Joe Dexter
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Should Ezekiel Elliott Be More Involved Earlier In Games?
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Before the start of the season, Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott was considered by most to be the heavy favorite to win the Heisman trophy. Four games in, his name has been lost in the shuffle of running backs that have impressed one quarter of the way through the college football season.
This week, the staff at The Buckeye Battle Cry ponders in our weekly roundtable if that’s a direct reaction to how Ohio State has used their star tailback so far this season.
Question: Do the Buckeyes need to get Ezekiel Elliott involved more earlier in ballgames? How does the Ohio State coaching staff need to adjust how they use Elliott on Saturday?
Charles Kuehn
On Twitter @Charles_BBC
I definitely think that it would be good to get Elliott more involved earlier in the game. When you have an offensive line as strong as OSU’s and as good of a runner as Elliot, you want to establish that running game early. Few teams are going to be able to stop the run without cheating their secondary up which then opens up the passing game. Additionally, establishing a physical running game early will start to wear down the defense over the course of the game, making running in the second half even easier.
Patrick Jones
On Twitter @pj844
I’m not sure how more you can get him involved. Short of the Virginia Tech game, his carries have increased (11,27,23,16 for the 4 games this season) and his production obviously has been over a 100 yards each week.
What this team needs to do is block better. Period.
Meyer has touched on the perimeter blocking and quite frankly it’s been very bad this season. Last year Devin Smith and Evan Spencer were fabulous at perimeter blocking. Elliott was 3-5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage before being touched.
This year, guys are getting penetration BEHIND the line and Zeke is having to do more of the work on his own. The offensive line hasn’t played to its potential as well. They looked ten times better Saturday against Western but other than Va Tech and last week, the line play has been average at best.
Improve these two areas and I think Ezekiel Elliott starts putting up 200 yard games again.
Scott Halasz
On Twitter @OhioStateScott
Football 101 says to use the run game to open up the passing game. Ohio State is supposed to have the best offensive line in the country. Let’s see it.
Pound Zeke up the middle and off-tackle a few times. Throw it deep once or twice off play action and watch the yards and points pile up.
Ken Kohl
On Twitter @KenKohl1
Yes, yes they do. In OSU’s first 4 series. Zeke’s longish (26 yd, 10 yd) carries set up Cardale TD passes. Coincidence? I think not. Here’s the thing, getting Zeke involved early in the game also gets the offensive line involved, aggressively, early in the game. Zeke’s early involvement also gets the play-action passing game working. The play action has two benefits. First, it “pacifies” the pass rush and gets LBs/DBs out of their pass drop routine. It also helps OSU’s WRs get open on their routes; distracting your defender is a wonderful thing for route runners.
As far as how Zeke is used, I think the template was laid down inn OSU’s 3rd quarter scoring drive. Run Zeke often and run him straight’ish forward. The bursts up the middle? The off-tackle power? Yep, they were there. In that 14 play drive, Zeke ran 7 times for 40 yards and a TD. The drive also was OSU’s most time consuming (4:10) giving the defense a bit of a breather. The staff needs to lose the pages in the playbook that have Zeke running east-west. Mr. Sideline never misses a tackle and they are just wasting Zeke’s energy. His Hurdles look much better going downfield, not cross-field.
WVaBuckeye:
On Twitter @WVaBuckeye
Do the Buckeyes need to get Ezekiel Elliott involved more earlier in ballgames? I believe the Buckeyes should stay with the plan from Saturday. Run Ezekiel, throw to Ezekiel. Run Ezekiel. Run. You get the point! They cannot use him too much early in the game and I for one would love to see him dominate early.
This isn’t going to be like the games we’ve seen in the past against the Hoosiers. They will be ready for the Buckeyes and Ohio State will have to run the ball. It will be important to control the clock.
The Buckeyes only had the ball for 2:20 this last Saturday after one quarter. Good thing time of possession didn’t matter.
JC Collingsworth
On Twitter @Jcollingsworth3
Ezekiel most certainly needs to be thrust into the game plan earlier. Opening up the run game only opens up the passing game. When there is more of a shuffling of plays there is always that possibility to delivering a shining moment.
