is that the offensive line really stepped up on our last drive in regulation and in overtime. The right side of the o-line struggled tonight in obvious passing downs. However, when the game was on the line, they were able to give AA time in the pocket. kudos to the o-line for stepping up. Lots of room for improvement. I expect it to happen. Woo Pig.
I tried to make a similar point in another post, but it never took traction and developed into a thread.
I too noticed our last 3 “meaningful” possessions all resulted in TDs.
You may be right in that our OL simply started to execute better.
I thought it was more a case where that fast, athletic defense I had heard so much about all week was also a step slower and not quite as crisp at tackling towards the end of the game … a result of 4 quarters of our grind-it-out offense bashing on them (OL and RW III).
Maybe it was “all of the above.”
Don’t forget that TCU used a new defense and used different players at LB, so all the film study was skewed for our Oline. The green Oline encountered something much different with very fast DE’s and blitzes from everywhere.
As our color commentator last night stated, the last thing to gel is OL.
For us older guys, OH year after year would say the same thing, but in a slightly different way- the defense should always be ahead of the offense in August and early Sept.
Barring injuries, the OL won’t even be a topic in November of this season. We will take it as a given when they are gaining line surge against SEC DL’s. There is some talent on this line.
Another thing that helps is that, towards the end of the game, the opponents D just gets tired after our O line leans on them for the entire game.
There is so much more going on than meets the eye. Our typical pass pro is gap responsibility. For example, the RG has the a gap, the RT has the b and the back has the c. If the a is clear or more often passed to the center, the RG can help with the b or if he can get there he can peel back on the c gap rusher. On several occasions the RG peeled back and clipped the DE that was missed by the back. It looks like he is chasing and missing when in fact he is doing someone else’s job in order to buy a couple milliseconds. My guess is that the OL including CJ will grade out very well. Not sure about the RB assignments.
If you’d like to see a pancake block, go back and watch Jake Raulerson on the game-winning TD run by AA. He drives the TCU d-lineman straight into the ground. I like it!
I thought the OL made good progress. Many fewer mistakes and far less confusion than last week. They’ll get it right. WPS!