Lay it on The Line

Since the UFL began its season in September, there's been a lot of nervous talk about the quality of the league's offensive lines. I'm not here to put any of those worries to rest. The following are pictures from the Colonials' outing in Las Vegas on October 23rd.

This here? This is right tackle Pete Clifford and left tackle Orrin Thompson letting pressure in off the edge. Thompson wasn't all bad, but Clifford was getting pushed back, beaten and blown up all day.

First quarter. Third and one. A run up the gut results in a two yard loss.




Finally, if you look at the center of this picture, left guard Jacob Bender (#72) is tossed like a rag doll by Locos defensive lineman Ryan Boschetti. Boschetti hurled the six-foot-six, three-hundred and fifteen pound guard what looks like a good five feet, and while Bender's play throughout the day was not quite as offensive as Cliffords, it's pretty damning that he could be negated that easily.

You could argue that there are plays like these in just about every football game broadcast during the week, UFL or NFL, and you'd be right. The trouble here is that these images are pretty much representative of the play of the O-line during that game, and frankly, during others. Lump me in with Paul Maguire if you want, but the fact of the matter is that even the NFL is having trouble finding and developing quality offensive lineman. Ask Jay Cutler about the Bears' offensive line play... if you can find him. Even Cutler probably doesn't know where he is right now. And the Bears are not the only team. The Lions and Redskins O-line woes are pretty widely known. The Eagles and Seahawks have inconsistent lines, with talent uneven from one side to the other, especially after injuries.

Truth is, it's hard to find those guys that are athletic, 6'3 or taller and with the right frame to hold 300+ pounds. There aren't that many definite natural talents out there. What this means for the UFL is that they're going to have their work cut out for them finding the "maybe's" out there and doing what they can to develop them into solid players. Clifford, for example, is listed as at 6'7 and 312 pounds. He has the size, but is consistently overpowered and beaten. I can't help but think that his place of birth (he's a New Hampshire native) had more to do with this particular New England team's decision to give him a shot than did his ability.

I'll play the optimist here and suggest that some of what we've seen this season has been a lack of cohesion; these players have not had the luxury of spending years and years as part of the same unit. They haven't had much time to gel, and hopefully this is something that will be resolved as the UFL gets a few more seasons under its belt; working on cutting those diamonds in the rough into shape, and just cutting the rest.