Is Our Offensive Line Actually Any Good?

#26
#26
Hopefully this go round we can keep ALL of our coaches for more than just one season! These guys have had to learn new coaching techniques every year.
 
#27
#27
The offensive line play is the most baffling thing I've see this year and I have to admit I still don't understand it. I wasn't expecting us to roll up tons of yard on the ground but I sure wasn't calling for this kind of performance. It seems like they are "ok" I'd give them a "C" grade because it seems like they are decent protecting Worley. You have to admit that he hasn't taken a ton of hits or been sacked. As far as run blocking, it's kind of tough to gauge because I think Neal and Lane are average backs. I kept thinking last year when Neal had that good game against Georgia the light came on. I haven't seen anything from that moment. Tom Smith and Alden Hill have always seemed to me to be nothing more then bodies.,,although I will say Tom Smith seems to be finding a place on special teams. The sum of the parts on this team aren't that great but that's just going to have to get fixed in recruiting. Wow, I'd love to see what that ratio was for Dooley in recruiting because I'd argue he was as bad as Kiffin.
 
#28
#28
They are really good at pass protection. Run blocking is average but it is worse when the defenses know the run is coming.
 
#29
#29
kidbourbon said:
I1) Is our OL really that good?
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They are very talented. The kind side of me says that they are struggling because of the system change and that Jones and his staff will pull it all together as the season progresses. The unkind side of me says they've had multiple coaches that either have not coached them the same or have not coached them up much at all... and that the current staff isn't doing very well either.

Time will tell.
2) If no, then will our OL really be that much worse than it is this year?
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There are no guarantees but talent wise there will be a drop off assuming Tiny leaves early. That said, they could play better as a unit. Playing well as a group is more important for OL's than possessing great individual talent.

Remember, most of the guys who will start next year are guys who couldn't beat out the guys you are throwing stones at. At a minimum, that should temper your optimism.
3) If no, does that make you feel more optimistic about 2014 already?
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No more nor less. There are some good OL's coming up. Depth will suffer.
 
#31
#31
If Bray and Hunter had stayed we'd be singing their praises.
They excel at what they were recruited for and coached to do for 3 years.
Hard to transform into explosive down-field blockers in one last season.
The younger guys are getting snaps.
 
#32
#32
kidbourbon said:
Am I wrong here? Is our offensive line the greatest thing since the focking 1992 Dallas Cowboys? If it is, then why are we averaging 161 yards rushing per game, which 62nd in the FBS. And 4.6 YPC, which is 51st in the FBS?
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Yes. You are wrong here. UT is averaging 199.75 ypg and over 5 ypc. They rank 46th and 43rd respectively and have played the #1 rushing D and #2 ranked team overall. If they continue at current pace... and there are some weaker D's left on the schedule... then they will finish with more than 500 more yards than last year rushing.
 
#34
#34
The only reasons this OL is considered "elite" are
1) TB was skiddish last year after breaking his thumb in 2011 so he threw the ball away at the smallest sign of trouble (low sacks)
2)they're all upper class man and have so many career starts because they started as freshmen.

I'm not saying they suck, but they're not elite. There's several OL's out there I'd consider both more physical and dependable.
 
#35
#35
BanditVol said:
Im sorry, no offense, but WTF are you talking about? When Simms was QB we averaged 110 yards per game. The stat so far this year is 200 yards per game. Huh???? :ermm:
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I think for the entire year we only averaged like 89 yds per game rushing.
 
#36
#36
iirc rushing avg against OR was about 4ypc, about 1 ypc less against UF. not too bad against those Ds.

to me the real question is given the QBs cannot throw or run, and the WR "talent is lacking," why put the ball in the air 29 times against OR and 35 times against UF?
 
#37
#37
FWIW. Next year features a squad that boast resumes of strong run blocking.
Crowder, Jackson,Kerbyson, Sanders, Wiesman.
Hurd may have some wide open lanes to run through.
 
#38
#38
When everyone gets bored with making excuses for the OL, go back and watch the line play from the last 2 games. They simply aren't winning one on one matchups very often.
 
#39
#39
NashVOL93 said:
I hear a lot of talk about the great things Coach Pittman did for our O-line while he was here, but wasn't he only here one year? I honestly don't mean that negatively. I'm sure a great coach could make a difference in one season, but it just doesn't seem like enough time to me.

They were very good in pass protection last year, but you could tell it was because of the team chemistry. Last year's UT offense was one of the most all-around complete squads I've seen in years, with NFL-level talent at every position except perhaps RB. They did their thing and they did it well, and their thing was passing the ball.

So, in my opinion, while I think they're every bit as physically talented as people say they are, they just weren't ready to truly bear the burden of driving the offense as a unit this year. They fed off the entire squad's synergy and chemistry last year and it spurred them on to play above their potential as a unit within a total offense.

This year, they ARE the offense.
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Another year working with Sam Pittman would have been very beneficial for this group. They have seen their share of coaching and scheme changes. I think they did well with Pittman and believe he would have been a good coach to keep. The "family" aspect of this group of coaches would have likely applied to the bond that our OL had with CSP. I think we'll see how good these guys really are during the draft, I believe they are a solid group of guys.
 
#41
#41
They are better than average but still get pushed around though they are by no means the weak link, they have too many less than mediocre players on the field around them.
 
#42
#42
kidbourbon said:
I keep hearing how good they are. And I keep hearing how we'll be better at every position next year....but it might not matter because of all the losses on the offensive line.

But what is it that our offensive line has done -- i.e., stuff that is observable from the eyeball test or stuff that can be shown through stats -- that supports the conclusion that they're elite? Or even that they're really good?

