Buckeye86;1824216; said:
that's quite the broad stroke, and do you really think that Big Ten coordinators in general, and Ohio State's coordinators specifically, are so bad that they won't notice Mallet struggles under pressure and adjust their defensive game plan accordingly? that is, of course, operating under the assumption that they don't blitz, which is false in the first place
Ohio State is top ten in the country in interceptions with 18 on the year (1.5 per game), they didn't get there by not pressuring the quarterback
I guess you could argue that Ohio State gets pressure with just their front four because they are so damn good, which is true, but it really just depends on the time of the game
usually, Ohio State plays pretty standard defensive schemes early in the game to figure out what the opponent is trying to do, after a quarter or so (and sometimes into the second half) Ohio State makes adjustments and generally shuts down what the opponent is doing, which more often than not includes bringing blitzes
in the last three games, Ohio State's opponents have racked up 287 yards in the second half; combined
Ohio State will make adjustments on defense, and that will most likely include bringing a ton of pressure on Mallet, through blitzes or other wise... once again though, that is assuming that they won't be bringing blitzes like crazy right out of the gate, which is pretty likely as well
Not the OP, but to offer the logical responses-
Big Ten teams are like any other teams-- they should be expected to blitz as situationally appropriate. I fully expect OSU to chose it's spots to bring heat, and I think it's a terrible idea to blitz Arkansas heavily-- and I'll even go so far as to explain why.
There are 3 basic options for blitz designs when facing a 3, 4, or 5 WR front; you can bring the linebacker(s) on the edge, the linebacker(s) in the middle, or you can blitz from the slot/corner. There are hundreds of variants from zone blitzes to spy option blitzes, but it all generally boils down to these three sorts.
Teams that bring the exterior linebackers have trouble against Arkansas because of the tunnel screen game and the backside throwback off of the PA fake; if the end doesn't get a quick release, the backer is going to get thrown over by a tall QB. It really helps that the WRs are extremely physical blockers who are very good at not getting called for holding in the open field when locked up with CBs and FS/SS. Of the blitz options, this is the one that is most likely to mess up the timing of the Arkansas offense, and the one I expect to see OSU use most frequently, as it requires multiple reads by multiple offensive players to be negated.
Teams that bring the interior linebackers open up crossing routes and throws under 10-20 yards down the seams. DJ Williams has the best numbers of any TE in America for a reason. If OSU goes this route, it's going to be a very long day for the entire secondary trying to tackle Williams.
Blitzing off of the corner or slot is appealing at first glance; you take, hopefully, some of the vertical aspects out of the Arkansas passing game, and put your good tackling to best use. This, however, puts you in the position of making 7 out of every 8 stops, and still giving up 3-4 huge plays. Arkansas tends to shift towards a misdirection based running attack when confronted by the blitz off of the extreme edge, and if you show success in actually getting after the quarterback, a nasty habit of using the backside RB or TE protector to set up a slip screen or wheel, to where the blitzer just vacated. The throw-over effect comes into play here, and the read-recognition by your safeties in deep zone in coming up to fill where the blitzer has vacated will be key, particularly if you have any concerns about your interior backside pursuit once play recognition occurs.
To me, the best option is not to blitz Mallett at all, save for very obvious situational blitzing to force quick throws on 3rd and 2nd and long. Drop a ton of guys into coverage, and force him to think about things. Eventually, he will rely on his arm and force the football, and when he does, OSU has to force the turnover to get inside his head and make him press.
You'll give up yardage, but the points can be limited in that fashion; from what I've seen of your front four, there is plenty of talent there-- Mallett isn't going to run around to make time. Eventually pass protection will break down. I know you seem to like to twist your ends a lot, which I don't think will be to your advantage if trying to bring base pressure. You'd be better served to just line 'em up and go at them.
The Alabama game should be the blueprint for attacking the Hogs offense-- but one of the most common misperceptions of that game is that Alabama blitzed like crazy and forced the bad throws. In truth, during the last 3 quarters of the game, Alabama blitzed a total of once on first down, and none at all on 2nd downs of 7 yards or less. While they did bring heat, they did so judiciously; most importantly, they were extremely physical with DJ Williams, so there was an extra half second for Mallett to think while his best zone-buster got back on route. Williams is the anti-zone safety blanket, and if you can get him off track, Mallett will look elsewhere, and that's when problems arise.
