Pass-Protection Struggles in the Limelight

Five sacks not a good sign for neither Kessler nor the offensive line

Much of the fodder surrounding USC in its pre-season days centered around how the Trojans would replace or replenish the void left by departing senior defensive end Leonard Williams. When speaking of question marks, the defensive line conundrum almost always rose to the top of discussion.

Yet during the Trojans’ season opener against Arkansas State Saturday night, it was the offensive line that looked questionable, if not worrisome in its performance. In the first half, the seemingly deep and experienced group was flummoxed by the Arkansas St. pass rush resulting in not one, not two, not three, not four, but five sacks on QB Cody Kessler.

Right tackle Chad Wheeler put it bluntly after the contest: “Cody got hit too much … We’ve got work to do.”

READ MORE: Tre Madden and Turnovers Help USC Rout Arkansas St.

Despite the overwhelming victory, it was visibly clear that Wheeler and the other linemen were not pleased with their collective play. Not only was Kessler sacked five times in one half, but the sacks resulted in a total of 35 yards lost on offense. Those 35 yards may not seem like much, but it certainly kept the offense from getting into a consistent rhythm, stalling a handful of drives around midfield and in their own territory.

“We had a couple of blown assignments, which obviously were pretty glaring” head coach Steve Sarkisian admitted afterward. “There was a combination of things.”

On Sunday during his conference call with media, Sarkisian addressed the issues in retrospect, elaborating on those “combination of things” by saying they were two-fold, and not entirely the line’s fault.

(Per the OC Register, Sarkisian also said he would work with Kessler on his footwork in hopes of both limiting the sacks and maximizing the downfield accuracy.)

Though the game’s scoreline — and Kessler’s stat line of 4 TDs on a 73% completion rate — would seem to indicate otherwise, the shortcomings that resulted in the five sacks were glaring and subsequently addressed following the game.

“That’s something we gotta focus on,” reiterated Kessler. “We’re going to play a lot of teams that do that this year, and we can’t have a weakness up front.”

The Trojans were never supposed to lose this game, let alone struggle, but because the result was such a given, the critic’s magnifying glass turns instead to the one apparent weakness. On Saturday, whether it was Kessler’s fault, the line’s or both, that weakness looked to be the pass protection.

“We got gamed, meaning they ran some twists and some stunts up front that got to us,” Sarkisian explained. “I thought we shored it up a little bit better in the second half, but it will definitely be a point of emphasis when we go back to work on Monday.”

HIGHLIGHTS:

Throughout fall camp and into the season, the offensive line had seemingly benefited from a wealth of depth and talent. Sark proudly touted how they were “10-deep” at the position, but because it allowed both him and new line coach Bob Connelly to utilize a rotation system, there was a feeling that a lack of cohesion and consistency would have its lingering effects. After all, it was only a week or so before Saturday’s game that Sark finally settled upon a clear starting five.

Even when he did, he emphasized rotation, and the player who had seemingly received the most reps as the starting right guard, Viane Talamaivao, know found himself second in the depth chart behind utility man Toa Lobendahn.

Wheeler, who eventually regained his spot at left tackle after a knee injury kept him out of most of last year, was adamant after the game about the lack of continuity not being the problem, saying: “No, it’s always good to have guys you can put in on any next play, so you can be getting reps.”

In the second half, the improvement of the unit was very real. The Red Wolves did not sack Kessler in the backfield after halftime, making the line’s suboptimal performance more palatable for both players and coach alike.

“We played much better in the second half, which was a point of emphasis,” Sarkisian said, while Kessler echoed being pleased with the line’s attitude.

“They took it personally … Tuerk took it personally, he came over to me and apologized,” Kessler pointed out. “I told him, ‘Don’t worry about it, sacks happen.’”

The sample is as small as it can be, but at the very least, this is a development to monitor closely while the season progresses, especially if the starting line changes again.

One thing is certain: Whether it’s the line or Kessler who must improve, if USC had trouble defending Arkansas State’s pass rush, they will have to improve quickly to deal with what’s headed their way in conference play.

“Practice. Watch film and practice,” Wheeler said when asked what the team was going to do prevent repeating the missteps in the opener.

It may be that the defense’s ability to force turnovers during Saturday night’s game acted as a cover-up for the Trojans’ struggles in the trenches. On the other hand, it may also be that cohesion will come naturally with more practice and time, and that this line is too talented and too deep to not turn into one of the team’s strengths like it was portrayed to be. After one game, though, it appears there is some work to be done to get there.

You can reach Sports Editor Paolo Uggetti here, or follow him @PaoloUggetti

Highlights by Connor McGlynn, Matthew Tufts and Jodee Sullivan.