Position Previews - FTRS

wesgt123

Helluva Engineer
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1,688
My biggest concern is the O line. I’m not saying they can’t/won’t pick up the technique quickly. But going up against Clemson to start is probably gonna get ugly lol
 

ATL1

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7,377
The Clemson game is where I say follow the CPJ mantra of slowing the game down and playing keep away. Run baby Run.
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
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8,916
Again gt is thin on experience at OT.
Quinney though long was light that was camouflaged by playing next to braun. He is very quick on his feet and with weight can mimic Defoor. Defoors who rode the pine had to drop 25 lbs to play OT. His dad says he was solid 305 when he left ole miss. Hopfully we see major strength and weight gain in him as he has no real game experience.

No injuries allowed.





Hopefully NEXT YEAR we have some depth.
 

gtyj18jr

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153

takethepoints

Helluva Engineer
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5,877
If there is one position on the team that I don't have many worries about (besides WR), it's the OL. As was pointed out by several analysts when Coach took over, compared to blocking for a spread option, blocking for a shotgun spread is a kindergarten picnic.

There will be no problems with run blocking; that's all these people have been doing for their entire career, so I'm assuming that the major concerns are about pass blocking. That's a legit concern; the pass blocking was better last year, but still not up to what we need for a shotgun attack. But I think that's the result of three factors: one inherent in the spread option and two dependent on who's playing QB. The first and most important, imho, is the splits. Shotgun teams typically use 2 foot splits and a two point stance. This makes backing up to form a pocket less of a challenge. The spread option used 3 - 4 foot splits to spread the D out and create running lanes and a three or four point stance with weight forward. And, of course, that worked. But most pass plays were play action and that meant that the pocket had to form a yard or so back with OLs trying to keep in front of the opposition while forming up. That isn't easy to do consistently and the predominance of the running attack meant that practice time and game experience with pass blocking were not too great. The other two concerned the QB. JT was very successful throwing the ball. This was because he was mobile, had a real facility for spotting receivers quickly, and a pretty quick release. When he decided to throw he did pretty well. TaQuon - and I loved him, btw - had a harder time spotting receivers and a relatively slow release. He could throw successfully if he had the time, but he took more then JT usually did and blocking breakdowns were more common. It remains to be seen if whoever ends up at QB will get back to the JT standard. Further, the article is right that the OLs will have to learn new pass blocking techniques and they will need experience with them to work effectively. But we do have a decent OL coach who seems to think his OLs are on the right track and whoever the new QB is will be in an offense that makes throwing the ball easier.

One other thing: some here have an obsession with size. It's good to remember that all the OLs put on weight last year and will have put on more by the fall and the DLs they are up against are smaller then the OLs at their present weight and greater mobility counts in blocking them. I think the OL will do just fine once they get a little game experience.

Now, concerns about the DL are another story. There Tech tragically lost a player who could have made a great difference in the scheme Coach seems to want to use. That's why I'm worried about - a lot - about our DL, particularly when it comes to depth at DT. We have three solid players there, but they could sure use a fourth. DE is also plagued with depth problems.

But no doubt many of the issues we think are important here will turn out to be no real concern and something we never anticipated will be the real source of trouble. That's always how it works out.
 

stinger 1957

Helluva Engineer
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1,283
I don't know a lot about it, but seems to me even run blocking from a 4 point, weight fwd, flat back stance to a higher 3 pt or standup position is a big adjustment, although it would also seem to me that the new stance would make pass blocking much easier. All IMO and again i don't know a lot.
 

redmule

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
664
If there is one position on the team that I don't have many worries about (besides WR), it's the OL. As was pointed out by several analysts when Coach took over, compared to blocking for a spread option, blocking for a shotgun spread is a kindergarten picnic.

There will be no problems with run blocking; that's all these people have been doing for their entire career, so I'm assuming that the major concerns are about pass blocking. That's a legit concern; the pass blocking was better last year, but still not up to what we need for a shotgun attack. But I think that's the result of three factors: one inherent in the spread option and two dependent on who's playing QB. The first and most important, imho, is the splits. Shotgun teams typically use 2 foot splits and a two point stance. This makes backing up to form a pocket less of a challenge. The spread option used 3 - 4 foot splits to spread the D out and create running lanes and a three or four point stance with weight forward. And, of course, that worked. But most pass plays were play action and that meant that the pocket had to form a yard or so back with OLs trying to keep in front of the opposition while forming up. That isn't easy to do consistently and the predominance of the running attack meant that practice time and game experience with pass blocking were not too great. The other two concerned the QB. JT was very successful throwing the ball. This was because he was mobile, had a real facility for spotting receivers quickly, and a pretty quick release. When he decided to throw he did pretty well. TaQuon - and I loved him, btw - had a harder time spotting receivers and a relatively slow release. He could throw successfully if he had the time, but he took more then JT usually did and blocking breakdowns were more common. It remains to be seen if whoever ends up at QB will get back to the JT standard. Further, the article is right that the OLs will have to learn new pass blocking techniques and they will need experience with them to work effectively. But we do have a decent OL coach who seems to think his OLs are on the right track and whoever the new QB is will be in an offense that makes throwing the ball easier.

