Alright, so I got bored and decided to just put this up today. I went through every offensive series that the BTN showed yesterday, primarily watching Pryor. Did he show signs of legitimate improvement in this game, and should we, as Michigan fans, be even more worried about 2010's version of The Game even more than we already might be?
Well, "improvement" is somewhat vague and subjective. Pryor will probably never put up Troy Smith-type stats through the air, and he likely won't ever have to. Even Pryor's stats in this year's Granddaddy (23-37, 266 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT) aren't mindblowing, especially given that this performance is supposedly an indicator of things to come for Pryor. Make no mistake, Pryor had a great game; however, I'm not sure if the performance wasn't more attributable to solid offensive gameplanning and Oregon's defensive deficiencies. I'll now go through and do my best to analyze each play that the BTN showed (some were assuredly skipped over), looking at the types of passes TP was throwing, and the types of situations in which he excelled/struggled.
OSU 26 | 1st & 10 | Shotgun, 1 back | A dangerous pass at the sticks that’s almost intercepted…not |
26 | 2nd & 10 | ‘Gun1B, Trips right | A |
30 | 3rd & 6 | ‘Gun1B | TP drops back and decides to take off, running through the middle of the line for 24. He comes up hobbling somewhat near the end of this play. |
46 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B (?) | Another short pass, this time to Posey for 4 near the right sideline. |
UO 42 | 2nd & 6 | ‘Gun1B | TP hits Posey, who is running a slant on the left side. The corner is playing WAY off (sound familiar?), so the throw is relatively easy. Musberger |
UO 29 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | Flanker |
UO 22 | 2nd & 3 | ‘Gun1B | TP |
UO 13 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | Sanzenbacher runs a slant |
UO 13 | 2nd & 10 | ‘Gun2B (Boren and Saine) | Quick |
UO 13 | 3rd & 10 | ‘Gun1B | TP drops back, finds no |
50 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | Boren and Saine on either sie of TP; TP easily sidesteps a |
UO 4 | 1st & Goal | ‘Gun1B | Bad snap; Pryor has trouble bringing it in and does well |
UO 6 | 2nd & Goal | ‘Gun1B | Pryor fakes the handoff, dances up the middle for 3. |
UO 3 | 3rd and Goal | ‘Gun 1B | OSU runs what appears to be an option play. TP doesn’t |
OSU 16 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | OSU runs the option play again; seemingly awkward pitch |
17 | 2nd & 9 | ‘Gun1B | TP drops back, begins to move around and eventually is |
17 | 2nd & 9 | ‘Gun1B | TP is sacked for a loss of 2. Sanzenbacher |
OSU 20 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun2B | Pryor dumps to Herron in the middle for a modest gain. |
24 | 2nd & 6 | I-formation | Some old-school Tresselball. |
28 | 3rd & 2 | ‘Gun2B | Herron picks up the first as Herbie |
32 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | Quick pass to Sanzenbacher |
32 | 2nd & 10 | Under center, 1B | Run; Herron for 5. |
36 | 3rd and 5 | ‘Gun2B | Pryor scans the field and takes off after abut a second; tackled for a gain of 1, but a personal |
UO 48 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | False start |
OSU 47 | 1st & 15 | ‘Gun 1B | Pryor takes a couple steps to his right and hits Posey |
UO 48 | 2nd & 11 | ‘Gun1B | Pryor drops back and lofts a pass with a little too much |
UO 49 | 3rd & 12 | ‘Gun2B | TP drops back, moves to his right and hits Herron who |
UO 34 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | Hits Posey on the left with a quick slant (DB playing way |
UO 25 | 2nd & inches | I-form | Run up the middle; Saine picks |
UO 25 | 1st & 10 | Under center, 1B | Illegal shift |
UO 30 | 1st & 15 | ‘Gun 2B | Fakes sweep to Saine, |
UO 20 | 2nd & 7 | ‘Gun2B | Waits and takes off for no gain. UO’s bringing pressure |
UO 20 | 3rd & 7 | ‘Gun1B | 3-step drop and takes off, chased by several defenders. |
UO 14 | 4th & 1 | Maryland-I | Handoff to Saine for the first. |
UO 10 | 1st & Goal | ‘Gun1B | TP drops and looks to Posey in the corner of the endzone but overshoots him. |
UO 10 | 2nd & Goal | Empty trey | Flanker screen to Sanzenbacher. |
