What are we going to do in the off-season about this O-Line?????

[richbrookstomato]

This is the WORST Off. line we've had since Stoops arrived. Heck, they are even worse than his first team!!!

What can be done to fix it?? Fire Yenser???? Transfer portal???? Develop young players????

 

[Glenn Fohr]

Is Mike Summers available?

 

[pauled#1]

Portal, portal, portal!

 

[Ineverplayedthegame]

OT‘s cost $500K. Pony up.

 

[TuckyFB]

Portal and send Yenser & Scangarello back to the 49ers

 

[Lost In FL]

Start over

 

[Chris Mallory]

Worst offensive line than the first game of the year. No progress

 

[RogCat1119]

They'll be a year older and a year stronger.

 

[ScottGreene22]

You know how many great players are playing on losing teams and will enter the portal? SEC team needs OL QB and RB help along with kicker and long snapper.

 

[NoDef]

We rarely have a pass play where the entire line does their job. There is almost always one or more players that miss an assignment or get whipped up front. This unit is bad.

 

[efudexto]

True…if we had a decent o line and at least adequate special teams, this team could have been really good.

 

[englishmajor]

Feed them and strengthen them.

 

[Sparkaces]

Well, we have the top freshman tackle in the country sitting on the sideline.

 

[K_TIME]

1. Fire Yenser...he's not the guy
2. Feed them and get em bigger as mentioned.
3. Portal, Portal
4. Cox isn't bad a C...but damn Flax is a mess and Burton is pretty bad as well. I hope Burton just needs to get bigger but Flax looks like he's a bust as a Jr. Goodwin is a total mystery to why he can't get on field. John Young is a pretty high rated kid that has not sniffed PT. If Wohlbaugh plays next year...might as well not watch. Buford is decnet IMO...if he's a guard them move him inside. But to bench him for Flax is nonsense.

 

[RogCat1119]

1. Fire Yenser...he's not the guy
2. Feed them and get em bigger as mentioned.
3. Portal, Portal
4. Cox isn't bad a C...but damn Flax is a mess and Burton is pretty bad as well. I hope Burton just needs to get bigger but Flax looks like he's a bust as a Jr. Goodwin is a total mystery to why he can't get on field. John Young is a pretty high rated kid that has not sniffed PT. If Wohlbaugh plays next year...might as well not watch. Buford is decnet IMO...if he's a guard them move him inside. But to bench him for Flax is nonsense.

Had totally forgotten Goodwin. What did happen to him?

 

[HalHR2500]

Recruiting nastiness and agility

This line is slow and soft

 

[Anon1660081258]

We do need better athletes on OL. Bigger is not always better. Great feet and hands are most important if you are going to throw more, and also help with outside zone concept run blocking.

 

[cathouse_rivals216755]

Had totally forgotten Goodwin. What did happen to him?

 

[tj4fun]

You can recruit the very best. But even the best need to be developed! I have not seen that this year!
You can blame the previous Oline coach for not rotating last year. But yensor didn't rotate either! Only time he sub was for injuries.

 

[azubuikefan]

Had totally forgotten Goodwin. What did happen to him?

He's not ready.

 

[4Frusciante#]

We rarely have a pass play where the entire line does their job. There is almost always one or more players that miss an assignment or get whipped up front. This unit is bad.

IMO, missed assignments mean the player hadn't practiced the play enough before trying it in the game

 

[dallasg23]

1. Fire Yenser...he's not the guy
2. Feed them and get em bigger as mentioned.
3. Portal, Portal
4. Cox isn't bad a C...but damn Flax is a mess and Burton is pretty bad as well. I hope Burton just needs to get bigger but Flax looks like he's a bust as a Jr. Goodwin is a total mystery to why he can't get on field. John Young is a pretty high rated kid that has not sniffed PT. If Wohlbaugh plays next year...might as well not watch. Buford is decnet IMO...if he's a guard them move him inside. But to bench him for Flax is nonsense.

Burton has been awful for most of the season. There are plays where he just falls down and times where he doesn’t lay finger on anybody which is included than man line up in front of him.

