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2018 Buff offense

buffaholic said:
There's so much to learn this spring about our OL, you can almost put that into a random number generator.

I'll be watching:
center position, as we know Lynott is out for spring. If Pursell or Tonz can take that next step, that shuffles the cards.
Health - Lynott, Polley and Ray all coming back from surgery. I believe Miller may have had another procedure as well.
Development - primarily, is Vaughn a player at this level or not? Again, I had heard good things a year ago or so. OL is a position where unrated guys can often develop quite a bit after high school. Has our staff done this and we just haven't yet seen results?
Youth - are Sherman, Polley, Ray, Moretti and Fillip ready? I happen to think Fillip is rightly in that group, partly out of need.

I concur that Haigler is probably back at RT, and that we should have a real competition on the interior. I suspect one or more of the young guys take a job right away in the spring.
Click to expand...

So you're saying that Morretti is no longer a health concern? We can expect to see him practice in a few weeks?

As for the depth chart, I've penciled in Tucker at LT and Wallace at RG.
 
ScottyBuff said:
I tried the same exercise many times recently and get the same issues as you. Lynott healthy for fall camp/season is crucial.

Couple of thoughts on your depth chart: Roddick is probably earmarked for RG, not LG. While he is athletic for his size he is the perfect road-grading RG. Kaiser mostly practice and entirely played at Tackle positions in the past year so I can't see him moving inside in 2018.

Last year Tonz and Middlemiss also practiced at Center so you could see them competing along with Pursell in Lynott's absence.

Kaiser-Miller-Haigler seemed to yo-yo around so much last year that it makes it hard to gauge where they will land this year. I get the feeling the staff sees Miller as the favorite to be the LT as he got more looks at Tackle from mid-year on than Kaiser and Haigler finished the year off at RG.

Don't sleep on the walk-on transfer Jack Shutack (Jr) either; not sure he is an elite LT candidate but he has had a lot of time to develop off-the-radar and could hold-down-the-fort at one of the tackle spots until the underclassmen are ready.

LT: Miller (Jr); Vaughn (So); Moretti (rFr); Filip (Fr)
LG: Middlemiss (Jr); Polley (rFr); Ray (GsFr)
C : Lynott (Jr); Tonz (Jr); Pursell (rFr); Jynes (Fr)
RG: Haigler (Jr); Sherman (rFr); Paige (rFr); Roddick (GsFr)
RT: Kaiser (Sr); Shutack (Jr); Lytle (rFr); Paige (rFr)

As someone mentioned, we are still lacking size across the board with Kaiser and Tonz right at 300 pds and Roddick and Lytle going north of that; everyone else below.
Click to expand...
Kaiser is clearly not a tackle so I refuse to put him there lol. He doesn't have the athleticism to be on an island out there but has great size to play inside. Kaiser has also practiced at both guard and tackle during his career here they just needed him for depth purposes at guard in 2017. I can see him playing at tackle if injuries start to hit though.

The only reason Tonz was backup center last year was because they didn't want to burn the redshirt on Pursell so I wouldn't expect either him or Middlemiss to be anything more than emergency options there. Tonz practiced a ton at guard too until Haigler and Lynott came down with injuries.

If Haigler plays guard again we are in for a long season is all I have to say. He doesn't have the right size or strength to play inside. Yes he is athletic but the coaches got too obsessed with how fast a guard could pull and completely disregarded athleticism at the tackle spots which is why our pass protection was so awful.

Until Middlemiss shows anything on the field I wouldn't pencil him in as a starter at all. The younger guys all have the talent and size to be playing and pass some of these guys on the depth chart and it should happen this spring. Sherman almost did it last year as a true freshman.
 
cu62nu36 said:
So you're saying that Morretti is no longer a health concern? We can expect to see him practice in a few weeks?

As for the depth chart, I've penciled in Tucker at LT and Wallace at RG.
Click to expand...
tumblr_ni2y7yV0p81u722nmo1_r1_500.gif
 
onealcd said:
Kaiser is clearly not a tackle so I refuse to put him there lol. He doesn't have the athleticism to be on an island out there but has great size to play inside. Kaiser has also practiced at both guard and tackle during his career here they just needed him for depth purposes at guard in 2017. I can see him playing at tackle if injuries start to hit though.

