Is there a chance the OL is actually better than last year?

[passthebiscuits 6,844]

We will be better coached and I think by years end a better unit...but I think the center and tackle positions are imperative to step up, particularly in pass protection. And they will have to grow up fast.

 

[ellitor 33,077]

5 minutes ago, passthebiscuits said:

We will be better coached

That won't be hard to do.

[McLoofus 35,182]

If he does actually have it, I wonder if Stidham's enhanced autonomy will also mitigate any drop-off on the OL and help us avoid any potential catastrophes like we suffered against Clemson last year. 

[ellitor 33,077]

4 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

If he does actually have it, I wonder if Stidham's enhanced autonomy will also mitigate any drop-off on the OL and help us avoid any potential catastrophes like we suffered against Clemson last year. 

Supposedly it's not autonomy like we would think for a QB a la audibles. Basically it's supposedly changes as plays develop. Not sure how that's any different than last year but that's what 1 site reported about a month ago.

[McLoofus 35,182]

20 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Supposedly it's not autonomy like we would think for a QB a la audibles. Basically it's supposedly changes as plays develop. Not sure how that's any different than last year but that's what 1 site reported about a month ago.

Ahhh, gotcha. Okay, that actually makes sense. If I'm not mistaken, Gus historically has a lot of plays that are designed to throw the ball to one guy and literally have no other option. Seems like maybe that one play that was discussed recently when it was 4th and 3rd and we wanted to throw it to Chandler Cox on a deep wheel route might be such a situation. This sounds like Stidham is going to have more check down options if the primary receiver isn't open. 

Apologies if I'm misunderstanding or this has all been discussed ad nauseam. 

[AU64 10,122]

2 hours ago, Tiger said:

We accounted for almost 25% of Clemson's team sack totals last year. 

 

WE ONLY PLAYED THEM ONCE

Thanks.....the negative nancy's focus on two or three games and act as if they were the norm....

[McLoofus 35,182]

8 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Thanks.....the negative nancy's focus on two or three games and act as if they were the norm....

And the apologists act as if they didn't happen. Works both ways. 

The OL flat out sucked to start the year last year. Then they got better. Definitely helped that the idiotic arrangement with Hand in the box and Lindsey on the sideline was put to bed after a few games. But they still weren't great at the end of the season. If they were, we likely would've scored more than 7 points in the SECCG and wouldn't have given up 6 sacks and 11 TFLs to UCF. 

Let's say that again: we had two games bookending the season where we gave up eleven and six sacks, respectively. 

Your turn. How good do you want to tell us that offensive line was? 

[Tiger 8,818]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Thanks.....the negative nancy's focus on two or three games and act as if they were the norm....

We were 103rd in the entire nation for sacks given up.

That's not good.

[Tiger 8,818]

37 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

And the apologists act as if they didn't happen. Works both ways. 

The OL flat out sucked to start the year last year. Then they got better. Definitely helped that the idiotic arrangement with Hand in the box and Lindsey on the sideline was put to bed after a few games. But they still weren't great at the end of the season. If they were, we likely would've scored more than 7 points in the SECCG and wouldn't have given up 6 sacks and 11 TFLs to UCF. 

Let's say that again: we had two games bookending the season where we gave up eleven and six sacks, respectively. 

Your turn. How good do you want to tell us that offensive line was? 

Don't forget for some reason we can't seem to identify what our best OL group is during practice and that we have relied on an injury forcing our best, most cohesive OL units on the field for each of the past two years. Sheesh

[McLoofus 35,182]

8 minutes ago, Tiger said:

We were 103rd in the entire nation for sacks given up.

That's not good.

And before the Spin Team swoops back in for damage control, we could eliminate the Clemson game and still be sitting at 54. Of course, if every other team got to eliminate their worst game, it would surely be much lower than that. 

6 minutes ago, Tiger said:

Don't forget for some reason we can't seem to identify what our best OL group is during practice and that we have relied on an injury forcing our best, most cohesive OL units on the field for each of the past two years. Sheesh

Good news! 

[AU64 10,122]

19 minutes ago, Tiger said:

We were 103rd in the entire nation for sacks given up.

That's not good.

True .....but lots of that was in one game and I blame a good portion on the QB who was very inexperienced.....but things were better as the season wore on and we were playing some very good defenses with Bama and Georgia to mention a couple of them.   The OL was better at the running game than the passing game.....which was probably based on their coaching the previous year and what Gus has usually emphasized. 

[selias 2,398]

5 minutes ago, AU64 said:

True .....but lots of that was in one game and I blame a good portion on the QB who was very inexperienced.....but things were better as the season wore on and we were playing some very good defenses with Bama and Georgia to mention a couple of them.   The OL was better at the running game than the passing game.....which was probably based on their coaching the previous year and what Gus has usually emphasized. 

Nice call @McLoofus

[Tiger 8,818]

4 minutes ago, AU64 said:

True .....but lots of that was in one game and I blame a good portion on the QB who was very inexperienced.....but things were better as the season wore on and we were playing some very good defenses with Bama and Georgia to mention a couple of them.   The OL was better at the running game than the passing game.....which was probably based on their coaching the previous year and what Gus has usually emphasized. 

