10-02-2022, 03:59 PM
Regarding the offensive line and its push, I continue to think the issue is less the OL effectiveness per se and more the fundamental issue on offense continuously over the last decade: Shaw isn't a good offensive mind and our offense is always less than the sum of its parts.
Is the OL imperfect? Sure. But most college lines are. It is good enough that we shouldn't view it as a weakness. Walter Rouse is one of the better linemen in the nation, Drake Nugent was last year and at bare minimum is very good, and we came in to the year with enviable depth (and RT4 playing well last night suggests we do indeed have excellent depth). OL shouldn't be holding the offense back.
For what it's worth, here is my ranking of Pac-12 OL based on PFF team grades:
1. Oregon - 92.1 pass blocking (#1) + 66.1 run blocking (#48) = 79.1
2. UCLA - 78.9 pass blocking (#12) + 77.3 run blocking (#9) = 78.1
3. USC - 73.7 pass blocking (#28) + 81.5 run blocking (#4) = 77.6
4. Washington - 76.5 pass blocking (#19) + 75.6 run blocking (#12) = 76.1
5. Oregon State - 71.2 pass blocking (#38) + 67.6 run blocking (#44) = 69.4
6. Stanford - 62.8 pass blocking (#77) + 72.4 run blocking (#23) = 67.6
7. Utah - 70.1 pass blocking (#50) + 60.8 run blocking (#72) = 65.5
8. Arizona - 71.1 pass blocking (#39) + 54.0 run blocking (#106) = 62.6
9. Washington State - 60.8 pass blocking (#84) + 55.7 run blocking (#95) = 58.3
10. Colorado - 57.8 pass blocking (#94) + 52.5 run blocking (#111) = 55.2
11. Arizona State - 49.1 pass blocking (#114) + 55.5 run blocking (#100) = 52.3
12. Cal - 43.6 pass blocking (#123) + 51.2 run blocking (#118) = 47.4
I'm disappointed Stanford's OL is only middle of the pack. But we should recognize it's middle of the pack. To hear our fans talk it would sometimes seem we have a bad OL. We definitely don't. But having only competent OL play rather than dominant OL play makes it very hard for Shawfense to succeed. Thus it ever was.
Should the #6 OL in the Pac-12 + Smith/Filkins + Wilson/Higgins/Tremayne/Humphreys + Yurosek = the #9 scoring offense and #8 yards per play offense in the Pac-12? Certainly not.
IMHO, the core insight about Stanford football is that we play much worse than our talent. The total is less than the sum of the parts. This has been the case for many years now. OL is a great example. Can we only be good if we're completely dominating opponents in the trenches? Apparently, under this staff at least.
Is the OL imperfect? Sure. But most college lines are. It is good enough that we shouldn't view it as a weakness. Walter Rouse is one of the better linemen in the nation, Drake Nugent was last year and at bare minimum is very good, and we came in to the year with enviable depth (and RT4 playing well last night suggests we do indeed have excellent depth). OL shouldn't be holding the offense back.
For what it's worth, here is my ranking of Pac-12 OL based on PFF team grades:
1. Oregon - 92.1 pass blocking (#1) + 66.1 run blocking (#48) = 79.1
2. UCLA - 78.9 pass blocking (#12) + 77.3 run blocking (#9) = 78.1
3. USC - 73.7 pass blocking (#28) + 81.5 run blocking (#4) = 77.6
4. Washington - 76.5 pass blocking (#19) + 75.6 run blocking (#12) = 76.1
5. Oregon State - 71.2 pass blocking (#38) + 67.6 run blocking (#44) = 69.4
6. Stanford - 62.8 pass blocking (#77) + 72.4 run blocking (#23) = 67.6
7. Utah - 70.1 pass blocking (#50) + 60.8 run blocking (#72) = 65.5
8. Arizona - 71.1 pass blocking (#39) + 54.0 run blocking (#106) = 62.6
9. Washington State - 60.8 pass blocking (#84) + 55.7 run blocking (#95) = 58.3
10. Colorado - 57.8 pass blocking (#94) + 52.5 run blocking (#111) = 55.2
11. Arizona State - 49.1 pass blocking (#114) + 55.5 run blocking (#100) = 52.3
12. Cal - 43.6 pass blocking (#123) + 51.2 run blocking (#118) = 47.4
I'm disappointed Stanford's OL is only middle of the pack. But we should recognize it's middle of the pack. To hear our fans talk it would sometimes seem we have a bad OL. We definitely don't. But having only competent OL play rather than dominant OL play makes it very hard for Shawfense to succeed. Thus it ever was.
Should the #6 OL in the Pac-12 + Smith/Filkins + Wilson/Higgins/Tremayne/Humphreys + Yurosek = the #9 scoring offense and #8 yards per play offense in the Pac-12? Certainly not.
IMHO, the core insight about Stanford football is that we play much worse than our talent. The total is less than the sum of the parts. This has been the case for many years now. OL is a great example. Can we only be good if we're completely dominating opponents in the trenches? Apparently, under this staff at least.