Oline pressure and other links

Everyone talks about our QBs, but the real key to the season might be the Offensive Line. Personally I think this unite comes together quickly.

The Heights put together a nice "Year n Review" feature.

Former BC Defensive End Brian Mihalik is going to convert to Offensive Tackle for the Steelers.

2014 Preview Questions: How good is the Offensive Line?

Given BC's history with OLine play, it is surprising that it took until last year for an offensive coach to say "forget skill players, maybe we should just put out eight offensive lineman." The jumbo packages combined with the spread proved to be a good wrinkle. It played to our strengths and depth. I am sure this year we will see new wrinkles, but I don't think teams will be as surprised or that we have the same depth to pull it off. The big question is how good can this Oline be? Their success as a unit will impact BC's season more than any other.

During the decline under Spaz, the most obvious weakness was offensive line play. Mistakes, confusion and sloppy technique were evident. One of the reasons for last season's turn around was simply better position coaching. Which shouldn't have been a surprise since Addazio was a former OLine coach. You assumed that he would put an emphasis on the unit and find a good position coach (which he did in Justin Frye). In Year 2 -- with another year of good coaching -- things should be better. But it is not always that simple.

The middle of the line returns. Vardaro, Gallik and Williams should all probably be in the same position as last year. But those three were also the most inconsistent of our starters last season. Vardaro and Gallik would play really well some games and struggle in others. With Gallik receiving a series of preseason accolades, I assume the coaches are expecting a big season season from him.

But who replaces the Tackles? It is assumed that it will be another Florida transfer Ian Silberman and Seth Betancourt. But the coaches could easily move Vardaro and Williams wide and use Silberman and Betancourt on the interior. It really depends on what Frye thinks is most important, position familiarity or putting you best talent at Tackle.

I also don't know if and how often we will go big. Opponents have had a whole offseason to prepare. Without the surprise will the big packages be as effective? Also, do we have the depth? Are the guys on the bench able to come in and play? Are we better off with multiple Tight Ends? Unlike our questions at WR, I have more confidence that the Oline will come together. The talent and coaching is too good for it not to come together. And if it doesn't come together...we're screwed.

More staff changes as Spaz brings on new OL coach

BC's offense has been barely functional under Spaz. There were numerous reasons and issues, but I always felt it started with the offensive line. Without solid protection up front all of other other issues were magnified. For a school that prided itself on its offensive line tradition, this was unacceptable. Finally Spaz made a change. He hired former Ohio State Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line coach Jim Bollman to be offensive line coach/running game coordinator.

Bollman comes with a wealth of college and professional experience. Almost as importantly he overlapped with Spaz one year at UVA and was Tranq's OLine coach at Michigan State (so there is more familiarity with Spaz than say Kevin Rogers had). He's available because Urban Meyer decided to bring in most of his own folks at Ohio State. They gave him the running game coordinator title, but I wouldn't read too much into that. Martin is still going to call plays. I assume that Martin and Bollman have a some familiarity given the Ohio connection between the two.

Ohio State fans are mocking us, but I am not too concerned. If Bollman can just get our guys to be more consistent and less confused on plays, he will have done his job.

I'll have more on Bollman as I learn more. For now I am optimistic. We needed a teacher and a veteran who has seen it all and can instill fundamentals back into our offensive line. On paper Bollman is that guy.

Sean Devine will remain on staff as the Tight Ends coach...and that is a good thing. He's been one of our hardest working recruiters. I know OLine U fell apart under his watch, but I think it was probably a bad fit from the start (I'll explain why in another post). Now he can redeem himself by helping us close out strong on the recruiting front.

2011 Position Previews: Offensive Line

New season. New format. Instead of a digestible combo of factoids and opinions, I am going to write in a more narrative, free style post. As always, feedback is appreciated.

Reputation is a funny thing. Bad or good, it often follows you even when it hasn't been relevant or accurate for years. BC's reputation is for producing great offensive lines. The reality is our offensive line play has been bad the past two years. But offensive line play is tough to measure. It is not about points or size or style. It is not about sacks or rushing yards. Real great offensive line play is about harmony. It is about rhythm and balance. It is about setting the stage for the skill players to score and get the glory. Great play offensive line play is really about five big clunky guys playing as one to the point where no one even notices how well they are playing.

