The Ra-Hooligan: Gotta Give Credit to That O-Line

Sitting high above the action at Lafayette's Fisher Field Saturday during the first quarter, I started to worry. By this time, as my logic and friends had told me, Harvard should be up at least two touchdowns.

Instead, only five minutes remained in the quarter and the high-powered Crimson offensive onslaught that was so prevalent against Brown had failed to materialize.

In its place, a scrambling, stumbling offense had failed to get a first down. In fact, the Harvard offense through the first three series had lost 32 yards. Lafayette was leading 7-0, and most of us sitting up in the press box couldn't figure out how the Crimson might break out of the slump.

As it turned out, of course, I needn't have worried. Harvard rolled off 21 unanswered points and ended up winning 42-19. Junior quarterback Neil Rose impressed once again, throwing for three touchdowns and running for two more. Fifth-string tailback Nick Palazzo picked up 101 yards, and the defense shut down any semblance of a Leopard attack.

Behind the flashy offensive numbers (379 total yards, 265 passing yards), however, another, more important reason for the Crimson's recent success hides. This is, as all football fans and observers know, the offensive line in the "battle in the trenches."

This weekend's game can essentially be split into two parts: the first quarter and all the others. Harvard started its first possession with what could be construed as a potentially bad omen. Center Jason Hove, starting instead of John Kadzielski, the usual center, tossed a high snap to Rose, who was in the shotgun formation. Rose bobbled the snap, and was sacked and called for intentional grounding. The Crimson ended up going three-and-out.

On the next try, Lafayette was able to pressure the offense on three consecutive plays, resulting in an incomplete pass, a quarterback scramble and a sack.

It got worse still. On Harvard's next possession, Rose was sacked for a loss of 12 yards. Then he was flushed out of the pocket for an incomplete pass. Finally he took another bad snap, looked for the option and instead saw four Lafayette defenders running at him. He quickly ran out of bounds to set up fourth-and-26.

"We came out slow," Harvard captain and starting left tackle Mike Clare said. "We were more reacting to their defense than setting up ourselves."

After those possessions, something happened to the offensive line that settled the players down. Their play became fluid, smooth and consistent. For the remainder of the first quarter and all of the second, the line neutralized the Lafayette blitz to almost nothing. In addition, Kadzielski, who's 6'2, 260 lbs., was substituted for Hove. Rose suddenly had time to look at all his options, increasing his accuracy and ability to throw the ball down the field.

As the "O-line" continued to excel, Harvard punished Lafayette both mentally and physically. The offense rolled off scoring drives of 59, 80 and 51 yards, respectively. At that point, the game was over.

The most striking and easily observable change came in the running game. Considering Harvard was decimated by backfield injuries, a balanced attack was the last thing anybody expected to see. Palazzo, who started at No. 5 on the depth chart, was backed up only by Dan Miree, normally a defensive back who had last played running back in high school.

Palazzo had one carry in the first quarter. That's it. At 5'8, 190 lbs., he's not a power back.

Instead, it was up to the offensive line to make holes for the miniscule Palazzo to squirt through. Not only did they succeed in that respect, but the field was so wide open that the speedy Palazzo gained 55 yards in the second quarter alone. Those yards relieved Rose of having to do it all on his own.

"Early on, we were just misfiring and we had a lot of jitters," right guard Dan Kistler said. "We're a good offense once we gel."

An important aspect of this gelling process is new offensive line Coach Jim Turner. A Boston College graduate, Turner returned back to the Hub after an exemplary one-year stint as line coach at Louisiana Tech. That team led the nation in passing yards (402.1 yards per game), and was second in total offense. A lot of that fed off Turner's work on the line.

"It's great that we got [Turner] on this team," Kistler said. "He brings a lot of discipline and energy. He's intense, and the offensive line responds to that."

"But he's not the yelling type," Clare added.

Both Kistler and Clare agree that Turner's biggest contribution during the Lafayette game was helping them with the little adjustments necessary to pick up different defensive schemes and blocking patterns.

One of the most interesting developments to watch over the course of the season will be the offensive line's improvement. Along with Kadzielski, Clare and Kistler are left guard Dan Weidle and right tackle Steve Collins. If the guys up front can win the war on the line, then Harvard can work on getting the ball down the field.

It's a simple premise, really.

"We figured out that if we give Neil Rose four seconds, he threads the needle," Clare said.

For a team that needs to throw to win, those four seconds may be the most important.