Staying in line: SU much-maligned offensive line on a mission worth on to prove its
Syracuse center Jim McKenzie knows quarterback Greg Paulus has yet to experience the numbing sensation of the bone-crunching hit in a Division I football game.
Paulus has not played football since 2004, when he was in high school, and during Syracuse’s training camp this summer, he was treated by his teammates like an antique in a museum: look, but do not touch. New SU head coach Doug Marrone employed a ‘no-contact’ policy for his quarterbacks.
Unfortunately for Paulus’ health insurance plan, that hands-off approach promises to end Saturday when his transition from Duke point guard to Syracuse quarterback begins with the Orange season opener against Minnesota (noon, ESPN2).
Introducing Paulus to the physical differences between life on the hardwood and gridiron figures to be at the top of Minnesota’s game plan, yet McKenzie is hoping to delay the christening.
‘With Greg Paulus, he’s a great kid and he’s up for the challenge, but it’s on the shoulders of this offensive line,’ McKenzie said. ‘He has not gotten hit by a Division I defensive back or defensive end, or any type of guy like that before, and I hope that we can make that experience be as minimal as possible for the season’
Coming off a promising season that followed a horrendous 2007 campaign, the Orange’s offensive line intends to draw off that experience and play even better this season, finally shedding the perception that it is the weak link of the team. Three starters, including McKenzie, return to the trenches after allowing 25 fewer sacks in 2008 than 2007.
‘If we win games, we need to be the type of unit that’s strong enough and can’t be the weakest link on this team, ‘McKenzie said. ‘I think that through this camp we’ve really developed the type of pride and strength that is going to help us carry into the games and be a well-performing machine for the entire team.’
Two years ago, a well-oiled machine was about the farthest thing from reality for the offensive line. Former SU starting quarterback Andrew Robinson became a human punching bag as the line yielded 54 sacks. Syracuse ranked 118th out of 119 Division I teams (only ahead of Notre Dame) in sacks allowed.
It’s easy to see why that nightmare of a season motivates someone like McKenzie, who played in 11 games that year, and his teammates, to work harder on pass protection.
‘You try to forget about it, everybody tries to say it’s in the past and everything, but you don’t want that to happen again,’ starting right guard Tucker Baumbach said. ‘You don’t want a season like that.’
Improvement transpired last season under new offensive coordinator Mitch Browning. With a focus on grinding out yards with the graduated Curtis Brinkley, the offensive line nearly cut its sacks in half (from 54 to 29), which was still toward the bottom of the national rankings but was nevertheless a vast improvement. Perhaps even more impressive, the squad was 55th in rushing yards per game after finishing 118th in 2007.
Starting left guard Ryan Bartholomew specifically mentions Browning’s system that ‘worked’ and meshed with the skill set of the line. McKenzie relates the improvement to the line getting the ball to the quarterback better with more three-step drops.
He explained how the goal was to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly, or have bootleg scrambles where the line can move the pocket. Five-step and seven-step drops by the quarterback, which allows the defensive line more time to beat the offensive linemen, were discouraged in the offensive scheme.
While there was still room for improvement, tangible results gave the line something to build from. It also helped the linemen to bond through the emotional highs and lows they experienced.
‘We’ve been through a lot of coaches and through a lot of adversity but I think the best thing is there’s a lot of guys from 2007 that have come together and grown up,’ McKenzie said. ‘There’s a bunch of us young guys who are now juniors and seniors that have really started to buy in to being proud of this offensive line and we’re trying to be the type of unit that people can be proud of; the strength of the team rather than a weakness.’
So it all leads to this season, in which the Orange line should continue to take steps in the right direction. In addition to McKenzie, Baumbach and Bartholomew, sophomore Nick Speller will start at left tackle and junior Jonathan Meldrum will hold down the right tackle spot. (Meldrum injured his arm in practice this week and his status for Saturday’s game is unknown.)
The line has already embraced what could be its biggest hurdle: learn a new offensive system for the third time in as many years. This season, it comes from Marrone, offensive coordinator Rob Spence and offensive line coach Greg Adkins.
The players rave about the techniques Marrone – a three-year starter on the line for Syracuse from 1983-85 – and Adkins brought to the table. With Adkins, it starts with the number ‘4.’ In 2007, Adkins’ offensive line at Tennessee saw its quarterback get sacked just four times – by far the best in the nation. He also won over the SU linemen with a strong emphasis on techniques.
A hands-on attitude in practice is being embraced by Marrone, along with the knowledge of what it takes to be a quality lineman.
‘Offensive line [play] is his thing, that’s the thing he loves. That’s what he does, so everything we do is a reflection on him,’ Bartholomew said. ‘Therefore, he wants us to do best because he knows he’s the best offensive line coach in America and he wants us to show the world that he is. He would not allow us to [struggle].’
Even with the optimism, it doesn’t guarantee a clean jersey for Paulus this season. The line still has to continue to prove its mettle this season. If the unit holds strong, it could be a dream season for Marrone in his first year. An offensive line guiding a strong rushing attack and giving Paulus ample time to work, would certainly make Marrone proud.
The alternative could be a trip back to 2007, this time with a smaller, but more well-known quarterback serving as the tackling dummy. Fortunately for Marrone and Paulus, Bartholomew doesn’t see that happening.
‘We worked too hard,’ Bartholomew said. ‘We worked hard in the summer, we work hard now and the work has to pay off and if it doesn’t then we will work harder. There is no failure.’
