SB Nation - Will Furlong

Progression, Continuation, or Regression? Noles Offensive Line

FrankDNole — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:58:02 -0000

Everyone can breathe a big sigh of relief now. This is the last part of this series, and I will soon be out of your hair forever. However, I will follow this up with a short recap with the final #'s for each unit, so that you all can share a good laugh over your projections come January.

So far we have analyzed, discussed, and you have voted on whether the Defensive Line, the Receivers/Tight End, the Secondary, the Offensive Backfield, the Linebackers, and the Special Teams, will be better, the same, or worse than last years equivalent unit. Today we will take a look at the Offensive Line, to determine if this unit has progressed, expected to continue at the same level, or regressed, in comparison to last years O-Line.

THE OFFENSIVE LINE

Trench warfare isn't pretty, but it often decides which team wins on Saturday's because a stout line protects it's quarterback, and opens up running lanes for the tailbacks.

You will hear many coaches say that if you win the battle in the trenches (both offensive and defensive), you will win on the scoreboard, and more specifically, if you want an indication of how well a team is going to do, watch how the offensive line performs. The Noles lost plenty of those trench battles last season, especially in the passing game.

With that said, the offensive line is the unit that takes the longest to get used to playing with each other. Think about it: It is the only unit where a player is shoulder to shoulder with another player, and a lot of a player's success depends on what and how the player next to him is doing. A team that can keep their offensive line together and keep them healthy over the course of a season, is the team that is going to have the most success. Usually, these are the teams that turn out better than people expected at the start of the season. Sound familiar? It should, and this is a reason to be cautiously optimistic about this teams potential this year.

On the other hand, when you see a team having trouble staying healthy on the offensive line, those are usually the teams that are going to have some problems. As players get hurt and have to sit out games, the chemistry, communication, instincts, and the skills of their replacements aren't familiar to the rest of the line, and usually results in less likelyhood of running and passing the ball effectively.

if you are a regular TN reader, you are probably familiar with this topic from such recent stories as Will the Florida State Offensive Line Pass Protect in 2009? and, Understanding Zone Blocking and Florida State's Offensive Line, and, Florida State Seminoles Left Tackle Andrew Datko to face an NFL schedule.

The Noles 2009 offensive line, while the youngest line in the FBS in 2008, could be one of the best in the country in 2009. For the first time since 2004, the Seminoles will return all five starters on the offensive line from the previous season. That year the Seminoles averaged 162 yards per game on the ground. Three of the five projected starters on the line were named a freshman All-American (Andrew Datko, Rodney Hudson and Ryan McMahon). Despite starting three true freshmen, the Seminoles had their best year running the football since 2000 as far as NCAA rankings go. Rodney Hudson enters on the watch list for the 2009 Lombardi Award. He is one of only two ACC players on the watch list.

One of the major areas of concern for Rick Trickett's unit this year will be to improve in the pass blocking where last years unit gave up 26 sacks for 187 yards.

2008 LEFT TACKLE=Zebrie Sanders started the first game before being replaced by Andrew Datko who then started the remaining 12 games.

2009 PROJECTED LEFT TACKLE=Andrew Datko followed by Rhonne Sanderson and Garrett Faircloth.

2008 LEFT GUARD=Rodney Hudson started every game.

2009 PROJECTED LEFT GUARD=Rodney Hudson followed by Rhonne Sanderson and Blake Snider.

2008 CENTER=Ryan McMahon started every game.

2009 PROJECTED CENTER=Ryan McMahon followed by A.J. Ganguzza.

2008 RIGHT GUARD=David Spurlock started the first game before being replaced by Will Furlong who then started the next 5 games, then Spurlock reclaimed the job finishing the season.

2009 PROJECTED RIGHT GUARD=David Spurlock (assuming his shoulder injury is OK) followed by Brandon Davis and Will Furlong.

2008 RIGHT TACKLE=Antwane Greenlee started the first 3 games, then was replaced by Zebrie Sanders who then started every remaining game.

2009 PROJECTED RIGHT TACKLE=Zebrie Sanders followed by Antwane Greenlee.

OTHERS ON THE ROSTER WHO MAY CONTRIBUTE=Jacob Stanley and in the incoming class John Prior, Bryan Stork, and Henry Orelus. Aubrey Phillips is no longer on the team and Evan Bellamy is out for the season with blood clot issues.

