Goodbye, 2010 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON - twas a great year,

[high class scum bag]

if martinez can stay healthy, i think we have a shot at running the table...all he needs is a crease and its a huge gain..

its hard to believe in high school is was used more as a passer than runner...

 

[bamaboy256]

Nebraska got that Boise St. schedule lol, the Texas game has lost all appeal.

 

[bamaboy256]

Nebraska got that Boise St. schedule lol, the Texas game has lost all appeal.

 

[ryaneff23]

Originally Posted by bamaboy256

Nebraska got that Boise St. schedule lol, the Texas game has lost all appeal.

Can't really blame us for a down year in the Big 12.  It'll be nice to beat up on all these teams before we leave. 

  

 

[ryaneff23]

Originally Posted by bamaboy256

Nebraska got that Boise St. schedule lol, the Texas game has lost all appeal.

Can't really blame us for a down year in the Big 12.  It'll be nice to beat up on all these teams before we leave. 

  

 

[bamaboy256]

True, I think it'll be dope if you guys win the big 12 then dip out haha

 

[bamaboy256]

True, I think it'll be dope if you guys win the big 12 then dip out haha

 

[trelvis tha thrilla]

Originally Posted by bamaboy256

True, I think it'll be dope if you guys win the big 12 then dip out haha

co-sign. would be great.

 

[trelvis tha thrilla]

Originally Posted by bamaboy256

True, I think it'll be dope if you guys win the big 12 then dip out haha

co-sign. would be great.

 

[gunna get it]

word, me & my boy was just talkin about how dope that would be if it happened

 

[gunna get it]

word, me & my boy was just talkin about how dope that would be if it happened

 

[zs05wc]

Originally Posted by Scott Frost

Originally Posted by Statis22

Impressive.

2 top rushers in the country are quarterbacks. Go figure.

Word.  Its like DreClark's other post in regards to Cam Newton & Denard Robinson.  These coaches reverting to the old fashion way of playing ball, things that alot of people were outdated and adding their own spin to it.

  

Denard only has to run alot until D. Harts there next year

 

[zs05wc]

Originally Posted by Scott Frost

Originally Posted by Statis22

Impressive.

2 top rushers in the country are quarterbacks. Go figure.

Word.  Its like DreClark's other post in regards to Cam Newton & Denard Robinson.  These coaches reverting to the old fashion way of playing ball, things that alot of people were outdated and adding their own spin to it.

  

Denard only has to run alot until D. Harts there next year

 

[03silverbullet]

Originally Posted by Trelvis Tha Thrilla

Originally Posted by bamaboy256

True, I think it'll be dope if you guys win the big 12 then dip out haha

co-sign. would be great.

 looking at the rest of their schedule, their odds of beating the rest of those bums are becoming exponential.  and if OU (the texas of Ok.) finishes unblemished, i don't see OU letting them leave the 12 with the CC.

  

 

[03silverbullet]

Originally Posted by Trelvis Tha Thrilla

Originally Posted by bamaboy256

True, I think it'll be dope if you guys win the big 12 then dip out haha

co-sign. would be great.

 looking at the rest of their schedule, their odds of beating the rest of those bums are becoming exponential.  and if OU (the texas of Ok.) finishes unblemished, i don't see OU letting them leave the 12 with the CC.

  

 

[rook]

Todays the day...Comon' Dee...Be a kind guy & sign with the Ann Arbor crew

 

[rook]

Todays the day...Comon' Dee...Be a kind guy & sign with the Ann Arbor crew

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

^ Just for the fact that you were hoping JWJr didn't come to FSU, I hope Dee Hart goes to Bama

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

^ Just for the fact that you were hoping JWJr didn't come to FSU, I hope Dee Hart goes to Bama

 

[newbs24]

Originally Posted by dreClark

^ Just for the fact that you were hoping JWJr didn't come to FSU, I hope Dee Hart goes to Bama

. Don't associate his wishes with Michigan football. 

 

[newbs24]

Originally Posted by dreClark

^ Just for the fact that you were hoping JWJr didn't come to FSU, I hope Dee Hart goes to Bama

. Don't associate his wishes with Michigan football. 

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

Ohio State Quarter Season offensive review

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler [+]

Spoiler

Since the EMU game was never in doubt and we areheading into conference season, I wanted to attack things slightlydifferently this week and take a bigger picture look at where the OhioState offense and defense stand one quarter of the way through theseason.  Specifically, how are teams attempting to play Ohio State andhow OSU has responded. In so doing I hope to address some of theissues raised in the season's nascent period. I'll look first at theoffense.

