O-Line Observation

I think what really hurt is that Nolan didn't pay enough attention to the O-Line and the D-Line...getting a good O-line Coordinator, etc.

Hopefully this year will be different

Originally posted by Jikkle49:
Well one problem is our O-Line isn't overly talented in the first place but I think they are a lot better than people give them credit for.

I do believe a problem we have is defenses at the moment really have no respect for our passing game which means they are going to focus more on the blitz rather than worry about coverage. I mean obviously when we give up a gaudy number of sacks, as a defensive coordinator I'm going to be blitzing like crazy unless they start doing serious damage.

Which is why I think we'll be helped if VD gets more involved in the passing game. If we can dump off the ball to him when we get blitzed and he racks up the YAC than you'll force defenses to call off the dogs a bit and have to focus more on coverage.

Also another key problem to consider is our offense in general has been lousy at putting themselves in manageable 3rd downs. When you're in a spot where you need 8 to 10 yards for the first than the defense has a serious advantage because they know you have to pass on top of having to throw a moderate ranged pass. That means you can put on the blitz without much concern with the QB dumping it off to the RB or other very short blitz killing routes.

So with all that said I think the major key is not exactly our OL play but mainly defeating the pass rush by making sure we make teams pay for blitzing.

Defenses that know they are playing "running teams" tend to be relaxed and aggressive because they are not worried about getting hurt on one play.

A conservative, ball control offense has never scared a defense in the history of the NFL.

The Olineman are best at mauling, they are maulers, run blockers thats what they are good at..Pass blocking they are not there yet.

Our run OL has been good to awesome. 3 years ago Gore ran for 1600+ yards, even under Hostler the line helped Gore get 1000+ yards and defenses new what play we were going to call and played 8 in the box. Last year Gore missed 2-3 games still got 1000 yards in Martz offense.

Our pass line has struggled due to injuries, moving players, around Hostler as OC, then Martz system which did not permit Hill to audible out of a play. I expect this year the sacks will be way down since Hill can now audible, Staley is starting his second season on the left side. Hill will pass to VD more (thrown to only 30-35 times last year), WR and TE will be doing shorter routes and I believe the 3 second drill they did in camp this year will be a huge help for Hill and the rest of the team. IMO Raye is trying the passing game around Hills strengths vs. Martz who insisted that you play his system even if the QB strengths do not match up to your system.

Now just cut Sims and bring in Langston Walker and fix the damn thing !

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by Jikkle49:
Well one problem is our O-Line isn't overly talented in the first place but I think they are a lot better than people give them credit for.

I do believe a problem we have is defenses at the moment really have no respect for our passing game which means they are going to focus more on the blitz rather than worry about coverage. I mean obviously when we give up a gaudy number of sacks, as a defensive coordinator I'm going to be blitzing like crazy unless they start doing serious damage.

Which is why I think we'll be helped if VD gets more involved in the passing game. If we can dump off the ball to him when we get blitzed and he racks up the YAC than you'll force defenses to call off the dogs a bit and have to focus more on coverage.

Also another key problem to consider is our offense in general has been lousy at putting themselves in manageable 3rd downs. When you're in a spot where you need 8 to 10 yards for the first than the defense has a serious advantage because they know you have to pass on top of having to throw a moderate ranged pass. That means you can put on the blitz without much concern with the QB dumping it off to the RB or other very short blitz killing routes.

So with all that said I think the major key is not exactly our OL play but mainly defeating the pass rush by making sure we make teams pay for blitzing.

Defenses that know they are playing "running teams" tend to be relaxed and aggressive because they are not worried about getting hurt on one play.

A conservative, ball control offense has never scared a defense in the history of the NFL.

This..


Is SO true.

So after today, the perception of our o-line has to change considerably. From what I saw today, our o-line problems seem to be more related to scheme and the guys working well within the coached scheme. I say that because of the way it breaksdown.

The o-line has good plays, and then plays where a defender just seems to come free. That is a symptom of guys missing blocking assignments because they are making the wrong calls and reads at the line before the ball is snapped.

On the issue of our pocket -- it has been an issue for us for years now. For some reason, our o-line doesn't set a consistant pocket - that then degrades predictably. (sometimes referred to as "graceful degradation" -- meaning that as the system fails, it does so predicably and relatively slowly).

No pocket can hold forever -- except occassionally when there are only 3 rushers. The key is that the o-line develops the cohesiveness to be consistant in how the pocket degrades in different situations -- that way the QB can keep their eyes downfield and knows instinctively where to "slide" in the pocket under different DL rushes.

For us, the pocket seems to breakdown unpredictably - and it has been doing that ever since Garcia was our QB. The turnover in coaches and players makes it very hard to develop a coherent o-line. That is particularly true when you change OCs every year.

This crew seems to have some raw talent - now it just needs time to gel as a unit and the new offense. Unfortunately, they often takes more than 1 season of such stability for it to really produce great OLs.

(PS - We'll see if new addition of Tony Pathos doesn't enter the line at some point if Bass or Snyder don't cut it.)

the oline got manhandled today. they looked pathetic. synder looked exactly what he is, a backup. bass got blown up

I think a play action long pass on the 1st play would have backed the cards off and would have said yeah we are a running team but don't think we won't go deep. I guess Bruce's 50 yard TD said that but that was later.