Matt Tamanini
Guest
OSU’s aggression and precision are bringing the fun back to Buckeye football
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
I am hoping this is the end of tedious Ohio State offensive performances.
I have been talking about this for years to friends, family, and here on LGHL, but sometime in the Urban Meyer Era — maybe the year after the national title — watching Ohio State football games got demonstrably less fun. Now don’t get me wrong, all of the winning that the Buckeyes have done in that decade-ish time period has been enjoyable, but the games themselves were often a lot less fun than they should be.
Perhaps it has been the weight of nearly unachievable expectations preventing me from fully appreciating what is right in front of me; perhaps it has been the rise of social media’s influence on the gameday experience, where toxicity is far more amplified than excitement or positivity; perhaps it has been the incessant starts and stops of the modern viewing experience with non-stop commercial breaks, replay reviews, and buffering issues interrupting the flow of the game; or, while all of those likely play a part, it has more to do with the style of football being played on the field.
Again, don't confuse this with me saying that the quality of OSU’s play has been bad, or that the coaches employed the wrong schemes, or even that the overall season-experience hasn’t been enjoyable, it’s just that more times than not, the games themselves haven’t been that fun to watch. While Jim Tressel’s brand of conservatism wasn’t always fun, there was a bit of poetry in its methodical nature that you could marvel at in real-time.
But after the national title victory in 2014, I think that we can all agree that Meyer regressed a bit in terms of his aggression and creativity, especially from an offensive standpoint. That was exacerbated by the fact that his nepo-hires were preventing new ideas from continuing to move the program forward. All of that resulted in games that were many times tedious — at best — to watch.
Then with the transition to Ryan Day, there have been moments of elevated enjoyability; for me, it was most evident when Dwayne Haskins was running the offense. There was a looseness and improvability with that unit that felt unencumbered by the restrictions of any schematic limitations, roster circumstances, or pressures of playoff aspirations.
Even with Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud to follow — inarguably the best four-year run of quarterbacking in Ohio State history — I always had a feeling that the offense was in some ways confined or restricted. I think in part that is because Buckeye Nation — and the entire college football world — recognized the obvious talent and potential in Columbus, and we were all holding our breath to see if it would be maximized.
But I also think it has had to do with Day falling into the same traps that his predecessor did. Like Meyer before him, I believe that Day was so constricted by the pressures of being Ohio State’s head coach that he second-guessed himself and his staff, which got in the way of his team playing to its full potential. While that might not have always shown up in the stat sheet when the Buckeyes played teams that couldn’t come anywhere close to their level of talent, it was evident to the eye test. There was a freedom (and a fun) missing from those teams; and while I have been primarily talking about the offenses thus far, this feeling has in no way been restricted to one side of the ball.
However, through two games against clearly overmatched MAC opponents, the 2024 season feels different. Of course that could all change when OSU has four consecutive games against Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska, and Penn State, but I don’t think that it will.
One of the reasons that Buckeye games haven’t been especially fun over the past 10 years is that there have been exceedingly few games that have truly ever been in doubt. Sure, every year we get ourselves worked up for a Penn State game or an out-of-conference matchup with Notre Dame — and, obviously, The Game stands on its own, especially over the past three years — but more often than not, those games have been anticlimactic or laborious at best.
So, now that the Big Ten seems to be on the upswing — some Week 2 debacles and near-debacles notwithstanding — and there is fresh (blue) blood in the conference, that should do wonders for enlivening the slate. But I still believe that the biggest difference in terms of improving the enjoyability of the watching experience comes from the style of play on the field.
Last year’s defense was brutally suffocating and a much-needed palate cleanser from other recent incarnations that did a disservice to the Silver Bullets legacy. But even the 2023 defense — which finished first nationally in passing defense, second in scoring defense, and third in total defense — wasn’t especially aesthetically pleasing to watch. It was a grind-you-to-dust defense. Through two games this season, however, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has brought back a considerable amount of the aggression that was fun in theory, but ultimately destructive, in 2022.
But, again with the caveat of being that it has been against Akron and Western Michigan, it’s been a blast to see Jack Sawyer, Tyleik Williams, J.T. Tuimoloau, and company get after the passer and absolutely obliterate guys when given the chance. It’s been a ball seeing Denzel Burke (when he wasn’t inexplicably ejected on a weak and unnecessary target review), David Igbinosun, and Lathan Ransom flying around the field making plays on the ball. And what a joy it has been seeing Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese step up with Cody Simon out or limited. This defense is not only elite, but it is fun to boot, and I don’t see that changing simply because the competition improves. It might not lead to a shutout every week, but the style and execution isn’t going to change, in my opinion.
