HC Ryan Day (2019 B1G Media COY)

[cmstophe]

Meh, its all coach speak. I wouldn't put an ounce of stock in throwaway Q&A with the media. Also there's definitely work being done behind the scenes regarding the DC position and the defensive coaching as a whole, whether Day says it publicly or not.

Amazes me how much people try to glean answers from vanilla coach speak media sessions.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Meh, its all coach speak. I wouldn't put an ounce of stock in throwaway Q&A with the media. Also there's definitely work being done behind the scenes regarding the DC position and the defensive coaching as a whole, whether Day says it publicly or not.

I'm sure there is work being done. There better be at least. My concern remains the efficacy of that work.

 

[Buckeye86]

I'm sure there is work being done. There better be at least. My concern remains the efficacy of that work.

By my estimation, Meyer fucked up more than a few hires that cost teams shots at titles—OC in ‘15 for absolute sure, and it sure didn’t help in ‘16 either, and then the absolute mess of a defense in ‘17 and ‘18 were due to a coordinator mess (which was partially the fault of Schiano not going to Tennessee in the second year).

Right now I think Day is 1 for 2 on coordinator hires. Hafley great, Coombs bad.

I’m still hopeful for a solid choice from him this offseason. Call me unrealistically optimistic, but I think a competent DC will solve literally all of the issues on defense including assistant coaches looking bad… I think that because it already happened once in ‘19 with Hafley.

 

[Onebuckfan]

By my estimation, Meyer fucked up more than a few hires that cost teams shots at titles—OC in ‘15 for absolute sure, and it sure didn’t help in ‘16 either, and then the absolute mess of a defense in ‘17 and ‘18 were due to a coordinator mess (which was partially the fault of Schiano not going to Tennessee in the second year).

Right now I think Day is 1 for 2 on coordinator hires. Hafley great, Coombs bad.

I’m still hopeful for a solid choice from him this offseason. Call me unrealistically optimistic, but I think a competent DC will solve literally all of the issues on defense including assistant coaches looking bad… I think that because it already happened once in ‘19 with Hafley.

I know what Day fucked up ..it was something Urban never fucked up. Priorities.

 

[Jaxbuck]

By my estimation, Meyer fucked up more than a few hires that cost teams shots at titles—OC in ‘15 for absolute sure, and it sure didn’t help in ‘16 either, and then the absolute mess of a defense in ‘17 and ‘18 were due to a coordinator mess (which was partially the fault of Schiano not going to Tennessee in the second year).

Right now I think Day is 1 for 2 on coordinator hires. Hafley great, Coombs bad.

I’m still hopeful for a solid choice from him this offseason. Call me unrealistically optimistic, but I think a competent DC will solve literally all of the issues on defense including assistant coaches looking bad… I think that because it already happened once in ‘19 with Hafley.

They always get hires wrong, even the best of them. For the record; my concern with Day was not hiring Coombs, it's due to his inaction after he saw what he had last year.

I hope the next Hafley is right around the corner.

 

[zbuck]

They always get hires wrong, even the best of them. For the record; my concern with Day was not hiring Coombs, it's due to his inaction after he saw what he had last year.

I hope the next Hafley is right around the corner.

Tough position for Coach Day.... Do you shit-can Coombs in the clusterfuck year that was Covid 2020 or hope and pray that under normal circumstances it would be better. Unfortunately we now know how that turned out.

 

[Systems_id]

They always get hires wrong, even the best of them. For the record; my concern with Day was not hiring Coombs, it's due to his inaction after he saw what he had last year.

I hope the next Hafley is right around the corner.

No coach fires a coordinator after only a year unless there’s extreme non-football related shit going on. Even Saban doesn’t get rid of coordinators after only a year. Shit he kept Locksley around for two years. Difference is Saban is usually able to hide his bad hires while 99% of other programs can’t. Even then it cost him another Natty when a Bama offense with Tua, Damien Harris, Najee Harris, Jeudy, Ruggs, Waddle, and Devonte Smith, plus damn near an NFL o-line could only muster 16 points in the NC.

 

[1926Buckeyes]

By my estimation, Meyer fucked up more than a few hires that cost teams shots at titles—OC in ‘15 for absolute sure, and it sure didn’t help in ‘16 either, and then the absolute mess of a defense in ‘17 and ‘18 were due to a coordinator mess (which was partially the fault of Schiano not going to Tennessee in the second year).

Right now I think Day is 1 for 2 on coordinator hires. Hafley great, Coombs bad.

I’m still hopeful for a solid choice from him this offseason. Call me unrealistically optimistic, but I think a competent DC will solve literally all of the issues on defense including assistant coaches looking bad… I think that because it already happened once in ‘19 with Hafley.

