Only caught bits and pieces of the game. Sounds like passing game is stronger then running game? Was expecting both Singleton and Allen to have over 100 yards. However, I guess 146 combined rushing yards are pretty good for first game? and 332 passing yards is excellent. For all the hype going into the season I guess I was expecting more of a running game then passing game. Not complaining but was just curious how the OLine looked from those with an eye for the line play.
How did OLine do?
- Thread starter TheBigUglies
- Start date
Coming from someone who felt the biggest improvement in the run game (from the 2020-21 cluster, to the 2022 season) was vastly improved play from the RBs (with some lesser improvement along the front line - which dealt with several injuries, if one wants to be abundantly fair):
Based just on Game 1, that is kinda' still the deal, I think.
The RB play continues on the trend from last year (very good), OL play is actually a bit hit and miss, IMO). Without knowing exactly what they really have for depth, I wouldn't be surprised if the starting lineup (or at least the number of snaps played) sees some movement over the course of the season from the Fashanu-Nelson-Nourzad-Wormley-Wallace group that started week 1 (Drew Shelton? Maybe even one of the freshman, if they are picking things up?).
Based just on Game 1, that is kinda' still the deal, I think.
The RB play continues on the trend from last year (very good), OL play is actually a bit hit and miss, IMO). Without knowing exactly what they really have for depth, I wouldn't be surprised if the starting lineup (or at least the number of snaps played) sees some movement over the course of the season from the Fashanu-Nelson-Nourzad-Wormley-Wallace group that started week 1 (Drew Shelton? Maybe even one of the freshman, if they are picking things up?).
The OL was a mixed bag for me. I thought the run game was good. They (Singleton and Allen) only had 13 and 10 carries respectively and were both avg. over 5 yards per carry.
The "mixed" part for me was I thought they allowed too much pressure to get to Allar in the first half. They still seemed to have issues with stunts and communication. Hunter had some snaps that were pretty high and I thought delayed some of the runs a bit.
But it was better in the second half.
All in all I would grade the OL as a B- overall.
I definitely don’t qualify as someone “with an eye for line play” but this was my concern too. I think if you factor in that several of Allar’s incompletions were actually from his being forced to throw the ball away (which he did well at!) it makes his performance all the more impressive.
My 75-year-old mother was ALSO concerned about the pass protection, lol… as well as the two field goals that got pushed wide right. As halftime approached, she said “They should give that kicker some extra practice by having him give each offensive lineman a swift kick in the a$$!”
To which I added, “And have him aim for the left cheek instead of the right.”
I’m one who didn’t think the OL played as poorly as some. I think the game dictated they pass more than run. I think they were taking advantage of what the WVU defense was giving them. As someone else said, both RBs looked good, had holes, and were averaging about 5 yards per attempt. I do see room for improvement on pass protection, but I thought overall it was pretty good. I think the OL has more options than in the past and if someone isn’t cutting it, there isn’t any reason why they can’t be benched for someone else. Shelton and Vega looked pretty good when they got in. It’s going to be hard to keep them on the bench.
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BWI thanks for posting that link, I saw that Nelson block during the game; very nice work. That's the thing with him, he'll do that on a play then three plays later he'll let a blitzer run right past him. BTW, Olu also had a great block on that play...so did Nourzad.
I'm an old OL guy and I watch OL play closely during games, in particular the guard and center positions. That said, and in response to the OP, what I saw was a new center and an interior group coming together. Nourzad made some mistakes with line calls in the first half, and some guys just didn't execute well at times. They also had plays like the one referenced above where they were outstanding.
And something to watch, thank God our QB is 6'5" because Nourzad was launching every other direct snap about nine feet in the air! That really messes with the timing of the action in the backfield and can lead to some really bad outcomes of plays. That has to get fixed like yesterday.
I'm an old OL guy and I watch OL play closely during games, in particular the guard and center positions. That said, and in response to the OP, what I saw was a new center and an interior group coming together. Nourzad made some mistakes with line calls in the first half, and some guys just didn't execute well at times. They also had plays like the one referenced above where they were outstanding.
And something to watch, thank God our QB is 6'5" because Nourzad was launching every other direct snap about nine feet in the air! That really messes with the timing of the action in the backfield and can lead to some really bad outcomes of plays. That has to get fixed like yesterday.
+1. I am a little concerned though about the "Bumps and Bruises" part for Hunter this early.
If I'm Franklin or Traut I think I have Hunter in the ice bath for the game on Sat.
+1. A couple of times I thought it caused the the RB to hesitate a bit.
It did seem to get better in the 2nd half.
Singleton didn't break a big run, and Allen only had 10 rushes. They had good rushing stats, just not outstanding. Many went in expecting Yurcich to rely on our RBs and he went out and let Allar sling it. With the clock now running more, this is an area where our RBs probably get another 30+ total with the extra plays (but Allar probably throws for another 50+ as well).
The line wasn't perfect, but they were far from bad and well above average. WVU threw a lot at us that they didn't put on tape last year with the Cover 0 and blitzing from the 3-3-5. Another big difference is that some are still used to Clifford. He would have run on a lot of those collapsing pockets. He also never had the accuracy/arm strength combined to throw on the run as well as Allar did.
Never mind the fact that we left 13-21 points or so on the field. On the drives with missed FGs, we worked on passing plays vs trying to run our backs. And on the successful FG, we did the same and our WRs dropped a sure fire 1st down (Cephas) and a sure fire TD (Wallace likely walks in).
The line wasn't perfect, but they were far from bad and well above average. WVU threw a lot at us that they didn't put on tape last year with the Cover 0 and blitzing from the 3-3-5. Another big difference is that some are still used to Clifford. He would have run on a lot of those collapsing pockets. He also never had the accuracy/arm strength combined to throw on the run as well as Allar did.
Never mind the fact that we left 13-21 points or so on the field. On the drives with missed FGs, we worked on passing plays vs trying to run our backs. And on the successful FG, we did the same and our WRs dropped a sure fire 1st down (Cephas) and a sure fire TD (Wallace likely walks in).
I agree with you. I don't think the oline played that bad, sure they missed some assignments. JB in my view played well but has some things to work on and Traut will get it straightened out. Why I like a couple of games before we get into the meat of the Big10 to work a lot of these kinks out. I am looking forward to seeing JB develop. He needs some time and seeing different things. Same Nourzad, he had some good moments but his snaps need work. I am hopeful for JB he is as advertised a road grader. He gets movement on run blocking. Just needs some polishing on the pass sets. Overall I think this oline has a chance to be very good. I would also like to see Drew get more snaps at RT, he always looks very solid when he plays.
I'll say this, I havent been a fan of Traut, but starting in 2022 and continueing with this clip, Something changed. And it wasnt the athletes. Their blocking style and techniques changed , imo for the better in 2022. My guess is, that after the 2021 season he went to see somebody (and there is no shame in that) for like a week and learned from them. Jeff Stoutland? maybe Jim McNally? maybe but starting last year things got better technique wise. I think too, he got to draw up the blocking scheme instead of some QB. I swear Joe Morehead(sp) drew up the blocking schemes back in his day, and you could tell it wasnt the OL coach doing it.
The oline is trending in the right direction. Probably a little bit of everything athletes, technique and scheme. Whatever it is it is working, the oline has depth and are really becoming a strength of this team.
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