Ramirez, Jackson, and Gibson got beat one on one repeatedly Saturday. They totally attacked Clary with stunts and slants just like they did Froholdte last year with eerily similar results. A&M is not a great pass rushing defensive line. The only team in the SEC West with a weaker defensive line is us. These are our best offensive linemen?!?!? Were our preseason prognosticators fooled by how well they blocked our defensive line in the spring and preseason?
Wagner was the second-team right tackle before he broke his leg, so I don’t know that I’d include him in that group. Bret said he could figure in now that he’s healthy. Obviously you’d expect him to be a bit behind, but it sounds like he’s someone who could impact next year.
I had no clue Clary was going to be the guy. Nobody did, really. SEC teams are going to go after him.
I took a wait-and-see approach on Jackson because I wanted to see him do it in the game. Focusing him when rewatching games, he’s struggled again and still tends to have a few misses you just can’t have at left tackle every game.
They ran the ball well against A&M, which has some talent on the interior line, but obviously pass pro continues to be an issue for a number of reasons.
I don’t think anyone, coaches included, thought they’d be in this position in year five on the line. That, to me, is the most surprising/disappointing thing about the team.
May come as a surprise, but the media does not have a say in playing time.
I thought the O-line would be better simply because of another year of experience.
By the time we got to preseason practice, we got to see very little.
While they talked about how promising they thought Clary was, none of us saw him starting game one.
You could see Wallace was struggling what with them having to put an ear piece in his helmet to get him to block the right person.
Jalen Merrick - like Wallace - was wanted by everybody, but they clearly based that on potential because he did not play a snap of football before his junior season of high school.
It’s mind-boggling these two have not panned out or been developed.
I have no doubt that Coaach Bielema, Coach Enos and Coach Anderson would rather not be starting who they are, but the others can’t get on the field for some reason.
I don’t think Arkansas is trying to play walk ons to lose.
TAM has a better d line than u think
I would put Mack against almost any d lineman. He’s strong and fast as a cat. The rest are just as good.
GARRETT was good but not consistent all game.
Mack will run through u as u saw sat
Remember. Just because they lost to UCLA doesn’t mean they are horrible
They recruit just as well as Ala
So you think he was that good last year?
We lead the nation in sacks
Look at his tape. It doesn’t lie
Even sat when the DL simple made a turn Inside he stayed outside and AA got sacked
That my friend says it all
I don’t think it’s so much that Wallace doesn’t know what to do as it is there are a couple of other players who have progressed more than him at that position. Wallace’s footwork has been an area coaches have talked about almost from Day 1. That’s why he was moved to guard for a time. He is strong and powerful once he gets his hands on a defender, but he has to be quick enough to get in position. I think that is the No. 1 area that is holding him back.
It’s not like the coaches are sitting an All-SEC player. Yes, he started last year, but it was on one of the worst offensive lines any of us can remember.
So far all the moving pieces and position changes on the oline may have improved our run game vs the Aggies but pass protection was horrible. Wallace may have been bad for 10 games but we chose to play him. It just seems unreal as much as we have struggled he can’t get on the field at all…
If we continue to give up sacks at the current rate (and we haven’t played nearly the best defenses in the SEC yet) last year’s line will have better statistics than this one. That is frightening and appalling at the same time.
Coaches play guys all the time because they are easier to deal with and don’t cause problems, possibly a personality conflict between coach and player. The only 2 guys playing consistent football are Ragnow and Frojholdt. All the others have their faults and could easily be replaced by a guy that started 10 games last year. Surely we aren’t playing him because he commits penalties or makes mistakes because all of the guys that play in front of him do. And its not a lack of knowledge, the offensive coordinator is the same and terminology and plays although may be different at times is the same. Sooner or later the coach that puts them on the field has to be judged by his product.
There are a lot of good reasons to not play and, also, not recruit a better player. You don’t let better players with sorry or selfish attitudes play since it can be a cancer in the locker room. An inconsistent great player may make a great play 4 out of 5 plays but that one he takes off or doesn’t concentrate can kill you and your quarterback. So, a lesser player who you can depend on gets the playing time. I don’t know if this is the case with Wallace, but I doubt seriously CBB or Anderson are not playing good players without a good reason. As many players under-achieve as over-achieve. Look how many starters in Super Bowls came from nothing schools and were low rated in high school, in college, and in the NFL draft. Coaching young men is not an exact science but I wonder why ours are succeeding less than the rest of the SEC.
Dude that’s high school stuff, play the kid because his dad is on the school board. A college coach has too much to lose to play favorites. The best people he has available are the ones who are going to be on the field. I will concede that all else being equal, the decision might favor the player who works better with the guys around him. Yes the coaches have to get them ready to play, but the coaches can’t block and tackle and catch and do everything else that happens on the field. Players have to get it done and in critical situations we are not getting it done. Our kickoff coverage team was not coached to part like the Red Sea, but they sure did.