Our Kryptonite is large defensive lineman and offensive lineman. We have traditionally had an undersized defensive front and a less talented Oline.
It has been this was for 10 years, and after the NC game it should have been something we could have recruited better, but we ignore it year in and year out. It is the reason we lose to BC, and Pitt almost every year. It is the reason we lose to the big dogs whenever we play them.
It is so frustrating to watch this happen year in and year out and see no real changes made. Yes I know we have some studs coming in from last year on the Offensive line, but until it is fixed we are going to be a middle of the road team.
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Yes sir. The O-line is the toughest unit to replace and rebuild. The turnover at the coaching position and wasted recruiting cycles require time to heal. I think that's moving in the right direction though.
Sadly, this is the mentality of most right now
I'd agree with you, but this has been an issue for years!!! Why can everyone but our own coaching staff see it. We get destroyed by mauling lines year in and year out. I know our team is based off of speed, but this football evolution. Adapt or perish into mediocrity. Sadly, we have been sitting around letting the same shit happen year in and year out.
I wish we had a running QB, because we are still an offense that needs the QB to be superman.
I'd like to think that the problem has been the fact that there have been 3 different OL coaches in as many years. Each of them focused on a different type of player and blocking scheme. Grimes wanted guys who could move and had good wingspan. Searels has said he wants big nasties. Newsome wanted the leftovers from other positions and the buffet. Each failed recruiting class sets us back a year. Each coaching change sets us back a year. Newsome had much of his continuity there negated by lackluster recruiting. Now we start recruiting well and we can't keep our coach. I'm not sure Marcus Mariota could do everything we need to win games right now.
idk look at oregon, they have a terrible o line but they ball comes out in 3 seconds tops.. They also have track stars playing wr/rb and boy do they move fast.
PS Oregon uses hurry up scores quick, VT uses hurry up scores quick.. mhmm maybe we need to do it more often. Line-up snap it and go.. Not saying we have oregon type talent all over the field but those freshman wr's are soo far ahead of a normal WR we get.
I don't think the OL coaching changes is the problem. I think lack of talent/size + scheme is. Wyatt Teller looks really good and Wang does a good job considering he is moved all over the line including TE but the rest of the line is mediocre at best. I question the move of Teller to O with our D line lacking size but I think he will excel no matter what position he plays and that's what you expect from a highly recruited talented guy. I would like to see the O get some kind of identity like some others at TKP have already said. I think we either go I formation and play smash mouth with play action or we go spread with tempo. I would also like to see what our offense would look like with BM at the helm. Like I said in a different post I don't think Brewer should be benched but it would be a good change up. I am excited about our future with all the new kids coming in but if the coaches are unable to coach them up we might need to look for coaches who can. I have read other posts and the debate about different coaches at different schools and how some have immediate affect on teams etc. I do believe Auburn is a great example of how a philosophy can have such an affect on a team. They do not have a large playbook and they really do not run a lot of different plays but what they do run they run it well. I don't think there is that big of a gap in talent levels between us and Auburn. The line is probably where the largest gap is and that would explain the difference in our W and L and theirs. I think when we improve in the trenches on both sides of the ball is when we will become an elite team.
Keep in mind the above is the thoughts and opinions of a arm chair QB that does not make claims about knowing all there is to know about football but I'm learning. Thanks French!!
Have you seen some of the new line recruits? Some real monsters!
You may notice that the individual who "recruited" our offensive line that has you so upset right now is currently employed by a (surprisingly successful) DIII school. You can't just take fat guys out of high school and throw em on the field, it's the single hardest position to project and develop, and it's gonna take time. We're on the right track there.
Size matters not. Technique and chemistry matter more to me. When Stiney moved to OC, he stopped coaching o line. To me that was the biggest problem with his move.. Not his playcalling as much as our oline declined too rapidly to be fixed in 2 years with two different line coaches.
A lot of people forget that Stiney was a great position coach before the OC mistake. I am personally happy that he is back to actually coaching a position and recruiting.
This is accurate. He was actually a pretty good OL coach too, but I think he's in the perfect position right now.