Returning Offensive Lineman

[Hooks]

As you probably know,the offensive line is very important.

Alabama- 5 returning OL.
Ark. St.-5
Ball St.-4
Boston Coll.-4
Bowling Green-4
Buffalo-4
Conn.-4
Fla. St.-5
Fresno St.-4
Georgia-5
Geo. Tech-4
Indiana-4
Iowa-5
La. Laf.-4
Marshall-4
Maryland-4
Mich. St.-5
Mid. Tenn. St.-5
Mississippi-4
N. Texas-5
N. Ill.-4
Notre Dame-4
Penn St.-4
Pitt.-5
Purdue-4
Rutgers-4
S. Cal.-4
S. Miss.-5
TCU-4
Temple-5
Tenn.-4
Texas A&M-4
UTEP-4
Troy St.-5
Tulsa-4
UCLA-4
Wash.-4
Wash. St.-4
W.Virginia-4
Wisconson-5
Wyoming-4

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

One of the first things that jumps out is that none of the option teams are returning 4 or more linemen. Do you think that experience at the line is more important for an option team, standard running offense, balanced offense, or pass oriented?

 

[Hooks]

Having an experienced offensive line I feel, is important for a # of reasons.
1. Protection of your Q.B.-That left tackle is the one to protect your Q.B.s blindside.

2. To have a balanced offense, you've got to be able o RUN the football.Your offensive line will know what it takes to be like a machine.They will know each others moves.That line is going to wear the defense down by the 4th quarter.

3. A good running game will open up the passing game.

4. the good offensive line is going to CONTROL the Clock.

I believe an experienced offensive line will help any style of offense in the game of football.

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

I am always interested in Returning Starters discussion. I am wondering if you've tracked how teams that return 4 or more offensive linemen fair ATS over the course of the season. I ran the numbers for teams that returned 4 or more in 2001 and don't show the results to be that positive.

Team / Returning OL / W (1st 4 games)/ L (1st 4 games) / W (Season) / L (Season) {ignoring non-lined games and pushes}

Iowa 4 2 2 6 4
N'western5 2 2 3 7
Indiana 5 1 3 5 6
S. Carolina4 2 1 5 4
Kentucky 4 0 4 5 6
Arkansas 4 1 3 6 4
Auburn 4 2 2 4 7
Ole Miss 4 1 2 4 6
Texas 4 2 2 6 5
Texas Tech4 1 2 6 3
Oklahoma State4 1 2 4 6
Baylor 5 3 1 4 6
Colorado 4 2 2 8 4
Missouri 4 1 2 4 6
Stanford 5 3 1 7 4
Washington State5 4 0 7 3
California 4 1 3 3 8
Arizona State4 3 1 5 6
Arizona 4 2 2 5 6
Clemson 4 1 2 4 5
NC State 4 1 3 5 6
Maryland 4 4 0 10 1
Wake Forest4 2 1 6 3
Miami (Fla)4 2 2 6 5
Syracuse 4 3 1 8 4
Temple 4 1 3 5 6
Southern Miss4 1 3 4 7
Cincinnati 4 2 2 6 5
UNLV 4 2 2 6 5
San Diego State5 1 3 4 6
BYU 5 3 1 7 6
Utah 4 3 1 7 4
New Mexico5 1 2 6 4
Wyoming 4 2 1 5 5
Hawaii 4 1 2 7 4
Rice 4 2 2 6 6
Nevada 4 2 2 6 5
Louisiana Tech4 4 0 7 4
Boise State4 2 1 7 4
San Jose State4 1 3 5 7
Ohio 5 1 3 4 7
Miami (Oh)4 3 1 7 5
Akron 4 2 2 4 6
Buffalo 4 1 3 5 6
Central Michigan5 3 0 7 3
North Texas4 2 2 8 3

Playing on teams that return 4 or more offensive linemen in 2001:

1st 4 games : 87-85 (50.58%)
Other than 1st 4 games: 172-148 (53.75%)
Overall: 259-233 (52.64%)

I realize that this is a limited sample as I've only included one year, so I'm wondering if you've had different results.

 

[GodSend]

Almost too obvious to be said: It's definitely a plus when these guys have been playing next to each other for an extended period of time. However, the experience is not enough. You have to look at a couple of things in addition:

1) The ability of the returning starters
2) Who's making the plays behind these guys.
3) The opponent

No offense Hooks, but I'm not into all the "protecting the QB" and "being able to run the ball more effectively" talk. The offensive coordinators tailor their games to the ability of their collective offenses and the opponent. Even a cohesive o-line is going to need a few games to get back into the flow. And if there isn't anyone behind the o-line to make the plays, then it's a moot point.