The postseason accolades are arriving fast and furious for Joey Bosa. Monday he was named the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year and was voted first team All-Big Ten for the second consecutive year. Bosa has also been named a finalist for the Lombardi Award, given to the best lineman in college football.
Only one individual award is missing from Bosa’s trophy case, the 2015 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, which went to Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib (15.5 sacks, 18.5 TFLs). Nassib stuffed the stat sheet this season, but was he really the most dominant defensive player in the Big Ten this season? While there is no doubt that Nassib is a phenomenal defensive end that possesses NFL-talent, a look beyond the raw stats may tell a different story.
A glance at Bosa’s 2015 numbers would suggest a down year. Bosa finished the season with 5 sacks after leading the Big Ten with 13.5 a year ago. His tackle and TFL numbers also dipped, but as all football coaches will attest, 'The tape don’t lie.' A quick look at the Silver Bullets' 2015 game tape shows Bosa fighting through double and triple teams on almost every down of every game while leading a Buckeye defense that gave up 14 points per game (second nationally) and 303.5 yards of total offense (10th nationally).
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said of the possible first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, “Joey Bosa is as disruptive as any defensive player that I’ve been around.”
With Bosa’s disruptive play keeping opposing defensive coordinators up at night scheming ways to slow him down, his teammates are the beneficiaries of this extra attention and they know it.
Linebacker Raekwon McMillan recently said, “He’s a guy that attracts triple-teams on [some] plays, double-teams on every play, and that you have to account for on every play on offense.”
Co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash put it more succinctly: “Somebody better be free, whether it’s in the run game or the pass rush.”
Football is a game of arithmetic. If Bosa consistently commands two or more blockers, his teammates cannot be double-teamed themselves. Fellow defensive linemen Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard combined for 12.5 sacks and 76 tackles on the season, due in part to the one-on-one blocking they faced throughout the season. From the extra blockers Bosa commands to the disruptive plays he makes that create opportunities for his teammates, the junior’s impact is seen over and over on tape.
Bosa was a one-man wrecking crew in Ohio State’s 42-13 dismantling of Michigan, providing not one but two “wow” moments when he knocked starting quarterback Jake Rudock out of the game with a strip-sack and later tipped and intercepted a Wilton Speight pass. But the tale of Bosa’s “down” season continued as he dominated the game in ways that don’t show up on the stat sheet, starting with his impact on the run game.
The game situation is 1st and 10 at the start of the 2nd quarter. The Michigan offense is in 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end), a run-heavy formation at this down and distance. The play call is power left, with the right guard pulling to lead the running back through the hole.
As the left defensive end Bosa is on the backside of the play (the play direction is away from him). Because the play is moving away from Bosa, the right tackle wants to slow him down just enough to prevent him from chasing down the play from behind, before climbing to strongside linebacker (SAM) Darron Lee (the tackle is coached to seal the backside of the play inside-to-out).
When Bosa sees the right tackle step down, he is coached to punch the lineman and “replace his hip” by squeezing, or pushing inside the C-gap. The punch and replace is designed to slow down the lineman from getting to his block at the second level, keeping the linebacker clean to make the tackle.
Pay close attention to Bosa’s hands and feet as he reads the block.
Although the blow doesn’t look like much, Bosa has extremely powerful hands. The punch does not need to be a knockout blow; it simply needs to slow down the offensive lineman for a split second. The effect on the lineman is obvious, as he is unable to set his power base, allowing Darron Lee to easily stand him up, shed his block, and make the tackle for a one-yard gain.
Just a few minutes earlier, Bosa’s dominant pass rush allowed the Silver Bullets to get off the field early in the first quarter on a 3rd-and-5 play. The Michigan offense is running a shallow concept to the short side of the field (boundary) out of 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end), attempting to hit the crossing receiver before moving back to the hitch and flat routes. The Ohio State defense brings a five-man blitz, hoping to force the ball out against tight man coverage behind.
Michigan can account for the five rushers with five blockers, but Bosa’s pass rushing dominance forces the offense to account for him with both the right guard and right tackle. The double team has rebalanced the numbers at the line of scrimmage (remember football is a game of arithmetic), creating a free hitter in the form of the blitzing middle linebacker (MIKE).
Again, focus on Bosa’s quick first step and hands as he splits the right guard and right tackle. Bosa doesn’t need to make the play here however, as the right guard has turned his back to the MIKE giving the blitzer a free run at the quarterback. The man coverage holds up behind the pass rush, forcing Rudock to throw the ball out of bounds and allowing the defense to get off the field.
While Bosa did not match the stat line from his 2014 campaign, his power, explosiveness, hands, quick feet, and technique allowed him to open up the game for his teammates. While Big Ten voters may not value the non-measurables he brings to the field, the ultimate judge of his worth will occur this April when his name is likely called as the first pick of the 2016 NFL draft.
