Adjusting the Offensive Line

CoachBrewMotivator

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As many of you know by now, the Gophers offensive line has been struggling against FCS and G5 competition over the past three weeks. Namely, giving up a combined 11 sacks and 24 TFLs. Of course, not all those stats can be blamed on the offensive line, and there may be other position groups (TEs, RBs, etc.) who may not be doing their part as well, but I digress.

For the most part, Junior LT Sam Schlueter has drawn much of the ire from Gopher fans, including on this site as well. I was wondering, with the Gophers having a week off before their game at Purdue (9/28), that they might switch up the offensive line. This would give them two weeks to prepare for the change, and possibly the best opportunity they have to make an adjustment before things get serious this season (perhaps they already are, considering our last three games).

Maybe a change should at least be considered, if not necessary, to improve on the almost 4 sacks / game and 8 TFL / game we've given up against "weaker" competition than the BIG will offer.

My suggestion, or thought on what a revamped line may look like.

LEFT TACKLE: Blaise Andries
I recall a few posters between here and TDG have said that Andries would be an interesting insert at Left Tackle. He moved to LT after Donnell Greene sat out the Georgia Tech game, and we all know how that went down in terms of offensive firepower. Things seemed to click well. Additionally, I went with Andries making the move to LT over moving up Dickson, because if I don't trust Schlueter, I certainly am not confident in his backup.

LEFT GUARD: Conner Olson
He played all 13 games last year at Left Guard, and while he's played most, if not all, of the offseason at Center, I think he could make the change back to Guard relatively quickly. He played Guard in high-school, too.

CENTER: John Michael-Schmitz
Currently the backup Center to Conner, Michael-Schmitz had a good camp according to some knowledgable with the Gophers, I believe Ryan Burns being one of them, and I think he could step into the Center position should Conner Olson be moved over to Guard. This is where I would be most concerned entering the BIG season, however.

RIGHT GUARD: Curtis Dunlap

RIGHT TACKLE: Daniel Faalale
I don't think the right side of the line needs adjustment. Hopefully, Daniel and Curtis can be mainstays on the right side for years to come.



Let me know if you think rotating the offensive line is an overreaction. Or, if you indeed do think a shift in the line would be a good idea, leave some suggestions / thoughts / concerns below.
 


House will probably grade out the line again (hope so anyways, I really like his posts), but to me Schlueter been one of the better lineman this year. He had a tough go last year, but this year he's solid.
 

House will probably grade out the line again (hope so anyways, I really like his posts), but to me Schlueter been one of the better lineman this year. He had a tough go last year, but this year he's solid.

That’s what i have seen too. With Olson’s low snaps and Dunlop still struggling i wouldn’t mind seeing Olson to Guard and Michael-Schmitz to center.
 

What is going on with Jason Dickson?
 


As many of you know by now, the Gophers offensive line has been struggling against FCS and G5 competition over the past three weeks. Namely, giving up a combined 11 sacks and 24 TFLs. Of course, not all those stats can be blamed on the offensive line, and there may be other position groups (TEs, RBs, etc.) who may not be doing their part as well, but I digress.

For the most part, Junior LT Sam Schlueter has drawn much of the ire from Gopher fans, including on this site as well. I was wondering, with the Gophers having a week off before their game at Purdue (9/28), that they might switch up the offensive line. This would give them two weeks to prepare for the change, and possibly the best opportunity they have to make an adjustment before things get serious this season (perhaps they already are, considering our last three games).

Maybe a change should at least be considered, if not necessary, to improve on the almost 4 sacks / game and 8 TFL / game we've given up against "weaker" competition than the BIG will offer.

My suggestion, or thought on what a revamped line may look like.

LEFT TACKLE: Blaise Andries
I recall a few posters between here and TDG have said that Andries would be an interesting insert at Left Tackle. He moved to LT after Donnell Greene sat out the Georgia Tech game, and we all know how that went down in terms of offensive firepower. Things seemed to click well. Additionally, I went with Andries making the move to LT over moving up Dickson, because if I don't trust Schlueter, I certainly am not confident in his backup.

LEFT GUARD: Conner Olson
He played all 13 games last year at Left Guard, and while he's played most, if not all, of the offseason at Center, I think he could make the change back to Guard relatively quickly. He played Guard in high-school, too.

CENTER: John Michael-Schmitz
Currently the backup Center to Conner, Michael-Schmitz had a good camp according to some knowledgable with the Gophers, I believe Ryan Burns being one of them, and I think he could step into the Center position should Conner Olson be moved over to Guard. This is where I would be most concerned entering the BIG season, however.

RIGHT GUARD: Curtis Dunlap

RIGHT TACKLE: Daniel Faalale
I don't think the right side of the line needs adjustment. Hopefully, Daniel and Curtis can be mainstays on the right side for years to come.



