Hard to believe that in this day and age there are not
offensive line statistics, other than sacks given up as a team and rushing
yards. However, on the other hand it is
easy to believe because it is hard for someone that does not know the blocking
assignments to assign blame to a player.
Now teams have stats on their offensive lineman, mainly they are graded
after each game. Also, it is not always
the offensive lines fault, as the quarterback calls out the protection, before
each snap. The QB sets the Mike (Middle
linebacker) for the offensive line to block off of; usually it will be the
backer that the QB thinks is blitzing. The
Reason for this is because Mikes tend to be bigger linebackers and the
offensive would rather have linemen block a bigger guy then have a running back
block him.
These rankings are based on stats such as sacks and rushing
yards, from last year.
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| Can Jeff Backus still play at a high level? |
1.)
Detroit Lions- Jim Schwartz knows how to turn a
losing team into a winning team. In
football everything starts and ends in the trenches, Schwartz understands
this. He beefed up the line last year by
adding Rob Sims from the Seahawks. The
Loins return all their starters from last year left-to-right Jeff Backus, Sims,
Dominic Raiola, Stephen Peterman and Gosder Cherilus. The Lions gave up the six fewest sacks last
year and averaged a very respectable 4.0 yards per carry last year. The only problem with this team is keeping
skill position players healthy. Last
year, the Lions, were down to their third string quarterback, as Matt Stafford
was lost twice last year, he only played in 3 games. Backup Shaun Hill suffered a fracture to his
left forearm. The Loins also lost starting running back Jahivd Best to a turf
toe injury, he played most of the year but it was obvious that his production
suffered due to the toe injury. None of
these injuries were the result of the play of the offensive line, but the
numbers could have been much better if they were able to keep these guys healthy. The Lions offensive line is an older line
with an average age of 29.4, but the oldest are in two of the most important
spots center and left tackle. With Raiola being 32 and Backus being 33, there
is a chance for their play to decline.
The question here is: Can Raiola
and Backus still play at a high level?
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| Can Hutchinson return to form after the injury? |
2.)
Minnesota Vikings- Year after year the Vikings
put together one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. The Vikings will have a different look this
year on the offensive line as they cut left tackle Bryant McKinnie, after he
failed his physical upon his return to camp.
McKinnie’s weight was reportedly around 400 pounds. I am not sure how much of a loss this is for
the Vikings as McKinnie play had fallen off greatly last year. The Vikings have tabbed Charlie Johnson to
replace McKinnie. Johnson has played his
previous five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, where he was a swing tackle
and even played a whole season at left guard. The Vikings, Anthony Herrera at
right guard is slotted to replace Ryan Cook.
The Vikings offensive line looks the similar to last year with two new
faces left-to-right Johnson, Steve Hutchinson, John Sullivan, Herrera and Phil
Loadholt. The Vikings have some new
faces on their offensive line, but I believe they will be even better than last
year. McKinne’s skills were diminishing quickly, along with his ability to
move. Johnson’s skill level is not as
high as McKinne’s once was, but Johnson is a good player. The question here is: Can the Vikings improve without McKinne and
Cook in the lineup?
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| Packers hoping Bulaga will continue to improve |
3.)
Green Bay Packers- The Packers have been playing
musical chairs the past few years on their offensive line. This year there is
yet another change, Left Guard will be new but it is a familiar face T.J. Lang.
Lang didn’t start any games last year but he played in 12. Shockingly even with all the movement up
front the Packers have still had a pretty good offensive line throughout the
years. This year the Packers will lineup
(Left-to-Right) Chad Clifton, Lang, Scott Well, Josh Sitton and Bryan Bulaga. The
Packers were in the bottom of the NFL in sacks given up last year with 38. They should be better this year, as this unit
played most of last year together with the exception of Lang. Clifton is the key to the line; if he goes
down they could be in some trouble. Bulaga
is a very promising Right Tackle and played very well last year as a
rookie.
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| Bears are hoping Carimi can play at the level he did in college |
4.)
Chicago Bears- The Bears revamped their
offensive line since last year, only Chris Williams is in the same position.
However, only Olin Kreutz is gone, which personally I think is a good
thing. Olin was a great player, but he
has lost his ability to pay at a high level.
He is still a good player, but he is not someone that is going to be
able to move the pile, or the line of scrimmage. I did not like how the Bears treated Olin,
only giving him an hour to decide what he wanted to do. Olin is a proud person and a family man. He asked for more time to discuss it with his
family, the Bears were not willing to give him any more time. So Olin choose to walk, which I believe was
the best thing for both sides. This
year the Bears will line up left-to-right: J’Marcus Webb, Williams, Roberto Garza,
Lance Louis and rookie Gabe Carimi. Webb played in 14 games last year, also
started 12 at right tackle for the Bears.
Webb has shown flashes of being a very good offensive lineman, but he
has also struggled at times. With Webb
it usually is more of a lack of effort or bad technique that leads him to get
beat. If he can be more consistent with
both of those, I believe he has a chance to be a good player for a long
time. Williams was a bust at left
tackle, he has moved inside to left guard.
Williams started out last year at left tackle, but after pulling his
hamstring, which lead to him missing time he was moved inside. Last year, was not a good year for Williams
as he got beat early and often. This is
going to happen to someone who is playing a position they have never played
before. Williams thus far looks more
comfortable this year than last, one just has to hope that he can play better
than he did a year ago. Garza is also playing a different position then he did
last year. Garza is lining up at center
this year rather than his normal spot, right guard. This is a good decision early on, as the
Bears run a very complex offense and the center is the most important position
on the field. So going with someone who
knows the calls and has experience playing in the offense. This year more than any other because of the
lack of the off-season due to the lockout. The Bears did sign Chris Spencer to replace
Olin, but I believe the Bears are going to wait till later in the season to
work Spencer in to the starting lineup.
However, he will be the first one in the game if someone gets hurt or if
the line begins to falter. Louis to me
is a mystery because I have seen very little of him. He was supposed to be a starter last year,
but he got banged up early and lost the job.
However, he did start four games last year. Carimi is a rookie right tackle and he looks
like he might be a good one. Carimi won
just about every award that an offensive lineman can win in college. He looked good all preseason, struggled early
in his first real game. But once he
settled down he did turned in a high-quality performance. The Bears revamped line should be better
than last year line. This year’s version
is much bigger and is more athletic then they were a year ago. There will be many growing pains with this
line however as they are very young, but they have a much better upside. They will struggle early but I think they
will settle down later in the season and turn in some very good performances by years end.
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