offensive line help
- Thread starter blood94
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Possibly but I played OL in college & my son played DL in college. Which does not correlate to the ISU OL personnel issues directly but here’s my thoughts: Their advantage is twofold-they know the play & they know the snap count. Their disadvantage is what Mike Tyson said-Everybody has a plan until you get hit in the mouth! The problem is coaching. Can the OL instantly react to processing a change in plans when the DL person he was focused on makes a move that is different than he anticipated? Is he losing his advantage by thinking too much instead of reacting? A good OL coach pounds reaction instead of thinking which is done by live repetition in practice under every possible alignment until the OL instantly responds to every slant or stunt thrown at them. Our OL regressed this year. Moving Downing to center was not good. They were thinking too much which is all on the coach. My college coach played OL in the NFL and his mantra was- He Who Hesitates Is Lost. Which is my point.
They should pursue Matt Limegrover from Arkansas State. He worked for Jerry Kill for 16 seasons, plus Penn St. and NW.
Would really have been surprised if they played last year. We needed OL depth and I think they were recruited for 2023 & beyond.
Unless we can get a 4/5th year G5/P5 starter looking to transfer, I think best hope for 2023 OL are the 15+ kids already on the roster.
A new S&C guy and position coach could make a huge difference in play of guys like Simmons, Miller, Hufford, Remsburg, etc. IMO our OL looked very slow-a-foot and unathletic the last couple years. Other than Miller, like the Michelin man or Pillsbury dough boys.
At a minimum, the group of young OL backups on our roster should be pushing for PT and possibly start.
usfl o line coach. rumor is Matt was not interested in his services.
Overthinking seemed to be a lot of what was going on in our offense. Procedural penalties. Tightening up in RedZone. Making play calls in tempo. Difficulty getting plays in on time. Deciding whether to go for it, punt or fg.
No idea what interpersonal communication lines looked like. Could be HC not giving autonomy or it could be OC not inspiring confidence for autonomy, or lack of decisiveness/executive decision-making. But that's how it looked to my eye.
It looked exactly like all the above. You just solved the recurring maladies of inconsistency and lack of execution.
Quick, e-mail the coach!
I hope the autonomy issue is sorted now with the rising star promoted to OC inspiring decisive decision making in future games. The last drive of the 2020 conference championship game came to mind too many times this last season.
How many times did we see the offense look so effective when it moved quickly? The one who makes a decision and acts quickly always has an advantage.
Having limited knowledge on OL play, could you elaborate on 'why' moving Downing to center was not good? And for those questioning if the talent we have returning can be 'coached up' yet, just how far are we talking before we can be a 'good' line? Are our offensive line players that much lower in talent than lets say, KState's? I also wonder about how much the coaching actually made that much difference. And the only reason I bring that up is, hasn't Iowa had consistent successful OLine coaching for years? And yet, their line really wasn't up to par this year either. Just wondering if its more talent or more coaching. Probably both is what most people will say is my guess.
Both IMO. Larger problem with the offense is lack of confidence which likely stems from a lack in communication/expectations.
Downing was considered the best lineman on the team and had always played guard. Due to a players injury, he was pressed in to the center position for one game. No one stepped up to claim the spot, so he was made the starting center for his final campaign. It is very possible that he was encouraged to have game experience in both spots to enhance his NFL chances. Having never played center full time, learning all the nuances on the fly is mentally challenging. Thru no fault of his own, it is possible that the lack of cohesion in the line was in some part due to the loss of a seasoned very good guard, Downing, to his backup at the position. Which then exposed the tackle who did not have Downing at his side to cover his mistakes. I would be curious who the #2 & # 3 centers were last year and who was #2 this year. Downing graduated so it will be the key spot on the OL to fill.
We need to be more consistent on the o-line. Fewer mistakes. We had plenty of drive killing dropped balls, and missed blocks by tight ends and receivers. If the O-Line can play slightly better together with better coaching we will be vastly improved. However, tight end blocking is a big issue if we keep running the power sets, and receiver play is a big issue if we do not run a power set. Hopefully the OC can figure out how to work with what we have.
Dodge Sauser was the #2 center out of fall camp, but got pulled off the field the week before the first game for a medical issue. He was coming along too and might’ve stepped in at some point which would’ve moved Downing back to guard.
Dodge Sauser is a coach's kid. I like that concept for a center, who is essentially the QB of the line. Also his brother was the Grinnell QB.
Agree with this sentiment & this is my basis for thinking we will not do well trying to get a portal transfer for the OL - even smaller school 'diamond in the rough'. If a player was at all successful at FCS or D2 level, even they will get noticed by programs with much better OL development & the player will prefer going there simply for that reason. Or they could stay put & still have just as good, possibly better, path to the NFL. Hasn't seemed to hurt the linemen UNI has produced the past few years.
Maybe we make a "splash" hire with the OL coach and his gravity pulls in some of these players looking for OL development, or transforms our unit. Not holding my breath, just speaking my wish to the universe...