On the other side of the ball though, I’m still a little apprehensive about going all-in on the offensive enjoyability. While the first two games have been thrilling, and have exceeded my expectations, I am still somewhat apprehensive about the offensive line. The OSU beat reporters have been trumpeting marked improvement from that unit throughout the summer and into preseason camp, but I’m not sure that I have seen it thus far. The o-line has been seemingly pretty solid in pass protection, but the run blocking — despite a good day from Quinshon Judkins against WMU — has left a lot to be desired.
So, while the first two games have been a ton of fun to watch, I’m trying not to get too far out over my skis... but it’s getting difficult to tamp down my enthusiasm for what I’ve seen through two blowout games. I think that Will Howard is the exact type of quarterback that this Buckeye team needs and the precision and execution of this passing game reminds me of the Haskins’ season. Howard doesn’t have nearly the arm that the late Buckeye legend had, but in terms of play-calling, the passing game hasn’t been predicated on the deep ball, which obviously comes with a major efficiency variance.
In his first two games as a Buckeye, Howard has attempted 50 passes and 44 of them (88% for those of us who are mathematically challenged) have traveled fewer than 20 yards through the air; in fact, 60% of his attempts have been shorter than 10 yards. On balls behind the line of scrimmage to 9 yards down the field, Howard is completing 73.3% of his attempts. On passes 10 to 19 yards downfield, he is 71.4%, and beyond 20 yards he is a respectable 50%, even though he would like to have a couple of those back.
Keeping the passing game focused on the short and intermediate windows allows the offense to be more efficient and for Howard to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers who can more than make up for the yardage differentials between these shorter passes and deep balls — as we saw Jeremiah Smith do on Saturday... and I think we can all agree that the more times he touches the ball, the more fun the games will be.
A lot of this has to do with Chip Kelly taking over offensive playcalling responsibilities and bringing a different energy and creativity to the process. His run-pass option offense has been executed to near perfection through two games — especially against WMU — and seeing a team with this much talent be so adept at a new philosophy this early is enjoyable.
There is still a long way to go and many more challenges on the schedule, but the prospects of watching fun football for 14 or 15 more games this season has me at near historic levels of giddiness this early in September.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
I am hoping this is the end of tedious Ohio State offensive performances.
I have been talking about this for years to friends, family, and here on LGHL, but sometime in the Urban Meyer Era — maybe the year after the national title — watching Ohio State football games got demonstrably less fun. Now don’t get me wrong, all of the winning that the Buckeyes have done in that decade-ish time period has been enjoyable, but the games themselves were often a lot less fun than they should be.
Perhaps it has been the weight of nearly unachievable expectations preventing me from fully appreciating what is right in front of me; perhaps it has been the rise of social media’s influence on the gameday experience, where toxicity is far more amplified than excitement or positivity; perhaps it has been the incessant starts and stops of the modern viewing experience with non-stop commercial breaks, replay reviews, and buffering issues interrupting the flow of the game; or, while all of those likely play a part, it has more to do with the style of football being played on the field.
Again, don't confuse this with me saying that the quality of OSU’s play has been bad, or that the coaches employed the wrong schemes, or even that the overall season-experience hasn’t been enjoyable, it’s just that more times than not, the games themselves haven’t been that fun to watch. While Jim Tressel’s brand of conservatism wasn’t always fun, there was a bit of poetry in its methodical nature that you could marvel at in real-time.
But after the national title victory in 2014, I think that we can all agree that Meyer regressed a bit in terms of his aggression and creativity, especially from an offensive standpoint. That was exacerbated by the fact that his nepo-hires were preventing new ideas from continuing to move the program forward. All of that resulted in games that were many times tedious — at best — to watch.
Then with the transition to Ryan Day, there have been moments of elevated enjoyability; for me, it was most evident when Dwayne Haskins was running the offense. There was a looseness and improvability with that unit that felt unencumbered by the restrictions of any schematic limitations, roster circumstances, or pressures of playoff aspirations.
Even with Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud to follow — inarguably the best four-year run of quarterbacking in Ohio State history — I always had a feeling that the offense was in some ways confined or restricted. I think in part that is because Buckeye Nation — and the entire college football world — recognized the obvious talent and potential in Columbus, and we were all holding our breath to see if it would be maximized.