One other thing: some here have an obsession with size. It's good to remember that all the OLs put on weight last year and will have put on more by the fall and the DLs they are up against are smaller then the OLs at their present weight and greater mobility counts in blocking them. I think the OL will do just fine once they get a little game experience.

Now, concerns about the DL are another story. There Tech tragically lost a player who could have made a great difference in the scheme Coach seems to want to use. That's why I'm worried about - a lot - about our DL, particularly when it comes to depth at DT. We have three solid players there, but they could sure use a fourth. DE is also plagued with depth problems.

But no doubt many of the issues we think are important here will turn out to be no real concern and something we never anticipated will be the real source of trouble. That's always how it works out.

The chief thing the OL has to learn is how to hold without getting caught. Back when we had our last really good defense under Tenuta, how many times did we see our very good DL neutralized by a mediocre OL holding on every play. Sure the refs called it some, but mostly did not. I think it's only gotten worse in the last decade.
 

takethepoints

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,877
All true. OL blocking has become like Italian soccer; everybody - players, coaches, and refs - are doing everything they can to avoid enforcing the rules. And the reason is simple: the rules have become so lax that trying to enforce them in the middle of an often desperate (ever notice how holding seems to be enforced more strictly when one team gets an insurmountable lead?) contest is almost impossible. This, of course, is why OLs have been converted into giant pillars of fat; it's as if all offensive lines are made up of reincarnations of Sherman Plunkett. (Google him and you'll see what I mean.)

I'm an old OL and it pains me to watch the way OLs waddle around the field these days. One of the things I liked about the spread option is that the OLs were made up of lean, mean fighting machines who actually, you know, hit people. Hard. Opposing teams always said that their games with Tech were the most physical they had to play every year. I can only hope that this part of the OL training goes on; a bunch of bigger guys who hit people would be fun to watch. But I fear that Red and Stech are right and we'll see push-and-dance blocking return with a vengeance.

I don't blame the coaches or the players for this, btw. It's the fans who did it. We wanted more passing, more "excitement", and we got it when the pros and then the NCAA changed the rules to allow OLs to hold on every play. Me, I like to watch OLs hit, not pussyfoot around pushing people. But I've been overruled and I can't blame the coaches for using every advantage allowed them by the refs. Too bad, so sad.
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
Messages
8,916
All true. OL blocking has become like Italian soccer; everybody - players, coaches, and refs - are doing everything they can to avoid enforcing the rules. And the reason is simple: the rules have become so lax that trying to enforce them in the middle of an often desperate (ever notice how holding seems to be enforced more strictly when one team gets an insurmountable lead?) contest is almost impossible. This, of course, is why OLs have been converted into giant pillars of fat; it's as if all offensive lines are made up of reincarnations of Sherman Plunkett. (Google him and you'll see what I mean.)

I'm an old OL and it pains me to watch the way OLs waddle around the field these days. One of the things I liked about the spread option is that the OLs were made up of lean, mean fighting machines who actually, you know, hit people. Hard. Opposing teams always said that their games with Tech were the most physical they had to play every year. I can only hope that this part of the OL training goes on; a bunch of bigger guys who hit people would be fun to watch. But I fear that Red and Stech are right and we'll see push-and-dance blocking return with a vengeance.

I don't blame the coaches or the players for this, btw. It's the fans who did it. We wanted more passing, more "excitement", and we got it when the pros and then the NCAA changed the rules to allow OLs to hold on every play. Me, I like to watch OLs hit, not pussyfoot around pushing people. But I've been overruled and I can't blame the coaches for using every advantage allowed them by the refs. Too bad, so sad.
Times 2.
Maybe our short stocky centers and guards ( cooper, hansen, and young guys) can still do some trap and pull blocking in between the bear dancing. Already miss Parker.
 
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