That and I think a new OL coach breathes life into a run game and suddenly makes Day look like a better play caller (not that I think he really struggled that badly. I think it's overblown). I've also heard criticism of Wilson as run game coordinator, but until someone I trust says that, it's hard to go against his resume and past results.

 

[dragurd]

No coach fires a coordinator after only a year unless there’s extreme non-football related shit going on. Even Saban doesn’t get rid of coordinators after only a year. Shit he kept Locksley around for two years. Difference is Saban is usually able to hide his bad hires while 99% of other programs can’t. Even then it cost him another Natty when a Bama offense with Tua, Damien Harris, Najee Harris, Jeudy, Ruggs, Waddle, and Devonte Smith, plus damn near an NFL o-line could only muster 16 points in the NC.

Also there has been consternation about their d-coordinator and Bill O'Brien this year. Their D tends to be boom or bust. You get nothing or they get torched. Think every game is MSU or Oregon/Michigan

 

[exhawg]

I'm sure scheme comes into play on defense, but I don't think any scheme would have stopped scUM from running the ball down our throat. In the current era of football good offense beats good defense, but years of having guys leave early and Covid allowing some teams to have more 5th and 6th year players than normal tOSU wasn't able to reload the defense like in the past. The biggest key for the defense will be to recruit studs at every level and keep the pipeline full so it isn't a shock with a guy goes to the NFL after 3 years. All 3 levels of the defense seemed to have a down year this year.

 

[Jaxbuck]

I'm sure scheme comes into play on defense, but I don't think any scheme would have stopped scUM from running the ball down our throat. In the current era of football good offense beats good defense, but years of having guys leave early and Covid allowing some teams to have more 5th and 6th year players than normal tOSU wasn't able to reload the defense like in the past. The biggest key for the defense will be to recruit studs at every level and keep the pipeline full so it isn't a shock with a guy goes to the NFL after 3 years. All 3 levels of the defense seemed to have a down year this year.

very solid underclassmen core showed up but thats a blessing in disguise. It means your upperclassmen are weak...and they are/were.

 

[twister55]

Who recruits those 4 and 5 star players?
Who trains them all year every year?
Who decides to put which players on the field?
Who decides what plays to call to maximize those players abilities?

Coaches control a lot more than you're giving them credit for.

ya right.ya coachs put them on the field but players need to be liable they control what happens on the field

 

[rsh]

In the current era of football good offense beats good defense

Echoing members on BP, and even the great Nick Saban himself, offenses wins championships in today's college football. The rules favor the offense: late hit, roughing the passer, targeting, etc protect the offense, and linemen allowed 3 yards downfield on pass plays can really mess with defensive keys. And believe it or not, our opponents have professional coaches & scholarship athletes too to take advantage of the same rules. Every title run would likely have to go through good opposing offenses (or mediocre ones playing out of their minds for one game) that can score more points than a defense is comfortable giving up. Elite offenses have to be reliable enough to win shootouts when defenses struggle.

For example, '19 LSU & '20 Bama both had to won multiple shootouts during their title run, even though they fielded better defenses then '21 tOSU. Notable games (Off/Def rankings from FEI):

• '19 LSU (#1 O, #8 D in '19)
  • LSU 45 - 38 Tejas (#9 O, #45 D)
  • LSU 46 - 41 Bama (#2 O, #11 D)
• '20 Bama (#1 O, #21 D in '20)
  • Bama 63 - 48 Ole Miss (#8 O, #118 D)
  • Bama 52 - 46 Florida (#10 O, #55 D)

'19 LSU in fact fielded a top-10 defense, coordinated by Dave Aranda, now Baylor's head coach, whose defense stoned Okie State twice on the goal-line, including once as time expired to win the Big 12 championship. The '19 LSU-Bama game is the classic example of two great offenses going against two good defenses in a shoot-out. As for '20 Bama, as good as their offense were, let's just say they were lucky none of the good offenses they faced were paired with good defenses (Florida was mediocre, Ole Miss was straight trash).

Back to '21 tOSU (#1 O, #40 D) and its Ls:

• tOSU 28 - 35 Oregon (#12 O, #44 D)
• tOSU 27 - 42 TTUN (#4 O, #11 D)

As bad as the defense has looked in the 2 losses, the bad defensive performance both came against good offensive teams. I hate to admit it, but TTUN in particular is legit this year on both sides of the ball; they have a defense good enough to slow the Buckeyes O down, and an offense good enough the score on the Buckeyes D. TTUN O, despite all the Manball jokes, is actually top-5, ranked only behind the Buckeyes, Bama, and Joja. Against Wisconsin (#3 D in '21) & Iowa (#4 D), TTUN scored 38 & 42 respectively.

