Is 2 High the Buckeye Kryptonite?
Read two articles today stating that the reason big play QBs like Bill's Allen and Chiefs Mahomes have struggled this year is because teams have reversed their strategy from stopping the run to forcing the short stuff by keeping two safeties back. I know Harbaugh believes the best rushing team wins a game, but it seems to be stopping a lot of high powered NFL offenses. Here is a quote on the Colts who have really gone all in on this:
"Allen has developed into one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks because of his ability to make big plays down the field, but he has struggled this season when teams play coverages that take away the deep shot down the field. Two weeks ago, Jacksonville kept its safeties back in two-high — two safeties backed up deep — and flummoxed Allen to pull off a 9-6 upset nobody saw coming."
Given our relative talent in the secondary this year, could we shut down the big plays with our two safeties back? Can they make the open field tackles necessary on the short stuff to some fast Buckeye receivers?
November 22nd, 2021 at 4:16 PM ^
I think you have convinced me. Michigan's chances are not great either way. But a novel defensive game plan that OSU has not seen/does not expect could help. Might as well try it. Although obviously plenty of different defensive looks and disguised coverages are a must too...
One caveat: What is McDonald's history with the Ravens with two high stuff? If it is not something he has a lot of experience running/teaching, Michigan will do it poorly with disastrous results...
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
The scarey thing is we let Walker run wild. He went basically untouched on numerous long runs. Or do we focus on stopping the run and then let Nebraska's passing attack do whatever they wanted in the second half. Stroud isn't exactly a dual threat, but it would not surprise me to see him run some this game. I don't know how we stop that offense. Pick your poison.
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:40 PM ^
Basically all of Walker’s long runs came when MSU went with tempo and we weren’t lined up properly. Saturday will test whether we’ve solved that issue.
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:48 PM ^
Gosh darn it...it still hurts sooooo much to know that we basically lost that game because our coaches couldn't figure out how to deal with tempo, in an era where pretty much every team runs tempo.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:12 PM ^
the majority were also cutbacks and when michigan was tempo'd walker got his yards but take out his huge chunk runs he had a solid day. Michigan not staying disciplined in their defense and have people over pursue.
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:48 PM ^
What you are describing is the rise of the Vic Fangio defensive schemes. Lining up in "Tite" formations on the D-Line caused some issues for the Buckeyes in the season and stifled the running game as the unorthodox gap assignments caused challenges for the linemen to get to their blocking angles on zone runs. OSU has started running more gap schemes to deal with this but still view their zone schemes as their bread and butter. Maryland tried running this a lot. Nebraska did it a good amount. They do have counters but it takes them out of what they do best
Nice article on the rise of the Fangio defense.
Nice Article on the "Tite" front.\
Downside of trying this is that it really limits the rush angles for Hutchinson and Ojabo as it puts them on the inside shoulder of the tackles. Other thing is that OSU has seen this enough now that it won't be a new wrinkle.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:06 PM ^
I can add nothing to the strategy/matchup side of this conversation, but I do find delightful the possibility of the inspiration to upset the Buckeyes coming from Urban Meyer's team.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:15 PM ^
Whatever Nebraska and PSU did should be our base defense.
Definitely make them earn it with long, sustained drives. Don't allow for an avalanche of big plays that blow you off the field in the first 10 min ala Sparty.
Add in a good, but not overly aggressive pass rush off the ends and just enough penetration up the middle and we can make it more of a slog. I would like to see an extra safety (Barrett!) in the game on 50% of the plays.
MSU was literally the WORST pass defense in the entire country and the best possible matchup for OSU. Everyone, including Vegas (-19) saw this coming. The fact that Sparty chose to stick with their base defense made it even worse than that.
OSU is an incredible team, but 49-0 at half was as much about Sparty and Mel making no adjustments and lacking secondary talent as it was about OSU being spectacular. Every game is about matchups.
I don't believe there is an OSU kryptonite, but there are definitely ways to challenge them more than that pathetic outing by a fraudulent Spartan team that everyone outside East Lansing knew had a bunch of flukish wins. The stats don't lie and Vegas has a damn good overall track record with their lines.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:24 PM ^
I can think of 2 games against high powered passing attacks (MSU and PSU) where the QBs at times looked confused about where to go with the ball. My early tell will be if Stroud is always sure where he wants to go (like vs MSU) or is he hesitating in the pocket, then pass rush can get home.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:30 PM ^
Sounds like a plan. Maybe Jim could get a few pointers from brother John on that and borrow some of that NFL scheme.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:35 PM ^
The front 4 need to hit the qb and rattle him, to where Stroud starts rushing passes, he's young and will make mistakes. DT need to be the real playmakers here. That should've been a position of strength all year with extra attention having to be given to our 2 DE"s but that has not really happened. We needed someone to be at least a Hurst lite player to really capitalize on our DE play, that would help tremendously against the run big time. It's good to see that they're trying to recruit the DT position again to fix what Brown did to that spot
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
We need our interior DL needs to dominate. That shortens coverage time, does not allow Stroud to step up out of pressure, and stops the run game. Otherwise, it is a matter of time before OSU starts pouring on points.
