The Big Problem- O-Line

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by GoTitans3801, Oct 5, 2010.

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  1. GoTitans3801

    GoTitans3801 Forward Progress!

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    Despite my seasonal annoyance at having to stay away from the website for 24-48 hours after a loss to avoid the rants, I'm amazed to see that no one seems to be addressing what seems, to me, to be the biggest problem on the team this year.

    Something is wrong with the offensive line. I've seen every single one of our linemen get beaten one-on-one more than once this season, and we just weren't seeing that last season. I mean, sure, over the course of a season, it happens occassionally to even the best, but the mistakes are coming in fast and regular this season. I have literally noticed multiple errors on all five linemen.

    Also, CJ's timing or pacing or something hasn't been the same. There were several runs on Sunday where he ran into the o-lineman or just mis-timed hitting the hole.

    The scary thing to me is that this has been the strength of our team for a long time, and there's been a massive downswing pretty quickly.

    To address some of the responses that I'd expect to hear... what I'm talking about is not the result of defenses "stacking the box" against CJ. I don't mean that there are extra defenders so there isn't a hole, I mean that our individual linemen are getting beaten one-on-one and CJ is getting hit more and faster.

    I share in a lot of the frustration that has been expressed with watching the offense slam CJ into the line again and again, but I don't think it's the playcalling as much as the execution, and quite frankly, that scares me a little more.

    Please tell me that others are seeing this? What can we blame it on, and more importantly, can we expect it to get better? Is it lack of cohesion after getting rid of Mawae and switching Harris to guard? Is it not having the timing down with CJ missing most of the offseason? Are our o-linemen sitting on their reputations and not pushed anymore to stay at the top of their game.

    This, more than anything else, is what worries me about our team. It's what killed multiple drives on Sunday and kept our defense on the field an unholy amount of downs.
     
  2. Fry

    Fry Welcome to the land of tomorrow!

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    Switching Amano to center made no sense to me at all. He played guard well for a couple years and Harris played great when he filled in for Mawae. Now they switched positions and can't block anyone.

    I know Amano told Munch that he's more comfortable at center, but that doesn't mean he's playing better.
     
  3. Riverman

    Riverman That may be.... Tip Jar Donor

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    Sounds like a rant to me. :)
     
  4. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

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    A few of us mentioned the OL both in the Steelers and Broncos losses. Yes, there has been inconsistencies. There's a pretty good article out today which quotes Hall on the blocking issues.

    I think we're seeing a combination of many issues:
    1. Amano does not have Mawae's speed as a pulling guard. He's also whiffed too often.

    2. Too many whiffs from others--especially Jake Scott. Even Roos and Stewart have had them. It used to seem to rare.

    3. Teams are bringing OLBs to force CJ inside into traffic. He can't get to the edge and he isn't making anyone miss.

    4. CJ doesn't appear to have that burst at the snap I remember from last season. He's dancing and waiting for something to open.

    5. Yes, I think they'll get better as they play together but it needs to happen soon.
     
  5. GoTitans3801

    GoTitans3801 Forward Progress!

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    Sorry, TJ. Yes, I've seen some posts about o-line blocking a few weeks ago. I got through about half of the post-Broncos threads and couldn't keep slogging through them. Didn't seem to be a high priority for most posters.

    Got to agree that it's several things, but scary to see them happen at the same time. Hope that they can get them fixed or at least improved by this week.
     
  6. JCBRAVE

    JCBRAVE goTitans 2019 Survivor Champion

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    I told you guys Amano is trash. Didn't wanna hear it, and now look what you're all saying. He's bigger than Mawae, but he's not a center.
     
  7. GoTitans3801

    GoTitans3801 Forward Progress!

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    Thought it was a fairly technical question about a very particular problem...

    Side note- I totally understand your frustration and decisions, wasn't refering to you, mostly to people who post in ALL CAPS a lot or say things over and over and over about the same issue. Well, I guess that could describe both me and a lot of people. Really, I just can't take the insta-reaction on the day after game day. I'm better after a few days of review.
     
  8. GoTitans3801

    GoTitans3801 Forward Progress!

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    I certainly don't think that he's trash, though he's clearly having problems. The far worse problem to me is that people that we know are good: Roos, Stewart, Scott... are getting beaten one-on-one as well. Oddly enough, it looks like an individual problem for the whole unit, though I'm not sure exactly that that's really true, or if it's just what it looks like.
     
  9. Titan_Cam

    Titan_Cam Camp Fodder

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    It really stood out to me as strange that Munchak basically gave Amano the option to choose if he wanted to play center or guard. That basically says to me, that neither Amano or Harris are particularly outstanding at either position but just decent at both.

    Do the Titans run a ton of running plays that require the center to pull? If so, Harris at center could have been the better choice as he appears to be a bit more nimble. Roos and Stewart getting beat is very concerning. Scott never struck me as great, but decent.

    I think the leadership aspect that Mawae brought is a key as well. Who's the leader on the O-line now? I don't think they have one. None of those guys appear to be natural leaders. I think this team as a whole is suffering from the outflux of leaders this past offseason more than the team wants to let on.
     
  10. costarica2

    costarica2 Banned forever

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    I don't think Amano is trash I think his not a center he has to be a guard.
     
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