While this is the depth chart we expected prior to the start of practice, on the second day of practice Trickett decided to shake things up a little on the right side of the line.

RG David Spurlock and RT Zebrie Sanders started the majority of last season, but Brandon Davis and Antwane Greenlee have moved onto the first team at those two positions, respectively. Trickett made the changes, he said after practice on Saturday, because Davis and Greenlee earned the promotions during spring practice.

"I thought at the end of spring practice I thought they out-worked the other guys," Trickett said. "Now, summer work [has] all been pretty much the same. But I usually start them out where they ended up spring practice. I don’t judge anything on the weight room and stuff like that."

Spurlock and Sanders, of course, are now working to earn their positions back.

"I thought Zebrie’s had two real good days, he’s shown that he wants to get it back and Brandon, he’s fighting to keep it," Trickett said. "And you can tell Spurlock’s got a little rust on him."

Courtesy of Andrew Carter's Chopping Block

More recently, it appears that these 2 position battles will come down to the following.

The position: Right guard
The battle: David Spurlock vs. Brandon Davis
The skinny: Spurlock, a sophomore, is the incumbent and he started eight games here a season ago. But Davis, a redshirt junior, moved ahead of Spurlock during the spring and has remained on the first string. Offensive line coach Rick Trickett admits he tried to run Davis off but Davis wouldn’t let him. Trickett says Spurlock is rusty but that he’s at his best when motivated, which he should be given his demotion.

The position: Right tackle
The battle: Zebrie Sanders vs. Antwane Greenlee
The skinny: Like Spurlock, Sanders is a sophomore who started at his position the majority of last season. But in similar fashion, he lost his spot to Greenlee in the spring. Greenlee started the first three games a season ago, and he has impressed Trickett with his tenacity. Trickett said he was impressed by Sanders’ efforts early on in preseason practice. This position might not be decided until kick off of the Miami game.

Courtesy of Andrew Carter's Chopping Block

Regardless of how these two position battles shake out once the pads are on and the hitting starts,

MY BOTTOM LINE FOR THE OFFENSIVE LINE=PROGRESSION

What is your bottom line? Please vote now.

THE VOTING COULD GET VERY VERY UGLY!

Poll

2009 FSU OFFENSIVE LINE-PROGRESSION, CONTINUATION, OR REGRESSION? Please read the story before voting. Poll closes Friday August 14, at 11:55 PM.

PROGRESSION

304 votes

CONTINUATION

7 votes

REGRESSION

9 votes

320 votes | Poll has closed

Monday Morning Tomahawks 06.03.09

FSUncensored — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:25:37 -0000

Good Morning and Go Noles! Here's the news that will probably interest you:

First up is Boston College losing their quarterback. As you learned yesterday, he was suspended for academics and has decided to transfer. Domonique Davis christens BC's great quarterback adventure - Dr. Saturday (some background on the situation), and here's some VIDEO on the possible replacements: Eagle in Atlanta -- : Before they were Eagles: Boek and Tuggle addition Boek apparently leads.

More football now, as we have Phil Steele's Offensive Line Experience Chart-- FSU ranks 22nd Nationally (close 3rd in ACC to VT), w/ 89 Combined Starts That represents a huge change from last season, when we had 21, making us one of the three least experienced offensive lines in the country.

In baseball news, Arkansas Razorbacks Names To Watch · ScalpEm.com and then Steve Ellis of the Tallahassee Democrat asks: Who would you pick for am All-Mike Martin Era Team Steve also chats with Mike about the upcoming Arkansas series.

Back to football, with two non-FSU items. First, Chantrant catches up with North Alabama, a new football program that might have as many as 6 ex-FSU players on its roster, including Preston Parker and Will Furlong.

Also, remember the piece on scheduling? I wrote:

Another message here is to avoid 1-AA teams. Voters seem to be averse to those who play the lower division schools. The key is to shell out the extra $300K payment that it takes to secure a garbage 1A school over a 1AA school. There's a good chance that the 1A school is actually worse than the 1AA school, and the name recognition value it totally worth it.

Well now we find this article UGA to pay nearly $1 million to play lesser Division I-A opponent | ajc.com

General Athletics administration: Section Six: The Columbus Dispatch: Secrecy 101 The Family Eductational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Not a FUPA, mind you, which was created to protect the privacy of students' academic records, has come to be interpreted broadly and inconsistently by the NCAA's various member institutions. Here's a scoreboard of how every D1 team did (FSU did quite well).

