A lot of the reason that Golson has been running for his life is because he has failed to identify who the unblocked guy will be. When the defenders outnumber the blockers, it is on the QB, and the QB only, to account for which guy is going to be unblocked, and do what is necessary to nullify him. One of the things that I heard, in Kelly's post game presser, is that the interception on the first drive of the second half should have been a running play. Golson has the ability to run or pass on almost every play, just like Rees used to, and he utterly failed to check into the right play on that down.
Yes, exactly. Last year against ASU, Kelly kept the TE in to block so the pass rushers wouldn't outnumber the blockers. This year, because he has a QB who can actually move a little bit, he sent the TE and depended on Golson to identify the unblocked guy and either elude him with his feet or throw quickly to an uncovered receiver. Golson simply did not do that reliably enough. I think the OL is getting a lot of unfair blame that should be put on Golson.
I don't disagree with you. It's hard to tell from a fan's perspective what he should have called. He is partially to blame for the picks but the line is absolutely not pulling their weight right now. They are not finishing blocks, they are not playing aggressive and they are not giving all out effort.
That pick in the second half was partially on Lombard. It looked like a sprint out to the right. Lombard's man beat him off the snap and got up the field too quick. He needs to be more aggressive, he needs to give more effort out of his stance and he needs to get his helmet across that man's body. Golson could not sprint due to the penetration, he didn't have time b/c the backside rush (which would have been negated if he was able to sprint out) was closing in on him so he rushed a throw. That one was on Golson (for not making the right call and not throwing it away) but once the ball was snapped, he didn't get much effort/help from Lombard.
The first pick, the one that was tipped by Lombard's man, was another example of lack of effort, lack of aggression and not finishing blocks. Hegarty let a backside five technique cross his face, Elmer gets beat off the ball by a 400lb man, doesn't shuffle his feet and then he tries to lay on the defender. Lombard tries to throw a cut block, fails miserably and quits on the play.
You can't win every one on one battle but you can give effort every down. There is no reason Elmer should ever get beat off the snap by that defender. That's a lack of effort or concentration. What's worse is that even though he got beat off the snap, he still has a relatively easy block to make if he simply moves his feet to the right and gets into the defender's body. He didn't move his feet at all. And if he thought it was impossible to shuffle over to his body, he could have dropped down and cut his backside knee out and eliminated him from the play. He just laid on him and guided him into EG's window to throw the ball.
Hegarty, instead of striking a defender, simply caught him and guided him into the play side gap. It wasn't an issue on this play but it is an issue with pass protection overall. They are getting into their pass drops and catching defenders when they enter their strike zone. They need to be more aggressive and violent with their hands. If you have a chance to strike you have to unload on your defender. Throttling a pass rusher with your hands is the ultimate equalizer. If you can consistently get get it done, you will win most of your one on one battles. If you can keep a good base and have a good punch you will win all of them (see Martin, Zack).
Lombard's defender smelled the quick pass and makes a nice play to take away a passing lane. I understand why Lombard's cut was ineffective but I don't understand why he quit on the play. He needs to stay on all fours and bear crawl the side of his body into that defenders hip as hard as humanly possible. If he doesn't quit on that block that defender would have been using his hands to protect his body and not deflecting the pass. If I'm Lombard, I walk right over to the bench and let them know it's on me, not EG.
The second tipped pick, the one that Stanley's man tipped, was confusing. The line action makes me think it was a play action pass but EG did not even attempt to hand the ball off. Big mistake on his part if that was a play action pass b/c a fake would have forced that end to crash down the line to tackle the ball carrier and he would have opened up his own passing lane. Stanley is not aggressive enough on the play, though. Initially he gets into the defender's body and does a nice job but he doesn't finish the block. He needs to smell blood there. He was in good position, the defender's eyes were in the backfield and he could have laid him out and eliminated him from the play. Be aggressive, finish your block and that pick never happens (never happens if EG play fakes either).
I'm not implying the line is lazy. I'm sure they all work hard but they do not have the right mindset to be a successful offensive line. That's on coaching, seniors and your best talent. Harry, Martin and Stanley need to demand more of themselves and the unit or this will not change.
