The offensive line's play was mediocre, at best, and that was before Robert Hainsey and Tommy Kraemer got shelved for the year. With Aaron Banks coming up rather gingerly during the Stanford game, I guess we should be *very* thankful that we have a month to heal up.
Even before the entire right side of the OL went down, Robert Hainsey wasn't playing at 100% health. He seemed pretty gimpy at times during the year, and I suspect that lidocaine + epinephrine injections can only go so far.
While pass blocking has been adequate, there hasn't been any real push from the offensive line when it comes to the 1st half of recent games. The only time we seem to be getting a nice surge is at the end of the games, when opposing defenses are either simply too tired, or are using 2nd stringers.
Jeff Quinn doesn't seem to be able to coach up these kids to their potential. Last year, a veteran squad helped cover up that inability, but now that this line is essentially "his" guys, and not Harry Hiestand's, the lack of development is sorely showing.
By the way, I'm not bashing the effort that our guys are giving. Even the weakest link of the group, Trevor Ruhland, is pouring his heart out into the game.
Trevor Ruhland does OK on finesse blocks, and has good technique on his pass blocking, but with the plethora of injuries, he simply can't do any real power blocking. He's playing on knees and shoulders that would have most of us ordinary human beings limping along every day.