 

[bigblueinsanity_rivals250340]

OL really played well last three games. I was all in on the fire yenser train but now not sure. Was simplifying the offense really all that unit needed? Did they finally gel? What happened to make them turn it around basically overnight?

If Drake is ready, I'm ok with letting him take it. If not, I'm leaning towards keeping yenser. That unit badly needs continuity especially for recruiting. Tough to sell recruits when there is major turnover at their position coach.

 

[K_TIME]

OL really played well last three games. I was all in on the fire yenser train but now not sure. Was simplifying the offense really all that unit needed? Did they finally gel? What happened to make them turn it around basically overnight?

If Drake is ready, I'm ok with letting him take it. If not, I'm leaning towards keeping yenser. That unit badly needs continuity especially for recruiting. Tough to sell recruits when there is major turnover at their position coach.

I keep hearing this last three games stuff

. Candy we played well? 21 pts vs those scrubs? Tennessee showed how easy it is to light them up and we can’t get half that

UGA was well? We scored six pts. Granted we moved the ball decent at times…but still six pts

Ul www plays well? 26 pts not great. But we bogged down in red zone very poor.

I can agree rhe Olline played better down the stretch but they were still not good. Maybe from the worst P5 Oline to mediocre down the stretch but not anything resembling good

Why Yenser can’t rotate Buford yet Flax and his gazillion false starts is beyond me. Why Goodwn can’t sniff rotation is a mystery to me as well. Still a very undisciplined unit. Get Yenser out of here

 

[The-Hack]

OL really played well last three games.

I’ll give you the last two, and am hopeful the bowl game and practices give more experience, and a third solid game.

As I have posted/posited this morning, Levis made some decisions on throwing the ball away and hitting outlet backs that cut our sacks in half: could that, alone help build confidence in the linemen?

 

[TucsonCat]

I think the talent is there already and we could bounce back immediately.
Another year, and good coaching, can make a world of difference.
Not giving up on anyone, even Wolbaugh.
I really like seniors. Most times, those guys really make a jump and I think Flax could do that.
Bingham and Goodwin are good clay to work in.
If i had to choose, i would almost prefer we settle Buford/Goodwin at LT and find a center in the portal. Move Cox back to guard. But even better, do both.
Fire Yenser. Today. Even if the scheme isn't his fault, you have to question his personnel decisions.

 

[Mr Schwump]

Remember about halfway thru the season we read Goodwin, Paul Rodriquez and Nik Hall was getting extra practice in after regular practice?

 

[bigblueinsanity_rivals250340]

I keep hearing this last three games stuff

. Candy we played well? 21 pts vs those scrubs? Tennessee showed how easy it is to light them up and we can’t get half that

UGA was well? We scored six pts. Granted we moved the ball decent at times…but still six pts

Ul www plays well? 26 pts not great. But we bogged down in red zone very poor.

I can agree rhe Olline played better down the stretch but they were still not good. Maybe from the worst P5 Oline to mediocre down the stretch but not anything resembling good

Why Yenser can’t rotate Buford yet Flax and his gazillion false starts is beyond me. Why Goodwn can’t sniff rotation is a mystery to me as well. Still a very undisciplined unit. Get Yenser out of here

We ran the ball at will vs vandy. Wasn't the ol fault will had his worst game and only completed essentially one second half pass. Also not their fault the d laid an egg.

I hope Buford is paying you for the hype posts. I agree he looked solid vs uga but he didn't jump out. He got plenty snaps this season even without rotating.

 

[K_TIME]

We ran the ball at will vs vandy. Wasn't the ol fault will had his worst game and only completed essentially one second half pass. Also not their fault the d laid an egg.

I hope Buford is paying you for the hype posts. I agree he looked solid vs uga but he didn't jump out. He got plenty snaps this season even without rotating.

Do you honestly think Flax is better than him? Was Wohlbaugh ever in the same universe of him?

