Any O-Line coaches or former college players here?

[GoVols64]

We have seen the O-Line take a lot of heat, some of it well earned, on being part of our offensive struggles. I have thought some lingering injuries were at play but here is my question: Anyone with coaching or playing at the college level have thoughts on our players technique and performance?

Are our guys getting better week to week and year to year?

Are their misses due to footwork or poor hand placement?

Is it a scheme issue?

Just curious what our experienced folks think vs. an old defensive guy like me....

 

[igotworms]

My humble opinion is the issue is t he same as it is for Nico, Wr, etc....
They are coached for tempo mostly and when that gets disrupted, it's hard to switch back and forth

Penalty, sack, sets them bqck then they slow down and timing is a little off

Kind of like seeing a Michigan or Illinois type line having to rush toward the end of the game. Their methodical timing gets rushed and they don't look as crisp

 

[DaddyChad]

Heard was a different person this past Saturday.

I’m no coach but I would say conditioning is even more important with the tempo we like to utilize.

 

[Hulavol]

Heard was a different person this past Saturday.

I’m no coach but I would say conditioning is even more important with the tempo we like to utilize.

And he will be in much better shape next time you see him as well.

 

[VOLfrombama]

The Zone Blocking scheme is not hard when the defense lines up in the same positions each time. But when a defense is "multiple", and line up all over the place and cheat LBers and S's up into the gaps, it creates a need for new assignments. Otherwise the Zone the LT is responsible for may have too many people in it, while the zone the LG may have has nobody, etc, etc, etc,.

The Qb and the Center have to make adjustments by making new assignment calls. Thats' why you see Cooper pointing and Nico pointing all over the place. They have to tell all 4 other OL, and when its loud, they all have to tell each other. In max protect situations, Nio has to tell the RB, Hback, and/or TE who their assignment is.

OK, ARK, and FL had a lot of success, especially early in each game, creating confusion up front on blocking assignments. It's why you saw defenders running free and no time in the pocket and it really worked well and shook Nico. Now that they have seen it a few times this season, Nico and Cooper have done a better job recognizing it, communicating the needed adjustments, and getting the ball out a little faster, at least in the second half of the Florida and Bama game.

Banks used the same defensive scheme last Saturday, and it worked like a charm against Milroe. Banks knew he couldn't hear jack squat, so that's why you saw the LBers and Secondary moving around so much pre-snap. That's also why Milroe was so visibly upset.

Tempo does have a lot to do with it, because if you're snapping it really fast, the D doesn't have as much time to create confusion. They still have a job to do, so if you take away those 3-5 seconds where they can creep up into gaps and create confusion, then choosing the assignments becomes much simpler. The problem with tempo is you have to have success on 1st down in order to create a tempo situation. In addition, Heups scheme builds of each play. So that run play you see sets up the pass play, etc etc,. etc. So that's why they haven't been able to go as much tempo.

 

[Hacksaw]

My humble opinion is the issue is t he same as it is for Nico, Wr, etc....
They are coached for tempo mostly and when that gets disrupted, it's hard to switch back and forth

Penalty, sack, sets them bqck then they slow down and timing is a little off

Kind of like seeing a Michigan or Illinois type line having to rush toward the end of the game. Their methodical timing gets rushed and they don't look as crisp

I don't know if you're right, but it sounds plausible.

 

[igotworms]

I don't know if you're right, but it sounds plausible.

Idk if I'm right either
Maybe they're just having a bad quarter or game

 

[TAF]

Any O-Line coaches or former college players here?​

MY "Claim-to-Fame"

Coaching...

Executing...

 

[TNVOLFN]

We have seen the O-Line take a lot of heat, some of it well earned, on being part of our offensive struggles. I have thought some lingering injuries were at play but here is my question: Anyone with coaching or playing at the college level have thoughts on our players technique and performance?

Are our guys getting better week to week and year to year?

Are their misses due to footwork or poor hand placement?

