Just to break out the OL discussion

[TheDoggPound]

And the results were the same.

Samra made the line bad single handily, the guy was a sieve. I thought Vechery and Hopkins did an admirable job, Levy and Knappe did alright.

 

[huskysupporter]

Samra made the line bad single handily, the guy was a sieve. I thought Vechery and Hopkins did an admirable job, Levy and Knappe did alright.

Vechery can hold his ground but isn't overly athletic. Not great, not terrible. I feel he would be better at RT. Knappe continued to struggle. Levy looked like Will Beatty one play, then like a turnstile the next. He has agility, I have said a ton of times, kick him inside to guard. Hopkins was very inconsistent but showed flashes.

We desparately need several linemen to emerge here. This is the most interesting position this spring.

 

[huskysupporter]

Just to add, I think Levy has above average talent. Gives me hope he puts it all together this year.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

And the results were the same.

How do you improve on plodding? Levy seemed to have benefitted the most from Balis.

 

[hardcorehusky]

The problem is when one guy screws up, the play is duck**d. So, if Levy was good 2 out of 3 plays - he messed up one play and now it is 4th down or 3 rd and long. Same for Samra, Vechery, Hopkins and Knappe. The reality is someone screwed up on a play a majority of the running plays and our QB had happy feet because he was scrambling for his life half the time. So while they might be physical specimens, they have to work as a unit and not have mental breakdowns

 

[weyuo]

They may have burned off some fat and put on some muscle but it didn't help their foot speed or technique at all.

 

[FDNY99]

They may have burned off some fat and put on some muscle but it didn't help their foot speed or technique at all.

How can you say that without seeing them at least play in the spring game..if not at pre-season camp?

 

[Duncan Idaho]

How can you say that without seeing them at least play in the spring game..if not at pre-season camp?

from 2014 to 2015

 

[Palatine]

Crazy with all the improvements in player's weight that Vechery is all the way down to 30 lbs

For the record Vechery is 307. Sorry.

 

[Husky25]

We have discussed this before and many disagreed with me, but last year's line was just as bad as the year prior. Significant improvement has to be shown here. Shuffling positions might help. But make no mistake, no one on the line has earned a starters designation going into the spring. Every position should be wide open.

There are not a lot of offensive line specific stats, let alone stats that would demonstrate marked improvement. That said, if the QB is the central nervous system of a team's offense (call the RB's lower appendages and Receivers = upper appendages), the offensive line is the heart and lungs. Nothing else is of much use if the heart ain't beating.

In 2014, UConn's vital organs were trying to support a 400 pounder, barely able to get out of bed and eating a case of Ramen Noodles off a hot plate within a flabby arm's reach). Four "QB's (including Deshon Foxx)" threw for 2032 yard on 340 attempts, 12 TD, and a 109 QB rating. The running game gained 1283 yards on almost 400 attempts and only 8 TDs. Receivers only averaged 11.5 yards for their 185 catches.

No one is saying that the 2015 version was the chiseled decathlete fit for the Olympics, but at least they qualify for The Biggest Loser, on their way to a more fit existence.

In 2015, Bryant Shirreffs, alone out performed the entire 2014 season on far less attempts (279, with a 128 passer rating). Virtually the same roster of runners gained over 1,600 yards and scored 6 more TDs than they did a year earlier, and the receivers caught 16 more balls for 380 more yards. Heck, with all their issues, even the kicking game scored 23 more points from one year to the next.

Every one of the five positions should be open and more improvement certainly is needed, but make no mistake that the line drastically improved from 2014 to 2015.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Who is the leader of the OL? I know Knappe was named a captain.

 

[Carl Spackler]

There are not a lot of offensive line specific stats, let alone stats that would demonstrate marked improvement. That said, if the QB is the central nervous system of a team's offense (call the RB's lower appendages and Receivers = upper appendages), the offensive line is the heart and lungs. Nothing else is of much use if the heart ain't beating.

