I will be blunt, Heggarty and Elmer were awful today. I'm not sure what McGlinchey has to do to see the field, but it's clear that Elmer isn't living up to his hype (Sam young part 2)

 

I'm ready for Montelus or Hanratty inside too...

 

Somebody wanna tell me I'm wrong ?

I've been disappointed by Elmer's play, but there's too much talent to write him off yet. They have to stick him at Guard and keep him at Guard, there is a HUGE difference in playing T vs G.

If all of the backs are not reading holes and not finishing runs correctly, who's fault is that? They all have the same coach, Alford. He is a great recruiter but I question his coaching. Same thing with Hiestand. Great recruiter who kids want to play for but I question his coaching. There is a reason that Vol fans said good ridance to him.

 

Hegarty was worse than Elmer. Just awful. Guys were blowing by him before he even got out of hos stance. Several plays, I would think to myself, 'my goodness, this can't continue'.

I just watched that draw in 3rd down. I wonder if Elmer was allowing penetration on purposive and Golson should have stepped up sooner to his left. Elmer looks like he opens up right off the snap which would open the middle if the field.

 

Could have been he just got blown up, but it almost looked too easy.

 

I know what you mean, it looked so ridiculous that it had to be planned to let the defensive lineman over pursue. I though that could have been a trap as well but Golson didn't seem to react that way, and Golson knows this offense inside and out.

 

Aside from that awful play, the rest of this season has been brutal. I'm scared every snap that something bad is going to happen.

 

And Bivin can DEFINITELY play center. He's multi talented. I'm sure some of you remember this - he was thrown in at the UA game with basically no notice and he dominated the best defensive lineman in the nation. And so many players from that game are already stars, so its a good barometer. Being an O-lineman at the UA game is becoming so ridiculous with how many stud pass rushers they bring in, and Bivin was just sensational. I thought he'd be our future Braxston Cave.

I think Elmers problem in particular is very fundamental---he needs to be stronger!!---He didn't let that guy go Cory he wante to push him to the outside and back and instead got steamrolled right into and OVER the QB.

 

I think Elmer needs another year in the weight room and likely could benefit from some leaner muscle to get a bit more quickness.

 

From what I have seen , for elmer at least it does not look to be a coaching issue, it seems to be PHYSICAL short comings.

 

We may see a change again next week , or perhaps we have NO BETTER alternative--its a bit of a pickle

 

aloha

God no...no way am I writing him off. I'd bet he turns into a solid lineman in time. Right now, he's no good. I can only think that the coach's know he's a player that learns more from competition than practice. It's almost throwing him to wolves because it'll make him better in the long run, and that in turn helps our team in the long term. Honestly I would love to know the whole scenario. IF we don't have someone better than Elmer, that's scary and I can see Irishstorm's sentiment. But until that's proven...

 

IRISHSTORM....hahaha come on buddy, we can't seriously be blaming Heistand right now after he gave the NFL its next superstar...and Watt and Cave, probably Lombard. ..and I'm sure so many more in the next half decade. Heistand is untouchable between his recruiting and NFL #'s. And Martin will be the best or one of the best lineman in the world....I've watched 3 games and he's DESTROYING everyone. Thank you Harry....Sincerely NFL

Stanley will be in the NFL as well some day.

I'm inclined to cut the O-line and the running backs some slack here. I, too, have been very concerned about the apparent cluelessness of our linemen. They definitely need to step it up and "gel" before we play Florida State. That being said, I think one must consider the strength of Stanford's defense. They definitely have great experience and should still be considered one of the top defenses in the country. Bad as our offense seemed on Sat., it could have been much worse. Dangeruss called it when he said that Stanford would shut down our run game and make us one-dimensional. I would like to predict some good running back play this weekend versus UNC. Let's hope I'm right, cause I'm traveling a long way to see the game. As always, GO IRISH!!

Florida State's DL are going to abuse us unless we step it up significantly.

 

Elmer will get there but I'm struggling to find anything positive to say about Hegarty. He cannot start against them. It will not be fair.

Florida State's DL are going to abuse us unless we step it up significantly.

 

Elmer will get there but I'm struggling to find anything positive to say about Hegarty. He cannot start against them. It will not be fair.

 

 

They seem to be getting thin at Dline because of injuries so that may help.

Notable Sophomores that recently underachieved and were 'written off'...

 

Braxton Cave

Troy Niklas

Zeke Motta

Harrison Smith

 

These are just a few that came to mind off of the top of my head but i recall the fanbase generally calling out all four and lamenting why they were playing. Of course, all four came back and made significant contributions to the team. Niklas is example 1.A here ... he was a turnstile through his the first half of his soph year. Yes, Elmer is not performing well but he's only a sophomore.

If all of the backs are not reading holes and not finishing runs correctly, who's fault is that? They all have the same coach, Alford. He is a great recruiter but I question his coaching. Same thing with Hiestand. Great recruiter who kids want to play for but I question his coaching. There is a reason that Vol fans said good ridance to him.

 

Hegarty was worse than Elmer. Just awful. Guys were blowing by him before he even got out of hos stance. Several plays, I would think to myself, 'my goodness, this can't continue'.

 

You're justifying your 'walk on' status.

For all of the "he's just a sophomore" talk... I really don't care if he's a freshman or fifth year... If he isn't getting the job done at two positions, than find someone who can (McGlinchey to right tackle- Lombard back to guard)

For all of the "he's just a sophomore" talk... I really don't care if he's a freshman or fifth year... If he isn't getting the job done at two positions, than find someone who can (McGlinchey to right tackle- Lombard back to guard)

 

I am ok with him learning the speed of the game and making mistakes throughout his first six games I would like to see the O-line strong for FSU, really need to be two dimensional.

So I finally go t a chance to rewatch the game. I agree with almost all the statements here.

 

I was surprised how poorly both Elmer and Hegarty played. Elmer just doesn't look strong enough, and the draw by Golson was blown up solely by Elmer getting pushed back. Hegarty was continually beat on simple techniques by the DT playing over him. Now both of these players had great DLineman that played over them. But they both were schooled continually.

 

Just glad we have Golson. He recovered many plays that would have been sacks or throwaways in the past....

For all of the "he's just a sophomore" talk... I really don't care if he's a freshman or fifth year... If he isn't getting the job done at two positions, than find someone who can (McGlinchey to right tackle- Lombard back to guard)

 

The point is, we're always going to have weaknesses most often due to the fact that we'll never have the luxury of a 1-deep full of multi-year starters. If it was so apparent that there was a vastly superior oline, why wouldn't they be played?