31 Wins and 9 Losses

[Travelin]

That's the teams record since Coach Elliott became our OL coach. Not to mention he's 3-0 against Clemson. Also, five of those losses came in his first year.

I'm the first to admit I've been one to question if our OL is headed in the right direction with Elliott. After a lot of reading, looking at stats and recruiting, I feel confident now that not only is he the right man for the job, we are fortunate that he is still coaching at USC and not one of our competitors in the SEC.

I honestly believe the schemes Elliott has been putting in place will start paying off even more so beginning next year. Our OL was in near shambles when he arrived and the recruiting has gotten much better. With another spring practice ahead and then into fall camp, I expect our linemen to start grasping the techniques Elliott is coaching. Especially when we have the same guys on the line for the majority of the year.

Our OL is in good hands and Elliot's fourth year should be his best. I'm looking forward to what the team can accomplish this coming season.

[cockybusiness2]

I could not agree more. I really believe 2013 is OUR YEAR

[LegalCock]

I'm rather less enthusiastic about him and hope to see a much improved unit in his fourth season. Lattimore, Shaw and even Thompson made the line look a lot better than it has played.

[Spurticus]

Originally Posted by Travelin

That's the teams record since Coach Elliott became our OL coach. Not to mention he's 3-0 against Clemson. Also, five of those losses came in his first year.

I'm the first to admit I've been one to question if our OL is headed in the right direction with Elliott. After a lot of reading, looking at stats and recruiting, I feel confident now that not only is he the right man for the job, we are fortunate that he is still coaching at USC and not one of our competitors in the SEC.

I honestly believe the schemes Elliott has been putting in place will start paying off even more so beginning next year. Our OL was in near shambles when he arrived and the recruiting has gotten much better. With another spring practice ahead and then into fall camp, I expect our linemen to start grasping the techniques Elliott is coaching. Especially when we have the same guys on the line for the majority of the year.

Our OL is in good hands and Elliot's fourth year should be his best. I'm looking forward to what the team can accomplish this coming season.

You could use those stats and our record for the last three seasons to
heap praise on a lot of individuals connected with this team. Sorry for
taking the "Con" part of this debate, but IMO, our defense for the most
part is the unit responsible for the majority of that record / success. No
realistic Gamecock fan can look at our team the past three years and say
that our offense has been so dominant that it get's the major praise in our
recent run of success. And no realistic Gamecock fan can look at our
team over the last three years and say there is not MAJOR issues with
our O/Line that needs to be investigated. I'm not as big a Shawn Elliott
Homer as some people are, but I do think that he can / will improve the
line over the next season or two. If not, then I think it's time to start
considering that Elliott may be in over his head at this level of football.

I don't look at 31-9 and say "WOW" when I think of the offense. Especially
the O/Line. I would tend to look at the individual losses (Especially the
LSU loss this year, the Arkansas Loss last year, and the Auburn loss
last year) and say "had we had a better O/Line we might now be at
34-6 over the last three years with a couple more trips to Atlanta to
play for the SEC Title.

[gripitandripit2007]

Originally Posted by Spurticus

You could use those stats and our record for the last three seasons to
heap praise on a lot of individuals connected with this team. Sorry for
taking the "Con" part of this debate, but IMO, our defense for the most
part is the unit responsible for the majority of that record / success. No
realistic Gamecock fan can look at our team the past three years and say
that our offense has been so dominant that it get's the major praise in our
recent run of success. And no realistic Gamecock fan can look at our
team over the last three years and say there is not MAJOR issues with
our O/Line that needs to be investigated. I'm not as big a Shawn Elliott
Homer as some people are, but I do think that he can / will improve the
line over the next season or two. If not, then I think it's time to start
considering that Elliott may be in over his head at this level of football.

I don't look at 31-9 and say "WOW" when I think of the offense. Especially
the O/Line. I would tend to look at the individual losses (Especially the
LSU loss this year, the Arkansas Loss last year, and the Auburn loss
last year) and say "had we had a better O/Line we might now be at
34-6 over the last three years with a couple more trips to Atlanta to
play for the SEC Title.

