The Annual Offensive Line Discussion

[bamacpa]

Figured we could revisit this subject now that we've played our first game. What is your first impression of the O-line in live game action? Honestly, I didn't see the 'push' up front that I was expecting and seemed that Bryce was running to elude their pass rush a little more than I was comfortable with but I have to think that they will improve and develop in the weeks ahead-- I'm not trying to ring any alarm bells or be overly negative by any means(55-0 is something I'll take every time). Just curious how much of this is pure coaching and development vs talent. Have we found the right pieces or are we still in the experimentation phase and going to try some different combinations? Was Emil being out a huge impact? Maybe. Your thoughts please.

I agree with you, I was hoping for a stronger push in the early stage of the game. I think we wore them down, but we didn't run the ball well at all in the first half and pass pro was could have been better. It's early, so hopefully we get better.

 

[Tideflyer]

Weren`t they switching out interior O line even early in the game? Seems like I read that. If they were, then I think it`s safe to say that we`re not entirely set.

 

[teamplayer]

After game one, the offensive line is still my biggest concern by a wide margin. I think we are solid everywhere else. If the line can get to the good level, we'll be in good hands. If they become great, it is hard to see any team beating us.

 

[Ledsteplin]

Weren`t they switching out interior O line even early in the game? Seems like I read that. If they were, then I think it`s safe to say that we`re not entirely set.

In his halftime interview, CNS said the Aggies defensive game plan was to stop the run. I'm not sure what he saw in the first half. I haven't seen the replay yet.

 

[Tideflyer]

In his halftime interview, CNS said the Aggies defensive game plan was to stop the run. I'm not sure what he saw in the first half. I haven't seen the replay yet.

That stuff gets pretty technical. Probably lots of things being done package and scheme wise that we on TV can`t see and wouldn`t recognize it anyway if we could. Bryce is really good at taking what they give him.

 

[CoolBreeze]

In Jess' wrap up he notes the following worth discussion here:

"The other question to ask here is, after signing several classes full of heralded line prospects, does Alabama need to reexamine what it is doing up front to minimize miscommunication?"

Alabama-Texas wrap-up: D steps up, Young finds a way to bail out Bama

When Steve Sarkisian admitted Texas had been working on the Bama game plan since the summer, it raised a yellow flag. When Sarkisian brought in TCU’s Gary Patterson and gave him the primary a…

news.tidefans.com

 

[Jkl0802]

I agree with you, I was hoping for a stronger push in the early stage of the game. I think we wore them down, but we didn't run the ball well at all in the first half and pass pro was could have been better. It's early, so hopefully we get better.

I despise the term “push” as it sounds like big fat people leaning on others. I believe the term “knocking them backwards” is what our line’s goal should be…fire off the ball and drive them in to the ground!

 

[gtgilbert]

In Jess' wrap up he notes the following worth discussion here:

"The other question to ask here is, after signing several classes full of heralded line prospects, does Alabama need to reexamine what it is doing up front to minimize miscommunication?"

Alabama-Texas wrap-up: D steps up, Young finds a way to bail out Bama

When Steve Sarkisian admitted Texas had been working on the Bama game plan since the summer, it raised a yellow flag. When Sarkisian brought in TCU’s Gary Patterson and gave him the primary a…

news.tidefans.com

so I forced myself to rewatch the game last night, annoying my wife and daughter significantly by rewinding and watching the OL play over and over, and IMHO, communication wasn't the issue Saturday (other than the Gibbs non-pick up on the blitz, and BY calling the wrong protection on his scramble, but neither or those were complex changes we could simplify - just screw ups).

As I have said before, unless you 100% know the assignments and such, it can be difficult to exactly pinpoint things so I could be missing something, but here is my directional take:

A VAST majority of the issues Saturday were on combo blocks inside. Mostly, it was the OG initiating contact with the DT, then the OC moving in to temporarily double team before one of them is supposed to go block someone else. On the botched 4th down attempt, the OC initiated with the OG moving in. What I saw was that more often than not, the OC was not able to block or even seal the DT. He doesn't seem to be getting over and engaging quickly enough or into the right position, so the DT is basically splitting a double as soon as the OG starts to disengage to move to his second line responsibility. To be fair, it could be that the OGs need to hold that first portion of the combo block for one more count before releasing. It's happening to both sides and with all three of the guys who are playing OG though. On the fourth down play, the OC never really disengaged, and even though the OG was driving the DT down the line some. With the DT still holding up the OC, it created the logjam. On this play however, I honestly think the RB messed up the most. The RG was clearly driving hard down the line from the snap, but the RB ran right into the space the RG was downblocking into which is why tried the jump cut and got tripped up by the OCs feet. Gut feel is that the RB was supposed to have cut back 1-2 steps earlier.

Even on a play that looked great, there was an issue. On the Jace TD, the RG engaged the DT, the RT engaged the DE the OC started moving to his right. The RT did a great job and had stonewalled the DE and turned him completely inside. The RG got his helmet across in front of the DT, and was able to put him into the DE/RT pile and put him on the ground. Either the OC was chasing the DT block to try to combo and never got there or was supposed to be coming around to pick up the LB and didn't get there, but either way never blocked anyone. Thankfully the RG was able to stay on his feet just long enough to get to the LB and pancake him (after putting the DT down) or the LB would have been in a spot to try to tackle JM after a few yards gain.

The other thing is that as someone else said, we just don't seem to be as big/strong, and I think there's a lot to that. in 2020, we had Brown ( 6'4" 350) and Dickerson (6'6" 335) with Ekiyor. Dalcourt and Cohen are both listed as 305, and Randolph is under 300. Thing is, we don't really have many guys with the type of mass we're used to having. George and Booker are the only OL over 330 with Latham and Kight in the 320s and Steen at 315. Everyone else is under 310. It's not to say that somewhat smaller guys can't be successful, but they better be plenty strong (just with a better allocation of what weight you have) and plenty quick - not sure that's where we are.