(An Offensively Mediocre) Offensive Line

[E1k]

Would have to assume you aren’t really paying attention if u think mccoy hasn’t been making a difference. Look at the 2nd half of the famu and ball st games, they are running directly into the gaps he created

 

[CaneTheGaytors]

He got called holding on a big TD

No, he wasn’t. He was called for illegal hands to the face, which was also a bad call. He had his hands nowhere close to the DE’s face.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

iT WAS HANDS TO THE FACE.

His 6'9 AND THRew A PUNCH IN HIS KICK STEP DUE TO HIS HEIGHT IT WAS AROUND THE FACEMASK OF THE DE AND I THINK EITHER HIS FINGER GOT CAUGHT IN THE FACEMASK OR HE HELD ONTO IT TOO LONG. which made it more obvious

I honestly think that was a terrible ticky tacky type call. Not on the level of the Wes Bissainthe Roughing the Passer BS but a bad call nonetheless. I think the punch he threw in his kickstep was more of a reaction to the DE getting into his facemask at the snap. At least that's the way it appeared to me even after replaying it.

 

[Bender]

You know what... I am in a really good mood today, so I will be as patient and non-insulting as possible.

Does a lot of catching, has no real push, plays very high, and is seemingly quite flat-footed. Buddy did not use his hands at all, seemingly has no punch, and was holding just about every play in pass pro.

Unless you are capable of showing tape, this statement has no merit. Bell was flagged once for a hands to the face where both players engaged in that and one guy complained.

In pass pro, McCoy is on roller skates to bull rushes from some random Ball St DTs...

The same principle applies here (and also not what I saw at all).

Without an established run game, I am unsure about our chances to make a real run.

Ball State has not allowed a 200+ yard rusher in two years of play. That includes playing Kentucky and Georgia. I am not sure what the problem is, we have established the run.

Someone is gonna drop 8 eventually and just dare Cam to thread the needle.

Cool. Have fun. Ball States first half strategy was to stop the run at all costs and play 1vs1 on the back end. We led by 31 at the half.

What Ball St. was doing was clearly idiotic selling out for the run considering how prolific of a passer we have

You, on your own thinking, just explained perfectly why there was no run game in the first half. Its almost as if playing football is a numbers game and numeric advantages MATTER. And guess wtf happened once Ball State came out of half time? Assigned more people to defend the pass, we ran the ball three times and went for 6, 29 and 8. Like...

There are eight guys in the box and a ninth (!) moving down. We have seven people blocking. If Ward checks out and goes to a man-beater outside (which he procedded to do afterwards), its easy yardage.

And here is the Chris Johnson TD. I have marked every player with eyes in the backfield. I am not sure what people want. Dude had a 40 yard TD untouched because the defense was overly focused on the run. We killed them with the screen game throughout the entire game.

Imagine beating down an opponent for 750 yards, setting records in the process and then people ***** about a run game that went for 200+ yards. Un****ingbelievable.

 

[112_cane]

You know what... I am in a really good mood today, so I will be as patient and non-insulting as possible.


Unless you are capable of showing tape, this statement has no merit. Bell was flagged once for a hands to the face where both players engaged in that and one guy complained.


The same principle applies here (and also not what I saw at all).


Ball State has not allowed a 200+ yard rusher in two years of play. That includes playing Kentucky and Georgia. I am not sure what the problem is, we have established the run.


Cool. Have fun. Ball States first half strategy was to stop the run at all costs and play 1vs1 on the back end. We led by 31 at the half.

You, on your own thinking, just explained perfectly why there was no run game in the first half. Its almost as if playing football is a numbers game and numeric advantages MATTER. And guess wtf happened once Ball State came out of half time? Assigned more people to defend the pass, we ran the ball three times and went for 6, 29 and 8. Like...

View attachment 303378

There are eight guys in the box and a ninth (!) moving down. We have seven people blocking. If Ward checks out and goes to a man-beater outside (which he procedded to do afterwards), its easy yardage.

View attachment 303379

And here is the Chris Johnson TD. I have marked every player with eyes in the backfield. I am not sure what people want. Dude had a 40 yard TD untouched because the defense was overly focused on the run. We killed them with the screen game throughout the entire game.

Imagine beating down an opponent for 750 yards, setting records in the process and then people ***** about a run game that went for 200+ yards. Un****ingbelievable.

Nailed it

 

[3rdCane]

The O-line has taken a significant step back with Rivers being out, but we need to call a spade a spade:

70 (Markel Bell) is not good.

Does a lot of catching, has no real push, plays very high, and is seemingly quite flat-footed. Buddy did not use his hands at all, seemingly has no punch, and was holding just about every play in pass pro.

I think the combo with him and 78 (McCoy) has been really flat and is what is killing our run game. In pass pro, McCoy is on roller skates to bull rushes from some random Ball St DTs...

We like to pull backside Guard and Tackle (Cooper & Mauigoa), or one or the other running to the left and it looks like because the front side Guard and Tackle cant crash down, those pulling plays were all blown up.

---------------------------------

From those in the "know" I heard over the weekend that coaches have said that Samson (63) has not progressed as expected, and has not been able to crack the 2 deep at guard or tackle. @DMoney can you share more insights on what is holding him back? I know he had injuries but he seems to be past that right?

Without an established run game, I am unsure about our chances to make a real run. Someone is gonna drop 8 eventually and just dare Cam to thread the needle. I like our chances but it could go poorly. What Ball St. was doing was clearly idiotic selling out for the run considering how prolific of a passer we have, but I think we need to have a serious convo about the group of guys...

Discuss...

Uh, McCoy graded out very well. I think you are watching a couple of plays, having one to many beers and running to the boards to post some ish

 

[edge]

He got called holding on a big TD

Hands to the face, not holding.

