Matt Tamanini
Guest
You’re Nuts: What lesson do you hope Ohio State has learned from the Oregon loss?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Ohio State’s football team has proven they’re not afraid to take big swings this season, and we’ve talked before about the fact that, while big swings often garner big hits, they also bring with them the occasional miss. It comes in different forms –- trick plays that result in lost yards, long balls into coverage at critical moments that result in turnovers.
I’m ok with these moments — some element of risk is necessary to be a great team, and it comes with the understanding that it won’t pay off every time. The hope is you’ve built enough of a cushion to recover if things backfire.
But Saturday against Oregon, it wasn’t the big swings that ended up costing the Buckeyes the game. It was the execution of the little things, the most routine elements of the game. Let me be clear: I am still a Big Swings apologist, but they can’t save you if the foundation is rocky. In fact, they really have a tendency to only work when the confidence and momentum are in your favor.
So before we see this team start swinging for the fences again, my primary takeaway is that perhaps we need to go back to basics.
How many times have we seen the Buckeyes make it through nearly an entire season unscathed but then fall apart when it mattered against Michigan, or crumble against a ranked opponent in a game they had every chance to win? Swinging big is fun against a lesser opponent, but if you’re going to take that approach, your foundation better not crumble in the high-stakes games.
It happened several times against Oregon—mundane plays and routine moments turned into turnovers, fourth downs, and other issues for the Buckeyes. Then there were the penalties (good LORDY the penalties!) and some questionable-at-best clock management.
I’ll forgive Quinshon Judkins his fumble given the way Oregon’s Derrick Harmon punched the ball out—that turnover was more a testament to a rock-solid defensive play than an offensive blunder. I’ll even forgive Jeremiah Smith for his pass interference late in the game—the refs were letting them play all night, and while that play had a game-altering impact, that’s not the mistake that has kept me up at night.
No, the play that has haunted my every waking moment since Saturday was a standard third-and-one situation in which TreVeyon Henderson tried to get fancy. If he’d stuck to the basics, and just played small ball, the Buckeyes likely would have earned the first down (albeit, in less stylish fashion). Instead, he attempted to juke around the defender and failed, resulting in a Buckeye punt.
Had Henderson succeeded, it could have been highlight-reel-worthy. But sometimes you need to forget the highlight reel for a second and just return to small ball. Short runs that get you the first down are better in the long run, and it’s absolutely critical that this team learns when to take the risk and when to stick to the safe bet if they’re going to reset and go deep into the playoffs.
Oh, but lest you think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, that’s not the only play that resulted in a punt I’ve been haunted by. We have a whole cornucopia of those to choose from, in fact. Like the time Will Howard simply dropped the football while trying to read the coverage. He’s lucky it only resulted in a punt rather than a turnover, but in the second half of a close game, it’s an error you can’t afford.
Now, let’s talk about penalties. There were a lot of sloppy errors on Saturday, and some of it can be chalked up to the noise in an away environment — unless you’re the Buckeyes. You play in The Horseshoe, which is not a particularly quiet place to play. You’ve played in electric games at The Horseshoe. You have to be prepared not to make goofy false start errors, which are relatively minor in the grand scheme of penalties until they start to add up the way they did for the Buckeyes last weekend.
Again, I’m going to forgive the bigger one-off moments. The small moments put us in the position to be unable to afford the bigger errors.
So what I hope folks take away from this loss is that we absolutely cannot, under any circumstances, compromise on the fundamentals if we’re going to bounce back and win football games for the rest of this season. For an outstanding team, you’d be hard-pressed to find one aspect of the game where Ohio State lived up to its potential, and that boils down to the basic elements at the foundation of the game more than any one major error we saw over the weekend.
Something must be done with the Ohio State defensive front. As good as the talent is on the Buckeye defense, they can only do so much when it feels like the scheme and the coaching staff are handcuffing their ability to make big plays. Ever since defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has been in Columbus, there has been a palpable disagreement in terms of defensive line philosophy.
Under position coach Larry Johnson, the Buckeyes have recruited very well across the defensive front in order to play a four down lineman set. However, That’s not what Knowles has ever run. While he is noted for deploying a 4-2-5, it has typically been three traditional d-linemen with a hybrid rusher (the mythical Jack) rounding out the front.
For whatever reason, despite the fact that Ryan Day has long said that Knowles was hired to be the head coach of the defense — including at Tuesday’s press conference, which you can hear in full below — there has always felt like a four down linemen exception to that rule.
The defensive line in recent years — and as enumerated by Nick Saban following the loss the Oregon — has essentially just pinned its ears back and run straight into the five or six opposing offensive linemen. The theory is that with their superior talent and athleticism, they will be able to overcome the numbers disadvantage... except they aren’t.
Offensive football has changed tremendously in recent years, with quarterbacks getting the ball out far more quickly than they have in the past and offensive coordinators getting more creative and exotic in their play calls. So the old-school, no-frills approach to pass rushing just doesn’t cut it anymore.
I’m not to tell you that I fully grasp all of the schematic specifics that would allow the Buckeyes to “get home” more often and sack the quarterback more frequently, but there needs to be changes, be it in terms of play calls, philosophy, personnel, or something else entirely. If the OSU defense tries to just do the same thing that hasn’t been successful in three years, then this will likely be the final season for Ryan Day, Jim Knowles, and Larry Johnson in Columbus.
