After listening to the Verducci interview I have a couple concerns:

 

1. He makes it sound like he's working with freshman with how little they know. If this is truly the case Latina really sucks. Also, I'm worried then on how far they can progress with only a spring and fall with good coaching.

 

2. The after 3-9 our O-line kept saying they were whiffing because they had paralysis by analysis. However it now sounds like they didn't know any of the l100's of little things that Verducci is teaching them now. If they couldn't even put a hat on someone when they had no little things to concentrate on how are they going to get it done with all the new stuff that is being taught to them.

After listening to the Verducci interview I have a couple concerns:

 

1. He makes it sound like he's working with freshman with how little they know. If this is truly the case Latina really sucks. Also, I'm worried then on how far they can progress with only a spring and fall with good coaching.

 

2. The after 3-9 our O-line kept saying they were whiffing because they had paralysis by analysis. However it now sounds like they didn't know any of the l100's of little things that Verducci is teaching them now. If they couldn't even put a hat on someone when they had no little things to concentrate on how are they going to get it done with all the new stuff that is being taught to them.

 

your point #2 was kidn of what i complained about before mentioning we glorify simplifying things down for the college game and just running to the ball carrier, hitting the DL, etc.

 

I am concerned as well. Like I said, i think we need a Joe Moore to fix our OL, not a Bill Walsh....who knows though

Have you guys ever heard the phrase under promise and over deliver?

 

Kinda like the old Lou when he was talking about the competition. I can still here him now, "well that SMU (or insert any team here) team is going to be really tough to beat. They have one of the best rushing attacks in the nation...." After a week of listening to Lou I personally thought we should be ready for an butt kicking by the hands of the northwest directional state university for the blind and deaf.

 

He was setting expectations low and when he won by 30+ points everyone would say wow what a great coach.

 

IMHO, Verducci is doing the same thing. Telling us that the O line basically has the deer in the headlights look. And when he brings them out and they are bad ass we are all going to say what a great coach he is.

i think krazy is spot on here---- BARRING INJURY_-- i have near ZERO concerns about our OLINE--- i think they will play the most improved game of any of our units--- allowing for huge improvments everywhere else-- running-- passing-- and yes even defense-- who i think had as its NO 1 problem last year-- FATIGUE--and FIELD POSITION--- this years OLINE will rest the defense and move the ball on the ground, sacks allowed will go under 20!---

 

Look for sam young to move himself into the first round or early second of the NFL draft--- and in two years expect to see almost this entire OLINE on an NFL ROSTER!!!

After listening to the Verducci interview I have a couple concerns:

 

1. He makes it sound like he's working with freshman with how little they know. If this is truly the case Latina really sucks. Also, I'm worried then on how far they can progress with only a spring and fall with good coaching.

 

2. The after 3-9 our O-line kept saying they were whiffing because they had paralysis by analysis. However it now sounds like they didn't know any of the l100's of little things that Verducci is teaching them now. If they couldn't even put a hat on someone when they had no little things to concentrate on how are they going to get it done with all the new stuff that is being taught to them.

 

that's what the spring is for, to go over all the little details. in the spring he's going to walk them through every little detail so they know how it's going to be in the fall then once fall camp rolls in (BOOM, things will take off). like verducci said, if it was him coming in with a new offense then he'd be worried, but these guys all know the assignments, they just have to get accustomed with his coaching & techniques. from the tape I've seen he's been hammering them on combo blocks and firing out low (two things I always talked about when I hammered the OL last yr). The whole line would stand straight up and I always saw guys getting off too early or too late on the combo blocks. Verducci did his hw on our OL and he's going to right the ship. All i know is this year we should have a damn good line with all returning starters (Duncan from '07). And all the underclassmen are going to get that much better under Verducci for the '10 club.

your point #2 was kidn of what i complained about before mentioning we glorify simplifying things down for the college game and just running to the ball carrier, hitting the DL, etc.

 

I am concerned as well. Like I said, i think we need a Joe Moore to fix our OL, not a Bill Walsh....who knows though

 

what category does Verducci fall under? IMO he's a combo of a guy who gets after his OL when they make mistakes, but is also a great teacher (i think we'll see more of the nastiness in the fall b/c spring is all about teaching).

Have you guys ever heard the phrase under promise and over deliver?

 

Kinda like the old Lou when he was talking about the competition. I can still here him now, "well that SMU (or insert any team here) team is going to be really tough to beat. They have one of the best rushing attacks in the nation...." After a week of listening to Lou I personally thought we should be ready for an butt kicking by the hands of the northwest directional state university for the blind and deaf.

 

He was setting expectations low and when he won by 30+ points everyone would say wow what a great coach.

 

IMHO, Verducci is doing the same thing. Telling us that the O line basically has the deer in the headlights look. And when he brings them out and they are bad ass we are all going to say what a great coach he is.