He's an offensive guy, and his offenses produce.

There is no doubt Day's offense produced; it is by far the #1 O in '21, albeit in a down year for offenses across CFB. However, like I've said in the '21 Offense thread, it is not elite yet. The ceiling is super high, but the floor is not high enough. There is reason to be optimistic, as the '21 offense is manned by 1st year starter at many key positions, and have stopped themselves way more often than the opponents did: dropped passes, missed throws, forced INTs, false starts, etc. One concern I do have though, is the amount of runs on 3rd & 4th short that were stuffed in '21.

Now, all that isn't to say the defense doesn't matter or doesn't need fixed. While it is OK to give up points to a good offense, the defense at least has to make the opposing team earn it. Penix throwing darts when the world is collapsing around him or Dotson catching back-to-back arm punts with one hand is one thing. Allowing 7+ ypc on the ground when the opposing QB is Anthony Brown or Cade McNamara ... that is simply inexcusable.

 

[jakenick06]

Echoing members on BP, and even the great Nick Saban himself, offenses wins championships in today's college football. The rules favor the offense: late hit, roughing the passer, targeting, etc protect the offense, and linemen allowed 3 yards downfield on pass plays can really mess with defensive keys. And believe it or not, our opponents have professional coaches & scholarship athletes too to take advantage of the same rules. Every title run would likely have to go through good opposing offenses (or mediocre ones playing out of their minds for one game) that can score more points than a defense is comfortable giving up. Elite offenses have to be reliable enough to win shootouts when defenses struggle.

For example, '19 LSU & '20 Bama both had to won multiple shootouts during their title run, even though they fielded better defenses then '21 tOSU. Notable games (Off/Def rankings from FEI):

• '19 LSU (#1 O, #8 D in '19)
  • LSU 45 - 38 Tejas (#9 O, #45 D)
  • LSU 46 - 41 Bama (#2 O, #11 D)
• '20 Bama (#1 O, #21 D in '20)
  • Bama 63 - 48 Ole Miss (#8 O, #118 D)
  • Bama 52 - 46 Florida (#10 O, #55 D)

'19 LSU in fact fielded a top-10 defense, coordinated by Dave Aranda, now Baylor's head coach, whose defense stoned Okie State twice on the goal-line, including once as time expired to win the Big 12 championship. The '19 LSU-Bama game is the classic example of two great offenses going against two good defenses in a shoot-out. As for '20 Bama, as good as their offense were, let's just say they were lucky none of the good offenses they faced were paired with good defenses (Florida was mediocre, Ole Miss was straight trash).

Back to '21 tOSU (#1 O, #40 D) and its Ls:

• tOSU 28 - 35 Oregon (#12 O, #44 D)
• tOSU 27 - 42 TTUN (#4 O, #11 D)

As bad as the defense has looked in the 2 losses, the bad defensive performance both came against good offensive teams. I hate to admit it, but TTUN in particular is legit this year on both sides of the ball; they have a defense good enough to slow the Buckeyes O down, and an offense good enough the score on the Buckeyes D. TTUN O, despite all the Manball jokes, is actually top-5, ranked only behind the Buckeyes, Bama, and Joja. Against Wisconsin (#3 D in '21) & Iowa (#4 D), TTUN scored 38 & 42 respectively.



There is no doubt Day's offense produced; it is by far the #1 O in '21, albeit in a down year for offenses across CFB. However, like I've said in the '21 Offense thread, it is not elite yet. The ceiling is super high, but the floor is not high enough. There is reason to be optimistic, as the '21 offense is manned by 1st year starter at many key positions, and have stopped themselves way more often than the opponents did: dropped passes, missed throws, forced INTs, false starts, etc. One concern I do have though, is the amount of runs on 3rd & 4th short that were stuffed in '21.

Now, all that isn't to say the defense doesn't matter or doesn't need fixed. While it is OK to give up points to a good offense, the defense at least has to make the opposing team earn it. Penix throwing darts when the world is collapsing around him or Dotson catching back-to-back arm punts with one hand is one thing. Allowing 7+ ypc on the ground when the opposing QB is Anthony Brown or Cade McNamara ... that is simply inexcusable.

I'd be really interested in the stuff rate for both lines in '21. Stud, LJ Sr, and Marotti should all be doing what they can to ensure Ohio St ranks highly YoY in that regard.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Fuck man. Has any school wasted more awesome talent than Ohio State since 1980?!?! Aarrrggghhhhh