Heacock Goes to Bat for His Tackles
Sacks are nice, but…Despite the 20 returning starters and NFL talent oozing from virtually every position, there still remains a lingering doubt about one particular unit: the interior of the defensive line.
They should be good this year. The rotation is a grizzled group that’s been on campus for what seems like a decade. But still, the visions of Hester pounding the ball away in the BCS game and various other teams (Penn State, for one) running by this front to put hats on the backers has us and many others thinking that the play of this unit will make or break redemption aspirations.
Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock has heard the chatter and isn’t having any of that:
“I read and hear a lot about our inside guys and not getting many (sacks), but if you look over the years, inside guys aren’t going to get as many as outside guys. That’s a fact. Whether we want to believe it or not, that’s the truth.
“For these guys, because they heard so much negative about their sack production, you can look back over the years and look back at the Ryan Picketts of the world, how many sacks did he have when he played? [He had eight in 37 career games, three in his final year.] And he was a first-round draft choice. And you go on and on.
“In our defensive scheme, we really try to control the line of scrimmage and let our linebackers run. We ask our defensive line to do a good job of keeping people off the linebackers and let them run, and that’s what we’ve been good at. Sometimes that doesn’t equate to great pass rush. I think they’re going to be better there … I know they’re going to be better there this year.”
I know Heacock just has his guys’ backs and that’s what any good coach would do, but give us idiots on the interwebs a little bit of credit. It’s doubtful any knowledgeable fan expects Gholston sack numbers out of a tackle, but eat up that run and yes, take on that fullback as well, so the linebackers really are free to run.
It’s good to know Heacock is there for his guys, but who’s out there clamoring for more sacks? Just taking on a double-team every now and then is fine for the interior troops.
Would the Buckeyes be ranked #1 if the preseason poll had come out today? That’s the question Tim May is asking and the answer is… doubt it. Look, this has to be the first time in recorded history that a team returned 90% of its starters from a championship game appearance and was not considered the favorite going into the next season.
If the Buckeyes had won just one of those two MNC games, they’d be a comfortable #1 heading into this season. The scenario would either be a rebuilding team winning it all before coming back for another run or a team that had won a title, then lost in the title game during the following, said rebuilding year. The markings of a dynasty. Instead, any top billing in the polls will have to be earned on the field and key injuries to teams ranked ahead of them will do little to sway voters’ opinions about the team.
Devon Lyons is looking to snag playing time for the Mountaineers, but so far it’s been somewhat of a struggle (to his credit, he’s only had 5 practices with the team). We make it a point to pull for Buckeye transfers regardless of where they end up, but it gets tough when they take a shot at the program:
“Mountaineers work harder than any team in the country. You can quote me on that. We do a lot more running than we did at Ohio State. I just feel they want it more here.”
Ouch.
(Via OH.DEL.ICIO.US)
In my opinion, I do not think sacks from the DT is what the common fan is asking for from our defense. Interior pressure, either stalemating or defeating a double team at the line scrimmage, being able to break free from a blocker on the backside to pursue. These are things we are asking in which we do not see consistent production from them. The question for Mr. Heacock is, “If the DT’s fall into the good to great range and they are doing their jobs consistently, do you think scheme in which you employ them needs changed or modified to allow them to attack gaps instead of smearing the point of attack while protecting the LB’s?â€
Why do I feel a lot more uneasy about the SC game than I did five minutes ago?
One thing that makes me feel better about the SC game is Sanchez going down. He will either be rusty (I believe Sanchez’s injury is worse than stated) or USC will be using Mustain /Corp. Despite us playing a lot of zone, we should be able to do well because it is the experienced QB’s that have seen enough defenses that tear us up when we do not bring consistent pressure.
If USC can run up the middle, you will see our defense pinch, stunt, and blitz to offset this weakness. Potentially leaving gaps in the zone or people playing man to man. This is where we either need to bring pressure or hope that the QB is not expereienced enough to check down properly or both.
In saying that, I am now feeling uneasy….
