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How Do You Defend the Spread Offense?

Buckeyzfan1;1006195; said:
What are the defensive alignments which stop the WVU offense?

I think if OU wins, that would put WVU and OSU in the Game. I think our best stategy would be ball control. So to answer the question...I think Beanie would be the best defensive stategy to stop the WVU offense.
 
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I hate to get ahead of myself because nothing is promised yet...but if you watch how UC defended WVU and you watch some of the things that UConn did early...and you combine that with excellent defensive speed like what South Florida has, and the WVU offense is nothing more than a triple option...HIT the QB ON EVERY SNAP! the defensive ends must hit whatever comes his way whether he has the ball or not.

UC held WVU to 7 2nd half points. UConn forced four WVU punts in the 1st half...neither team has the talent of OSU. USF is the intriguing one...they beat the crap out of that WVU offense and it was pretty evident last year that you could intimidate Slaton and company with a fast physical in your face defense...

of course, with that said, the same was very true of Chirs Leak last year and OSU decided the best way to defend him was to sit back in a soft zone and allow a LB to cover Percy Harvin on crossing routes. :roll2:
 
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Honor&Glory;1006234; said:
HIT the QB ON EVERY SNAP! the defensive ends must hit whatever comes his way whether he has the ball or not.


Bingo! UC didn't so this early on, and I think that that really hurt them. I don't think White could take 4 quarters of getting hit every time he ran the option. So, hit the QB every time, AND make your tackles! I can't count the times UC players simply failed to make the tackle. I think WVU would give us a game, but we have the players to win this. If we get there...


GO BUCKS!!!
 
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I have been thinking of how we could stop an offense like West Virginia's and think I may have a good idea if we are fortunate enough to play int he NC Game. With as much as we play Nickel and use Anderson Russell at the "Star" position, what about using the formation throughout most of the game but using Russell as a Spy on White? With their passing game, Jenkins/Washington/Chekwa/Coleman in the secondary would be MORE than enough to cover their wide-outs. Any thoughts on how this would do against them?
 
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how does everyone else feel about playing wvu if mizzoo loses? do you think it will be another illinois game, facing the same kind of offense? im scared to play wvu, but then i think to myself that jt will have these kids ready to go come jan. i think they should have henton and saine runnin against the starting d during practices for that game...should we get there!:wink2:
 
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I never did like the idea of "spies". It seemed like the teams that Arch gashed the worst were the ones that used spies on him.

And I do not see how so many of us are buying in to the idea that we "have trouble with spread teams". The truth is, the spread option (like any offense that adjusts on the fly) can victimize you pretty badly if your defense plays poorly. Our defense played poorly: on that day.

As has been said, the way to deal with a spread option QB is to physically maul him. Can anyone think of a time when a team put that strategy into practice this year?

I'll give you a hint: Jake Locker.

Ohio State beat the crap out of Washington's QB all day. We can do the same to Pat White. He is a step faster than Locker (WVU fans probably have no idea how fast Locker is, so they might take umbrage at that statement) but no one is fast enough to avoid a pounding on a football field if a team is intent on providing one.

I saw WVU play all of their "tough" games this year. They have not faced a defense that is remotely as physical as ours. They will point to USF and I will point back and laugh.

On the flip side, we have not faced a QB that is in Pat White's solar system this year. WVU would put points on the board. But not like they did against their Big East brethern: and that's what it would take to keep up with Beanie and company IMO.
 
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I saw WVU play all of their "tough" games this year. They have not faced a defense that is remotely as physical as ours. They will point to USF and I will point back and laugh.
USF roughed up White & Slaton as well, and I believe did the same (at least to one) last year. Juice may not be as fast as White, but has 30 lbs on him. Pat is 10 lbs lighter than Robiskie, to give his frame some perspective.

Regular meetings with Gholston, Wilson (hopefully), Heyward, Grant & Freeman would be in a different zipcode from what he's endured thus far.
 
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IMO, WVU is going to get some points there's not getting around that. They are that good, but I think we can definatly limit what they do.

My thinking since I love defense is PRESSURE. I hate sitting back and waitinf for teams to dictate how the game is going to be played. IMO, I believe OSU should get as much speed on the field as possible and come after them. They do so much trapping, pulling, and things that take time that I don't think you should give them that time. Shoot in the gaps and stop them before they start!! I would go as far to say pretend like they don't even have recievers on the field... I hate the Idea of our regular nickle formation because that puts Jenkins at saftey (miss use of him). Jenkins would shut down Ranaud, and Washington is better than anything they have at their #2 option as well. I won't get it if we come out with a nickle formation and play to not get burnt deep. Pat White is capable of throwing the ball but when you have Slaton, White, Devine, and Owen Smidt you have to stop them FIRST. I don't like how OSU sometimes tries to take away the whole offense from a team. Sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn't. I'd rather see the bucks come out and take away what they do best (run the ball), and make WVU adjust. Then you make your adjustments to theirs.