I agree 100%! I ALWAYS back up our coaches on their decisions and give them every opportunity to improve when their unit is struggling...that being said...I think our OL has been our "weakest link" the past 3 years...whether it be coaching...or depth...or experience...or talent...I'm not sure what the problem is. IMO it would be experience...it seems every year at least one or two spots on the OL is young and don't have much experience and no matter how highly they are recruited...it takes experience for all 5 to get chemistry together and gel together to be effective in the running game and pass blocking. I think next year we have a good group returning with a lot of talent returning that will give coach Elliot a good group to chose from to get the right combination to help our RB's and QB's. I like him a lot and his fire and entusiasm and passion to coach...but as far as the record...couldn't agree more with Spurt that our D has been the MAIN reason for success. If BOTH sides improve...especially our OL (football is won in the trenches) next year could be a HUGE year for us and I am already counting down the days til opening kick off!!!

[talon]

I think we have been playing catch up with our talent level on the line. The last few years our recruiting seems to be improving. With that said we need to see improvement in the play of the line in the next couple of years to say that the coaching is better. Next year will be an important year for the line play because the O will need to help the D in the first few games and if they don't our year could be over early. A good start next year could mean that we could reach the promised land.

[Travelin]

Originally Posted by Spurticus

You could use those stats and our record for the last three seasons to
heap praise on a lot of individuals connected with this team. Sorry for
taking the "Con" part of this debate, but IMO, our defense for the most
part is the unit responsible for the majority of that record / success. No
realistic Gamecock fan can look at our team the past three years and say
that our offense has been so dominant that it get's the major praise in our
recent run of success. And no realistic Gamecock fan can look at our
team over the last three years and say there is not MAJOR issues with
our O/Line that needs to be investigated. I'm not as big a Shawn Elliott
Homer as some people are, but I do think that he can / will improve the
line over the next season or two. If not, then I think it's time to start
considering that Elliott may be in over his head at this level of football.

I don't look at 31-9 and say "WOW" when I think of the offense. Especially
the O/Line. I would tend to look at the individual losses (Especially the
LSU loss this year, the Arkansas Loss last year, and the Auburn loss
last year) and say "had we had a better O/Line we might now be at
34-6 over the last three years with a couple more trips to Atlanta to
play for the SEC Title.

I'm not saying he's responsible for that record, but it says a lot for our asst coaches that have been here the last three years to win that many games. How many games did we win the three years before that? Also, we all know the OL can't improve overnight, especially with new blocking schemes in place. My point is that he is implementing the schemes we need to win the SEC and I think once the line stays healthy throughout spring and fall, we will see the true benefits of the zone read. It isn't by coincidence that Bama has dominated college football over the last few years running the inside zone as a standard for their running game. In order to beat them, you have to beat them at what they do. Fight fire with fire, so to speak and I believe we are gradually getting there.

I'm no homer for any coach, including Spurrier, but the last thing we need is another OL coach. Unless we can hire the one at Bama or Oregon, but that ain't gonna happen.

As far as the losses, we lost to Arkie last year because our defense could cover if their life depended on it. LSU was in Baton Rouge at night and we made a good game of it, but there were more issues at hand other than the OL.

All I'm saying is let's see what this guy can do next year before we rip him to shreds between now and September.

Our ol needs more repetitions, not a new coach. JMHO.

[cockybusiness2]

I read somewhere that Tricket (sp) the Oline coach for FSU (and considered one of the best) said that to build a great OLINE you needed 5th year seniors. He said that it takes that long for a great HS player to become a great college player.

Makes sense to me

[LegalCock]

Originally Posted by Spurticus

You could use those stats and our record for the last three seasons to
heap praise on a lot of individuals connected with this team. Sorry for
taking the "Con" part of this debate, but IMO, our defense for the most
part is the unit responsible for the majority of that record / success. No
realistic Gamecock fan can look at our team the past three years and say
that our offense has been so dominant that it get's the major praise in our
recent run of success. And no realistic Gamecock fan can look at our
team over the last three years and say there is not MAJOR issues with
our O/Line that needs to be investigated. I'm not as big a Shawn Elliott
Homer as some people are, but I do think that he can / will improve the
line over the next season or two. If not, then I think it's time to start
considering that Elliott may be in over his head at this level of football.

