In Defense of our O-Line Play

[WarEagleChemE 99]

Every time there's a poor performance by the offense, the O-Line seems to be the first to get the criticism after Malzahn. And it's entirely unfair. This O-Line has been paving the way for a rushing attack and has been holding up pretty good pockets most of the year. I thought they played pretty well yesterday (a hell of a lot better than Florida's O-Line at the very least).

Most of this criticism comes because you guys want a scapegoat and it's super taboo on this board to call out individual players, so you blame the O-Line as a unit because it helps to dissipate the blame a bit. It's still not fair. Those guys on the line bust their ass just as much as everyone else and have played far above expectations this year (probably the best we've had since 2013). If you want to blame players (and not saying you should), don't blame our guys who maul people week after week just because it seems less abrasive to blame a unit rather than a specific player.

I've seen the whole "players and families read this board" so we shouldn't target specific people. And that's fine. That's good. But that should apply to everyone (and their group), not just individuals like the QB, RB, kicker, or whatever. If you're bitching about a unit that's playing well overall, you're just making things worse and causing division.

[AUApostle 7,651]

I saw some tweets from Josh Vitale where Bo was only pressured on 8 of his 35 drop backs and pressure was not a factor on his 3 INTs.  UF apparently only sent more than 4 rushers on 5 of those plays.  I think the line performed decently in the second half and played well enough to win.

 

One of the biggest things holding us back has been Nix's inconsistency when it comes to his accuracy.  It just comes and goes no matter the situation.  It's safe to assume he was not prepared for what he would encounter down there and Gus did him and the O no favors by insisting on taking chances in the passing game late when FG's and the running game probably could have won the game.

[mustache eagle 2,412]

I applaud the O line for their hard work and dedication.  A few years ago I applauded our LBers for the same reasons.  But neither that group then or this OL group now is in the upper half of the sec in effectiveness.

if they were all first or second year players, I think the tone might be different.  But it’s 5 seniors.  They would help themselves by being nastier, hustling faster to the kickout blocks on the DEs and CBs, not allowing themselves to get pushed backwards 2 yards into the pulling guards and not jumping offsides.

ill also admit that better route running, RBs hitting the holes better, accurate passing, seeing the open receiver and more effective game planning/play calling would help the OL tremendously.  Yesterday was a collective failure.  But assuredly the OL could have done their part better.

[sevenlee36 1,654]

I’m pleased with the pass protection it’s the inability to get any kind of push in the run game that’s the issue. Seems we are good at going backwards, acting like we are going to block and then not, and missing blocks. I think we state the whole unit as an issue but it’s mainly just 4 of the 5. We don’t seem to have the strength to get push in the run game (with the exception of Tega and every blue moon Harrell) and that’s because of poor recruiting over the last several years. 

[dyehardfanAU 2,117]

It's not their fault that Gus recruited them to AU instead of allowing them to go to a Sun Belt school where they could've shined.

[oracle79 3,569]

1 hour ago, WarEagleChemE said:

This O-Line has been paving the way for a rushing attack and has been holding up pretty good pockets most of the year.

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

10 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

You really should go back and watch some games, focusing on the pockets.  Run protection is admittedly less effective, but the pass pockets are there.  

[ellitor 33,113]

Couldn't find a more recent OL thread & didn't want to create a new thread for a nugget. Per Mark Murphy Bailey Sharp is ahead of schedule on his rehab and is getting close to being ready to play if needed.

[AuburnNTexas 7,167]

Has Sharp already used his Redshirt year?  If he can't get back healthy for this year it would be nice to have him for next year.

[ellitor 33,113]

7 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Has Sharp already used his Redshirt year? 

Yes

[sevenlee36 1,654]

3 hours ago, ellitor said:

Yes

Well can’t be get a medical redshirt? Seems Tez Doolittle did that

[ellitor 33,113]

26 minutes ago, sevenlee36 said:

Well can’t be get a medical redshirt? Seems Tez Doolittle did that

Different rules apply now than the near 20 years ago of Tez. Also doesn't look like Bailey is looking to return after the season.

[Scottie 124]

I've said this in another thread, but I'll rehash here a bit. The o-line play has not been stellar; they have done well enough on the pass protection, but they suffer in the running game. I don't think that struggle is completely on them though with the plays called. Our guards aren't quick enough to pull on an elite edge rusher with a linebacker plugging the whole left by the pulling guard. We need to stop trying to run those plays; that is on Gus. We also need to have better passing plays to allow for more options to relieve some of the mental pressure on Nix. Poor play calling only amplifies the issues on the o-line that have been visible for quite some time with the plays called.  We need to stop forcing  players in to situations that do not optimize their skill set, and we need to stop running plays that don't optimize our strengths. An example that is not the QB/WR/O-line is Whitlow. Whitlow plays with a ton of heart and can be a special back, but he isn't a bruiser back. We can expect him truck linebackers or run on short with the defense stacking the box, but yet we continue to try and use him that way.  We have done this too many times in the past, and all it leads to is frustration and players getting hurt.

[Zeek 16,660]

On 10/6/2019 at 9:07 PM, dyehardfanAU said:

It's not their fault that Gus recruited them to AU instead of allowing them to go to a Sun Belt school where they could've shined.

My go-to line about Sean White and some other QBs we have had on the roster.

This OL doesn't do a tremendous job opening up running lanes especially in short yardage situations. Go watch how many times we got forced into a 3-and-out because we couldn't convert the 1-2 yards. Any excuse for this OL is thrown out the window whenever you have 5 starting seniors.

That being said, they haven't been the target of my complaints lately. Play calling in the Swamp was worse than if you rolled dice and picked whatever play you landed on.

[Beaker 2,457]

2 hours ago, Zeek said:

Any excuse for this OL is thrown out the window whenever you have 5 starting seniors.

That being said, they haven't been the target of my complaints lately. Play calling in the Swamp was worse than if you rolled dice and picked whatever play you landed on.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but the UF play calling was "classic Gus".   Gus got 'tight' and nervous.   Jet sweep was run once.  We lost 3 yds, so we never ran it again.   WHAT?   We did not make UF defend sideline to sideline - first time this year we made that mistake.   We made that mistake 60 times from 2014-2019 probably...Gus can't figure out how to get Seth and Schwartz on the field at the same time?   Schwartz had two targets during the whole game?  

Gus got tight.  I expect the same against LSU to be honest.  He may learn from this and play a little loose against UGA, then tighten up against bama.  Prove me wrong, Gus, please.

[triangletiger 1,599]

Our o-line got stuffed on more than one occasion on 2nd, 3rd, 4th and short against UF.  We should be able to win some of those contests.  As has been stated above, we do pretty well in pass protection, but we struggle to get any kind of push in the running game, especially on obvious running downs.  Whether this is due to a lack of development (strength or technique),  a lack of innate talent on the inside o-line, a lack of 'killer' instinct, or poor play calling, I don't know.  But it is discouraging to see when all of your starting o-linemen are seniors.  Hopefully, the guys coming up behind them will be better.