And once again, remember to listen to the great interview at Garnet and Great with FSU legend James Colzie.

We have some great stuff in the works for the coming weeks, with the ulitmate goal of getting you totally prepped for what should be an awesome season of Seminole Football.

Rivalry stuff: ScalpEm.com Reader Mailbag (Sorta) Volume 1 · ScalpEm.com Saclpem answers the question: Nole CC, off subject but would you agree that Gator Envy is out of control? Warchant is flooded with threads hoping they lose the WCWS and last weekend praying Miami would beat their baseball team. I wish we could focus on our team, on a Seminole site, all those threads just make Seminole Nation as a whole look bad. Just my 2 cents. Get over there and let him know your thoughts. He makes sone quality points.

Florida State Seminoles Spring Football Preview: Offensive Line

FSUncensored — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:15:20 -0000

This is the fourth in a series. Wide Receivers (Unofficial), Quarterbacks, and the Backfield.

By almost any measure, FSU had one of the worst offensive lines in major college football from 2004-2007, relative to their supposed talent level. Enter highly regarded offensive line coach Rick Trickett in early 2007. Trickett has now restocked the offensive line with quality depth and despite the predictions of some experts that they would be the worst offensive line in the ACC in 2008, the group exceeded expectations.

I do not buy into the idea that this group was "very good" or "great" in 2008. They were simply above average. Considering that the starting five was the youngest in America, that's pretty impressive. Consider also that they were one of the smallest in major college football. Still, I saw this line get manhandled during the Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Florida games, four of which ended in losses.

Perhaps the best thing that Jimbo Fisher did in 2008 was protect his young offensive line. Huh? How do you protect an offensive line? Those bubble screens weren't really a way of offense, but a way to make sure that the defense played us honestly. That is, they could not commit extra men to stop the running game for fear of getting outflanked by a bubble screen to the speedy Bert Reed (NCST Game), or if they did attempt to load the box while accounting for the bubble, to face a one-on-one jump situation downfield against Greg Carr or Corey Surrency. Jimbo's bubbletology, along with running Ponder and thus using the guy he would have handed the ball off to as a blocker, gave the offensive line the edge they needed to do a passable job.

Unfortunately, when teams could stop the run without loading the box, they could account for both the bubble game and the downfield stuff, as Wake, BC, and UF did. Worse yet, those teams were also able to generate an, often allowing an unacceptable amount of pressure from a simple four man pass rush (not a blitz). ...pass protections usually start out with the understanding that if the defense rushes five guys, you can pick them up, but your blockers will have to be able to block at least one defender (more likely 2) one-on-one. No pass protection scheme can count on double teaming all possible rushers. If you can’t handle anyone man-for-man, then a five man rush effectively becomes like a seven or eight man blitz, but also with sound coverage behind it. _Smartfootball.blogspot

This year, we will not be able to protect the offensive line. Instead, the offensive line must become the protector for the rest of the offense.

Let's discuss the questions facing the line as they head into spring.

FSU returns their entire two-deep from 2008. The only loss is offensive tackle Joe Tonga, who played sparingly and is not considered an important loss.

If this group is going to achieve what Jimbo Fisher calls "dominant status", they need to get stronger. I have reason to believe that will happen. Remember that most of these guys can't even buy a beer. They should continue to mature.

