Diego Roll Tide
Well-Known Member
I played DE and LB on defense and OG and FB on offense. The OL and front 7 decide most games.Team with a dominate offensive line, whether for a game or a season, usually ends up with the best offensive statistics. Neither Lawrence, Trask, Jones, Fields and Book end with the same stats behind a below or even above average line. Harris and Etienne rush for their yardage if they are getting hit at the time of the handoff, and Smith, Waddle and all the rest never get their stats if the QB in on the ground or running for life.
Smith is the only one who would seem to be able to save a QB who was being chased all the time.
Years ago when coaching at much (much, much) lower level, I used a scheme against the any receiver who was dominate. It was a take off on the box and one in basketball. We played zone but with man to man on the receiver. That meant that the receiver had to beat the man coverage, which was not hard, but as he did he ran into the zone coverage. With complicated defenses in college that may not have worked , but what everyone was trying did not work either.
tOSU simply dominated Clemson at the LOS. I actually was happiest with our front 7. They held their own against a great OL from tOSU, and were able to disrupt Fields more often than I had expected.