If you were HC, what would your game plan involve?
Offense:
- Despite how we usually like to play quickly, I would slow the pace way down. I would take the play clock down to 5 seconds or less remaining. Defense is bad? Keep them on the sideline as much as possible.
- Throw the ball downfield early, esp. w/PAP off QB runs w/lead blocker(s).
- If we have a lead, run the ball a lot.
Defense:
- Outnumber the offense in the run game; dare them to throw it.
- Against the pass, take away the quick throws and the deep ball. Make Pryor make intermediate throws like deep outs, comebacks, etc.
- Play a 4-man line. Let's let our DL take on as few doubles as possible.
- Pressure. Pressure. Pressure. Bring the heat as much as necessary. If it's 90% of the snaps, so be it. Secondary is vulnerable, so help them out by getting pressure any way you can. I prefer guys getting beat 1-on-1 for big plays as opposed to receivers running around in our "zone" with no defenders within 5 yards and getting at least 7 yards after catch. (Would love to see YAC stats from the Wisconsin game.)
November 26th, 2010 at 12:51 AM ^
low possession game. Absolute must. They're way better and we need to up the variance to get this one. Actually I pretty much agree all the way around. They're pretty good at a lot of stuff, but they're worst when Pryor is throwing against non-vanilla C3 stuff. I think their tackles are somewhat vulnerable and Pryor comes off his reads quickly to his check downs. It's not that he can't make those throws, but often enough his mechanics will falter or he won't trust the read. Iowa was able to put them in exactly that position because they can play a man down in the box with their killer DL. When we're not blitzing, I'd try the same. I also like blitzing because bringing down Pryor with one guy is tough. We need to fill rush lanes and then some. I know Gerg loves his zone blitzes, but we're going to need to bring 6 more than we bring 5.
I'm guessing they'll go with the UMass/Wisconsin approach for the most part though, which will make it tough to get Pryor dropping back. Or to play a man down in the box, for that matter. We'll need 8 for a proper run fit. It'll be power plays and zone isos plus roll outs down the field unless Martin goes nuts and we get some unexpected tackles in space. So let's be sure to onside at least once unless OSU looks like its sleepwalking.
And for fuck's sake, let's not play any stack.
November 26th, 2010 at 1:00 AM ^
Offensive:
Just keep doing what we're doing, only without the turnovers.
Defense:
Umh, well shit. Find some kind of magically way to pass rush effectively without leaving running lanes up. I guess I'd focus on locking down Posey, getting after Pryor and hoping the run game and other WRs don't eat us alive.
November 26th, 2010 at 1:02 AM ^
Playing defense is something people did a long time ago. The 1970s I think. When they had typewriters.
November 26th, 2010 at 1:06 AM ^
The offense is good enough to score without passing. Take all four downs and score touchdowns on the ground with no opportunity for picks or missed field goals. If they blow it, at least it was with their best unit. Penalties will doom this strategy, but whatev, interceptions are worse.
On defense, bring five or six guys to the backfield on every play and jump short routes, until OSU reaches the red zone. Forget about being "multiple." The defense is terrible, but they have to be able to execute "jam, stay inside of receivers at all costs, watch QB, play the ball" Then, play off in the red zone and let Pryor try to throw into a bounded sea of maize pants; this has worked to a certain extent in the past iirc.
November 26th, 2010 at 8:36 AM ^
except for the "Watch the QB, play the ball" philosophy.... That adds a layer of responsibility and decision making our that our defense has not shown an ability to do very well, all year long. I would rather they each key on their "responsible" offensive player (WR, TE, RB...etc.) and just try to face guard and stay with their man. They need to spend less time looking at the QB and more time surveying the field with their eyes, looking for guys running downfield and into their zone so they can do a better job picking these guys up in coverage.....
I guess the spy thing mentioned earlier would help with the scenario where T.P. scrambles and it goes from a pass play to a run play. Then someone would be "responsible" for that as well.....
On offense, this simple philosophy will go a long way for the success of the team on Saturday: 8+ guys in the box, pass the ball, 7 or less guys in the box, run the ball. Our offense has shown to be successful against defenses when the play calling execution follows this simple rule. And just for me, could we put some WR's / RB's / TE's in motion this week to make the defense react to us.....
