Quote:
Originally Posted by NFBuck
Yikes. What does our UM contingent think of this?
|
Not too hard to guess. Of course, it's bad news. Always is when a potential starter leaves.
It is, however, not exactly cataclysmic. The offensive line is different than every other unit on the team. One really good player (say, one really good wide receiver or linebacker) can do a lot to cover up the deficiencies of the others by making plays. One really good offensive lineman does not help, because the rest of them are still going to get trampled and you can't run your offense.
So, actually very little has changed. Before Boren left it was on Schilling, Ortmann, etc. to step up and perform like starters, otherwise the offense was going to go nowhere. Now, it's still on those guys to perform, same as it was before.
If they step up and play well,
then it will be on Boren's replacement to do the same, else be the weak link in an otherwise strong line. If they don't? Then Justin Boren would not have made a lick of difference.
Bottom line: The offensive line was the weak link and the huge question mark in this offense before and it's the weak link and huge question mark in the offense now. The loss of Boren, counterintuitively, really doesn't make it any more contingent on the rest of the line to play well, because they were already the make-or-break unit on this team.