Secondly, we gave Jager Burton a full run at guard and he was pretty poor....but we moved a very solid guard to tadckle to make a spot for him. So you're almost comparing is Burton at guard worse than Buford at tackle...which I think is a no brainer.

 

[bigblueinsanity_rivals250340]

Do you honestly think Flax is better than him? Was Wohlbaugh ever in the same universe of him?

Secondly, we gave Jager Burton a full run at guard and he was pretty poor....but we moved a very solid guard to tadckle to make a spot for him. So you're almost comparing is Burton at guard worse than Buford at tackle...which I think is a no brainer.

I don't know if he's better or not. Flax played ok then played better towards the end. Can't stand his presnap penalties.

Wohlabough is not ready but has high upside. I still think we should've played him and moved horsey down but the staff just wasn't going to sit Jager no matter what

 

[gamecockcat]

I'm with K - Buford, to me, was pretty clearly one of the best 5 OL we had. What his position should have been is certainly up for debate but I thought he played pretty solidly whenever he was in the lineup. Flax was a disappointment. As said above, lots of false starts but also his lack of lateral quickness resulted in a ton of sacks, hurries and hits on Levis. Just plain not able to get wide enough to engage the speed rushers. Straight ahead blocking he did an adequate job. Pass pro was a crapshoot.

I'm not with K re: Burton. He definitely struggled mightily up until either the Vandy or Georgia game. While not a difference maker, he performed much better against both of those two teams (not saying he didn't get whipped every so often, of course, but every OL does get beat periodically). I watched him quite a bit against UofL and I though her performed very solidly. Lot of running room when we ran in his gaps. I'm sure he missed a block here and there but I thought he definitely showed some flashes of significant improvement the last 3 games.

The jury is still very much out on Rodriguez, Goodwin, Young, Bingham, Wohlabaugh, et al. Haven't seen enough of them to make any sort of judgment. I'd really like to see Cox and Horsey rotate back to their natural positions and see if we have anyone who can play C to allow Cox to shine at OG again. He, too, showed some signs of improvement late in the season so I'm not necessarily saying he HAS to move back to guard. I want the best 5 OL starting with 2-3 solid contributors subbing throughout the game.

All of the OL need more strength, better footwork, and an increased 'nasty' streak, which was sorely missing too many games this year.

 

[bluedog79]

We're okay. They played a bunch of young guys this year got us some seasoning on them. Got five star Kiyaunta goodwin next year.

We need a quarterback and a running back more than we need anything else.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Had totally forgotten Goodwin. What did happen to him?

In the limited time I saw him play, he struggled with playing too high. Most tall guys do,

 

[will.ksr]

My three step plan:

1. New coach
2. Convince Horsey to come back with NIL and move him to his natural position in the interior
3. Get a LT out of the portal to compete with Goodwin

Option #4 is get a OG out of the portal.

 

[HogCoyote]

You know how many great players are playing on losing teams and will enter the portal? SEC team needs OL QB and RB help along with kicker and long snapper.

Probably edge rushers too.

 

[K_TIME]

I don't know if he's better or not. Flax played ok then played better towards the end. Can't stand his presnap penalties.

Wohlabough is not ready but has high upside. I still think we should've played him and moved horsey down but the staff just wasn't going to sit Jager no matter what

Man I don't know what to say if you think Flax was OK....then you see what you see. And to be fair, nearly all first time Oline are going to improve as a year unfolds. I still saw a tackle that has slow feet, was not high IQ to pick up edge stunts/blitzes. And regardless, he's good for 1-2 false starts even in the last freaking game. If that isn't enough to get Buford some snaps....I don't know what is.

Here is my head scratch for fans and Freddie Maggard's take as well. Wolford got all kinds of blame for not having Oline ready for this year and never rotating guys last year. So we get to this year and the Oline stinks (hence a reason we may not have rotated) but Yenser was just as bad. He only played a backup when a starter was hurt....he never rotated. So why does Yenser get a pass on that when he said all along he believed in rotating.

