Fantastic article.
"There were two huge technique issues that plagued the unit in 2008. First and foremost was poor footwork. Schematic uncertainty is part of the issue in my opinion. If they truly understood what they were supposed to do, or how the scheme was supposed to work, you would have likely seen at least an attempt to take bigger reach steps. More often than not the Irish linemen, especially the tackles, would simply pick their feet up and just put them down almost in the same place they started. When they then went to crossover or drag their back foot, they would get themselves crossed up and off balance. At that point they were beat. When they did not get crossed up or off balance they would simply fail to reach the defender which took away the outside lane and often force the back where he did not want to go. The linemen also as a unit played poorly with their hands. First and foremost they simply did not use their hands as weapons. It was a rare occasion to see a Notre Dame offensive lineman fire off the line and really punch or power through a defender. They would simply body the player up and get their hands on the defender. But without bringing any force at all with their hips or with their hands. They have some naturally strong players, but they simply do not play strong."