49ers Offensive Line

Originally posted by pillageDatazz:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by BubbaParisMVP:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by BubbaParisMVP:
All of the sudden Colby looked real good again and Puni was a lot more mobile. Total coincidence, though, right?

We had 9 runs of 5 or more yards PRIOR to Brendel going out.

Puni was much better right from the start. He looked more like the 2024 version than at any time this year.

Puni got steamrolled on the first snap of the game and allowed a sack

Yes. but after that he was solid.

Once Kyle initiated the run-first offense, and let the OL attack instead of sitting back waiting for someone to try to run over them, they all played better.

Right, and Kittle was back to help with the run game, and Jennings' blocking was a week healthier, and Divine Deablo had an early exit for the Falcons. You can "well, actually" any number of things about Hennessy's performance, but the line looked a lot better with him in there, especially the guards. Their pulls actually looked like pulls for once.

The run game was cooking when Brendel was in the game. It did not get better after the injury, it just continued to do well, as per Shanahan's comments in his presser.

That's his love child, of course he'll back him up with those kind of words... he's probably already thinking of putting him back in no matter if Hennessy looks better and the O line plays better

Kyle's comment was about Hennessy continuing to play the way the offense had been going. It was not about Brendel.

Originally posted by dj43:
Kyle's comment was about Hennessy continuing to play the way the offense had been going. It was not about Brendel.

My mistake

So, this is great to know... if Hennessy and O line look really good next couple of weeks, then seems we might have a new starting center. Maybe Brendel will practice / train harder to gain his spot back, and maybe then he could be a solid back up

Originally posted by pillageDatazz:

Originally posted by dj43:
Kyle's comment was about Hennessy continuing to play the way the offense had been going. It was not about Brendel.

My mistake

So, this is great to know... if Hennessy and O line look really good next couple of weeks, then seems we might have a new starting center. Maybe Brendel will practice / train harder to gain his spot back, and maybe then he could be a solid back up

Hennessy has played guard. He was brought in for IOL depth, but primarily Center.

I recall seeing off-season pictures of Brendel in the weight room doing some serious lifting and unique equipment.

we got a solid oline now with colby and hennesy as starters, mac jones will have time to operate next game

even all pro Oline miss blocks.

Originally posted by Team49ers:
we got a solid oline now with colby and hennesy as starters, mac jones will have time to operate next game

Colby has consistently been the lowest rated OL this year. He is only starting due to the injury to Ben Bartch.

The good news is, Dominick Puni had his best game of the season Sunday Night. If he can get back to his 2024 form, it will make a huge difference in IOL play. That will be important because Houston has three good DTs that are good at rushing the passer.

It is helpful to look at offensive line performance across the league and compare pass block ratings to run block ratings. What we see is that pass blocking is easier on the end of the line than it is in the IOL, and the difference is dramatic.

It may not be a big surprise to see that the best pass blockers are OTs, the premium position.. 12 of the top 15 are rated higher in pass blocking than run blocking, and that trend continues on down the list. I believe that is due to both better athletes play the position, and the fact they do not have to deal with all the noise in the interior of the line. Tackles can focus on one guy with fewer twists, angles and what-not.

Guards see a drop-off in pass blocking where only 7 of the top 15 are better pass blockers than run blockers. Two interesting anomalies are top-rated Quentin Nelson with a pass blocking rating of 55.5 versus an other-worldly 91.8 in run blocker, and #2 ranked Kevin Dotson with a 58.9/84.3. (I'll leave it up to others to guess why these two guys can't pass block very well.) The noise and confusion in the IOL makes pass protection more problematic.

When we get to Center, apart from best in the league superman Creed Humphrey, only two of the top 15 are better at pass blocking than run blocking. So much clutter inside makes it harder to pass block effectively. You can throw a blanket over Brendel and five other guys that all rate in the mid-high 50s in pass blocking.

I suppose one could conclude that Center/guard is a position that does not attract as many good athletes as the more visible, higher paid positions, hence the quality of pass blocking and overall play is not as good. However, a good case can be made for IOL being the target of more stunts that make it more difficult to pass block. It is easier to just fire off and run block than it is to stand up and try to figure out who is coming from where.

Originally posted by DRCHOWDER:

#LIONS TACKLE PENEI SEWELL IS 335 POUNDS AND 6-FOOT-5 AND IS FASTER THAN SOME RUNNING BACKS.

😳😳😳

HOLY SH*T. HE CAN FLY.
pic.twitter.com/RETme00dyr

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 21, 2025

even all pro Oline miss blocks.

The head slap before he took off Luckily for 31 he didn't make contact cause he easily could've broke something and concussed

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by pillageDatazz:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by BubbaParisMVP:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by BubbaParisMVP:
All of the sudden Colby looked real good again and Puni was a lot more mobile. Total coincidence, though, right?

We had 9 runs of 5 or more yards PRIOR to Brendel going out.

Puni was much better right from the start. He looked more like the 2024 version than at any time this year.

Puni got steamrolled on the first snap of the game and allowed a sack

Yes. but after that he was solid.