Is it a scheme issue?

Just curious what our experienced folks think vs. an old defensive guy like me....

I played college football and coached 3A-7A football in Georgia for 17 years, 8 as a defensive coordinator, and coached multiple players who went on to be 1st round picks. With that said, my opinion doesn't count much more than others on this board without having access to the All 22 film and the Endzone copy of each game.

With that said, I felt really confident going into the Bama game because we are really close in every area we seem to be deficient, specifically on the OL. The sacks they're giving up are related to one small mistake where on person loses their one on one battle. #53 is gifted and has the length to be elite, but he plays with a high pad level - even pre snap - and is susceptible to getting beat by an Edge who can get low and bend. However, when he gets his hands on the Edge and is able to extend his arms and balance his feet, it's game over for the defender. I think he plays high because he is out of shape. When he pulls in the run game, he misses way too many blocks, often throwing a no hitter.

Our RT has a definite ceiling on his ability, but he works hard and is scrappy. Some of the sacks we've given up are well designed stunts by the defense. Take the sack against Florida when it was 3rd down and 20+. I thought our OL folded like a cheap suit and the sack was inevitable, but UF had a really solid stunt with some absolute creatures on the interior. They knew pre snap which half of our OL was the slide side and which side was the man side. The 3 technique opposite of the side Cooper was sliding ear holed Cooper and while our RG was blocking him. When he ear holed Cooper, he effectively ran a "pick" play against our entire slide side and brought the RG with him (there is no exchange on the man side), which freed up the looping DT from the other side and created a free shot that collapsed the pocket. The problem with this wasn't so much our players, but the fact UF was so easily able to identify which side was the man side and which side was the slide side, which also could've been a lucky guess.

Anyway, I think we took a major step forward in the second half against Alabama and are so close to exploding against SEC competition. This Bye week is perfect for setting up this critical home stretch. GBO!!!

 

[GoVols64]

I played college football and coached 3A-7A football in Georgia for 17 years, 8 as a defensive coordinator, and coached multiple players who went on to be 1st round picks. With that said, my opinion doesn't count much more than others on this board without having access to the All 22 film and the Endzone copy of each game.

With that said, I felt really confident going into the Bama game because we are really close in every area we seem to be deficient, specifically on the OL. The sacks they're giving up are related to one small mistake where on person loses their one on one battle. #53 is gifted and has the length to be elite, but he plays with a high pad level - even pre snap - and is susceptible to getting beat by an Edge who can get low and bend. However, when he gets his hands on the Edge and is able to extend his arms and balance his feet, it's game over for the defender. I think he plays high because he is out of shape. When he pulls in the run game, he misses way too many blocks, often throwing a no hitter.

Our RT has a definite ceiling on his ability, but he works hard and is scrappy. Some of the sacks we've given up are well designed stunts by the defense. Take the sack against Florida when it was 3rd down and 20+. I thought our OL folded like a cheap suit and the sack was inevitable, but UF had a really solid stunt with some absolute creatures on the interior. They knew pre snap which half of our OL was the slide side and which side was the man side. The 3 technique opposite of the side Cooper was sliding ear holed Cooper and while our RG was blocking him. When he ear holed Cooper, he effectively ran a "pick" play against our entire slide side and brought the RG with him (there is no exchange on the man side), which freed up the looping DT from the other side and created a free shot that collapsed the pocket. The problem with this wasn't so much our players, but the fact UF was so easily able to identify which side was the man side and which side was the slide side, which also could've been a lucky guess.

Anyway, I think we took a major step forward in the second half against Alabama and are so close to exploding against SEC competition. This Bye week is perfect for setting up this critical home stretch. GBO!!!

This is a fantastic response, thank you! Exactly the depth of analysis I was hoping for and explains a lot. The lingering concern is how are teams picking up on the protection calls/audibles. I realize that during a game you hear them and see what the line does but typically there are multiple calls/looks to offset that. Sometimes the coaches just make the right call based on film study....

