Thoughts on OL having the upper hand so far?

Submitted by Human Torpedo on

Based on the practice intel that we seem to be getting, it appears the OL is more than holding their own against our supposingly dominant DL. IMO this is way more encouraging for the offensive line than troubling for the defensive front four. Although maybe our DL could be a bit overrated as well. I saw the same thing to a degree in the spring game. IMO this could be our most dynamic and balanced offense since 2003. Even better than 2010

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EGD

August 20th, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^

I hope it's true. We know what the DL can do so if the OL is outperforming them it can only mean good things. But last year wasn't there some story about Kalis saying the OL was "rolling people ten yards downfield?" So, this "practice intel" is probably not information you can rely on here.

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Mr. Yost

August 20th, 2016 at 3:10 PM ^

The DL is rotating a lot more than the OL.

Guys like Godin have been getting a ton of reps. Jones has gotten reps with the 1s.

I'll take this with a grain of salt until I hear about our OL going up against Charlton, Glasgow, Mone, Hurst, Wormley, and Gary for 50+ plays.

I'm not saying they're not A LOT better, I hear we're finally going to be able to lean on people as an OL. But I just think this DL, when it shortens the rotatation in games is the best DL in the country.

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TheDirtyD

August 20th, 2016 at 3:10 PM ^

I mean it wouldn't surprise me. These guys were talented recruits and they have finally played in the same system for more then 1 year and playing together helps a lot. Not to mention they're grown men now and not 18/19 year olds still developing.

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Action

August 20th, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^

On the Michigan Football snapchat, they were showing the team warming up before the scrimmage today. They showed the OL and it looked like Kugler pulling from LG with the ones. The centre was Cole, Kali's RG and Magnuson RT. Couldn't figure out who the LT was but didn't look like Newsome.

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Farnn

August 20th, 2016 at 3:35 PM ^

Apparently Bredeson is fighting Newsome hard for that LT spot.  And they are really looking for best 5 to start, so coaches may be playing around with guys at different positions to find their best combination.  Want to get starters set so they can start practicing together.

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stephenrjking

August 20th, 2016 at 3:49 PM ^

Any chatter evidence to this other than the vid of Bredeson kinda holding his own against Gary?

LT is going to be a worry spot no matter who starts, not sure how to process this if its true. Other than, hey, Bredeson has potential to be really good. The upside here is that if he is close to Newsome in August, we have half a season before we get into the meat of our schedule, so he would have time to grow. If he has a considerably higher ceiling, that is promising.

They might not talk about this, but I know *I* am concerned with fielding the best possible 5 on the Oline in late November on a certain 3-hour road trip. If that means running right for a few weeks against non-conference minnows, so be it.

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Farnn

August 20th, 2016 at 4:14 PM ^

Someone posted it on a few of the premium boards and the writers seemed to have given it the nod of being authentic.  And it's not that Newsome is struggling as much as Bredeson is that good. Steve L. has been saying since last year that Bredeson is very similar to Mason Cole in that he may be ready to play day 1.

I agree regarding OL later in the season.  Especially after reading the OSU UFR, I think the season hinges on how well Drevno does in getting them ready to perform against MSU and OSU.  I really hope the improved offense against Floriday shows how much the coaches can teach rather than how disinterested the Floriday players were.

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stephenrjking

August 20th, 2016 at 3:50 PM ^

BTW, if Bredeson wins the job as a true frosh and holds his own and the team doesn't crash, that's a pretty solid recruiting pitch to sell to guys: You can start anywhere on the field if you're good enough.

It's one thing to say it. It's another to do it. Pete Carroll was really good at this, and look what he built at USC.

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unWavering

August 20th, 2016 at 3:16 PM ^

The DL is largely a known quantity, and it will be at least very good.  If the OL is holding its own against it, that's only a good sign, IMO.

Also, I would expect a bit of a 2nd year bump in performance on the OL, moreso than on the DL, because they were already playing at a high level.  Drevno's lines have a very clear history of improving in the 2nd year.