Once Kyle initiated the run-first offense, and let the OL attack instead of sitting back waiting for someone to try to run over them, they all played better.

Right, and Kittle was back to help with the run game, and Jennings' blocking was a week healthier, and Divine Deablo had an early exit for the Falcons. You can "well, actually" any number of things about Hennessy's performance, but the line looked a lot better with him in there, especially the guards. Their pulls actually looked like pulls for once.

The run game was cooking when Brendel was in the game. It did not get better after the injury, it just continued to do well, as per Shanahan's comments in his presser.

That's his love child, of course he'll back him up with those kind of words... he's probably already thinking of putting him back in no matter if Hennessy looks better and the O line plays better

Kyle's comment was about Hennessy continuing to play the way the offense had been going. It was not about Brendel.

What, you really think he'd throw a player under the bus like that? What else do you expect him to say? I suppose you were also relieved to hear that Salah says he's concentrating on this Sunday's game rather than a head coaching opportunity? Drop the sophistry.

Having re-watched the game, it's pretty clear that Hennessy has a real edge in terms of athleticism over Brendell. His quickness when moving into the gap left by a pulling guard is a big improvement and, once there, he stays on his feet and seals the defense from moving in the play-side direction. He repeatedly was able to help the guards while dealing with a bull rush of his own and stayed on his feet while doing so. His footwork is way cleaner than Brendell's and it allows him to stay on his feet and supplement his primary assignment and get into the second level.

That being said, ATL's D-line values speed over size, so there's a very real chance that Hennessy benefited from a favorable matchup. You're certainly not wrong about the run game simmering prior to Brendell's exit. We clearly had an unusual plan in place to exploit ATL and it was working, but there's no getting around the fact that some of CMCs best runs of the night occurred with Hennessy in the game and playing a decisive role in those plays.

Originally posted by dj43:
It is easier to just fire off and run block than it is to stand up and try to figure out who is coming from where.

Oh, please. That's not at all how center play works. The center is the QB of the line, he, more than anyone else should know what to do. He may sometimes guess wrong, but he's never in a position where he has to "stand up and try to figure out what to do." That's not a center, that's an idiot. And idiots don't play center.

Granted, our offense is a little weird, so the center doesn't always have the final say--or so I've been told by sources I think are reputable. Put differently, I've heard that enough times that I assume it's true, but I can't honestly say that I really know that. Nobody outside the building really does. The reason for that is simple, nobody talks about O-line play calls. That's top secret and you don't let that stuff out of the building. Nobody really knows that until years after the fact and the vets start talking--and at that point nobody finds it very interesting. Well, except for beat up old O-line dudes that know the joy of a feigning zone but... Nobody cares about that.

It's also why PFF has an undeniable methodology problem, and while it's true that teams utilize PFF grades, PFF never knows the actual playcall, nor the O-line assignment calls--and there are multiple calls on the line, making it even more impossible for PFF to get it right. The best they can do is infer. They can never claim to really know with certainty and you should stop trying to use PFF in the same way that a Bible thumper likes to say "Bible sez!" "PFF sez!" isn't an argument. It's an assumption, at best. Worse, it's an assumption that cannot be invalidated because nobody has that data available...including PFF. You don't know what PFF says, you merely have faith in PFF. PFF is not science, it's merely a tool. And that's how teams use it, as a tool--among many. It's anything but the final word.

I salute your commitment to Brendell. Anyone that wants to go to bat for an offensive lineman is a-okay with me. But you're hellbent upon trying to Saber-metrics something that isn't quantifiable unless you know the play call and the blocking assignment. And you don't. Nor does PFF, and the guys that actually know it don't want to say it. So you, like me, are just guessing.

That said, I do know Hennessy has better feet than Brendell--it's all over the tape. What remains to be seen is whether Hennessy can hold his own against bigger, heavier DTs. Neither of us know that yet and I suppose that's why the coaches prefer Brendell, which is hard to imagine given the grass stains on his arse. Time will tell.

Good teams always expose this unit.

Always!

Got their asses handed to them today. Happens too many times, and when they play against more talented DLs like today it's a complete mismatch.

Originally posted by LottDMontanaO:
Got their asses handed to them today. Happens too many times, and when they play against more talented DLs like today it's a complete mismatch.

That's always been my argument. Kyle can only scheme so much. Once we run into a top unit they simply get beat. This is exactly what you run into as you get deeper into the playoffs. Mckivitz got destroyed today.

So my frustration has been why not try and get better talent along the line? We would be unbeatable.

It was always going to be a struggle against a talented d-line while missing our starting center.

Originally posted by Cisco0623:
That's always been my argument. Kyle can only scheme so much. Once we run into a top unit they simply get beat. This is exactly what you run into as you get deeper into the playoffs. Mckivitz got destroyed today.

So my frustration has been why not try and get better talent along the line? We would be unbeatable.

Shanahan thinks his scheme can negate mediocre linemen.

The problem is when we can't run the ball and have no play action this line is not suited to be a pass blocking Oline and play from behind.

They are mediocre at every single position.