In 2014, UConn's vital organs were trying to support a 400 pounder, barely able to get out of bed and eating a case of Ramen Noodles off a hot plate within a flabby arm's reach). Four "QB's (including Deshon Foxx)" threw for 2032 yard on 340 attempts, 12 TD, and a 109 QB rating. The running game gained 1283 yards on almost 400 attempts and only 8 TDs. Receivers only averaged 11.5 yards for their 185 catches.

No one is saying that the 2015 version was the chiseled decathlete fit for the Olympics, but at least they qualify for The Biggest Loser, on their way to a more fit existence.

In 2015, Bryant Shirreffs, alone out performed the entire 2014 season on far less attempts (279, with a 128 passer rating). Virtually the same roster of runners gained over 1,600 yards and scored 6 more TDs than they did a year earlier, and the receivers caught 16 more balls for 380 more yards. Heck, with all their issues, even the kicking game scored 23 more points from one year to the next.

Every one of the five positions should be open and more improvement certainly is needed, but make no mistake that the line drastically improved from 2014 to 2015.

OL success should be counted in grass stains. Number and location.

We play on grass at home. Many of the fields we travel to, are grass. The backside of the ball handlers backs and TE jerseys stay clean, things are good. If the front side gets dirty, thats ok. Usually means forward progress. If the QB's uni is wrecked, you hope its because he's run for a few hundred yards and 4 TDs.

 

[Husky25]

OL success should be counted in grass stains. Number and location.

We play on grass at home. Many of the fields we travel to, are grass. The backside of the ball handlers backs and TE jerseys stay clean, things are good. If the front side gets dirty, thats ok. Usually means forward progress. If the QB's uni is wrecked, you hope its because he's run for a few hundred yards and 4 TDs.

Decent thought in theory, but offensive production is an indirect metric on which to judge Line play as it is and grass stains are not routinely tracked.

In the absence of re watching 25 games over the last two years in order to chart grass stains, improvement in statistical offensive performance will just have to suffice.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Decent thought in theory, but offensive production is an indirect metric on which to judge Line play as it is and grass stains are not routinely tracked.

In the absence of re watching 25 games over the last two years in order to chart grass stains, improvement in statistical offensive performance will just have to suffice.

Nah - you don't need to review 25 game tapes. Just need to talk to the laundry people.

 

[Palatine]

Even statistical performance can be misleading. Diaco choose to play many inexperience players in 2014. Much of the improvement is just the guys have been there before. Points per game might be the most important stat. Last year we scored 17.2 a game. In 2014 we scored 15.5 per game. Not much difference.

But even these numbers are affected by things like starting field position or defensive scores which have little to do with the offense or the offensive line.

So the eye test is probably the best measure even if it is also the most subjective.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Turnovers margin and ball security on offense, is by far the most important, I'd go as far as to say the ONLY statistical objective measure / factor in the offense phase of the game, that made us a competitive team and bowl team in 2015. Everythign else that made us competitive on offense was subjective.

The defense was reliably good, and sometimes pretty good. The kicking game started real bad, and improved. The offense was reliably bad. There were at least 2 games, that were practically unwatchable from an offensive standpoint. I mean literally unwatchable. Might have just skipped the game clock aspect of playing the game, and just video taped cut up plays on the game field for film room.

What we did on offense, was begin to play together as a unit within structured game plans, start communicating sort of effectively and get assignments right, and play with the emotional and mental intensity not to ever give up or fold, and most importantly - protect the ball.

As for offensive line (and TE's and WR's and Backs) - I only have one concept that I want followed through on, well coached, angles and leverage taught, foot steps, hand and arm, shoulder and head positions as individuals and as units. For the entire offseason, and spring ball, and fall camp. If you don't have the kind of ability that Duncan so deftly pointed out with imagery, you got to be able to line up, match up the offensive blocking scheme, and move your feet well enough to hit the guy that's closest to you with a good football position and blocking technique and have the practiced balance, strength and leverage to hold your ground at bare minimum, if you're not going to move them. That can all be summed up in one word.