The only reason Tonz was backup center last year was because they didn't want to burn the redshirt on Pursell so I wouldn't expect either him or Middlemiss to be anything more than emergency options there. Tonz practiced a ton at guard too until Haigler and Lynott came down with injuries.

If Haigler plays guard again we are in for a long season is all I have to say. He doesn't have the right size or strength to play inside. Yes he is athletic but the coaches got too obsessed with how fast a guard could pull and completely disregarded athleticism at the tackle spots which is why our pass protection was so awful.

Until Middlemiss shows anything on the field I wouldn't pencil him in as a starter at all. The younger guys all have the talent and size to be playing and pass some of these guys on the depth chart and it should happen this spring. Sherman almost did it last year as a true freshman.
Click to expand...

Agree on Kaiser and Tonz's proper skill set being at guard. Not sure what to think about Haigler and Middlemiss going into their Junior season so giving them the benefit of the doubt.

If you think Sherman is better than Polley at LG; then should we put Polley at a tackle position. He is probably the most skilled at either T or G of the underclassmen?
 
ScottyBuff said:
Agree on Kaiser and Tonz's proper skill set being at guard. Not sure what to think about Haigler and Middlemiss going into their Junior season so giving them the benefit of the doubt.

If you think Sherman is better than Polley at LG; then should we put Polley at a tackle position. He is probably the most skilled at either T or G of the underclassmen?
Click to expand...
I'm not really sure. Polley was my favorite lineman recruit of the 2017 class but had that knee injury that held him out. I don't know if it is a good idea to throw him out at tackle in his first year and he might not have the length to play there either. Sherman and Polley starting at the two guard spots this year would be my preference. That would be a great signal for the development of the o-line and most importantly they have the size and athleticism that was lacking with so many Bernardi recruits.
 
ScottyBuff said:
I tried the same exercise many times recently and get the same issues as you. Lynott healthy for fall camp/season is crucial.

Couple of thoughts on your depth chart: Roddick is probably earmarked for RG, not LG. While he is athletic for his size he is the perfect road-grading RG. Kaiser mostly practice and entirely played at Tackle positions in the past year so I can't see him moving inside in 2018.

Last year Tonz and Middlemiss also practiced at Center so you could see them competing along with Pursell in Lynott's absence.

Kaiser-Miller-Haigler seemed to yo-yo around so much last year that it makes it hard to gauge where they will land this year. I get the feeling the staff sees Miller as the favorite to be the LT as he got more looks at Tackle from mid-year on than Kaiser and Haigler finished the year off at RG.

Don't sleep on the walk-on transfer Jack Shutack (Jr) either; not sure he is an elite LT candidate but he has had a lot of time to develop off-the-radar and could hold-down-the-fort at one of the tackle spots until the underclassmen are ready.

LT: Miller (Jr); Vaughn (So); Moretti (rFr); Filip (Fr)
LG: Middlemiss (Jr); Polley (rFr); Ray (GsFr)
C : Lynott (Jr); Tonz (Jr); Pursell (rFr); Jynes (Fr)
RG: Haigler (Jr); Sherman (rFr); Paige (rFr); Roddick (GsFr)
RT: Kaiser (Sr); Shutack (Jr); Lytle (rFr); Paige (rFr)

As someone mentioned, we are still lacking size across the board with Kaiser and Tonz right at 300 pds and Roddick and Lytle going north of that; everyone else below.
Click to expand...

If that is the depth chart come September, we are dead in the water.
 
Duff Man said:
The move the coaches need to experiment with this spring is Haigler at LT. I have no idea if it will work, but it needs to be tried.
Click to expand...
Yup, never understood why he didn't get work there, unless is was simply that Irwin was there. He seems like an ideal fit for LT.
 
CitizenKane said:
I actually expect Middlemiss to end up starting at one of the tackle spots......and to actually do well. But then I'm usually wrong....
Click to expand...
Why would you expect that? I get people that think he may start but there is nothing there to support him being thrown into that role other than he is a junior.
 
