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Football
Penn State Offensive Line Scheme Challenges OSU Defensive Line to Make Plays
By John PorentasThe Penn State offense averages 45.4 points per game, best in the Big Ten.
The Penn State offense averages 234.6 rushing yards per game, best in the Big Ten.
Those are gaudy numbers, and as you probably know, offense starts up front with the offensive line.
As you might expect, the Penn State offensive line is not small, but when you really look at it, they aren't especially big either. Starting left tackle Gerald Codogan is listed at 6-5, 314. That's big, but by today's standards, not huge. Right tackle Dennis Landolt is a respectable 6-4, 309, again big but not huge as linemen go today.
The middle of the Penn State offensive line is, by 2008 standards, borderline puny. The center and guards go 6-2, 292, 6-1, 297 and 6-3, 288.
So how the heck is the Penn State offense so effective?
Nader Abdallah
Photo by Jim Davidson"The good thing about Penn State, why they're so good, is they have a lot of fast guys on the offensive line, athletic strong guys. Not too big, but very physical and able to get out and block," said OSU defensive tackle Nader Abdallah who has been watching tons of film on the PSU offensive line in preparation for the meeting with the Lions this weekend.
The Penn State offense takes full advantage of the speed and athleticism of the offensive line by adopting a blocking scheme that is not common in college football today. They rarely double team defensive linemen to try overwhelm the defense at the point of attack. Instead they sort of get in the way of those defensive linemen just a little, then go after linebackers with a vengeance.
"They do a great job of climbing to the second level o the defense," said linebacker James Laurinaitis.
It's a plan that counts on running backs being able to beat defensive linemen with speed and agility if they are blocked just a little, and then gives that back help in the second line of defense as the offensive line aggressively goes after the usual playmakers of a defense, the linebackers.
"The reason they're able to do that is they do a lot of gap blocking," said Abdallah.
"They really don't stress double teams. They do a lot of gap blocking. They hit you then scheme off to the back (linebackers), more like a Michigan State did," Abdallah said.
That's right, the Michigan State Spartans employed that same blocking scheme against the OSU defense last Saturday, and the Buckeyes were able to defend the Spartan running game effectively enough to limit Javon Ringer to just 67 net yards rushing, his lowest total of the season. The trick is for the defensive line to disrupt the movement of the offensive line and not allow it to get to the linebackers.
"We have to destroy the offensive line, come off the ball and attack them at the point of attack and play on their side (of the line of scrimmage)," said Abdallah.
Aggression by the defensive line is one of the keys, but the scheme also invites the defensive line to make plays on ball carriers after the offensive line leaves them to go after linebackers.
Marcus Freeman
Photo by Jim Davidson"You just realize that you're going to be chipped fast (blocked briefly) as a d-lineman," explained linebacker Marcus Freeman.
"They're going to come off the ball and they hit the d-linemen fast and work right up to the backer.
"I think the d-linemen have to know that they're going to get hit hard and fast and be ready to embrace it and not to skate (move with the offensive linemen).
"Sometime when the linemen are trying reach you (reach block) you skate with them but we have to get vertical pressure from our d-line," Freeman said.
Part of the goal of the defensive line against the Penn State blocking scheme will be to slow them down so they can't get to the OSU linebackers. Just as importantly though, the scheme allows the defensive linemen to run free from time to time, and that gives them opportunities to make plays themselves.
"When linemen are coming up to the second level you (defensive linemen) get in the mode of making plays because you're not going to taking on double teams for that long," said Freeman.
"If we're getting single blocked we have to be able to get off blocks and make plays," agreed Abdallah.
"It increases our ability to make plays because we're being single blocked instead of double teamed all the time.
"We have to be able to get off the block very quickly and make plays in the backfield when we have a chance to. "
If the defensive line can do that they stand a very good chance of slowing down the impressive Penn State running game. That will force the Lions to pass, something the Buckeyes would like to see.
"We always have a goal to stop the run," said defensive back Malcolm Jenkins. "We want to make them one dimensional and force them to pass."
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