November 22nd, 2021 at 3:04 PM ^
Lets start by removing 20 years off Woodson and Ty Law and bring them back for a day. This is where having an NFL approach will be helpful. Like the 2 deep, Cover 2. Key is going to be pressuring Stroud and not letting him sit back, have a turkey sandwich and wait. Tucker's plan was to let him sit back all day, that worked!!! The one time I remember him being pressured, went full turtle. Fast pressure, hit him and force quick decisions.
November 22nd, 2021 at 3:43 PM ^
Granted, I missed seeing probably 8-10 first half plays in that game but Staee didn't rush anyone other than their front four or five until they were at least five touchdowns behind.
I kept asking why Tucker and his DC weren't throwing in at least an occasional blitz rather than let Stroud keep his jersey clean in the process of going 32-35 passing.
November 24th, 2021 at 1:32 AM ^
My stats may be off, but I think MSU blitzed 4 times early in the game resulting in 4 completions over 10 yards. After that, the gave up on blitzes and kept the back 7 in coverage.
November 22nd, 2021 at 3:04 PM ^
Problem with that is that NFL defenses have stud DTs who can wreck a running game almost by themselves. Moreover you need safeties like Penn State who can read well and make plays coming up on the run while not getting burned by the pass. OSU has a significant talent advantage at OL and RB, so just sitting back in 2-high the entire game is a recipe for disaster. Said it in another thread, but you've got to be disguised so they can't find the advantage pre-snap and attack the weakness.
November 22nd, 2021 at 3:16 PM ^
I admit that I haven't watch OSU a ton this year, but it seems like they don't actually throw the ball deep a ton.
Seems like their formula is to throw a lot of high percentage short stuff that keeps them ahead of the sticks and simply count on the occasional defensive breakdowns/busts where their superior talent and speed at the skill positions can turn small mistakes into big gains. I don't recall seeing them line up on first down and just try to throw it deep three times in a row.
OSU likes to spread you out, stress you horizontally and vertically, force you to defend the whole field and then get the ball to wherever the defense is not.
If you try to keep two hight safeties the whole game, they are probably more than happy to sit back and pick you apart underneath.
Obviously you want to try to keep them in front of you, but I think you have to be ready to mix up your looks and keep them guessing.
November 22nd, 2021 at 3:26 PM ^
Phase 1: Invent a time machine
Phase 2: Recruit Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, and Richard Sherman
Phase 3: Run the Legion of Boom defense
Phase 4: ?
Phase 5: Profit
November 22nd, 2021 at 3:49 PM ^
Stroud seemed to be locked on to his target from the snap. I suppose with staee secondary there was no reason to look them off, but if that is a tendency and it is with a lot of young qbs. Hopefully we can get pressure on him and our dbs can take advantage of that.
GO BLUE
November 22nd, 2021 at 9:07 PM ^
Stroud reads his progressions well. If there is a knock, it’s that he will go to a deep receiver in coverage while there is a wide open uncovered receiver underneath. There are < 3 seconds to see that, but he tends to go for the kill when available. The receivers do a good job of yards after the catch, missed tackles will be a factor. If I recall, UM averages single digit missed tackles, which is what you want to see.
November 22nd, 2021 at 4:02 PM ^
My head hurts and it's only Monday.
November 22nd, 2021 at 4:52 PM ^
Probably as important to disguise coverage as it is how we cover the receivers
November 22nd, 2021 at 4:55 PM ^
It’s situational. This strategy is a good one for some or much of the time.
We need to mix it up. If you can confuse the QB for a split second then sacks, fumbles, missed passes and interceptions can result.
Dont ever let a QB get comfortable.
November 22nd, 2021 at 5:22 PM ^
Just don’t punt. Grind the clock like a Service Academy game. 4th and 3? I’ll take it! What’s the difference between Ohio starting at our 40 or their 30? About 3 plays. The only way Ohio isn’t scoring is if they aren’t on the field. punting to the Ohio offense is basically saying you’d like to give them 3 or 7 more points.
November 22nd, 2021 at 5:24 PM ^
As a Bills observer, Ill also say the Bills trash O-line and absolutely non-existent running game are letting teams sit back and focus on the pass. If we can contain the OSU ground game enough, maybe we could pull it off
November 22nd, 2021 at 7:06 PM ^
Keep everything in front of you and force them to go down the field. Can they still beat you that way? Yes they can. They also have an amazing weapon in Treveyon Henderson that almost no one is talking about because of their NFL-caliber receivers, but this kid will probably be their next Elliott/Dobbins, and he can probably pummel you to death by himself too.
Michigan just has to pick its poison on Saturday and hope that the option they picked is the one that involves the least amount of pain.