The Youngstown State probably does not necessitate this much scrutiny, but since the conversation is still ongoing, I went back and watched all 31 times Youngstown ended up in a passing situation. My general takeaway is that we (anyone concerned with the pass rush) should probably cool our jets a bit. There were a few plays where the defensive line was in a true pass rush situation (no quick game, more than a one-step drop, no play action, no RPO) where the rush didn't get home but that was hardly the entirety of the game. Three of them came on the final drive when some backups were in up front.
Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau were involved in seven true pass rush situations, and dropped out into zone coverage on two of them, so it was really five true pass rushers. They didn't get pressures on those, and if you'd like to see them do so I won't begrudge you. But 0-for-5 probably isn't worth the oxygen we're giving it.
Some other notes:
• I would consider 10 of the 31 pass calls to be plays where there was just no chance to rush. Those were screens, swing passes, plays where the quarterback took a one-step drop or no drop at all before getting the ball out of his hand.
• On the Cover 0 blitz on the first drive, the completion against Lathan Ransom, Ty Hamilton came free and rocked the QB as he threw the ball. Hamilton also slipped as he was getting into the backfield. He lost his footing for about half a second, but that was the difference between a sack and completion on that play in my view.
• I actually think in the end, JT didn't have a bad game. He wasn't dominant and maybe you want him to be in a game like this. But he collapsed the pocket a couple times leading to errant throws. He won clean on one pass rush and had the QB lined up for a sack, but lost his balance and fell, allowing the QB to escape. He rag-dolled the right tackle on a play where the defense only rushed three and nearly drove the tackle back into the QB, forcing a side-arm checkdown that was stopped for a 1-yard gain.
• Jack seems a bit inconsistent with his get-off, but he also was stepping down to play against a potential run on some of these passes and not always immediately releasing upfield.
• The sack fumble with Tommy and Sonny was a great instance of the DL creating lanes for blitzers. Hall's sack was an incredible individual effort.
PFF numbers on true pass rushers so far this year:
Mike Hall, 14 rushes, 3 pressures
JT, 12 rushes, 1 pressure
Sawyer, 10 rushes, 1 pressure
Kenyatta Jackson, 10 rushes, 2 pressures
Caden Curry, 9 rushes, 2 pressures
I think those numbers could be better. I still want to see what this looks like when Ohio State plays a team that will give them more opportunities to rush the passer. But I mostly want to check my own analysis off of this game, because after watching it again it feels little hot.
Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau were involved in seven true pass rush situations, and dropped out into zone coverage on two of them, so it was really five true pass rushers. They didn't get pressures on those, and if you'd like to see them do so I won't begrudge you. But 0-for-5 probably isn't worth the oxygen we're giving it.
Some other notes:
• I would consider 10 of the 31 pass calls to be plays where there was just no chance to rush. Those were screens, swing passes, plays where the quarterback took a one-step drop or no drop at all before getting the ball out of his hand.
• On the Cover 0 blitz on the first drive, the completion against Lathan Ransom, Ty Hamilton came free and rocked the QB as he threw the ball. Hamilton also slipped as he was getting into the backfield. He lost his footing for about half a second, but that was the difference between a sack and completion on that play in my view.
• I actually think in the end, JT didn't have a bad game. He wasn't dominant and maybe you want him to be in a game like this. But he collapsed the pocket a couple times leading to errant throws. He won clean on one pass rush and had the QB lined up for a sack, but lost his balance and fell, allowing the QB to escape. He rag-dolled the right tackle on a play where the defense only rushed three and nearly drove the tackle back into the QB, forcing a side-arm checkdown that was stopped for a 1-yard gain.
• Jack seems a bit inconsistent with his get-off, but he also was stepping down to play against a potential run on some of these passes and not always immediately releasing upfield.
• The sack fumble with Tommy and Sonny was a great instance of the DL creating lanes for blitzers. Hall's sack was an incredible individual effort.
PFF numbers on true pass rushers so far this year:
Mike Hall, 14 rushes, 3 pressures
JT, 12 rushes, 1 pressure
Sawyer, 10 rushes, 1 pressure
Kenyatta Jackson, 10 rushes, 2 pressures
Caden Curry, 9 rushes, 2 pressures
I think those numbers could be better. I still want to see what this looks like when Ohio State plays a team that will give them more opportunities to rush the passer. But I mostly want to check my own analysis off of this game, because after watching it again it feels little hot.