Buffnik said:
I think he was among our best 7 or 8 as a true frosh, based on what I've heard. So I'm right there with you.

On a similar note, I've heard a lot of positive things about Pursell and that he may allow Lynott to stay at OG.
Click to expand...
Ideally, this is the lineup that seems to be the best talent wise (left to right).

Miller (or grad transfer) - Sherman - Pursell - Lynott - Haigler (or grad transfer)
 
Tucker-Sherman-Pursell-Lynott-Shutack

Like everyone else before spring and fall camps, this is my guess.
 
I would give a starting five but after looking up all OL on buffs roster, don't know what position half the players are playing.

Miller and haigler have they played both guard and OT positions?

Is polley a tackle or guard?
 
I'm expecting the special teams to be good again and hopefully improve. I have confidence the D will be improved.

The O is the big question mark for me. Losing a once-in-a-decade player like Taz is gonna hurt a lot. The OL is problematic. A new playcaller. I believe our WRs are better this year than last year and Montez should continue to make strides.

My hope is they will be better than last year...which was 48th in total offense.
 
Bufffan68 said:
I'm expecting the special teams to be good again and hopefully improve. I have confidence the D will be improved.

The O is the big question mark for me. Losing a once-in-a-decade player like Taz is gonna hurt a lot. The OL is problematic. A new playcaller. I believe our WRs are better this year than last year and Montez should continue to make strides.

My hope is they will be better than last year...which was 48th in total offense.
Click to expand...
Anyone object to being confident in our special teams for 2018? Best I've felt about them in a while.
 
Sykobuff said:
I would give a starting five but after looking up all OL on buffs roster, don't know what position half the players are playing.

Miller and haigler have they played both guard and OT positions?

Is polley a tackle or guard?
Click to expand...
Miller only played tackle last year and only appeared there on the depth chart. He mostly played RT, but think he did get some in-game snaps at LT.

Haigler played alot last year at both RT and RG, he might have gotten some snaps at LT in the Washington State game (not 100% on that). But he started 6 complete games at RG and 3 at RT with some other relief appearances at tackle.

Polley was a high-school LT. Alot of schools and recruiting sites had him projecting as a guard; but many still had him as being versatile.
 
ScottyBuff said:
Miller only played tackle last year and only appeared there on the depth chart. He mostly played RT, but think he did get some in-game snaps at LT.

Haigler played alot last year at both RT and RG, he might have gotten some snaps at LT in the Washington State game (not 100% on that). But he started 6 complete games at RG and 3 at RT with some other relief appearances at tackle.

Polley was a high-school LT. Alot of schools and recruiting sites had him projecting as a guard; but many still had him as being versatile.
Click to expand...
Miller played LT vs Texas St. But could not go in the other Irwin missed games. He played a bit vs UCLA and UW also at LT.
He got his first work EVER at RT with the start vs UA. Finished up the season at RT.
 
To summarize, we need at least two of the following: Miller, Vaughn, Morretti, Haigler, Shutack, Lytle, Filip, Kaiser or Polley to step up and play at a starting P12 OT level or the Offense will suck and the 2018 season is lost.

Morretti, Vaughn, Shutack and Polley are the wild cards for this Spring. Let's hope they can alter the status quo of Miller, Haigler and Kaiser.
 
Bufffan68 said:
I'm expecting the special teams to be good again and hopefully improve. I have confidence the D will be improved.

The O is the big question mark for me. Losing a once-in-a-lifetime individual like Taz is gonna hurt a lot. The OL is problematic. A new playcaller. I believe our WRs are better this year than last year and Montez should continue to make strides.

My hope is they will be better than last year...which was 48th in total offense.
Click to expand...

FIFY
 
buffaholic said:
Miller played LT vs Texas St. But could not go in the other Irwin missed games. He played a bit vs UCLA and UW also at LT.
He got his first work EVER at RT with the start vs UA. Finished up the season at RT.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I remembered he filled in at LT when Kaiser got yanked. CU's stat records only show 3 snaps vs UW and 11 vs UCLA but doesn't say which position and I couldn't recall.
 
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