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
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: What lesson do you hope Ohio State has learned from the Oregon loss?
Jami’s Take:
Ohio State’s football team has proven they’re not afraid to take big swings this season, and we’ve talked before about the fact that, while big swings often garner big hits, they also bring with them the occasional miss. It comes in different forms –- trick plays that result in lost yards, long balls into coverage at critical moments that result in turnovers.
I’m ok with these moments — some element of risk is necessary to be a great team, and it comes with the understanding that it won’t pay off every time. The hope is you’ve built enough of a cushion to recover if things backfire.
But Saturday against Oregon, it wasn’t the big swings that ended up costing the Buckeyes the game. It was the execution of the little things, the most routine elements of the game. Let me be clear: I am still a Big Swings apologist, but they can’t save you if the foundation is rocky. In fact, they really have a tendency to only work when the confidence and momentum are in your favor.
So before we see this team start swinging for the fences again, my primary takeaway is that perhaps we need to go back to basics.
How many times have we seen the Buckeyes make it through nearly an entire season unscathed but then fall apart when it mattered against Michigan, or crumble against a ranked opponent in a game they had every chance to win? Swinging big is fun against a lesser opponent, but if you’re going to take that approach, your foundation better not crumble in the high-stakes games.
It happened several times against Oregon—mundane plays and routine moments turned into turnovers, fourth downs, and other issues for the Buckeyes. Then there were the penalties (good LORDY the penalties!) and some questionable-at-best clock management.
I’ll forgive Quinshon Judkins his fumble given the way Oregon’s Derrick Harmon punched the ball out—that turnover was more a testament to a rock-solid defensive play than an offensive blunder. I’ll even forgive Jeremiah Smith for his pass interference late in the game—the refs were letting them play all night, and while that play had a game-altering impact, that’s not the mistake that has kept me up at night.
No, the play that has haunted my every waking moment since Saturday was a standard third-and-one situation in which TreVeyon Henderson tried to get fancy. If he’d stuck to the basics, and just played small ball, the Buckeyes likely would have earned the first down (albeit, in less stylish fashion). Instead, he attempted to juke around the defender and failed, resulting in a Buckeye punt.
Had Henderson succeeded, it could have been highlight-reel-worthy. But sometimes you need to forget the highlight reel for a second and just return to small ball. Short runs that get you the first down are better in the long run, and it’s absolutely critical that this team learns when to take the risk and when to stick to the safe bet if they’re going to reset and go deep into the playoffs.
Oh, but lest you think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, that’s not the only play that resulted in a punt I’ve been haunted by. We have a whole cornucopia of those to choose from, in fact. Like the time Will Howard simply dropped the football while trying to read the coverage. He’s lucky it only resulted in a punt rather than a turnover, but in the second half of a close game, it’s an error you can’t afford.
Now, let’s talk about penalties. There were a lot of sloppy errors on Saturday, and some of it can be chalked up to the noise in an away environment — unless you’re the Buckeyes. You play in The Horseshoe, which is not a particularly quiet place to play. You’ve played in electric games at The Horseshoe. You have to be prepared not to make goofy false start errors, which are relatively minor in the grand scheme of penalties until they start to add up the way they did for the Buckeyes last weekend.
Again, I’m going to forgive the bigger one-off moments. The small moments put us in the position to be unable to afford the bigger errors.
So what I hope folks take away from this loss is that we absolutely cannot, under any circumstances, compromise on the fundamentals if we’re going to bounce back and win football games for the rest of this season. For an outstanding team, you’d be hard-pressed to find one aspect of the game where Ohio State lived up to its potential, and that boils down to the basic elements at the foundation of the game more than any one major error we saw over the weekend.
Matt’s Take:
Something must be done with the Ohio State defensive front. As good as the talent is on the Buckeye defense, they can only do so much when it feels like the scheme and the coaching staff are handcuffing their ability to make big plays. Ever since defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has been in Columbus, there has been a palpable disagreement in terms of defensive line philosophy.
Under position coach Larry Johnson, the Buckeyes have recruited very well across the defensive front in order to play a four down lineman set. However, That’s not what Knowles has ever run. While he is noted for deploying a 4-2-5, it has typically been three traditional d-linemen with a hybrid rusher (the mythical Jack) rounding out the front.
For whatever reason, despite the fact that Ryan Day has long said that Knowles was hired to be the head coach of the defense — including at Tuesday’s press conference, which you can hear in full below — there has always felt like a four down linemen exception to that rule.
The defensive line in recent years — and as enumerated by Nick Saban following the loss the Oregon — has essentially just pinned its ears back and run straight into the five or six opposing offensive linemen. The theory is that with their superior talent and athleticism, they will be able to overcome the numbers disadvantage... except they aren’t.
Offensive football has changed tremendously in recent years, with quarterbacks getting the ball out far more quickly than they have in the past and offensive coordinators getting more creative and exotic in their play calls. So the old-school, no-frills approach to pass rushing just doesn’t cut it anymore.
I’m not to tell you that I fully grasp all of the schematic specifics that would allow the Buckeyes to “get home” more often and sack the quarterback more frequently, but there needs to be changes, be it in terms of play calls, philosophy, personnel, or something else entirely. If the OSU defense tries to just do the same thing that hasn’t been successful in three years, then this will likely be the final season for Ryan Day, Jim Knowles, and Larry Johnson in Columbus.
Let us know who you are agreeing with:
Continue reading...