For the Spring, I am interested in

seeing whether Left Tackle Andrew Datko has put on weight. Already an excellent technician, Datko must gain strength to be able to withstand the bull rush. Last year, he was much too short in his drop step, because he feared the bull rush from the stronger player. This left him open to getting burnt on the edge rush, even though he was fairly quick. If he gains some more mass, he can retain his quickness and take a deeper setup, while still guarding against the bull rush/ inside move.
how Center Ryan McMahon looks after a very average 2008 season. We learned that he had a foot injury, suffered early in the Virginia Tech game. Long time readers will remember that we ripped his play in that game and he didn't really ever recover, having a poor bowl game as well.
Who will play right tackle? Both Zebrie Sanders and Antwane Greenlee have a lot of talent. Both played at times last year. If they maintain their current path, I'd expect Sanders to start. If Greenlee can return to the promise he showed coming out of high school (before he had his spinal injury), then he could be the guy.
Will Rodney Hudson make the jump from being avery good college player to a serious NFL prospect? That is, will he gain the strength and retain his quickness, allowing him to dominate the opposition?
Will Rodney Hudson get any work at center? McMahon's peak is probably as an above average college player. If Hudson at Center allows us to get our five best offensive linemen on the field at once, then we need to do that even if it means relegating McMahon to the veteran leader on the bench.
Since David Spurlock is out for spring with a minor shoulder procedure, his backup will get the reps. That raises the question: Will Furlong... how big is he? I've heard he is tiny. Some have speculated that he has some sort of blood problem that prevents him from gaining weight and keeping it on. We cannot afford to play a 275lb guard. I'm no Hematologist, but if he does have this problem, it needs to be addressed. If it cannot be corrected, he needs to be medically disqualified (NCAA rule that allows player to keep his scholarship even though he doesn't count against the scholarship limits). To be quite blunt, FSU has no use for a 275lb Junior at the Guard position.

I'm sorry that this isn't that in-depth. College football is a game dominated by skill position players (as opposed to the NFL, which is definitely a scheme and blocking league). That's not to say, however, that the offensive line doesn't matter. It's still extremely important.

I expect the offensive line to be a strength this year. If I'm wrong, we'll again see teams re-establish the line of scrimmage three or four yards behind the original line, as BC did in this picture.

I think the Spring will go a long way to showing what this line will be (minus Furlong, obviously). The defensive line should be really poor this spring, and the offensive line should dominate them on a daily basis. If they do not, be prepared for a long year.

For more on our zone blocking scheme, see this article.

The Kool-Aid Debate: Do you drink?

FSUncensored — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:39:59 -0000

INSIDE: I argue with myself. Hopefully, you'll join the conversation.

Garnet & Golded: 5-1! We are way ahead of expectations at this point. This team is coming together, we're the best in the ACC! We're tied for the ACC lead and should at least make the Orange Bowl! I'll go with Purple Koolaid!

Donald Downer: 2 of our wins are against 1-AA teams. The other 3 are against below average teams. Have we beaten a probable bowl team? Maybe Miami. Colorado and NC State are horrid. FSU's real season starts now. I'll have water.

Garnet & Golded: FSU is 3rd in the Nation in total defense! We're first in 3rd down conversion defense! We are 17th in pass defense! Give me the red stuff!

Donald Downer: I can't argue with that. This is a pretty talented defense. There are a few cracks, however. We aren't even top 50 in Opponent Adjusted Pass Efficiency Defense. That's a concern, as it further underscores our weak schedule to date. Miami's offense is nothing special, Colorado can't score on anyone, and NC State is pathetically bad. We held Wake to 12, true, but they've only scored one TD so far in ACC play.

My concern isn't playing 3rd down pass defense, but rather, forcing opponents to get to 3rd down. Colorado and NC State had success running the football on this team in spurts (as did Miami on their 2nd drive).

Our DT's haven't played especially well against the run, and they are even worse in pass rush. Everette Brown is doubled and sometimes tripled. The DT's are getting single blocked every time, and are not pushing the pocket. Markus White, Neefy Moffett, and Kevin McNiel can best be described as inconsistent.

We're not getting to the QB, registering only a 6.04% Sack Rate, the worst in our last 5 years. Obviously, Jody Allen needed to be fired yesterday, as he's been massively underqualified throughout his entire employment. Please bring back Jim Gladden!

The effort from the DLine is concerning. We have 4 DT's who rotate, as well as 3 DE's not named Brown, and yet they don't consistently appear to give maximum effot. With this kind of veteran depth, we need to have these guys play 100% every play, and then come out when they tire.

Even more concerning from the DLine is the lack of discipline. We play out of control, consistently lose contain, and are often caught out of position. I'm pretty sick of seeing Moffett crash down only to see the back bounce outside for 15.

The LB's have played amazing all season, but they had by far their worst game against NC State. Nicholson was especially poor, as he failed to get off blocks and just appeared to be out of sorts. I have confidence that they will turn that around, however, because they've done it before and are not coached by Jody Allen. These guys need to learn to use their speed to their advantage and take better angles to the football.

