FWIW, that was the season that was....
FILM STUDY: WHAT HAPPENED TO OHIO STATE'S VERTICAL PLAY-ACTION GAME?
After leaning on a wildly successful vertical play-action game on the way to the first College Football Playoff championship, head coach Urban Meyer and the Ohio State offense seek to correct what ailed an inconsistent downfield passing attack in 2015.
During the final three games of the 2014 season (Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon), the Buckeye offense ran a masterful combination of Meyer’s signature tight zone/gap-scheme run game and vertical play-action attack to the tune of 143 combined points (47.6 point per game) against college football’s toughest competition. Simply put, opposing defenses had no answer to the eventual champion’s vertical play-action pass game run off a dominant run game.
Quarterback Cardale Jones averaged over 10.7 yard per attempt, while current New York Jets wide receiver Devin Smith averaged a blistering 38.4 yards per reception on the way to four touchdowns. On the season, starters J.T. Barrett (who was lost for the season after suffering a fractured ankle in the regular season finale against Michigan) and Jones combined to average over 9 yards-per-passing-attempt, while Smith led the nation in yards-per-catch with a gaudy 28.2 average.
Returning a loaded starting lineup that included Braxton Miller at the ‘H’ position, expectations for the 2015 season were sky-high. Instead, fans witnessed a lackluster offense (by Urban Meyer’s standards) that failed to execute and struggled to find an identity for most of the season. An area of glaring weakness was an inability to consistently create explosive downfield plays through the air off play-action.
The 2015 stats stand in stark contrast to the previous season. Jones and Barrett averaged 7.6 yards per attempt compared to 9.1 yards the previous season. Leading wide receiver and potential first-round draft pick Michael Thomas led the team in yards-per-reception with a 13.9 average, a drop off of over 14 yards-per-catch. While the Ezekiel Elliott-led run game still averaged over 245 yards-per-contest, the Buckeye rushing attack experienced periods of inconsistency, seriously affecting the opportunity for play-action concepts.
It is impossible to nail down a single factor that led to this deficiency on the offensive side of the ball. A myriad of factors likely contributed to the fall off, including the lack of a true deep threat to replace Smith, poor execution of vertical play-action concepts, and an erratic offensive scheme that seemingly had too many cooks in the kitchen calling the plays.
Let’s start by breaking down the game tape to analyze how the Buckeye offense beat teams deep off play-action during the 2014 championship-run. During Ohio State’s mid-season premier Big Ten matchup with the #9 ranked Michigan State Spartans, the offense hit several vertical passes including a beautiful 45-yard score down the seams against Sparty’s base Cover 4.
Showing 11 personnel (1 tailback and 1 tight end) and twin receivers to the boundary (short-side of the field) the Buckeye offense is showing run via their alignment as they often run Split and Tight Zone out of this formation. The offensive line uses slide protection to the right, with the tight end arcing across the formation to cover the right C-gap. The arc block serves to false key the defense as many will use the backfield tight end’s motion to as a ‘tell’ to run or pass. The arc motion should key the defense to run, however the play and protection is designed to give this appearance (known as a false key) before pushing the ball downfield.
Notice how the play-action pulls up the linebackers while the entire offensive line slides to the right. Ezekiel Elliott stays in the block after executing the fake, creating a seven-man blocking front that gives the vertical routes the necessary time to develop.
Move your eyes to the field safety located just below the left hash. The arc-motion eliminates the threat of a vertical route from the #2 receiver, so he zones up by opening to protect the empty middle of the field. Focus on the helmet.
Although he has opened his hips and gained depth, his eyes are still in the backfield due to the play-action, preventing him from hitting fifth gear until just before the 30-yard line. This slight delay prevents help for the weak safety on Devin Smith’s seam route. The delay in depth is slight, but that is all it takes for a playmaker of Smith’s caliber to beat a defensive back vertically.
Or next example takes us to Ohio State’s 59-0 Big Ten Championship game trouncing of the Wisconsin Badgers.
Former offensive coordinator Tom Herman has flared the tailback out from his typical backfield alignment to create an empty look, with three receiving threats to the field (wide-side).
Generally an empty formation is a tip-off to a pass play; however Ohio State and other power-spread offense like Clemson and Auburn utilize designed quarterback runs out of this alignment, so the ground game must be accounted for in addition to the pass. As a result the defense must keep six players in the box to cover all run gaps. The SAM (strong-side linebacker) is likely responsible for the backfield tight end while the safety just below the right hash has deep responsibility, although the defense could be in a Cover 0 look. Without the play call it is impossible to say which with 100% certainty, but the odds say Cover 1.
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Entire article:
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...end-to-the-buckeyes-vertical-play-action-game
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