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Originally Posted by Bleed S & G
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It's the same phenomenon that fans still boo JT when he runs the ball on 3rd and 20 inside our own 30. I understand what they would like to see, but it's friggin Tressel. And until I'm given reason not to trust him, i will.
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Over the years as I've learned more about the intricacies of the game (being 20, that makes the majority of the time during Tressel's reign), I've started to get a bigger appreciation for Tressel's "questionable" play calling.
The entire year, Jim will run the ball on his own 20 on 3rd and 15. And I used to groan when he called the QB draw. But now I say, "Great play call." Because now I realize, he wants to punt the ball from the 22 instead of turning the ball over, causing an incomplete pass and giving the other team more momentum, or punting from even the 20. It gives a good message to the defense, saying, "I trust you to give them a 3 and out."
Then all of a sudden he'll do a play-action and we'll get 25 yards out of it. And that's a good play call too, because everyone expected a draw. Meanwhile other coaches will go for the first down on that third down, and so defenses will set up in a nickel zone to protect the first. The exact play a draw would pick up a good handful of yards against.
It's that predictably different and "bad" play calling that results in great punt coverage, great field position battles that we'll almost always win, and 21 consecutive regular season wins. Its conservative, but it's how you play to win the game, not the drive.