This might be the ACC's best defense, but until they fix those issues, they won't be special. Getting Patrick and Jamie Robinson back and fully healthy, in addition to Dekoda Watson and an improving Nigel Bradham could go a long way towards making this a "Nationally Elite Unit." Coffee would be fine. Black.

Garnet & Golded: We're averaging 413 yards and over 35 points in our last 3 games, all away from Doak Campbell. We're #1 in Total offense and scoring offense in the ACC! As a unit, the offensive line has far exceeded expectations. Hudson has played out of his mind, while most other members of the line have faired well in run blocking. The Noles run game has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few seasons. I believe this is a combination of better offensive line coaching, a mobile quarterback, improved blocking by the wide receivers, and having Antone in good health.

Gimme the red stuff!

Donald Downer: Schedule, schedule, schedule. Oh, and film. I really like what Jimbo is doing with our offense. As a member of the "he's a good but not great playcaller" club, I've been very happy with his effort so far. After an iffy game against Wake, he has stepped up and I have to give him an A.

What do I like about his playcalling? So far, he's been able to scheme around our weaknesses. With numbers like that, one might think we have no offensive weaknesses. They would be wrong.

Opposing coaches have to salivate when they think about our offensive line play. Rodney Hudson is a bona fide stud, and everyone knows that. The other interior line positions, however are huge question marks.

Ryan McMahon was a freshman All American last year. He is the worst starter on this team and I do not think it is all that close. McMahon gets destroyed on over half his snaps, consistently put on his back or pushed into the backfield, his poor play destroys our running lanes and kills our angles. I can't fault him for his effort, but he just isn't any good. I really hope we look to the JUCO ranks to find a replacement center, or hope that McMahon gains some strength. I'm not calling Mcmahon a slacker here, but he is consistently getting dominated and his performance is handcuffing our offense.

At the other guard spot is Will Furlong David Spurlock. Furlong injured his foot and was seen on crutches after the game. He is now in a boot. That doesn't sound good for the Va Tech game. Luckily for us, I actually think Spurlock is the better player. While he is 18, and thus makes the youngest offensive line in the Nation even younger, he is bigger. Spurlock also plays with a mean streak. He is closer to the Hudson mold than the McMahon model: meaning that plays really hard and is aggressive. Spurlock has the look of someone who will eventually be a very good player for us. Right now though, it looks as if he doesn't know all of his assignments. That's expected from a guy in his first game. Hudson didn't know all of his last season, and we all know how he has turned out. While I wish Furlong well, I have serious concerns about his ability to ever be a decent player. He has had two offseasons in the program and has not been able to put on the size he needs to be an effective player. Furlong's loss is a blow to the depth chart, but I don't expect a major dropoff in production.

Datko and Sanders, however, at the tackle spots (left and right respectively) are 18 yearolds who are experiencing their ups and downs. I think these guys have decent, but not great technique, considering their age. To compound matters, they are each 20LBS too small, even for a Rick Trickett offensive line. There isn't much we can do about this right now. I have to assume that, unlike RS FR Will Furlong, they will put on weight in the offseason program and keep it on. These two players clearly have potential to eventually be all conference type performers, and we don't really have other options here.

Bowden yelled at the ref's for the holding penalties against the Wolfpack on Thursday night, but they were doing their jobs. FSU was holding on the holding calls, and there several obvious holds that the refs did not call. This isn't something we can immediately correct. Sure, better technique and focus can help, and CRT is certainly capable of schooling these guys, but the majority of these holds occur because we're not very good right now. The alternative to holding may very well be a broken Christian Ponder. I hope we continue to hold, because we will get away with it a good bit of the time.

There is further trouble on the Horizon, however. The fact is that we haven't played very many good defensive fronts yet. Take a look at the best and worst fronts we will face/ have faced (italics).

Georgia Tech

NC State

Clemson

Miami

Wake Forest

Maryland

Colorado

So, we're about to face 4 defensive fronts that are certainly better than anything we've seen so far. That doesn't bode well for this offense. I think we will continue to use the fast break run offense, utilizing the speed and cut blocking of our linemen, but the dropback passing might take a turn downhill.

These fronts will brutalize McMahon and probably the 3 18-yearolds as well. We won't have much of a pocket to step up in. Expect to see some fumbles as Ponder is hit from the blind side. This could get ugly. We're going to have to win some ugly ballgames, with a lot of clock grinding, running, and punting.

Until next time...