In South Carolina, the verdict is published by the Clerk of Court. In other words, when a jury has reached a verdict, the Clerk of Court, not a member of the jury, announces the verdict to the courtroom.
But in every jury trial – whether criminal or civil – there is no mistaking that the jury, and only the jury, is the finder of all facts.
Starting in August and running throughout the season, I will be writing a weekly column called The Verdict - presented by the Goings Law Firm. And much like a jury, I will try to base my findings and opinions on facts. But unlike a jury, I want to hear from the gallery, both what I got right and what I got wrong.
This week’s Verdict is in: the line of scrimmage will decide the outcome of these final games.
On September 28th, my verdict was that football is still a game of blocking and tackling. This week, I want to truly examine that.
I was a lineman in high school. And while I played sparingly at defensive tackle, I started at offensive tackle the second half of my junior season and then the entirety of my senior season.
When I was younger, like so many of you who played football, I wanted to be the quarterback. But between my mother’s cooking and Irish stock, God intended for me to be the type of football player that put his hand in the dirt and blocked (attempted to block) other large men.
It made my football experience a unique one. It made it a very personal one. There is little to no recognition as an offensive lineman.
When you do your job correctly, other players reap the benefits. When you do your job correctly, the announcer yells into the microphone “touchdown, [insert running back’s name]” or “what a throw by [insert quarterback’s name].” (Jay Scott, if you are reading this, you did a hell of a job of recognizing offensive linemen during your calls, but I am trying to make a point here.)
This lack of recognition created a very personal relationship between me and the game of football. Nobody is watching you. Nobody is cheering for you. The only people that are going to know how you performed are you, your parents, your coaches, and the other guy across the line of scrimmage from you. And when you get whipped, and it happened to me more times than I care to mention, you feel as if your manhood has been taken from you. When you slam into another man and he beats you, your pride takes a hit. You’re embarrassed. You’re upset.
And then you have to do it again the very next play.
When fans say, “the offensive line stinks,” or less frequently (but still often) when fans say, “the defensive line stinks,” let’s break down what they/we are saying. That isn’t just a catch-all. That isn’t a throwaway statement.
When the offensive line or defensive line fails, it’s almost always because our men got whipped by other men. When a wide receiver drops a pass, they need to learn how to catch better. When a quarterback misses a wide-open throw, they need to learn how to throw better. And while there is a lot more that goes into dropped passes or missed throws, the solution is hardly ever the questioning of another man’s fortitude.
Because when we say, “the offensive line stinks” or the “defensive line stinks,” that is exactly what we are doing. You don’t just learn how to block better. You don’t just learn how to shed blocks and tackle ball carriers better. Doing those things better entails not only more physical strength, but mental toughness. Yes, you learn technique and hand placement and all these things as an offensive and defensive lineman, but that technique is merely to get you in the best possible position to win your one-on-one battle. At the end of the day, you must physically beat the other man in front of you for 60 minutes.
Carolina lost a lot of their one-on-one battles against Missouri.
And while so much of the blame has been cast towards the offensive line, and rightly so, the play that really defined Carolina’s night against Missouri came from the defensive line.
The defining play was the second down and one yard to go play with 12:34 left in the fourth quarter. Jabari Ellis was lined up as a one-technique. This means he shadowed the outside shoulder of the center. Missouri’s center still found a way to hook Ellis. If you are an SEC defensive tackle, you cannot let the center hook you as a one-technique.
At the five-technique (defensive end that’s shaded off the offensive tackle’s shoulder), JJ Enagbare stunted into the “b gap” (the gap in between the offensive tackle and the offensive guard). Enagbare, a future NFL draft pick, gets hooked by the guard. At the opposite defensive tackle spot, Zacch Pickens allowed the backside guard to climb to the second level and cut block Brad Johnson. All three are starting defensive linemen who didn’t get the job done. Ellis didn’t attack the outside shoulder of the center. Enagbare didn’t have the discipline to maintain the b gap. And Zacch Pickens allowed a Missouri offensive lineman to get the touchdown-deciding block because he didn’t do his job.
I am not an SEC defensive or offensive line coach, but I know what it looks like to get whipped. One of the many benefits of being a former lineman is I watch the line of scrimmage instead of the ball when watching a football game. And time and time again, Carolina lost on the line of scrimmage. Some of it was mental gaffs and some of it was physical limitations, but regardless, a lot of Carolina Gamecocks got whipped by Missouri Tigers.
So where does that leave us? Ken Venturi is famously attributed with the saying “The Masters doesn’t begin until the back nine on Sunday.”
In many ways, Shane Beamer’s inaugural season as the Gamecock head football coach begins this weekend against Auburn. On the one hand, Carolina has far exceeded most national pundits' expected win total. On the other hand, Carolina has looked like a pedestrian football team against most SEC competition. The final two games of this season could do a lot of good for Shane Beamer and this staff heading into the offseason.
And I don’t necessarily mean winning those games. (Yes, winning those two games would be incredible, but I am thinking long picture.) What these final two games present is an opportunity for this staff to not only show recruits what this program is capable of, but also further convince the current players in that locker room what the future of Carolina football holds.
The easiest way to do that is if the Carolina offensive and defensive lines play their best football. Because while physical limitations can be tough to overcome, there were times where I was focused, and motivated, and a little pissed off, and I dominated a better, stronger, more athletic man in front of me. Can Jovaughn Gwyn showcase his unbelievable strength? Can Jordan Burch finally live in opposing team’s backfields? Can Zacch Pickens dominate from the interior against a team not named Vanderbilt?
My heart of hearts knows they are capable of it, but it remains to be seen. Having these types of performances from the offensive and defensive lines will be tough, and it will require all of us. Because while many linemen don’t get recognized by fans, they do feed off their energy. Gamecock fans, you would have killed for a night game against Auburn back when you found out Mike Bobo was leaving for the plains of Alabama. Don’t waste this opportunity to cheer on the men who decided to stay here. Don’t waste this opportunity to cheer on the men who decided to come here.
These final two games will come down to line of scrimmage play. I hope y’all will join me in the crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday night in trying to make it just a little bit tougher on the visiting linemen dressed in those awful orange uniforms.
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