There aren’t any Quinn Pitcock’s or Tim Anderson’s out there, but all of the DTs are returning and we can keep a strong rotation in there. I don’t think they’ll be the strength of the D, but they will get the job done.
Thankfully, the USC offensive line is a little green, so maybe this unit won’t be as big of a concern against the Trojans as it would against a team with a more stellar o-line.
One reason this article is so confusing is that it demonstrates a significant change in expectations from the one man who most vociferously insisted on a better pash rush from the tackle positions this year – Jim Heacock.
It was Heacock who spoke just a month or so ago about how important it was that we get more sacks and more pressure on the quarterback out of the tackle position.
Yep. Not good.
If we win a close one and we go undefeated, we may end up playing USC twice?
I’m sorry folks… Heacock and Fickell needed to resign the day after the LSU game. OSU DEFENSE could not stop anything that Florida, LSU and Illinois did and that is a fact. The offense put up plenty of points against LSU and there is no way that Illinois should have been able to run out the clock at the end of the game last year. The defensive schemes at crunch time are far too soft and predictable and our best opponents are running simple plays to expoit those schemes. Tressel should have said “thank you for everything” and brought in a new defensive staff. I am convinced that Heacock will never be able to get it done when it counts. YSU, Ohio, Troy, Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, etc… are easy to rack up stats against. I am the biggest OSU fan in the state of Florida and I proudly fly my flag 365 days a year…. but the defense needs to step up when it counts!
While I’m not as anti-Heacock as Mitch G. above, there is no doubt that the defensive staff seemed unwilling or unable to adjust to what Illinois and LSU were doing. Two mediocre (at best) QB’s had career days against Heacock’s scemes. Whose responsibility is this if it’s not the DC’s? Take a look at last year’s passing efficiency ratings and you’ll see the Buckeyes weren’t exactly bested by Brady and Manning.
Matt Flynn – 125.76 (64th in Division I)
Juice Williams – 119.22 (81st)
Barf. (If you take away their games vs OSU those rankings drop to 75th and 92nd in the country.)
I read today that they will slide heyward and rose inside when thad gibson comes in at de. That sounds like a good plan to me. That and running some 3-4 with all those linebackers we have.
Another reason for the 3-4 is the people inside are not stepping up… With that being said, I think the 3-4 could be good for the Buckeyes (ala Nick Saban of all people) more overall speed and flexibility as the spread takes over college football. However, if Heacock thinks dropping into zone in the 3-4 is the answer, we are in a world of hurt. Also, the individual at NT has to be dominating.
I think the 3-4 could really work at OSU when facing spreads especially considering a) the talent and depth at LB and b) spreads get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands so quick that sometimes a superior pass rush can be neutralized anyway.
Would be interesting to see if they’d put one in because coaches can get a little religious about defensive and offensive schemes. Kind of like how Chevy guys despise Fords in NASCAR. Some 4-3 coaches would rather impale themselves on the goal posts than put in a 3-4.
But if they do look hard at the 3-4, it would behoove them to call up former Buckeye and 3-4 mastermind Dick LeBeau.
The reason the 3-4 is not a good idea is because you need a huge dominant nose tackle to eat up space and keep lineman off linebackers. Currently all the guys we have on the team are only 1 gap tackles. If we ran 3-4 we would see more teams running it straight up the gut on us.
I think implementing a 3-4 for random use is a great idea. OSU may only use it a few times during the year, but the fact that opposing teams have to spend time preparing for it, could be beneficial. How are you going to prepare properly for Ohio St when you have to worry about a 4-3 or 3-4 or zone blitz, etc. Then on offense you have to prepare for a Pryor package, Beanie, and a slew of receivers. There won’t be enough time during the regular week to prepare.
Good points, David V., but like Corey said, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a wholesale cutover from the 4-3 to the 3-4. More situational. If the 3-4 is put in against Purdue or Florida, the Buckeyes would be fine daring them to run down the gut against them.
