Give It Up To the Guys Up Front
by Matt Daddy on Nov 2, 2009 1:26 PM PST
41 comments
Most of you guys know me as being a defense honk, who spends most of his time breaking down defensive alignments, blitz packages, and finding out what Cliff Harris had for dinner and whether he likes roses or carnations better...
But, I'm here to address something that I think has not gotten nearly enough attention as this season has progressed. The Offensive Live.
If you were like me, you had a lot of trepidation going into the season about how this O-line would perform given it had a combined total of 22 starts before Boise State. Then watching the BSU game, all of my fears were realized (before the right jab heard round the world) as the line looked like a relative sieve at holding blocks, picking up blitzes, or getting any real push whatsoever. Knowing that Chip Kelly who likes to use the run to set up the pass, and considers Oregon a run first team, my initial thought after the BSU game was, "what the hell are we going to do if we can't run the ball?"
Well, I think that no more. Look at the stats below:
|
Rushing Yds |
Rushing/Att |
Rushing TD's |
Sacks |
|
|
Boise St |
31 |
1.8 |
1 |
1 |
|
Purdue |
170 |
3.9 |
3 |
3 |
|
Utah |
217 |
4.3 |
3 |
1 |
|
Cal |
236 |
4.5 |
2 |
1 |
|
WSU |
318 |
5.4 |
6 |
1 |
|
UCLA |
221 |
5.1 |
0 |
2 |
|
UW |
259 |
6.5 |
4 |
2 |
|
USC |
391 |
8.0 |
4 |
0 |
|
Season |
||||
|
Ave Rush/Game |
233.2 |
|||
|
Ave Rush/Attempt |
5.3 |
|||
|
Ave Rushing TD/Game |
2.9 |
|||
|
Red Zone Scores |
94% |
|||
|
Red Zone TD's |
69% |
|||
Couple of things that surprise me from these stats.
First, I am amazed at the consistent increase in rushing yards per game each game. The only outlier is really the UCLA game where you knew a good rush defense in UCLA was going to load up on our run with our back up "passing" quarterback in there.
Second, this weekly increase has lead to an increase in rushing yards per attempt as well. Oregon is not only getting more total yards, but is making every carry count.
Lastly, looking at the season stats, you can see that the line is getting their push in the red zone where it really matters. Almost 7 out of every 10 times they get within 20 yards from end zone, the line is giving either the much needed push to punch it in, or Masoli the time needed to find the receiver to get the score... that is huge!!!! (note: if someone can find how this ranks in the Pac as well as in the NCAA I would appreciate it).
Here is the best part about all this.
LT 74 Weems, Darrion - Sophmore
LG 69 Thran, Bo - Junior
C 54 Holmes, Jordan - Junior
RG 77 York, Carson - Redshirt Freshman
RT 68 Kaiser, C.E. - Junior
Guess we won't be having anymore of those "22 combined starts" problems anytime soon!!!!
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or the Addicted To Quack Moderators. FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable Oregon fans.
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Good stuff Matt! On less of a statistical note, I was struck, especially after watching replays, of just how well our rushing plays are working in terms of X’s and O’s. Guys are sealing off their blocks, WR’s are holding their blocks long enough for the play to develop (with an occasional holding call now and then, but so far nothing devastating), and overall, the line is getting a great push.
Something that’s struck me since the BSU game is that it actually may have benefited the team (strictly from a football standpoint) that LMJ became the featured back. Why?
LMJ is obviously quicker and faster than LGB. Early in the season, it appeared that the line wasn’t able to maintain their blocks as well, and even on good plays, there were minor breakdowns. LMJ was quick enough (and small enough) to get through holes that might have collapsed before LGB could get through them. We saw a lot of this against BSU. Our running game might have struggled even more than it did against Purdue and Utah had Blount been the one to get 20 carries.
As the season has progressed, that problem has gone away, leading to the increased success we see from those numbers. So much so, in fact, that not only would LGB have been fine last week, even yours truly could have gotten his girth through those holes the O-Line was creating. And all this makes me excited that LGB might be back in action in the coming weeks. Our O-Line has gelled and matured to the point that the proverbial “lightning and thunder” attack will be as lethal as it was last year.
