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Football
Defense and Defensive Line Gets Boost from Unexpected Source
By John PorentasIt was open season on OSU defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Jim Heacock earlier this season.
Jim Heacock
Photo by Jim DavidsonWherever the talk was about OSU football, Heacock was a target, because people were not happy with the way the OSU defense was playing. Radio call in shows, message boards (yes, even the-Ozone), fans in sports bars, guys waiting to get their haircut; if there was any kind of gathering of Buckeye fans there was sure to be a faction who was unhappy with Heacock, the style of play of the overall defense, and the performance of the defensive line.
Suddenly, there's a lot less of that.
The OSU defense has gotten more efficient and effective in the last month or so. The Buckeye defense controlled Minnesota, played well against Wisconsin, then pretty much dominated both Purdue and Michigan State. Over that four game span Heacock's defensive game plan was more aggressive and the defensive line was more effective.
Heacock had finally seen the light.
Or had he.
Several weeks ago a poster on the-Ozone forum ran the ultimate risk in defense of Heacock, the risk of being called an apologist, when he posted that Heacock was probably one dominant defensive lineman away from being a genius. Turns out that poster was close to right, but not quite.
It wasn't a defensive lineman that Heacock needed, it was a defensive back.
Donald Washington OSU's "new" aggressive defensive style has coincided with the return to the lineup of defensive back Donald Washington. Washington missed the first two games of the season due to a suspension. He was eligible to play against USC but did not get on the field. He then played very sparingly against Troy, but saw more time against Minnesota and the games since.
When he returned to the playing field Washington added a new dimension to the OSU defense, the ability to matchup man to man with three receivers, and that in turn allowed Heacock to blitz more aggressively. Before that, the Buckeyes were relegated to playing zones, and that limited Heacock.
"We've been able to do that (play man defense) when you can get a dime package with three corners on the field," said Heacock.
"We had Chim, (Chimdi Chekwa) and when Donald got back and was back for two or three weeks and got his feet wet a little bit and we could start using him a little in a dime situation and use three corners on three good wide receivers," Heacock said.
The impact was enormous. Not only did it free up defenders to become blitzers, but the glove-tight defense in the defensive backfield made quarterbacks hold the ball just a little longer, and that in turn allowed the OSU defensive line and OSU's blitzers just a little more time to get to the quarterback. It's the ultimate example of how one component of a team (defensive backfield) can impact another component (defensive line) in ways that are not always obvious. It works in the other direction too.
"Defense is the back end doing a good job and the front end doing a good job," said Heacock.
"Kurt Coleman's pick right before the half (vs. MSU), we had somebody right in the face of the quarterback or he probably wouldn't have thrown it.
"You get pressure you're going to get picks.
"You get coverage and your rush looks better," Heacock said.
The defensive backfield has helped the defensive line, and taken some of the heat off Heacock of late, but Heacock says the defensive line has helped itself out too by steadily improving in all areas, but making some major improvement in one area that Heacock identified as the problem with OSU's defensive line play early in the season.
"I think they've gotten a little bit better. I think we're getting more of a push," said Heacock.
"I really think early on they were getting a great push. For example against OU, our biggest problem early was containment, contain the quarterback.
"If you watch the film it's not that the inside guys weren't getting a push or we weren't getting after the quarterback but the problem was that we were getting after him and he was getting outside of our containment.
"That is what bothered me more than anything and what we've tried hard to work on and improve on. I think we've gotten better in that area, and as you get better in that area your inside push gets a little better chance to get some pressure," Heacock said.
It seems to be working. The Buckeyes have definitely improved their containment over the last four games, and combined with the improved play in the secondary, the defense is suddenly looking very strong. They are stopping the run and, most impressively, producing turnovers. The turnovers, Heacock said, are at least in part due to the style of play the Buckeyes have been able to adapt.
"You've got to be aggressive to get turnovers," he said.
The OSU defense will have a stern test in containment this week trying to control Penn State quarterback Darryl Clark. The key to getting to Clark and controlling him may have as much to do with how Washington, Chimdi Chekwa and Malcolm Jenkins do covering Penn State's receivers as it does the defensive line.
It will also go a long way toward determining if Heacock is a genius or an idiot Sunday morning.
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