gr82b4au 5,568 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I know most AU fans like myself list it as a concern going into the season and as far as experience goes it looks troublesome on paper. But my hope is that we actually are better this season than last season. Here is what I am thinking: 1) We have a better OL coach. It starts there. He may struggle at recruiting but he can coach them up. 2) Horton was hurt last year. He is back. 3) Some of the "experienced players" last year did not play well. I am not going to get into name calling but there was a player or 2 no longer with us that simply got beat on numerous occasions. 4) Tega is raw, but he played very well in spots last year. At least he has played the position against top opponents. 5) Supposedly JD looks good in practice. Of course we have not seen him in a game yet the RT spot may actually be better this year than last year. I am concerned about the center and Kim but maybe he surprises us. Again - I am not saying we will have the best OL in the country or even the SEC, but maybe we can be better than last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Win4AU 4,052 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I think this could be a good line this year and a great line next. I’m looking at left tackle with Ole Grimey back. Robinson and Coleman excelled at that spot under his coaching. The right side of the line always seems to be where trouble lies but this year looks solid and with good depth going forward. Nothing can be worse than that Clemson game last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUsince72 11,084 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Personally, I believe Grimes is a difference maker. OL is about toughness and attitude because, face it, DL & DE are bringin' it. Hand made them soft.... Grimes will pay dividends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 11 minutes ago, gr82b4au said: 1) We have a better OL coach. 11 minutes ago, gr82b4au said: 3) Some the "experienced players" last year did not play well. Exactly. In all of our concern about this year's OL, we have to remember that last year's wasn't great. Especially to start the season. We are taking a big hit on experience at LT, C and RG, but we are gaining a lot more athletic ability at LT, we are enhancing our experience at LG, we're replacing our great RG with an at-least-pretty good one and we're probably upgrading by a decent margin at RT. And as you said and the players have essentially said to a man, they're getting coaching like they never did under the previous guy. If there is a gap, it should be significantly narrowed by talent and improved technique. No sugar coating the situation at center. But facts are that we're replacing essentially a juco transfer one year starter with a 4* guy who is in his 3rd year on campus and who was recruited by our current OL coach. We aren't falling off a cliff because we weren't on a cliff to begin with. We could be better this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WDEKC 187 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Win4AU said: Nothing can be worse than that Clemson game last year. UCF was worse. At least Clemson had some dudes on that DL and was early in the season. No excuse to not show up in the bowl game. That was embarrassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG 33,980 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 With Grimes? Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexava 6,973 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Possibly. Why not? Hopefully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerchris 243 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 My man Grimes will have em ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weagl1 1,782 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I don’t think there is any doubt they will be better coached. Whether or not they will be better remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronMan70 3,277 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 The OL performance will be based on how well they perform as a unit so yes, there is a chance. The talent is there as is the coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,924 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 3 hours ago, WDEKC said: UCF was worse. At least Clemson had some dudes on that DL and was early in the season. No excuse to not show up in the bowl game. That was embarrassing. UCF's defense and that #18 Griffin (one handed) were brutal. Oline looked like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisnumber1 2,818 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 We blocked no one in short yardage many times last year. We can definitely be better in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumps 3,704 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I guess it is safe to assume that everyone who is focused on how bad last year's O-line was thinks that this year's O-line will be better. Outstanding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnphan 6,050 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 50/50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc4aday 1,887 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 I think this OL has the potential to be a very good one and one that size-wise can hold their own with SEC D-lines. Of course there will be some growing pains but not to the extent that will have us in the 4-6 range of game losses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Plainsman 948 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 I have my concerns. Center and tackle positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jskilgro 23 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Keep in mind, too, that the 5 that start against UW likely won’t be the 5 that face UGA and UAT. Injuries, poor play and Nick Brahms getting healthy will make a difference as the year goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValleyTiger 2,894 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Barring a rash of injuries we'll definitely be better along the OL this season. JB has been putting in work with Tega's fundamentals, I like Harrell and Horton, Driscoll is going to be a drastic improvement over James, and we'll have a serviceable center. No more Coach Herbal Hessence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kd4au 1,145 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 We could be better if we don't have injuries. I'm worried about depth and who would be the back ups. There was some talk that the Irvin kid might come in and be the center but he looks to be way down the depth chart. So I'm hoping Kim is doing good. If JB can get Ashley and Trox ready that will help with the depth concerns. What seems to be the starting 5 can be a solid group and may become a real good group before the season is over, the biggest ? is center, as many have stated. At the very least I hope they look like they know who they're supposed to be blocking, which was not always the case when Hand was the coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU64 10,122 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Just looking back at the 2017 stats and notice that AU was either 3rd or 4th in all of major team offensive stats... with leading rusher and second leading passer...… So wondering how that could be if the OL was as bad as so many are saying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aucanucktiger 1,791 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 Tough comparison since of course we all saw the '17 OL but haven't seen what this group will do yet. IMHO there is not as much of a dropoff this season between OL starters & backups as '17 but our starters last season were generally more polished. I have a suspicion that if this OL can weather September, Grimes will have it clicking by Miss State. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 15 hours ago, Grumps said: I guess it is safe to assume that everyone who is focused on how bad last year's O-line was thinks that this year's O-line will be better. Outstanding! Well... yes. Exactly. 59 minutes ago, AU64 said: Just looking back at the 2017 stats and notice that AU was either 3rd or 4th in all of major team offensive stats... with leading rusher and second leading passer...… So wondering how that could be if the OL was as bad as so many are saying? Kerryon Johnson, Jarrett Stidham and Ryan Davis. Amazing that they did that despite surrendering 11 sacks to Clemson, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger 8,822 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 We accounted for almost 25% of Clemson's team sack totals last year. WE ONLY PLAYED THEM ONCE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 3 minutes ago, Tiger said: We accounted for almost 25% of Clemson's team sack totals last year. WE ONLY PLAYED THEM ONCE WE SET RECORDS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomstick 1,315 Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 I think we will play tougher and angrier than last year, which is a reflection of the position coach personality IMO. And I think we will be more sound in our fundamentals. So, those two runs make me think we will be improvedas a unit. I’m hoping we simplify some things with our pass protections to make sure we’re doing the basics right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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