The 2010 Ohio State Offensive Philosophy

Two things are abundantly clear regarding the 2010Ohio State offense. Teams are going to zealously put men in the box totake away the Ohio State run game, and Ohio State is glad for them todo so because they would rather put the ball in Terrelle Pryor'shands and let him make run-pass decisions. Here is Eastern Michiganputting 8 and 9 men in the box in a manner reminiscent of Miami and OU.

Compare this to the Miami front:

In practice, this means that OSU is generally facing an 8-man frontwhen it gets in '21' personnel (2 backs, 1 TE), and a 9-man front whenit gets in '22' personnel (2 backs, 2 TE).

http://

Fortunately, OSU has not been slowed down by these defensive looks. That is because these defenses are geared more to the 2009 Ohio State offensethan the 2010 version. At its most basic, OSU's response has been tothrow far more, including on first and second down. According to Jeff Amey,OSU against EMU threw 20 times on first down versus 18 runs, with thenumber of first down runs surely inflated by mop-up time.

The irony is that OSU is perfectly content to haveteams crowd the line of scrimmage. The reason is obvious--TerrellePryor is Ohio State's biggest offensive threat, and the combinationpass/run dynamic he presents makes it impossible for defenses to dealwith both the 5-man, horizontal stretch passing game OSU runsand Pryor scrambling. In particular, it puts huge pressure on theunderneath defenders. If one looks at the Miami linebackers above,they are trying to hover around the line of scrimmage to take awayPryor scrambling. But to do so leaves the underneath holes open.Conversely, if a defense plays their zone or man responsibility, Pryoris an ever-present threat to run.

One only needs to look at Pryor's game against EMU to see the impact. Against EMU, Pryor was the primary ball-handleron 36 of 50 offensive plays. All but a QB sneak were called passplays. Those 35 plays resulted in 328 yards, or 9.87 yards perplay--nearly a first down per play. A team would be self-destructiveto not feature something that is averaging nearly a first down per play.

Some act as though Pryor's scrambling should notcount as yards that demonstrate the offensive's effectiveness, or evenare actually a sign that the offense is not working because he ishaving to run. Nothing could be further from the truth. The coachesare perfectly aware of the added threat Pryor's legs provide when hedrops back. Jim Tressel has stated they want Pryor running 10-15times a game on called pass plays, and that is an integral part oftheir offense. Pryor's running ability, particularly on third down, isprecisely why OSU is a pass-first team this year.

OSU Scheme Responses

OSU has also responded schematically to theserun-first fronts they are facing. One primary response is throughformation, particularly with formations that put 7 offenders to oneside of the center and 4 to the other, namely tight trips or tightbunch formations.



This forces a defense away from a balanced 8-mandefense where they can roll up the safety responsible for force play.A defense has to insteadroll coverageto the 3 receiver side. OSU will then put Posey to the 1 receiver sideand hope to get him isolated away from the rolled coverage.

No play better represents the 2010 Ohio State offense then the 'drive' crossing route.



This is by far OSU's most frequently run-pass playthis year. As can been seen above, it is a shallow crossing route witha square-in behind it. OSU utilizes it frequently for severalreasons. One, as seen in the diagram above, it can be run with either'21' or '11' (3 wide, 1 TE, 1 RB) personnel, meaning it works with theentire OSU formation scheme. They can as easily run it from tighttrips as they can from the I. Two, it puts OSU's players in the irbestposition to succeed. Dane Sanzenbacheris the shallow crossing route, with Stoneburner running the square-inbehind him. The tailback then runs an option or angle route behind theclearing shallow cross. Devier Posey is then put to the one receiverside, and can run a host of routes--he has run a deep cross behind theTE, a deep comeback, and also a shallow cross, or mesh with Sanz.

Three, it again places a stress on those underneathdefenders who have to simultaneously worry about Pryor running. Theyhave to deal with the inside zones being stressed by the multiple levelcrossing routes and the HB follow to the opposing side. The underneathdefenders therefore cannot spy Pryor and cover this route combinationsuccessfully. Four, it keeps everything in front of Pryor and lets himmake an easy pass-run decision. His 53-yard touchdown run was a driveroute. He gave a telling post game quote describing his reads on thatplay. To paraphrase, he looks to 1) the shallow cross, 2) thesquare-in, 3) looked back to the HB, and 4) if those were not there hetakes off. It's an easy 1-2-3 read that keeps the underneath defendersin his vision so he can make a run-pass decision. Here are severalexamples of OSU running this play. I have a lot of videos of thisbecause OSU runs it so consistently and so frequently.

