Mike West

Friends, I am at work, but I haven't forgotten you. Talk about some very insightful posts! After work, I'll respond to those posts. So hold on Mr. Marsh; Gotcha;Solar; Kamakazi Kid; WTD25; Washington Waddler and Mikethehiker. You guys are feeding the post graduate level analysis here. Thanks for your thoughts. Can't wait to as my thoughts...

There you are notalot (l lol-I've been gone from the forum awhile), I like what you're saying. I think Stein goes away from that to much. He started last game just like that, and then left it alone ( might have been the faster clock Tech was forcing). Stein's paying concepts work, but the combo of self inflicted wounds and to make this and long situations like momentum. There are some matchups I look forward to. It's going to be an interesting game.

ESPN broadcasts two views. The All 22 view you saw the second time, and its regular broadcast. They will show both during the Natty. There is a guy that replays some of the All 22 view, but for copyright reasons, he can't show all of it. I didn't realize ESPN rebroadcast the game (with the All 22s at that). The All 22 aspect really flushes out the game better. You can see missed blocks, assignments, reads and strategies. NFL.com broadcast the All 22s from the end zone and the field. It is absolutely awesome. I wish they would do that in college football. Not sure the coaches want that out there though. They get enough critics as it is.

Jon, You're even more of a joy to read! As to those crazy 4th down plays. I totally believe Lanning was telling the whole world Tech was not going to win this game. And he wanted to end it quickly. I agree on the first point. I didn't mind the first 2 calls. But sometimes you gotta put points on the board. I'm pretty sure he knew well before the game started that OBD were going to take it to Tech, and they couldn't do a damn thing about it. Did I write an article about that? I can't remember (not to toot my own horn-because the film I looked at was my basis-not me. I don't know how Lanning could not believe his team was going to dominate this game-objectively at that). Which brings me to your main point. This team can win it any way they want-if they execute enough. It really is a Swiss Army Knife kind of team-even the defense. I personally don't like going for the throat because it is more entertaining-I just want to end the game before its gets going. You have to pass the ball to get that done. But Grandpa Duck really hit it on the nail-I think I am going to be sorely disappointed with the strategy Lanning and Stein employ. We do need balance. We do need to run the ball-effectively. I just want to slash that damn throat!!! Too bad for me!

I cannot disagree. The run game has been there all along. Yet, and this is no criticism of what you've pointed out, the Fuskies went to town on that run game and forced us to make very good plays to seal the victory. I believe there is a flow to the game that is difficult to diagnose in the heat of battle. I believe Stein has done a very good job of adjusting, but sometimes the timing of his calls are off. Nonetheless, I believe the analysts are part of the game and they need to provide feedback live on what Stein wants to do-including adjusting alignments, blocking schemes, sequential/constraint plays etc. I really thing we can run on Indiana. It's just a matter of how to balance the mix with passing the ball. I also believe Stein dialed up winners passing the ball that Moore simply missed. That is why what Solar has been saying has been paramount. Moore must play his best ball. He must identify pre snap as much as possible what spacing (how IU places their back 7 pre snap against the receivers) is the area to attack based on the play call. And he absolutely must throw more once he plants his feet (which also includes just pulling the trigger with faith he made the correct decision). There is a lot to being an awesome QB. I know Shedeur Sanders is a controversial player, but how he has developed in the NFL-albeit slowly for my tastes- is what Dante is going through. Moore is handling the pressure in his face well. And I do believe Stein needs to dial up the kinds of plays he did against TTU on early downs if he is going to pass the ball. More on that later. This game can go several ways. Lanning is quite comfortable playing it close to the vest, as both teams can grind it out. Cignetti is also very aggressive so the tempo of this game will determine if Lanning dials up an aggressive passing attack or not. I absolutely believe nobody can stop the TEs/WRs. They just can't. That's why I want to drop 40 plus. It is totally possible. Yet...I have to agree with you. OBD should be able to run the ball to open up that lethalness. It is a matter of preference.

