Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: On Offensive Line, Only One Stat Matters
September 13, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be offensive linemen.
There may be more thankless jobs in this world — but none come to mind immediately.
There is no glory on the offensive line. Virtually every other position on the team is lauded by media and fans. Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, linebackers, defensive backs —  all get their share of acclaim when they play well. Even defensive linemen, the guys O-linemen are tasked with battling on every play, are celebrated when they are on top of their game.
But the only time people hear about offensive linemen is when things go wrong.
It's the name of the game and the curse of the position.
Quarterback sack? Blame the linemen. Running game struggling? Has to be the line's fault (even when, in both instances, there other myriad other reasons for lack of success).
But when offensive linemen do their job, when they play well, when they pave the way for a win, it is the "skill" position players who bask in the spotlight.
See that? Even the job descriptions are tilted against the big fellas in the trenches.
"Skill" positions are quarterback, running back, wide receiver.
But the men who must be powerful enough to square off with a 300-pound defensive tackle, quick enough to deal with charging linebackers and nimble enough to pull and lead the charge around the edge ahead of a running back?
For some reason, that's not a "skill" position. It is a nose-to-the-grindstone, keep-your-head-down and do-your-job spot.
The question, then, is why? Why play on the offensive line?
I went to Colorado offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, who played on the offensive line at Boise State, for answers.
According to Adams, it's not complicated.
It's just old school.
"If you embrace the toughness part of the game, if you are someone that doesn't listen to the noise, doesn't care about what other people think, doesn't care about stats — and cares about winning the game — that's what drives you to be an offensive lineman," Adams said. "It's the same thing that would drive you to be an offensive line coach. You like being around those type of people. You like being around toughness, you like to promote toughness, you like to promote unselfishness. Those are the characteristics and traits of an offensive lineman, and I think some people are kind of born into that."
Like most sports, football is statistically driven. Fans love big numbers — especially offense. But there are precious few easily digestible statistics that measure an offensive lineman, and oftentimes, they are "negative" statistics (for instance, sacks allowed).
A good offensive lineman pays no attention to those numbers.
"You don't go into a game with a plan to generate statistics," Adams said. "You don't go into a game with a plan to be popular. You go into a game to win the football game. There's times a defense is hell-bent on saying 'We're going to man you up outside and bring the house on your quarterback.' That makes our job harder — and we've embraced that."
That is, of course, exactly what happened at Nebraska. The Huskers played press coverage on CU's receivers all day and sent as many players as possible after Colorado quarterback Steven Montez at every opportunity.
The result — at least on the stat sheet — was seven quarterback sacks against the Buffs, a number that makes Adams flinch.
But when it came down to the decisive moment, when the game was on the line, the Buffs gave Montez all the protection he needed, allowing him enough time to toss a game-winning 40-yard touchdown pass over the top of Nebraska's defense. The Huskers brought the house on the front end and left the back end vulnerable.
The Buffs took advantage.
"We came out fast and played well early and I think we finished strong," Adams said. "There were times in the middle that we didn't play with the technique that we wanted or we didn't communicate exactly how we wanted. … But in the end, we put ourselves in position to win the game. That's the whole idea of being an offensive lineman. It doesn't matter if it's pretty or ugly — we're always trying to get better and at the end of the game we want to win. We were fortunate enough to do that last weekend and we know that we have to get better before this weekend if we want to do it again."
With just two veterans with significant starting experience up front — right guard Tim Lynott Jr. and right tackle Aaron Haigler — CU's offensive line is still a work in progress. The Buffs are still mixing and matching players at a couple of spots, a process we'll likely see much more of in Saturday's 3 p.m. home opener against New Hampshire (Pac-12 Mountain).
If the Buffs win, we will surely hear about the offensive and defensive stars.
The O-linemen, meanwhile, will be content with the win.
"You don't do it for publicity," Adams said. "That's the kind of person you have to be to be an offensive lineman and that's the type of person you have to be to be an offensive line coach. Not someone who wants to self-promote and not someone who wants credit for doing their job. You just want to do your job at a high level, and sometimes you do and sometimes you don't. But every single day, it's a process of getting better. That's our goal."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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