Anybody with football experience…grade our OL performance please.
There seems to be talent there. Needs some time.
They meshed well in 2nd half running game. Is that easier than pass protection? Or are they more maulers?
Replies to: Anybody with football experience…grade our OL performance please.
A&M D line was gasping in the 4th. Even the run plays that did not work earlier took a toll. This
is the opinion of former ND players!
For the type of O-lineman ND recruits trap blocking and quick hitting plays has always worked well
Trap blocking allows for angles and with tall, long and athletic lineman this is a perfect fit. Lineman that can pull and run is important especially on trap blocking and QB lead plays. Never liked zone blocking a lot of reaching for your opponent and your base is less stable which leads to more holding calls. ND TEs also have played a big role in our past running success and we need Evans and Rairdon playing well. Flanigan threw some key blocks but also missed a lot.
1st half grade would be a D, 2nd half grade would be a B+. A lot of credit to RB love who many times was hit in the backfield and fought for extra yards.
this is good to hear. I never liked zone blocking either but didn't realize they ditched it
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Run blocking tends to be easier
Run blocking tends to be easier, since you're responsible for taking out your guy, attacking the defender, especially in a man to man blocking scheme. Now, if you're undersized and / or underpowered, you may be in for a bad day if you have to take on those 300+ lb monsters at nose tackle or 3 technique DT, and have to get a lot lower.
On a passing play, you're more in a "stand your ground" mode, and are trying to delay the pass rusher. Offensive linemen tend to prefer being the one hitting the other guy.
But... It also depends on the scheme.
The offensive schemes that we've been using ever since 2005 all used zone blocking (Charlie Weis' Erhardt-Perkins offense, Brian Kelly / Tommy Rees' pro-style / spread hybrid), and it takes time for a unit to mesh together and be on the same page. It's one thing to understand the zone blocking assignments, but it's another thing to actually be able to make quick decisions on which defender to block once they're in your assigned zone.
It also comes down to being able to pass off the guy you're blocking, to another blocker, or to be the one receiving the defender being passed to you.
Once a bunch of guys work together, they learn what each other's real time strengths and weaknesses are, and can all adjust on the fly.
In the case of Saturday's performance, there were some blown assignments in the running game on multiple occasions, during the first half, especially on the left side. Knapp didn't adjust to the stunting a few times, while Pendleton flat-out chose to block the wrong defender a few times, most notably on the play where the nose tackle who was already double teamed. The 3 technique DT was left unblocked, and smothered the runner.
After halftime, the left side of the line looked significantly better, and I'd attribute this to Joe Rudolph making adjustments and doing some on the spot coaching. Knapp and Pendleton did a much better job of reading the zone and taking out the correct guy, while also doing a pretty good job of passing off defenders to the TE or blocking RB, both in the running and passing plays.
I'll definitely say this, that our linemen have flexible minds, and made adjustments properly, especially as the game dragged on into 4Q.
That’s exactly what I was looking for. Ty.
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Great summary. I have always wondered about pass blocking because I know the technique now is to
"stand your ground" as you say, but I have always wondered why doesn't the offensive lineman attack first and take some momentum away from the pass rusher. Is it possible to do this and then go into the "stand your ground" method. It seems to me the pass rushers have the edge against the current "stand your ground" technique because they know their first move and it becomes a "wait and see" technique rather than "a stand your ground". My line blocking only consisted of a high school tight end and an interhall guard experience and was in the late 60's and early 70's so I am sure I am way off in trying to understand the "stand your ground" technique. Again I appreciate your great summary.
I think there are two lenses to look at it through..
In a vacuum when not considering the quality of their DL, or the Jagusah injury, or the youth of the LG and LT. The right side of OL was probably a solid B, the Center was a C and the left side of OL was a D-.
However, when considering the mentioned context...right side was probably B+, Center was a C+, and left side of OL would be a C+.
Less the last 2 minutes very fair and after watching a lot of football this weekend a&m d line is
Very good
They looked like A's on that last TD drive.
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Absolutely...I was grading for whole game. OL grew up a lot in 4th Quarter.
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grew up… that might be telling for the rest of year, huge confidence booster
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Leonard and Denbrock covered up a lot of deficiencies.
But you have to grade them against the DL they faced in that environment. I give them an exceeds expectations.
Agree.
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Truth
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