Before I get into what's ahead for BC's Offensive line, let me give you my belief as to why our OLines were so good for so long. Seeing a 18-year-old throw a darting out pass or run a 40 yard dash gives you a good idea of how their skills translate to the next level. Projecting how a tall or chubby or clumsy 18-year-old will perform three years later and 60 pounds heavier is much harder to do. Offensive line isn't about measurables. It is about coaching. You need coaches who can look at a lump of coal and see the diamond underneath. And you need coaches who can teach their diamonds how to work together for the common goal. BC became OLineU because we had head coaches and position coaches who understood and appreciated offensive line play. Bicknell had his sons on the OLine. Coughlin came from Parcells's school where OLine was considered the foundation of everything. Henning for all his issues knew that much of the Redskins success was about great offensive line. TOB was a longtime OLine coach as was Jags. While year to year, some OLines were better than others, there was enough continuity that you could count on BC being strong upfront.

Now getting a defensive head coach isn't the reason our offensive line fell apart the past two years. The awkward combination of Spaz, Tranq, Devine, the system we ran, the lack of playmakers and the OL players they inherited all played a role. I do believe that if the coaching philosophies had been on the same page, we could have been respectable instead of just bad.

Despite my growing cynicism surrounding Spaz, I actually believe the offensive line will play better this year. Rogers' Olines at Syracuse and Notre Dame were always decent. I think Spinney, Richman and Cleary make a solid foundation...all with a chance to be very good or even great. White was decent last year in spot duty. That leaves Wetzel, Goodman, Betancourt, Williams or Kramer to step up and fill the void. All have potential. They just need to be put in position to blossom and excel. That is about hard work, coaching and scheme.

For someone who only watches the games and doesn't attend practices, my predictions and suggestions would be Cleary at LT, Richman at LG, Spinney at C, White at RG and Betancourt at RT. (Sub in Wetzel if Betancourt is not ready.) But one thing I don't want is starts based on seniority. Put the best guys in their best positions.

BC has managed to compete despite terrible line play the past two years. That trend cannot continue as the schedule is more demanding. If Devine doesn't get the guys clicking this year, than our days as Oline U may be on hiatus.

Oline questions and other links

Eric Hoffses posted a good interview with our Offensive Line coach Sean Devine. The coach gives assessments of most of his prospects without tipping his hand on the starters. Everyone has good things to say about Devine, but this is really a make or break season for him. The Oline has not been as consistent or as great as BC needs it to be. This year the old excuses of talent or scheme don't fly. These are Devine's guys. Let's hope he closes Spring Ball with a good idea of who his starting lineup is and doesn't have to reshuffle midseason like he did last year.

The seniors are getting read for Pro Day. Although the Panthers's writers are covering Castonzo, I think there is 0% he goes No. 1 overall. If Carolina likes him, they can trade down.

BC is one of many schools interested in Florida DB Jordan Diggs.

As expected, Tennessee fired Bruce Pearl. Andy Katz explained how the smaller secondary violations really broke the camel's back. As I have said, BC shouldn't ever touch him as a coach, but I expect him to land at one of our rivals. If it is not Providence or NC State this year, it could be another ACC or Big East school in 2012.

Getting ahead of the Offensive Line Narrative

Most BC fans agree that Oline U hasn't been itself for two years. We've been inconsistent and worst of all, the guys didn't always play well as a group. BC had talent, but the parts were greater than the sum. Who was to blame? There was plenty of finger pointing. Some say it was scheme. Others blamed coaching. Maybe BC's coaching turnover and talent attrition just came home to roost.

BC enters the season with a new offensive coordinator and three new starters on the Oline, so the excuse making is starting already. But we fans shouldn't accept this narrative just yet. Look at the talking points and then the reality.

1. BC lost three starters on the offensive line. Although it is technically true, the impact and importance of those starters is subjective. Castonzo started all 13 games and is a loss. Claiborne was in and out of the lineup last year and only started eight games. Lapham was inconsistent prior to his injury and the line play actually improved once Cleary stepped in for him. Lapham only started 8 games. Now the good news:
-- Cleary started 10 games
-- Richman started 10 games
-- Spinney started 11 games
-- White started 3 games
-- Davis earned 1 start
Plus BC has some promising depth on the roster. But look at that list of 2010 starters again. Spaz could open the season with an offensive line with an experienced starter at every position. That's a nice problem to have, especially since the media won't notice.

2. The offensive line has dealt with numerous coaching changes. The four oline coaches in four years was a nice tidbit excuse the media could trot out when covering BC the last few years. Now we've had a bit of stability. The current OL guys on the roster have only had two position coaches: Jack Bicknell Jr and Sean Devine. Most only know Devine. While they are learning another system, conceptually it is still "pro style" and shouldn't be a huge adjustment.

3. They were recruited for a different system. The zone blocking body type is overrated. Most good players on the Oline can do both. And if the oline and its coach are not capable of teaching and adapting then Spaz has a big problem on his staff.

