At this point, we just have to figure out how to gut it

[upperdeck]

I still don't see how Hickey goes anywhere. He isnt dominant. Pugh was talked up almost every Tv game and you never hear Hickey mentioned. Will he even make an all ACC team?

 

[RF2044]

I still don't see how Hickey goes anywhere. He isnt dominant. Pugh was talked up almost every Tv game and you never hear Hickey mentioned. Will he even make an all ACC team?

I think Hickey is a good player, and a legit NFL prospect. Problem is, it's at RT, not at LT. He's adequate as a LT, but not a difference maker like Pugh. Can't see him leaving early.

He's a legit NFL prospect, but not the type that will leave early and garner significant attention as a hardship entry. RT all the way.

 

[RF2044]

Why is the OL a "bigger concern"? They played very well considering we start 3 sophs, 1 jr and 1 sr. I've been pleasantly surprised with how well they've played.

I think that OL is a big area of need. There has been a dropoff from last season [when admittedly we had the best OL in a decade, maybe longer in our program].

I agree with you that Foy / Robinson have proven to be serviceable. That is good. But they aren't as good as the players they replaced from last year's line. And the talent / depth behind them is lacking.

The good news is that we'll return 4 starters next year. And hopefully Knapp will be ready for a bigger role. I think that Emerich will be in solid position [as a third year sophomore getting some PT this year] to step into Macky's big shoes. But we still have a limitation in talent at OT, and we still need an infusion of quality depth everywhere on the OL. Palmer, Miller, Lasker, Burton, etc. are all unproven commodities at this point.

Year over year consistency at a positional unit like OL is when you start to make gains. Next year's returning group is going to be ideal [assuming Hickey returns] to build upon this year's performance. But make no mistake: this is a positional unit that could greatly benefit from an infusion of talent--especially at OT. We saw the results last year when we finally had an above average OL.

 

[Townie72]

Ahhhh, did you all happen to see the quality of athletes that FSU and Miami had on Saturday night?

Scary!

 

[RMH44]

I think that OL is a big area of need. There has been a dropoff from last season [when admittedly we had the best OL in a decade, maybe longer in our program].

I agree with you that Foy / Robinson have proven to be serviceable. That is good. But they aren't as good as the players they replaced from last year's line. And the talent / depth behind them is lacking.

The good news is that we'll return 4 starters next year. And hopefully Knapp will be ready for a bigger role. I think that Emerich will be in solid position [as a third year sophomore getting some PT this year] to step into Macky's big shoes. But we still have a limitation in talent at OT, and we still need an infusion of quality depth everywhere on the OL. Palmer, Miller, Lasker, Burton, etc. are all unproven commodities at this point.

Year over year consistency at a positional unit like OL is when you start to make gains. Next year's returning group is going to be ideal [assuming Hickey returns] to build upon this year's performance. But make no mistake: this is a positional unit that could greatly benefit from an infusion of talent--especially at OT. We saw the results last year when we finally had an above average OL.

Well said but I disagree with one of your points.

Nick Robinson is having a very good year and is better, especially in pass protection, than Zach was at the same stage of his career. Just think back to his junior year and all the sacks he allowed...and many here tried to pin most of them on Macky.

 

[RF2044]

Well said but I disagree with one of your points.

Nick Robinson is having a very good year and is better, especially in pass protection, than Zach was at the same stage of his career. Just think back to his junior year and all the sacks he allowed...and many here tried to pin most of them on Macky.

Maybe at the same stage of his career [I'd be disingenuous if I didn't acknowledge that Chibane had a lousy junior year], but I don't know that Robinson is as good this year as Zach was as a senior.

Again, having guys like Foy, Robinson, and Trudo as sophomore starters is a good situation for OL continuity. And please note that I'm not looking to throw our players under the bus; I just happen to believe [like IB above] that OL is one of the positional units on the team where we aren't quite "there" yet in terms of talent / depth, and that these next few recruiting classes will go a long way to shoring things up. I firmly believe that things begin in the trenches. Hard to run a quality offense without a superior OL. After years of futility, we finally saw the benefits of having an above average one last year. We took a slight step backwards this year. Need to move forward.

And I agree--it will be a good situation to return four starters next year, having a kid like Emerich step in as a third year guy who's got some PT under his belt [instead of having to throw an inexperienced player out there]. I'm just not sold on the other crew. I expected big things from Knapp this year, and he's had some setbacks. Don't know who else beyond the top 6 or 7 is worth anything. Palmer seems like a prospect with lots of potential. Don't know about Burton / Lasker / Miller, or anyone else.

 

[BORZAK]

I still don't see how Hickey goes anywhere. He isnt dominant. Pugh was talked up almost every Tv game and you never hear Hickey mentioned. Will he even make an all ACC team?

From syracuse .com.
Before this season, Hickey performed a 225-pound bench press 42 times. The record at the NFL combine is 51 and the most done last season was 38. If Hickey gets a combine invite and matches his current effort, he'll tie for the ninth-best effort in combine history.

 

[BORZAK]

I still don't see how Hickey goes anywhere. He isnt dominant. Pugh was talked up almost every Tv game and you never hear Hickey mentioned. Will he even make an all ACC team?

From syracuse .com.
Before this season, Hickey performed a 225-pound bench press 42 times. The record at the NFL combine is 51 and the most done last season was 38. If Hickey gets a combine invite and matches his current effort, he'll tie for the ninth-best effort in combine history.

 

[upperdeck]

will strength in one technique be enough for the nfl guys?

 

[TheCusian]

What defense did we use? Has Shafer ever had to game plan vs an offense with the splits they took? We didn't seem to blitz as much as Shafer used too. I'm sure Shafer made input to the defense as he does every week, same with offense. But that didn't look like a Shafer defense except maybe the times we played Okie. And if he had a big hand in yesterday than the blame also has to be held by him for the GT plan. He signs off on everything.


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He's fallen all over himself to take the blame for the GT debacle and has been pumping up Bullough since the win yesterday. I'd say he handled if perfectly.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

So Marrone didn't leave quality replacements at QB and WR and now you're saying the same at OL? What happened to all the positive remarks people were making about all the OL kids that were being brought in the past few years?


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Yes, I think Marrone didn't do a very good job recruiting on the O side, he hated recruiting and it showed. That said, we lost a few kids when he left.

 

[SoBristol]

Emerich and Knapp will step right in for both Mackey and Hickey. Both could be ready now if you needed them. in 2015 we should have an offensive line with about 130 combined starts, which is ridiculous

We have been fortunate that the starting OL is intact. Knapp looks like he could play now, but Emerich needs to add strength. If Hickey returns, we would finally have decent depth across the OL except at C.