The NFL has an Offensive Line Problem

[Hunter2_1]

I don't think we've ever experienced a time in the league's recent past with such ineptitude at one positional unit, as a whole. Your team, unless it's one of the obvious*, will probably have an offensive line that makes you at least concerned. 

Last season, and after one week this season, OLine play has resulted in almost total collapses of offensive play for some teams. Entire offensive units haven't been able to function as a direct result of how bad their OL has performed. Think about Seattle, Cinci, Houston, NYG. With the Bengals, they let Whitworth and Zeitler go, and made no attempt to rectify that. There are very few dominant Olines. 

Teams can rush 3 and still get pressure, one defender can implode a gameplan (Mike Daniels, for example, made it impossible for Wilson to function), rookie QBs are being put behind trash Olines and people wonder why they look like utter busts (Goff, Watson is next), offensive coordinators are continuously adopting quick passing gameplans, QBs are seeing ghosts and firing far too early (Eli Manning). It's all due to brutal OL play, league-wide.

As for reasoning, lets discuss it. Is it due to spread offense (lack of TE help), DL talent at an all-time high, lack of practice? A recent OL retiree (spoke on a football podcast) believes it's a result of a lack of continuity. I.E, chopping and changing, and trading members of the line. As we know, with the OL, It's crucial to work as a unit with understanding of each others' role. 

 

 

*Dal, Pit, Phi, Chi etc

[Johnny Nix]

I was just talking about this with a buddy. I think it has to do with college guys being more finesse type players with quick passing schemes. Basically large tight ends that haven't had to deal with grown men bull rushing them. 

For example: the two bengals tackles Cedric Ogbeuhi and Jake Fisher look the part, but get absolutely destroyed trying to block. Andy Dalton has maybe 2 seconds to get rid of the ball. They look super athletic but just can't block. 

I think we are seeing a lot of these type of lineman coming out these days. 

[RamRod]

I'm optimistic but I don't know if Goff will be the next QB bust because of his offensive line. I think Andrew Whitworth will do wonders for him and the pass protection against Indy was very good. I guess we'll see as the season progresses.

[Hunter2_1]

6 minutes ago, johndeere1707 said:

I was just talking about this with a buddy. I think it has to do with college guys being more finesse type players with quick passing schemes. Basically large tight ends that haven't had to deal with grown men bull rushing them. 

For example: the two bengals tackles Cedric Ogbeuhi and Jake Fisher look the part, but get absolutely destroyed trying to block. Andy Dalton has maybe 2 seconds to get rid of the ball. They look super athletic but just can't block. 

I think we are seeing a lot of these type of lineman coming out these days. 

It make sense, seeing that college leavers won't have filled out to the necessary size at 21/22/23. Pretty rare to be 6'6" and 320 lbs.

[Hunter2_1]

3 minutes ago, RamRod said:

I'm optimistic but I don't know if Goff will be the next QB bust because of his offensive line. I think Andrew Whitworth will do wonders for him and the pass protection against Indy was very good. I guess we'll see as the season progresses.

Last season though. Pretty brutal right? 

[RamRod]

Just now, Hunter2_1 said:

Last season though. Pretty brutal right? 

Yeah it was. Greg Robinson was terrible, Tim Barnes was pretty bad at center. Upgrades have been made at both.

[spilltray]

43 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said:

Think about Seattle, Cinci, Houston, NYG. With the Bengals, they let Whitworth and Zeitler go, and made no attempt to rectify that. There are very few dominant Olines.

You point out how the Bengals let guys go and didn't address it. Seattle's line has been a problem pretty much Wilson's entire career (at least pass blocking) and they keep on making trades for guys like Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham, or Sheldon Richardson, instead of acquiring quality OLs Heck with the Graham trade, they let go of their best OL.

 

13 minutes ago, johndeere1707 said:

I was just talking about this with a buddy. I think it has to do with college guys being more finesse type players with quick passing schemes. Basically large tight ends that haven't had to deal with grown men bull rushing them. 

For example: the two bengals tackles Cedric Ogbeuhi and Jake Fisher look the part, but get absolutely destroyed trying to block. Andy Dalton has maybe 2 seconds to get rid of the ball. They look super athletic but just can't block. 

I think we are seeing a lot of these type of lineman coming out these days. 

I don't think its an inherent problem with the prospects either. I think some teams get hung up on athletic numbers more than film. That's where you get guys who have all the paper attributes and look the part in shorts, but just don't have the blocking skills you'd hope for.

 

Yes, bad OLs are going to absolutely destroy some offenses. I agree with that part.

[Johnny Nix]

I also feel like there hasn't been many quality lineman coming out in recent years. 