My man Triphibius, You nailed some great observations. I'll hit your main point last. First of all, Pregnon, Luli and Ipani need to clean it up. I say a few, and only a few, missed blocks. One prevented Davison from scoring on second and Goal from the 9. TTU's DL was simply too powerful for that group. More on that in a second. Secondly, I'll check on the IU zone blitzes. Or as they coined it "simulated pressures". I haven't looked at the IU game for analysis yet. Third, I definitely will look into the Zone Defense yo brought up (that Lanning mentioned). Finally, as to the running game against IU. It was definitely clicking. But they short runs were getting blown up and it was disrupting rhythm in the game. But. And that isn't an excuse. Stein dialed up some very good runs, and the OL executed very well. I hope Stein and the analysis crew are keying in on short length downs. It has been a glaring weakness. I'm not sure if it is because defenses are stacking the box, missed assignments blocking, or a combination of both. In any event, execution on 2nd, 3rd and 4th down when the line to gain is under 3 yards has been poor. That is where those analysts must do their job. They need to assess, and diagnose the challenges and solutions. My opinion of course.

Agreed Steven, That is one DUDE. He needs at least 5-7 targets each game (I hope we get another). Not to mention, getting him on Safeties, and even IU's corners is an absolute must. I watched IU handle osu2's WRs well, but they were holding those WRs. They also know they can't stop our WR/TE group. More on that Thursday. You read my mind on the double moves. That will be key. But they must be set up. Not sure how much time Stein will have designing a groujp of plays to go to and get the practice in, but I hope that is a feature. The more I watch tape, the more I have to admit they may have the best DL/Front 7 in the country. They were excellent in so many ways. I hope to have time to explain why later. I think Moore needs to lose sleep this week watching tape (until Wednesday). It will take some timing in practice this week as well. So I'm hoping they drill the heck out of reading each side of the ball pre snap and making decisions based on spacing as well as reading Man or Zone coverage. I think he is doing fine, but it takes awhile to master that skill set. He should come back next year-it will boost his NFL career for sure in my opinion.

Excellent points Happy! A few thoughts. Dave23 has a very valid point about running the ball on Friday-I agree. With stipulations, but we ran very well on the Hoosiers. More on that when I respond to his comment. Excellent observation on getting the ball to the TEs on early downs. I neglected to mention the TEs as a force as well-they are very difficult to stop. I do believe Moore is reading fronts much better. Its the pressure that is effecting his execution. More on that later (sorry, that will be a response to Triphibius-he nailed that analysis). I like the idea of wearing down IU's Front 7. Didn't work on TTU, and I believe the Hoosiers are well conditioned as well. Doesn't mean Stein should forsake a quick tempo though. It MAY work after all, and also that pace may be an advantage. I'm writing another article Thursday and may go into that concept more. I watched more tape, and I changed my mind a little on what Stein was doing. I still think he adjusted a little late-but that is me expecting perfection. If yo have time, look at this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSE5awo-gG0). It is a very good breakdown of most of the key concepts and plays from the Tech game on offense.

The basics have to be there. Some of that is pure talent (arm strength) , some of it is knowledge, some of it is the ability to make plays on your own. The development part is learning the game, the speed of the game, and your OC's philosophy. Dante is way better than average. The speed and complexity of reading coverages under duress is very difficult to master. I watched a play in the TTU game in which I knew what was open after the completion. I reviewed it over ten times to see if I could time reading what was going on quickly enough to make the proper read. It is difficult to master for sure.

