🏈 Editorial: Reflecting on Joe Pendry and the Offensive Line

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In the continuing series of looking at the Alabama coaching staff, TerryP takes a look at the Alabama offensive line and the job Offensive Line coach Joe Pendry has done during his time at Alabama.

Editorial: Reflecting on Joe Pendry and the Offensive Line

 

[Guest]

Great stuff. Has that always been Coach Pendry's approach, to put the best five out there regardless of position? I can understand why you would take that approach this year, seeing as we lacked quality depth due to injuries and what not, but personally I would hope that when we have stockpiled talent for the offensive line, that we won't do near as much shuffling around. Then again, that's my opinion so take it for what it's worth...I've never played any offensive line positions nor do I have the experience and coaching smarts that Coach Pendry possesses.

 

[TerryP]

Great stuff. Has that always been Coach Pendry's approach, to put the best five out there regardless of position? I can understand why you would take that approach this year, seeing as we lacked quality depth due to injuries and what not, but personally I would hope that when we have stockpiled talent for the offensive line, that we won't do near as much shuffling around. Then again, that's my opinion so take it for what it's worth...I've never played any offensive line positions nor do I have the experience and coaching smarts that Coach Pendry possesses.

That's a question I can't answer.

It's been his position while here, but I can't look back at his past stops because most of them are in the NFL. And, there, you have a back up left tackle, a back up right guard, etc.

Honestly, I can't recall Saban's approach to positional situation when he was at LSU. I'd have to ask a few LSU fans I know for input on that...

 

[Guest]

Bryant used the same approach that Pendry did, get the best football players on the field. I know he valued offensive linemen who could play more than one position, and he had more scholarships to work with than we do today. I can't remember a specific example on offense, but I do remember that going into the Vanderbilt game one year in the seventies he had to deal with a starting defensive tackle (DE in today's schemes) and a starting inside linebacker being injured. He moved his nose guard to tackle and his other starting linebacker to the nose position and played his two second team linebackers.

I guess you plus and minus it. Is the combo of your backup tackle and linebacker better than the one where you move the guys around?

 

[TerryP]

Isn't that a case of comparing apples to oranges?

Getting what you need out of a defensive line player is a bit different than a center (as example) of calling out blocking schemes.

I don't mind the idea at all of playing our best 3 combination on the DL.

I'd much rather have a solid #2 guy at our tackles and center position on the OL.

 

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Bump.

 

[Guest]

Isn't that a case of comparing apples to oranges?

Getting what you need out of a defensive line player is a bit different than a center (as example) of calling out blocking schemes.

I don't mind the idea at all of playing our best 3 combination on the DL.

I'd much rather have a solid #2 guy at our tackles and center position on the OL.

I think that the way they shuffled these linemen tells us that the backups weren't very solid. Would the substitution pattern have been different if Love had been available? Maybe. It certainly would not have dislocated as many players. The way they shuffled also tells me that even though Caldwell had some experience at other positions, the staff had more confidence in Ross and then Boswell than in Vlachos or Cardwell.

 

[TerryP]

I think that the way they shuffled these linemen tells us that the backups weren't very solid. Would the substitution pattern have been different if Love had been available? Maybe. It certainly would not have dislocated as many players. The way they shuffled also tells me that even though Caldwell had some experience at other positions, the staff had more confidence in Ross and then Boswell than in Vlachos or Cardwell.

I think if Love would have been healthy it would have been considered. But, that's hard to say because he's such an unknown quantity right now due to spending so much of the season nursing his injury.

 

[musso]

i've never coached an O-line before, but i can't imagine any coach not preferring to have enough quality depth to be able to stockpile reserve O-linemen at respective positions. whenever i've heard coaches say that they are putting the "five best linemen on the field" i've always interpreted that as them saying that they are unhappy with their depth.

seeing Saban pursue so many O-linemen makes me think that ideally he wants what you want Terry. furthermore, it makes sense to me that at any given moment when you need to use a reserve linemen, you want to put one on the field who is proficient and experienced at that particular position.