Is It Time To Panic About The Ohio State Defense?
When Alabama picked apart the Buckeye defense in the national championship game, it was easy to say "the Crimson Tide had an historically good offense and several Buckeye players weren't available for various reasons, including CoVID-19. The team was trying to play against one of the all-time great offenses with one hand tied behind its back."
Then when Ohio State opened the 2021 season with a two touchdown victory at Minnesota and struggled to stop the run or even make tackles behind the line of scrimmage, the thinking became, "hey Minnesota has one of the best running backs in the country, their offensive line is huge and really experienced, it's the first game of the season in a tough road environment (in conference play) and they scored a defensive touchdown. The Silver Bullets will be fine."
But after Ohio State's dismal defensive performance against Oregon, the tolerance level for missing tackles or blowing assignments is reaching a fever pitch.
"Now it's not just a single game, it's a little bit of a pattern," Ryan Day said Tuesday. "We took a long, hard look the last 48 hours at everything that's going on, and certainly going to make some adjustments here, not only of how we're attacking other offenses, but also just structurally, how we're doing our day-to-day operations."
The Buckeyes racked up more than 600 yards of total offense and it wasn't quite enough to beat the two-time defending Pac-12 champion Ducks last weekend.
So where is the panic meter right now in Columbus? How much longer can this go on before stark changes need to be made?
Ryan Day made it extremely clear during his weekly press conference that he is unhappy with that side of the ball. He particularly used the word "disappointed."
Remember when you were a kid, and you were so much more afraid of your parents telling you they are disappointed in you than hearing they're mad at you? That's exactly what resonated with me when Ryan Day made the comment yesterday.
"Yeah I'm not happy about that at all," Day said. "That's part of the deal - for me to do what I need to do on offense, I need the defense really on point, the special teams on point, I need Mark Pantoni to do a great job in recruiting, Mick Marotti to handle strength and conditioning, and the minute that I get taken away for those type of things, then it affects everything else that's going on on offense. So yeah, to be honest with you, I'm disappointed."
I think if you read between the lines, Day is trying to spread the blame around and not throw any one person or player under the bus. That's what a good leader does. But there's no outward indication that Pantoni, Marotti or others aren't doing their jobs effectively. Right now, the squeaky wheel is on defense and that puts the spotlight directly on coordinator Kerry Coombs.
By all accounts - including my own observations and limited interactions with Coombs - he is one of the most likeable people you'll ever meet. The guy is beaming with energy and enthusiasm. He loves this team, this job, this program. He's an Ohio guy through and through.
He also takes a ton of pride in his work, and after Saturday's tough loss, he owned up to the deficiencies that his unit has produced.
“My response is that I’m responsible. That’s my job,” Coombs said. “We have to play better. When I say we have to play better, I’m not blaming the players. The standard of our defense is one of excellence. The Silver Bullet standard is very high, and so I have to do a better job.”
Whether the issues are schematic, coaching or personnel-driven, Coombs and his staff have no margin for error the rest of the season. The Buckeyes' College Football Playoff chances took a major hit after Saturday's loss. It's certainly still possible they qualify as one of the top four teams, but it's no longer probable.
Last year's defense couldn't stop the pass - they ranked 122nd out of 127 FBS teams in pass defense (304 yards per game). This year through two games, the Silver Bullets rank 123rd out of 130 teams in rush defense (236 yards per game).
"We are going to make some adjustments, some changes. We have to," Ryan Day said Tuesday.
Day continued by saying that the program is looking at all options and that there is a definite urgency to get this right. For now, Coombs remains the defensive coordinator and as far as we know, will continue to call the defensive plays.
For those who have been calling for Coombs' job all week - firing a DC in the middle of the season is a pretty tough thing to do. You better have a good alternative in-house option because bringing in a coach from the outside to coordinate that unit mid-year is one extremely tall task. Does Ohio State have the kind of coach already on staff that could step in? They certainly have some highly successful recruiters and position coaches in Larry Johnson and Al Washington. But I would caution against simply thinking that either of those guys could just slide in and put forth a remarkably better product.
It's so much harder than you realize to be both an elite recruiter and a coordinator. Perhaps that's some of the lesson that's being learned with Coombs here.
Regardless, the Buckeyes have two consecutive games on their schedule against mid-major teams (Tulsa and Akron), followed by two Big Ten games in which they'll be heavily favored (Rutgers and Maryland). Then, the bye week.
No disrespect to its opposition, but Ohio State should handle those four games with relative ease. That means the next time they may really be tested is on October 23 at Indiana, against a Hoosiers team that doesn't look quite as good as it did last year (but still has plenty of talent). After IU gave the Buckeyes a pretty good scare last fall, I expect that to be a good game.
I don't get the impression that it's a full-blown panic inside the offices at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. But without a doubt, everyone is taking accountability with the stark reality that this defense is under-performing and it's going to take every player and coach on staff to get this thing turned around while before their Big Ten title and CFP hopes crumble in front of their eyes.
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Ohio State S Josh Proctor Out For Season Following Surgery On Leg Injury
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