Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Front Five Needs to be Fab





With Columbia's murderous 2013 schedule staring it in the face, it's clear the Lions will have to upgrade as team to improve on, (and probably even match), last season's total of three wins.


All the buzz about transfer QB Brett Nottingham and some of the incoming freshmen is great, but the Lions won't be able to move forward, literally or figuratively, without a major improvement on the offensive line.

First the good news: the starters from last year are all returning. Now the bad news: unless they get A LOT better over the off season, the starters from last year just won't do, 

The stats tell the story: a stunning 40 sacks allowed, on top of 16 QB hurries allowed, and a generally harassed Sean Bracket on almost every play. The Lions also scored just six TD's rushing all season, a sure sign of a weak OL if there ever was one. 

The guys on the hot seat for 2013 are the six players who, between them, started most of Columbia's games on the OL in 2012. They are:

Rising sophomores Keith Ramljak, Bill Lawrence and Eric Kuklinski, rising juniors Eric Stock, Ryan Thomas, and rising senior Jimmy Yukevich. 

The average height for this group as of the end of last season was about 6-5, but the average weight was just 250 lbs. 

I realize that lower weight was all part of Head Coach Pete Mangurian's "grand experiment," (my term, not his), pushing leaner muscle over bulky fat.

Magurian deserves more time to prove this theory right, but to put it mildly it failed miserably last year. The Lions OL was badly pushed around and often embarrassed when it really counted.

OL coach Ed Argast is still one of my favorite guys on the staff, but he's is a hot seat right now just as much as any player or even Mangurian himself.

Offensive line problems have been the key factor in most of the Columbia football program's failures over the last 40 years. If the Lions can fix this problem this year, there's a chance the team can really take off. 

If not, prepare for a very tough slog.



9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lets go O-Lions!

Anonymous said...

Jake, can you think of anything else to talk about. We get it, the line has to improve.

jock/doc said...

Trust me; six (6) wins!!
I believe that this guy (M) has a system and it will blossom this year.

Anonymous said...

Jake, you list Eric Stock as a returning O-lineman, but the 2013 roster has him at DL, so maybe he's being switched back to his original position, probably a good thing for a 220 pounder. Several of the O-line recruits are quality players and should fill in well for him or anyone else they may be tapped to replace. I believe the only direction for the O-line is up!

lionrock said...

You can look it more positively that the Lions have six very experienced offensive linemen returning including three big and talented sophomores. That probably hasn't happened before. Also, the center played well throughout the season. Add some more muscle to that experience and the offensive line could be very good.

Anonymous said...


Jake, what do you think about the incoming offensive lineman? Do they appear to be an upgrade or will they have to sit and learn? I'm sure you have seen film on them.

CULionPride said...

To some degree I disagree with the emphasis on sacks allowed. There are multiple reasons for sacks, such as the QB holding onto the ball too long, not recongnizing the defense, receivers not getting open, the defensive scheme (who may be blitzing or what stunt are they running), the score (how many occurred when all knew Columbia had to pass?). Brady, Manning, Brees, Rogers all have had mediocre lines at some point and yet the sack totals are low because they get rid of the ball to last another play. I am not criticizing Brackett as he was much more of a runner than those mentioned above or he may have been told to keep the play alive by the coaches. The best way to keep sacks low is establish the run, use play action, short routes and a number of other ways to reduce sacks. I don't know the answer, but I would guess not all were attributed to the O line by the coaching staff. With all that said, we need to make great strides in improvement.

Anonymous said...

No more comments from me if you won't post them.

Anonymous said...


what do you think of the incoming crop of offensive linemen?