30Duck No. 1 Share Posted February 16, 2022 This article USC's Question Marks on 2022 Offensive Line might be Oversold by some Analysts is definitely written from a USC perspective and assisted by an excerpt from a Ducks Wire article. But before USC dismisses the importance of an OL, they need to talk to the Cincinnati Bengals. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 2 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Oh good grief; the article is not rebutting the weakness of the offensive line, but impugns the Oregon front-seven defense as proof? When I consider Popo, Dorlus, Swinson and Taki on the defensive line with our experience linebacking corp? That means everything is going to be FINE for the Trojans? What a nonsense article... Where was that offensive line again? 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Duck No. 3 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Not to be mean, but I wonder if this is another example of a "slow day for news but I have to print some copy" type of article. If USC puts things together and has an excellent season, we will all get to see in the Pac12 championship game Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sousa No. 4 Share Posted February 16, 2022 The article is very short on substance (and everything else), but the one point the article makes is a valid one. How many teams are going to stop the USC offense? Most people are predicting 8-10 wins for USC... WITH their "weak" O-line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quackerbacker No. 5 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Hahaha. Big 12?!? I get the SEC but the Big 12?? USC is probably playing for the South division championship all the way to the last game. I would agree their offensive line is an issue but i don't think anyone in the PAC 12 will be able to exploit that to a great degree. Anyone in the college football playoff will expose that deficiency pretty quickly. Not to mention their defense. If anyone from the PAC 12 makes it to the playoff it needs to be Oregon or Utah. USC gets destroyed if they make it into the playoff next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 6 Share Posted February 16, 2022 On 2/15/2022 at 9:00 PM, Quackerbacker said: i don't think anyone in the PAC 12 will be able to exploit that to a great degree. Utah probably will... and that can be enough to rob USC of the Pac-12 south. I don't think USC makes it to the playoff next year regardless. I think they drop at least two games. One conference and probably Notre Dame. More likely I think USC drops 3 games. Riley may have a good offensive scheme but the Pac-12 is super unpredictable and though we may be seen as the "bad" conference the Pac-12 seems to be rife with upsets. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred flintstone No. 7 Share Posted February 16, 2022 The USC OL is a mess........and Riley has not brought in anyone so far that changes it much. As for Oregon.....a weakness on the DL exists......whether it is fatal is yet to be seen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 8 Share Posted February 16, 2022 4 starters back on the Trojans OL. 2 were Pac-12 honorable mention. A big OT get from UVA out of the portal. Run game was best in 4 years in 2021, 4.4 yards average. And this was without Dye and Stanford's best RB who both transferred in. Plus, Caleb Williams is incredibly elusive and a much bigger broken-play run threat than both Dart and Slovis. London is a big loss. But the WRs coming in from the portal, especially Williams (no relation) from Oklahoma, make SC in 2022, very dangerous on offense. In the pac-12, how many great Ds will SC have to go up against? The DL and D in general is a problem but even with an average D, USC is a threat in 2022 to win the South and the conference. Recall, the Ohio State O put up 48 points versus Utah in the Rose Bowl and won a shoot out. I do not think many teams in the Pac-12 will be able to score enough points to keep up with SC? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Author No. 9 Share Posted February 16, 2022 The QB is the most important player on a football team. But only if the OL lets him play. Same thing with the stud RB who needs the OL to open the holes. Having a "weak" OL to any degree will be problematic for the Trojans. Burrow was effective at making broken plays work, but eventually, it's too much to overcome. Sacks are a real problem. Not only field position wise, but no matter how cool a QB is, frustration with the OL is inevitable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 10 Share Posted February 16, 2022 On 2/16/2022 at 12:57 PM, 30Duck said: The QB is the most important player on a football team. But only if the OL lets him play. Same thing with the stud RB who needs the OL to open the holes. Having a "weak" OL to any degree will be problematic for the Trojans. Burrow was effective at making broken plays work, but eventually, it's too much to overcome. Sacks are a real problem. Not only field position wise, but no matter how cool a QB is, frustration with the OL is inevitable. Good points. But best of luck trying to sack Caleb Williams. Far more athletic than Joe Burrow, Dart and Slovis. And the SC offense will be led by a guy who has produced Heisman winners and runner-ups at QB. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioDuck No. 11 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Caleb Williams is definitely elusive and has the speed to turn that into big plays. That will help a lot to overcome any problems SC has with their O Line. But lack of a good O Line will also make it more difficult for them to run the ball effectively against some of the better defenses. Then defenses will come after Williams with a hard pass rush and a backer shadowing him. There is a difference between a QB running because that's how they plan it and a QB running because the O Line protection breaks down. Caleb Williams is good enough to make some plays while running for his life. He may also get pretty banged up doing that. I expect SC will score some points, but may also be a bit erratic if the O Line is not performing well. Games will tell the story. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 12 Share Posted February 16, 2022 On 2/16/2022 at 12:17 PM, OhioDuck said: here is a difference between a QB running because that's how they plan it and a QB running because the O Line protection breaks down. Caleb Williams is good enough to make some plays while running for his life. He may also get pretty banged up doing that. Also a big difference if that OL gets beat right at the snap and the defenders are in the backfield in a fraction of a second after the qb got the ball. Those sacks are absolutely brutal and unavoidable. In those cases the QB just needs to tuck the ball and go down... anything else the chance of a turnover increases dramatically. We'll see how good that line is come the season. My gut says it can be schemed around a bit by getting the ball out quick but that also limits the playbook. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quackerbacker No. 13 Share Posted February 16, 2022 It will be interesting to see if USC"s O-line holds up. Caleb Williams is an athlete no doubt. He will get pressured I'm curious to see how he does throwing the ball down field on the run. Can he keep his eyes down field and make accurate throws outside the pocket? Not sure we have a good answer to that one yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 14 Share Posted February 17, 2022 On 2/16/2022 at 4:23 PM, Quackerbacker said: It will be interesting to see if USC"s O-line holds up. Caleb Williams is an athlete no doubt. He will get pressured I'm curious to see how he does throwing the ball down field on the run. Can he keep his eyes down field and make accurate throws outside the pocket? Not sure we have a good answer to that one yet. Ask Sark? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