The Offensive Line and OSU Run Game

Many wonder where that leaves the OSU run game andthe offensive line and tailback play. At the outset, though it isoverly-simplistic, if teams are going to scheme to take away your rungame then you should pass until they stop it.If you are going to average nearly a first down every time you dropback to pass, then what you are doing is pretty effective.

The converse point is that defenses can scheme to take away the run game, as the defense always has one moredefender than the offense has to block. In my view, OSU's run gameproblems are not related to "toughness" or "failure to move the pile."Frankly, to think this is all the offensive line does is belittling tothe position that requires a more conceptual understanding to anyposition other than quarterback. Instead, it is a problem of havingtoo many defenders than blockers at the point of attack and the relatedproblem of defenses having those extra linebackers shoot the gap andthe offensive line failing to come off of combo blocks on defensivelinemen to pick up those defenders. In other words, it is a problem ofscheme and execution, not toughness or ability. For example, thenumbers problem can be seen below.

OSU had this lead zone play blocked very nicely upfront. But the safety comes flying up and stops this play for a 3 yardgain. I can guarantee you that no offensive linemen is responsible forblocking that safety. Generally, a tailback is told that the safety ishis responsibility and he needs to beat him.

Here is a related example. EMU comes out in astacked 9-man front. This is a numbers problem, but it is also arecognition problem. Brewster needs to count playside and blockstraight to the playside linebacker, rather than combo block back.This is what I mean by picking up shooting linebackers.

So this is a play where most fans see it live andprobably think that the offensive line is getting beat or notperforming. But it has nothing to do with that--it is instead asituation where the opposing team has put so many numbers at the pointof attack that it is very difficult to block. OSU caught on to whatEMU was doing. Instead of combo blocking, Brewster fold blocked aroundBoren and cut off the linebacker. Once the scheme was correctly set,it was easy pickings.

So I personally do not see a toughness or desireissue. To the contrary I think all five offensive linemen haveperformed well in such situations. Instead, I see an issue where teamsare scheming to take away the run by putting numbers in the box andaggressively shooting gaps. OSU has countered by taking advantage ofit and have Pryor attack through the air. If OSU cleans up the issueof picking up the linebackers shooting underneath, that will also makea difference moving forward.

Since it is very difficult to individually assessoffensive linemen without going back and viewing tape, I'm going togive my brief synopsis of where each stand. Some of this may benit-picking, as I've been impressed with this unit.

• Justin Boren--The best offensive linemen OSU has. Hesingle-handedly handles defensive tackles. There is a reason OSU is aleft-handed running team. One of the best guards in the country.
• Bryant Browning:Likely OSU's second best linemen. He and Boren are the mainstays ofthe line. OSU likes running Dave either side to get both these guyspulling and leading. He's not as dominant as Boren is in the run gamebut does a nice job. They are also a reason that OSU does not getpressure up the middle.
• Mike Brewster: Brewster has made great strides, but needs tocontinue to improve on his technique. He tends to get too high andstood up by noseguards, which prevents cut-back lanes. But he is veryagile for the position and provides OSU a variety of options, as can beseen in the above tape. Also needs to continue to improve--as they alldo--on getting off combo blocks and onto linebackers.
• Mike Adams: I have been very impressed with his run blocking thisyear. For someone whose toughness has been questioned in the past hehas been enveloping defenders. Also contributes the fact OSU is aleft-handed running team. On pass blocking he has done a fairly nicejob--one of the dogs that did not bark during the Miami game was havingto help him out with a running back or tight end. He gets in troublewhen he gets his pads low and reaches rather than sitting down, usinghis feet and punching. But one can tell he continue to work to improvethis facet.
• J.B. Shugarts:He has improved from last year on handling speed rushers. One can tellthat he feels more comfortable with it as he is not false starting asmuch to get the jump on a rusher. He does a nice job in the run game,though one would like to see him make more 'waves' with his run blocking

Of course, others besides the offensive line areinvolved in the run game. OSU continues to run heavily to the weakside (see clip above), partially because their tight ends have had somedifficulty dealing with shooting defensive ends, and partially becausethey are getting fewer defenders to the weak side. It also comes downto the running game. As noted, if a safety is going to come up intothe hole the tailback has to run around or through him. He should notget knocked back like Saine does above. Instead, a running back needsto turn a 3 yard gain into a 5 yard gain. That is why I have long beenimpressed with Jordan Hall because he has the knack for seeing the hole, making one cut and attacking aggressively down-hill.