[Hunter2_1]

6 minutes ago, spilltray said:

You point out how the Bengals let guys go and didn't address it. Seattle's line has been a problem pretty much Wilson's entire career (at least pass blocking) and they keep on making trades for guys like Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham, or Sheldon Richardson, instead of acquiring quality OLs Heck with the Graham trade, they let go of their best OL.

 

 

Yeah, exactly. Hence that team has a major issue. I put some blame onto Carroll for that, who's seemingly disinterested in his offense compared to how he prioritises defense. OL is so, so important. 

Teams that don't invest in their OL baffle me.

[Hunter2_1]

5 minutes ago, johndeere1707 said:

I also feel like there hasn't been many quality lineman coming out in recent years. 

Conklin and Decker look alright, in recent years. A lot more talented DL come out, don't they. Over a period of time, it was inevitable we ended up in a situation like this. 

[Hunter2_1]

Schwartz;

“The tempo is so fast in college now that the techniques just aren’t taught like they used to be,” Schwartz said. “Now it’s about guys trying to get back to the line of scrimmage and not finish. The spread offenses are nothing like the offenses you run in the NFL, so guys come in just not as prepared.”

From the youth level through college, players participate year-round in noncontact, seven-on-seven leagues and clinics for quarterbacks and skill players. The same opportunities do not exist for offensive linemen, at least in any meaningful way.

“There’s a lot of college offensive linemen that have never been in a three-point stance,”

 

Washington Post;

 

“You have to learn how to block,” the executive said. “Getting after a passer, getting up field, it doesn’t have to be as refined as offensive line play. There is far less time to develop skills that can only be developed through contact.”

The rash of awful offensive line play may improve as lines get more repetitions together at game speed. But horrific offensive line play led to a hideous Week 1.

Six teams failed to crack double-digit points and another, the New York Jets, got 12 but didn’t score a touchdown. As Gregg Rosenthal noted at NFL.com, 14 offenses gained fewer than 300 yards in Week 1, accounting for more than 46 percent of the teams who played. That didn’t occur with such frequency in any week last year, and only 22 percent of offenses gained fewer than 300 yards in the previous three Week 1s. Last year, only the Rams averaged fewer than 300 yards for the season.

[spilltray]

Just because there are a bunch of bad offenses with some really bad OLs, that doesn't mean there is a fundamental problem.

 

Technique can definitely be an issue but there are some teams who consistently draft people (at all positions) with poor technique and actual football skills, but great athletic measurable assuming they can teach them. Sometimes it works. Often it doesn't.  Most of the teams that had really bad OL week 1 DESERVE to have really bad OLs. They had bad OLs LAST year for the most part, or let key pieces go without really doing much to replace them. OL is the most unit based group on the field and finding something consistent and investing time is the only way to get and stay good.

[warfelg]

44 minutes ago, johndeere1707 said:

I was just talking about this with a buddy. I think it has to do with college guys being more finesse type players with quick passing schemes. Basically large tight ends that haven't had to deal with grown men bull rushing them. 

For example: the two bengals tackles Cedric Ogbeuhi and Jake Fisher look the part, but get absolutely destroyed trying to block. Andy Dalton has maybe 2 seconds to get rid of the ball. They look super athletic but just can't block. 

I think we are seeing a lot of these type of lineman coming out these days. 

This is what I came in here to say.  They were going on about it in depth on NFLRadio the other day about how these guys coming in now are just athletes with very little technique or skills that are asked to change over.  They talked about how many college linemen are also in the 290-310 range to keep up and the NFL still wants these guys at the 310-330 range to hold up against the run.

Teams are going to start going for smaller school systems that still run the pro-set offenses at a regular tempo to field them.

Let's also not forget that this is a chicken and egg argument.  Because at the start of spreads, there were still good quality OL play out there, but of course DL was still big lugs too.  Then colleges started taking good sizable athletes, and playing them at DE and DT.  So now to keep up the offenses needed better athletes at the OT and OG positions.

Torry Holt had the best story too: He was at a college spring practice (didn't say which one) and they had a freshman who was a good athlete, good hands, good size that was slated to play OT.  Upon noticing his athleticism, the DL coach pulled him aside and was doing some DE drills with him.  Holt said he went back to the school in August, and low and behold, that kid was now a full time DE.  So he talked at length about the guys with potential to be decent OT's are being poached by defensive coaches and turned into ok DE's/DT's because they have this size and length to play against the run and pass.  Really sounded like Holt was placing some of the blame on college programs and how the coach looking good means more than teaching players the right thing.

[hburn]

Money is on the defensive side of the ball, look at all the contracts defensive linemen get compared to o line. Kids just don't want to be offensive lineman anymore.

[Hunter2_1]

12 minutes ago, spilltray said:

Just because there are a bunch of bad offenses with some really bad OLs, that doesn't mean there is a fundamental problem.

 

 

I'm saying there is a fundamental, noticeable issue with the position. It's not just an aberration.