I have never said that we do not have issues and concerns with the OL. It is my opinion, though, that the narrative has shaped the way we see the OL. Let me explain.
Our DL is crowded with talent. Yet, we were gashed over and over my Ohio State, giving up over 100 yards to two different runners, and 38 points. And despite the last-minute stop and timely turnovers, the defense gave up 30 points to Maryland and their dual-threat QB, what’s-his-name . But before I criticize, before I throw them under the blue buses, before I question whether we should burn some redshirts to replace our starters, let me try on a pair of these DL Glasses. Ah, that’s better.
1. The combination of JT Barrett and Ezekiel Elliot is one of the most difficult to stop in all of college football. Those guys are going to get theirs. I wish it had taken OSU one more week to discover this.
2. The DL can’t do it all by themselves. We have a talented, but young, LB crew. We have spotty experience in the secondary, but rely on quite a few inexperienced players.
3. Field position was poor against Maryland, it was atrocious against Ohio State. The DL is defending way too many short fields.
4. While our DTs are capable of playing both the pass and the run well, our DE’s skills are more pass-rush than run-stuffer.
5. D-linemen are graded with a different rubric. If each of the four starters gets to the QB just once a game, then it is a great season. If they get there twice, it is record-setting.
I realize that our OL is the worst in the history of, ah…history, and that our only real solution is to bench them all and start high-school players. Still, let me try on these glasses. Huh, interesting.
1. Joey Bosa and Adolphus Washington didn’t get a sack on every pass play, but they – like Barrett and Elliot – are going to get theirs. I think a few other lines have had problems with blocking them.
2. Just as with the DL, the OL doesn’t play in a vacuum. Five sacks vs the #1 team in the country. With these glasses, I can see a TE miss a block and the QB take two sacks on fourth down. Oh, and I can see the QB scramble out of a good pocket, and step into the rush on another.
3. Field position is killing us. We were still ahead or even in total yards with Ohio State into the middle of the third quarter, but we were behind by three scores. Their yards were putting them in the end zone, ours were just getting us out of trouble.
4. Our OL is much better at run-blocking than pass blocking. And that shows when we have a dynamic runner behind them. Nearly 200 yards for Barkley against #1. He creates a lot on his own, but he has some help – which take me to Point #5.
5. Maryland played 6, 7, 8, and even 9 in the box. They dared us to pass long against the single coverage while taking away the run game. They often brought more defenders than we had blockers. To our QB’s credit, he got hit a lot, but got rid of the ball. This is crucial, but hasn’t happen enough this year. I don’t care how good your OL is, when they bring more than five you need to have a plan to pick it up or dump it off.
6. The rubric for grading the OL is pretty harsh. If each O-linemen blocks his man on 29 of 30 pass plays, but the one time each gets beat give up a sack, then this is a horrible OL. If an OL gets beat just twice in a game, then he should never play again.
Our OL has improved greatly, in particular in the run game. Paris Palmer is not an All-American yet, but he is a different player than he was in game #1. The communication that Nelson has brought up before is not just about the OL talking, but includes communication with the QB and RBs/WRs/TEs. It is about recognizing when there are more than five rushers to contend with, and being on the same page to deal with it. And then there are the injuries, to an already beleaguered group.
Just trying to provide some perspective. The narrative that the OL is the worst ever is infectious. It’s like some posters who have criticized our QB for his inaccuracy. He can hit ten in a row, but if he puts number eleven in the dirt then their heads explode because it confirms their original belief. We dropped back to pass 23 times against Ohio State (counting penalty plays, scrambles, and sacks). Fifteen of those were well-protected. Two were protected early but broke down. There were six plays where we were either beat at the point of contact or driven back into the QB. 6 out of 23 plays where we didn’t handle that Ohio State DL. We were even better against Temple if you exclude the play of our LT, it being his first game and, as I mentioned earlier, he is vastly improved.
So, cool. I think I may keep these glasses. Some of you should get a pair (pun intended). Maybe I’ll give them to my wife when she is “mentioning” the honey-do’s I have yet to do.