If we were somehow trending towards better play I'd see your point but our very last game of the season we gave up 6 sacks to a mid-major program. Our OL ranged from "what the hell is going on out there" level bad to average through the season but our ceiling with Herb Hand as OL coach seemed to be average at best.

However, with Grimes we had some maulers and I hope we get back to that!

[keesler 5,924]

24 minutes ago, AU64 said:

True .....but lots of that was in one game and I blame a good portion on the QB who was very inexperienced.....but things were better as the season wore on and we were playing some very good defenses with Bama and Georgia to mention a couple of them.   The OL was better at the running game than the passing game.....which was probably based on their coaching the previous year and what Gus has usually emphasized. 

The oline scheme was crap in that CU game - it should've been a scheme to aid a very inexperienced QB.  I agree things got better and were really clicking in the DSOR/IB games - then they lost their fight and mental edge in the UCF bowl game.  

I expect to see better basic fundamentals from the start with a better blocking scheme tailored for the opponent they will face each week.  There's still going to be some serious growing pains and it will take time to build chemistry.  

 

[AU64 10,122]

Just now, Tiger said:

If we were somehow trending towards better play I'd see your point but our very last game of the season we gave up 6 sacks to a mid-major program. Our OL ranged from "what the hell is going on out there" level bad to average through the season but our ceiling with Herb Hand as OL coach seemed to be average at best.

However, with Grimes we had some maulers and I hope we get back to that!

That last game was an anomaly in my view.....it was obvious to anyone paying attention that the AU team was not the slightest bit "up" for that game....and mostly went through the motions with bursts of real effort.    Plus many AU fans made light of the game too....just recalling some of the posts on this site during the weeks after the loss to in game #2 to Georgia......many not even wanting to play the game.  JMO but that attitude sifted all the way down to the football players.  

Blame Gus or the coaches for letting that attitude persist but when one or more key players were more concerned about not getting hurt before the NFL draft,  that should have been a good warning. 

[boomstick 1,315]

3 hours ago, passthebiscuits said:

We will be better coached and I think by years end a better unit...but I think the center and tackle positions are imperative to step up, particularly in pass protection. And they will have to grow up fast.

 

Replacing a center is always a concern for me. Kim has a massive task in game one against Greg Gaines. We need him to play well.

[keesler 5,924]

13 minutes ago, AU64 said:

That last game was an anomaly in my view.....it was obvious to anyone paying attention that the AU team was not the slightest bit "up" for that game....and mostly went through the motions with bursts of real effort.    Plus many AU fans made light of the game too....just recalling some of the posts on this site during the weeks after the loss to in game #2 to Georgia......many not even wanting to play the game.  JMO but that attitude sifted all the way down to the football players.  

Blame Gus or the coaches for letting that attitude persist but when one or more key players were more concerned about not getting hurt before the NFL draft,  that should have been a good warning. 

IMO, a 1-4 bowl record shows it was not an anomaly.

And I'm not shouldering an ounce of blame for that bowl showing - I was there in full form, sporting O&B, workin my shaker, yelling like a rabid fan in the Benz and pumped up about the game.  It was a dang New Years Day bowl game for crying out loud.

If Gus or any coach let the attitude of the fans on a message board seep into their players heads and it affected a players mental capacity to do their job, then the coaches and the players are a hell of a lot weaker than I ever imagined.  It's the equivalent of letting apathy run through your program - unacceptable.  

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, boomstick said:

Replacing a center is always a concern for me. Kim has a massive task in game one against Greg Gaines. We need him to play well.

I don't think enough gets made of how much a Reese Dismukes or Ryan Pugh might have helped that 2015 team. 

[bigbird 60,447]

3 hours ago, AU64 said:

Thanks.....the negative nancy's focus on two or three games and act as if they were the norm....

A season is usually judged on those two or three games

[AUsince72 11,084]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

And before the Spin Team swoops back in for damage control, we could eliminate the Clemson game and still be sitting at 54. Of course, if every other team got to eliminate their worst game, it would surely be much lower than that. 

Good news! 

Grimes is showing them how to attack Boobie??

...also... #63 cut his leg shaving?  He thinks Hand is still coaching?

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

A season is usually judged on those two or three games

and not the bama or Georgia or Tex A and M games.?   

OK.... So if we are going to judge a season on 2 games....which two games this year will be the ones used to determine success this year? 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,648]

Pardon my french but Herb is an awful ass coach. PSU got 100x better without him. UT's Ehlinger might not even survive the season with the way he coaches. We got pushed around by GSU and Mercer

[leglessdan 1,934]

30 minutes ago, AU64 said:

and not the bama or Georgia or Tex A and M games.?   

OK.... So if we are going to judge a season on 2 games....which two games this year will be the ones used to determine success this year? 

The last 2 games absolutely determined the success of the season. Lol. What team were you watching? 

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, leglessdan said:

The last 2 games absolutely determined the success of the season. Lol. What team were you watching? 

The last two games would not have happened it we had not won the previous 5 games....just sayin' 

[leglessdan 1,934]

27 minutes ago, AU64 said:

The last two games would not have happened it we had not won the previous 5 games....just sayin' 

Was just responding to your comment on which 2 games to base success off of. I mean you can candy coat it all you want to, but those were the 2 games that defined the season whether you acknowledge it or not. If this season plays out the same it will be the same 2 games no matter how you wanna spin it.