When does playing it safe make the Buckeyes too predictable?
By halftime of Saturday’s game against Washington, I had lost track of the number of times I texted my family and friends yelling some variation of, “Why are we playing such safe football?” or “This conservative play-calling is going to be the end of me!!!!”
It seemed like every time the Buckeye offense was on the field in the first two quarters, they chose the safest (read: most predictable) route, and the scoreboard reflected that. After a scoreless first quarter, OSU put just one touchdown on the board in the second quarter to carry a narrow 7-3 lead into halftime.
It was frustrating to see a team seemingly waste its talent with such conservative playcalling for so much of Saturday’s game. We’re lucky the defense held Washington to a single field goal, but it shouldn’t have taken until the second half for the Buckeyes to establish any semblance of offensive rhythm, especially when Washington’s pass defense didn’t look great.
It begs the question: What was Brian Hartline’s rationale?
Now, Hartline certainly has both a better vision for this team and a better understanding of the Xs and Os than I do, so I’m not intending that to be condescending. I’m sure there was a lot of thought put into the game plan that I’m not privy to.
But from the comfort of my own home, it was baffling to watch. If I were calling the shots for Julian Sayin, I’d be letting him throw—really throw, not just 2-3 yard lobs here and there.
To cope with my confusion, the inner fan-who-acts-like-I’m-the-coach-while-I-munch-on-potato-chips-on-my-couch in me parsed out two possible explanations: The first is that they were playing it safe on Julian Sayin’s behalf. In his first road game as starter, perhaps there were some concerns about his inexperience in a hostile environment.
If this is the reasoning, I don’t understand it. At times, it felt like the coaches were so concerned about the possibility that he’d make a mistake that they ultimately handcuffed him altogether.
Sayin doesn’t need handholding, and frankly, it’s doing him and the team a disservice. I’d almost rather Sayin be allowed to make the mistakes and learn from them than never be trusted to do anything at all.
Plus, part of breaking in a new guy in a program like this is letting him know you’re confident in him to lead the team. That confidence can be an intangible thing that takes a quarterback from good to great. I think Day and Hartline both know this, which is why the first-half play calling felt so baffling.
So that brings up the second possibility: Perhaps the concern was never about Sayin and instead, reflected a lack of confidence in the offensive line’s ability to protect him. This scenario makes slightly more sense to me: Let Sayin make quick, short passes until the coaches know with certainty that he’s going to have enough protection and time to read the play and lay it out.
Still, as a long-term strategy, I have some doubts about the viability of this approach. For the whole first half of football, it felt like Washington was two steps ahead of us, anticipating our every move. When you let Washington stay that close at home because you’re afraid to take big swings, there’s always the possibility they’ll come out of that locker room with a chip on their shoulder, get the crowd riled up and close the gap.
It wasn’t effective football in the first half against Washington, and it’s not going to fly for the rest of Ohio State’s schedule.
There did seem to be some adjustment after halftime, and once Sayin got the green light to let loose a little bit, the Buckeyes began to look alive. Washington’s defense seemed unnerved—and the crowd certainly got quieter—after Sayin started to let it rip.
But I think the concern is whether this game plan is indicative of the larger plan for this season. The Buckeyes might be able to get away with this against Washington, but against a team like Penn State or even Michigan or Illinois, the predictability of it could make them susceptible.
When we think back to last year, it wasn’t until we started to play aggressive football in the playoffs that we looked explosive enough to win a title. Regardless of the reasoning, I’d love to see them let Sayin air it out bit more heading into the rest of the Big Ten season. If he’s given the chance to take more calculated risks, I think we might see him really start to cook in a big way.
Category: General Sports