I believe that Boom Herron has also done a betterjob this year using his vision and making nice cuts. But as Tresselhimself has said, I expect Hall to get more carries as the season wearson.

But I am not trying to use one play to attack Brandon Saineor say he should have no role. It is wrong to overly focus on thetailbacks pure running ability. To bring this full circle, this is nota team that is going to run the ball 55 times a game. There are notthat many carries to go around: Boom Herron is averaging10.5 per game and Saine 9. As I reiterate, this is a Terrelle Pryorbased offense--they would rather have the ball in his hands 35 times agame than the running backs. As such, to overly focus on the run gameis to miss the forest from the trees. This is where Brandon Saine isparticularly effective. He is able to move easily between thebackfield and slot and run a variety of short and deep routes.In sum, all three running backs have a role to play. But expect all ofthem to continue to play a supporting role to the primary focus,Terrelle Pryor.

Conversely it is silly to argue that "well, at somepoint, they will shut down Pryor running and OSU will have to run theball." First, I have yet to see a team effectively deal with Pryor'srunning ability. As noted above, it is extremely difficult for adefense to adequately guard all pass lanes and contain Pryor.Similarly, it is nearly impossible to defense both the 'Dave' play, and then Pryor keeping on the fake Dave rollout.
Second, the obvious point is that if a defense devotes resources tostopping Pryor, they necessarily have to open up the inside runninggame. Football has an ebb and flow to it wherebyif you focus on one thing, it opens up another. Teams cannot do both;if they could they would have done so already. A good counter-exampleis Iowa, which played a 2-deep versus OSU the entire game and OSU ran for over 200 yards. As such, rather than cause for concern, the triple threatof the Pryor passing, Pryor running, and the inside run game is whatmakes OSU so dangerous. To say that OSU is not a good running team isbelied by the evidence. Defensive coaches clearly think they arebecause their primary priority is to take away the running game. If it were not they would not give OSU the defensive fronts they are seeing.

CONCLUSION
What I am most interested going in to Big Tenseason is whether teams continue to defend the Buckeyes in thismanner. Personally, as an opposing coach I would rather have the ballin the OSU tailbacks hands than Terrelle Pryor, as Pryor is far moredangerous. I would therefore expect teams to begin putting lessdefenders in the box. On the other hand, OSU was so effective runningthe ball last year that teams may be wary to do so. Running the ballis the safest wayto success, so perhaps defensive coaches hope they can still forcePryor into mistakes. Regardless, the pass/run threat Terrelle Pryoroffers, combined with the OSU inside run game, is what makes the OSUoffense so difficult to defend. Defenses will continue to have to makethe tough choices we have seen thus far. If they continue to try totake away the OSU run game, expect to see Ohio State continue along thesame path

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

Ohio State Quarter Season offensive review

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler [+]

Spoiler

Since the EMU game was never in doubt and we areheading into conference season, I wanted to attack things slightlydifferently this week and take a bigger picture look at where the OhioState offense and defense stand one quarter of the way through theseason.  Specifically, how are teams attempting to play Ohio State andhow OSU has responded. In so doing I hope to address some of theissues raised in the season's nascent period. I'll look first at theoffense.

The 2010 Ohio State Offensive Philosophy

Two things are abundantly clear regarding the 2010Ohio State offense. Teams are going to zealously put men in the box totake away the Ohio State run game, and Ohio State is glad for them todo so because they would rather put the ball in Terrelle Pryor'shands and let him make run-pass decisions. Here is Eastern Michiganputting 8 and 9 men in the box in a manner reminiscent of Miami and OU.