But I also think it has had to do with Day falling into the same traps that his predecessor did. Like Meyer before him, I believe that Day was so constricted by the pressures of being Ohio State’s head coach that he second-guessed himself and his staff, which got in the way of his team playing to its full potential. While that might not have always shown up in the stat sheet when the Buckeyes played teams that couldn’t come anywhere close to their level of talent, it was evident to the eye test. There was a freedom (and a fun) missing from those teams; and while I have been primarily talking about the offenses thus far, this feeling has in no way been restricted to one side of the ball.
However, through two games against clearly overmatched MAC opponents, the 2024 season feels different. Of course that could all change when OSU has four consecutive games against Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska, and Penn State, but I don’t think that it will.
One of the reasons that Buckeye games haven’t been especially fun over the past 10 years is that there have been exceedingly few games that have truly ever been in doubt. Sure, every year we get ourselves worked up for a Penn State game or an out-of-conference matchup with Notre Dame — and, obviously, The Game stands on its own, especially over the past three years — but more often than not, those games have been anticlimactic or laborious at best.
So, now that the Big Ten seems to be on the upswing — some Week 2 debacles and near-debacles notwithstanding — and there is fresh (blue) blood in the conference, that should do wonders for enlivening the slate. But I still believe that the biggest difference in terms of improving the enjoyability of the watching experience comes from the style of play on the field.
Last year’s defense was brutally suffocating and a much-needed palate cleanser from other recent incarnations that did a disservice to the Silver Bullets legacy. But even the 2023 defense — which finished first nationally in passing defense, second in scoring defense, and third in total defense — wasn’t especially aesthetically pleasing to watch. It was a grind-you-to-dust defense. Through two games this season, however, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has brought back a considerable amount of the aggression that was fun in theory, but ultimately destructive, in 2022.
But, again with the caveat of being that it has been against Akron and Western Michigan, it’s been a blast to see Jack Sawyer, Tyleik Williams, J.T. Tuimoloau, and company get after the passer and absolutely obliterate guys when given the chance. It’s been a ball seeing Denzel Burke (when he wasn’t inexplicably ejected on a weak and unnecessary target review), David Igbinosun, and Lathan Ransom flying around the field making plays on the ball. And what a joy it has been seeing Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese step up with Cody Simon out or limited. This defense is not only elite, but it is fun to boot, and I don’t see that changing simply because the competition improves. It might not lead to a shutout every week, but the style and execution isn’t going to change, in my opinion.
On the other side of the ball though, I’m still a little apprehensive about going all-in on the offensive enjoyability. While the first two games have been thrilling, and have exceeded my expectations, I am still somewhat apprehensive about the offensive line. The OSU beat reporters have been trumpeting marked improvement from that unit throughout the summer and into preseason camp, but I’m not sure that I have seen it thus far. The o-line has been seemingly pretty solid in pass protection, but the run blocking — despite a good day from Quinshon Judkins against WMU — has left a lot to be desired.
So, while the first two games have been a ton of fun to watch, I’m trying not to get too far out over my skis... but it’s getting difficult to tamp down my enthusiasm for what I’ve seen through two blowout games. I think that Will Howard is the exact type of quarterback that this Buckeye team needs and the precision and execution of this passing game reminds me of the Haskins’ season. Howard doesn’t have nearly the arm that the late Buckeye legend had, but in terms of play-calling, the passing game hasn’t been predicated on the deep ball, which obviously comes with a major efficiency variance.
In his first two games as a Buckeye, Howard has attempted 50 passes and 44 of them (88% for those of us who are mathematically challenged) have traveled fewer than 20 yards through the air; in fact, 60% of his attempts have been shorter than 10 yards. On balls behind the line of scrimmage to 9 yards down the field, Howard is completing 73.3% of his attempts. On passes 10 to 19 yards downfield, he is 71.4%, and beyond 20 yards he is a respectable 50%, even though he would like to have a couple of those back.
Keeping the passing game focused on the short and intermediate windows allows the offense to be more efficient and for Howard to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers who can more than make up for the yardage differentials between these shorter passes and deep balls — as we saw Jeremiah Smith do on Saturday... and I think we can all agree that the more times he touches the ball, the more fun the games will be.
A lot of this has to do with Chip Kelly taking over offensive playcalling responsibilities and bringing a different energy and creativity to the process. His run-pass option offense has been executed to near perfection through two games — especially against WMU — and seeing a team with this much talent be so adept at a new philosophy this early is enjoyable.
There is still a long way to go and many more challenges on the schedule, but the prospects of watching fun football for 14 or 15 more games this season has me at near historic levels of giddiness this early in September.
Continue reading...