No matter the team, no matter the league, the offensive line is immensely important. NFL, FBS, FCS, Division 3, jayvee high school ball, whatever. In order to protect your QB, you need a passable offensive line. Want a running game? You better have a good O-Line. For evidence, look back through the immense history of football; or, for a recent-and-local example, simply look at the Kansas City Chiefs, version 2007. A Top 10 RB in the NFL, a Top 2 TE, a Top 20 WR and a host of other, capable skill position players all were on the team last year. A single average offensive lineman (except Brian Waters) was not. And thus, one of the worst offensive seasons in NFL history, and the worst in Chiefs history.

Last season, Kansas rode a tremendous offensive line, highlighted by two offensive tackles, to a 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl. You know that. You also know that both of those offensive tackles, one of them a First Team All-American and NFL Draft choice and the other a three-year starter, have since departed. Add the two together and you get the biggest hole on the team; replacing two of the best offensive linemen in school history in one offseason. Some positive reports out of fall practice sessions seemed to indicate that the problem seemed to be solved, at least at left tackle with Jeff Spikes. Right tackle was still up-in-the-air, although Jeremiah Hatch had quite a fall himself.

However, all of this blew up when Jeremiah Hatch couldn't play against FIU. And then, the supposed strength of not only the O-Line but of the entire offense, the interior threesome of Adrian Mayes, Ryan Cantrell and Chet Hartley, didn't perform up to expectations. This is how you struggle in the running game against, statistically, one of the worst defenses in college football last season. If we are to have a chance against some of the better teams on our schedule, and maybe even some middle-of-the-road type of teams such as Louisiana Tech, we have to have improved offensive line play.

My solutions for how we can get this done after the jump...

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