I don't look at 31-9 and say "WOW" when I think of the offense. Especially
the O/Line. I would tend to look at the individual losses (Especially the
LSU loss this year, the Arkansas Loss last year, and the Auburn loss
last year) and say "had we had a better O/Line we might now be at
34-6 over the last three years with a couple more trips to Atlanta to
play for the SEC Title.

Exactly.

[Spurticus]

Originally Posted by Travelin

I'm not saying he's responsible for that record, but it says a lot for our asst coaches that have been here the last three years to win that many games. How many games did we win the three years before that? Also, we all know the OL can't improve overnight, especially with new blocking schemes in place. My point is that he is implementing the schemes we need to win the SEC and I think once the line stays healthy throughout spring and fall, we will see the true benefits of the zone read. It isn't by coincidence that Bama has dominated college football over the last few years running the inside zone as a standard for their running game. In order to beat them, you have to beat them at what they do. Fight fire with fire, so to speak and I believe we are gradually getting there.

I'm no homer for any coach, including Spurrier, but the last thing we need is another OL coach. Unless we can hire the one at Bama or Oregon, but that ain't gonna happen.

As far as the losses, we lost to Arkie last year because our defense could cover if their life depended on it. LSU was in Baton Rouge at night and we made a good game of it, but there were more issues at hand other than the OL.

All I'm saying is let's see what this guy can do next year before we rip him to shreds between now and September.

Our ol needs more repetitions, not a new coach. JMHO.

With statements in the OP like "That's the team's record since he
became the O/Line Coach" and "HE'S three and 0 against Clemson" I
take it that he was the one being given the credit for the success of this
team over the past three years. ...Again, I'm taking a realistic view of
this team and I am on the negative side about a couple of areas of the
offense and Defense over those years.

Simply because a team has a certain success since a coach arrives does
not mean that "He's" the reason for the success a team has. If there was
drastic change in the line ... VISIBLE IMPROVEMENT, then I'm there with
you on giving Elliott praise for what he's done in regards to our overall
success, but saying the Team is 31-9 and 3-0 against Clemson since he
was hired is very misleading. It's like saying that LSUs success over the
past 4-5 seasons means that Les Miles is a brilliant Head coach, when if
you look at it realistically, he may have been the guy directly responsible
for what losses they did incur ove that time due to lousy clock managment
against teams who's games went late in to the fourth Quarter.

Looking at it through a microscope, there were several plays that can
be sited as examples of the poor performace of the O/Line over the last
couple of years, but two major issues prove it. .. In the UAB game this
year when Shaw was leveled by an untouched linebacker, the replay
CLEARLY showed TJ completely lost and letting his man come upblocked
up the middle to almost take Shaw's head off. .... Fast forward to the
Outback bowl on the middle screen we threw to Shon Carson on his first
play after coming in the game. ..Again, The play was set up perfectly
and once again, replay showed that TJ completely lost in the middle of
the field and allowed his man to go unblocked and take Carson down with
almost no gain, but had TJ just gotten in front of his man, that play
would have went for MAJOR yardage...maybe even a TD.. it was that
well executed EXCEPT FOR THE WHIFFED BLOCK. ... This is something
you should not see from your senior Linemen, or three years into a
coaches tenure if he's a good O/Line coach. This was just one example
of an experianced O/Lineman either missing a block, not holding a block
long enough or just looking lost on the play....or getting Owned by smaller
D/linemen because of poor skills on the O/Line. Even and Average O/Line
should show some improvement three years into a coaches tenure, but
when your seniors and juniors are the ones making the bulk of the mistakes
you have to start wondering about the coaches and their approach to
teaching. Again, Sorry if I don't feel the "love" here. We have issues
now that we had two / three years ago that aren't getting corrected
on the O/line.

[cockybusiness2]

Originally Posted by Spurticus

With statements in the OP like "That's the team's record since he
became the O/Line Coach" and "HE'S three and 0 against Clemson" I
take it that he was the one being given the credit for the success of this
team over the past three years. ...Again, I'm taking a realistic view of
this team and I am on the negative side about a couple of areas of the
offense and Defense over those years.