I actually think the Oline will be good next year. If we get the right guys in the right positions things should be much much better.

How to ruin the best OLine in the ACC part 1

We have four returning offensive lineman. Three of those four earned all ACC honors last season. Coming into today's game they had a combined 63 starts. They looked lost today and I am afraid they don't know what to do. That's coaching. Now our coaches have plenty of experience and should be able to turn things around. My fear though is there is too much going on and we are doing nothing well. I am also a bit concerned about things like spacing and execution. This stuff should not be happening three games into the season with a mostly experienced group. The execution is probably due to too many varied schemes (part Tranq, part Logan) and four different QBs splitting time. Here are a few of the issues. (I may add more as I continue to go through the rewatch).

First Quarter. 3rd and 17. BC calls a draw that gets blown up.
This was the first real cowardly call of the game. But I can understand why we did it. The draw is low risk. It should be easy to execute and it plays to your strengths: the line and Harris. However, we failed to execute. Here are some issues:
-- Doesn't Harris seem awfully deep? This might make it seem like he is staying into block and sell the draw, but it also means he has to cover a lot of ground just to get to the line of scrimmage.

-- Anderson releases downfield and takes a defender with him. Now Clemson only has five guys in the box!! Although this doesn't guarantee a first down, it should at least mean a decent gain. But you can already see problems. Lapham (on the right side) is drawing his man downfield away from the play. That's good. However, the rest of the line is clustered at the line of scrimmage? This is a draw. These guys have runs thousands of draws. What are they doing? They should also being drawing/driving their men downfield too. There should be a big hole. Yet Clemson -- with only five in the box -- is ready to gobble up the runner.

-- Castonzo won his matchup. But the three interior guys (two of who were all ACC) shuffled around and left three defenders ready to crush Harris. Ugh.


1st and 10. Basic run play. Offensive line is asked to do something (pull I think? but it is so sloppy you can't be sure) and leave Haden out to dry.
Pulling and trapping is a staple of many offenses. Gary Tranquill might have multiple plays that call on it. One problem though...our guys have not been drilling in this for two years. Should we have these plays in our playbook? Can you do this and still mix in zone? Does anyone have clue what is going on? Take a look:
-- Clemson has five men on the line. That is problem No. 1. Do we audible? Have any counters? If so we didn't use them.

-- The play starts off ok. Richman, Claiborne and Pantale all block down and win their battles. Castonzo doubles the End with Anderson. I don't love the decision but you can live with it (I would prefer if one of them went to the second level). The real problem is that Lapham and Tennant are supposed to pull and clear the way. Yet Tennant doesn't disengage quickly enough and Lapham is a big dude who is probably never going to cover that much land quickly enough.

-- So now Haden is heading towards a hole with two Clemson guys waiting for him. Tennant and Lapham are never going to get there. Haden decided to kick it out and go around the end but was tackled for a loss.



1st and 10. Shinskie's first drive. 1st use of one of Logan's staples: the zone option read.
We are struggling. We haven't moved the ball. Someone (Tranq?) decides to go and use one of the plays that worked well for BC last year. Only we use it with the one guy who wasn't around in the Logan days in Shinskie!?!? But once again I think these guys have so much going on in their heads, they are screwing up basic things like spacing. Take a look:
-- Look how big the space is between Tennant and Claiborne! What's going on? Both are smart and experienced. Why is this happening? It screams lack of repetition or confusion. The Clemson DT picks up on it and gets right in the gap.

-- At the snap he is already by Claiborne. But the play is not totally lost. A good QB who knows this play might be able to make something out of nothing. But instead we have a relief pitcher who hasn't played football since 2002. Now if Tuggle had been in there, he might have done something...after all he saw film of Crane and Tuggle dealing with this same situation last year.

-- Claiborne is beat. Lapham is blocking air. Haden is about to be lunch. Since the end is starting to crash though a running QB who knew the offense might have kept it himself and tried to make positive yards.

-- Yet Shinskie gives it to Haden and we have another negative play.


I may have more of this, but you get the point. There is too much going on with the team and our experienced guys are lost. There is more talent than we saw today, but we need the staff to quickly put together a plan that plays to their strengths!

When the coaching staff has their come to Jesus meeting Sunday, it is on Spaz, Day and Sirmans to speak up and get us back on track. They know what can work with these guys. They know what drills will work. They are the carryovers. They have to help bridge the gap. If they don't we will have serious issues.

Preseason breakdown: Offensive Line

I am going to take a slightly different format with the position breakdowns. Up first: the offensive line.

Consensus heading into the season
Everyone agrees that the offensive line should be the strength of the team.