Compare this to the Miami front:

In practice, this means that OSU is generally facing an 8-man frontwhen it gets in '21' personnel (2 backs, 1 TE), and a 9-man front whenit gets in '22' personnel (2 backs, 2 TE).

http://

Fortunately, OSU has not been slowed down by these defensive looks. That is because these defenses are geared more to the 2009 Ohio State offensethan the 2010 version. At its most basic, OSU's response has been tothrow far more, including on first and second down. According to Jeff Amey,OSU against EMU threw 20 times on first down versus 18 runs, with thenumber of first down runs surely inflated by mop-up time.

The irony is that OSU is perfectly content to haveteams crowd the line of scrimmage. The reason is obvious--TerrellePryor is Ohio State's biggest offensive threat, and the combinationpass/run dynamic he presents makes it impossible for defenses to dealwith both the 5-man, horizontal stretch passing game OSU runsand Pryor scrambling. In particular, it puts huge pressure on theunderneath defenders. If one looks at the Miami linebackers above,they are trying to hover around the line of scrimmage to take awayPryor scrambling. But to do so leaves the underneath holes open.Conversely, if a defense plays their zone or man responsibility, Pryoris an ever-present threat to run.

One only needs to look at Pryor's game against EMU to see the impact. Against EMU, Pryor was the primary ball-handleron 36 of 50 offensive plays. All but a QB sneak were called passplays. Those 35 plays resulted in 328 yards, or 9.87 yards perplay--nearly a first down per play. A team would be self-destructiveto not feature something that is averaging nearly a first down per play.

Some act as though Pryor's scrambling should notcount as yards that demonstrate the offensive's effectiveness, or evenare actually a sign that the offense is not working because he ishaving to run. Nothing could be further from the truth. The coachesare perfectly aware of the added threat Pryor's legs provide when hedrops back. Jim Tressel has stated they want Pryor running 10-15times a game on called pass plays, and that is an integral part oftheir offense. Pryor's running ability, particularly on third down, isprecisely why OSU is a pass-first team this year.

OSU Scheme Responses

OSU has also responded schematically to theserun-first fronts they are facing. One primary response is throughformation, particularly with formations that put 7 offenders to oneside of the center and 4 to the other, namely tight trips or tightbunch formations.



This forces a defense away from a balanced 8-mandefense where they can roll up the safety responsible for force play.A defense has to insteadroll coverageto the 3 receiver side. OSU will then put Posey to the 1 receiver sideand hope to get him isolated away from the rolled coverage.

No play better represents the 2010 Ohio State offense then the 'drive' crossing route.



This is by far OSU's most frequently run-pass playthis year. As can been seen above, it is a shallow crossing route witha square-in behind it. OSU utilizes it frequently for severalreasons. One, as seen in the diagram above, it can be run with either'21' or '11' (3 wide, 1 TE, 1 RB) personnel, meaning it works with theentire OSU formation scheme. They can as easily run it from tighttrips as they can from the I. Two, it puts OSU's players in the irbestposition to succeed. Dane Sanzenbacheris the shallow crossing route, with Stoneburner running the square-inbehind him. The tailback then runs an option or angle route behind theclearing shallow cross. Devier Posey is then put to the one receiverside, and can run a host of routes--he has run a deep cross behind theTE, a deep comeback, and also a shallow cross, or mesh with Sanz.

Three, it again places a stress on those underneathdefenders who have to simultaneously worry about Pryor running. Theyhave to deal with the inside zones being stressed by the multiple levelcrossing routes and the HB follow to the opposing side. The underneathdefenders therefore cannot spy Pryor and cover this route combinationsuccessfully. Four, it keeps everything in front of Pryor and lets himmake an easy pass-run decision. His 53-yard touchdown run was a driveroute. He gave a telling post game quote describing his reads on thatplay. To paraphrase, he looks to 1) the shallow cross, 2) thesquare-in, 3) looked back to the HB, and 4) if those were not there hetakes off. It's an easy 1-2-3 read that keeps the underneath defendersin his vision so he can make a run-pass decision. Here are severalexamples of OSU running this play. I have a lot of videos of thisbecause OSU runs it so consistently and so frequently.

The Offensive Line and OSU Run Game

Many wonder where that leaves the OSU run game andthe offensive line and tailback play. At the outset, though it isoverly-simplistic, if teams are going to scheme to take away your rungame then you should pass until they stop it.If you are going to average nearly a first down every time you dropback to pass, then what you are doing is pretty effective.

