Everyone keeps saying UT has one of the best offensive lines in the country and cites this as a reason for unexpected success in the 2013 season. While I don't mean to take anything away from the o-line, what data is everyone going off of to make such assertions? That they're experienced? This definitely helps, but is not criteria alone for success.
I've seen that UT only gave up 8 sacks all of last season, which places the o-line in the FBS top 5 in that category, but I can remember multiple times where defenders were in Bray's face and he got rid of the ball. In fact, Bray didn't hang around in the pocket too long most of last season, perhaps out of fear of getting injured again. IMO, that number has a lot to do with Bray getting rid of the ball quickly.
Also, last year's running game was mediocre. This is a fault shared by both the RB's and the o-line. The o-line drastically improved over years past with their ability to open up holes, but they're still not getting any second-level defenders locked down. With what could be a mediocre passing game next year without Bray, and an o-line/rb corps that has also been mediocre in the run game, the offense could be pretty stagnant next year. Couple this with a new offensive scheme, which if it looks anything like the spring game - consists of the qb rolling out of the pocket all the time and the o-line protecting on the move, I definitely fear a lack of offensive productivity.
With the return to the 4-3 and the loss of so many key weapons on offense, I have before and continue to predict this season to be similar to 2010 where our success hinges more on our defensive play.
Flame away.
