Offensive Line Health

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

From everything I've heard, the injuries to Mottla and Tommy are relatively minor, which is a good thing. With two weeks off, it could very well be that the O-Line to start the season is what takes the field against UNLV. That would help. A lot.

But that got me to thinking. Just how much of a dropoff was there the last few weeks? From what I'd heard, Epping sliding over to Center was not a major deal at the Center position, that he was a more than serviceable player at that position.

What about Bak and Christenson though? Bak got some serious playing time last year so I would THINK he should have been able to fill in admirably? I can't say that I noticed (other than the obvious lack of running lanes for the ground game). I'm guessing the biggest possible dropoff came at Tommy's spot, with Freshman Christenson filling in. At times last year it seemed Tommy was the best O-Lineman on the field.

Aside from a talent perspective, I think what did the most damage the last few weeks was just plain a lack of continuity. Hard to get any offensive rhythm going when there's somebody different lined up next to you every week.

Here's hoping, starting with Northwestern, that we can see a healthy starting five that remains largely intact through the remaining 7 games.

 

[Iceland12]

How many more 'It wasn't Shortells' fault" threads are you going to start?

 

[WorkingMyTailOff]

I get where Ogee is going. I was wondering too, if we will be able to have a decent ground attack once the O line is at full strength.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I get where Ogee is going. I was wondering too, if we will be able to have a decent ground attack once the O line is at full strength.

We are going to need to be able to run the ball to win any games in the BIG because we are not going to beat teams through the air. Let's hope a healthy O-Line and Gray under center can make us a credible threat on the ground. Against a team like Northwestern we will need to keep their Offense on the sideline because they have proven to be explosive on offense this year and we are not equiped to win a shootout. Need that Defense that showed up against Syracuse to make an appearance as well also.

 

[McGopherFan]

I too think this is a legitimate question, and I think it bears thinking about when the last time there was not a chunky dropoff given the relatively high number of adjustments that have occurred on the line.

For Max's part, is it possible to get him to a game somewhere this weekend so he can experience again and be coached on handling the tense energy that will exist on the road the remainder of his career. The faster it is coached out or adapted to the better he will be behind center.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

I get where Ogee is going. I was wondering too, if we will be able to have a decent ground attack once the O line is at full strength.

That's mostly where I was going. I guess I was also just wondering, if there are any O-Line geeks onboard, how the youngsters played when they were in there. It would be great to know that they played respectably, that there is depth there for later this season if necessary.

For that matter, I'd be curious to know how some of the guys in general are grading out. Haven't heard anything about Campion since the season started, for example. Usually that's a good thing. I can't say that I recall seeing him getting beaten badly very often.

 

[WorkingMyTailOff]

I am not an O line geek. I was pleased with the amount of protection Shortell had in the Iowa game. Especially in the first half when they were respecting our ability to run.

 

[Killjoy]

It appears that our pass protection is probably better than our run blocking. I don't know how much of that is do to our blocking scheme but I do know that last year we reduce the spacing between the linemen to help out our young linemen. The cost of doing that though was to make it more difficult for our running backs to find the holes.

My question is, has there been any increase in the spacing for our offensive linemen this year to open up the holes? I thought I heard Kill say earlier this year that they were not planning to change the spacing this year. If they are not going to do it his year, hopefully next year they can go back to their more traditional spacing of offensive linemen. If they can, that should improve the running game.

 

[ruppertflywheel]

Good observations and topic Ogee. I've only heard Kill mention Epping in regards to good play. I'm sure it doesn't help with mix and matchup situations they've had to do with injuries. It would be interesting to see how the coaches have graded out the OL to date. All I know, we're a long way from the OL produced during the Shaw/Mason era

 

[MNGoldenGophers1]

I'm in Ogee's camp. I have to think that having a very young line which has experienced a number of injuries is making Limegrover's job extremely challenging. I really don't think we can afford any more injuries at the moment. Hopefully, we get everyone back in time for NW and they stay healthy the rest of the way and we can continue the plan to redshirt the true freshmen. The good news is that the line seems to be holding their own despite being youthful and having all these injuries. Moving forward we should have excellent depth and experience which will be critical if substitution are needed as the season goes on.

Go Gophers!

 

[play hard]

We need to get Tommy and Mottala back very soon. We got really manhandled at Iowa ! Its a tough thing to lose two starters this early !