Defending maligned chants since 2009
by Gorbachav5 on Nov 2, 2009 1:47 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I will disagree a little
While I think LMJ’s elusiveness has benefited the offensive line and vice versa, I think a big problm we had against BSU was O-line not fundamentally sound AND Masoli’s read on the zone read. Masoli has continued to make great reads on the zone read (except the first run against USC last week, he was perfect).
I think LMJ’s emergence has been a blessing, I’m not too sure he wouldn’t have won it out on his own anyway.
You are right the O-line holes have been HUGE lately and LMJ has stopped dancing and just barrelled through with tremendous speed
Kenny Wheaton #20; The Pick - 1994 v UW. Matthew Harper #20; The Pick #2 - 2007 v USC. John Boyett #20;...
by Matt Daddy on Nov 2, 2009 1:55 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Hey MattDaddy! I dont see any pictures...
You didnt even include a picture of Cliff Harris with you photoshopped in! I’m very sad about this.
"They gained seven or eight yards a carry on their bad plays." -Pete Carroll
by CaDuck on Nov 2, 2009 3:29 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Cliff Harris for Left Guard '10!
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.
by qrsouther on Nov 2, 2009 5:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Wow, we've been saying they improved rather subjectively
And that quantifies it with accurate data. The increase in yards/att is an amazing stat.
by gamedaytribe on Nov 2, 2009 6:28 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I know I actually went into this just trying to look at the stats to see how they’ve done, and was rather pleasantly surprised by the results myself.
I think it is really a testament to the coaching staff and their work with the guys.
Something I was thinking about during the USC bitch slapping the other night. This team on a whole may be inexperienced, but the way that Kelly runs this team in practice, it’s like they have 3-4 extra games/week. It really builds their experience quiet quickly. I know games are different, but we’ve heard it from how many players, coaches, and media members about how intense practice is?
Hell some players even say that they look forward to games just to get a break from practice and how hard it is… I think that really builds this team’s confidence and experience
Kenny Wheaton #20; The Pick - 1994 v UW. Matthew Harper #20; The Pick #2 - 2007 v USC. John Boyett #20;...
by Matt Daddy on Nov 2, 2009 8:14 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Taking Matt Daddy’s stats, and doing very little math to get a decent estimate, here’s what we can expect the rest of the season.
I’ll take it.
It's spelled "T-A-K-O-T-U-E-S-D-A-Y-S-!-!-!."
I support inroywetrust in his support of The VD Special in his support of me supporting Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
by Takimoto on Nov 2, 2009 8:30 PM PST reply actions 3 recs
I would like to have a graph like this predicting my income.
YPC…Up, up and away!
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 2, 2009 8:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Dude, I LOVE IT!!!!
So, where can I buy the stock of this company?
Kenny Wheaton #20; The Pick - 1994 v UW. Matthew Harper #20; The Pick #2 - 2007 v USC. John Boyett #20;...
by Matt Daddy on Nov 2, 2009 8:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
India.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; Six-hundred and ninety-four yards of total offense.
by qrsouther on Nov 2, 2009 9:00 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Ha, I actually have a little stock in an Indian company!
Why wont their profits follow this trend? WHY?
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 2, 2009 9:04 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
One of the reasons I really like ATQ
Where else would I get football geek food?
Awesome graph. Will be very interesting to see how things pan out. (No, not expecting linear growth :))
by gamedaytribe on Nov 2, 2009 10:34 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
well here's some real geek food for ya
Linear growth should not be assumed. The diminishing marginal utility of the running game will cause a tipping point in the rate of production as the season extends.
This overall loss of efficiency will neither detract from the prodigiousness nor devalue the inordinate amount of exceptional play from our offensive line.
Go Ducks!!!!