November 26th, 2010 at 1:09 AM ^
Defensively:
Make tackles. Mix in man coverage. Play 4 down linemen. If necessary, put an OL in the defensive line. Brandon Graham had a surprise cameo in the O-line for OSU '09 so it's worth trying.
Offensively:
Ball security. Securing the ball. Making sure the ball is nice and secure. And converting 3rd downs.
November 26th, 2010 at 1:11 AM ^
I would not dare anyone to throw the ball against us...
November 26th, 2010 at 1:40 AM ^
Call up Charles Woodson and Leon Hall and see if they want to play Ohio State one more time for old times sake.
November 26th, 2010 at 2:00 AM ^
Onside kick every time. If we get the ball great if they get the ball its a short field and they will be able to score quick and not go on 80 yard 10 min drives.
This tactic requires we score every time we have the ball though.
November 26th, 2010 at 2:42 AM ^
1. Keep Pryor in the pocket and make him win the game with his arm. He still misses a lot of passes but where he hurts most teams is rolling out.
2. Do not play 20 yards off of receivers. Pryor is not that accurate. Do not give him wide open guys to throw to.
3. Contain, Contain, Contain! Not just on Pryor, on the RB's also. Do not let turn three yards into forty.
4. Do not turn the ball over. Michigan could have beaten OSU last year if it weren't for al the turnovers by Forcier.
Offensively I think Michigan will move the ball and score. OSU does not have the defense this year they have had in the past.
November 26th, 2010 at 9:04 AM ^
November 26th, 2010 at 2:52 PM ^
OSU's defense is ranked 3rd in yards per game (241.1 ypg), 4th in run defense (946 rushing yards allowed), and 5th in points allowed (13.9 ppg). They're also tied for 4th in interceptions with 17.
OSU may not have the marquis players like AJ Hawk and Little Animal this year, but they're producing at the same level as they normally do.
November 26th, 2010 at 2:54 AM ^
Hmm, this is a good question. This is how I'd approach it.
Offense: Keep running at a high pace. Slowing it down intentionally hoping they don't get as many possessions seems like a give-up move to me. This offense is built around going fast and when things are working go even faster. Do what is best for the offense. If it means using the "Jet" tempo, then so be it.
I think early on I'd try to call some plays that set-up Denard's best plays. Run some QB draws to set up that Lead Draw Oh Noes play. Call some designed misdirection runs where the play looks like a rollout but is actually a run(Maybe a Goddamned Counter Draw?). In most of our losses, we've played relatively well on D in the 1st half but the offense just sputters with a lead/tie score. Put Denard in a position where the big 3rd down play is one of his strengths and the D has to think for a split second about the counter to it.
Passing wise I'd try to attack their safeties, which seems to be a relative weakness. The corners are pretty good, so this is probably more for the slots and TEs. If they run a lot of man, I'd probably give the outside WR routes where they basically act as decoys to take Chekwa and Torrence out of play.
Only other big difference is I would probably play Hopkins quite a bit. Ohio State's DTs aren't the biggest guys in the world, anything to pound them inside and hopefully take advantage of our good C/G play to really punish their LBs and force them to cheat up even more, greatly opening up that middle of the field for the passing attack. Rolle and Homan getting picks on throws across the middle is probably my biggest concern from their D as they're both very good LBs.
Defense: This is a hard one, it's easy to say "Switch schemes!" but I don't know if we made a complete change to a 4-3 if it'd be effective enough. I would probably actually run multiple sets instead of mostly just one set. All 3 sets, 3-3-5, 3-4, and 4-3 are capable of stopping the run and pass. So I wouldn't want to telegraph it. Maybe come out in a 4-3 and blitz some. Switch to a 3-3-5 and drop 8 or even 9 into coverage. I would probably try to set-up the run Ds so Ezeh is just plowing into a guard like Demens was last week and letting Demens run free a bit more since he seems able to actually make plays.
I do think the D's best chance to look good is Pryor making mistakes, so I'd probably focus on stopping Herron/Saine and forcing Pryor to make plays. If he does make them, oh well.
One thing is for sure, I definitely wouldn't want to get really desperate. If a surprise onside kick chance presents itself, I'd consider doing it, but not more than once. Punt if it's not a reasonable distance to get it and failing won't put the D in a horrible spot. Force Pryor to be Ben Chappel and force him to go 70-99 yards every single drive. If he can do it enough to outscore our offense, oh well.
