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[QUOTE="RF2044, post: 38229, member: 40"]
That's true to an extent.  OL has been historically a position of relative weakness for SU forever.  If you ever watch old SU games from the McNabb era, it is amazing how many times protection would break down, but he'd bounce out of the pocket or make guys miss and then make a play.  I think that to the casual observer, it might not even be obvious that there was a OL breakdown 90% of the time because McNabb was so smooth.

But on the flipside, even great QBs can struggle when the line doesn't protect or give them time to throw.  I'm convinced that a lot of the play calling issues that frustrate us are due to the coaches being limited by what OL limitations, and compensating   with quicker passing that gets the ball out before the pass rush gets to the QB, but teams are scheming to take that away.  Bring heat and take away slants, and you've shut down the passing game.

I also think that the OL is what's holding back the running game--not the RBs.  Yes, we need better talent in the pipeline, but Antwon Bailey is good enough to be a terrific back at this level.  Put Bailey behind the Michigan OL that Mike Hart had, and I bet he'd be just as good of a player.  Put Mike Hart on this team, and he'd struggle.

I don't expect SU to suddenly morph into Michigan [or BC, for that matter] and start cranking out OL NFL draft picks every year, but something needs to improve.  With Marrone's background as an OL coach, I was expecting him to be able to coach up the talent on hand, and make SU an appealing / attractive destination for higher rated OL recruits.  So far, there isn't much evidence of the talent on hand being coached up.
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