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Which position group makes the biggest jump next year?


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6 hours ago, In the Deed the Glory said:

I think you will notice the LB improvement as far as being disruptive behind the LOS next year just to a change in philosophy.

 

I can't wait to see how much better we are here. My biggest pet peeve is a linebacker being blocked by a center 5 yards down the field. It should almost never happen. Our backers for too long have been slow of feet and slower of mind.

 

If this question were about a player rather than a position group, my answer would be Honas. Watching his tape makes me shriek like a school girl. 

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Linebackers. I think there is some talent already there. Throw in Honas and Tannor as new guys looking to make a mark along with some dudes coming off a redshirt season and by George, i thinks the LBs will actually be pleasant to watch next year.

 

If we were saying over next three years, then I'd say offensive line. I think the OL makes some improvements this fall, but the big jump is between year one and year two.

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16 hours ago, melscott62 said:

Over the next 2-3 if the answer isn't qb we are in trouble

 

Always.

 

But is there any place in the country currently better situated to procure and develop talent at that position? If I were a young QB, I'd want in on this action.

 

41 minutes ago, The Dude said:

Having someone other than Lee under center, alone, will make life a hell of a lot easier for the offensive line.

 

This system is a dream for an offensive lineman. A lot of variety, but quick plays that don't leave you hanging out to dry. The last system was so slow, and because it kept so many people in tight it made reads very difficult. There's a good reason the entire line played much better with Decker in. I expect we will see opinions radically change on a few players.

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Can I say the whole team.  Seems like the whole team (other than Brown as kicker & possibly WR) needed an upgrade.   I hope the OL because it all starts there - they have to make the holes for the RBs and keep pressure away from the QB.  I think we will see most visible change at LB and RB but some changes are only seen indirectly by the results of others.  If the OL steps up big time, you will see it in the performance of the RBs, QBs and WR. 

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On 2/16/2018 at 2:59 PM, brophog said:

 

Always.

 

But is there any place in the country currently better situated to procure and develop talent at that position? If I were a young QB, I'd want in on this action.

 

 

This system is a dream for an offensive lineman. A lot of variety, but quick plays that don't leave you hanging out to dry. The last system was so slow, and because it kept so many people in tight it made reads very difficult. There's a good reason the entire line played much better with Decker in. I expect we will see opinions radically change on a few players.

 

Decker is the epitome of what the last staff did wrong.   He was by far the best lineman we fielded last year and he could only get on the field due to injuries.    

 

Even if Austin stinks as a coach, (he doesnt) the line will be vastly improved just because Decker will be on the field more.  

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On February 17, 2018 at 12:56 PM, Red_Payne said:

I hope it’s O-line... this team makes the biggeat leap forward if that position group makes a solid jump

 

Let's play hypothetical. Assume everyone else stays the same, but the offensive line makes that big jump. Would production really improve along the same rate that line play improved?

 

We actually saw this scenario play out last year, during the middle of the season, after the introduction of Decker and Jaimes. There was a stretch during the middle of the season where the pass protection was actually quite decent. The passing game didn't improve. In fact, over the course of the season, Lee's production doesn't correlate with the quality of offensive line play. (Lee is consistent, just not consistently good)

 

That's not to say line play over the course of the entire season wasn't quite poor, both in the running game and passing game. 6 man protections being beaten by a 3 man rush, an atrocious percentage of runs where first contact was at or behind the LOS, on and on. The reason we see line play as being even worse than it really was is because when they did block well, they weren't rewarded with big plays.

 

Tre Bryant had the same number of 20+ yard runs as Ozigbo and one more than Wilbon. Bryant had 3 in his 2 games. 

 

Wisconsin is an even better example of the running back mattering. I think we'd all be pretty happy to have their line blocking for us. Look at their top 3 rushers in attempts:

 

299 att, 6.6 ypc

96 att, 3.8 ypc

61 att, 4.9 ypc

 

Taylor was a monster last year. Even with quality line play, you must have the right guy carrying the ball to make it pay off. Blocking just gets the play started, it comes down to the ball carrier to take a good start and make it a great play.

 

Better line play with a better running scheme and the correct personnel should equal a much improved running game. Line play on its own can only take you so far.

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