Chiefs Gretz: Observations of One-on-One Battles on the Chiefs Line of Scrimmage - Page 3

**DaFace** · 08-08-2015, 09:31 AM

http://www.chiefsdigest.com/observat...-of-scrimmage/

If you like the article, be sure to click through the link and dig around the site a little. It's a pretty good resource these days for those who haven't seen it, and I always feel bad for costing them ad revenue by posting entire articles.

Observations of one-on-one battles on Chiefs’ line of scrimmage
By Bob Gretz

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – A single practice on any given day during a football season is but a snapshot that in the end helps make up what becomes a feature film of a team’s season.

Making evaluations and assumptions from a single practice like the Chiefs training camp session on Friday morning at Missouri Western State University is foolhardy.

But within the camp practices, there are moments when the skills of individual players show themselves.

No drill makes that happen more than the one-on-one matchup between linemen in pass protection and the pass rush. Once full pads go on in camp, these mano a mano battles are every day affairs.

In Friday’s practice, the Chiefs had 50 snaps of pass pro-pass rush. Here’s a look at what went down in those competitions.

Offense

The offensive line must block a pass rusher without help from mates, which seldom happens during a game. But it’s during these plays where the blockers individual skills are visible.

The most proficient pass protectors Friday were left tackle Eric Fisher and left guard Ben Grubbs.

Both men won three of their four chances against the Chiefs defense. Against defensive end Mike Catapano, Fisher struggled on his first opportunity. From that point, he handled outside linebackers Frank Zombo and Josh Martin, along with defensive tackle Charles Tuaau.

Grubbs was dominating in his three victories, handling Tuaau and defensive ends Vaughn Martin and Mike DeVito. Only defensive tackle Jaye Howard got the better of Grubbs, beating him on his outside shoulder with a nice rip move.

Right guard Jeff Allen had a good practice as well in pass protection. Allen split two snaps against DeVito and made a good adjustment with his hands in stopping rookie defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches.

Going into camp, the question marks on the Chiefs offensive line were at center and right tackle. So far Donald Stephenson has been the No. 1 option at right tackle, but he struggled during Friday’s practice.

Against Allen Bailey, Stephenson got his hands on the defensive end but was not able to anchor himself and was driven back into the pocket. Linebacker Dezman Moses beat Stephenson to the inside, as did Vaughn Martin. Against Josh Martin, he lost the hand-to-hand battle. On his last snap in protection, Stephenson saw outside linebacker Justin Houston beat him to the outside.

At center, Eric Kush had six snaps and won half of those. Kush was beaten badly by Howard on his first chance, but came back later and handled the big defensive tackle. He had a pair of victories against defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo, but was beaten badly by Tuaau on a straight-up bull rush.

Among the backups, rookie Mitch Morse worked at right guard and center, winning twice. Right guard Zach Fulton won two of his snaps. Working at left guard, Paul Fanaika had two good snaps, followed by two not so good efforts.

Defense

Catapano and Howard were the best pass rushers on the field for the Chiefs defense in Friday’s work. The bigger and leaner Catapano came on the rush from end and inside at tackle. He beat Fisher to the outside, ran over tackle Jarrod Pughsley with a bull rush and beat Fanaika with an inside move.

Howard showed great quickness and technique when he beat Kush with a swim move, leaving the center grabbing at air. He used the same move to beat right guard Marcus Reed. Howard was the only rusher to dent Grubbs’ day, with a move on the left shoulder of the left guard that gave him a leverage advantage.

Vaughn Martin and Tuaau both had some nice snaps bringing pressure inside. Bailey had several victories, but also was stopped cold other times.

Undrafted rookie linebacker Sage Harold showed he has pass rush skills, with a quick first step and a powerful first contact with the blocker. He beat offensive tackle Tavon Rooks to the outside and got inside against Pughsley.

Overall, it was good work for both the offense and defense.

They’ll do it all again on Saturday and in just about every practice until January.

staylor26 · 08-08-2015, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rausch

Based on what?

Perhaps you are right and we end up respectable.

Based on whAT? Because of where they were drafted?

Because they maxed out in the weight room?

What?

Catapano has flashed big time pass rush ability in college and in his rookie season (watch the video I posted a couple posts above). He says "he's meanest leanest 290 in the NFL" and has backed it up so far in camp. He has all the measurables and intangibles to succeed in the NFL. This coaching staff has demonstrated their ability to coach up the talent at hand. What the **** else do you need?

**Rausch** · 08-08-2015, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by staylor26

Catapano...

Yeah, I get it.

