The blind side has been a myth for a long time

[Nastradamus]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-blind-side-era-is-over-at-the-nfl-draft/

[TecmoSuperJoe]

Yeah, big whoop. Wanna fight about it?

[Iamcanadian]

Yeah, that is why 2 teams San Fran and Oakland, drafted potential LT's way too high in this year's draft and why every elite LT prospect always gets drafted top 5. Seriously, the health of your QB is the #2 priority on offense in the draft and LT's protect the QB's blindside.

[Raves]

I'm not reading the article, but I think the idea that the LT is the most vital OL position might be over.  With teams looking to put dominant pass rushers all across the DL that you need to have great players at every position of the OL, especially with guys like Donald being in the NFL and causing more disruption through the middle than their teammates on the outside, so your OGs and Centers are going to be increasing in value as well.  Then you add in the fact that teams are pairing players like Von Miller and Bradley Chubb to have dominant pass rushers coming off of both ends, you need to start looking at improving your RT position as well.  It's no longer just a "blind side" era, but an increase importance on the OL period.

[Iamcanadian]

1 minute ago, Raves said:

I'm not reading the article, but I think the idea that the LT is the most vital OL position might be over.  With teams looking to put dominant pass rushers all across the DL that you need to have great players at every position of the OL, especially with guys like Donald being in the NFL and causing more disruption through the middle than their teammates on the outside, so your OGs and Centers are going to be increasing in value as well.  Then you add in the fact that teams are pairing players like Von Miller and Bradley Chubb to have dominant pass rushers coming off of both ends, you need to start looking at improving your RT position as well.  It's no longer just a "blind side" era, but an increase importance on the OL period.

Sorry, but the QB's blindside is where he is most vulnerable to injury, because he cannot always see the pass rush coming from that side and must depend on his LT's ability to pass protect and his internal clock. A pass rush against the middle always has 3 blockers on 2 pass rushers, so it is not as serious a threat and just because one or 2 players are good at it, the QB can still see it developing and try to make adjustments, ditto for a pass rush against the RT.

Of course team would love to have pass rushers at every DL position, but they are still quite rare and still most come from the QB's blindside. Not too many Denver situations in the league!!!

As long as the NFL is a pass first league, LT will remain as the #2 most important position on offense next to the QB. It will only lose some importance on teams using a run first offense.

[lod01]

It's not as important simply because a defender cannot destroy a QB even from the blindside. Hit him to violently and there's a chance a flag gets throw. Driving him into the ground, putting your whole weight on him as you fall, a little to high in the neck head area, a little to low in the leg area. You have to wrap him up and lay him down on the ground like a baby. Some guys have it down on how to tackle where they put their arms out as they fall on the QB in order to not get a penalty.

The blindside was all about hitting the QB and knocking him out of the game. Real hard to do that now.

 

[game3525]

Left tackle is the most overvalued position in the NFL.

I have said it before, but most NFL teams do not run a 7-step drop passing game anymore. Everything is a three-step drop, which reduces the importance of the tackle position because the QB isn't holding the ball long.

[Broncofan]

1 hour ago, game3525 said:

Left tackle is the most overvalued position in the NFL.

I have said it before, but most NFL teams do not run a 7-step drop passing game anymore. Everything is a three-step drop, which reduces the importance of the tackle position because the QB isn't holding the ball long.

This x 10000.  

I would only add the less mobile or decisive your QB is, the greater potential disaster your blindside presents.   And it still holds that LT requires more than RT to excel.   But the gap is a lot closer than it used to be.  

[khaosoy]

Nothing has changed in as far as the actual blind side of a QB. A right-handed thrower will not be able to see a rusher coming up from the opposite side of his body so the LT generally needs to hold that player up. Sure, there are now more creative defensive schemes that have players coming from all angles but a QB should naturally be able to scan about of the space around him150 degrees, it's that 30 that's accounted for with an elite LT. Its still the most important position on the OL and the hardest to fill with top level talent. 

 

[jrry32]

I've been saying this for years. The smart teams recognized it and capitalized on it. Sean Payton and Aaron Kromer took advantage of it for years. The people who think LTs are still vastly more important than the other OL positions are dinosaurs stuck in the past. LTs get drafted higher because of scarcity, which is in a way a self-fulfilling prophecy. The intelligent and evolved teams are building from the inside out.

[TheVillain112]

15 hours ago, game3525 said:

Left tackle is the most overvalued position in the NFL.

I have said it before, but most NFL teams do not run a 7-step drop passing game anymore. Everything is a three-step drop, which reduces the importance of the tackle position because the QB isn't holding the ball long.

[nextsuperstar1]

21 hours ago, Nastradamus said:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-blind-side-era-is-over-at-the-nfl-draft/

That article uses as proof the 2017 draft and this year’s free agency as well as speculation about where tackles would be drafted compared to Nelson in this year’s draft. 

 

Basically it relies on very small samples rather than actual trends. Last year’s draft was considered weak for tackles, so less were drafted.

 

Same with free agent contracts given to tackles. This free agent class was considered weak for tackles, thus less money was spent in tackles. Even then Solder who is okay but not great, got paid this year. Why? Because he can protect the blindside. 

 

The articke then speculated that only one tackle was likely to be drafted in the first round based upon mock drafts, while a bunch of guards were projected in the first. This turned about to be wrong. An OT was drafted in top ten; another in the top twenty; and finally a third player who was considered a guard was announced as a tackle at 23. Why was Wynn announced as a tackle, indicating that he’ll be given a chance there? Because left tackle is considered more important than guard. 

[game3525]

8 hours ago, TheVillain112 said:

That is why I said most. Norv is a dinosaur in today's game. 

[Rich7sena]

I disagree. The article's thesis states because tackles are selected less often in the first round of the draft NFL teams value the position less is wrong. The more likely and widely corroborated conclusion is that college football is producing less good offensive tackles -- namely left tackles. Still, even average to above average left tackles are making bank in the offseason every year. Look no further than this past year where Nate Solder signed nearly $16 million per year. Hell, the year before, a middling player in Matt Khalil signed for nearly $12 per, same with Eric Fisher. Teams are fighting tooth an nail for left tackle competence as opposed to dominance -- which I do think is ultimately the right thing to do.

The article is also wrong when it states the proliferation of the shotgun has eliminated a quarterback's blindside. Incorrect. While a quarterback might have more awareness of edge pressure early in the down because their not dropping back, right handed quarterbacks still turn their backs to left side pressure after the snap (and visa versa). And it's not 7-step drops that communicate the value of tackles most, it's any play that has the quarterback making more than 1 read. If anything, RPO threatens the value of offensive tackles more than the shotgun, which has tackles performing easier run blocks more often.

Yes, teams are scheming more ways to help their offensive tackles because there is such a dearth of talent at the position, but bad tackle play can undo an offense far easier than bad guard or center play.

[m haynes]

On 4/27/2018 at 2:38 PM, Broncofan said:

This x 10000.  

I would only add the less mobile or decisive your QB is, the greater potential disaster your blindside presents.   And it still holds that LT requires more than RT to excel.   But the gap is a lot closer than it used to be.  

So based on X 10000, Chubbs was a waste of a high draft choice!