Ranking the NFL's best, worst offensive lines

[MadGoat]

I didn't see this one posted anywhere. Apologies if someone already did.

• KC JoynerESPN Insider

http://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/sto...ffensive-lines-football-which-trends-continue

The impact that blocking has on offensive performance cannot be overstated. Over a decade of research I've done in measuring run blocking indicates that ball carriers are four to five times more productive on plays with good run blocking versus plays with bad run blocking. The passing game also displays a huge disparity, as quarterbacks are roughly three times as productive on a yards-per-dropback basis with a clean pass pocket as they are on dropbacks when pass-rush pressure is impacting the pocket.

Since we're now at roughly the one-third mark of the 2017 NFL season, it's a good time to take a look at how every NFL team's blocking wall (a term that includes anyone who blocks on a play) grades out at this time.

The details of the grading system can be found here, with the nutshell explanation being that it uses a wide variety of advanced blocking metrics to come up with an A-F grade for every platoon.

Now that we have the preliminaries out of the way, let's take a look at the top five and bottom five blocking walls, predict if those blocking paces will continue, and review some interesting metrics being posted by a couple of AFC playoff contenders.


Top five offensive blocking walls

1. Los Angeles Rams
Grade: A

Head coach Sean McVay deserves a lot of credit for his highly creative playcalling, but a big part of why those plays are succeeding is the elite performance of the Rams' blockers. They rank tied for first in my good blocking rate (GBR) metric that measures run-blocking consistency, as they are giving their ball carriers quality run blocking on 50.4 percent of planned rushing plays. This group is nearly as adept in pass blocking, as the 2.5 seconds average time in pocket (TIP) they are giving Jared Goff on pass plays is a league-leading rate.

Outlook: The Rams have placed first or second in GBR every week this season, but that could change given that three of their next four matchups (Arizona, Houston and Minnesota) all have front sevens that have a B or higher grade in my front-seven grading system.

 

[Faceplant]

What a difference a year makes....wow.

 

[Rmfnlt]

What a difference a year makes....wow.

Yup... couple veteran, leader additions and coaches that have a clue...

 

[dieterbrock]

Yup... couple veteran, leader additions and coaches that have a clue...

Nailed it.
Only thing missing was the

 

[Rmfnlt]

Nailed it.
Only thing missing was the

I think you, and perhaps just a few others, know how mad I am that we stuck with Fisher as long as we did... I swear, if I ever met up with him, I'd sucker kick him in the nuts (then, run like hell ).

 

[DaveFan'51]

What a difference a year makes....wow.

Think "1999" all-over-again! Worst to 1st!!:yess::mrburnsevil:

 

[LACHAMP46]

hmmmm

that's interesting....thanks for posting....

I just don't see it on 3rd and short yardage.

 

[MrRiceGuyRJ]

 

[96GS#007]

hmmmm

that's interesting....thanks for posting....

I just don't see it on 3rd and short yardage.

Have to agree.

Seems like on 3rd and short we're just determined to run it up the gut or to the left between Whitworth and Saffold. Not only that, but we go old school....little or no motion to give the D something to think about..., just line up and run forward. At least that's what it feels like.

I remember the GSOT days...3rd down was "just another down" that had all the window dressing of 1st and 2nd down. The playbook was wide open unless Martz (especially in '01) wanted to run it down someone's throat to prove the team wasn't a "Finesse Team".

 

[MadGoat]

Have to agree.

Seems like on 3rd and short we're just determined to run it up the gut or to the left between Whitworth and Saffold. Not only that, but we go old school....little or no motion to give the D something to think about..., just line up and run forward. At least that's what it feels like.

I remember the GSOT days...3rd down was "just another down" that had all the window dressing of 1st and 2nd down. The playbook was wide open unless Martz (especially in '01) wanted to run it down someone's throat to prove the team wasn't a "Finesse Team".

3rd and short was like checkmate from Martz's perspective. Three shifts later Warner would know the defense, have Faulk one-on-one with a fatty linebacker, and would have his pick of multiple wide open receivers. I miss those days.

 

[Rabid Ram]

I think you, and perhaps just a few others, know how mad I am that we stuck with Fisher as long as we did... I swear, if I ever met up with him, I'd sucker kick him in the nuts (then, run like hell ).

But not sticking with Fisher could have brought is a worse coach we may have gave Fisher a long rope but atleast we got Mcvay and his crew he put together when we finally let fish go. That being said can we just not talk about the bearded wonder no more lol

 

[TexasRam]

Oline blocking always has to include RB, TE’s and even WR’s.

Our front 5 has been healthy and solid.

Our RB has been pretty solid as well.

