Eastern Michigan is expected to blitz Ohio State a lot on Saturday, which should be great news for the Buckeyes.
As Ohio's Tremayne Scott learned on this play last Saturday, it's one thing to blitz Terrelle Pryor and the Buckeyes, and it's another to do it successfully. The Buckeyes expect more of the same from undermanned Eastern Michigan this Saturday at the Horseshoe.AGAINST THE BLITZ
Jim Tressel said against some Ohio State offensive formations, he expects Eastern Michigan to blitz 75 percent of the time Saturday. That should be fine with the Buckeyes. Here’s how the first team offense fared against Ohio’s blitzes last week.
• Terrelle Pryor passing: 7-of-8 for 81 yards
• Pryor running: 2 carries for 29 yards
• Tailbacks running: 2 carries for 5 yards
• Sacks: 1 for -11 yards
• Overall: 13 blitzes, 104 yards, 8 yards per play
— Doug Lesmerises
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Buckeyes looked bad against the blitz. Once.
In the third quarter last Saturday, Ohio University blitzed a linebacker from the edge and Ohio State left tackle Mike Adams was late to react, allowing OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor to take a hit from his blind side and absorb an 11-yard loss on a sack.
That was the one time against Ohio State's first-team offense that a Bobcat blitz worked. The rest of the game, the Buckeyes welcomed the blitz. That could be a problem for Eastern Michigan (0-3) when the Eagles come to Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
"They are going to blitz you like crazy when you have the ball," said OSU coach Jim Tressel.
He said in some formations, Eastern Michigan will blitz 75 percent of the time. But with a more experienced offensive line that picked up many of Ohio's blitz tries, and a quarterback in Pryor who took care of the rest, when the No. 2 Buckeyes (3-0) see a blitz, they may say bring it on.
"We have a quarterback I feel can get away from any type of blitz a team brings," OSU tight end Jake Stoneburner said. "Sometimes as an offensive line we don't pick it up as well, but that's why a team blitzes. But you have a quarterback who's really mobile and can get away from that type of stuff, so sometimes not picking up a blitz can actually benefit us, because he can run for 50 yards when no one's around."
In fact, Tressel said one of the OSU assistants joked that letting blitzers in on Pryor should become part of the game plan.
"There were three plays in the game last week that you would have thought that's what we taught because we let guys run right in there," Tressel said, "and he did avoid them. But, no, that wasn't by design."
By one count, Ohio blitzed 13 times against Ohio State's first-team offense, with Pryor escaping and running twice for 29 yards, one 2-yard run and one 27-yard run. That's what Stoneburner was talking about.
"It's great to have that as a security blanket," Adams said, "but you don't ever want someone to come free. We like that guy healthy. But when he takes off running, it's crazy. You never know where he's going, he's so fast."
But this season, Pryor doesn't just take off. Pryor and his receivers are better at recognizing the blitz and adjusting to a quick throw. Pryor also can escape and keep his eyes down the field. All season, the players and coaches have talked about the improved communication on the line, which means Pryor and center Mike Brewster identifying what the defense is preparing to do and tweaking the blocking to handle it.
So Pryor could still throw when Ohio blitzed, completing seven of eight passes for 81 yards, the only incompletion coming when the line did a great job of handling two blitzing linebackers up the middle and Pryor short-armed a throw to an open Dane Sanzenbacher over the middle for what could have been a touchdown. Included in those stats were two big throws, a 21-yarder to Sanzenbacher and a 21-yarder to Stoneburner.
"I think we're getting better at it," Tressel said. "I thought at the front half of last year we struggled a little bit because we just didn't communicate very well up front because we hadn't been together, and the quarterback couldn't solve some of the problems and make some of the changes at that point.
"Now we have kind of a fail safe, the linemen have been together and the quarterback knows, maybe he can see a little bit further, and he can help if they don't get things headed in the right way. So I think we're much better from that standpoint ... but people will keep bringing it."
Tressel said teams now focus on outside blitzes designed to keep Pryor in the pocket. He also said blitzers slow down and try to stay under control against a quarterback they know can escape.
"But defensive guys are defensive guys," Tressel said. "When you call a blitz, all of a sudden the fangs grow and they're just thinking about 'sic 'em,' and you've got to be a little bit careful when you're going after a mobile quarterback."
When a blitz comes Saturday, the Buckeyes should be thinking the same way -- extra pressure means an extra opportunity to take a bite out of the defense.