As best I can tell, our offensive line is somewhere between highly overrated and wildly overrated. And this is actually a good if we're thinking about next year. Because I'm not convinced that there will be a significant drop off in offensive line next year, and I don't know a goddayyyum thing about the guys who will be starting on the OL next year. But what I do know is that our rushing game was appreciably better when we had the focking Sullins twins on the offensive line. And the pass protection was about the same, unless my memory fails me.
i
Am I wrong here? Is our offensive line the greatest thing since the focking 1992 Dallas Cowboys? If it is, then why are we averaging 161 yards rushing per game, which 62nd in the FBS. And 4.6 YPC, which is 51st in the FBS?

Sure, we don't have Jamal Lewis running the ball, but our running backs are abjectly atrocious. And isn't a great OL supposed to make the backs look better? Is it that OL's are just generally overrated in the whole scheme of things and that it's better to have an elite running back and an average OL than a very good OL and average running backs? I'm starting to believe that in the SEC -- where the talent on the defensive lines is what makes our conference better than the rest of the conferences -- that maybe a good OL is overrated. That unless you have the absolutely, unquestionably best offensive line in the entire country, than you're probably just as well off having a mediocre offensive line because they're going to be blasted at the line of scrimmage anyway. Now the last few sentences are just me thinking out loud, so don't hold me to that. Maybe I'm on to something, maybe I'm not. But I don't want that to divert this thread from the main questions of:

1) Is our OL really that good?
2) If no, then will our OL really be that much worse than it is this year?
3) If no, does that make you feel more optimistic about 2014 already?
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I think it's a good, potentially a really good OL.... but certainly not the great or Top 5 OL in the country they were touted to be.
 
#45
#45
Majorvol23 said:
Yes, they're very good

They're better at pass protection of course, but we are no threat in the passing game.

Therefore, teams load up expecting the run, which makes they're job harder

NFL level pass protection - upper SEC level run blocking ability, but no passing game & good but not elite RB's

IMO
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Then explain last year.
 
#46
#46
MOOOOONEY said:
Yeah the Sullin twins were blocking for 2 NFL RB's. Plus had an NFL QB, an NFL receiver in DMO and an NFL TE in Stocker, Plus Gerald Jones.

what people have failed to realize is this offense has lost a 3 year starter at QB with an elite arm that is playing in the NFL at this time.

We lost the most Dynamic player I would say in Vols Football History in CP, every time he touched the ball he could score didn't matter if it was KO return, Receiving or at RB.

We also lost an NFL receiver in Hunter and NFL TE in Rivera.

If you think our Oline is struggling watch Bama play their OLINE is atrocious . They are winning bc of ELITE play makers which we do not have at this time, They have a really good SR QB, great RB's and elite receivers.

I do not care how good your OLINE is suppose to be you will not win in the SEC without ELITE SKILL PEOPLE.
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Tyler Bray is WAAAYYYYYY better than Jonathan Crompton.

And Justin Hunter and Patterson are either as good as or better than D-Mo. But there are two of them, while there was just one D-mo.

Bryce Brown was injured.

Hardesty was better than our current running backs but let's not pretend that he's Eric Dickerson. He's a third string RB.

And if our offensive linemen were good then wouldn't they make our mediocre running backs look better? If they're not making them look better than can you actually conclude that they're good?
 
#47
#47
MOOOOONEY said:
Yeah the Sullin twins were blocking for 2 NFL RB's. Plus had an NFL QB, an NFL receiver in DMO and an NFL TE in Stocker, Plus Gerald Jones.

what people have failed to realize is this offense has lost a 3 year starter at QB with an elite arm that is playing in the NFL at this time.

We lost the most Dynamic player I would say in Vols Football History in CP, every time he touched the ball he could score didn't matter if it was KO return, Receiving or at RB.

We also lost an NFL receiver in Hunter and NFL TE in Rivera.

If you think our Oline is struggling watch Bama play their OLINE is atrocious . They are winning bc of ELITE play makers which we do not have at this time, They have a really good SR QB, great RB's and elite receivers.

I do not care how good your OLINE is suppose to be you will not win in the SEC without ELITE SKILL PEOPLE.
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Like Tyler Bray, Patterson, and Hunter?
 
#48
#48
BanditVol said:
Where did you get those stats? We are averaging 200 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry, which actually isn't terrible.

1) Depends on what you mean...are they one of the top lines in the country? Yes. Are they playing that well? Maybe not, but 200 yards per game essentially with no passing game is pretty good, actually.
2) I said yes, but yes, the OL will be worse next year...don't know about "much worse" but hopefully skill players will be "much better" to compensate.
3) Not worried about 2014...worried about this season.
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I was only counting FBS. Which is fair. Austin Peay is a high school team.
 
#49
#49
calban said:
If Bray and Hunter had stayed we'd be singing their praises.
They excel at what they were recruited for and coached to do for 3 years.
Hard to transform into explosive down-field blockers in one last season.
The younger guys are getting snaps.
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There is no evidence to suggest that we would have an elite running game if Bray and Hunter had stayed. If you have some, offer it up.
 
#50
#50
sjt18 said:
Yes. You are wrong here. UT is averaging 199.75 ypg and over 5 ypc. They rank 46th and 43rd respectively and have played the #1 rushing D and #2 ranked team overall. If they continue at current pace... and there are some weaker D's left on the schedule... then they will finish with more than 500 more yards than last year rushing.
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Don't count Austin Peay. FBS. Thanks again.
 
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