Ezekiel is too strong of a runner to be used sparingly. The Offensive line is too good to be used in a game plan that doesn’t have them dig deep early. Developing a run game early will only entrench the line, bettering them as the game progresses.
This current game plan is not showing us the team that we know exists. There have been flashes, but all in all, the games they have played should have been “total” blow-outs. But they weren’t. It should be a simple approach to help get it back on track. I am not speaking of a 40 – yard heave. I am talking Woody-style “three-yards & a cloud of dust.” Sometimes old school outshines the overly calculated minds of the current game.
Evidence that a running game needs to be established early is simply – #15. And he will be more than eager to prove your strategy as “genius”.
Joe Dexter
On Twitter @BuckeyeRadio
Even though Indiana has given up over 390 yards of pass offense per game in their three home games at Memorial Stadium, the true difference maker for Ohio State will be Ezekiel Elliott and the running game.
What I love about Urban Meyer in his staff is that he doesn’t let opposing numbers numbers dictate what his team is going to execute on the field. Ohio State is a balanced attack with a passing game that relies heavily on the success of a perimeter running games.
The best way for the Bucks to open up the passing attack is to get Zeke more touches early in the ballgame. The more times he touches the ball, the more likely a big play is going to change the ball game. Not only can number 15 make it happen himself with great vision up the field, but his runs are going to be the key to setting up the big passing plays down field.
It was because of Elliott’s commitment to run downhill, that the Buckeyes connected twice on wide open touchdowns in play action.
I don’t expect the coaches to make many adjustments when it comes to using Elliott, but one thing I’d love to see is him getting involved more in the passing game. If this offense is at full throttle, Cardale Jones will be able to find him more often in check down situations.
And Elliott excelled with the ball in his hands on swing passes last week. He extended two drives on third down and long and helped keep the momentum in Ohio State’s favor while the ran their jet tempo sets.
The post Should Ezekiel Elliott Be More Involved Earlier In Games? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Before the start of the season, Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott was considered by most to be the heavy favorite to win the Heisman trophy. Four games in, his name has been lost in the shuffle of running backs that have impressed one quarter of the way through the college football season.
This week, the staff at The Buckeye Battle Cry ponders in our weekly roundtable if that’s a direct reaction to how Ohio State has used their star tailback so far this season.
Question: Do the Buckeyes need to get Ezekiel Elliott involved more earlier in ballgames? How does the Ohio State coaching staff need to adjust how they use Elliott on Saturday?
Charles Kuehn
On Twitter @Charles_BBC
I definitely think that it would be good to get Elliott more involved earlier in the game. When you have an offensive line as strong as OSU’s and as good of a runner as Elliot, you want to establish that running game early. Few teams are going to be able to stop the run without cheating their secondary up which then opens up the passing game. Additionally, establishing a physical running game early will start to wear down the defense over the course of the game, making running in the second half even easier.
Patrick Jones
On Twitter @pj844
I’m not sure how more you can get him involved. Short of the Virginia Tech game, his carries have increased (11,27,23,16 for the 4 games this season) and his production obviously has been over a 100 yards each week.
What this team needs to do is block better. Period.
Meyer has touched on the perimeter blocking and quite frankly it’s been very bad this season. Last year Devin Smith and Evan Spencer were fabulous at perimeter blocking. Elliott was 3-5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage before being touched.
This year, guys are getting penetration BEHIND the line and Zeke is having to do more of the work on his own. The offensive line hasn’t played to its potential as well. They looked ten times better Saturday against Western but other than Va Tech and last week, the line play has been average at best.
Improve these two areas and I think Ezekiel Elliott starts putting up 200 yard games again.
Scott Halasz
On Twitter @OhioStateScott
Football 101 says to use the run game to open up the passing game. Ohio State is supposed to have the best offensive line in the country. Let’s see it.
Pound Zeke up the middle and off-tackle a few times. Throw it deep once or twice off play action and watch the yards and points pile up.
