I watched a lot of football this past weekend and was surprised at how much mediocre to genuinely bad offensive line play was on display. Some could be chalked up to injury, like Washington losing its stud left tackle, but there were plenty of teams that looked shoddy simply because they were shoddy.
What I can’t figure out is why it’s happened. Is it simply a matter of opening week kinks that need to be worked out? Has the talent pool shrunk? Is the coaching worse? Is the emphasis on pace and spread having an effect?
Thoughts?
Get The Picture 
“week” kinks?
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“Opening week” kinks
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Are the better athletes being funneled towards the D-line instead of the O-line in high school?
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I’ve always thought this, dude. A high school team can dominate its opponent with a good defensive lineman.
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This plus DL is more exciting for the player.
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I think this may be one thing. Also perhaps it just takes longer for O-lines to work out the blocking schemes than D linemen who may have a simpler time of it by just pinning their ears back, but I don’t know shit about line play.
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yes….happens in college too.
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Yes, but the better athletes have been funneled to the DL for more than 20 years. Many of the better linemen also play both ways in HS.
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Could be. We seem to have a former D-Lineman that has turned into a pretty outstanding center.
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Saw some of the same play and simply stacked it against our team and thought of each team – we can beat their butts with that kind of play. If you are referencing last night’s and Sun. game, then yeah, it’s sloppy play that may have a few factors like how much scrimmaging they can get in nowadays before starting with a tough team. Anyway, it’s noticeable this year.
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Opening weekend is always a treat but sure were a lot of snoozers beside AU-UW
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Good Offensive Linemen are a limited commodity and a few programs are taking all of them. Pittman is super greedy and doesn’t like to share! I’m only halfway kidding with this comment.
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By design the spread doesn’t block anybody, so they don’t. Also if the QB doesn’t keep the zone read occasionally the blockers get outnumbered. WRs block better than OLmen these days.
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I think the spread is doing the same thing to offensive line play that it has done to QB play. Trapping or pulling is a thing of the past. It’s put a hat on a hat for just long enough for the QB to make the RPO decision and then get set to do it again.
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All their good offensive tackles are belong to us
But yeah, uh, you catch the FSU-VT game last night? The Noles O-line looked absolutely dreadful.
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Either that, or VT’s DL are world beaters. I suspect the FSU OL couldn’t get out of their own way.
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Thing is – FSU was actually only a few key mistakes away from winning that game. As crazy as that sounds. Going hurry up and not waiting for the review on the would-be-touchdown that wasn’t, fumbling in the red zone, there were a lot of unforced errors that made it look more lopsided than it was. That despite playing for what seemed like the whole night backed up inside their own 5 yard line.
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And you have to give credit to Va Tech’s STs for keeping them behind the eight ball all night – that, and FSU’s dick-tripping… … . FSU looked like a team not ready or practiced for the season.
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They’re doing a lot of singing and dancing though.
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Chili if we’re looking at alternatives then you have to consider that VT should have scored a lot more given their distinct field position advantage. Both defenses were respectable. The offenses….not so much.
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Texas still does not have a QB.
Florida State is a dumpster fire….already.
Miami (Fl) is NOT the 10-0 start Miami from last year.
Auburn’s D Line is stout.
Kyler Murray is THE REAL DEAL.
Shawn Robinson is THE REAL DEAL.
Penn State was lucky.
Hawaii is 2-0 bitches.
Notre Dame might run the table.
Chip Kelly (UCLA) might not win a game.
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Auburb don’t have a running back.
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I didn’t get to see much of the Auburn game, but the winning run was hard nosed. RB took a shot dead on, and kept going into the end zone.
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Their running game was pretty weak throughout most of the game.
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Watching Texas play all I could think of was that Ehlinger is like their Joe Tereshinski III. They kept talking about how he was a legacy and I was trying to remember the last “legacy” QB who actually worked out. You’d think in Herman’s 3rd year he’d actually have himself a QB.
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This is his second year, isn’t it? Regardless, Texas looked just like last year. Maryland can’t be that good.
