Holy crap, the sky is falling...

#1
Ohio Vol

Ohio Vol

Inquisitor of Offense
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
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#1
First off, I'm no more pleased about losing to Penn State (particularly when my loudmouthed brother-in-law is a huge PSU fan) than anyone else here.

But the fact is that this year was a transitional year from a Larry Sanders "which way are the NFL winds blowing" offense to Cutcliffe's. The biggest transition is made up front on the offensive line. And unfortunately, the players recruited for the old offense are not at all suited for the new one.

The best comparison I can think of is when Bill Callahan took over at Nebraska. He had a bunch of offensive personnel that was terrific for running the option from the I-formation, and he tried to turn them into a "West Coast" offensive team. The results were pathetic for that first year; they lost to nearly everyone they had beaten for 40 years straight, went 5-6, and missed a bowl game. Now that he's got his kind of players running his offense, they're back to a level of respectability.

The offensive linemen at UT are not suited for man blocking at all (and that includes Sears). When the offense starts getting quick and agile blockers who execute fundamentals properly, you'll be seeing the SEC titles coming back. In the meantime, it's sort of a holding pattern.

It kills me to say it, but it's the truth.
 
#3
#3
Ohio Vol said:
First off, I'm no more pleased about losing to Penn State (particularly when my loudmouthed brother-in-law is a huge PSU fan) than anyone else here.

But the fact is that this year was a transitional year from a Larry Sanders "which way are the NFL winds blowing" offense to Cutcliffe's. The biggest transition is made up front on the offensive line. And unfortunately, the players recruited for the old offense are not at all suited for the new one.

The best comparison I can think of is when Bill Callahan took over at Nebraska. He had a bunch of offensive personnel that was terrific for running the option from the I-formation, and he tried to turn them into a "West Coast" offensive team. The results were pathetic for that first year; they lost to nearly everyone they had beaten for 40 years straight, went 5-6, and missed a bowl game. Now that he's got his kind of players running his offense, they're back to a level of respectability.

The offensive linemen at UT are not suited for man blocking at all (and that includes Sears). When the offense starts getting quick and agile blockers who execute fundamentals properly, you'll be seeing the SEC titles coming back. In the meantime, it's sort of a holding pattern.

It kills me to say it, but it's the truth.
Click to expand...

we haven't executed properly in years. give me a break
 
#6
#6
volfanbill,

I won't deny that either. Of course, that includes the fact that defending a zone-blocking run game is a heck of a lot easier than defending a man-blocking one.
 
#8
#8
Ohio Vol said:
First off, I'm no more pleased about losing to Penn State (particularly when my loudmouthed brother-in-law is a huge PSU fan) than anyone else here.

But the fact is that this year was a transitional year from a Larry Sanders "which way are the NFL winds blowing" offense to Cutcliffe's. The biggest transition is made up front on the offensive line. And unfortunately, the players recruited for the old offense are not at all suited for the new one.

The best comparison I can think of is when Bill Callahan took over at Nebraska. He had a bunch of offensive personnel that was terrific for running the option from the I-formation, and he tried to turn them into a "West Coast" offensive team. The results were pathetic for that first year; they lost to nearly everyone they had beaten for 40 years straight, went 5-6, and missed a bowl game. Now that he's got his kind of players running his offense, they're back to a level of respectability.

The offensive linemen at UT are not suited for man blocking at all (and that includes Sears). When the offense starts getting quick and agile blockers who execute fundamentals properly, you'll be seeing the SEC titles coming back. In the meantime, it's sort of a holding pattern.

It kills me to say it, but it's the truth.
Click to expand...


Sorry, I don't buy it when our offense looked much better at the start of the year than it does now.
 
#9
#9
I wonder if it possible to get back to offense where a vertical running game founded on the notion of "body lean" with the running backs is possible? This is my favorite flavor of football which includes the play action bomb. Has the pendulum swung this far yet. Afterall the variants of the single wing seem to have made something of a resurgance this year.
 
#12
#12
Ohio Vol said:
The offensive linemen at UT are not suited for man blocking at all (and that includes Sears). When the offense starts getting quick and agile blockers who execute fundamentals properly, you'll be seeing the SEC titles coming back. In the meantime, it's sort of a holding pattern.
Click to expand...

Whats your opinion of Adkins as an oline coach? I wasn't real thrilled with his promotion to oline coach. He wasn't too effective at GA.
 
#14
#14
Yeah, 2 freshman got to start (Mcclendon, McNeil) and Ramone Foster(sophmore) came in when Ligion got heart.
There is no doubt in my mind that our line will be better next season. We probably had the youngest O-line in the SEC.
 
#15
#15
NMVol brings up a good point. But the problem with a more interior seam-oriented run game ("body lean") is that the coaches who teach it normally instruct their guys to angle forward at the point of attack with their elbows in tight against the side of the body and forearms extended. What makes that a problem is that there's a lot of weight forward of the center of gravity, and it makes it difficult for a lineman to adjust to hit a linebacker's course. In addition, the way the arms are positioned makes it nearly impossible to actually sustain a block by creating separation.

oklavol,

My opinion of the way the line has been coached for about 5 or 6 years is not good. I don't like watching the NFL because it's all the same junk "blocking" across 32 teams, and I can't stand watching UT do the same thing. If they're not zone blocking, they're setting up in a two-point stance in a V. That doesn't even address the "Grab the outside of the guy's shoulder pads, and maybe we'll get lucky and not get flagged!" blocking.

I'm going to be perfectly honest. Teaching proper blocking is not terribly difficult. But it requires a great deal of focus on minor fundamental points. I remember back in high school, my offensive line coach would grade film based on the most seemingly inane facets of what could be seen. It would be possible to destroy your man at the line of scrimmage and spring a huge hole and still get a C for the play because you stepped too far or at the wrong angle with the first step. The success that our line had year in and year out was phenomenal.

I don't think there's been that kind of commitment and dedication to the line of late. I know it's easy to make Fulmer the scapegoat and say "He was a lineman and he was the line coach, so he needs to...." I can assure you that the time and dedication of coaching that specific position group, probably more so than any other with the exception of quarterback, pretty much precludes a head coach being a good line coach at the same time.
 
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