The Line Just Needs to Gel...It's Really That Simple

[foozool13]

The Line Just Needs to Build Chemistry...It's Really That Simple

We saw the line struggle in the preseason and everyone said whatever its the preseason. Well here we are now and the line looks even worse now that the game speed is at full throttle.

Individually we have very good talent on the line without a doubt. Long is a PRO BOWLER (some have forgotten already) and Carey is above average without a doubt. Donald Thomas is "a dream come true" as Parcells likes to say. Smiley is a proven veteran and Jake Grove has all the numbers to backup his strength and ability.

Afteristening to what Sporano was saying in an interview after watching game film he specifically mentions "Non-Verbal Communication along the line" as a chief concern (If you haven't read it go to the Miami Herald or Sun-Sentinel and you can find it there).

Then in an interview with Smiley about the play when Abraham sacks Penny on the bull rush, he mentions that the ball is snapped 2 seconds early on a silent snap (they had a silent snap due to the crowd noise). Well that doesn't give Long enough time to get ready cuz he is expecting 2 more seconds to get ready and boom the ball is snapped and he's out of position.

I think at this point its pretty evident that this line needs time to gel. All the great lines know what the person next to them is going to do and how they are giong to do it without saying a word. It just a matter of game experience. The bad part about it is that there is no actual way to know how long it will take. But it will take a few games at least. The good part is we have a home game this week so that should take a bit of the pressure off. But the week after we are in SD where the crowd is a big factor trust me. I live in LA, so I was at the SD games last time we were there in 2005 and I was at the Colts @ SD playoff game last year. The crowd is hostile there! But then we are back @ home two in a row and then we have a bye week which I am hoping by then we will have figure this s**t out!

 

[LANGER72]

Sparano
I agree with your post. The interior of the line was changed throughout the preseason.
The murphy/Thomas experiment, plus limited snaps. Now that the same guys are lining up together for the practices and games, I think we will see improvenment from week to week.

 

[HeyJayOh]

I'm just concerned that Coach mentioned his concerns with the line before the game and either he couldn't fix the problem or they can't put it together in spite of extra emphasis. He can't do it for them. They have to maintain fundamentals and do what they are paid to do. I'm not ready to throw the unit out, but I really hope they play MUCH better this week.

 

[Zounds]

I think the "gel" think is a bit overrated. Of course its important, but they still need to learn how to block first.

 

[cafinfan408]

I know the line play was bad but I feel the turnovers tell way more of the story than the line play.
We could of won that game with the way the line was playing.
No way we win the game with those turnovers.
I know the O looked lost in that game and that is really putting a hamper on how good the D played

 

[WaxOn WaxOff]

I think the "gel" think is a bit overrated. Of course its important, but they still need to learn how to block first.

'Gel' as in 'Jello'? Or is it the gel used in Jerry-curl? I prefer my OLine to 'solidify' rather than gel. Perhaps the team doc could prescribe some Viagra.....

 

[3rdandinches]

We saw the line struggle in the preseason and everyone said whatever its the preseason. Well here we are now and the line looks even worse now that the game speed is at full throttle.

Individually we have very good talent on the line without a doubt. Long is a PRO BOWLER (some have forgotten already) and Carey is above average without a doubt. Donald Thomas is "a dream come true" as Parcells likes to say. Smiley is a proven veteran and Jake Grove has all the numbers to backup his strength and ability.

Afteristening to what Sporano was saying in an interview after watching game film he specifically mentions "Non-Verbal Communication along the line" as a chief concern (If you haven't read it go to the Miami Herald or Sun-Sentinel and you can find it there).

Then in an interview with Smiley about the play when Abraham sacks Penny on the bull rush, he mentions that the ball is snapped 2 seconds early on a silent snap (they had a silent snap due to the crowd noise). Well that doesn't give Long enough time to get ready cuz he is expecting 2 more seconds to get ready and boom the ball is snapped and he's out of position.

I think at this point its pretty evident that this line needs time to gel. All the great lines know what the person next to them is going to do and how they are giong to do it without saying a word. It just a matter of game experience. The bad part about it is that there is no actual way to know how long it will take. But it will take a few games at least. The good part is we have a home game this week so that should take a bit of the pressure off. But the week after we are in SD where the crowd is a big factor trust me. I live in LA, so I was at the SD games last time we were there in 2005 and I was at the Colts @ SD playoff game last year. The crowd is hostile there! But then we are back @ home two in a row and then we have a bye week which I am hoping by then we will have figure this s**t out!

That can't be right because people here say that J.Long sucks so there's no way that there could be any other reason why he got beat.

 

[The Chaos Path]

I know the line play was bad but I feel the turnovers tell way more of the story than the line play.
We could of won that game with the way the line was playing.
No way we win the game with those turnovers.
I know the O looked lost in that game and that is really putting a hamper on how good the D played

TRUTH! ALL OF IT!

 

[dabeastdabone]

I think the "gel" think is a bit overrated. Of course its important, but they still need to learn how to block first.

I was going to say it's a gray area, how much of the time is it an excuse? Most I believe. I think you can only call it "gel" after they prove they are better than they have shown, then it would be they had to gel (past tense). Until they do prove something they are playing in real games and showing real results...they are what they are.