 

[Jassid82]

I can only speak to what I know and that's the high school league Samson came from because I played in it. He played at Thayer Academy which is in the ISL. It's known more for hockey and sending smart Asians to Harvard. Massachusetts football just aint it. Massachusetts private school football REALLY aint it. I'm talking 190 lb noseguards in the ISL. The mental leap from Mass private school small ball to D-1, let alone Miami is just giant. Also, it's night and day in terms of the types of guys he's interacting with. Nothing against him as a person or an athlete. He's a legit physical specimen. But I always thought it was going to be a huge adjustment for him culturally and mentally coming from Thayer Academy.

Very underrated post and hope people remember this when bringing up Samson. Having to mentally adjust to a new culture, mentally stay engaged after a injury that caused a huge setback, oh yeah..and see your 5* counterpart (Mauigua) go out there and basically live up to expectations immediately AND deal with the physical adjustments as well is a lot for him I’m sure. Hope he stays patient and realize we really can’t afford to give up on him. We need him and Kinsler next year big time.

 

[DTP]

There is a significant drop off from Rivers to Bell but that’s why one guy is a starter and the other is a backup. Most teams get worse the more starters they take out of the game. That said, please don’t mistake the first half game plan with poor run blocking. We literally called 7 (or maybe 8) run plays in the first half. That’s not counting scrambles. As stated by numerous other posters already, Ball State’s philosophy is to sell out and stop the run and if the other team beats you with the pass, so be it. Well that’s what happened. 7 or 8 box defenders against 5 or 6 linemen makes it really tough to find running room. What it does do is allow your quarterback to throw for almost 300 yards and put up 31 points in a half of football.

 

[E1k]

I just rewatched again, i have no idea why people are low on bell

For someone that is fresh from juco and a developmental tackle he has played really well besides a couple penalties. Granted its famu and ball st but these are good reps for a developmental tackle

 

[Empirical Cane]

We ran for 243 yards with our backups in.

Against Ball St.

I think OP was just pointing out some technique issues.

Miami was successful in spite of these deficiencies perhaps...

 

[Empirical Cane]

I just rewatched again, i have no idea why people are low on bell

For someone that is fresh from juco and a developmental tackle he has played really well besides a couple penalties. Granted its famu and ball st but these are good reps for a developmental tackle

I think you made OP's point.

 

[coffeecane]

i am not an insider and have no knowledge. HOWEVER, i sit directly behind the OL bench and Okonlola is not engaged with anyone his entire time on the field. he stands in between benches or behind the OL bench. no energy, no interest, no engagement.

i think that says a lot about where he is at within the program.

Sucks to hear. Guess if that is the case he will be gone next year. Next man up.

 

[E1k]

I think you made OP's point.

“70 (Markel Bell) is not good.

Does a lot of catching, has no real push, plays very high, and is seemingly quite flat-footed. Buddy did not use his hands at all, seemingly has no punch, and was holding just about every play in pass pro. “

No i didn’t, this along with his point about mccoy is just not true at all

 

[Torocane]

Bell is 6’9” has the ever been a LT that tall with a good bending technique

Bryant McKinnie
Jonathan Ogden

 

[Empirical Cane]

Bell is putting snaps on film which will help his development.
Not sure about Samson; maybe he just isn’t that good? Maybe slow to recover?
I’m not going to worry about it too much considering we are shattering offensive records right now though.

If not mistaken, no Miami team has scored more in first 3 games in history.

Now, the rule sets are different, tbe opponents are different, but at least Tbe Miami Sound Machine has turned up the music....something we aren't used to....




As a side note...since they turn HRS into "Club Miami" between 3/4Qs....if you remixed this song with Rick Ross or another "it" cat today...especially for a night game....people would end up **** near nekkid...

HRS would implode if you are listening Miami powers that be...

You're welcome meng

@DMoney @Peter Ariz Ustedes son los peces gordos de Miami. ¡Hagan que esto suceda, maldita sea! Ahora, dale, dale meng!

 

[ristwasdown]

Everyone's quick to defend, but it's been an issue all three games, especially in the first half. It's be a combination of many things. Lack of creativity at times, missed assignments, loaded boxes, running backs missing cutbacks/holes, Injuries, alignment/splits. Mario has even said as much. Running fog 200 in the second half vs ball state backups shouldn't be the standard.

They need to work on how the can be more efficient in the run game, especially if backups will be in. Mario has even said as much. If we want to win it all, they got to figure it out.

Everyone's quick to defend the team. Thus and that. I personally think it's an issue for many of the reasons listed above. But I'll also wait until some players come back and we play some decent opponents. I'll check back in around fsu.

 

[chris2183l]

big news here...this is exactly what I wanted to hear

 

[The U is back to work]

View attachment 303387 big news here...this is exactly what I wanted to hear

Huge. Anez being back right away is amazing if true.

 

[Stats02]

“70 (Markel Bell) is not good.

Does a lot of catching, has no real push, plays very high, and is seemingly quite flat-footed. Buddy did not use his hands at all, seemingly has no punch, and was holding just about every play in pass pro. “

No i didn’t, this along with his point about mccoy is just not true at all

I had made an earlier post about Bell stating my disappointment. After going back and watching more plays, he was not as bad as I originally thought. While he might not be "good" yet, he's certainly not "bad." He won a lot of battles and lost some, which is the case for every o-lineman in any game played, unless your name is Bryant McKinnie or Orlando Pace.

I think he just looked really bad in those battles he lost, which were mainly to players much smaller to him. Because of that, a lot of us, including myself, jumped to conclusions about him. I think he can be really good, but he has a lot of work to do.