Blame whatever reasons you will for the lack of progress of the OL/lack of running game.
The bottom line is that this unit is highly deficient in run blocking, period.
So.....
Where does the OL go from here?
Do players get benched, or insanity
Insanity- doing the same over and over again, yet expecting different results.
In what.....49 games into the CJF era, we have yet to see consistency in the play of the OL.
As fans, I don’t think it is too unrealistic to expect to see improvement at any position, as the season progresses.
These 5 guys have actually gotten worse, thru 9 games. I think we are all tired of run plays being blown up.
So, what trajectory does the OL take moving forward?
I don't think it gets better until we have a scheme that matches the potential of our linemen. Teams like Wisconsin and Iowa have recognized this and get the most out of their linemen. Our skill guys are much better than those teams so in my view we're needlessly shooting ourselves in the foot by getting complicated with the blocking schemes. (I think that was also the complaint with Donovan's offense.) We can beat weaker teams because they can't stay with our receivers, or stay with Barkley. Without those guys we'd be in a dogfight with the Akrons, Temples, and Pitts of the world.
Frankly, when I saw JoMo's system played by PSU for the first time it was a letdown. And the flaw I saw back then hasn't changed in two years. The QB and RB are way too static for too long on too many plays. And it isn't the least bit up-tempo. It's simply no-huddle.
I did not see the whole MSU game because my recording timed-out, but what I did see made me not want to watch it anyway. MSU would blow up our OL, grab hold of our receivers, or both. So many hurried passes and no-calls in the secondary. Holds were subtle and just enough to slow receivers on a slow field, or even cause the receiver to fall (yielding an interception for MSU).
Football is being corrupted by subjective officiating just like basketball got corrupted. It's a gradual process that in time normalizes breaking the rules.
Sometimes we benefit from blown calls, but too often we get beat because the other team was better at finding that subjective line in the sand. In this game the score was 24-24 early in the 4th, and I really didn't care that I missed the ending. I could sense that MSU was playing a smarter game and would probably win.
It isn't all about the Jimmy and Joes. A team full of prima donnas is a team that doesn't show up every week. (See OSU.)
I feel for our players. They deserve a better performance from those in strategic control of the game.
