Ken
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2nd Thoughts: Ohio State vs Western Michigan
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Well, that worked out fairly well on Saturday. The Buckeyes remain undefeated and still ranked #1 after defeating Western Michigan University 38-12 on Saturday. There were longer stretches of very good play, some stretches of not-too-bad play and a couple brief stretches of I-don’t-get-it play by Ohio State. In all, I thought it was a step forward for the offense.
Before I dive into this, I want to tip my hat to the Western Michigan Broncos. They played hard, and if not for missed FG’s and penalties that took points and yards off the score sheet, this game would have been a good bit tighter. Don’t let WMU’s 1-3 record fool you; this is a very capable team.
So, here we go…
Special Teams
I am more and more impressed with the play of the special teams. Young Mr. Johnston punted only 4 times, but three of them were “inside the 20″ and there was one touch-back. But, let me peel the onion here since the category of “inside the 20″ doesn’t really tell the story of how game changing Johnston and his coverage team were. The three punts downed “inside the 20″ were downed at the 8 yard line, the 1 yard line and the 13 yard line. Oh, the touch-back? It was off a 52 yard punt. This is some serious field-flipping.
On to kicking. Field goals were 2-2. Perfection is good. Kickoffs? Willoughby kicked off 7 times and had 4 touch-backs. I’m pretty sure his coverage team appreciated those numbers. There were no kick-offs out of bounds. I know that Urban appreciated that number.
I also want to mention that OSU blocked a FG and was, no doubt, an intimidating factor in several other Bronco biffed placement attempts.
Defense
The defensive effort was overall pretty good, but there were some iffy moments. There were stretches where the defense couldn’t get off the field, but with OSU’s offense, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. They got a glimpse of what good skill players (QB, WR, RB) could inflict upon them, and it got a bit sketchy at times. The front seven got roughed up a bit on inside power plays. You remember, the kind that OSU used to run. Despite too many PI/holding calls, the back seven did a wonderful job in stifling the WMU passing attack. They allowed only 5.1 yards per attempt.
The defense provided another score thanks to Adolphus Washington’s 20 yard return of an interception. I’m not sure if defensive scores are in Urban’s game plan each week, but I’m sure he likes (pleasant) surprises as much as you and I do.
The Silver Bullets are now nationally tied for 10th place in scoring defense (12.3 ppg) and are 6th in total defense (253 ypg). We might be witnessing something special this season. Getting back to game stats, Raekwon McMillan (16) and Josh Perry (13) combined for 29 tackles, if my math is correct, 2 sacks and 3 TFL’s.
Offense
The offense looked much more coherent than the previous few weeks. Perhaps the segregation of duties might be the answer. I guess we’ll find out this coming week. I have two areas with the offense that I’d like to comment upon.
Passing
This concern of mine is something that ought to be able to be worked out this week in practice. There were numerous incompletions, and the interceptions, caused by under throws. The receivers had broken open, the passes were on line, but they were under-thrown. Cardale, JT; make your decision a bit quicker and release it a bit sooner. You’ll be fine.
Playcalling
I have “issues within issues” with this. First, Ezekiel needs to get the ball sooner in the game and more often. Sixteen carries for the game doesn’t cut it. Zeke running the ball sets the tone and the pace for the balance of the game, as well as setting up complementary plays, such as play action. Ohio State’s best drive of the game was their opening drive of the 3rd quarter. It was a 75 yard, 14 play drive that consumed 4:10 (OSU’s longest drive of the game) and resulted in a rushing TD by Elliott. Of the 14 plays, Zeke ran the ball 7 times (more than he did in the 1st half) for 40 yards and the TD. That is how Zeke should be used.
Next, don’t ever, ever, run Ezekiel parallel to the line of scrimmage again. This direction is what opposing defensive coordinators want; don’t help them out.
One final thing on play calling; don’t ever, ever run Brax out of the Wildcat again. It’s pointless, a waste of time and only manages to gum up any offensive momentum that may have been built up. If you want to put him in the backfield to get hand-offs, touch passes, flare passes, fine; just no direct snaps. OK?
Other
The 12 penalties for 86 assessed yards is a concern. I don’t feel like digging in to determine the “opportunity” yards lost, but these penalties are offensively, drive stallers. Defensively they are drive enhancers. I hope this lack on discipline gets addressed this week.
Right now this is getting closer to be a true #1 team, it is a “good” team. The defense and special teams continue to perform at a very high level. The offense simply seems to be getting it’s feet under it. I know, only one game, but it’s a start. Hopefully the Buckeyes carry this improvement against Indiana this Saturday.
