I normally read a lot more then I post, but I had to comment on what exactly prompted such a solid performance by our O-Line last Saturday.
LT - McIntosh
LG - Jeno James
Center - McKinney
RG - Hadnot
RT - Vernon Carey
That lineup performed excellent, I remembered thinking to myself, on the opening drive, that "oh yea, we're back baby" - errrr or something along those lines.
Now, what exactly was the "X-Factor" that caused such a drastic (over-night) change?
What I found VERY interesting was how Houck made Vernon run the gauntlet by practicing with JT, then switched him over to RT - and BAM, a huge impact. Normally, D-Lines have their best DE over at the right side - thus, Vernon could be expected to go up against lesser talent. IMO that was a great coaching move.
Aside from training Vernon at the LT spot, Houck managed to "light a fire" under McIntosh's *** - perhaps he had this move planned all along?
*Notice the considerable drop-off when McLazy stepped in at RT... what a disappointment.
McKinney was another surprise for me, but I could not really notice him throughout the game. Was it that he was playing extremely well, or was he being helped by a guard all the time?
I wanted to also point out that Tampa Bay was a good test... again, they were 5th last year if I recall correctly... I was very encouraged... and that performance, if they can do it with consistency, bodes extremely well for our season dolfans!