Let me know if you think rotating the offensive line is an overreaction. Or, if you indeed do think a shift in the line would be a good idea, leave some suggestions / thoughts / concerns below.

Why would you take out your 2nd best lineman? SS3 has played well especially in run blocking. So unless you plan on making Sam into an Hback again, you have to leave him in
 

I know this has been mentioned a few times, but perhaps flipping Andries and Dunlap would be a good idea. There has been some concern about quicker DL being an issue on the right side, maybe Andries back to the right side would help Faalele too. They seemed to play well together last year, especially against THE Ohio State.


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That’s what i have seen too. With Olson’s low snaps and Dunlop still struggling i wouldn’t mind seeing Olson to Guard and Michael-Schmitz to center.

I agree whole heartedly- Dunlap hasn’t played up to expectations and Olson has indeed been hitting Tanner’s shins frequently


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I agree whole heartedly- Dunlap hasn’t played up to expectations and Olson has indeed been hitting Tanner’s shins frequently


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Either they work real hard to correct the mistakes, or make a change. If there is improvement by the Purdue game, thats a start.

I am a novice, but from what I saw, the left guard looks like the week link and the center also is not consistent with snaps and blocking. That could be because he is looking at the sideline half the time though.

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I would keep everything the same.

This.
They just need to work more together. They have been improving and will continue to do so as they get more comfortable playing alongside each other.
 

Why would you take out your 2nd best lineman? SS3 has played well especially in run blocking. So unless you plan on making Sam into an Hback again, you have to leave him in

What evidence do you have that says he's one of our best? Historically he's been an Achilles heel to this line...
 

The coaches know more than anyone on this site. Period.
 



This.
They just need to work more together. They have been improving and will continue to do so as they get more comfortable playing alongside each other.

I'm no o line expert or anything but it seems like most of the issues are happening when they misidentify who they should be blocking. I don't think they are getting dominated physically, it seems to be more mental mistakes or miscommunication to me.
 

I'm no o line expert or anything but it seems like most of the issues are happening when they misidentify who they should be blocking. I don't think they are getting dominated physically, it seems to be more mental mistakes or miscommunication to me.

Right, and thats not going to improve if we mix things up.
 

Sounds like the zone scheme is a lot more challenging mentally, so I guess it’s not shocking our young o line is struggling to be consistent...but if they don’t figure it out very soon I’m afraid we are going to squander our best chance to have a special season in a long time. Time for Kirk to earn his keep and either fix the blocking woes, or cover them up by evolving the offense.

In any event, losing the leader on the line in Weyler was a much bigger deal than I anticipated
 

The coaches know more than anyone on this site. Period.

No sh!t Sherlock- isn’t one of the purposes of a board like this one for people to discuss all aspects of the team? What do you ever offer except ridiculous and snide comments?


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I think we just need to be patient with these guys and let them mature as a group.

But Andries, going to right guard next to Big Dan worked well last year and Olson would probably be more comfortable going back to the left guard spot.
Michael-Schmitz may be a better center in the end.

But those switches represent a 60% changeover! To the group which most heavily relies on teamwork.

If you were to make wholesale changes like some are suggesting, they better have done it on Sunday to give them 2 weeks to gel. At this point you are better keeping the status quo and working on improving the individuals.
 

I think we just need to be patient with these guys and let them MAH-ture as a group.

But Andries, going to right guard next to Big Dan worked well last year and Olson would probably be more comfortable going back to the left guard spot.
Michael-Schmitz may be a better center in the end.

But those switches represent a 60% changeover! To the group which most heavily relies on teamwork.

If you were to make wholesale changes like some are suggesting, they better have done it on Sunday to give them 2 weeks to gel. At this point you are better keeping the status quo and working on improving the individuals.

Great points, but I had to fix that for you.
 

If you were to make wholesale changes like some are suggesting, they better have done it on Sunday to give them 2 weeks to gel. At this point you are better keeping the status quo and working on improving the individuals.

Who's saying they haven't made a change we're unaware of. I agree its risky to change things up, which could interfere with communication and the teamwork we've gained along the offensive line. But somethings got to give. 5 sacks and 11 TFL against a G5 team, at least in my opinion, doesn't bode well for P5, especially BIG competition. Hopefully Ciarocca / Callahan are working on adjusting the offensive line, whether that be working harder to improve on the group we have, or tweaking the line to more apparent strengths (self-scouting).
 

Last year we had a group (the entire defense) that was putting up warning signs, the problems got worse, and finally got so bad the D coordinator got fired. This year we have a group (the O line) that has been putting up warning signs. We are now a quarter of the season in and the problems seem to be getting worse. Is there a coaching issue that needs to be addressed? I'm not saying there is, I'm just asking the question as this seems similar to the D situation last season.
 

