sarge87 Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Wildcat passer is well-protected By Rich Kaipust WORLD-HERALD BUREAU << Big Red Today LINCOLN — Whether it was going to be Nick Foles or Matt Scott taking the snaps, the Arizona offensive line already had its challenge set before the season ever started. Foles and Scott were sophomores with limited playing experience. They had combined for 19 career pass attempts, and Foles threw his eight for Michigan State in 2007 before transferring and sitting out '08. The front five was going to have some protecting to do. “We went into the year knowing we would have a young quarterback back there,'' Arizona center Colin Baxter said. “So it was real important for us to keep guys off him, make his job as easy as possible and give him time to make throws. I think being able to do that has been a big part of our success.'' The Wildcats have the statistics to prove it, allowing just 11 sacks during an 8-4 season that concludes with a Holiday Bowl game against Nebraska on Dec. 30. Since Foles took over the starting job in late September, only Oregon has sacked him more than once in a game. That is even more impressive considering Arizona threw 35 or more passes in seven of its last eight regular-season games. “It's a stat people have been talking about, but we really don't look at it,'' Arizona offensive tackle Adam Grant said. “As long as Nick doesn't have any grass on his jersey, we're doing our job.'' The Arizona offensive line probably hasn't gotten the credit it deserves in Foles' development. Whether it has overachieved or been overlooked, Baxter said it hasn't mattered. That goes with the territory. “We thought we had a chance to be really good and actually improve on what we did last year,'' Baxter said. “And I think we've done that. “The biggest thing is we're starting to develop depth. For about five or six weeks there, we didn't have the same offensive line combination out there once. And in those five or six weeks, I think we gave up one or two sacks.'' The Arizona line faces its next challenge against the Huskers (9-4). The Nebraska starting defensive front has accounted for 30 sacks and 64 tackles for losses. It features the Associated Press national player of the year, senior Ndamukong Suh. Grant said it's hard not to focus on Suh — especially after watching the film from the Big 12 championship game — but the Wildcats know about Jared Crick lining up next to Suh on the inside and Barry Turner and Pierre Allen on the outside. “They really don't blitz that much, which is pretty impressive, because they've got such a good front four,'' Grant said. “They're physical, which we definitely like. I don't like to play those finesse teams.'' The Arizona line hasn't just protected Foles but also cleared running room for tailbacks Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin. The Wildcats head into the Holiday Bowl averaging 168.3 rushing yards per game and 5.0 per carry. Foles has helped with his own pass protection. Baxter said the 6-foot-5, 235-pounder is good at both avoiding pressure and getting the ball out quick. As far as the sacks, it's a rare statistic that an offensive line can brag about — but one Baxter said the line is not obsessed with. “We know about it, we care about it, but I think we try to not pay too much attention to that kind of stuff,'' Baxter said. “You start worrying about things like, ‘I can't give up a sack ...' You can't do that. We've just got to carry out our job every play.'' Foles will handle the rest. Twice this season he even gathered his linemen together for 25-cent wing night at a local establishment and picked up the check. All of them? “Naw, just the starters,'' Grant said. “If he took everybody that would probably cost quite a bit.'' Quote Link to comment
Blackshirt316 Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Pretty sure Texas was saying the same things. And the Line isn't great for them, they are solid but the reason they give up so few sacks is because they use a one step drop passing system. If our DB's can force Foles to hold on to the ball longer and take an extra couple seconds to see where we are at we'll hit him plenty. Quote Link to comment
knapplc Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Arizona Fan is pretty confident we won't get to Foles at all. Texas fan felt the same way, and look what happened. I wonder how pissed off Suh is at not getting the Heisman, and at finishing behind McCoy? I guess we'll find out in a week. Quote Link to comment
sarge87 Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 Arizona Fan is pretty confident we won't get to Foles at all. Texas fan felt the same way, and look what happened. I wonder how pissed off Suh is at not getting the Heisman, and at finishing behind McCoy? I guess we'll find out in a week. Suh can hurt them in more ways than one. As I recall, CU tried the same thing (quick passing) in the 08 game, and Suh just started backing off into the the quick slant passing lanes, either batting the ball down or just outright intercepting it. Also, Dennard and O'Hanlon will be licking their chops jumping those routes all night long. Quote Link to comment
TXHSKR Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Foles will handle the rest. Twice this season he even gathered his linemen together for 25-cent wing night at a local establishment and picked up the check. Somebody get some wings for those boys!! Suh & Company is going to give them a workout! Quote Link to comment
clone Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Wildcat passer is well-protected famous last words.... Quote Link to comment
newenglandhusker Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 Arizona Fan is pretty confident we won't get to Foles at all. Texas fan felt the same way, and look what happened. I wonder how pissed off Suh is at not getting the Heisman, and at finishing behind McCoy? I guess we'll find out in a week. Suh can hurt them in more ways than one. As I recall, CU tried the same thing (quick passing) in the 08 game, and Suh just started backing off into the the quick slant passing lanes, either batting the ball down or just outright intercepting it. Also, Dennard and O'Hanlon will be licking their chops jumping those routes all night long. O'Hanlon doesn't really jump routes that well, he just sits back and waits for QBs who've been hit by our DLine all game long to throw him the ball outright. Dennard is a stud...but you're missing THE Dejon Gomes. Quote Link to comment
sarge87 Posted December 25, 2009 Author Share Posted December 25, 2009 Arizona Fan is pretty confident we won't get to Foles at all. Texas fan felt the same way, and look what happened. I wonder how pissed off Suh is at not getting the Heisman, and at finishing behind McCoy? I guess we'll find out in a week. Suh can hurt them in more ways than one. As I recall, CU tried the same thing (quick passing) in the 08 game, and Suh just started backing off into the the quick slant passing lanes, either batting the ball down or just outright intercepting it. Also, Dennard and O'Hanlon will be licking their chops jumping those routes all night long. O'Hanlon doesn't really jump routes that well, he just sits back and waits for QBs who've been hit by our DLine all game long to throw him the ball outright. Dennard is a stud...but you're missing THE Dejon Gomes. You have to admit O'Hanlon has a knack of being in the right place at the right time, and YES, THE Dejon Gomes is a stud also. Quote Link to comment
kshusker89 Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Amukamara anyone wow leave our best corner out? Quote Link to comment
newenglandhusker Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Amukamara anyone wow leave our best corner out? Gomes is more of a gamer than Amukamara. I've never figured out why he isn't returning punts, the guy is a highlight reel with the ball in his hands. Quote Link to comment
Enhance Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I don't put a lot into this, mainly because of the statistics not really being in there favor. We have three teams in the Big 12 (Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma) all giving up few than 20 points per game this year. We also have three defenses (Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma) all giving up fewer than 300 yards per game. The best defense in the pac-10 gave up 20.4 yds/g, and they only had one team hold their opponents to fewer than 300 yds/g, and this is ASU. It's not really like they were facing great, talented defenses each week. Offensively, we have 6 teams that scored 30 or more pts/g this season. The Pac-10 only had 3. Granted, we have two extra teams compared to them. Quote Link to comment
GBRsal Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 yeah he's pretty well protected against pric10 competetition...when they played iowa their qb spent the whole afternoon on his AZz Quote Link to comment
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