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Offensive Line development- A work in progress

dWarriors88

dWarriors88

All-American
Jan 4, 2009
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Tulsa, OK
I was looking to open up a discussion on the Offensive line. Some of you residents are more coach minded, and I was curious and hopeful to gain some insight on how you guys feel about the offensive line, particularly after the Ole Miss win. I can't really tell sometimes if our line is gelling or an exposed weakness.

I will say though #56 needs to take a long seat on the bench. How many snaps has he launched over Jalen's head this season? How hard is it to snap the dang ball to the QB's hands?
 
TideEngineer08

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
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Beautiful Cullman, AL
I thought they played better in the 2nd half of each of the last 2 games.

They've produced 2 separate 100 yard rushers in each of the past 2 games.

We smothered both teams in the second half.

USF is horrible, and I'm not sure what Ole Miss will end up being but this is improvement. I think we need to mash people more, and do less finesse style zone blocking which seems to create more errors.
 
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Power Eye

All-SEC
Aug 3, 2005
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Ferguson got hurt Saturday, has there been an update on his status?

The line is getting better in run blocking, but the pass protection is still a problem. It seems like while the line as a whole can be explosive in moving defenders, they don't have quick enough feet to take on the edge rushers.
 
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bamaslammer

All-American
Jan 8, 2003
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Argo, AL, St Clair
www.kirkwoodhouse.com
I will say having played OL it's a lot harder than it looks. It's easier to avoid being blocked than it is to manage to stay in front of someone who is trying to avoid you. The who to block question also takes time to learn since it changes in a split second. Historically it would take at least 3 or 4 games to see the line starting to jell.

This year we seem to have some talent issues.

Seth McLaughlin was never going to be an NFL center but he was a pretty decent center and didn't have any snapping problems prior to this year. I'm not sure if there is a physical cause. I believe Dalcourt is the backup and he must be terrible at snapping or can't make the line calls or something. I don't believe Brockermeyer is ready to play yet.

Kadyn Proctor I really expected to be a guard, he's built for that road grader type of roll. I believe he's at tackle because we have no other option. Pritchett is seemingly not better at pass blocking. I believe the hope and prayer of the staff is that he will improve quickly enough to avoid getting our QB killed. I did sort of expect them to play Latham at Left Tackle. I'm not sure why they didn't. but in the end they are going to line up the best rusher against the worst tackle no matter where he lines up so the difference is going to be minimal.

Aside from that we just have a bunch of freshman and sophomores who are not ready. Some may have bright futures but it's going to take time.

When you fall behind on the OL it generally takes AT LEAST 3 seasons to fix. that's if you recruit and train well. For what ever reason you can shore up almost any position with the transfer Portal but It doesn't appear that great Offensive Lineman are common. You can take an 18 year old kid who never saw a football in his life and tell him to line up and go get the QB if he's athletic enough, but becoming a great offensive lineman takes talent and generally years of technique work. Plus you have to be tough as nails

That's why every NFL 1st round draft is chocked full of these big men from schools you never heard of. without them the rest of the offense just doesn't matter.
 
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Joefus

Joefus

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Jan 3, 2021
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If I’m not mistaken when dalcourt was given a chance at center two years ago(?) he was having trouble snapping the ball too. I think it’s a combination of a weakness in their game and what you do when you’re overcompensating and rushing to engage a defender. Seems like a problem that could be negated by taking more snaps under center rather than permanently in shotgun. This offense doesnt seem to cater to our skill set nor needs.
 
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uaintn

All-American
Aug 2, 2000
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franklin, tennessee, usa
I agree that Proctor is on a very steep learning curve. I also agree that he is more natural at guard than tackle, but CNS has always been consistent about having the best 5 guys out there and working from there.

I'm not sure what is up at the center position but this team is (to quote every Auburn coach in history) this is a very young team. We cannot afford to give up any offensive downs, especially not because the center snaps the ball over the QB's head and 15 yards up the field. I know there are limits to practicing some stuff -- e.g. there's a number of times beyond which you don't want the punter kicking in practice. But snaps? I'd think doing 5-10 a minute seems doable without a big strain on your arm muscles. How much muscle memory can it take? I totally get it -- harder than it looks, hard to simulate a nose guard or blitz, pistol and shotgun are different -- but still. And it isn't one a game so far.

I'm glad we have the road game in cowbell land before we go to College Station.
 
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Windsortide

Hall of Fame
Nov 11, 2019
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Passing on first down in particular the quick game would help the OLine. Also using more backs and TE’s to Chip the edge or double would help our big tackles versus speed rushers. Hoping they get better with experience.
 
IMALOYAL1

IMALOYAL1

All-American
Oct 28, 2000
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Birmingham AL
I remember a few years back two brothers that played on UF O'line and 1 moved to center and had a hsrd time snapping the ball also.

I also don't think we are built to have a pulling guard. Havent watched Washington this year but someone on the talk show mentioned their tackle pulling around to block.
 
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