The converse point is that defenses can scheme to take away the run game, as the defense always has one moredefender than the offense has to block. In my view, OSU's run gameproblems are not related to "toughness" or "failure to move the pile."Frankly, to think this is all the offensive line does is belittling tothe position that requires a more conceptual understanding to anyposition other than quarterback. Instead, it is a problem of havingtoo many defenders than blockers at the point of attack and the relatedproblem of defenses having those extra linebackers shoot the gap andthe offensive line failing to come off of combo blocks on defensivelinemen to pick up those defenders. In other words, it is a problem ofscheme and execution, not toughness or ability. For example, thenumbers problem can be seen below.

OSU had this lead zone play blocked very nicely upfront. But the safety comes flying up and stops this play for a 3 yardgain. I can guarantee you that no offensive linemen is responsible forblocking that safety. Generally, a tailback is told that the safety ishis responsibility and he needs to beat him.

Here is a related example. EMU comes out in astacked 9-man front. This is a numbers problem, but it is also arecognition problem. Brewster needs to count playside and blockstraight to the playside linebacker, rather than combo block back.This is what I mean by picking up shooting linebackers.

So this is a play where most fans see it live andprobably think that the offensive line is getting beat or notperforming. But it has nothing to do with that--it is instead asituation where the opposing team has put so many numbers at the pointof attack that it is very difficult to block. OSU caught on to whatEMU was doing. Instead of combo blocking, Brewster fold blocked aroundBoren and cut off the linebacker. Once the scheme was correctly set,it was easy pickings.

So I personally do not see a toughness or desireissue. To the contrary I think all five offensive linemen haveperformed well in such situations. Instead, I see an issue where teamsare scheming to take away the run by putting numbers in the box andaggressively shooting gaps. OSU has countered by taking advantage ofit and have Pryor attack through the air. If OSU cleans up the issueof picking up the linebackers shooting underneath, that will also makea difference moving forward.

Since it is very difficult to individually assessoffensive linemen without going back and viewing tape, I'm going togive my brief synopsis of where each stand. Some of this may benit-picking, as I've been impressed with this unit.

• Justin Boren--The best offensive linemen OSU has. Hesingle-handedly handles defensive tackles. There is a reason OSU is aleft-handed running team. One of the best guards in the country.
• Bryant Browning:Likely OSU's second best linemen. He and Boren are the mainstays ofthe line. OSU likes running Dave either side to get both these guyspulling and leading. He's not as dominant as Boren is in the run gamebut does a nice job. They are also a reason that OSU does not getpressure up the middle.
• Mike Brewster: Brewster has made great strides, but needs tocontinue to improve on his technique. He tends to get too high andstood up by noseguards, which prevents cut-back lanes. But he is veryagile for the position and provides OSU a variety of options, as can beseen in the above tape. Also needs to continue to improve--as they alldo--on getting off combo blocks and onto linebackers.
• Mike Adams: I have been very impressed with his run blocking thisyear. For someone whose toughness has been questioned in the past hehas been enveloping defenders. Also contributes the fact OSU is aleft-handed running team. On pass blocking he has done a fairly nicejob--one of the dogs that did not bark during the Miami game was havingto help him out with a running back or tight end. He gets in troublewhen he gets his pads low and reaches rather than sitting down, usinghis feet and punching. But one can tell he continue to work to improvethis facet.
• J.B. Shugarts:He has improved from last year on handling speed rushers. One can tellthat he feels more comfortable with it as he is not false starting asmuch to get the jump on a rusher. He does a nice job in the run game,though one would like to see him make more 'waves' with his run blocking

Of course, others besides the offensive line areinvolved in the run game. OSU continues to run heavily to the weakside (see clip above), partially because their tight ends have had somedifficulty dealing with shooting defensive ends, and partially becausethey are getting fewer defenders to the weak side. It also comes downto the running game. As noted, if a safety is going to come up intothe hole the tailback has to run around or through him. He should notget knocked back like Saine does above. Instead, a running back needsto turn a 3 yard gain into a 5 yard gain. That is why I have long beenimpressed with Jordan Hall because he has the knack for seeing the hole, making one cut and attacking aggressively down-hill.

I believe that Boom Herron has also done a betterjob this year using his vision and making nice cuts. But as Tresselhimself has said, I expect Hall to get more carries as the season wearson.

