FanPost

The almost perfect Diaz playcall

First fanpost so we'll see how this goes. Won't be a regular thing since well... work and young kids. But since this was a big moment in the game, I wanted to take a closer look at the late 3rd and 10 defensive play call that oddly had all of PSUs DBs 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and seemingly conceded an easy first down.

First, I wanted to see how Diaz schemed Carter (11) as a free blitzer on the play. To do so required understanding OSU's pass protection scheme. From rewatching the game, it looked like OSU often employed a hybrid protection that slides half of the O-line in one direction and man blocks on the other side to make sure the RB is blocking a LB or DB and not a larger D-Lineman.

OSU Pass Protection

To counter this 6-man protection, Diaz lines up 7 guys on the line of scrimmage to ensure there is one free blitzer. He keeps the remaining 4 DBs deep in coverage to invite the quick hot read throw underneath. This is a trap that he is laying because some of the guys on the line of scrimmage are going to drop and try and take away those hot reads.

PSU Blitz

At the snap, both of the edge DBs and the NT are blitzing. Both of the DEs take exactly one step forward and then plants their other foot to drop in coverage. What this does is commits two offensive linemen to pass protecting the DEs that are now dropping with their eyes on the QB to take away the quick slants. At first, I assumed Diaz correctly guessed that the O-line was shifting away from the RB side to drop Jacobs (23) in coverage. But after rewatching and now understanding the blocking scheme, I'm guessing the LBs are reading which direction the center slides at the snap and adjusts their role accordingly. If the center slides towards the LB, the LB drops in coverage. If center slides away from the LB, the LB blitzes the vacant gap. Regardless if the O-line shifts left or right, since both DBs have blitzed on the edge and the LBs are reading the C, the RB will have two unblocked blitzing defenders. In this case, Henderson chose to block the smaller CB instead of the LB. The QB is reading the LB and CB that the RB is responsible for. If both of them blitz, he knows one will be unblocked and he needs to make the quick, hot read throw. In this case, Harrison Jr's slant.

After The Snap

In this situation with the slant as the hot read, I'm assuming the OSU coaches want the RB cutting down the LB at the knees to open up that throwing lane (I believe that is still legal for stationary RBs inside the tackle box). Instead, he goes wide to take the CB and Carter is right in Stroud's face. The throw goes right through Carter's hands. But all is not lost yet. Isaac has dropped perfectly into the throwing lane and has an opportunity to make a play.

Almost

Unfortunately, he's a split second slow getting his hands up and the ball clears his helmet by mere inches. Harrison Jr catches the ball and with the soft coverage has the space to get the first down.

I'll leave conclusions for this play call up to you. Maybe Diaz was asking too much of his DEs to fake blitz and then cover the slants. Maybe having the DBs an extra yard or two closer to the line of scrimmage would have still enticed the trap and put them in position to make the tackle short of the sticks. Maybe not. Seemed to me though that it was the perfect play call that twice came within inches (Carter and Isaac) of making the stop. Ultimately, with the two offensive turnovers happening later resulting in a two-score loss, the impact of this one play was not as large as I thought it would be at the time.

You created a Fanpost! Good for you! Any content from a premium site will be deleted once we catch wind of it--as will any inappropriate content. If you simply want to share a link, quote, or video, please consider using Fanshots instead.