O Line 2006

[Junkhead]

We have all read/seen the arguments about the Defense. Too slow, poor schemes, bad recruiting, whatever it might be. There isn't much else to talk about in the off season, so I wondered why everyone thought the O line was so inconsistent last season. 4 returning starters, and mediocre results. Thoughts.....

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Ryan Harris is the one I can't explain. I thought '06 would be his time to shine. Instead, he regressed...at least from this fan's perspective. I've always thought Bob Morton was never worthy of being a full-time starter. I know he's a great kid who sets an excellent example of what an Irish student-athlete should be, but he just never lived up to his billing coming out of HS in Texas. I really felt for him b/c I know the effort was there & then he loses his dad to cancer. My only guess, and it's a shot in the dark to be sure, is that LeVoir & Stephenson were missed more than we thought they would be. I thought it would be a seamless transition w/ the only ? being that of Sam Young who ended up turning in an admirable freshman campaign. I'll be anxious to see who the starters are in '07 and how they gel throughout the season. Even though ND is loaded at O line, you figure they'll incur some injuries, some position changes, some busts who don't live up to their hype or even a transfer. I just wish we had similar depth along the D line & LB corps to allow for the same possibilities to occur w/o missing a beat.

 

[The Chosen One]

I think that there was too much pressure on the O. Coming into the season i believe we were ranked # 2 and the media just kept the hype coming. I can definitly remember all the pre-season magazines saying our O will get it done, and or O will score 50+, and Brady will lead us to the NC, blah blah blah. All this talk may have got the best of the players and we started to get over confident. Maby we began looking to the future to soon. After the rough start at Georgia Tech and the loss to Michigan I think the players became somewhat "lost" and we just folded under the pressure.

On the bright side, the future of the O-line looks excellent. guys like Sam Young, Matt Carufel, Dan Wenger, Chris Stewart, and Matt Romine are gonna be like a brick wall in the future.

 

[ShivaIrish]

Sorry to say this, but I agree with the previous thoughts about Morton and Harris--they just didn't cut it, and I don't think there was another o-lineman to pick up the slack. In addition, Carlson, was no where near the blocker Fasano was.

 

[TexasNDFan]

I think this years line lost the intensity that they had last year. Then you have two guys who were sharing a position last year, but this year they were both starters. Now I'm not sure why they rotated within a game, but it's safe to say that center is probably a position you would want stability. If either had played well then they would taken hold of the position.

 

[IrishSanDiego]

Dont forget Schwapp was hurt most of the season.