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2nd Thoughts: Buckeyes Edge Gophers, 28-14
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Urban Meyer approves of wins!
It turned out to be a slow-roll win for Ohio State, downing Minnesota 28-14. On again, off again starter Cardale Jones quarterbacked the Buckeyes, and remained undefeated. The off again, on again starter J.T. Barrett enjoyed watched the game from the press-box.
So, here we go…
Special Teams
It was a fairly okie-dokie evening for Ohio State.The Buckeyes had a solid return game with Jalin Marshall returning 5 punts punts for 64 yards. Cam Johnston had 7 punts for an average of 40 yards, with 3 being downed inside the 20. Not a great night but very solid, and I’d give Cam a Buckeye Leaf.
On to kicking. Jack Willoughby was not at his best. He tugged a kickoff out of bounds in the 2nd quarter and went “wide right’ with a 35 yard FG attempt. There is plenty room for improvement.
Defense
The defensive effort was overall pretty spectacular. They shut out the Gophers for three quarters, and held the Gopher running game to 33 net yards, 1.3 per carry. That’s fine defense, folks. Granted, the Silver Bullets allowed 281 yards passing, but, 195 yards were in the 4th quarter with Ohio State up 21-0. That translates to 3 quarters of effective pass defense.
Ohio State only recorded 1 sack, but did get credited for 7 Quarterback Hurries. An example of a “hurry” would be Joshua Perry’s rush/hit on Mitch Leidner which led to the Vonn Bell pick-6 interception.
I think this defense is still improving as the season progresses. By that, I don’t mean that ‘the defensive line is playing better’, or ‘the secondary is playing better’, etc. I mean the integration of all 11 players on the field, and their rotation mates, is getting more seamless and effective. We’re approaching Total Unit Defense. Frankly, I thought there was a bit of a letdown midway through the 4th quarter, but with a 21-0 lead, I wasn’t too concerned. I’m less concerned since I’m sure that will be addressed in practice.
Here’s my final thought on Ohio State’s defensive effort on Saturday. While the offense muddling about, the defense imposed its will, especially in the the 3rd quarter. During the 3rd quarter, Minnesota had 3 drives of 3-and-out that netted them -8 yards. (That’s not a typo, that’s minus 8 yards on 9 plays). That is absolutely slamming the door, when it counted.
Offense
The offense was “OK, nothing special” against Minnesota. I do think that the Gophers have a pretty decent defense.
In 44 rushing attempts, Ohio State netted 189 yards. Ezekiel had 26 carries for a net of 114 yards; his gross was 121 but he had 7 yards in “losses. Yes, this was another “100 yard game” for Ezekiel, and he and the offensive line should be recognized for their efforts and accomplishments. In Zeke’s last 3 carries of the game, they went for 7 yards, -5 yards, -2 yards. So, until the 4:32 mark in the game, Elliott was absolutely “money” when it counted. His longest carry was “only” 15 yards, so this is an example of Zeke and his O-line putting in a full day’s work. Of Cardale’s 12 carries (designed or not), he had 65 net yards; they came on QB draws that totaled 78 yards. Yes, there were a few negative plays in there, too.
Cardale’s passing numbers were… deceptive. His yardage (187) was below OSU’s average (214) and his yards per attempt (8.5) were just about average for the team.
The Red Zone offense was pretty meh; 4 trips, 2 scores (both TD). Cardale lost a fumble and Willoughby pushed a FG.
Here’s what I think; Cardale is not “the answer” at quarterback for Ohio State.
In his 22 passing attempts, he had 3 well thrown balls; the TD to Michael Thomas and the long passes to Jalin Marshall and to Braxton Miller. He had a couple under-throws that resulted in incompletions, and two more passes that could have been intercepted.
He was late throwing to an open Michael Thomas and had several plays where he threw to the wrong receiver; either one that was covered or another open receiver that was further downfield. One play in particular in the 2nd half; CJ his an open Michael Thomas on a 10-12 yard out pattern, but just inside of this, Marshall is wide open further downfield on a flag pattern from the slot. On another play, I believe in the 4th quarter, Samuel is running a seam pattern on the left and Marshall is curling to the sideline. CJ throws the ball late to Samuel (pass is deflected) and after the play Marshall is looking at the sideline, hands out in what I took to be frustration.
Playcalling
I thought the coaching staff did a good job on Saturday. Ezekiel had 26 carries/1 reception; Braxton had 5 carries/1 reception; Michael had 4 receptions, Jalin and Curtis had 2 receptions each (could have been more).
The issue that I see is that with Cardale as quarterback, the offense is pretty limited. In the passing game, Cardale “makes his bones” with play-action once Elliott and the offensive line have established themselves against the defense. With CJ in the pocket, he has very little mobility nor pocket presence; he’s statuesque, in mobility, not in looks. I see him as OSU’s version of PSU’s Christian Hackenberg; a big arm, but the situation has to be perfect for him to make a play.
With the running game, CJ is very easy to defend; keep the defensive tackles in gap control to prevent up-the-middle draw plays. There is no threat of CJ running an option, or running any play outside the tackles, for that matter.
As it turns out J.T. Barrett will start at quarterback for Ohio State this coming Saturday at Illinois. Speaking of which;
The Buckeyes sit at 9-0, 5-0 and travel to Champaign, IL for a noon’ish kickoff. The game can be viewed on ABC, check local listings.