UO 13 | 3rd & Goal | ‘Gun2B | TP sticks in the pocket for a good while and slings a dart |
UO 46 (after Homan interception: 25 seconds left in 1st | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun2B | Deep drop, has all day to throw. |
UO 46 | 2nd & 10 | ‘Gun1B | TP throws a dart near the left hash to Sanzenbacher |
UO 28 | 1st & 10 | Under center | Spike |
UO 28 | 2nd & 10 | ‘Gun 2B | Feels pressure, scrambles and throws it out of bounds. :02 left; OSU opts for 3. OSU 16, UO 10. |
OSU 20 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | Hands off to Saine for 5. |
24 | 2nd & 5 | ‘Gun1B | Yet another flanker screen to Sanzenbacher; |
33 | 1st & 10 | I-form | Run up the middle. |
35 | 2nd & 8 | I-form | PA rollout (to his left); TP goes deep to Posey. Throws a |
UO 29 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | PA; rolls rights to hit Sanzenbacher. |
UO 24 | 2nd 5 | I-form | Saine picks up most of it here. |
UO 20 | 3rd & 1 | I-form | Saine pounds through for the |
UO 18 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | Zone read is stuffed by UO…at least we’re not the only |
UO 21 | 2nd & 13 | ‘Gun 1B | UO brings the house but TP calmly hits Sanzenbacher, |
UO 21 | 3rd & 13 | ‘Gun1B | Token fake, shoots for Sanzenbacher |
OSU 13 | 1st & 10 | I-form | Saine for 5. |
18 | 2nd & 5 | I-form | Saine again for 2; Tressel reverting to old playcalling |
20 | 3rd & 3 | ‘Gun1B | UO again brings several blitzers. |
OSU 19 | 1st & 10 | Single back, Boren offset left | Herron for 2. |
21 | 2nd & 8 | ‘Gun1B | Pryor does his thing and scampers for the 1st |
32 | 1st & 10 | ‘Gun1B | Herron for 1. |
33 | 2nd & 9 | ‘Gun1B | PA, rolls right to hit Sanz. for 4. |
37 | 3rd & 5 | ‘Gun1B | Hits Sanz. on |
48 | 1st & 10 | I-form | PA rollout right…nothing open so TP scrambles left and is |
46 | 2nd & 12 | ‘Gun1B | Another option-esque play…TP |
45 | 3rd & 13 | ‘Gun1B | Musberger mentions how quiet |
UO 31 | 1st & 10 | Missed pre-snap as OSU picks up the pace | TP tosses incompletion, intended short for Sanz. |
UO 31 | 2nd & 10 | Under center, single back | Herron dances for 3. |
UO 28 | 3rd & 7 | ‘Gun1B | Offsides on UO tackle. Facepalm. Either way, TP picked up the first with his |
UO 20 | 1st & 10 | I-form | TRESSELBALL. |
UO 17 | 2nd & 7 | ‘Gun2B | TP throws a beautiful pass to Posey near the front left |
OSU 27 | 1st & 10 | I-form | Tresselball for -2. |
25 | 2nd & 12 | ‘Gun1B | Option; TP finally pitches it. Saine |
35 | 3rd & 2 | ‘Gun1B | Option again; TP keeps it for the first. |
40 | 1st & 10 | I-form | Tressel. UO timeout. |
42 | 2nd & 8 | I form | Naked bootleg for 7. |
49 | 3rd & 1 | I-form | More Tressel. First down. |
UO 49 | 1st & 10 | I-form | Tressel. |
UO 48 | 2nd & 9 | I-form | PA bootleg to other side; TP runs |
UO 36 | 1st & 10 | I-form | Herbie talks about TP’s |
UO 33 | 2nd & 7 | Victory formation | QB Kneel. Game |
Does all this mean anything at all?
Well, yes and no. Yes, this was arguably the best game of Pryor's career. The aforementioned numbers he put up are *insert any Texas Tech qb ever*-esque by OSU standards. The gameplan was classic Ohio State (i.e., ball control, whether via the run or the pass).
However, despite all of this, OSU only put up 26 points, 3 less than their season average. Oregon was not exactly a juggernaut on defense last year. Then again, OSU won, and that's all that matters. The deliberate, plodding style of offense that OSU employs limits opportunities to score, for either team, really. But about Pryor...
I will say that Pryor had a great game, and this post is in no way trying to discredit him or OSU's 2010 team. However, while reviewing this game, there are several obvious issues:
1) Decision time-Very few times throughout the game did TP hold on to the ball for more than a second or two; it was either quick pass or run. This tells me that Tressel perhaps simplified things, so that TP only had to look for 2, maybe even 1 receiver, before hitting the checkdown/running like heck. There's nothing wrong with this, because it worked, but I wonder if this is feasible against some of the better defensive teams in the country, especially if OSU hopes to make it back to the BCS Championship Game this year.