As usual, there are very good comments to ponder over. I am going to write another article. Not sure if it will drop tomorrow or Thursday. I have to talk to FishDuck about what I have so far. But I definitely feel like posting sunshine, rainbows and lollipops, even though I don't feel that way about this week. It has been a great year. It is tough to remember how young this team actually is. I expected a 10-2 year, or maybe 11-2 at best. The roller coaster ride is a total reflection of how young this team is. I have seen improvement from all phases of the team-staff, starters, units and backup players. I believe we expect too much perfection from a team that has its limits. And the fact that Indiana doesn't seem to make any mistakes makes that tough to swallow. Cignetti and his staff are an outstanding group of pure excellence. But he has a ten year head start on Lanning. For all of Lanning's aggressiveness, he has the second best record of any coach in FBS with as many games played. Friends, we have one of the very best in the business. And he is growing right in front of our eyes. He has only lost three games of 10 points or more-two to title winners, and one to the only undefeated team this year. He has never lost to an unranked team. He has defeated the #2 and the #3 team back to back years, and has posted an Undefeated season himself as the regular season #1 team. He defeated every blue blood team in the B1G his first year in the conference. He has defeated every brand name team in the conference already. Dan Lanning, with a much less than perfect team, has a chance to redeem his only loss this year. And a shot at a National Title in 16 short days. I doubt we lose by 10 this time. I expect an instant classic type of game-circa UW/Oregon in Seattle. Despite the questions on offense, and defense. This team is unpredictable, in a good way. We are very very fortunate. We are living Thanksgiving in January.

Well the Tech DL destroyed my narrative...but their WRs played exactly how I thought they would. The playoff format helped OBD today. But the defense stepped up. Another scenario when one unit bailed out the other. On to the next one.

Naw, Moore isn't the problem. The strategy is. Look at what the checkdown does. They will have to account for that. That is what I want to see.

You HAVE to go off on that press coverage. There is no reason to waste time. Stein is trying to wear their line out. He just needs to attack.

Stein needs to chip those ends. That blocker should be the check down option. No need to prove anything here. Tech should not be able to cover with the additional time ( this has to be a strategy the rest of the playoffs). I don't want to waste the best mismatch we will have the rest of the year.

Ohio State and OBD don't have agile enough lineman to bully these quick DLs we've seen. This requires blocking heads up (one-on-one). Tech has been smart. They totally know they are not going to cover the WRs. So they are laying off the LOS.

I'm telling you, I wouldn't waste my time establishing a rhythm. Moore missed a wide open Benson for a TD. That mismatch is already apparent.

OBD 35-16 2 2 325

My thought all year has been OBD need to average 42 in the playoffs to win it all. We just didn't have the kind of personnel to handle elite offenses.

I forgot about your take on that. I also believe the Tigers were lucky the first quarter ended before OBD ran another play. They got to rest... otherwise it may have been over before it started. Auburn didn't start stopping OBD before that point.

I hope not ...and pride has nothing to do with it. I want to see an annihilation tomorrow. It's time people respect OBD.

Yeah, Well see whether Bucknut fans about their Rose Bowl victory was the flex they bragged about all year.

You should watch the Miami/Florida game. That front door was g ferocious. I was pretty concerned about the Hurricanes from them until they lost to Louisville. I wasn't sure which Miami team would show up today. I guess they've shown us.

I don't either... I happen to believe the Red Raiders did their job winning the games they were supposed to. They do have a stout defense. It hasn't really been tested though. None of the teams they've faced are elite. I also believe Indiana changes the narrative about OBD. The response reminds me of all the talk about Auburn after they stuffed out running game. I will always believe that Chip was so bent on proving he could run in the Tigers instead of exploiting their weakness against the clear advantage OBD had passing that day In my mind Auburn was lucky he did, because OBD were by far the better team. We held the most explosive SEC team to 19 points ( in a conference known for its physical prowess) and had the opportunity to drop 30 plus if we had just passed the damn ball. The SEC and ESPN got away with a false narrative.

Yep, this is the time to force Tech to play a complete game, not just feast on turnovers and explosive plays.

I believe zone blocking will be more difficult on Tech. The edges are very quick. Surprisingly, running to the edges has worked on this defense though. If Lupoi forces Tech to drive the entire field, I don't believe the Red Raiders will score much. They need explosive plays to stay in this game in my opinion.