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Just How Good Is Our Offensive Line?
Posted on 7/27/18 at 10:15 am
Posted on 7/27/18 at 10:15 am
Every time we say that our offensive line returns 4 starters from last year that gave up the least sacks in the SEC, someone will say, "Because y'all threw the ball the least times in the conference."
1. That's Fake News... We were #7 last year in the SEC in passing attempts.
2. We were #15 in least tackles for loss last year, #3 in the SEC.
3. Here is a run blocking stat according to Football Outsiders...
Standard Downs Line Yards per Carry: The raw, unadjusted per-carry line yardage for a team on standard downs (first down, second-and-7 or fewer, third-and-4 or fewer, fourth-and-4 or fewer).
We ranked #7 in the NCAA in that stat last season and #3 in the SEC.
4. On 3rd and 4th down with less than 2 yards to go, we ran for a first down or a touchdown 84.2% of the time. That's #2 in the NCAA and #1 in the SEC.
But let's look at the players:
LT: Greg Eiland
Eiland started 4 games last year in place of Rankin and played in all 13 and he was impressive in those games.
LG: Darryl Williams
Junior who started all 13 games last year. He was SEC player of the week after the LSU game last year.
C: Elgton Jenkins
Senior who has played in 36 games and started in 21 games, he is experienced. He will be drafted in April.
RG: Deion Calhoun
Senior who has the most starts on the OL with 23. He has played in 35 games. He showed out last year in the Kentucky game with 3 knockdowns.
RT: Stewart Reese
Redshirt Sophomore who started in all 13 games last year. Played a part in an offensive line that had the #2 rushing offense in the SEC last season and #11 in the NCAA.
Bottom Line- Our Offensive Line is a top 4 Unit in the SEC this year. It is a strength.
1. That's Fake News... We were #7 last year in the SEC in passing attempts.
2. We were #15 in least tackles for loss last year, #3 in the SEC.
3. Here is a run blocking stat according to Football Outsiders...
Standard Downs Line Yards per Carry: The raw, unadjusted per-carry line yardage for a team on standard downs (first down, second-and-7 or fewer, third-and-4 or fewer, fourth-and-4 or fewer).
We ranked #7 in the NCAA in that stat last season and #3 in the SEC.
4. On 3rd and 4th down with less than 2 yards to go, we ran for a first down or a touchdown 84.2% of the time. That's #2 in the NCAA and #1 in the SEC.
But let's look at the players:
LT: Greg Eiland
Eiland started 4 games last year in place of Rankin and played in all 13 and he was impressive in those games.
LG: Darryl Williams
Junior who started all 13 games last year. He was SEC player of the week after the LSU game last year.
C: Elgton Jenkins
Senior who has played in 36 games and started in 21 games, he is experienced. He will be drafted in April.
RG: Deion Calhoun
Senior who has the most starts on the OL with 23. He has played in 35 games. He showed out last year in the Kentucky game with 3 knockdowns.
RT: Stewart Reese
Redshirt Sophomore who started in all 13 games last year. Played a part in an offensive line that had the #2 rushing offense in the SEC last season and #11 in the NCAA.
Bottom Line- Our Offensive Line is a top 4 Unit in the SEC this year. It is a strength.
This post was edited on 7/27/18 at 12:56 pm
2
Posted on 7/27/18 at 10:59 am to Random MsState Fan
I was very impressed with Eiland last year. This was one of the best surprises in my mind last year.
It really does feel like WR is the only glaring weakness rn(of course the same can be said about CB possibly.....)
But even Alabama has question marks. They're just given the benefit of the doubt. Georgia has more question marks than we do as well but they're being given the benefit of the doubt too. Surprisingly the media didn't give the benefit of the doubt to Auburn over Mississippi State but the venue change to Atlanta factored in my mind(despite Atlanta being an Auburn hub). Maybe the coaching change did as well....
Kind of sucks our season is make or break on November 10th but whatever. In this conference, that's just the game you have to win to get anywhere.
It really does feel like WR is the only glaring weakness rn(of course the same can be said about CB possibly.....)