2) Short passes-I haven't gone back and counted, but a good majority of the passes were short ones, ten yards or less, and there were several flanker screens to Sanzenbacher. Of the 37 passes thrown, I counted only 10 that went 10+ yards (give or take a yard) in the air, and only 3 that went for 20+ (the Posey bomb, the Ballard jump ball, and the Saine wheel route). Then again, the fact that all 3 were completed is good news (for OSU, mind you).
3) Receivers-Pryor only hit Posey, Sanzenbacher, and the tailbacks (as well as the one to Ballard). It worked in this game, but if OSU faces a team with a good corner they may be in trouble (re: 2007 OSU-UF game). Take away the deep threat (i.e., Posey) and suddenly OSU could struggle, especially keeping in mind thethe lack of a superback like Beanie or an extremely accurate quarterback in Pryor. Then again, I guess that could be said about any team.
Conclusion: As frustrating as a conclusion it is to make after doing all that, I think that this game means very little in the grand scheme of things. Pryor looked great, running as well as passing. However, there's a difference between poise and Clausen-type poise...that is, hitting 4-6 yard passes is nice, but eventually teams are going to lock that up. The gameplan was crafted perfectly, and the OSU defense played as they usually do. Pyor was asked to make a quick read and run if it wasn't open, which is fine when you're up against an average defense. Against a top 10 defense, TP likely won't be able to just take off and run when his first and second options are covered. The Saine and Posey passes (the deep pass as well as the 4th Q touchdown) were all very nice passes, and TP showed consistent accuracy in the short passes as well, just as is to be expected of a D-I quarterback.
Either way, TP will be a handful for our Wolverines, regardless of how much the defense improves this season. 188 days till The Game.
A true idiot. If Denard Robinson had a game like this, Michigan fan would be creaming in his jeans. Oh wait--he did. Against walk ons and second string defensemen from Oscoda and Petoskey. And of course, Michigan fans are now christening him as the next savior.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Pryor has a great game in the Rose Bowl as a true sophomore in a game OSU was picked by everyone to lose--and it means nothing.
Listen. The question was whether or not the hype on Pryor, with regards to his passing, was deserved based on this game alone. I said that he had a great game. Apparently you missed that. All I'm saying is that I'm still not convinced that he can have a 2006 Troy Smith type season, PASSING the ball. Pryor had an efficient game; that's not an insult, either.
ReplyDeleteWay to focus on one sentence from the entire post, though. Really, solid work.
In regards to the first comment, I would just like to point out that most OSU fans were creaming their pants about Pryor before he even got on campus, talking about not IF a NC was going to happen, but how many would happen under Pryor. Then, a majority of those fans were screaming for Pryor to be sat or calling for a position change after the Purdue game last year. All fan bases over react whenever something good or bad happens, and it just so happens that OSU is in OMG PRYOR IS OUR SAVIOR mode after the Rose Bowl win. He is trying to say that you guys are probably a little too excited over one good performance, and yes we probably are a little too excited about Denard's performance in the Spring Game.
ReplyDeleteTo the original author, good article. I agree with you, although I still think OSU has a pretty decent shot at the BCSNCG because of how little they lost across the entire team. If OSU wins the Crystal Football it will be on the strength of their defense. Pryor will be improved from last year but I don't think he has yet reached "I'm going to win this game on my own" territory yet, aka the Vince Young Zone. The potential is there, but it's not all clicking for him yet. I can only hope for Michigan's sake that it never does.
2006 Troy Smith was a senior so I wouldn't expect Pryor to get to that level either. Troy Smith also had 3 1st round WR's in his junior year to prep his HT run in 06 (still had 2 for 06). Not to mention an eventual first round RB and...you see where I'm heading. TP has maybe one 1rd WR (Posey) and who knows at RB (no upper classman on the 1-2rd radar). If TP did put up even similar numbers to what Troy Smith did in his Junior year, it would be that much more impressive. Put TP in Smith's position...Holmes, Ginn and Gonzalez...college secondaries just aren't that deep, someone will be open all the time. The 4th and 5th guys in that year (Robiskie and Small) weren't exactly slouches either. The talent around TP is younger and I have to imagine not as talented as Smith enjoyed.
ReplyDelete