Ken Kohl
On Twitter @KenKohl1
Yes, yes they do. In OSU’s first 4 series. Zeke’s longish (26 yd, 10 yd) carries set up Cardale TD passes. Coincidence? I think not. Here’s the thing, getting Zeke involved early in the game also gets the offensive line involved, aggressively, early in the game. Zeke’s early involvement also gets the play-action passing game working. The play action has two benefits. First, it “pacifies” the pass rush and gets LBs/DBs out of their pass drop routine. It also helps OSU’s WRs get open on their routes; distracting your defender is a wonderful thing for route runners.
As far as how Zeke is used, I think the template was laid down inn OSU’s 3rd quarter scoring drive. Run Zeke often and run him straight’ish forward. The bursts up the middle? The off-tackle power? Yep, they were there. In that 14 play drive, Zeke ran 7 times for 40 yards and a TD. The drive also was OSU’s most time consuming (4:10) giving the defense a bit of a breather. The staff needs to lose the pages in the playbook that have Zeke running east-west. Mr. Sideline never misses a tackle and they are just wasting Zeke’s energy. His Hurdles look much better going downfield, not cross-field.
WVaBuckeye:
On Twitter @WVaBuckeye
Do the Buckeyes need to get Ezekiel Elliott involved more earlier in ballgames? I believe the Buckeyes should stay with the plan from Saturday. Run Ezekiel, throw to Ezekiel. Run Ezekiel. Run. You get the point! They cannot use him too much early in the game and I for one would love to see him dominate early.
This isn’t going to be like the games we’ve seen in the past against the Hoosiers. They will be ready for the Buckeyes and Ohio State will have to run the ball. It will be important to control the clock.
The Buckeyes only had the ball for 2:20 this last Saturday after one quarter. Good thing time of possession didn’t matter.
JC Collingsworth
On Twitter @Jcollingsworth3
Ezekiel most certainly needs to be thrust into the game plan earlier. Opening up the run game only opens up the passing game. When there is more of a shuffling of plays there is always that possibility to delivering a shining moment.
Ezekiel is too strong of a runner to be used sparingly. The Offensive line is too good to be used in a game plan that doesn’t have them dig deep early. Developing a run game early will only entrench the line, bettering them as the game progresses.
This current game plan is not showing us the team that we know exists. There have been flashes, but all in all, the games they have played should have been “total” blow-outs. But they weren’t. It should be a simple approach to help get it back on track. I am not speaking of a 40 – yard heave. I am talking Woody-style “three-yards & a cloud of dust.” Sometimes old school outshines the overly calculated minds of the current game.
Evidence that a running game needs to be established early is simply – #15. And he will be more than eager to prove your strategy as “genius”.
Joe Dexter
On Twitter @BuckeyeRadio
Even though Indiana has given up over 390 yards of pass offense per game in their three home games at Memorial Stadium, the true difference maker for Ohio State will be Ezekiel Elliott and the running game.
What I love about Urban Meyer in his staff is that he doesn’t let opposing numbers numbers dictate what his team is going to execute on the field. Ohio State is a balanced attack with a passing game that relies heavily on the success of a perimeter running games.
The best way for the Bucks to open up the passing attack is to get Zeke more touches early in the ballgame. The more times he touches the ball, the more likely a big play is going to change the ball game. Not only can number 15 make it happen himself with great vision up the field, but his runs are going to be the key to setting up the big passing plays down field.
It was because of Elliott’s commitment to run downhill, that the Buckeyes connected twice on wide open touchdowns in play action.
I don’t expect the coaches to make many adjustments when it comes to using Elliott, but one thing I’d love to see is him getting involved more in the passing game. If this offense is at full throttle, Cardale Jones will be able to find him more often in check down situations.
And Elliott excelled with the ball in his hands on swing passes last week. He extended two drives on third down and long and helped keep the momentum in Ohio State’s favor while the ran their jet tempo sets.
The post Should Ezekiel Elliott Be More Involved Earlier In Games? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...