Pass blocking schemes and going against Don Brown defenses in practice
So...as will become abundantly clear, I'm not a football coach (nor do I play one on teevee). After listening to the interview with Ed Warriner, and hearing my tOSU family bemoan the fact that Michigan hired him because they know how good his o-lines get by the end of the season, I'm wondering if Tim Drevno let going against Don Brown defenses in practice get into his head. We keep hearing about how the schemes are simplified this year, and that the offense doesn't try to plan for every contingency now - and Drevno seemed to have success at previous stops - so did trying to figure out where the blitzes are coming from factor into Drevno making pass blocking schemes too difficult?
I'll hang up and listen...
October 10th, 2018 at 8:39 PM ^
IMHO, that's unlikely. The O-line performance during Harbaugh's term as head coach here didn't fall off a cliff until last year. Going against Brown's defense in practice didn't have that result two years ago, which was Brown's first here.
October 10th, 2018 at 8:45 PM ^
More than likely, the two OL coaches last year clashed and things went south. One probably thought the other was teaching A, while he taught B. Meanwhile other coach was teaching C, and nosy got back around to A. And they probably both used different terminology. And they probably didn't practice the OL together, as a unit, until Saturdays.
Last year was an abortion of an offensive season, lets throw the dirt back over it and let it decay naturally.
October 10th, 2018 at 8:59 PM ^
Last year probably showed the effect of unfortunate timing on what should have been the right actions. Drevno was probably thought to be leaving, so Harbaugh picked up Drevno's heir apparent, Frey, who'd had previous success. Drevno maybe stayed longer than anticipated, which screwed up the O-line through the confusion of competing schemes. The offense went away from zone blocking, so Frey ended up leaving. We're lucky to have Warinner now--he has a history of developing young O-lines into good units, and his foray into an OC position didn't go well, so maybe he'll be satisfied with O-line coaching.
October 10th, 2018 at 8:55 PM ^
Don't know enough about Drevno's previous stops. It is possible that Wariner's philosophy of "worry about the two things they are most likely to do and adjust to everything else" is working, this year, with this particular line.
Yes, while a coaching staff is preparing for opponents, oftentimes the only thing they have to measure themselves, especially in spring and preseason, is the unit across from them, and pride and ego certainly do play a role, though hopefully not a principal one.
While it is well-recognized that there can be a downside in the adjustments to a new coach, yet an advantage to having a fresh start and a new way of looking at things, I think something that is often not discussed is how players with a new coach are still in some ways (at some level) benefitting from what they learned from the previous coach and ultimately profit from both. So maybe Drevno threw too much at them, Wariner's throwing just a little, with a good deal of overlap.
While simplifying can be enormously helpful, the downside is that it can become predictable. We shall see how the OL does against the likes of Wisconsins, and the three SUs coming up.
October 10th, 2018 at 9:03 PM ^
I'm also not a football coach, but I would never make my OL coach also my OC. He's got enough to do without the extra responsibilities.
October 10th, 2018 at 9:44 PM ^
I think this is it. Drevno had a lot of success before he was promoted to Offensive Coordinator. I think he's probably not a very good OC and having to do both jobs split his focus further. This also seems to fit pretty well with the story of him apologizing to the lineman before he was fired.
October 10th, 2018 at 10:59 PM ^
The OL coach are also the run game coordinator because the blocking scheme has to sync up to the overall offense so OL coach has to work with the OC in order to make the scheme successful.
Not sure if it's true with Harbaugh but I know for a fact that the NFL does it quite often which is why a good OL coach is just as important as having a good coordinator especially when you consider the lack of quality OL in the league.
October 10th, 2018 at 9:30 PM ^
Take a truck load of money and drive it to Ed's house, because what he's getting out of Runyan and JBB is miraculous.
October 10th, 2018 at 9:44 PM ^
This may not be remotely fair or remotely meaningful, but when I compare listening to Drevno talk about the OL and then listen to Warinner talk about it, the difference between the two is vast. I'm not talking just about what they've said, but how they've said it too.
October 10th, 2018 at 11:07 PM ^
I think it's clear that we've upgraded, but I've found that listening to how a guy talks to the media is a bad barometer of their competence.
To give one example that has stuck with me: I really enjoy Coaches Film Room broadcasts on ESPN. Not all of the coaches are equally as good at it, though, and it's not just because some are smarter than others: Two of the best coaches on that program have been Kevin Sumlin and Gene Chizik. Perhaps the least engaging I can remember? Paul Chryst.
Guess which one is doing the best job right now.
October 10th, 2018 at 11:41 PM ^
Patterson at QB last year might have made that line look a whole lot better.
October 11th, 2018 at 2:20 AM ^
Nah, Patterson and JOK look exactly the same laying on the field.
October 11th, 2018 at 7:44 AM ^
Nice and thoughtful hawt take. The answer is no. These guys are professional coaches. More likely is Drevno tried to teach too much - NFL type concepts and overloaded the blocking schemes to the point of confusion in the blockers. Paralysis by over-analysis.
October 11th, 2018 at 8:19 AM ^
I'm hopeful of course but do we need to pump the brakes on "everything is fixed"? Big test this week.
October 11th, 2018 at 1:53 PM ^
A quick response to those who commented on Ed Warinner "not being a very good OC." To that, I would ask that you look at his record prior to OSU, and also to remember he was saddled with Smith as WR coach. The read option is a complex scheme in regard to the WR position, and he was basically dealing with an absentee assistant. in 2015, UFM kept Ed on the sideline with a headset on and had Beck up in the booth. They didn't look like the team that had just won the NC, and then they lost to Sparty at home. Meyer put Ed up in the box after that loss, and they promptly laid 86 points on Michigan and Notre Dame. Looked like the national champs again. Difficult to run a balanced offense when the QB has no idea if the receivers will run the right route. Half of JT Barrett's runs were unplanned, as he looked downfield and didn't see the routes he expected. You can see it and hear it in his interviews..he loves it here, and to say he's "motivated" would be the understatement of the year.