Revisiting the OL debate from the other day, now with Mullen's take.

[AlSwearengen]

There was a good debate the other day about the OL and Russell taking too many hits against south ala. If you haven't seen Mullen's latest interview (i saw it today), he mentioned that Russell was holding the ball longer than he should have, waiting for the receivers to come open so they could hit the home run. Dan said that the plays were designed for the QB to get rid of the ball quicker in order to sustain a drive rather than hit home runs. So, for those that took the stance that Russell made the OL look bad b/c of holding the ball, Dan has your back.

 

[57stratdawg]

The following are undeniable flaws with Russell: 1) he holds the ball too long, 2) he stares down his WRs.

Love the kid. Hope he's all SEC this year, but he needs to work on those two things.

 

[MedDawg]

On the plus side, we are the best in the SEC and near the top in the country in sacks allowed, so our OL must be doing something right, and Russell is at least getting rid of the ball instead of taking a sack.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

There was a good debate the other day about the OL and Russell taking too many hits against south ala. If you haven't seen Mullen's latest interview (i saw it today), he mentioned that Russell was holding the ball longer than he should have, waiting for the receivers to come open so they could hit the home run. Dan said that the plays were designed for the QB to get rid of the ball quicker in order to sustain a drive rather than hit home runs. So, for those that took the stance that Russell made the OL look bad b/c of holding the ball, Dan has your back.

Watching the usa game, tyler had ALL DAY to throw the ball. Is it his fault the receivers get no separation and cant run good routes?

 

[coach66]

He needs to learn what a hot receiver is and use it when he feels the blitz,

especially when we go five wide. I don't think the offensive line came be blamed much for Russell's beating to
this point.

 

[Chesusdog]

Five wide set has yet to be a successful formation for us except maybe against Auburn when we would hit Chris Smith on the little clear out route. Those may not have been on the five wide set though.

 

[KurtRambis4]

Our

play calling, from top to bottom, needs to get better on blitzes. We have got to start getting rid of the ball faster.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

I hate our 5 wide set. I wish we'd scrap it entirely. As it's been pointed out ad nauseum, Russell isn't getting rid of the ball and/or the the WRs aren't getting separation quickly. And teams have started splitting out the DE's and/or bringing an extra blitzer every time they see that package. And Russell is either not accounting for the blitzer or waiting for the guy to get right on top of him before throwing it, resulting in him taking an unnecessary hit. The whole package makes the OL look worse than it really is. If we're going to continue insisting on using the 5 wide set, We should have the quick clear out to Smith, a quick slant to Bump/Tubby, and a quick pass to RoJo ready every time. Honestly, RoJo is the only guy I'm comfortable with right now from a physical standpoint to catch the ball and get RAC yards. The ball HAS to come out quickly in the 5 wide set, and it isn't happening.