Also haven't seen any quotes from the offensive linemen about WTF happened in the first three quarters. Any answers from Grimes?
I think Spielman called it right. The Wisconsin defense shifted on every play, sometimes twice with the second shift coming just before the ball was snapped. The O-line was confused and missed blocks because they didn't know who to block at times. This is disturbing because three of these linemen are veterans who have seen this many times, but even the highly-touted La'el Collins was missing blocks out there. On one play, the DL opposite Pocic shifted away and left Pocic with no man to block, so he shifted left and doubled on Alexander's man. But there was a stunt on and the nose guard came running through the zone that Pocic was supposed to be filling and tackled the ball carrier for a loss. Pocic is green and will get better. It's hard to understand why the veterans got so confused. I'd love to see how the O-line graded for this game.
Never really know how good these guys are going to be until they get on campus and play against big boys & also some develope quicker than others.
Listened to Wilson on the radio last night, he talked about the oline being confused especially guards & center. Once they realized they had to peel off to get the stunter they did much better. Hopefully they get much more cohesive over the next 3 weeks.
Yep, Ethan and Hoko are green at this level and Alexander is probably a natural tackle playing guard at LSU. They must improve working against the cupcakes coming up. You can bet that the SEC defenses are going to shift, blitz, and stunt like madmen on them. But the tackles underperformed as well and the tight end blocking was really bad. I would not be surprised to see a change at tight end.
I think the O-line will shape up nicely by the time SEC play rolls around. My main concern is the middle of this defense, the DTs and MLB. It simply isn't SEC caliber and we will pay for it in the end. I don't know what to make of our soft DTs 2 years running now.
Re-watched the game this morning and have to say the oline & the front seven all improved much as the game progressed in the second half. I by progressing I'm talking about reading keys, being in position and blocking the correct man. I'm sure they will be doing loads of film study in addition to practicing so I do feel like we will get much better.
Much of the missed blocks were on the TE's early, not all on them, but Gordon, an Stokes both missed on a couple good blocks. I rewatched some of the game.
There were plenty missed blocks to go around. I wasn't surprised that they didn't get good push early in game one, but the total confusion and cluster F play was shocking. It looked like a Chinese fire drill. I really thought Grimes would have them ready. He did not! At least we know the talent is there and they should improve. The DL on the other hand could once again be a huge liability. I know Brick can recruit, but there hasn't been much player development when it comes to DTs.