The next thing I think is crucial is do 1 of 2 things... Either Run the ball and just keep their offense off the field, or hit them quick and get up on them early forcing them to throw the ball.

So I say come out posses the ball and keep them off the field as well as play an attacking and aggressive defense. We have to score TD's also because field goals will not get it done.

On a plus side though... The Media, the nation, and everyone else is going to count OSU out of this game and that's going to be a HUGE edge for us.
 
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Amusing note: The Woody Hayes audio clips from the Ohio State - Michigan documentary line up perfectly with what Ohio State needs to do against an offense like that of Illinois, Oregon, or West Virginia.

Q: Coach Hayes, how do you stop a mobile quarterback?
Hayes: He's the guy! You gotta hit him!
Q: What will you say to your defense before they take the field for the first time against a fast spread option offense?
Hayes: You rush your butt off!
Q: West Virginia gets almost all of their big play yardage off of poor tackling. What will you say to one of your linebackers if they don't tackle, and give up a huge gain?
Hayes: Get off the field!
 
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jwinslow;1007097; said:
USF roughed up White & Slaton as well, and I believe did the same (at least to one) last year. Juice may not be as fast as White, but has 30 lbs on him. Pat is 10 lbs lighter than Robiskie, to give his frame some perspective.

Regular meetings with Gholston, Wilson (hopefully), Heyward, Grant & Freeman would be in a different zipcode from what he's endured thus far.

The first time he gets clocked by one of our guys nearly 100 pounds heavier than him, he'll be thinking twice on every play after that.
 
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bukIpower;1007128; said:
yep I hear that... there's no reason not to hit the QB on an option play. I mean if he's your man just go and square him up. I would love to see a Corby Jones or a Jason Guesser on Pat White! That outta' do it

I agree: someone mentioned this earlier.

Gholston played very smart vs. Illinois. He was in great position and cut off Juice from his pitch-man.

But he never stuck it to Juice if Juice pitched it, and by the time Juice DID pitch it, Gholston was out of the play.

Why not just smack Juice? He's a runner at that point, so just knock him on his ass. He wasn't going to make the tackle on the runningback, so just hit the quarterback. H&G said it, so has everyone else. HIT HIM.
 
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Nordberg;1006228; said:
I think Beanie would be the best defensive stategy to stop the WVU offense.

I like that strategy. Keep the team with the spread offense's defense on the field, and their offense off it. Keep Ohio State's defense off the field. The opponent's offense doesn't get a chance to get into a rhythm, and Ohio State's defense doesn't get tired. But this strategy only works if Beanie can get into the endzone. I think that Ohio State needs touchdowns on a majority of their drives.

DaddyBigBucks;1007095; said:
I never did like the idea of "spies". It seemed like the teams that Arch gashed the worst were the ones that used spies on him.

I don't know that I like spies, either. If you make one player a spy, you're limiting his effectiveness in coverage, as well as in run defense, in hopes to stop one player from running. So the rest of the team has to step up in pass and rush defense, which limits their effectiveness against the QB scrambling. If the spy happens to get blocked, the QB is 10 yards downfield before anyone can react. And with 2 spies, it's going to be even worse.

I think that to defend a mobile quarterback, the defensive ends need to force him back into the middle, where the linebackers can try to knock off his head. And, as it's been said, you have to hit him, and hit him hard, on every play. Get him bracing for that hit before it comes. Get the impending hit into his mind, and he'll start making mistakes. Get an early lead and keep it; increase that lead as much as possible. Keep the pressure on the opposing quarterback. And late in the game, keep him in bounds.

I think if it's West Virginia against Ohio State, they'll take a long look at Ohio State's game against Illinois. Ohio State did what they could to stop Williams and Mendenhall from running wild, and Williams beat them with the pass. Pat White will likely have to do the same thing to beat Ohio State.
 
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IMHO, you stop White by taking away his passing game. Their passing game is average (they are not going to light you up and make the highlight reels unless you let them). Illinois has more reliable receivers than WV. USF did this and so did Marshall (yes, Marshall. They kept it close into the 4th quarter this year before WV pulled away 48-23). Something tells me that Snyder is comparing notes with JT. tOSU secondary matches up EXTREMELY well against WV. Couple this with some blitz packages and White spends half of the game on the turf.
 
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