Ex-Cal Tackle Todd Steussie on the Impact of a Good Offensive Line

So, Todd, what is the importance of having an effective running game? Well, one, I think it's somewhat imprints on your team, the character of the type of team that you're gonna be, the tough, gritty team. But I would also say that having an effective running game allows you to really dictate the tempo and momentum of the game. Especially in the fourth quarter, if you have an effective running game, you're able to essentially run out the clock, run the team down. Fourth quarters when teams are offensive line are most effective or least effective. And if they're on their heels and doing nothing but pass blocking, it's hard to do anything other. If you become one dimensional, essentially, and you're not able to run the ball, you are putting yourself in a really bad corner as an offensive lineman where you're going to get someone that's faster, more athletic than you, and they are going to have some wins, and it makes it really hard. But if you're able to be consistent with the run and then be able to lean on it as a resource at the end of the game, it can be your closer. I can't remember whether we actually discussed this when I was taping, but you talked about how a good offensive line can make a mediocre running back good. Yeah, no, I mean, there's offensive lines, an effective offensive line that's consistent and reliable. I mean, they're gonna make a average running back look really good. I mean, if the running back doesn't get touched for the first five yards, they're gonna look pretty darn good if they can get up to full speed. But at the same time, you can wind up making the great running back look really, really bad. If you basically have penetration, it winds up changing a running back's trajectory, they have to bow. Once they go lateral, it's really hard to gain momentum again, so. And if you have a bad offensive line? Yeah, a bad offensive line can wind up, I mean, it can cause all kinds of problems for a running back. Like I said, their ability to go downhill and cut it back, well, now they're having to bow outside, losing all their momentum. And the cutback almost becomes impossible, it becomes forced based on some penetrating. So having a good offensive line is as key as a good running back. You can't have one, not the other.