have a bulk of their defensive starters as first or second year players? We've had several tests for our defense this year, and the only one they didn't completely step up to was probably a Navy team that has given every team fits. The Va Tech lose is more on the offense not producing than the defense, IMO. Maryland was supposed to have a lot of edge speed and we shut them down, MSU was supposed to be the most balanced team we faced and we did very well against a QB that many were touting was one of(if not) the best in the conference with arguably one of the best WRs in the conference. Giving up 20-30pts is almost something that is bound to happen against talented teams in this climate. I doubt Minnesota will be held to single digits, but I bet a chunk of those numbers will be in garbage time, which has been the case with many teams all season, and @MililaniBuckeye stated as much. I can realistically see a score against Minny being 49-28(with 2-3 Minny TDs being in the 4th quarter). And that would still mean we have a damn good defense
 
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