[BostonCard]

The one assessment that as far as I know nobody (including the media and coaching staff) got right was the fact Stanford would not be able to run the ball. All the rest of our "assessments" may have been right on (or not), but the glaring problem of this year is and was the running game. Some have asserted that the injuries we had on the OL accounts for the problem. It may be so, but it also could be something else. What worries me is that it seems to be such a mystery to everybody that it happened. What one does not understand can be real hard to fix. It is easy to make the problem worse instead of better. It is also possible to assign causes that are outside of ones control (as injuries mostly are) and just assume the problem will go away. The lack of a run games is the number one question on this team. Everything else, while possibly important, is secondary.

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The one assessment that as far as I know nobody (including the media and coaching staff) got right was the fact Stanford would not be able to run the ball. All the rest of our "assessments" may have been right on (or not), but the glaring problem of this year is and was the running game. Some have asserted that the injuries we had on the OL accounts for the problem. It may be so, but it also could be something else. What worries me is that it seems to be such a mystery to everybody that it happened. What one does not understand can be real hard to fix. It is easy to make the problem worse instead of better. It is also possible to assign causes that are outside of ones control (as injuries mostly are) and just assume the problem will go away. The lack of a run games is the number one question on this team. Everything else, while possibly important, is secondary.

I completely agree with you, which is why when we have problems, and everyone is harping on the play calling, I push back hard.  Criticizing the play calling suggests an easy fix; liked only we zagged when in fact we zigged, the problem would go away.  The truth of the matter is that the offensive line’s run blocking woes are not problems that will be fixed with someone calling a different play.

We have the talent at offensive line positions to be good, if not dominant next year (depending on what Herbig does).  You can’t do anything  about injuries, but the problems with not having enough recruited scholarship offensive linemen in the younger classes is a problem we will (unless we are very lucky with injuries next year) be facing for a couple years.

The biggest question mark is player development.  Herbig, even when not injured, was not as dominant as he was last year.  Little (again, even when not injured) did not take the next step this year, and at times regressed.  Hall plateaued, and made some boneheaded mistakes that a senior should be making.  Left guard has been a turnstile for us, and nobody has really emerged there.

The only thing I would say is that just because we the fans don’t understand why the offensive line has been problematic this year doesn’t mean the coaches can’t figure it out.  Two years ago, the offensive line struggled mightily pass blocking.  This year, the one bright spot for the offensive line was pass blocking.  In fact, CTCard’s theory is that the coaching staff was so concerned about our atrocious pass blocking that they made it a point of emphasis, at the expense of good run blocking.  That suggests that it is a fixable problem, if one places more emphasis on run blocking.

BC

[BostonCard]

The one assessment that as far as I know nobody (including the media and coaching staff) got right was the fact Stanford would not be able to run the ball. All the rest of our "assessments" may have been right on (or not), but the glaring problem of this year is and was the running game. Some have asserted that the injuries we had on the OL accounts for the problem. It may be so, but it also could be something else. What worries me is that it seems to be such a mystery to everybody that it happened. What one does not understand can be real hard to fix. It is easy to make the problem worse instead of better. It is also possible to assign causes that are outside of ones control (as injuries mostly are) and just assume the problem will go away. The lack of a run games is the number one question on this team. Everything else, while possibly important, is secondary.

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The one assessment that as far as I know nobody (including the media and coaching staff) got right was the fact Stanford would not be able to run the ball. All the rest of our "assessments" may have been right on (or not), but the glaring problem of this year is and was the running game. Some have asserted that the injuries we had on the OL accounts for the problem. It may be so, but it also could be something else. What worries me is that it seems to be such a mystery to everybody that it happened. What one does not understand can be real hard to fix. It is easy to make the problem worse instead of better. It is also possible to assign causes that are outside of ones control (as injuries mostly are) and just assume the problem will go away. The lack of a run games is the number one question on this team. Everything else, while possibly important, is secondary.

I completely agree with you, which is why when we have problems, and everyone is harping on the play calling, I push back hard.  Criticizing the play calling suggests an easy fix; liked only we zagged when in fact we zigged, the problem would go away.  The truth of the matter is that the offensive line’s run blocking woes are not problems that will be fixed with someone calling a different play.

We have the talent at offensive line positions to be good, if not dominant next year (depending on what Herbig does).  You can’t do anything  about injuries, but the problems with not having enough recruited scholarship offensive linemen in the younger classes is a problem we will (unless we are very lucky with injuries next year) be facing for a couple years.

The biggest question mark is player development.  Herbig, even when not injured, was not as dominant as he was last year.  Little (again, even when not injured) did not take the next step this year, and at times regressed.  Hall plateaued, and made some boneheaded mistakes that a senior should be making.  Left guard has been a turnstile for us, and nobody has really emerged there.

The only thing I would say is that just because we the fans don’t understand why the offensive line has been problematic this year doesn’t mean the coaches can’t figure it out.  Two years ago, the offensive line struggled mightily pass blocking.  This year, the one bright spot for the offensive line was pass blocking.  In fact, CTCard’s theory is that the coaching staff was so concerned about our atrocious pass blocking that they made it a point of emphasis, at the expense of good run blocking.  That suggests that it is a fixable problem, if one places more emphasis on run blocking.

BC