Our TE’s have been a horror show at times. We need Carrier healthy as he is our only consistent TE blocker. Higbee and Everett have major improvements to make.

Our WR’s are inconsistent as well. Lots of runs could have went to the house if they get a good block. These things drastically affect that YPC stat line.

But yea the front 5 have been pretty good. Brown and Havenstein have shown solid improvement. But the play designs which get the ball out around 2.7 seconds have really helped those two, who at times struggle to sustain a block past 3 seconds.

 

[Ladoc]

I didn't see this one posted anywhere. Apologies if someone already did.

• KC JoynerESPN Insider

http://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/sto...ffensive-lines-football-which-trends-continue

The impact that blocking has on offensive performance cannot be overstated. Over a decade of research I've done in measuring run blocking indicates that ball carriers are four to five times more productive on plays with good run blocking versus plays with bad run blocking. The passing game also displays a huge disparity, as quarterbacks are roughly three times as productive on a yards-per-dropback basis with a clean pass pocket as they are on dropbacks when pass-rush pressure is impacting the pocket.

Since we're now at roughly the one-third mark of the 2017 NFL season, it's a good time to take a look at how every NFL team's blocking wall (a term that includes anyone who blocks on a play) grades out at this time.

The details of the grading system can be found here, with the nutshell explanation being that it uses a wide variety of advanced blocking metrics to come up with an A-F grade for every platoon.

Now that we have the preliminaries out of the way, let's take a look at the top five and bottom five blocking walls, predict if those blocking paces will continue, and review some interesting metrics being posted by a couple of AFC playoff contenders.


Top five offensive blocking walls

1. Los Angeles Rams
Grade: A

Head coach Sean McVay deserves a lot of credit for his highly creative playcalling, but a big part of why those plays are succeeding is the elite performance of the Rams' blockers. They rank tied for first in my good blocking rate (GBR) metric that measures run-blocking consistency, as they are giving their ball carriers quality run blocking on 50.4 percent of planned rushing plays. This group is nearly as adept in pass blocking, as the 2.5 seconds average time in pocket (TIP) they are giving Jared Goff on pass plays is a league-leading rate.

Outlook: The Rams have placed first or second in GBR every week this season, but that could change given that three of their next four matchups (Arizona, Houston and Minnesota) all have front sevens that have a B or higher grade in my front-seven grading system.

I didn't see this one posted anywhere. Apologies if someone already did.

• KC JoynerESPN Insider

http://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/sto...ffensive-lines-football-which-trends-continue

The impact that blocking has on offensive performance cannot be overstated. Over a decade of research I've done in measuring run blocking indicates that ball carriers are four to five times more productive on plays with good run blocking versus plays with bad run blocking. The passing game also displays a huge disparity, as quarterbacks are roughly three times as productive on a yards-per-dropback basis with a clean pass pocket as they are on dropbacks when pass-rush pressure is impacting the pocket.

Since we're now at roughly the one-third mark of the 2017 NFL season, it's a good time to take a look at how every NFL team's blocking wall (a term that includes anyone who blocks on a play) grades out at this time.

The details of the grading system can be found here, with the nutshell explanation being that it uses a wide variety of advanced blocking metrics to come up with an A-F grade for every platoon.

Now that we have the preliminaries out of the way, let's take a look at the top five and bottom five blocking walls, predict if those blocking paces will continue, and review some interesting metrics being posted by a couple of AFC playoff contenders.


Top five offensive blocking walls

1. Los Angeles Rams
Grade: A

Head coach Sean McVay deserves a lot of credit for his highly creative playcalling, but a big part of why those plays are succeeding is the elite performance of the Rams' blockers. They rank tied for first in my good blocking rate (GBR) metric that measures run-blocking consistency, as they are giving their ball carriers quality run blocking on 50.4 percent of planned rushing plays. This group is nearly as adept in pass blocking, as the 2.5 seconds average time in pocket (TIP) they are giving Jared Goff on pass plays is a league-leading rate.

Outlook: The Rams have placed first or second in GBR every week this season, but that could change given that three of their next four matchups (Arizona, Houston and Minnesota) all have front sevens that have a B or higher grade in my front-seven grading system.

Damn Fisher and his dinasau

I didn't see this one posted anywhere. Apologies if someone already did.

• KC JoynerESPN Insider

http://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/sto...ffensive-lines-football-which-trends-continue

The impact that blocking has on offensive performance cannot be overstated. Over a decade of research I've done in measuring run blocking indicates that ball carriers are four to five times more productive on plays with good run blocking versus plays with bad run blocking. The passing game also displays a huge disparity, as quarterbacks are roughly three times as productive on a yards-per-dropback basis with a clean pass pocket as they are on dropbacks when pass-rush pressure is impacting the pocket.