The post 2nd Thoughts: Buckeyes Edge Gophers, 28-14 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Urban Meyer approves of wins!
It turned out to be a slow-roll win for Ohio State, downing Minnesota 28-14. On again, off again starter Cardale Jones quarterbacked the Buckeyes, and remained undefeated. The off again, on again starter J.T. Barrett enjoyed watched the game from the press-box.
So, here we go…
Special Teams
It was a fairly okie-dokie evening for Ohio State.The Buckeyes had a solid return game with Jalin Marshall returning 5 punts punts for 64 yards. Cam Johnston had 7 punts for an average of 40 yards, with 3 being downed inside the 20. Not a great night but very solid, and I’d give Cam a Buckeye Leaf.
On to kicking. Jack Willoughby was not at his best. He tugged a kickoff out of bounds in the 2nd quarter and went “wide right’ with a 35 yard FG attempt. There is plenty room for improvement.
Defense
The defensive effort was overall pretty spectacular. They shut out the Gophers for three quarters, and held the Gopher running game to 33 net yards, 1.3 per carry. That’s fine defense, folks. Granted, the Silver Bullets allowed 281 yards passing, but, 195 yards were in the 4th quarter with Ohio State up 21-0. That translates to 3 quarters of effective pass defense.
Ohio State only recorded 1 sack, but did get credited for 7 Quarterback Hurries. An example of a “hurry” would be Joshua Perry’s rush/hit on Mitch Leidner which led to the Vonn Bell pick-6 interception.
I think this defense is still improving as the season progresses. By that, I don’t mean that ‘the defensive line is playing better’, or ‘the secondary is playing better’, etc. I mean the integration of all 11 players on the field, and their rotation mates, is getting more seamless and effective. We’re approaching Total Unit Defense. Frankly, I thought there was a bit of a letdown midway through the 4th quarter, but with a 21-0 lead, I wasn’t too concerned. I’m less concerned since I’m sure that will be addressed in practice.
Here’s my final thought on Ohio State’s defensive effort on Saturday. While the offense muddling about, the defense imposed its will, especially in the the 3rd quarter. During the 3rd quarter, Minnesota had 3 drives of 3-and-out that netted them -8 yards. (That’s not a typo, that’s minus 8 yards on 9 plays). That is absolutely slamming the door, when it counted.
Offense
The offense was “OK, nothing special” against Minnesota. I do think that the Gophers have a pretty decent defense.
In 44 rushing attempts, Ohio State netted 189 yards. Ezekiel had 26 carries for a net of 114 yards; his gross was 121 but he had 7 yards in “losses. Yes, this was another “100 yard game” for Ezekiel, and he and the offensive line should be recognized for their efforts and accomplishments. In Zeke’s last 3 carries of the game, they went for 7 yards, -5 yards, -2 yards. So, until the 4:32 mark in the game, Elliott was absolutely “money” when it counted. His longest carry was “only” 15 yards, so this is an example of Zeke and his O-line putting in a full day’s work. Of Cardale’s 12 carries (designed or not), he had 65 net yards; they came on QB draws that totaled 78 yards. Yes, there were a few negative plays in there, too.
Cardale’s passing numbers were… deceptive. His yardage (187) was below OSU’s average (214) and his yards per attempt (8.5) were just about average for the team.
The Red Zone offense was pretty meh; 4 trips, 2 scores (both TD). Cardale lost a fumble and Willoughby pushed a FG.
Here’s what I think; Cardale is not “the answer” at quarterback for Ohio State.
In his 22 passing attempts, he had 3 well thrown balls; the TD to Michael Thomas and the long passes to Jalin Marshall and to Braxton Miller. He had a couple under-throws that resulted in incompletions, and two more passes that could have been intercepted.
He was late throwing to an open Michael Thomas and had several plays where he threw to the wrong receiver; either one that was covered or another open receiver that was further downfield. One play in particular in the 2nd half; CJ his an open Michael Thomas on a 10-12 yard out pattern, but just inside of this, Marshall is wide open further downfield on a flag pattern from the slot. On another play, I believe in the 4th quarter, Samuel is running a seam pattern on the left and Marshall is curling to the sideline. CJ throws the ball late to Samuel (pass is deflected) and after the play Marshall is looking at the sideline, hands out in what I took to be frustration.
Playcalling
I thought the coaching staff did a good job on Saturday. Ezekiel had 26 carries/1 reception; Braxton had 5 carries/1 reception; Michael had 4 receptions, Jalin and Curtis had 2 receptions each (could have been more).
The issue that I see is that with Cardale as quarterback, the offense is pretty limited. In the passing game, Cardale “makes his bones” with play-action once Elliott and the offensive line have established themselves against the defense. With CJ in the pocket, he has very little mobility nor pocket presence; he’s statuesque, in mobility, not in looks. I see him as OSU’s version of PSU’s Christian Hackenberg; a big arm, but the situation has to be perfect for him to make a play.
With the running game, CJ is very easy to defend; keep the defensive tackles in gap control to prevent up-the-middle draw plays. There is no threat of CJ running an option, or running any play outside the tackles, for that matter.
As it turns out J.T. Barrett will start at quarterback for Ohio State this coming Saturday at Illinois. Speaking of which;
The Buckeyes sit at 9-0, 5-0 and travel to Champaign, IL for a noon’ish kickoff. The game can be viewed on ABC, check local listings.
The post 2nd Thoughts: Buckeyes Edge Gophers, 28-14 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...