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Offensive Line is a Weakness

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The Svengali said:
Roman, if we ever meet drinks are on me. Preach!!!
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I'm not Roman. Still, when I saw Richt during one of the halftimes, he was hard to follow. Some people are just not good as public speakers or in that kind of format. He might not be used to doing short segments where he has to get to the point quickly. I think he was talking about the CMU QB (or was it Jarren?) and how he hurt his shoulder and probably wouldn't return for second half.

It was weird.
 
They’re stuck with who they have, so they need to play that way. Lower level P5 teams do by spreading teams out. Miami has the speed to do it.
 
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We all know the oline is sh**. That unit is the reason we have 2 losses. But what the **** can we do?? Roman, Manny had to replace Campbell with Scaife who cares if it’s not a good look. We don’t have any tackles so Zion is by default LT. The only thing they could possibly do is move Donaldson to RT and Scaife to LT but we all saw 55 get ate alive at tackle in previous years. Not only that but then we’ll be giving up interior pressure which could be worse than outside pressure.

There is no magical solution or guy we can put in. We’re stuck with Zion so the hope is that he gets better with reps. He clearly took a step back last game but again what the **** are we supposed to do? It’s a mess but it is what it is.
 
Canesfan0024 said:
Exactly how many are those guys are tackles. That’s ALL on Richt. I don’t want to hear he was on the job for two months. Zion Nelson was discovered in January. Let’s say you take 4 Zion Nelson’s in 2016 and 1 hits, at least you have 1 guys who’s been in the program for 4 years as opposed to starting a guy who’s been here for 8 months. Linemen is the hardest position to project that’s why it takes 2, 3 maybe even 4 years to develop. I just don’t understand how we bash our OC coach.

Does Belichek with without Brady? Does Saban win without number 1 recruiting classes(as you seen with the Dolphins no). Does Dabo win without all time great college QBs in Watson and Sunshine? But let’s go ahead and blame someone right?
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Well you're going to hear it. I know you're looking to blame someone but my whole point was that 2016 is not the best example to make your point. The transfer portal was not a big deal then. Unlike Belichek, he couldn't just go to the waiver wires. All he could do is go the JUCO route (which also takes time to build relations) and the graduate transfers.

I gave you what you needed to make a stronger case, the evaluation of the 2017 and 2018 classes, both in terms of quality and needs fit (no projected tackles). Now, flame away.
 
I think it's fair to criticize Manny for any player deficiencies on the D side as he was the DC for 3 years. But to criticize him for any player deficiencies on the O side is questionable at best. Enos and Barry probably thought they had enough depth, but probably didn't find out what kind of talent they had until late into fall camp.

Richt and Searles were responsible for the current OL situation. Richt was responsible for the last recruiting cycle that was short handed to say the least. Manny tried to supplement the class through the portal which many have raved about. Obviously, Kennedy is a bust. Starting true FR makes one wonder what Enos and Barry are seeing (or not) with the others.

I also agree that Enos' play calling seems to not help the OL much. I'm no X's and O's guru by any stretch. I'll leave that to Roman and Lance.
 
So what’s the answer Roman? We don’t have another left tackle on the roster except for Scaife. So if you move Scaife to LT then who plays RT? The only decent option there is LD. So then you have a hole at LG. Let’s face it, we are short one decent OL not matter how you shake it.
 
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Dude said:
Searels was really a terrible teacher of the position. Look at the CF careers of McDermott, Darling & St. Louis. He ruined their good shots at being NFL draft picks.
Barry just isnt what we needed. We needed a highly qualified big time coach. Its all hands on deck time for that OL. Bring back Kehoe as an assistant, his OLs were never this bad.
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Jez, I heard everything. Not that I'd be against it. I really don't know who are the good OL coaches. But I can't forget how he was run out of town, twice, by this board, the grassy board, Coker, then his college room mate.