Our DL is crowded with talent. Yet, we were gashed over and over my Ohio State, giving up over 100 yards to two different runners, and 38 points. And despite the last-minute stop and timely turnovers, the defense gave up 30 points to Maryland and their dual-threat QB, what’s-his-name . But before I criticize, before I throw them under the blue buses, before I question whether we should burn some redshirts to replace our starters, let me try on a pair of these DL Glasses. Ah, that’s better.
1. The combination of JT Barrett and Ezekiel Elliot is one of the most difficult to stop in all of college football. Those guys are going to get theirs. I wish it had taken OSU one more week to discover this.
2. The DL can’t do it all by themselves. We have a talented, but young, LB crew. We have spotty experience in the secondary, but rely on quite a few inexperienced players.
3. Field position was poor against Maryland, it was atrocious against Ohio State. The DL is defending way too many short fields.
4. While our DTs are capable of playing both the pass and the run well, our DE’s skills are more pass-rush than run-stuffer.
5. D-linemen are graded with a different rubric. If each of the four starters gets to the QB just once a game, then it is a great season. If they get there twice, it is record-setting.
I realize that our OL is the worst in the history of, ah…history, and that our only real solution is to bench them all and start high-school players. Still, let me try on these glasses. Huh, interesting.
1. Joey Bosa and Adolphus Washington didn’t get a sack on every pass play, but they – like Barrett and Elliot – are going to get theirs. I think a few other lines have had problems with blocking them.
2. Just as with the DL, the OL doesn’t play in a vacuum. Five sacks vs the #1 team in the country. With these glasses, I can see a TE miss a block and the QB take two sacks on fourth down. Oh, and I can see the QB scramble out of a good pocket, and step into the rush on another.
3. Field position is killing us. We were still ahead or even in total yards with Ohio State into the middle of the third quarter, but we were behind by three scores. Their yards were putting them in the end zone, ours were just getting us out of trouble.
4. Our OL is much better at run-blocking than pass blocking. And that shows when we have a dynamic runner behind them. Nearly 200 yards for Barkley against #1. He creates a lot on his own, but he has some help – which take me to Point #5.
5. Maryland played 6, 7, 8, and even 9 in the box. They dared us to pass long against the single coverage while taking away the run game. They often brought more defenders than we had blockers. To our QB’s credit, he got hit a lot, but got rid of the ball. This is crucial, but hasn’t happen enough this year. I don’t care how good your OL is, when they bring more than five you need to have a plan to pick it up or dump it off.
6. The rubric for grading the OL is pretty harsh. If each O-linemen blocks his man on 29 of 30 pass plays, but the one time each gets beat give up a sack, then this is a horrible OL. If an OL gets beat just twice in a game, then he should never play again.
Our OL has improved greatly, in particular in the run game. Paris Palmer is not an All-American yet, but he is a different player than he was in game #1. The communication that Nelson has brought up before is not just about the OL talking, but includes communication with the QB and RBs/WRs/TEs. It is about recognizing when there are more than five rushers to contend with, and being on the same page to deal with it. And then there are the injuries, to an already beleaguered group.
Just trying to provide some perspective. The narrative that the OL is the worst ever is infectious. It’s like some posters who have criticized our QB for his inaccuracy. He can hit ten in a row, but if he puts number eleven in the dirt then their heads explode because it confirms their original belief. We dropped back to pass 23 times against Ohio State (counting penalty plays, scrambles, and sacks). Fifteen of those were well-protected. Two were protected early but broke down. There were six plays where we were either beat at the point of contact or driven back into the QB. 6 out of 23 plays where we didn’t handle that Ohio State DL. We were even better against Temple if you exclude the play of our LT, it being his first game and, as I mentioned earlier, he is vastly improved.
So, cool. I think I may keep these glasses. Some of you should get a pair (pun intended). Maybe I’ll give them to my wife when she is “mentioning” the honey-do’s I have yet to do.