The post 2nd Thoughts: Ohio State vs Western Michigan appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Well, that worked out fairly well on Saturday. The Buckeyes remain undefeated and still ranked #1 after defeating Western Michigan University 38-12 on Saturday. There were longer stretches of very good play, some stretches of not-too-bad play and a couple brief stretches of I-don’t-get-it play by Ohio State. In all, I thought it was a step forward for the offense.
Before I dive into this, I want to tip my hat to the Western Michigan Broncos. They played hard, and if not for missed FG’s and penalties that took points and yards off the score sheet, this game would have been a good bit tighter. Don’t let WMU’s 1-3 record fool you; this is a very capable team.
So, here we go…
Special Teams
I am more and more impressed with the play of the special teams. Young Mr. Johnston punted only 4 times, but three of them were “inside the 20″ and there was one touch-back. But, let me peel the onion here since the category of “inside the 20″ doesn’t really tell the story of how game changing Johnston and his coverage team were. The three punts downed “inside the 20″ were downed at the 8 yard line, the 1 yard line and the 13 yard line. Oh, the touch-back? It was off a 52 yard punt. This is some serious field-flipping.
On to kicking. Field goals were 2-2. Perfection is good. Kickoffs? Willoughby kicked off 7 times and had 4 touch-backs. I’m pretty sure his coverage team appreciated those numbers. There were no kick-offs out of bounds. I know that Urban appreciated that number.
I also want to mention that OSU blocked a FG and was, no doubt, an intimidating factor in several other Bronco biffed placement attempts.
Defense
The defensive effort was overall pretty good, but there were some iffy moments. There were stretches where the defense couldn’t get off the field, but with OSU’s offense, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. They got a glimpse of what good skill players (QB, WR, RB) could inflict upon them, and it got a bit sketchy at times. The front seven got roughed up a bit on inside power plays. You remember, the kind that OSU used to run. Despite too many PI/holding calls, the back seven did a wonderful job in stifling the WMU passing attack. They allowed only 5.1 yards per attempt.
The defense provided another score thanks to Adolphus Washington’s 20 yard return of an interception. I’m not sure if defensive scores are in Urban’s game plan each week, but I’m sure he likes (pleasant) surprises as much as you and I do.
The Silver Bullets are now nationally tied for 10th place in scoring defense (12.3 ppg) and are 6th in total defense (253 ypg). We might be witnessing something special this season. Getting back to game stats, Raekwon McMillan (16) and Josh Perry (13) combined for 29 tackles, if my math is correct, 2 sacks and 3 TFL’s.
Offense
The offense looked much more coherent than the previous few weeks. Perhaps the segregation of duties might be the answer. I guess we’ll find out this coming week. I have two areas with the offense that I’d like to comment upon.
Passing
This concern of mine is something that ought to be able to be worked out this week in practice. There were numerous incompletions, and the interceptions, caused by under throws. The receivers had broken open, the passes were on line, but they were under-thrown. Cardale, JT; make your decision a bit quicker and release it a bit sooner. You’ll be fine.
Playcalling
I have “issues within issues” with this. First, Ezekiel needs to get the ball sooner in the game and more often. Sixteen carries for the game doesn’t cut it. Zeke running the ball sets the tone and the pace for the balance of the game, as well as setting up complementary plays, such as play action. Ohio State’s best drive of the game was their opening drive of the 3rd quarter. It was a 75 yard, 14 play drive that consumed 4:10 (OSU’s longest drive of the game) and resulted in a rushing TD by Elliott. Of the 14 plays, Zeke ran the ball 7 times (more than he did in the 1st half) for 40 yards and the TD. That is how Zeke should be used.
Next, don’t ever, ever, run Ezekiel parallel to the line of scrimmage again. This direction is what opposing defensive coordinators want; don’t help them out.
One final thing on play calling; don’t ever, ever run Brax out of the Wildcat again. It’s pointless, a waste of time and only manages to gum up any offensive momentum that may have been built up. If you want to put him in the backfield to get hand-offs, touch passes, flare passes, fine; just no direct snaps. OK?
Other
The 12 penalties for 86 assessed yards is a concern. I don’t feel like digging in to determine the “opportunity” yards lost, but these penalties are offensively, drive stallers. Defensively they are drive enhancers. I hope this lack on discipline gets addressed this week.
Right now this is getting closer to be a true #1 team, it is a “good” team. The defense and special teams continue to perform at a very high level. The offense simply seems to be getting it’s feet under it. I know, only one game, but it’s a start. Hopefully the Buckeyes carry this improvement against Indiana this Saturday.
The post 2nd Thoughts: Ohio State vs Western Michigan appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...