I mentioned on another post, get rid of all the “looks” to the bench. Very difficult for any linemen -especially big fat ones to come off the ball and hit someone in the face. They are down in their stance 15 to 20 seconds and we expect them to fire out. Check yourself, getinto a semi-squat for 15 seconds and see if you could fire forward? Also look at putting the QB under the center some - kind of like Iowa - who has Stanley in shotgun and under the center. Especially if Olson continues to mis-snap the ball in shotgun. Why take a chance of a poor snap?
 

I mentioned on another post, get rid of all the “looks” to the bench. Very difficult for any linemen -especially big fat ones to come off the ball and hit someone in the face. They are down in their stance 15 to 20 seconds and we expect them to fire out. Check yourself, getinto a semi-squat for 15 seconds and see if you could fire forward? Also look at putting the QB under the center some - kind of like Iowa - who has Stanley in shotgun and under the center. Especially if Olson continues to mis-snap the ball in shotgun. Why take a chance of a poor snap?

The looks to the bench aren’t going anywhere.
 

The looks to the bench aren’t going anywhere.

Agreed.

All of that is part of KC's system, which he and Fleck have run since 2013. They aren't going to make wholesale changes like that, even if they might be warranted. Too much investment in the system, too much has been installed and ingrained.
 

Dunlap will get a lot better as the season continues. He is a freshman starting OL and all of us had unrealistic expectations from him.

I think this is our most talented 5 and I hope we just stick with this group. If/once they gel, they are our best players.

I am as frustrated as anyone with how the season has transpired, I gave the team an F last week, but we are a couple bad plays away from having a much rosier outlook.
 

no introduction of new people just yet lets figure out the ones we have and make them better
 

The looks to the bench aren’t going anywhere.

That may be true but to his point, why does it take so long for the play call to get in from the bench? He makes a great point in that it is difficult for even an average athletic dude to not get tired from being in a 3 point stance that long. Speed it up or limit the looks.


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As many of you know by now, the Gophers offensive line has been struggling against FCS and G5 competition over the past three weeks. Namely, giving up a combined 11 sacks and 24 TFLs. Of course, not all those stats can be blamed on the offensive line, and there may be other position groups (TEs, RBs, etc.) who may not be doing their part as well, but I digress.

For the most part, Junior LT Sam Schlueter has drawn much of the ire from Gopher fans, including on this site as well. I was wondering, with the Gophers having a week off before their game at Purdue (9/28), that they might switch up the offensive line. This would give them two weeks to prepare for the change, and possibly the best opportunity they have to make an adjustment before things get serious this season (perhaps they already are, considering our last three games).

Maybe a change should at least be considered, if not necessary, to improve on the almost 4 sacks / game and 8 TFL / game we've given up against "weaker" competition than the BIG will offer.

My suggestion, or thought on what a revamped line may look like.

LEFT TACKLE: Blaise Andries
I recall a few posters between here and TDG have said that Andries would be an interesting insert at Left Tackle. He moved to LT after Donnell Greene sat out the Georgia Tech game, and we all know how that went down in terms of offensive firepower. Things seemed to click well. Additionally, I went with Andries making the move to LT over moving up Dickson, because if I don't trust Schlueter, I certainly am not confident in his backup.

LEFT GUARD: Conner Olson
He played all 13 games last year at Left Guard, and while he's played most, if not all, of the offseason at Center, I think he could make the change back to Guard relatively quickly. He played Guard in high-school, too.

CENTER: John Michael-Schmitz
Currently the backup Center to Conner, Michael-Schmitz had a good camp according to some knowledgable with the Gophers, I believe Ryan Burns being one of them, and I think he could step into the Center position should Conner Olson be moved over to Guard. This is where I would be most concerned entering the BIG season, however.

RIGHT GUARD: Curtis Dunlap

RIGHT TACKLE: Daniel Faalale
I don't think the right side of the line needs adjustment. Hopefully, Daniel and Curtis can be mainstays on the right side for years to come.



Let me know if you think rotating the offensive line is an overreaction. Or, if you indeed do think a shift in the line would be a good idea, leave some suggestions / thoughts / concerns below.

I think your big 400lb O tackle should be an O guard. He can be used as a pulling guard, if quick enough. I think you would be better off with a quicker O tackle.
 

The looks to the bench aren’t going anywhere.

Without the looks we won’t know if we are running “Pokémon” or “Lips”


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Without the looks we won’t know if we are running “Pokémon” or “Lips”


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If only Ciarrocca took a “gotta catch em all” approach to our run game.
 




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