... Why is [Bass] in so much single coverage? ...
It has to do with the new defensive scheme. In the old scheme, the corners had a primary responsibility of a short zone, and when the receivers went deep, they had a safety taking the deep threat. The corners played off the receivers so that they could read the play as it developed.
With the new scheme, the corners are essentially man on man on the wide out. They play up tight because they don't need to read the play, they just need to obstruct the path of the receivers and then stick on them. They may have deep help, but most of the time they will not.
For the scheme to work very well, Ohio needs to get pressure on the QB quickly, so that he doesn't have too much time. The corner can't stick on the WR forever. This defense is all about attacking the offense, while the old defense was a bend-but-don't-break philosophy. It is also quite possible that players that were good in one defensive scheme do not do as well in the other, and vice versa.
Was it a good idea to switch to this defense? We'll have to see how it goes. It worked fairly well against Kent and Kentucky, and didn't work at all against Marshall.
Last Edited: 9/13/2014 3:30:47 PM by L.C.