Originally posted by Joecool:Originally posted by oldman9er:Originally posted by Joecool:Originally posted by binary2nd:Originally posted by Joecool:Originally posted by oldman9er:
This morning, I watched the Packers replay. I kid you not, Rodgers had EIGHT seconds of protection at one point. 1 play is 1 play, but if Alex Smith gets 3 seconds of protection, that's generally a shocking display of awesomeness from our OL.
... just saying.
Alex will begin his scramble to the sidelines after 3 seconds no matter how good his protection is. He's done it 3 times that I have counted when the protection isn't budging and everyone is blocked solid. Not saying he gets more time than Rodgers, just saying there are times where he can stand in but chooses not to.
This hasn't really been a problem this year. The crappiness of our OL really becomes evident when you take a look at other teams around the league. He should've said something about MIA's line, because Henne literally had all day to throw. We're soooo far from that kind of OL, it's really quite a downer.
I don't agree. There are numerous times he can side step into a comfortable spot or hitch forward. Our pass blocking isn't terrible and the QB and his pocket presence and his use of the pocket/passing lanes can be that big difference from an average to a slightly below average line to an above average line.
I rewatched Sunday's game and noticed a few times when he had great protection except for an edge rusher appearing to close in on him. All he had to do was step one way nullifying the edge rush and be sitting nice and comfy in a 3 yard radius open pocket.
Of course I know the line hasn't been great but it's much better than last year and Alex could also make this line look much better.
Point out the times in each example, and I'll be happy to compare notes. What I do remember from prior games this year, is that Smith stepped in on many/most of his throws as the edge protection gave way. It was comical how often he had to do this... but I don't remember any examples you are describing from last week's game.
I pointed out two instances: early in the game when Staley was being pushed back but eventually held his ground, Alex had no one to his front, right-front, or to his right within 3 yards of him (everyone else was sealed off) and he decided to try and scramble front left right where Staley's man was. Staley had finally stopped the push and all Alex had to do was slide over to the right where he had ample room but he took the worst possible route to decide to scramble to.
There was also that play where Baas gave up pressure to Alex's front right. Alex did not budge and Baas was veering his man slightly to the right. Alex had nearly 4 yards of room to his front, front-left, and his left. He did not once think about side-stepping to his left.
He has hitched forward at times and it has made our OL look great because he ends up sitting pretty in a nice pocket after the hitch (this is where Baas over Hietman has helped the most). In these plays, he has found the second receiver and has been extremely accurate. However, most of the time, he stands there like a statue or he scrambles and commits 100% in that direction. I'm hoping this will come in time but it is making our OL appear worse than it is.
Most of the pressure has been from the outside but at the spot of Alex's last step in his drop which means that it can easily be diverted. Every QB/OL in the league deal with this. How many times have you seen Manny or one of our outside rushers run just behind the QB? I have seen it happen a lot but those QBs understand where they are in the pocket and where the pressure is coming from in turn taking an extra hitch forward or side-stepping.
The key to pressuring/sacking a QB is the 2nd man that reaches the QB but our QB easily gets sacked by the first man. That tells me his pocket awareness needs to improve. Our defense gets a lot of primary pressure but doesn't get the sack because the opposing QB knows where to go. On the other hand, our QB repeatedly gets sacked by the primary pressure when everyone else on the DL has been sealed off and blocked well.