 

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LKLIII

August 20th, 2016 at 3:18 PM ^

Very true that "practice Intel" is of questionable reliability so take it with a grain of salt. I want to respect paywall sites but I will say that one of the sites listed some practice tidbits from a credible source a day or so ago. Some tidbits involving the O-Line I'll share here: 1) One of the RBs have said that the O-Line has shown a few "flashes of brilliance" with some gaping holes, 2) the left tackle spot doesn't seem to be locked down yet--JBB is still getting s good hard look. 3) Bredesen is also getting several looks at a few spots on the line. My own take away from this is: It's unclear if JBB and Bredesen are actually pushing for starting spots or if the minor Kalis injury is just allowing Drevno to figure out who is in a position to provide depth or spot duty if a starter goes down or if we want to jumbo 6th OL in some plays. Either way, some good buzz is coming out of the O-Line practice, at least when it comes to folks stepping up and being able to provide some competent depth. Unlike a year or two ago, it's not like one injury (with maybe the exception of Cole?) would spell immediate doom for the OL.



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Indonacious

August 20th, 2016 at 3:29 PM ^

Point A doesn't really mean anything to me, as I have no context for who is doing well and who it is against or how often it is. Also, It's just as possible that jbb is getting reps because newsome hasn't locked down the job and the coaches are seeing if anything else works. That being said, I think our oline will be fine, just don't think they will be a stellar/all-conference unit.



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LKLIII

August 20th, 2016 at 3:36 PM ^

Yeah, I mean that's the thing about "inside information". Even if it's accurate, unless the person reporting has a totally comprehensive view of the practices day to day, there's no way to tell what's really going on. If a prior backup is now repping with the 1's is that because they surpassed the prior starter? Or has the starter locked down the job and now the coaches are just playing around to determine the 2 deep? You never really know unless you're there the entirety of fall camp.



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Durham Blue

August 20th, 2016 at 3:35 PM ^

Hold up, is "supposingly" a real word?  If so, that's pretty cool.

 

It's difficult to gauge intel from camp stuff.  I think both lines will be great this season.  There are a lot of veterans on the DL and perhaps the coaches are not requiring they go full out, i.e. they don't really need to prove much.  OTOH, that would be unlike a Harbaugh team to not compete 100% all the time.  So, I don't know.  We'll see when the season rolls around but I have very high expectations for the defense.

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taistreetsmyhero

August 20th, 2016 at 3:57 PM ^

And by "it," I mean putting together a vintage running attack (with the obvious modernization that Harbaugh is aiming for) against a legit defense. Haven't seen that in almost a decade.

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carolina blue

August 20th, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^

Even IF(!) the line takes over, losing to osu is always a very real possibility. Regardless of anything you can think of, they are just too talented. I don't care if we have, literally, the best OL in the league. You can't say there's no way we're losing any games. I would agree that, if that's true, then there's no way we lose any games except osu.



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evenyoubrutus

August 20th, 2016 at 4:00 PM ^

Our run game is going to be killer and steamroll our opponents this year. If we were looking at any other team in CFB with 4 returning starters on the O line and their top 3 running backs with a coach who has proven he can build a dominant o line at multiple stops we would all be in agreement. I swear to God people just over think these things way too much.

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Ghost of Fritz…

August 20th, 2016 at 9:41 PM ^

why a lot of people thought that Lloyd Carr was getting less out of the roster talent than he could have.  Very predictable vanilla offense.  Often let other talented teams (and sometimes less talented teams) stay close, and then lose. 

Of course, no on imagined how bad the next 7 years would be after Carr retired...

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stephenrjking

August 20th, 2016 at 10:29 PM ^

You've been reading my stuff making those arguments, then. Part of the problem, I think, is that the Carr staffs were not equipped to coach styles other than what they played. They could have been more adventurous, but that would play to weaknesses in their coaching technique. It's a theory, not a proven fact. But there is some evidence, such as the disastrous attempt to use a spread punt in 2003. Special teams cost us two losses that year.

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MGoDjinn

August 20th, 2016 at 4:30 PM ^

What intel points to the OL "more than holding their own"? So far it seems the staff is high on overall depth of the unit but is still concerned about the LT position. 

Our defensive line is a proven commodity. Assuming Mone comes back strong and Glasgow is 90%+ his old self, there's no reason why it isn't one of the five best fronts in the country. 

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