re: Offensive Line

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Neal needs to lose 30 pounds and get in better shape.

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A lot of our OL players have too much bad weight.

I’m willing to see what Flood does with these guys as the season develops but if he can’t put a competent line together from all the talent and experience he has to work with, I don’t know what to tell you.

It's difficult for teams to both run at will and be a pass-first team. That's who we are. Tua looks so much better in the pocket than last season. He actually looks like he's operating out of a scheme that he can protect himself in. As long as we ran that pure RPO HUNH from last year the only way to defend it is to create jailbreaks to the QB. There was plenty of times that Tua could have sued the OL for a lack of support. The trip to the medical tent started with Louisville.

We've had one sack this season and that was against Duke and the DL caught Tua by the bootstrap. Should we give the OL credit for the clean pockets and sustained drives that have scored over a hundred points, and very importantly, allowed our defense to get off the field? A huge problem for the Crimson Tide last season.

I think we undervalued how good Damien Harris was relative to how good the guys we have now are. Both could end up being good or even great but right now they are just average.

I will offer one really far feteched theory but something I have observed in the past. The two crap teams we've played thus far use guys who are more similar to linebackers in the SEC to play DL. The quickness of guys like that have given us fits in the past. Then when we play SEC teams which have bigger more powerful linemen we tend to do a little better. Those teams also throw every stunt known to man because lets face it, they are going to lose anyway so why not. Teams that actually think they can win are going to take a more conservative approach because if the stunt goes the wrong way against the play we have called, it's 6.

Also against these two teams we ran nothing but bread and butter plays. Absolutely little to no game planning. We just run what they expect. It's not going to be like that when we play South Carolina or any SEC team.

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At RB, we are missing Trey Sanders more than we expected

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I agree. Could arguably end up being a bigger blow than losing Moses.

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It takes an RB with exceptional vision to be really good in a zone blocking scheme.

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Then explain Trent.

Because Pendry absolutely ran a zone scheme. It was just a much better one than anyone since, imo.and he could do a better job at matching it to the offense, and coaching the kids to do it.

A ZBS is also what Mike Shanahan used for those dime a dozen RBs that had career years, then flopped almost extensively elsewhere.

So it can't be too difficult for a lot of RBs...

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This group of RB's are below any group of RB's Nick's had at Bama. 22 and 24 are just good and NOT great and neither have the potential to get there. 27 has to get better and quick. It will all fall on 13 and the passing game once we actually play a good football team.

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I rewatched every offensive play in slow-mo on the Youtube compilation.

It's not the backs. It's the line's failure to execute the blocking scheme. There wasn't a single run where we got a hat-on-a-hat that resulted in less than 5-yards.

All the plays where people keep calling out the RBs for "dancing" are a result of one or more of the OL/TE blowing assignments by either blocking the wrong guy, allowing a free runner, or passing a guy off too early to get to the second level.

The worst offenders were Neal and Leatherwood.

Go back and watch the plays that made you think "Najee and B-Rob just don't have it" and look for the lineman standing around confused not blocking anybody. There is guaranteed to be one on each of those plays.

And if you don't think we can get a surge upfront, go back and watch the "QB sneak." Tua gained 9 yards.

He has been in love with Dalcourt for a while.

If Flood doesn't work out, keep an eye on Michigan's Oline coach.