You are aware of my beef with our O Line this year: Lack of focus, particularly on the one thing that they should always be aware of. The snap count.
Ever since the Buckeyes squared off against the Gators in “The Game That We Don’t Talk About”, it seems that we can’t go a match without at least one false start penalty. In some cases, it’s been a drive stopper that has ended up really hurting them on the scoreboard.
In Brandon Castel’s piece on the OZone, we may have some answers, at least to the current incarnations of this madness-
After the (Purdue) game, center Michael Brewster made some interesting comments that may help pinpoint exactly why the Buckeyes had so much trouble moving the ball against a team that came into the game with a 1-5 record.
“They were running some blitzes and I was trying to make some calls but they were expecting the snap count when I popped my head back up.”
By “they,” Brewster was actually not referring to the Purdue defensive line, but to his own teammates on the offensive line. Even with a bipartisan crowd at Ross-Ade Stadium – one that had more Purdue fans in the second half than in the first – it became exceedingly difficult for the other four or five guys up front to know when they were supposed to fire off the ball.
That might not sound like a doomsday scenario to the average sports fan, but it can disrupt an offense in ways few other things can. Whether it means guys jumping early or late, it has the potential to change the course of entire game.
The snap count is designed to be an advantage for the offense, to help players, especially offensive linemen, get a split-second jump on the defender.
Instead, it worked the opposite way against Purdue.
Interesting. But, just when I thought they had identified the issue and were able to address it, we read this:
“It was a big issue. We didn’t know when Mike was snapping the ball or when he was making calls. A couple guys on the line would be late, including myself,” tight end Jake Ballard said.
Late. Not early (as in “false start”). Late.
Oh well, back to the drawing board.
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