having watched a clip of today's practice I was really encouraged by our offensive line. They looked big and strong. On the flipside, the Dline looks to outgunned size wise. I know in our scheme with all the blitzing speed is important but I have concerns as some of the guys were getting blown back 5yds. Any thoughts?

Our run defense I'd say is a huge concern

Anyone have a link to the practice?

http://www.blueandgold.com/content/?aid=6941

 

Reggie Brooks was at practice today? hmmmmm......

Here is the link to the Irish Eyes drill:

 

http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/college-football/battle-lines-49169

in the Blue and Gold video of today's practice, it seemed like the O-Line got really good pushes

im hoping this translates to or o line finally exerting dominance. it's been a long time coming...........

WELL.............here I go. Our offensive line looked PATHETIC in those practice tapes. Paul Duncan looks like a man on a mission and was the only one who just dominated his guy. The others look like they are just standing there and not firing forward off the ball. What is it going to take to get these guys to hit?

WELL.............here I go. Our offensive line looked PATHETIC in those practice tapes. Paul Duncan looks like a man on a mission and was the only one who just dominated his guy. The others look like they are just standing there and not firing forward off the ball. What is it going to take to get these guys to hit?

 

i didnt watch them chiro. i'll get back to you on it, but your analysis does not sound encouraging..............

WELL.............here I go. Our offensive line looked PATHETIC in those practice tapes. Paul Duncan looks like a man on a mission and was the only one who just dominated his guy. The others look like they are just standing there and not firing forward off the ball. What is it going to take to get these guys to hit?

 

Are you watching the same video I am?

 

In that video linked, I can only count two or three times when the defensive lineman beat the O-Line. Other than that the offensive lineman looked GREAT.

yeah, I'm no OL expert, but they looked solid if not good to me at worst, certainly not pathetic.

I'm going to take the glass half-full view in that I think the OL has made huge strides in technique. I think we've always had the size, we just didn't know how to leverage it.

 

I go back to HawaiiIrish's note on the UH DL saying the Irish OL was just huge.

 

Remember, our running stats are pathetic...

 

Getting push on an Irish Eyes drill may get us back up to BCS contention numbers ... 3.5 yds/gain?

 

This drill is a great indicator for individual performance, but not for game play... all parts of the OL have to be in sync, and the DL is also buttressed with 3 LBs.

The first angle (sideline cam) shows our OL pushing 3-5 yds on each play. I thought they looked good, even when the DL could find the back, they were being pushed vertically. Good signs IMO for our OL.

All in all, I thought the OL looked good in this video. But, they should with this particular drill, they have all the advantage. They decide when to go, they only have to drive straight out, and they typically outweigh the DL by 20-40 lbs.

 

But, like someone else said, this is an individual drill, which is not how the OL works. The thing that gives the OL an even bigger advantage, is when the DL doesn't know where the block is coming from and as a result can't brace for it.

 

The one that that bothered me with some of the OL is them getting thrown to the ground. That should never happen, they should be able to lock into the DLs shoulder pads and hold on, not just be thrown aside.

 

But, I'm also a little discouraged by how the DL did, sans maybe Williams and Hafis. Still a big concern. I hope they can progress big time in the weight room over the next 4 months and take another step forward in fall camp.

ahhh, what i feared *and* expected has happened a few days early and that is the "damned if they do, damned if they don't" thread. OL loses a few irish eyes drills, they're gonna suck again!! OL wins a few irish eyes drills, the DL is undersized and we're gonna killed by the run!!! wow! i thought this thread would wait to appear 'til at least after the spring game! LOL!

 

obviously, my point is these guys can't win with us fans right now. esp. the OL. if it weren't for the fact that we've got to talk about something on here for the "dead period," i *might* suggest this thread is pointless. but hey, i'm as guilty as the next guy...

I thought the play of the OL was encouraging as well as the DL. My thoughts were that the OL was playing physical with good technique, whereas the DL were mostly holding their own (except Duncan looked like a beast) and with a LB behind them should be okay...I hope.