I'm arguing with hope and pre-season hype...

staylor26 · 08-08-2015, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rausch

Yeah, I get it.

I'm arguing with hope and pre-season hype...

What a ****ing idiot. I posted a video with about 4-5 plays of him wrecking shit in the regular season his rookie year. Wasn't much, but he flashed there's no doubt about it.

SeeingRed · 08-08-2015, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rausch

He's a joke and another practice teamer.

From C -->RT is a JOKE.

Not even respectable other than a beat up Stephenson...

who are you talking about?

Red Dawg · 08-08-2015, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

The Texans and Redskins are having a joint practice in Richmond, VA today. They've already had like three different fights break out..

Anyway, immediately before the first fight Vince Wilfork drove the Skins' center about 4 yards deep into the backfield.

Wilfork and Watt are going to fist our offense. It's going to be a bloodbath.

Not they won't. Andy Will have a plan

**DaFace** · 08-08-2015, 03:53 PM

Definitely looks like they're considering demoting Stephenson...

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2015/8...ut-at-training

Quote:

At Saturday's training camp practice, the Chiefs mixed it up with their three position battles at center, right guard and right tackle.

The Chiefs are locked in on Fisher and Grubbs on the left side. Instead of Kush at center on Saturday, they went with rookie Mitch Morse. And instead of Jeff Allen at right guard, he was playing right tackle. Last year's starter, Zach Fulton, took over right guard duties which meant Donald Stephenson sat out.

beach tribe · 08-08-2015, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Definitely looks like they're considering demoting Stephenson...

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2015/8...ut-at-training

Very excited to see how Allen does there.

Scared shitless that Kush is already being ??ed by this staff in favor of a rookie.

Hammock Parties · 08-08-2015, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Very excited to see how Allen does there.

Scared shitless that Kush is already being ??ed by this staff in favor of a rookie.

Just think, we could have a center that can't snap the ball, a RG with leaden feet and a RT who has done nothing but suck ass in the NFL.

Improved line for sure.

O.city · 08-08-2015, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stop, Chiefs

Just think, we could have a center that can't snap the ball, a RG with leaden feet and a RT who has done nothing but suck ass in the NFL.

Improved line for sure.

A more dire situation, is we have to deal with you here, knowing you haven't improved

Hammock Parties · 08-08-2015, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

A more dire situation, is we have to deal with you here, knowing you haven't improved

When this team misses the playoffs again I'll be hailed as the Prophet Hero King of Chiefsplanet.

jonzie04 · 08-08-2015, 05:20 PM

I've posted this before but

"In 78 pass rushing snaps, Catapano (per PFF) had one sack, two QB hits, and six QB hurries. So we've got a total of nine quarterback disruptions, with an actually quite impressive disruption rate of 11.5 percent. For comparison's sake, Allen Bailey (who is the current nickel formation interior rusher opposite Poe) has a rate of 8.7 percent. Of course, that's in over four times more snaps than Catapano, so it would be misleading to assume Catapano was superior. Small sample size, and all that."

There was never any reason to not be optimistic about Catapano. As Staylor said he has shown a lot flashes. Only a few guys here were saying the guy was going to be an all pro, which was/is very premature. But those select few aren't nearly as bad as the 10,000 of you here who blindly hate on the guy because its the cool thing to do.

KCrockaholic · 08-08-2015, 05:21 PM

People hate on Catapano?

jonzie04 · 08-08-2015, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCrockaholic

People hate on Catapano?

You must of missed the box jumping threads, and the hundreds of ebolaids jokes.
http://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=286149
One of many.

Hammock Parties · 08-08-2015, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCrockaholic

People hate on Catapano?

Yes, because people treat him like he's done something in the league and is going to be a huge part of our pass rush.

It'd be nice if, you know, he got his second career sack or fifth career tackle before all of this anointing.

**DaneMcCloud** · 08-08-2015, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Very excited to see how Allen does there.

Scared shitless that Kush is already being ??ed by this staff in favor of a rookie.

Reid has been flip-flopping players all up and down the offensive line to get guys snaps.

From Stephenson replacing Fisher, Fulton at Center, Morse at Center & Guard to Allen at RG & RT to Sherrod at RT.

No reason to panic. They're just getting different looks on film to evaluate.

