Our starters on Saturday were (3) 4 stars and (2) 3 stars. Oddly enough, our most consistent o-linemen (Cushenberry) was a 3 star and #82 offensive guard in his class per 247. Charles was the highest rated. 4 star #6 offensive guard in his class. Supposedly Deculus was the #10 offensive tackle in the country coming in. So, this class coming in looks to be a much needed upgrade.
A few things I noticed is our right tackle was too slow. The bama lineman was running clear after intital contact. Whoever was on 92 was just getting tossed away like a ragdoll. Another thing is you didn't see bama leave their passing lanes and burrow was trapped wherever he went. Like I said 25 times why in the hell didn't we roll him out. If I remember rolling out as our idea I remember it once and it was in the first 3 plays. We gained 7 or 8 yards and actually moved the ball some on that drive. When your line is getting manhandled continuing to just put your qb 7 steps deep and running play action is just not the thing to do. And the call on our 7 to run play action when we couldn't block them was what may have done us in. That gave them the ball at midfield and led to a short field and score before half. I think E does a good job in most games when our talent is similar or better.. I thought in the fla game we saw some of the same bad decision's. Their dline got after us. Why don't we run some of the toss wr plays and roll out our qb and then do a throw back screen On our screen our lineman make no attempt to block. It is so easy to read and almost never even is completed. Quick passes is how you defeat aggressive blitzing defenses like bama. Our quick ins were our best play in the game and why we had the passing yards we did. We set up our passes to our rb to fail They seem to be either standing still at the line or running toward sideline when they get it. Combine all this with no running game and it is an ass whipping. I don't know if we would have won doing some of this. But we would have been more competitive. I know all this looks like coach bashing but these are things they should have had in the gameplan. They had 2 weeks to throw some wrinkles and I don't think I saw one play we didn't run which was new. Sure our players had something to do with the loss. But you win and lose as a team. What O said after the game is true to a big degree but you talk about that in a LSU coaches room. Not to the press
Stars aren't the problem... Lack of depth is. These guys should not be starting until their JR years. Miles left the cupboard empty. LSU has 30% less scholarship OL than Bama.
Depth should no longer be a problem next season. There’s only one senior on the line and none of the juniors are nfl ready. Combine that with the six incoming freshmen next year and the line should be solid.
Poseur says, and on this I agree: the problem is pretty easy to identify: the offensive line hasn’t been very good. If you can’t block, there’s not much else you can do. Joe Burrow rushes through his reads because he’s learned by now his line is not going to give him time. He’s the second most sacked QB in the SEC, and that’s eventually going to take its effect. Looking at the advanced metrics, LSU ranks 92nd in the nation with its 7.6% sack rate and 88th in adjusted line yards. The team isn’t just ineffective at pass blocking, they can’t run block either, as the line boasts as 20.5% Stuff Rate, 88th in the nation. That means in one-fifth of the team’s running plays, LSU gains zero yards or less. One-fifth. This is the part of the column you’re supposed to demand somebody do something. Maybe call for people to get fired and all that. However, James Cregg took the job this offseason, and frankly, he’s made chicken salad out of chicken shit. It’s amazing he’s gotten the production he has so far. LSU’s line wasn’t exactly great last year. It had even an even worse sack rate though its running numbers were better, maybe because Derrius Guice is a damn wizard. This year’s backs are decent, but they can’t overcome poor line play. Let’s look at what Cregg inherited: he returned only five players who appeared in multiple games and just two players with multiple starts. All in all, he returned 61 games played and 23 starts from last season. Only one returning player, Garrett Brumfield, started all 13 games, and only one more, Shaadiq Charles, played in all 13. The offensive line has used seen different combinations of starters in nine games, primarily out of necessity. Those two experienced players who should have formed the rock of this line? Charles has played in six games and Brumfield in five due to injuries. The left side of the line, supposed to be the team strength with virtually all of the returning starts (22 of 23), instead became a turnstile. Four different players have started at left tackle while four different players have started at left guard. The injuries to Brumfield and Charles were simply devastating to the unit, and forced Cregg to start moving guys all over the line, ruining any chance at consistency. And this is the side of the line the team was counting on to provide stability. The only other veteran lineman is junior Adrian Magee. He’s managed four starts at three different positions despite suffering a knee injury in the season opener. Only three linemen on the team boasted a start prior to this season, and all three went down with injury. Really, what’s a line coach supposed to do? But the hits keep coming. Due to the arrest of Ed Ingram, the right side of the line is almost entirely populated with newcomers and underclassmen. Lloyd Cushenberry played in 11 games last season, all as a backup. So did Austin Deculus. Now, the two sophomores find themselves as key cogs. Cushenberry has started all nine games at center, giving the line one thing it can rely on, while Deculus has started 8 games, moving over to right tackle after debuting on the left side to cover for the loss of Charles. The other starting slots have been plugged by JUCO transfers. Damien Lewis has been a rock at left guard, starting every game. Badara Traore was supposed to be another JUCO starter, but he has settled into a backup role and a spot starter wherever another injury pops up. The rest of the offensive line depth chart is two freshmen and two sophomores. The freshmen seem to have taken a more important role on the team, which is probably good news going forward. Chasen Hines earned his first career start already and Cole Smith is the only other player listed in the two-deep at center. The staff appears content to try and redshirt two of the big name recruits, Cameron Wire and converted defensive tackle Dare Rosenthal. What this offense needs is better line play. But to get that, it needs to be able to roll out the same line maybe more than twice a year. Cregg is essentially working with injured vets playing at partial capacity or underclassmen and JUCO transfers in their first go around in the SEC. The results have been predictable, but what Cregg hasn’t done is break the glass and panic. He’s keeping the redshirt on the potential studs of Rosenthal and Wire, and he’s letting guys build experience. It may not pay off this year, but it probably will next year. After going into this season with virtually no experience on the line, next year’s unit, if it does not suffer any early departures for the NFL, will return between 65-70 starts of the possible 75. LSU will return eight different linemen who started a game this season. That’s even before we get into the redshirts and the impressive class the staff looks to bring in this spring. So what’s to be done this year? Not much. Play easier defenses. That’s the plan for November. LSU’s offense doesn’t have to perform at an elite level to beat the teams remaining on the schedule. But as for the future? I think we need to appreciate the mess that James Cregg inherited and the further challenges he experienced that were beyond his control. However, next season, he will have a deep, experienced unit plus a gaggle of talented prospects. He may even have a season in which he can keep the line relatively healthy to introduce some semblance of continuity from week to week, instead of wildly trying to plug up each new hole in the dam. What this offense needs is a better offensive line. And what this offensive line needs, unfortunately, is time. The good news for LSU is it seems Cregg was able to build up the offensive line from scratch without costing LSU any wins. At least it hasn’t so far. https://www.andthevalleyshook.com/2...uilt-in-a-day-neither-will-lsu-offensive-line
I think we’ve been kinda lean in the OL the past few years. What I heard this AM wasn’t overly enthusiastic about our OL haul this year.
We lost a handful of OL when O took over, right? Kind of inmates unhappy they were no longer running the asylum, was my impression. I guess putting his foot down lead to OL issues. Same with Canada...?
I re-watched the game today. Without emotion. You guys are certainly correct about the line play. But what caught my eye today was that Bama’s plays just looked better. A lot of mis direction and running to different holes. Pretty stark contrast to our two steps back, holding out the ball to the running back. Just didn’t notice it in real time, but play design really stood out today.
Oh I agree. I was just answering the question in terms of what these guys were rated coming in. I’ve seen 5 stars not amount to shit and 3 stars be the best players on the team.
