On the OL, What is More Important....

[Boomergump]

in our system, to be a road grader at the point of attack, or really good at the second level blocking in space? This question is a big one, in my mind, because it will determine who we go with to start the season. If you looked at what was going on in the spring game, Devine was as dominant as any OL player in my memory at the point of attack. However, out in space he really struggled to move well enough and find people to block. Braun, is obviously better than Devine after he releases from the line, but he suffers in comparison on the initial surge. Similarly, IMHO, O'Reilly is pretty good at standing people up at initial contact and he does a good job of cutting people who are close by, but he pales in comparison to Burden releasing into the secondary. Burden has really good wheels for a center. Finch was a very fast center. I think Burden is even faster. What say you? Who do we go with and what is more important? Either way, barring injury, you know Mason has RG locked down. I have some opinions but I want to hear your thoughts first.

 

[daBuzz]

Guards are supposed to be the road grader types in this system and the tackles have to have the ability to get to the 2nd-level defenders.

Kind of backwards from the "usual" setup on a traditional OL.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

With a road grader you are guaranteed some yardage if you run behind him. So many times, when we block in space, that is exactly what we are blocking.

 

[gtg936g]

I think the answer is both. If you are looking to eat clock and wear down the D, I think you go with Devine. If you get the D on it's heals you go with the guy that can open up the big play.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Simple answer is we play the guy that manages both skills the best. I think winning at the point of attack is most important of the two skills. Don't win there and we may not make a positive play. Ability at 2nd level is often the difference between a positive play and an explosion play. We need to be able to do both.

 

[forensicbuzz]

My opinion is that we play both. I love the fact that we have two guys (at two different positions) that are good enough to start. That means we'll have fresher legs towards the end of the game. That's awesome, and not something we've had a lot of recently.

 

[Boomergump]

Guards are supposed to be the road grader types in this system and the tackles have to have the ability to get to the 2nd-level defenders.

Kind of backwards from the "usual" setup on a traditional OL.

Our OGs release a good bit too. Depends on the play and the blocking scheme.

 

[Boomergump]

With a road grader you are guaranteed some yardage if you run behind him. So many times, when we block in space, that is exactly what we are blocking.

Ha, so true. I can't tell you how many plays I have seen would be tacklers let go, while we are running right past them looking for somebody downstream and finding nobody, especially leading plays out on the edge.

 

[Boomergump]

I think it is most important to go with the more physically dominating player at the point of attack. The reason being is that negative plays or zero yardage plays are a killer for our offense, more than most. I think you have to start by imposing your will physically in combination with good reads and the man advantages they create. The explosion plays are great, but you have to be able to sustain drives. The cool thing is, that the more imposing run blockers at the positions mentioned also seem to be better at pass pro.

My prediction: we will have the best pass blocking group we have had yet. Griffin and Devine have a lot of length and they are hard to get around. O'Reilly is tough to push out of there too. Burden will end up at RT with his speed and we will have ourselves a pretty formidable line. Braun and Brigham will make really good back ups too. I look to push more people around physically this coming season with maybe a little less venture down field of the big G-C-G uglies inside.

 

[ATL1]

I would say point of attack. If you riff at the point of attack getting down field is pointless.

 

[AE 87]

I really like Braun. I like O'Reilly, but suspect Burden is more aggressive and quick. I hope that we start getting a decent rotation. At all three spots when Chase comes back or true freshman

 

[augustabuzz]

Boomer, your observations are similar to mine. I would go with the explosion at the point of attack. I can't wait to see what happens when the DT grabs Divine to keep him from the next level. Right now, I think some of Divine's problems in space are from not having enough experience to have the confidence to make the correct block.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I want our O-Line to do to the VT, Miami and UGa lines what Will Bryan did in his highlight video.

 

[GT Tennessee]

Boomer I'm with you in your observations of the GCG. Our starting Oline come opening day should be LT-Griffin LG-Divine C-O'Reily RG-Mason RT-Burden. With this group I can definitely see us cramming the ball down defenses throats with BB dive and QB midline. As soon as they crowd the inside then we pop it out on a rocket toss or Option. Really CPJs first two years his line was full of road graders. To me we had more physical blocking in 08-09 then any of his later years. Excited about what this group could become.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I think the coaches like Burden at center, I don't think he's gonna move out to RT.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

I think the coaches like Burden at center, I don't think he's gonna move out to RT.

He will if Oreilly at C and him at RT > him at C and (insert lineman) at RT

 

[AE 87]

We need two capable guys at C. I don't see either moving unless a tr Fr comes in and commands the spot.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

He will if Oreilly at C and him at RT > him at C and (insert lineman) at RT

Maybe they'll move Burden and still keep him as the backup at center? Seems like he'd be pretty tired in that scenario. I guess it's always been get your best 5 on the field, if that's the case, I'm all for it.

 

[IronJacket7]

in our system, to be a road grader at the point of attack, or really good at the second level blocking in space? This question is a big one, in my mind, because it will determine who we go with to start the season. If you looked at what was going on in the spring game, Devine was as dominant as any OL player in my memory at the point of attack. However, out in space he really struggled to move well enough and find people to block. Braun, is obviously better than Devine after he releases from the line, but he suffers in comparison on the initial surge. Similarly, IMHO, O'Reilly is pretty good at standing people up at initial contact and he does a good job of cutting people who are close by, but he pales in comparison to Burden releasing into the secondary. Burden has really good wheels for a center. Finch was a very fast center. I think Burden is even faster. What say you? Who do we go with and what is more important? Either way, barring injury, you know Mason has RG locked down. I have some opinions but I want to hear your thoughts first.

Imo, you want an Offensive Lineman that can do both. However its not a perfect world and usually the player is going to better at one or the other.
I think that is what is great about our offense in that it can adapt to either style of Offensive Lineman. This adaptability is evident imo in years 08-11 in comparison to 12-14 as we are recruiting/getting larger OL.
All in all I think the playcalling is most important to correlate to the OL strength.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

in our system, to be a road grader at the point of attack, or really good at the second level blocking in space? This question is a big one, in my mind, because it will determine who we go with to start the season. If you looked at what was going on in the spring game, Devine was as dominant as any OL player in my memory at the point of attack. However, out in space he really struggled to move well enough and find people to block. Braun, is obviously better than Devine after he releases from the line, but he suffers in comparison on the initial surge. Similarly, IMHO, O'Reilly is pretty good at standing people up at initial contact and he does a good job of cutting people who are close by, but he pales in comparison to Burden releasing into the secondary. Burden has really good wheels for a center. Finch was a very fast center. I think Burden is even faster. What say you? Who do we go with and what is more important? Either way, barring injury, you know Mason has RG locked down. I have some opinions but I want to hear your thoughts first.

The nursery rhyme : Option their best, then block the rest applies here. I think it is more important for the offensive line to get out to the second level. The quarterback, with his read at the mesh, steers the play away from the defender at the point of attack, leaving a hat-on-a hat situation for our blockers on the remaining defenders. With good execution it's always a gain of four or five yards. With excellent execution it becomes 15 or 16 yards, with a chance to go all the way.