Just a reminder we already have a difficult time stopping the run up the middle in the 4-3, I see going to the 3-4 as a wash. If we stay in the 4-3, DT’s will have to be more heads up and attack assigned gaps to let their speed & quickness play to our advantage. However, this means less tackles for the Animal. Or we scheme this by going to a shifting look w/ the Weak DE standing as an LB (3-4) or down (4-3). Then the SS can drift up to give the 9-in the box look. Of course this will require more man to man or tampa-2 coverages to sell it. The later could look like the old 4-6 85-Bears look or the 4-3 2000 Ravens look. Nice to dream
I agree with Mitch G. to an extent, not positive he needs to go but the scheme must change. We have the talent (with Donald Washington) to play 3 very good man coverage match-ups with linebackers to take the 4th and 5th options if necessary on a mtm basis. I cannot stand playing overmatched zone. See UF running 3 WR options all on the line at our 2 db on the line-1 saftey overlay. Quality offensive options like the ones of LSU and UF, will blow that up all day. A defense should actively stifle an offense, not just lay back and wait for mistakes. Was Dantonio lucky that Miami chose to run at a power team and go for long balls on high quality DB’s or the TE (over) match-up? I say to a large extent, yes. Miami had the talent to run the type of plays LSU and UF did and tore us apart but they didn’t. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have won that game, please, it was the greatest game ever played in college football. imo. The defense really needs to come to grips with the DB talent level, can they or can they not cover high-level offensive weapons on a mtm basis? I think yes but there is only one way to find out and it is in 31 days.
It doesn’t matter what kind of defense you run, as long as you stay away from a 1-dimensional scheme. If you go out and play zone-blitz all the time, you’ll get burned by someone designed to beat it. The same goes for man coverage as well. Gotta mix it up, need to disguise blitzes more. The LBs can’t always overpursue like they have in the last couple of seasons. And they need the push up front to stop a running QB. Juice and Illinois beat us last year, but they didn’t destroy us.
We need more INTs, and more sacks on the QB. Why? Well, T.O.’s keep points off the board, and both are demoralizing. You could give up a 50 yard drive, but if you intercept it in the endzone or something, that annihilates the opposition’s confidence. And it also puts fear into opponents who are studying you on film. If there’s always a threat of turning the ball over or someone coming out of nowhere to get a sack, that messes with people.
So, I don’t really give a damn what kind of defense the Buckeyes choose to run. They need to get more steals, and they need to confuse QBs both on the field and in the film room. And in terms of an intangible, they need to know when the right time to achieve both, and how not to get upset when things don’t go their way.
Sorry gentleman…. with all due respect, Heacock and company are creatures of habit. Take a look at the limited variability of the defense since 2001 and you will conclude that Heacock is not going to change. Look at the Kansas State and Notre Dame Fiesta Bowl games… these were games that OSU DOMINATED on offense and had a huge advantage in yardage. We almost gave both of those games away in the 4th quarter by dropping back in a zone to keep things in front of the defense. Zook did a great job of studying film and made Juice look like the second coming of Joe Montana (twice). Florida did nothing more than burn us with speed and our defensive Coordinator did nothing to change the matchups. LSU was a closer game than most people think (by the stats), but how the hell does LSU score 28 unanswered points after OSU has a 10-0 lead (on the #1 defense in the country)????? Miles looked at the film and he saw that our defensive schemes were never varied much. He ran the same plays over and over again (see Jacob Hester, who is not a great RB –making short yardage over and over again) (also see Matt Flynn -who is no better IMO than a career backup in the NFL- making 3rd down coversions with no pressure. I love Tressel, I love the Buckeyes, and I am a proud Alumnus, but you have to change with the times. Thanks Coach Heacock, time to go……
We had three scoring drives stoned against LSU that were resurrected by 15-yard penalties, including the botched punt block attempt.
maybe we can sign one of these guys to play DT:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080814/BLOG01/80814030/1011/NEWS09
We will not have a chance to recruit them due to GPA restrictions, they will probably have chance at the SEC though.