Since we're now at roughly the one-third mark of the 2017 NFL season, it's a good time to take a look at how every NFL team's blocking wall (a term that includes anyone who blocks on a play) grades out at this time.

The details of the grading system can be found here, with the nutshell explanation being that it uses a wide variety of advanced blocking metrics to come up with an A-F grade for every platoon.

Now that we have the preliminaries out of the way, let's take a look at the top five and bottom five blocking walls, predict if those blocking paces will continue, and review some interesting metrics being posted by a couple of AFC playoff contenders.


Top five offensive blocking walls

1. Los Angeles Rams
Grade: A

Head coach Sean McVay deserves a lot of credit for his highly creative playcalling, but a big part of why those plays are succeeding is the elite performance of the Rams' blockers. They rank tied for first in my good blocking rate (GBR) metric that measures run-blocking consistency, as they are giving their ball carriers quality run blocking on 50.4 percent of planned rushing plays. This group is nearly as adept in pass blocking, as the 2.5 seconds average time in pocket (TIP) they are giving Jared Goff on pass plays is a league-leading rate.

Outlook: The Rams have placed first or second in GBR every week this season, but that could change given that three of their next four matchups (Arizona, Houston and Minnesota) all have front sevens that have a B or higher grade in my front-seven grading system.

Damn Fisher and his Dinosaur approach and nepotism.. he wasted so many of everyone’s time and years!

 

[thirteen28]

This would be a good time for me to re-iterate to the mods my request for a football boner rating ...

Schwing!

 

[thirteen28]

Our WR’s are inconsistent as well. Lots of runs could have went to the house if they get a good block. These things drastically affect that YPC stat line.

Seems like some of the guys lower on the depth chart might be our best blockers among the WR corps. Thomas made a key block to spring Pharoah for the KO return TD ... and Josh Reynolds freaking DESTROYED the last Dallas defender that had a chance to stop Gurley's big TD against Dallas.

 

[CanadaRam]

There are a number of reasons that the Rams are much better than last year, but by far the most important is the improvement on the Oline.
Last year, there were no holes to run and no time to throw.

If it continues like this, the Rams O will just get better and better

 

[jrry32]

hmmmm

that's interesting....thanks for posting....

I just don't see it on 3rd and short yardage.

It's because we are almost always zone blocking. When you get into short yardage like that, it becomes a situation where you need guys who can blow defenders off the ball. Our guys just aren't good at that. Hav plays too high. Sullivan and Whitworth don't have the power anymore. Saffold and Brown are hit and miss.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Oline blocking always has to include RB, TE’s and even WR’s.

Our front 5 has been healthy and solid.

Our RB has been pretty solid as well.

Our TE’s have been a horror show at times. We need Carrier healthy as he is our only consistent TE blocker. Higbee and Everett have major improvements to make.

Our WR’s are inconsistent as well. Lots of runs could have went to the house if they get a good block. These things drastically affect that YPC stat line.

But yea the front 5 have been pretty good. Brown and Havenstein have shown solid improvement. But the play designs which get the ball out around 2.7 seconds have really helped those two, who at times struggle to sustain a block past 3 seconds.

Agree wholeheartedly. How many possible big gainers have been blown up for zero or negative yardage because a wr or te whiffed on a block in the flat. Frustrating when they show a replay and you see what the coaches planned to exploit worked perfectly except for a missed block.

.

 

[Prime Time]

Click the link below to watch video(starts at 1:13 after the 15 second ad).
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https://www.sbnation.com/2017/10/26/16553188/nfl-offensive-linemen-joe-thomas-dj-fluker

Disrespectful Blocks of the Week
by Geoff Schwartz

A huge reason, and literally a huge reason, Rams quarterback Jared Goff has improved is the signing of Andrew Whitworth. Having that blind side protected is such an important part of the confidence of a young quarterback. Whitworth can also throw around some guys, and here he gets a tad extra on a screen pass. The defender never saw it coming. It’s beautiful.

 

[yrba1]

I think you, and perhaps just a few others, know how mad I am that we stuck with Fisher as long as we did... I swear, if I ever met up with him, I'd sucker kick him in the nuts (then, run like hell ).

As much shit as I give Fisher for his astronomical ineptitude of managing the offense, I wouldn't go far as to make it personal like that. He gave us a good nucleus on defense and some nice pieces on offense that is well developed by this new coaching staff.

To simply put, I see the transition from Fisher to McVay in the same realm as Mike Singleterry to Jim Harbaugh w/ the 49ers; Fisher is a good training wheels coach a la John Fox but both lack the ability to transcend their teams to consistent playoff contenders all around. I'm hoping our success will be sustainable for years, maybe decades.