The best technical hire I remember has been Stoutland who's still with the Eagles.
 
rokulika said:
It's a 7 win team at best partly because of the OL. Punting and recovering our own fumbles is about all this team does well. We stink at 3rd down conversions, penalties, kick coverage, pass protection, forcing turnovers, short yardage, clock management, recruiting, 4th down defense, blitzing, yards after catch, ball security, adjustments, timing, scoring off turnovers, execution, pace, and a lot of other things.
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And field goal kicking. We are FG genocide.
 
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Roman Marciante said:
That the whole situation is a mess. Searels/Richt take the biggest blame for what is on the roster
Manny takes responsibility for whiffing in the portal with Kennedy
Manny takes responsibility for letting a depleted offensive line let talent walk in Reed
Manny announcing after 10 sacks that Campbell would be the starter and replacing him was a bad look
Manny thus letting Zion still march out there, is a bad look too
Barry thinking those two freshmen were your best options, (they weren't) is problematic
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Wrong. If Reed couldn't cut it, then F him. Too many dudes on the Oline been here way too long and can't cut it....it's embarrassing honestly. Who is Manny gonna replace Zion with? This all goes back to CMR and Searls awful Evals. You act like we got studs on the line and Manny and Butch aren't playing them. Herbert was supposed to be a stud, turns out he's a fat blob and worthless.
 
Canesfan0024 said:
I like how you break down film it’s good and all. But you talk like you are some offensive guru. Do you even coach pee wee? High school? I’ve never seen so many wannabe coaches the last week who think they know schemes and what’s going on. If they did they wouldn’t be coaching from behind a computer screen.

This is ALL on Richt. Taking 1 offensive linemen in 2016 set this program back specifically for 2019. We should have several seniors or RS Juniors on our line but we don’t. 1 freaking oline and he’s not on the roster. Let’s keep dogging the HC and OL coach for trying to make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t.
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I played quarterback for St Thomas back in the day. I did at one point coach high school football. I am not a qb "guru" People call me that. I NEVER have repeated those words out of my mouth once nor will I ever. I just love the game and consider myself an advanced student having picked up some things after around a decade watching film and studying all things quarterbacks. I learn something almost new about the game every week when I watch film. This game intrigues me.

I don't want to coach or have ANY desire in doing so right now. (other than coaching my son's baseball team which is much more important to me) I don't claim to know more than the coaches who get paid for a living. I just talk about the game bro. Nothing more, Nothing less.
 
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Roman Marciante said:
A lot of reflection for me on the bye week. My inescapable haunting trigger are the two consecutive plays late in the first half vs Central Michigan where Zion Nelson got beat clean twice in a row. Then you add the first game vs. Florida where he is inexplicably stuck in his stance while the pass rush casually passes him bye like a statue.



Then there was John Campbell. His spacial awareness and feel for the position was so critically not in tune that he stuck out on film like a sore thumb. He thus graded out lower then any other Miami offensive lineman on Pro Football Focus vs UF and was replaced the following game. Two Freshmen. I get it.

A deep dive will show Miami ranks tied for 125th in the nation in sacks allowed (with only four games played) There are only five teams in the country who average over four sacks given up per contest:
  • Old Dominion 4.0
  • Tulsa 4.0
  • Miami 4.5
  • Akron 4.6
  • USF 5.0
Not necessarily the who's who in college football and Miami is the ONLY P5 team on the list. Conversely for reference I listed the top 3 ACC schools in protecting the quarterback and it may be a surprise for some. You would figure the defending national champ would be on the list (they are) but two teams you are killing in recruiting are doing a fine job keeping their QB upright. (Duke by the way started off the year facing Alabama)

  • Duke .25
  • Boston College .6
  • Clemson .8
Sacks allowed isn't the only metric that defines offensive line greatness but when you consider Miami is 82nd in the country in yards per rush, the offensive line is not the strength of this team. Not even close. It is not even average. But why?

So many aspects that are hard to digest but ultimately the coaching staff needs to take a little heat here for their decisions along the line thus far. Say what you will, but announcing Campbell would remain a starter after a porous week zero and wrapping it up in a bravado cape of "We are building a monster" was inexplicably tone deaf. You supplanted him the very next week and the only thing that was monstrous was the claim.