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Right you are, on both counts. Thought it was his 3rd year for some reason. Still, you’d think he’d have a QB.
And no, Maryland is not very good. Even more amazing they won with all the distractions surrounding that program at the moment.
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I’m inclined to credit Matt Canada for being a great OC that is ready to move up to HC. He is really good.
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Not sure how much of the stink washes off of him from the death of that player this Summer.
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Eli Manning
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That’s the only one I could come up with.
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Yeah, but Texas had the process right.
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The spread offense calls for smaller, faster linemen, do to the zone blocking schemes that allow you to effectively run zone reads and the RPO, not the road-graders that UGA, Alabama, Wisconsin, and (usually) Arkansas and the like tend to run. They’re generally fast enough to hit the opposing defensive linemen, but, they’re not nearly BIG enough to stop them.
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That’s not necessarily true. I can remember a few years ago Texas Tech had a monstrous OL blocking for Graham Harrell. They had dudes pushing 350lbs.
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I think you in the proximity of the answer. It isn’t just the spread alone, it is the variety of blocking needs that makes it difficult. Yes, you need the smaller, quicker guys for the spread and option offenses, but when they get close to the goalline/1st down marker, they need a large road grader, strong body type, and they need a combo of that in some drop back passing situations. Almost like you have to platoon the OL like you do the DL because it is hard to find that blend of talents. And if you do, they need 3-4 years to develop that multiple skill set. Plus it is a position that gets little glory and is mostly known only when their mistakes are amplified throughout the stadium for holding, false starts, etc. As discussed yesterday, another downside, the QB gets the hotter chicks
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Thinks the Washington game was more about Auburn (matchups)….thought it would happen.
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Lots of new coaches this season running new offensive schemes.
It’s easier to adjust on the defensive side as you are mostly reading keys. Heat also wears an O-lineman down faster than a receiver or back.
The OLs will get better as the season progresses.
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The opening weekend was pretty underwhelming. I was happy to see teams like Texas, Michigan, and FSU lose but those types of programs really should be better and I think the Senator is right when he says a lot of bad OL play was to blame. I am grateful for Pittman but even our guys had a B game at best.
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As an aside, I watched the coaches film room on ESPN last night for the FSU – VT game, and I thought Freeze and Graham (former ASU coach), were the best, followed by Mora, Brown, and finally Chizik. Graham and Freeze clearly knew what they were talking about and went into very specific details. On the other end of the spectrum, Chizik was very unimpressive and talked mostly in generalities. I was also somewhat disappointed in Mack Brown.
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Week One Takeaway – If you are are hiring a new head coach, don’t schedule a FBS team as your opener.
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Rick Neuheisel just said, on ESPNU radio, that the HS teams running the spread has created a generation of OL who don’t know how to pass block coming to college. Colleges have to recruit body types and hope they can teach fundamentals, except that the amount of practice time is limited, so the teaching time is squeezed, too. Rick is a smart guy with D1 experience, I figure he has a point.
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I like most of his takes. He tries to hype the west coast teams but doesn’t fight the inevitable sec coverage that tends to impose itself on nearly every noteworthy game.
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He works for CBS. Of course he is on the SEC hype train.
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And why I stated my opinion, he has to know sec but he also meshes the national picture pretty well.
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Yes, pretty balanced except for his need to (overly) aggressively defend the PAC 12. I kind f get it, they do get slighted because so many CFB fans don’t see many of their games/players. I stay up late to watch some their teams but it is getting tougher as I get older, but he is right, they get punished due to the time zone situation. Other than that he is very good, and the only reason for listening to the show.
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That makes some sense, except AU did better at pass protection than run blocking – which was meh.
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New blocking rules and heat likely had some impact
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If Washington’s WR could actually catch a pass, they win that game. But aubie’s DL looked tough.
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I think it’s multiple factors.
The SEC saw some good OL leave.
It’s always hard to get the best 5 together.
It takes a while to “gel”.
Most teams will run base stuff if possible.
Backs may not have all their assignments down pat.
We’re likely to watch he better games, meaning better D fronts that can wreak havoc.
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