Bill Landis and Birm had a good discussion about the run game today (see video below).
Interested in hearing the thoughts on 11w on how we can solidify this down the stretch so that we can punish TTUN at the end of the month with a balanced attack.
Many Ohio State writers and film-study guys have been talking a lot about our running ability OR lack thereof. The last two weeks have been concerning. But we've still seen some success/growth as compared to last year.
Some thoughts on what's working...or could work best going forward...
- Tempo. Tempo. Tempo. When we hurry up and go, it's difficult for aggressive, attacking defenses to adjust to us. They just can't send 8-9 guys downhill to fill gaps. They're on their heels. Trey scored 2 TDs when we went fast. There' too much for a defense to be worried about when we go fast. Tempo works for us.
- Inside Zone Runs. Trey's best runs before the 4th Quarter (4-7 yards mostly) came from running inside. Ross Fulton pointed this our on Twitter during the game. I personally feel like our run game has suffered more each year by abandoning IZ (Urban's preference) as the base run play for OZ/stretch (Wilson's preference). That's just the feeling I've had for a couple of years now.
- Gap Scheme vs. Zone/Stretch Plays.Trey's best runs in the fourth quarter were gap schemed, which, according to Landis, seems to be what he is better suited for as a runner, as opposed to the stretch zone plays we run. It seems the stretch/mid/outside zone plays actually suit MIYAN'S strengths more as he has better vision and is low to the ground and can fit through smaller holes. Trey is best when a play is blocked a certain way and he can hit that hole. His vision isn't as good. Basically, what Day/Wilson MOSTLY want our run game to be fits Miyan's skills but not so much Trey's. We need to adjust to that. NOTE: TTUN crushed PSU to the tune of 400 yards on gap scheme and power running plays.
Some things that make us struggle...
- Teams KNOW what's coming by formation and they slant the D-line toward the run and shoot the gaps hard on those mid/outside zone plays. When they're sending 8-9 players, we just don't have enough blockers.
- Matt Jones has a gimpy leg, teams know it, and he's getting beat off the ball and struggling to push. Maybe sit him the next couple of games and let him heal up?
- Lack of constraint plays and counter plays. With teams coming hard and slanting toward the play... it makes sense to add plays that punish them for doing that and make them think twice. Didn't see anything other than bubble screens to counter that aggressiveness by the D-line and PSU was READY for those. Ross Fulton talks a lot about this.