November 26th, 2010 at 3:01 AM ^
The coaches should try to have our team score more points than osu before the clock runs out. Seem likes a good plan. Wish it was that easy to do. Go Blue!
November 26th, 2010 at 3:29 AM ^
Go deep, early and often.
We need a few shock and awe style plays out of the gate.
When teams have played loose and aggressive against the bucks this year, they've had some success.
First Drive:
Denard:Off-Right Tackle
Denard:Read Tight End Flat
Denard:Sweep Right
Denard:Bomb to Roundtree
Hopkins in short yardage for the score
Let's Go Blue!
P.S. Maybe we bring out a wheel-route for Grady.
November 26th, 2010 at 3:39 AM ^
Whoa, apparently I got mouse happy.
Throw down the field early! Taking the lead early would really help out. It will at least give the defense some motivation to get a few stops
November 26th, 2010 at 4:27 AM ^
Plan to score more points than them. I believe that should win us the game. =)
November 26th, 2010 at 10:09 AM ^
but this made me laugh. Thank you for that. +1
November 26th, 2010 at 4:51 AM ^
The play I like the most: Is when Denard runs the ball. He starts running and take two steps getting closer to the line of scrimmage. And right then he just tosses is to Roundtree, who I think has a inward slant route.
He did it beautifully against Notre Dame. Then I think also against Illinois and Wisco. If they can smartly use that play: our offense could possibly explode.
The only concern: Stop the opponent on 3rd down.
November 26th, 2010 at 7:06 AM ^
November 26th, 2010 at 7:54 AM ^
Hope that a blimp comes crashing down on to OSUs sideline? Or that the Big10 allows you to play with 15 guys on defense?
November 26th, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
Offensively, I don't think we need to change much, if anything. Sooner or later we are bound to start a game strong without the mental mistakes. Hopefully, this game is the one.
Defensively:
Play a four-man front, with at least 7 in the box at all times.
On passing downs, blitz from the corner, delayed LB blitz, whatever it takes to acheive as much pressure on Pryor as our team can get. Pryor is very prone to pressure mistakes when passing, which helps our secondary.
For the DL, rotate in early and often, even with some of the freshmen like Black. Force the tOSU line to have to play 100% every play. They have some good OL, but we can't let them get to the second half with their confidence intact. That is how they consistently outscore opponents in the second half. Typically, they come out and run, run, run in the second half and do quite well because their OL believes they can win the line of scrimmage every down. If their confidence is shaken, they will be ineffective rushing the ball and force Pryor to pass, which is hit and miss.
November 26th, 2010 at 11:40 AM ^
My plan would involve having a laptop on the sidelines so I could actively monitor the blog sites and implement all the wonderful ideas the fans come up with.
November 26th, 2010 at 1:02 PM ^
Victory Assured.
PS: Running a 5-5-5-5 defense would all but assure a shut out.
November 26th, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^
Simple, run a 5-2 defense and stop the run. Make Pryor beat us wth his arm. If they beat us that way they beat us but at least we could take away one aspect of their offense.
November 26th, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^
HOLD ON TO THE DAMN BALL
Slow their run game down
Make Pryor beat us with his arm
Play with confidence, team has nothing to lose
Have RVB kick field goals
November 26th, 2010 at 12:44 PM ^
Totally agree with the first reply. The point has to be to keep our defense off the field. That's been the "problem" with our offense.
November 26th, 2010 at 1:39 PM ^
November 26th, 2010 at 2:12 PM ^
November 26th, 2010 at 2:24 PM ^
I know it sounds too late for this, but for God's sake run a normal defense rather than trying something like we did last week out of sheer desperation. At least make their athletes beat ours on that side of the ball.
On offense: Call the game of your freaking life. Start out with a one or two easier throws for Denard and then start to PA like crazy and see if you can't get a big play or two in the first half (for 6). Don't even think about kicking a field goal. Don't get cute with any pooch punt bullshit. Call at least one crazy play on kick return.
We need to steal this game on defense and special teams. Those phases will need luck. On offense we just have to execute as flawlessly as possible. If we do that this offense will score points against their defense. There's no need to do anything crazy there.
November 26th, 2010 at 2:50 PM ^
I also wanna see more play action fakes with denard.