25 takeaways from OL play this season (1 Viewer)

[Bracie Smathers]

A shoutout to Brandon Thorn for this article on the importance to OL play.

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Brandon Thorn@BrandonThornNFL

I wrote about this as one of my main 25 takeaways from OL play this season: 

• Trench Notebook: 25 takeaways & observations from line play in 2021
  

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Only team with a poor O-Line left in the playoffs are the Bengals and it took everything from there young QB to overcome that issue in order to advance.

So many teams that suffered devastating injuries on the O-Line and the impact.  

Thoughts?  I think O-Line play related to health/continuity/coaching has a huge impact.

How did your team's health/coaching impact O-Line/overall team?

 

[habsfan]

Seattle fan. This year illustrated how a mobile QB can compensate for below average o-line play - until they can't. There's a "Mendoza line" of sorts and when they slip under it, it gets ugly quickly.

We have discussions about QBs here and people say things like "So and so is / can be good if they have more protection / time to throw". That pretty much describes every starting QB in the league but it's an irrelevant truth for quite a few teams. 

 

[Bracie Smathers]

I was thinking specifically of the stellar 2020 OT class.

2020 

4 Andrew Thomas Giants Georgia

10 Jedrick Wills Browns Alabama

11 Mekhi Becton Jets Louisville

13 Tristan Wirfs Buccaneers Iowa

All of them got injured this year significantly impacting their teams.

 

[ChiefD]

One of my good friends had a grandma, and every year at the draft she would always say:

"when in doubt, draft the fat guys"

This game will always be won and lost in the trenches.  

 

[Long Ball Larry]

A shoutout to Brandon Thorn for this article on the importance to OL play.

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Brandon Thorn@BrandonThornNFL

I wrote about this as one of my main 25 takeaways from OL play this season: 

• Trench Notebook: 25 takeaways & observations from line play in 2021
  

----------------------------------------------------------

Only team with a poor O-Line left in the playoffs are the Bengals and it took everything from there young QB to overcome that issue in order to advance.

So many teams that suffered devastating injuries on the O-Line and the impact.  

Thoughts?  I think O-Line play related to health/continuity/coaching has a huge impact.

How did your team's health/coaching impact O-Line/overall team?

Great stuff.  

Can't read the whole thing, but for the Eagles, no way they would have made the playoffs without the OL playing as well as it did.  I knew they were playing well at the time, but really as I look back on it, it was probably the best thing about the team the whole year.  Even with some injuries, the OL was able to work together and implement the strategy needed to have a devastating run game mixed with the few plays that Hurts could run reliably.

 

[zamboni]

I always take the offensive line analyses with a grain of salt. I know PFF (and other data providers) have respected rankings of OLs, unless you're really seeing things in the trenches on a regular basis, it's hard to gauge how effective they are (outside of being absolutely manhandled on a regular basis during games). Some guys can be dominant or weak, but how work together is what really matters in the end.

Or maybe it's just that I'm not that good of a film reviewer.

 

[BobbyLayne]

3. Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater were the first two tackles selected in the 2021 draft. While Sewell had a good season, Slater played at an All-Pro level. This can lead to a lot of observers tabbing the Chargers getting more value than the Lions out of the two picks, which is true after year one, but patience and time will determine the true winner. Sewell is a year and a half younger than Slater and had to move from right to left and back to right tackle in 2021, while Slater had the luxury of settling in one spot right away. Both players look like decade long starters. Slater was better as a rookie, but the overall ‘winner’ will need to be reassessed over the next couple of seasons. How will Sewell look early in 2023 when he is close to the same age as Slater is now? Based on my evaluations of Sewell and Slater coming out of college, it’s reasonable to expect Sewell being further away from reaching his ceiling than Slater. Fully refining the technical areas of his game is by no means a guarantee for Sewell but monitoring and contrasting these two alongside one another to see how they develop will be one of the more interesting and revealing storylines for me over the next couple of seasons.

PFF Grades:

Slater - 83.9 (6 penalties / 4 sacks allowed)

Sewell - 77.5 (11 penalties / 5 sacks allowed)

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Lions have a pretty solid offensive line. Great young line with all 5 under team control at least three more seasons. Not listed below is Pro Bowl C Frank Raganow (86.7) who missed the last 3/4ths of the season after turf toe surgery. He is signed through the 2026 season, Sewell through 2025, while Decker, Jackson and Vaitai are locked up through 2024. The latter would only be a $4.2M dead cap hit if they decide to upgrade this year but they seem satisfied with his run blocking.

Year End PFF Ranking & Writeup:

13. DETROIT LIONS (UP 2)

LT Taylor Decker | 75.3
LG Jonah Jackson | 70.0
C Evan Brown | 66.6
RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai | 67.1
RT Penei Sewell | 77.4

The Lions' offensive line pulled into shape toward the end of the season and should be entering the offseason with a feeling of optimism like much of the rest of the team. Frank Ragnow, the unit's best player, played just four games before going down injured. Rookie Penei Sewell played well at both left and right tackle over the year, earning a 77.4 PFF grade overall. 

The biggest weak link was Matt Nelson at right tackle, and that resolved with the return of Taylor Decker. Left guard Jonah Jackson improved his PFF grade from 57.0 as a rookie to 70.0 in Year 2. If he takes another jump next season, this could be an elite offensive line.

 

[BoltBacker]

For OL-wonks this a pretty great PFF youtube episode on this impressive OT class....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJWwByYV1tc

 

[Bracie Smathers]

Rich Hribar@LordReebs

Offensive line continuity is tough. Here is every team's most frequently OL combo from 2021 per TruMedia...

Just five teams had the same five OL on the field for 50%+ of their offensive snaps.

Just two at 75%+, and one was the Falcons.

Saints were absolutely bludgeoned.

>>>  LINK to graph showing EVERY NFL O-Line

 

[Bracie Smathers]

For OL-wonks this a pretty great PFF youtube episode on this impressive OT class....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJWwByYV1tc

PFF put out a great article showing TRUE PASS SETS of this rookie class.

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Ben Linsey@PFF_Linsey

2021 performance on true pass sets

LINK to chart >>>   O-Line performance on true pass sets

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Ben Linsey@PFF_Linsey

- no screens - no play action - no designed rollouts - time to throw between 2 and 4 seconds - 4+ pass rushers Full breakdown of true

True pass sets and their importance to player evaluation

 

[rockaction]

Can't read the whole thing

It's behind a subscription paywall for me, too. You get some of the article.