Roster Reminders

It is a fairly balanced depth chart.
Returning Starters
-- Thomas Claiborne
-- Anthony Castonzo
-- Rich Lapham
-- Matt Tennant
Backups and Hopefuls
-- Ian White
-- Mark Spinney
-- Nick Halloran
-- Mike Goodman
-- John Wetzel
-- Nathan Richman
-- Emmett Cleary
-- Keith Bourne

Chatter
Everyone wants to know who will fill the LG position and what the latest scheme change will mean for the line. I am not worried about either. Clif Ramsey was all conference last year, but whoever fills his shoes will be bookended by two of the best linemen to come through BC in Tennant and Castonzo. As for the new coach Sean Devine, he's considered a good teacher and has worked the zone scheme before. I think he will keep the OLine U tradition going strong.

Real Question
When will Nathan Richman be healthy? Richman -- one of the favorites to fill the open starter position -- still has a gimpy ankle. It looks like his absence will open the door for...

My bold prediction
Emmett Cleary will start at LG and make the ACC's All Freshman team. Cleary looked a little spotty in the spring game, but there was good buzz about him during his redshirt year. He probably could've played as a true freshman if we had needed him. Say what you will about Jags, but the guy had a good eye for line talent. He thought Cleary could be as good as Castonzo. I am on the bandwagon and think our leftside will dominate this year.

What keeps me up at night
Rich Lapham's consistency and Matt Tennant's shotgun snaps. Lapham improved throughout the year but he was still the unit's weak link. Hopefully his footwork has improved and he's little more focused. Tennat's shotgun snaps were a bit of an issue last year, but I don't think it will be a problem this year since we'll have QBs under center more often this year.

Outlook
This should be the best line in the conference and could be the best in the country. Injuries and newbies could upset the applecart, but I am predicting great success. I think Devine is a promising coach and but how this unit gels will be the first real indicator if my hunch is true.

We'll have plenty of time to worry about other parts of this team, but the offensive line is going to be very, very good.

A tale of two offensive lines

Despite the penalties on Saturday night, BC’s rebuilt offensive line deserves credit. They took on the most aggressive front seven in the ACC and held their own. Watching the BC line improve each week and absorbing all of the problems the Notre Dame Oline is having, I thought I would use the two units as an example of how inexact recruiting rankings can be and how important coaching (and position coaching) can be.

For those BC fans who are unfamiliar with the recent Irish struggles, you can get a good overview at Blue-Gray Sky. In summary, their line is porous, seemingly lacking in basic fundamentals and the main reason the Irish cannot move the ball.

I am shocked on two fronts: one the Irish line is stocked with kids who snubbed BC and two, I grew up watching the Parcells’ Giants and actually like Charlie Weis. How can he let this happen?

Weis apologists are blaming Willingham and saying the Oline is very green, very young and not that talented. I don’t buy it. Look at Notre Dame’s Oline starters and then compare it to BC’s Oline. (note: I used “year” because BC and ND classify redshirts differently.)

Notre Dame Starters	Recruited by BC	Rivals Recruiting Stars	Career Starts	Year
Wegner	NA*	4	3	2
Sullivan	Yes	4	36	5
Young	Yes	5	16	2
Turkovich	Yes	3	3	3
Duncan	No	3	3	3

*BC was not listed in his final four, but I believe we did offer

Boston College Starters	Recruited by ND	Rivals Recruiting Stars	Career Starts	Year
Castonzo	No	2	3	1
Tennant	No	3	3	3
Ramsey	No	2	3	4
Poles	No	4	16	5
Cherilus	No	3	40	5

For non-BC fans who might read this, let me give you a little background. Cherilus has been a very good four year starter. Poles started last year, but was yo-yoed in and out of the games and has been very inconsistent prior to this year. His early play has been one of the bright spots of the season and new staff. Tennant, Ramsey, and Castonzo were all Midwest kids with MAC and/or lower BCS offers.

The Notre Dame line has had the same position and head coach for three seasons. The BC line has learned a new scheme, gone through two position coaches and a new head coach all in the last nine months.

Notre Dame’s green line has a combined 61 starts (through Saturday) and averages three years in their program. BC’s line, which handled the same Georgia Tech team that walloped ND’s line, has 65 starts and averages 3.6 years in the program.

I will grant the ND fans that Matt Ryan can make everyone around him look better, while ND has rotated QBs all season. In the end, this proves that recruiting rankings are only part of the equation. You also have to coach kids up and give them schemes in which they can succeed. Hats off to Jags and their most recent position coach Jack Bicknell for bringing this unit together and making the transition relatively seamless despite all the hurdles.


For those of you who like OLine play, here are few shots from Saturday courtesy of TokenMom.