08-08-2015, 09:31 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $2026899	Gretz: Observations of One-on-One Battles on the Chiefs Line of Scrimmage http://www.chiefsdigest.com/observat...-of-scrimmage/ If you like the article, be sure to click through the link and dig around the site a little. It's a pretty good resource these days for those who haven't seen it, and I always feel bad for costing them ad revenue by posting entire articles. Observations of one-on-one battles on Chiefs’ line of scrimmage By Bob Gretz ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – A single practice on any given day during a football season is but a snapshot that in the end helps make up what becomes a feature film of a team’s season. Making evaluations and assumptions from a single practice like the Chiefs training camp session on Friday morning at Missouri Western State University is foolhardy. But within the camp practices, there are moments when the skills of individual players show themselves. No drill makes that happen more than the one-on-one matchup between linemen in pass protection and the pass rush. Once full pads go on in camp, these mano a mano battles are every day affairs. In Friday’s practice, the Chiefs had 50 snaps of pass pro-pass rush. Here’s a look at what went down in those competitions. Offense The offensive line must block a pass rusher without help from mates, which seldom happens during a game. But it’s during these plays where the blockers individual skills are visible. The most proficient pass protectors Friday were left tackle Eric Fisher and left guard Ben Grubbs. Both men won three of their four chances against the Chiefs defense. Against defensive end Mike Catapano, Fisher struggled on his first opportunity. From that point, he handled outside linebackers Frank Zombo and Josh Martin, along with defensive tackle Charles Tuaau. Grubbs was dominating in his three victories, handling Tuaau and defensive ends Vaughn Martin and Mike DeVito. Only defensive tackle Jaye Howard got the better of Grubbs, beating him on his outside shoulder with a nice rip move. Right guard Jeff Allen had a good practice as well in pass protection. Allen split two snaps against DeVito and made a good adjustment with his hands in stopping rookie defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Going into camp, the question marks on the Chiefs offensive line were at center and right tackle. So far Donald Stephenson has been the No. 1 option at right tackle, but he struggled during Friday’s practice. Against Allen Bailey, Stephenson got his hands on the defensive end but was not able to anchor himself and was driven back into the pocket. Linebacker Dezman Moses beat Stephenson to the inside, as did Vaughn Martin. Against Josh Martin, he lost the hand-to-hand battle. On his last snap in protection, Stephenson saw outside linebacker Justin Houston beat him to the outside. At center, Eric Kush had six snaps and won half of those. Kush was beaten badly by Howard on his first chance, but came back later and handled the big defensive tackle. He had a pair of victories against defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo, but was beaten badly by Tuaau on a straight-up bull rush. Among the backups, rookie Mitch Morse worked at right guard and center, winning twice. Right guard Zach Fulton won two of his snaps. Working at left guard, Paul Fanaika had two good snaps, followed by two not so good efforts. Defense Catapano and Howard were the best pass rushers on the field for the Chiefs defense in Friday’s work. The bigger and leaner Catapano came on the rush from end and inside at tackle. He beat Fisher to the outside, ran over tackle Jarrod Pughsley with a bull rush and beat Fanaika with an inside move. Howard showed great quickness and technique when he beat Kush with a swim move, leaving the center grabbing at air. He used the same move to beat right guard Marcus Reed. Howard was the only rusher to dent Grubbs’ day, with a move on the left shoulder of the left guard that gave him a leverage advantage. Vaughn Martin and Tuaau both had some nice snaps bringing pressure inside. Bailey had several victories, but also was stopped cold other times. Undrafted rookie linebacker Sage Harold showed he has pass rush skills, with a quick first step and a powerful first contact with the blocker. He beat offensive tackle Tavon Rooks to the outside and got inside against Pughsley. Overall, it was good work for both the offense and defense. They’ll do it all again on Saturday and in just about every practice until January.
Posts: 51,772

08-08-2015, 05:20 PM	#41
jonzie04 MVP Join Date: Feb 2014 Casino cash: $5806817	I've posted this before but "In 78 pass rushing snaps, Catapano (per PFF) had one sack, two QB hits, and six QB hurries. So we've got a total of nine quarterback disruptions, with an actually quite impressive disruption rate of 11.5 percent. For comparison's sake, Allen Bailey (who is the current nickel formation interior rusher opposite Poe) has a rate of 8.7 percent. Of course, that's in over four times more snaps than Catapano, so it would be misleading to assume Catapano was superior. Small sample size, and all that." There was never any reason to not be optimistic about Catapano. As Staylor said he has shown a lot flashes. Only a few guys here were saying the guy was going to be an all pro, which was/is very premature. But those select few aren't nearly as bad as the 10,000 of you here who blindly hate on the guy because its the cool thing to do. __________________ 2015 Adopt A chief : Marcus Peters
Posts: 6,779

08-08-2015, 05:21 PM	#42
KCrockaholic Sarcasm Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Olathe Casino cash: $4782900	People hate on Catapano?
Posts: 21,133