Ohio offense needs to get a grip

If Ohio University's offense would have tried to get into a bar last Saturday night, they would have been denied.

The offense had no identity.

Ohio's distinct lack of offensive fluidity and production resulted in one of the team's poorest offensive performances in recent memory.

Ohio mustered only 183 yards of total offense and committed four turnovers, a dismal start to what was supposed to be a promising year in conference play.

The team lacked any sort of rhythm under the guidance of senior quarterback Boo Jackson. The offense that coaches claimed would return to a solid run game reverted to a disjointed mix of short passes and minimal risk plays.

Typically, blame for poor offensive production falls squarely on the quarterback's shoulder, and Jackson's performance made it hard to defend him. He threw three interceptions, each of which were returned inside Ohio's red zone, putting the defense into nearly impossible situations.

After Jackson's interceptions, which came on back-to-back drives at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second quarter, the offense abandoned any semblance of downfield passing.

Ohio's offense saw senior wide-receiver LaVon Brazill, the team's most dynamic offensive weapon, return to the lineup, but his speed and open-field skills were nullified by a Toledo defense that consistently played tight to the line of scrimmage because of a perceived lack of downfield passing threats.

Whether it was Jackson's inconsistency or the coaches' weekly game plan that caused the team to consistently use short screens and crossing patterns, the result was an ugly offensive game.

When asked about the team's offensive ineffectiveness, Jackson and Brazill both said that Toledo showed them looks that confused them, things they did not see in film. When there is a lack of preparation, that rarely is the players' fault. Preparation is the responsibility of the coaches.

Going into the game, the coaches were not game planning for a way to attack the defense of the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers or the 1986 Chicago Bears. They were watching film on Toledo, a team that had surrendered 518 yards of offense and 41 points in their opening week loss to Arizona. Yet players seemed confused by Toledo's defense, which ranked 11th in the MAC last year.

Redshirt junior quarterback Phil Bates, who didn't play because of injury, said Toledo regularly dropped eight men into coverage and only rushed three defenders, making it difficult for the Bobcats to find lanes downfield.

So with a quarterback struggling to find a rhythm and the defense playing a strategy geared at corralling short passes, the coaches still decided short passes were the most effective way to move the ball?

Coach Frank Solich said after the game that the team failed to establish a running game early and fell behind after Jackson's interceptions, which is true, but no excuse for running the ball only 18 times in the first half.

Senior starting running back Vince Davidson was largely ineffective early on, but the defense was playing so well that the offense could have afforded to pound the ball more. And there was no reason why backup Ryan Boykin, a powerful redshirt freshman running back who ran for 61 yard on nine carries in his debut against Wofford, did not get a single carry against Toledo.

Ohio's offense may be helped by the return of Bates, though Coach Solich declined to say when exactly Bates will return. The quarterback started week one and was supposed to split those game repetitions with Jackson, but a hand injury in the second quarter knocked him out of the game and made him unavailable for the Toledo game. Coach Solich said he hoped to have him practicing this week but he did not say whether he would play Saturday when the team travels to Columbus to play Ohio State.

Whether it's Bates or Jackson under center, the team needs to establish an offensive identity to contend for a MAC title.