I reviewed every offensive play for FBS games in slow motion and stop action. For each OL I determined if the block they were attempting was effective or ineffective. Generally speaking, if the defender gets off the attempted block quickly, I consider it to be ineffective. If no attempt is made to block a defender, I make no notation. I do not keep statistics for games against non division one opponents. I include performances which have been nullified by penalty.
This analysis is not an attempt to grade the OL which would take into consideration many more aspects of an OL’s performance.
I express the results in ratios. For instance, a 3.0:1 ratio means that the OL had 3 effective blocks for every 1 ineffective block. Obviously, the higher the ratio, the better the performance.
In an attempt to give greater coherence to the data, I have created three categories: clearly good, mediocre, and clearly bad. The delineation of these categories is solely based on past, Miami, OL performance and they have been modified from time to time.
Run Blocking:
Less than 3.3:1=clearly bad
Between 3.3:1 - 5.0:1=mediocre
More than 5.0:1=clearly good
Pass Blocking:
Less than 5.7:1=clearly bad
Between 5.7:1 - 9.5:1=mediocre
More than 9.5:1=clearly good
I also keep track of good key blocks and bad key blocks. The categories are self explanatory, but, since all effective pass blocks are good key blocks, I do not bother to include them. But ineffective pass blocks can qualify as bad key blocks.
Season
Clearly Good (>5.0:1)
1. Campbell was effective on all 10 attempts.
2. Milo 6.5:1
Mediocre (3.3:1 - 5.0:1)
3. Gaynor 3.7:1
4. Boulware 3.4:1
Clearly Bad (<3.3:1)
5. Scaife 3.1:1
6. Gauthier 2.6:1
8. St Louis 2.4:1
8. Jones 2.4:1
9. Mahoney 2.3:1
10. Donaldson 2.2:1
11. Hillery 2.0:1
12. Reed 0.6:1
Pass Blocking
Clearly Good (>9.5)
1. Campbell was effective on his only attempt.
Mediocre (5.7:1 - 9.5:1)
2. Gauthier 8.2:1
3. Mahoney 7.4:1
4. Boulware 6.9:1
5. Donaldson 6.8:1
6. Jones 6.6:1
Clearly Bad (<5.7:1)
7. Scaife 5.4:1
8. Gaynor 5.0:1
9. St Louis 4.9:1
Key Blocks (Good)
1. Gauthier 78
2. Donaldson 65
3. Boulware 58
4. St Louis 50
5. Mahoney 46
6. Scaife 36
7. Jones 35
8. Gaynor 6
9. Milo 5
10. Campbell 4
11. Hillery 1
Key Blocks (Bad)
1. Gauthier 64
2. St Louis 57
3. Donaldson 54
4. Scaife 46
5. Mahoney 43
6. Jones 33
7. Boulware 35
8. Gaynor 4
9. Reed 1
General Observations:
1. I waited three years before commenting on coach Searles. No one improved appreciably under his tutelage during his time at Miami. I conclude that he couldn’t coach a lick. His departure might be one of the most important moves Coach Diaz has made.
2. I have done this for 11 years and this is the first time that none of the OL that played a fair amount of time made the clearly good category for either run or pass blocking.
3. Boulware was probably the best OL and he wasn’t very good.
4. Not one OL on the roster was adept at blocking in space.
5. Donaldson had a bad true Freshman year when he played OT primarily. He was moved to OG last season which was supposed to be a better fit and he regressed. I think he needs to lose a lot of weight, not just 10-15 lbs. He was off balance a lot last season. He was on the ground way too much.
6. Scaife had a bad year as a true Freshman, but he showed some promise.
7. I am not optimistic about the OL’s performance in 2019, largely because no returning OL on the roster has distinguished themselves.
This analysis is not an attempt to grade the OL which would take into consideration many more aspects of an OL’s performance.
I express the results in ratios. For instance, a 3.0:1 ratio means that the OL had 3 effective blocks for every 1 ineffective block. Obviously, the higher the ratio, the better the performance.
In an attempt to give greater coherence to the data, I have created three categories: clearly good, mediocre, and clearly bad. The delineation of these categories is solely based on past, Miami, OL performance and they have been modified from time to time.
Run Blocking:
Less than 3.3:1=clearly bad
Between 3.3:1 - 5.0:1=mediocre
More than 5.0:1=clearly good
Pass Blocking:
Less than 5.7:1=clearly bad
Between 5.7:1 - 9.5:1=mediocre
More than 9.5:1=clearly good
I also keep track of good key blocks and bad key blocks. The categories are self explanatory, but, since all effective pass blocks are good key blocks, I do not bother to include them. But ineffective pass blocks can qualify as bad key blocks.
Season
Clearly Good (>5.0:1)
1. Campbell was effective on all 10 attempts.
2. Milo 6.5:1
Mediocre (3.3:1 - 5.0:1)
3. Gaynor 3.7:1
4. Boulware 3.4:1
Clearly Bad (<3.3:1)
5. Scaife 3.1:1
6. Gauthier 2.6:1
8. St Louis 2.4:1
8. Jones 2.4:1
9. Mahoney 2.3:1
10. Donaldson 2.2:1
11. Hillery 2.0:1
12. Reed 0.6:1
Pass Blocking
Clearly Good (>9.5)
1. Campbell was effective on his only attempt.
Mediocre (5.7:1 - 9.5:1)
2. Gauthier 8.2:1
3. Mahoney 7.4:1
4. Boulware 6.9:1
5. Donaldson 6.8:1
6. Jones 6.6:1
Clearly Bad (<5.7:1)
7. Scaife 5.4:1
8. Gaynor 5.0:1
9. St Louis 4.9:1
Key Blocks (Good)
1. Gauthier 78
2. Donaldson 65
3. Boulware 58
4. St Louis 50
5. Mahoney 46
6. Scaife 36
7. Jones 35
8. Gaynor 6
9. Milo 5
10. Campbell 4
11. Hillery 1
Key Blocks (Bad)
1. Gauthier 64
2. St Louis 57
3. Donaldson 54
4. Scaife 46
5. Mahoney 43
6. Jones 33
7. Boulware 35
8. Gaynor 4
9. Reed 1
General Observations:
1. I waited three years before commenting on coach Searles. No one improved appreciably under his tutelage during his time at Miami. I conclude that he couldn’t coach a lick. His departure might be one of the most important moves Coach Diaz has made.
2. I have done this for 11 years and this is the first time that none of the OL that played a fair amount of time made the clearly good category for either run or pass blocking.
3. Boulware was probably the best OL and he wasn’t very good.
4. Not one OL on the roster was adept at blocking in space.
5. Donaldson had a bad true Freshman year when he played OT primarily. He was moved to OG last season which was supposed to be a better fit and he regressed. I think he needs to lose a lot of weight, not just 10-15 lbs. He was off balance a lot last season. He was on the ground way too much.
6. Scaife had a bad year as a true Freshman, but he showed some promise.
7. I am not optimistic about the OL’s performance in 2019, largely because no returning OL on the roster has distinguished themselves.