Appreciate you @TNVOLFN!

 

[GoVols64]

Any O-Line coaches or former college players here?​

MY "Claim-to-Fame"

Coaching...

Executing...

 

[Go Fight Win]

I played college football and coached 3A-7A football in Georgia for 17 years, 8 as a defensive coordinator, and coached multiple players who went on to be 1st round picks. With that said, my opinion doesn't count much more than others on this board without having access to the All 22 film and the Endzone copy of each game.

With that said, I felt really confident going into the Bama game because we are really close in every area we seem to be deficient, specifically on the OL. The sacks they're giving up are related to one small mistake where on person loses their one on one battle. #53 is gifted and has the length to be elite, but he plays with a high pad level - even pre snap - and is susceptible to getting beat by an Edge who can get low and bend. However, when he gets his hands on the Edge and is able to extend his arms and balance his feet, it's game over for the defender. I think he plays high because he is out of shape. When he pulls in the run game, he misses way too many blocks, often throwing a no hitter.

Our RT has a definite ceiling on his ability, but he works hard and is scrappy. Some of the sacks we've given up are well designed stunts by the defense. Take the sack against Florida when it was 3rd down and 20+. I thought our OL folded like a cheap suit and the sack was inevitable, but UF had a really solid stunt with some absolute creatures on the interior. They knew pre snap which half of our OL was the slide side and which side was the man side. The 3 technique opposite of the side Cooper was sliding ear holed Cooper and while our RG was blocking him. When he ear holed Cooper, he effectively ran a "pick" play against our entire slide side and brought the RG with him (there is no exchange on the man side), which freed up the looping DT from the other side and created a free shot that collapsed the pocket. The problem with this wasn't so much our players, but the fact UF was so easily able to identify which side was the man side and which side was the slide side, which also could've been a lucky guess.

Anyway, I think we took a major step forward in the second half against Alabama and are so close to exploding against SEC competition. This Bye week is perfect for setting up this critical home stretch. GBO!!!

Great analysis. Post more!

 

[dduncan4163]

I played college football and coached 3A-7A football in Georgia for 17 years, 8 as a defensive coordinator, and coached multiple players who went on to be 1st round picks. With that said, my opinion doesn't count much more than others on this board without having access to the All 22 film and the Endzone copy of each game.

With that said, I felt really confident going into the Bama game because we are really close in every area we seem to be deficient, specifically on the OL. The sacks they're giving up are related to one small mistake where on person loses their one on one battle. #53 is gifted and has the length to be elite, but he plays with a high pad level - even pre snap - and is susceptible to getting beat by an Edge who can get low and bend. However, when he gets his hands on the Edge and is able to extend his arms and balance his feet, it's game over for the defender. I think he plays high because he is out of shape. When he pulls in the run game, he misses way too many blocks, often throwing a no hitter.

Our RT has a definite ceiling on his ability, but he works hard and is scrappy. Some of the sacks we've given up are well designed stunts by the defense. Take the sack against Florida when it was 3rd down and 20+. I thought our OL folded like a cheap suit and the sack was inevitable, but UF had a really solid stunt with some absolute creatures on the interior. They knew pre snap which half of our OL was the slide side and which side was the man side. The 3 technique opposite of the side Cooper was sliding ear holed Cooper and while our RG was blocking him. When he ear holed Cooper, he effectively ran a "pick" play against our entire slide side and brought the RG with him (there is no exchange on the man side), which freed up the looping DT from the other side and created a free shot that collapsed the pocket. The problem with this wasn't so much our players, but the fact UF was so easily able to identify which side was the man side and which side was the slide side, which also could've been a lucky guess.

Anyway, I think we took a major step forward in the second half against Alabama and are so close to exploding against SEC competition. This Bye week is perfect for setting up this critical home stretch. GBO!!!

You should do a breakdown after each game. Great stuff Hoss