Mullen sees what I see in regard to the 2017 football team....

[Taog Redloh]

Ton of talent will be coming back as underclass men, but not many of them in the trenches. 2 OL, 1 TE and 3 DL committed from JUCO. Need another on each side IMO but I'd be satisfied with the current haul if that's how it turns out.

This also means that we are going to be better in 2016 than many think. Our OL/DL will be more than serviceable with all the seniors. Book it

[ShotgunDawg]

Beyond their ages, our OL will be better this year because they'll be playing more on their toes instead of their heels because we'll be running the ball much more which will additionally open up play action.

I believe offensive lines & the physicality of the team is dictated by offensive scheme. With us running the Relf offense this year, I believe you'll see a much more downhill, aggressive offensive line approach.

[shoeless joe]

Been told that this OL will be much better than expected...may be wishful thinking but I respect the individual that said it

[Dallas_Dawg]

Been told that this OL will be much better than expected...may be wishful thinking but I respect the individual that said it
How does said individual think it works out?
Desper, and Senior on the left side worries me.

[Homedawg]

How does said individual think it works out?
Desper, and Senior on the left side worries me.

Rankin is probably going to end up at LT. Not done but that's what's expected.

[mcain31]

I don't this year's will look like the Relf offense. I think that our offense will look more like Utah's offense when Alex Smith and Brian Johnson were the QBs.

[Jack Lambert]

matt said on HtoH that the returners heard all the bashing and are working hard to improve. Also he said what has already been said about the running game.

[Todd4State]

Here's a scary thought- how bad would our line have looked without Dak? Losing is the main reason why I think our line will be as bad as last year.

[ShotgunDawg]

Here's a scary thought- how bad would our line have looked without Dak? Losing is the main reason why I think our line will be as bad as last year.

I disagree. Dak was amazing, but we didn't run the optimal offense with him last year.

I think last year's offensive line would have been better without Dak because they would've played downhill with more aggression.

With 4 QBs this year, look for Dan to rotate them & run the hell out of the QB. He doesn't have to worry about the QB getting hurt whereas with Dak he had to.

[IMissJack]

Here's a scary thought- how bad would our line have looked without Dak? Losing is the main reason why I think our line will be as bad as last year.

Just to play devil's advocate...Dak was limited in his running last year for 2 reasons other than our OL 1) Did not want to get him hurt 2) He wanted to work on getting ready for the pros. The OL was definitely a third factor, but I think we have QB's that are capable of running the ball very well. I also think Dan will run the QB more this year to try to help the OL, because we have about 3 QBs that all play at about the same level and the loss of one will not kill us.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

We could be better at all 5 OL positions. Desper, Clayborn, and Senior all return. You would hope they would be improved by simply being one year older, one year stronger, and one year more experienced. Rankin can definitely be better than Rufus Warren. But can Calhoun be better than Malone? I liked Malone, but note that he did not get drafted nor is he going to camp. So he's not highly thought of despite his size, experience, and ability to play multiple positions. So he obviously is not an irreplaceable talent.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

With 4 QBs this year, look for Dan to rotate them & run the hell out of the QB. He doesn't have to worry about the QB getting hurt whereas with Dak he had to.

Not sure if he rotates or not, but I definitely agree about not worrying about injury. He will run the QB because there is not a huge drop-off down the depth chart. Number two or three is not going to be substantially worse than number one.

[Todd4State]

I disagree. Dak was amazing, but we didn't run the optimal offense with him last year.

I think last year's offensive line would have been better without Dak because they would've played downhill with more aggression.

With 4 QBs this year, look for Dan to rotate them & run the hell out of the QB. He doesn't have to worry about the QB getting hurt whereas with Dak he had to.

I agree about Dak and the offense. But there was a point during the season where Dan just said "screw it" and ran Dak towards the end of the year. And that was in part because Dak was our only running threat and he was great at it.

But the way I see it we lost our best running threat in Dak and the new QB's likely will not be as effective as runners or passers as Dak. Dak made some plays where his replacements may take a sack. We have a huge question at running back as well and this time we don't have a golden parachute for the o-line to fall back on. Plus, the o-line is just not very good anyway. If they have improved- I'm at the point of I'll believe it when I see it. And I hope I see it. But I have huge doubts.

[Todd4State]

We could be better at all 5 OL positions. Desper, Clayborn, and Senior all return. You would hope they would be improved by simply being one year older, one year stronger, and one year more experienced. Rankin can definitely be better than Rufus Warren. But can Calhoun be better than Malone? I liked Malone, but note that he did not get drafted nor is he going to camp. So he's not highly thought of despite his size, experience, and ability to play multiple positions. So he obviously is not an irreplaceable talent.

I think a HUGE part of the problem last year was we had guys playing out of position on the o-line.

I agree that Rankin is probably better than Warren. I think Desper is better at LG than he is at RG because he is more athletic but not very physical. We started him at LG against Texas A&M and I thought that was his best game at MSU where we had him pulling and trapping a lot. Clayborn is a good center. No issues there. I would think that Calhoun is at least as good as Malone. If it were me, I would probably start Senior at RG and then Jenkins at RT or start Jenkins at LT and Rankin at RT. Calhoun may very well prove me wrong if he looks good at RG- but this is where I am with our line right now.

[lamont]

While our OL could be improved, we still aren't talented enough to consistently block Bama, LSU, Auburn, OM, and probably A&M. That's a heck of a hole to be in.

[Offshore Dawg]

While our OL could be improved, we still aren't talented enough to consistently block Bama, LSU, Auburn, OM, and probably A&M. That's a heck of a hole to be in.

Well that is 8 / 4 season with a bowl game coming up at a minimum this season

[Dawgcentral]

While our OL could be improved, we still aren't talented enough to consistently block Bama, LSU, Auburn, OM, and probably A&M. That's a heck of a hole to be in.

We haven't been able to do that consistently in the past either, yet we've had great success against Auburn, no success against Bama, and limited success against the rest.

Fitz has better speed than Dak. We'll need him to make good reads and do the proper amount of film study. While he may not match the running stats, he could have tremendous success with some good production from our RBs. He also throws a better long ball than Dak when given the time.

Durability is a big key for me when it comes to Dak vs. Nick. Nick hasn't taken that pounding yet, and size/weight is not everything when it comes to avoiding extreme contact. An improved offensive line is a game changer.