Kenny Wheaton #20; The Pick - 1994 v UW. Matthew Harper #20; The Pick #2 - 2007 v USC. John Boyett #20;...
by Matt Daddy on Nov 2, 2009 10:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Pessimist.
Our YPC WILL NEVER TOP OUT!
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 3, 2009 7:17 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I've had stock in this company for 20 years!
Buy low, sell high baby!
(No, that doesn’t mean I’m cashing in)
by Bill Musgrave on Nov 2, 2009 10:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
buy low, buy more as it continues to go higher
Kenny Wheaton #20; The Pick - 1994 v UW. Matthew Harper #20; The Pick #2 - 2007 v USC. John Boyett #20;...
by Matt Daddy on Nov 2, 2009 10:50 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, that makes more sense, but it was so much less catchy.
This is America, and we must have catch phrases.
And now, back to winning the day.
by Bill Musgrave on Nov 2, 2009 10:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
"Guess we won't be having anymore of those "22 combined starts" problems anytime soon!!!!"
until 2011 anyway. oh well ill take it
Under winter skies
We stand glorious
And with Oden on our side
We are victorious
by WhiteRabbit on Nov 3, 2009 1:37 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Assuming York and Weems are still around and haven’t been hurt, we still won’t. Together, they’ll have at least 22 games by the end of THIS year. By 2011, even if we have to replace Thran, Kaiser, and Holmes, our line should come into the season with 40 – 50 combined starts.
Defending maligned chants since 2009
by Gorbachav5 on Nov 3, 2009 9:29 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
there is a good chance Thran will miss at least one game
and his understudy will get a start or 6
The Ducks' 27-point margin was one more than the margins of all seven of USC's losses since 2004 combined.
by trumpetduck on Nov 3, 2009 10:25 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Someone will get hurt at some point, so it’s much more likely that our line has 50 games on experience. Not great, but certainly not bad either.
Just think: in 2010, our line will have roughly 85 games of starting experience.
Defending maligned chants since 2009
by Gorbachav5 on Nov 3, 2009 10:43 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
"starts
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 3, 2009 3:31 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Sorry about that spazz...
Starts can be a misleading result; our o-lineman coming into the year had game experience when not credited with a start
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 3, 2009 3:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That's true
But that’s how most analysts measure these things, since it’s hard to get a grasp on miscellaneous playing time. Plus your starter is going to be in most of the time in most cases, so it’s safe.
It’s safe to say our line was relatively inexperienced coming into this year, and that certainly showed in their first game. They’re definitely quick studies, though!
Defending maligned chants since 2009
by Gorbachav5 on Nov 3, 2009 4:51 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, I definitely understand that starts is the only stat there really is...
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 3, 2009 5:25 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Another stat (besides the ones that rank us nationally/in the Pac)
that I tried to find for this year, were the number of penalties each game on the O-line. As I looked thru the games play-by-play it became pretty apparent that our O-line does not commit a lot of penalties…
Most of the holding penalties are on the WR’s and the number of false starts we had against USC was more of an abberation than a pattern. Once again, more of a testament to how good the guys up front have been playing, and getting better too
Kenny Wheaton #20; The Pick - 1994 v UW. Matthew Harper #20; The Pick #2 - 2007 v USC. John Boyett #20;...
by Matt Daddy on Nov 3, 2009 5:37 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Using my fingers, I tried to count the False Starts that USC committed...
But I ended up needing my toes as well.
As long as Maehl does not pull his stupid fumble at our 30 yard line crap; I am happy with the discipline that our team exudes :)
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 3, 2009 5:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
If there was one thing I could wave a magic wand and get rid of
It would be our fumbles. Masoli has figured out the passing thing (96 straight pass attempts without an INT, Juju be praised), but the fumbles are still a bit of a problem.
No more fumbles, guys!
Defending maligned chants since 2009
by Gorbachav5 on Nov 3, 2009 6:07 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Maehl had a bad game
I think he made up for it in the second half, but just like Bair in the UW game, he just had a bad game and the other players (as they have done all year) rallied around him and picked up for it.