Simply because a team has a certain success since a coach arrives does
not mean that "He's" the reason for the success a team has. If there was
drastic change in the line ... VISIBLE IMPROVEMENT, then I'm there with
you on giving Elliott praise for what he's done in regards to our overall
success, but saying the Team is 31-9 and 3-0 against Clemson since he
was hired is very misleading. It's like saying that LSUs success over the
past 4-5 seasons means that Les Miles is a brilliant Head coach, when if
you look at it realistically, he may have been the guy directly responsible
for what losses they did incur ove that time due to lousy clock managment
against teams who's games went late in to the fourth Quarter.

Looking at it through a microscope, there were several plays that can
be sited as examples of the poor performace of the O/Line over the last
couple of years, but two major issues prove it. .. In the UAB game this
year when Shaw was leveled by an untouched linebacker, the replay
CLEARLY showed TJ completely lost and letting his man come upblocked
up the middle to almost take Shaw's head off. .... Fast forward to the
Outback bowl on the middle screen we threw to Shon Carson on his first
play after coming in the game. ..Again, The play was set up perfectly
and once again, replay showed that TJ completely lost in the middle of
the field and allowed his man to go unblocked and take Carson down with
almost no gain, but had TJ just gotten in front of his man, that play
would have went for MAJOR yardage...maybe even a TD.. it was that
well executed EXCEPT FOR THE WHIFFED BLOCK. ... This is something
you should not see from your senior Linemen, or three years into a
coaches tenure if he's a good O/Line coach. This was just one example
of an experianced O/Lineman either missing a block, not holding a block
long enough or just looking lost on the play....or getting Owned by smaller
D/linemen because of poor skills on the O/Line. Even and Average O/Line
should show some improvement three years into a coaches tenure, but
when your seniors and juniors are the ones making the bulk of the mistakes
you have to start wondering about the coaches and their approach to
teaching. Again, Sorry if I don't feel the "love" here. We have issues
now that we had two / three years ago that aren't getting corrected
on the O/line.

You make some very valid points. But I wonder if this is because of Talent or coaching. It takes time to build a great oline. I really think this year and next will tell us what we need to know.

Otherwise, we hire a new oline coach and start over. Then we are 4 to 5 years away from a good oline

[Acockolypse Now]

I'm still very supportive of coach Elliott. To me though, 2013 is his "show me" year.

He's got depth, talent, and his guys in there. Let's see what he can do with all the pieces in place. If he's still looking for a starting lineup 6 games into the season next year, we have a problem.

[LegalCock]

It seems that Spurrier sees the same things as Spurt and the rest of us, given his comments about how we need to "coach better" and you "can't have those kind of breakdowns" in reference to the OL at various times this season. No one is howling for his head or anything, but his unit needs to improve or he's going to start catching some heat.

[uscgmck]

From @JustWaring: what are the chances of Spurrier getting his much coveted SEC championship next year at South Carolina?

Spurrier also has two capable QBs (Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson), a few good young RBs (Mike Davis, Brandon Wilds and Shon Carson) and some speed outside (Ace Sanders), but the Gamecocks must get better on the O-line.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoot...coach-and-more

[Flameout12]

Shawn means more to the team than just the OL.


As far as the OL: They gotta quit missing blocks...just get in the way and keep the defender out of the play.

[Travelin]

WoW! Sorry about the misleading thread title. maybe I should have titled the thread differently.

New Title:

Continuity is the Key for Success along the OL

[Garnet 4 Life 81]

oline sucks face it, we need to get our shit together if we are to win the east this year

[LegalCock]

LOL.

[Travelin]

Originally Posted by Acockolypse Now

I'm still very supportive of coach Elliott. To me though, 2013 is his "show me" year.

He's got depth, talent, and his guys in there. Let's see what he can do with all the pieces in place. If he's still looking for a starting lineup 6 games into the season next year, we have a problem.

This I agree with.

Either way, I'd be willing to bet this will be Elliott's last year. We win the SEC and he'll get hired elsewhere else with a big raise. We lose the East with piss poor OL play and he'll be replaced.

Going through another coaching change on the OL worries more than keeping Elliot another year. It appears he will be our coach for another year so I'm supporting him and the OL players 100%. No point in getting my blood pressure in an uproar over the inevitable. The inevitable being that he's our coach for another year.

[MillerTime843]

Our defense has won us ballgames, take the Arkansas game this year and the Tennessee game.