Sleds.

 

[weyuo]

How can you say that without seeing them at least play in the spring game..if not at pre-season camp?

Talking about last season.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Im no OL expert, but it seems the only real measure of OL play (as a collective, not individually) would be QB sacks, and Rushing yards per attempt.

Sacks would have to be adjusted for QB mobility, and rushing yards would have to be adjusted for changes in the Backs year-to-year.

Both of those would then have to be adjusted for scheme, and play calls depending on situation, and yards-to-go per situation.

Then that would have to be adjusted for year-to-year coaching changes (if any) on offense, and route running & blocking abilities of WR's and TE's (and then changes in those positions as well)

All of which has to be adjusted for the food and sleep of our players, and the opponents (did we eat cheeseburgers ? did they eat salads ? did the starting LG have a fight with his girlfriend the night before the game that kept him up annoyed all night ?)

Now that that's super clear to everyone, A good OL makes an offense good with some, but very few exceptions IMO. If your offense isn't good, your best bet is that you have OL issues. Much of this is the eye test (too many variables during a game to just say points are the be-all, end-all). I think they were better in 15 than in 14, but not by a ton. Hopefully the big jump is in 16.

my 0.02

 

[J187Money]

I would like to see us try that.

Now everyone is going to know, now that you posted it!

 

[Palatine]

Im no OL expert, but it seems the only real measure of OL play (as a collective, not individually) would be QB sacks, and Rushing yards per attempt.

Sacks would have to be adjusted for QB mobility, and rushing yards would have to be adjusted for changes in the Backs year-to-year.

Both of those would then have to be adjusted for scheme, and play calls depending on situation, and yards-to-go per situation.

Then that would have to be adjusted for year-to-year coaching changes (if any) on offense, and route running & blocking abilities of WR's and TE's (and then changes in those positions as well)

All of which has to be adjusted for the food and sleep of our players, and the opponents (did we eat cheeseburgers ? did they eat salads ? did the starting LG have a fight with his girlfriend the night before the game that kept him up annoyed all night ?)

Now that that's super clear to everyone, A good OL makes an offense good with some, but very few exceptions IMO. If your offense isn't good, your best bet is that you have OL issues. Much of this is the eye test (too many variables during a game to just say points are the be-all, end-all). I think they were better in 15 than in 14, but not by a ton. Hopefully the big jump is in 16.

my 0.02

It's fair, but to throw a wrench in the gears, yards per carry is affected by the talent of the running back. Barry Sanders made his line at OSU look very good with frequent 60 and 70 yard runs.

 

[DoctorWho85]

It's fair, but to throw a wrench in the gears, yards per carry is affected by the talent of the running back. Barry Sanders made his line at OSU look very good with frequent 60 and 70 yard runs.

So true. Even in his Detroit days, he was constantly gaining huge yardage. Granted that line was probably worse than the one at OSU

 

[Palatine]

Sometimes I stop following the football and just watch the lines to see who is winning. If we're pushing the other team back, which I admit is rare, I feel good about our chances. It's easy to pick this up in the passing game. But in the run game you really have to watch the push up front. I think that is a much better way than any statistic to rate an offensive line.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

It's fair, but to throw a wrench in the gears, yards per carry is affected by the talent of the running back. Barry Sanders made his line at OSU look very good with frequent 60 and 70 yard runs.

Yeah, that's why I included that the YPC is affected by the changes in the backs year-to-year. In other words, I agree with you.

Too many variables. Either each unit performs, or the offense sputters.

Everyone could be perfect and a WR or TE could drop a ball. Or a RB could hit the wrong hole. OR 1 member of the OL could miss a block. Or the QB can misread a play and go to the wrong read.

Looking at the line is a great strategy. Possibly the only real way to determine if they're any good. This is probably true for all the positions to certain degrees.