You sold the collective fan base on this year's starting left tackle being a Butler transfer that the Oklahoma Sooners wanted in Tommy Kennedy. I honestly don't think I have even seen an episode of MTV's Catfish that was this outlandish because Kennedy can't even crack the three deep at center.

Continue the miss parade as Cleveland Reed, who was once applauded by former head coach Mark Richt as a starter of the future, left the program. Currently my numbers show Miami with 74 scholarship players. 11 below the 85 scholarship mark. I have to ask though, are these sanctions self imposed? I just don't get it.

This program needs to get a sense of itself because the statement "Zion is the best we have out there" should not be true. Four games in he is playing like a true freshman who needs a couple more years in this system before he makes any kind of steadfast impact. Which is fine because I believe in his ability long term. But after last week I don't see how this staff continues to march him out there. They shouldn't be in the position that they needed him to be.

That is the reality this current coaching staff faces. You knew what you had on the roster. You tried to fix it in the transfer market and you got catfished. You let some young develop-able talent walk off under the often default guise of "We only want guys who want to be Hurricanes." This mind you is after the countless sales jobs you employ in promising kids a chance at early playing time. You are 11 under the scholarship cap and lastly, you continue to march those kids out there.

This doesn't matter what offensive system you run this time. We cannot just chip and block with tight ends or spread them out of this mess. Eventually you need to put offensive linemen on an island and expect them to do their job. An offensive system change is just masking the more systemic issue that is deep rooted in the program less visible.

This offensive line is playing like a program who is dependent on freshman. And they have proven with 33% of the season now behind us, that is exactly what they are. Manny Diaz, I am not impressed. Butch Barry, I am not impressed. Yeah as a fan I expect better roster management and a team over a 50% blue chip ratio to be much more competitive. Especially along the offensive line.
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Not sure if mentioned in other pages, but to add about Duke, they opened with Bama while also starting 2 freshman tackles..

For some reason we dont seem to recruit Oline as a top priority even while you need strong trenches..
 
The irony is we all should have known the moment Diaz announced that Nelson and Campbell were the starters that this was going to be a rebuild season. In our heart of hearts, we knew. We hoped he was a Jason Fox, but we knew that was expecting way too much of the kid.

It's always the same. We go into the Winter/Spring camp saying the keys to winning the Coastal are A, B, C. Then coaches talk up the guys at A, B, C and we get lulled into believing it.

This year it was OL, QB, and to a lesser extent DB. Remarkably, Enos is doing his thing with Williams. So while we can't seem to get a deep ball out of JW, he's certainly not the train wreck we've seen the past two seasons. Meanwhile, any DB squad with Robert Knowles as a starter is weak and thin. We're not getting the coverage sacks we used to regularly get with Thriller, Quan and Red back there. And unfortunately, the OL is putrid, much worse than we feared.

Despite all that, I fundamentally believe our coaches have too much talent to be given the mulligan by the fans. We need to win the **** Coastal. Our defense failed bigtime on 4th and 17 vs. UNC. But by and large they're keeping games under 28 points. Enos has to find a way to produce more than that. It's that simple. And I'm sorry, but a team with Deejay, JT, Jordan and Pope (and Lingard!) should have zero trouble against this schedule getting chunk plays and breaking a few each game. ****, we had two called back on Harris for holds that were irrelevant to the play. So I still won't accept excuses just because our OL is among the worst in the conference.
 
Ethnicsands said:
We have underrecruited OL and DL for most of the past 2 decades. Results not surprising.
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Superior line play means not only the talent you recruit, but the expression of that talent on your roster. So 4th and 5th year guys are worth a good bit more on the lines than first and second year guys. Maturity, experience, leadership, depth, all these mean as much or more than just saying you have some future NFL kids on the roster. Doesn’t help if they’re true frosh starting at LT in game 1. And guys who leave early are challenges on the lines. At least until your cupboard is stocked.

Yes, development, S&C and scheme matter also. But you gotta have the guys.
 
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