 

 

great point Krazy, I totally agree. On top of that, he's just walking the guys through his methods in the spring. It's more for teaching & getting a lil' banging in and being on the same page with terms and such.

i think krazy is spot on here---- BARRING INJURY_-- i have near ZERO concerns about our OLINE--- i think they will play the most improved game of any of our units--- allowing for huge improvments everywhere else-- running-- passing-- and yes even defense-- who i think had as its NO 1 problem last year-- FATIGUE--and FIELD POSITION--- this years OLINE will rest the defense and move the ball on the ground, sacks allowed will go under 20!---

 

Look for sam young to move himself into the first round or early second of the NFL draft--- and in two years expect to see almost this entire OLINE on an NFL ROSTER!!!

 

i wouldnt say I have zero concerns, but I feel like we'll have the best OL we've had since even before the quinn years. we should have a better running game with everyone being a year older and Duncan (who was the better run blocker between him & Turkovich) back in the fold. All reports last year were that Duncan & Turk were relatively close & Duncan was playing hurt (hip I believe which hampered his ability to move laterally which is needed for pass blocking). Duncan was the better run blocker & Turk was the better pass blocker. Also I believe if Duncan didnt have a bad hip then he would've beaten Turk out, but that's just my opinion. Im pretty sure we allowed less than 20 sacks last yr right? So I'd say lets shoot for under 10

nevermind, just checked. we allowed 22 sacks I believe. either 22 or 26 (not sure if it was sacks for or sacks against lol)

i think it was 26 or 28 ziggy-- a big improvment over the 50's--- anyhow i was thinking 1.5 sacks per game over 12-- 18 sacks total--- if we did that it would seem like hardly any!

i think it was 26 or 28 ziggy-- a big improvment over the 50's--- anyhow i was thinking 1.5 sacks per game over 12-- 18 sacks total--- if we did that it would seem like hardly any!

 

"near zero concern for the Oline"? No offense Hawaii...but the Oline development is once again, THE big concern this year. 1.5 sacks a game with a LT that has very little playing experience also is really over confident.

 

Anything can happen, but to say there is no concern over the Oline and to be confident about their production at this point is nearly impossible, outside of the homer view of course.

"near zero concern for the Oline"? No offense Hawaii...but the Oline development is once again, THE big concern this year. 1.5 sacks a game with a LT that has very little playing experience also is really over confident.

 

Anything can happen, but to say there is no concern over the Oline and to be confident about their production at this point is nearly impossible, outside of the homer view of course.

 

solid point BUT would you (or did you) predict they would cut their sack total in HALF last year compared to the previous year? i doubt it highly. so, there *is* a precedent for improvement from this group.

 

so, i would say that one could confidently expect improvement this year but what level that improvement will be is the real question.

The whole sack thing can be a little misleading...don't get me wrong there was some improvement by the O-line in pass-blocking last year (run blocking not so much) but Clausen's increased awareness also helped pare that sack count in half too.

The whole sack thing can be a little misleading...don't get me wrong there was some improvement by the O-line in pass-blocking last year (run blocking not so much) but Clausen's increased awareness also helped pare that sack count in half too.

 

agreed and his lack of awareness helped balloon the sack total the year b4. the new england patriots OL was pretty good, but Tom Brady's awareness makes them look so much better statistically b/c he steps through and around defenders like it's a walk in the park. A QB's pocket presence can be cut down or lead to some sacks

i repeat -- BARRING INJURY - i have little to no concerns about our oline---- WHY----New Coaching---5th year seniors and seniors will man almost every position-- Verducci likes both the size - condition -and strength of this oline----you have a very dedicated group that has tons of ,want to, getting that monkey off their back-- you had a dominating performance in their last game-these guys have underperformed yes-- but they have the pedigree--- if you dismiss the 3 and 9 year fiasco-- their was substantial improvement last year---- the 2009 version of the ND OFFENSIVE LINE has more starts then we have seen in quite awhile-- they have played together long enough to have the collective chemistry that is SO IMPORTANT FOR ANY OLINE-- to quote one of hawaii's best players--who in his four year career at hawaii has played USC- FLORIDA_ ALABAMA and several other top programs-- A MOUTON was asked what was the most surprising thing about playing ND-- he said--" THE OFFENSIVE LINE_- NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT_ THEY WERE HUGE_ AND BOY DID THEY GET AFTER IT--- after a spring and fall with coach verducci refining these MEN to play to their potential-- and yes "I HAVE LITTLE TO NO CONCERNS ABOUT THE 09 OFFENSIVE LINE"----IMO__ to expect to see the same players either wiffing -- giving up sacks, or rolling around on the ground like 2007-- is just plain PESSIMISM -- its negative waves in the face of nothing but a positive outlook for SAM-CHRIS-DAN-ERIC-TREVOR-AND PAUL-- and with some good depth behind that group of 6-----THE 2009 OLINE WILL BE DOMINATING IN 8 OF THE 12 GAMES-- and will play well in every game!!!!

I would expect to see our sacks given up total to be in the mid teens this year.

No higher than 16 for sure.