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Let’s talk about the OL (Except Zion)

They are are all dumpster fire bad right now other than Scaife who is just below average.

If they aren't getting manhandled, its crap technique, and when its neither of those its poor communication and blocking the wrong guys than their assignment.

Way too early to jump in with the "fire everyone clowns" but holy **** are they a bad unit this year.
 
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CaneJS15 said:
I've always liked Gaynor not the most talented but hes aggressive an goes hard to the whistle every play!! I rwmember his freshman year our kine sucked an he would come in an play his *** off when nobody else seemed to care Gaynors good with me Scaife is gonna be good habent watched Clark. Donaldson is trash big disappointment an Zion yaa lol
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Gaynor is on skates 25% of the time, missing his assignment another 25%, and average 50%
 
straight talk said:
Watch Donaldson film of him being pushed around and standing still. He also makes some good plays and if interested can be very good at blocking the 2nd level. IMO his issue is not taking S&C and nutrition serisously as well as not playing hard every play. Baxa has taken a lot of heat for his missed extra point againt UNC. But watch the film and you will see Donaldson not caring and being pushed backwards to his fat butt by the guy that blocked the kick.
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you watching the all 22 or just pointing out a play here and there?
 
mdpcane said:
(except zion) :ibis-roflmao-sm3:
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Come on dude give everybody some on their own medicine...
ah.webp
 
It’s probably a waste even asking this board. Maybe 1% of the posters here know how to evaluate game film and .5% of them how to evaluate and OL.
 
CaneSwag1995 said:
We’ve beat a dead horse with Zion, but I’m curious to see how the board feels about the rest of the starters.

I’d give Donaldson an F, as he’s been a massive disappointment so far.

But how about Clark, Scaife, and Gaynor?

Are they playing decent, or are their mistakes not as obvious/noticeable? I’d be nice to hear from some posters that are well-versed in offensive line assignments and techniques.
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I think they've all improved. They're young. Zion gets the most heat because he is the OT to our QBs blindside and many of his misses were really bad. Like the DE got 3 steps in before he even moved. It's almost like he's daydreaming half the time. We are very young up front and I believe they will be good. How good, only time will tell. In a perfect scenario, Rivers comes in ready to go next season and Zion is either moved to RT or interior.
 
Can’t speak to the OL calle and communication but from a physic POV, Clarke and gaynor have been pleasant surprises. Scaife has been a bit inconsistent but solid.

my big question is the backups - how alarming is it that we our backups can’t even sniff the field?
 
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All five have missed easy assignments.
All five have whiffed on guys they were trying to block.
Donaldson is 50-60lbs over weight with FAT!
Scaife is pretty short for OT and did better at RG.
Clarke has had more help than Zion with Gaynor and Scaife there to protect him when he needs it.
Gaynor and Scaife likely grade out the best. Gaynor has had a few cases of getting pushed back by DTs but has also pancaked a few. He is the only guy I’ve seen do that with any regularity.
 
kyle_schick said:
I think the real problem they have is communication/assignments. They look like they could be good enough to compete but they consistently leave guys unblocked and dont pick up blitzers.

It makes me wonder if it's just really bad coaching or if they just really dont have the mental ability to block at d1 level.
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To my untrained eye, it looks like defenses are overloading and attacking the left side of the line. The confusion issues are easier to recognize ok the left (along with Zion just getting beat around the edge constantly).

The right side looks better by default.
 
The whole line is a F. The F is for feline. We play soft slow scared. No dogs on this line. Nesta would be our best offensive lineman. The right tackle C-
 
I believe Donaldson should be at Center with Gaynor at L guard.
Donaldson's best moments during practice where when he subbed in for Gaynor at center in the spring.
 
I’m beating a dead horse on this but the fact that fat, weak, slow Donaldson is the defacto veteran leadership on this offensive line is a massive problem.

The offensive line has no veterans with experience. Tommy Kennedy has the most starting experience, then Donaldson, then Traore if I remember correctly. There is zero leadership, experience, or knowledge base for this group of young guys to leverage.

This team taking deadweight like Kennedy and missing on Parker Braun transferring to Miami was huge. Losing guys like Mahoney (transfer) and Boulware (left early) were also big blows. Supposed deadweight in Reed transferred, Milo quit, Brown quit.

Miami won’t have its offensive line depth or talent setup for a few seasons at this rate. Most good teams have starters that are juniors and seniors at the offensive line. Miami is at the point of hoping true freshman are the saviors for this season and likely next season.
 
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