Is there any film study/critique on our o line?

Don’t have specifics but I think it’s a little of both…not as good as advertised and absolutely no development!

I truly think Wolford's idea of recruiting only the biggest O lineman he could find set this program back big time.

Everywhere he went things kept getting worse.

I think combining his recruiting strategy and DeBoer's want for smaller nimbler o-lineman to run his scheme has created a mess

If someone provides the film I would love to breakdown a couple plays.

Our issue was a combination of everything though. In our scheme we need vertical passes to ease defensive pressure and when we can threaten with that it basically makes us easy to predict and stop.

So it started with that.

Which is why we would always have a loaded box.

Running is about finding the gap in the defense (where we have more blockers than they have defenders) and hit that hole. Due to teams playing downhill we rarely would have the advantage always running into stacked boxes.

With that said our running concepts and style from our OC always had us trying to "gap run" between the tackles but our bigger slower linemen inside would struggle at times.

What hurt us more was we didn't have an actual #1 RB. Even Daniel Hill is a 3rd stringer on any top team and he's our best option.

So yeah, it was a combination of everybody not just bad OL play. It's hard for the OL to block when they always are outmanned because their QB plays scared and doesn't read quickly or make the throws to alleviate pressure.

Put it like this, we terrorized Mendoza that first half and gave Ty time. Yet Mendoza even while running for his life made the righr decisions and accurate throws. Ty with more time made terrible decision after terrible decision.

quote:

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DeBoer hasn't exactly signed small OL from the portal or new recruits since he's been here.

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Agreed, but he has not recruited the 330+lb guys either that were all over the roster

I guess leaner is the word..

Whether it has been a good strategy or not, right now probably a bit early to say. But does not look good

My take on the OL issue has several aspects to the failure.

#1 - wrong body/skill types for what KD and the OC want to run. we have guys who should be plow mules but are being asked to sit back in their stance and move horizontally. The lack of speed/quickness allows at DT/DE to hop in their back pocket and follow them to the ball.

Horizontal blocking schemes may work well against baseline college DL's and DC's game planning. They do not work well against high end DC's and high end DL personnel. You can feast on the lesser competition but when you have to root out a high end DT in power mode, you do not have the horsepower to get it done. You best be hitting the edge before the LB's can get there to meet you.

#2 - We do not have a OLC that can coach plow mules and also coach horizontal blocking. I am not sure such a coach exists or players that can do both exist.

#3 - if you have plow mules and want to also be a pass first offense, you better have high end feet and body control on those plow mules. The stance when it is time to pass block is going to tell the pass rushers what is coming before the snap. If your foot speed and ballance are not really good, you will be reaching for the guy who just blew past you.

#4 - with our current HC/OC braintrust and what they like to do, we need an OL coach who also has run game cordination responsibility/authority. That guy best be able to build OL monsters in very short order.

#5 - S&C coach must be able to build power, quickness, and agility into guys with a monster mentailty - that is not what we currently have.

KD has to pick a lane (which he has) and recruit/purchase the players to excell in that lane. Then give then a mule skinner (OL Coach) capable and empowered to pull that out of them. KD must also give them the body shaper (S&C Coach) to build some damn fine work mules.

I am not sure KD has the ability to coach the type of team needed to perform at a championship level in a SEC type of high end power world.

I am not sure KD has the ability to coach the type of team needed to perform at a championship level in a SEC type of high end power world.

Bingo

Bama is F'ed and there is 50 million to be paid for it.

“I am not sure KD has the ability to coach the type of team needed to perform at a championship level in a SEC type of high end power world”

Seeing this at the bottom of your post says alot to me.
Ive heard things like this a few times through the year but it really seems to be swelling from some of the level-headed and important folks now.

If he couldn’t coach a championship level team he wouldn’t have made the title game and have the ranked record he does.

Y’all need to settle down

Just heard on radio that a former bama QB said OL and RB are terrible. They don’t do anything well.

They really don't and their efforts are completely inconsistent so you simply cannot build any momentum. This has been the core issue for several years from Saban to now. It has to be corrected or you have to find that 99 QB you created in NCAA Football on PS. Even then defenses figure out they don't have to do anything special to be effective by about mid-season.