But I am not trying to use one play to attack Brandon Saineor say he should have no role. It is wrong to overly focus on thetailbacks pure running ability. To bring this full circle, this is nota team that is going to run the ball 55 times a game. There are notthat many carries to go around: Boom Herron is averaging10.5 per game and Saine 9. As I reiterate, this is a Terrelle Pryorbased offense--they would rather have the ball in his hands 35 times agame than the running backs. As such, to overly focus on the run gameis to miss the forest from the trees. This is where Brandon Saine isparticularly effective. He is able to move easily between thebackfield and slot and run a variety of short and deep routes.In sum, all three running backs have a role to play. But expect all ofthem to continue to play a supporting role to the primary focus,Terrelle Pryor.

Conversely it is silly to argue that "well, at somepoint, they will shut down Pryor running and OSU will have to run theball." First, I have yet to see a team effectively deal with Pryor'srunning ability. As noted above, it is extremely difficult for adefense to adequately guard all pass lanes and contain Pryor.Similarly, it is nearly impossible to defense both the 'Dave' play, and then Pryor keeping on the fake Dave rollout.
Second, the obvious point is that if a defense devotes resources tostopping Pryor, they necessarily have to open up the inside runninggame. Football has an ebb and flow to it wherebyif you focus on one thing, it opens up another. Teams cannot do both;if they could they would have done so already. A good counter-exampleis Iowa, which played a 2-deep versus OSU the entire game and OSU ran for over 200 yards. As such, rather than cause for concern, the triple threatof the Pryor passing, Pryor running, and the inside run game is whatmakes OSU so dangerous. To say that OSU is not a good running team isbelied by the evidence. Defensive coaches clearly think they arebecause their primary priority is to take away the running game. If it were not they would not give OSU the defensive fronts they are seeing.

CONCLUSION
What I am most interested going in to Big Tenseason is whether teams continue to defend the Buckeyes in thismanner. Personally, as an opposing coach I would rather have the ballin the OSU tailbacks hands than Terrelle Pryor, as Pryor is far moredangerous. I would therefore expect teams to begin putting lessdefenders in the box. On the other hand, OSU was so effective runningthe ball last year that teams may be wary to do so. Running the ballis the safest wayto success, so perhaps defensive coaches hope they can still forcePryor into mistakes. Regardless, the pass/run threat Terrelle Pryoroffers, combined with the OSU inside run game, is what makes the OSUoffense so difficult to defend. Defenses will continue to have to makethe tough choices we have seen thus far. If they continue to try totake away the OSU run game, expect to see Ohio State continue along thesame path

 

[gunna get it]

Not sure how true but there are rumors brewing of another arrest in Athens :

Both Ealey and King are arrested Wed. night on suspicion of drug trafficking. Both have been middle men in a popular Adderall drug ring on campus. Adderall, a drug prescribed to ADD kids, is used as a study drug. With Bobo's play book becoming more complicated and the new Hot Checks for the flee flicker, the players are relying on Adderall to focus on playbook studying.

Mark Richt was not available for comment, and this inside info will likely not make it to the papers. But trust me when I say it is all true. I can't reveal my source right now but it is very close to the situation.

"Apparently 4 loads of cops just carried three trash bags out of Caleb Kings house in athens.........Per a friend that lives across the street...tifwiw



There wasn't anyone home. They busted the door in. He lives there with one of the linemen. Not sure what they took but it was in 3 trash bags. Uga cop cars, Athens Clarke county, and undercover drug task force. Uga car left first about 10 minutes before the others. No one is there now."

CMR might not make another week any of this turns out to be true

 

[gunna get it]

Not sure how true but there are rumors brewing of another arrest in Athens :

Both Ealey and King are arrested Wed. night on suspicion of drug trafficking. Both have been middle men in a popular Adderall drug ring on campus. Adderall, a drug prescribed to ADD kids, is used as a study drug. With Bobo's play book becoming more complicated and the new Hot Checks for the flee flicker, the players are relying on Adderall to focus on playbook studying.

Mark Richt was not available for comment, and this inside info will likely not make it to the papers. But trust me when I say it is all true. I can't reveal my source right now but it is very close to the situation.

"Apparently 4 loads of cops just carried three trash bags out of Caleb Kings house in athens.........Per a friend that lives across the street...tifwiw



There wasn't anyone home. They busted the door in. He lives there with one of the linemen. Not sure what they took but it was in 3 trash bags. Uga cop cars, Athens Clarke county, and undercover drug task force. Uga car left first about 10 minutes before the others. No one is there now."

CMR might not make another week any of this turns out to be true