USC Football: Is Lane Kiffin Being Too Hard on the Revamped Offensive Line?

Talk about being tough to please...

After the Trojans 23-14 win over Utah, most Trojan fans were pleasantly surprised —and pleased—with the offensive line's performance over a tough Utah defensive line.

Not head coach Lane Kiffin though.

Instead, Kiffin lamented that despite the fact that the Trojans rushed for 152 yards and only allowed one sack, they should have done better, much better.

In fact, Kiffin said that given the fact that Utah was playing their safeties so deep in their efforts to slow down a potent Trojan passing game, they should have done much better rushing and that he would open up some spots, in particular the guard opposite John Martinez, to renewed competition.

That competition would likely be between true freshmens, Aundrey Walker and Marcus Martin, both huge but unproven commodities.

Of course, this may be a calculated move on Kiffin's part with necessity being the driving force in any upcoming changes.

After Martin Coleman replaced an ineffective Jeremy Galten at the guard spot for the Utah game, he suffered a shoulder injury after having a good game until leaving.

Now with Coleman's arm in a sling and lineman Abe Markowitz still nursing a sore foot, Kiffin is back to square one at that guard spot which has been a source of concern since day one of training camp.

Which brings us back to the youngsters, Walker and Martin.

Both are mammoth-young men, and make no mistake about it, they are the future of the Trojan offensive line.

But are they the "now" in 2011?

That is the question Kiffin will be trying to answer.

To be certain, Kiffin has little choice in taking another look at the youngsters due to the fact that he just doesn't have a lot of options along the offensive line.

He knows what he has in Galten, but neither of the youngsters have game experience.

They may soon.

In the meantime, Kiffin and his offensive line coach James Cregg will leave no stone unturned as they attempt to craft a solid unit to protect quarterback Matt Barkley and open some holes for the running game.

Yet, given the fact that this unit was the single largest concern for the Trojans going into the season, the "big uglies" haven't played too badly and they seem to be getting better by the week.

So maybe throw the boys a bone Coach Kiffin and say something nice about them once in awhile eh?

After all, didn't your mother tell you if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?