From an O-line perspective, I hope they work on the shotgun snaps with Holmes a lot this week. I am soooo tired of seeing the high snaps that throw off our timing and reads on the zone read. Masoli has done a better job of grabbing them (remember all the ones that went thru his hands against Purdue and Utah?), but they throw off the timing so much that the play is immediately broken.
Kenny Wheaton #20; The Pick - 1994 v UW. Matthew Harper #20; The Pick #2 - 2007 v USC. John Boyett #20;...
by Matt Daddy on Nov 3, 2009 6:13 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t think it’s a Maehl problem – like you said, he just had a bad game. It’s been a team thing. Masoli has cleaned up his fumbles, mostly, although a lot of that is because snaps are a bit better, and when they’re not, Masoli has done a good job of snagging them. But it still seems like there’s a painful fumble every game, and those are eminently avoidable.
Defending maligned chants since 2009
by Gorbachav5 on Nov 3, 2009 11:28 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Maehl was the leading receiver on the day, in fact.
So yes, bad penalty, bad fumble by the Maehl man, but he was performing at the same time. He’ll clean that up and be good to great like he has been.
I agree its general team mistakes that need to be cleaned up more than any one guy – line penalties, random special teams gaffes, etc.
Has been getting one step better each game, so I can’t wait for our “perfect” performance at Stanford (should JuJu allow such a thing to occur).
by Bill Musgrave on Nov 4, 2009 5:37 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
He also dropped a TD.
It's spelled "S-H-U-F-E-L-T-U-N-S-U-R-E-O-F-H-I-M-S-E-L-F"
by JShufelt on Nov 4, 2009 6:15 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Hmmmm, I thought that was Paulson,
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 4, 2009 7:16 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I watched the game last night, and saw 23 on the jersey.
Maybe I’m crazy though.
It's spelled "S-H-U-F-E-L-T-U-N-S-U-R-E-O-F-H-I-M-S-E-L-F"
by JShufelt on Nov 4, 2009 8:06 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
It was definitely Maehl. he had a fumble and a drop. But he also made some nice plays later in the game…
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
by jtlight on Nov 4, 2009 8:42 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Allright, I was not totally sure myself
TOBY, Toby Gerhart...THE Toby Gerhart? I formally welcome your presence.
We appreciate all of your needed contributions Juju! WE LOVE YOU
by CaDuck on Nov 4, 2009 12:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
He did drop a TD, I'm just saying
there was a lot of grumbling to kill Maehl on the game thread, and if I’m the coach I’m keeping the guy and see him as our best wide receiver.
Definitely made some mistakes, but doesn’t seem normal for him, and in fact he’s our second leading receiver after Dickson, doubling up on Paulson, Davis, and Holland in catches and yards.
No doubt, mistake laden game for Maehl. Still lead the team in receiving yards for the game.
by Bill Musgrave on Nov 4, 2009 4:08 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
He did some good stuff too.
He did a veteran move against USC when he noticed the slot receiver was on the line, making it too many people on the LOS, so he shifted back, out of proper formation to a legal formation. That’s pretty heads up.
He still made stuff happen. He just had a bad game. He’s still one of our best receivers.
It's spelled "S-H-U-F-E-L-T-U-N-S-U-R-E-O-F-H-I-M-S-E-L-F"
by JShufelt on Nov 4, 2009 4:16 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Acc to Bellotti, it wasn't Maehl's fault
He first said looked like he hadn’t protected it, but after the replay he said no, really, Maehl was holding it right and did all he could, just a great play by the defense.
Bellotti’s color commentary on the Comcast rebroadcast.
by gamedaytribe on Nov 4, 2009 7:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Maeh's fumble was only partly his fault...
He got stripped from behind while he was making a move on a defender in front of him. He needs to keep the ball higher and tighter to his chest while carrying with one arm, though. Might not have been a fumble had it been tight against his body.
"KENNY WHEATON'S GONNA SCORE!! KENNY WHEATON!!--Jerry Allen, 1994"
by M. Fletcher on Nov 4, 2009 2:13 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
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