But even Alabama has question marks. They're just given the benefit of the doubt. Georgia has more question marks than we do as well but they're being given the benefit of the doubt too. Surprisingly the media didn't give the benefit of the doubt to Auburn over Mississippi State but the venue change to Atlanta factored in my mind(despite Atlanta being an Auburn hub). Maybe the coaching change did as well....
Kind of sucks our season is make or break on November 10th but whatever. In this conference, that's just the game you have to win to get anywhere.
Posted on 7/27/18 at 11:19 am to The Winner
quote:
It really does feel like WR is the only glaring weakness
It's our worst group on offense and that's saying a lot, because we have a good bit of talent for Fitz to throw the ball to this year.
-I think Guidry has a solid chance to be drafted this year.
-Whop is an upgrade from last year's team.
-Dear and Mixon are both explosive in the slot.
-Williams has talent.
-Moorhead likes to throw to the running backs and tight ends.
-Hill is going to catch a good bit of passes this year, he's also lost 15 pounds since last season.
Posted on 7/27/18 at 12:41 pm to Random MsState Fan
I agree. And Moorhead has made an effort to say Mississippi State will throw the ball more and he says it's close to a 55-45 to 50-50 ratio of running passing. You can definitely pinpoint a lot of Fitzgerald's (or Thompson's for that matter) incompletions on the incompetency of the WR position.
Assuming Guidry has a good attitude, Whop is the difference Maker we need then I think they can add with Dear and Austin Williams.
Watching some Penn State and Fordham games, I do know that the TE will be part of the passing game as well so that can alleviate some of the pressure of the WRs along with Kylin and Aeries
Assuming Guidry has a good attitude, Whop is the difference Maker we need then I think they can add with Dear and Austin Williams.
Watching some Penn State and Fordham games, I do know that the TE will be part of the passing game as well so that can alleviate some of the pressure of the WRs along with Kylin and Aeries
Posted on 7/27/18 at 1:59 pm to The Winner
quote:
Moorhead has made an effort to say Mississippi State will throw the ball more and he says it's close to a 55-45 to 50-50 ratio of running passing.
I think it will be somewhere around 55% Run to 45% Pass.
quote:
You can definitely pinpoint a lot of Fitzgerald's (or Thompson's for that matter) incompletions on the incompetency of the WR position.
We just flat out lacked talent last year. This year, we have better talent and Getsy is an upgrade over Gonzales at WR Coach. It's not even close.
quote:
Assuming Guidry has a good attitude, Whop is the difference Maker we need
Guidry and Whop are both going to have big years.
quote:
Dear and Austin Williams.
Dear, Williams, and Mixon are all explosive.
Our WR talent and depth is much better than last year's.
quote:
I do know that the TE will be part of the passing game
Yep.
quote:
along with Kylin and Aeries
Especially Kylin Hill. He's going to catch a lot of short passes.
I think Fitz's passing numbers are going to explode this season.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 7:24 pm to Random MsState Fan
A few points.
1. While most of us don't think Hev was a good recruiter, it did seem like he could develop O-lineman. How do we think our new Oline coach will do?
2. At WR, why is there not as much talk about Austin Williams? He seemed the best receiver on the field in the spring game (limited sample size).
3. Is Dear recovered? I hope he has a good season because he showed promise as a freshman then missed last year.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 7:45 pm to AustinDawg
quote:
1. While most of us don't think Hev was a good recruiter, it did seem like he could develop O-lineman. How do we think our new Oline coach will do?
Yes, Hev was a pretty good O-Line Coach. Johnson is an upgrade over Hevsey both coaching and recruiting in my opinion.
quote:
2. At WR, why is there not as much talk about Austin Williams? He seemed the best receiver on the field in the spring game (limited sample size).
Williams did have a very good spring game. He's very talented. I would put Guidry and Whop ahead of him this fall, though. But Williams is very good.
quote:
3. Is Dear recovered? I hope he has a good season because he showed promise as a freshman then missed last year.
Yes, Dear is back. Just have to hope he stays healthy. He's explosive in the slot.
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