 

[Mr Schwump]

Man I don't know what to say if you think Flax was OK....then you see what you see. And to be fair, nearly all first time Oline are going to improve as a year unfolds. I still saw a tackle that has slow feet, was not high IQ to pick up edge stunts/blitzes. And regardless, he's good for 1-2 false starts even in the last freaking game. If that isn't enough to get Buford some snaps....I don't know what is.

Here is my head scratch for fans and Freddie Maggard's take as well. Wolford got all kinds of blame for not having Oline ready for this year and never rotating guys last year. So we get to this year and the Oline stinks (hence a reason we may not have rotated) but Yenser was just as bad. He only played a backup when a starter was hurt....he never rotated. So why does Yenser get a pass on that when he said all along he believed in rotating.

Re Yenser I wondered that as well. Especially after comments were made pre-season that Yenser "would follow Schlarman's lead" of rotating guys. Just really puzzled Goodwin, Young, Rodriquez, Wohlabaugh didn't get a series here and there. Frequently what teams will do is play backups a series or 2 in the 2Q to rest starters. That respite plus halftime allows starters to be fresh for 2H. Not UK.

 

[gamecockcat]

Man I don't know what to say if you think Flax was OK....then you see what you see. And to be fair, nearly all first time Oline are going to improve as a year unfolds. I still saw a tackle that has slow feet, was not high IQ to pick up edge stunts/blitzes. And regardless, he's good for 1-2 false starts even in the last freaking game. If that isn't enough to get Buford some snaps....I don't know what is.

Here is my head scratch for fans and Freddie Maggard's take as well. Wolford got all kinds of blame for not having Oline ready for this year and never rotating guys last year. So we get to this year and the Oline stinks (hence a reason we may not have rotated) but Yenser was just as bad. He only played a backup when a starter was hurt....he never rotated. So why does Yenser get a pass on that when he said all along he believed in rotating.

^Good points re: rotation and Flax v. Buford. I think (perhaps) Yenser's thinking was that the OL was needing more reps to gel/improve and consistently subbing in would only stretch out the timeframe for getting those reps. Now, I'm not defending him as I don't think we consistently put the 5 best OL on the team on the field in their 'correct' positions. But, I've never coached OL nor do I see these guys in practice.

I will point out that Bama's line wasn't exactly up to their standards this year, imo. A lot of short yardage situations they struggled or passed - when has Alabama ever needed to pass to get a 3rd-and-2? If Young weren't so slippery in the pocket, he'd have been sacked a bunch, at least during the 3+ Bama games I watched this year. While Wolford is supposedly an excellent recruiter, neither USCjr fans nor ours were blown away with the performance of his OL unit when at their school. Also, from all reports, he's a 5* a-hole and the players didn't like him much.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Re Yenser I wondered that as well. Especially after comments were made pre-season that Yenser "would follow Schlarman's lead" of rotating guys. Just really puzzled Goodwin, Young, Rodriquez, Wohlabaugh didn't get a series here and there. Frequently what teams will do is play backups a series or 2 in the 2Q to rest starters. That respite plus halftime allows starters to be fresh for 2H. Not UK.

Bottom line kids want to play. It's pretty common to rotate a couple OL in a series or 2. We had 3 OT who basically took a third of the snaps and a couple of inside guys who average a couple series a game. 1 a former starter and Sr who just got beat out. Plus we were able to get quite a few snaps for backups in some games.

 

[K_TIME]

Bottom line kids want to play. It's pretty common to rotate a couple OL in a series or 2. We had 3 OT who basically took a third of the snaps and a couple of inside guys who average a couple series a game. 1 a former starter and Sr who just got beat out. Plus we were able to get quite a few snaps for backups in some games.

Bingo...and in this new portal crap...why would you not rotate some OLine to not juts build depth but also keeps kids head on the team and less likely to bail on portal.

There was about zero reason on the worst Oline in SEC to not rotate some kids in there. The only spot I argue you dn't rotate is the Center to keep the snaps in sync. But guards/tackles...no reason to not rotate in 1 guy at the guard and another at the tackle unless there is a huge dropoff at tackles as they protect the edge pass rush.