Chiefs Gretz: Observations of One-on-One Battles on the Chiefs Line of Scrimmage - Page 4

**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.

**DaneMcCloud** · 08-08-2015, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stop, Chiefs

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.

No one has done anything of the sort.

People have been happy about his performance reports and video so far in camp.

That's it.

Hammock Parties · 08-08-2015, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

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.

It's a bunch of warm bodies, man.

The only locks are Fisher and Grubbs for obvious reasons.

The rest of the positions they are just throwing shit at the wall and hoping magic happens. It's the same shit they did last year and it didn't work. I mean Christ, they actually thought Stephenson could be a part of the solution? Look how quickly they gave up on him.

I'm beginning to seriously question this regime.

**DaFace** · 08-08-2015, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stop, Chiefs

It's a bunch of warm bodies, man.

The only locks are Fisher and Grubbs for obvious reasons.

The rest of the positions they are just throwing shit at the wall and hoping magic happens. It's the same shit they did last year and it didn't work. I mean Christ, they actually thought Stephenson could be a part of the solution? Look how quickly they gave up on him.

I'm beginning to seriously question this regime.

Like you ever didn't "question this regime." We could win the Super Bowl and you'd still be bitching.

O.city · 08-08-2015, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Like you ever didn't "question this regime." We could win the Super Bowl and you'd still be bitching.

He's become a joke at this point.

Good thing he brings so much to the board

Chiefshrink · 08-08-2015, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by staylor26

He was beating other starting NFL offensive linemen in his rookie season on very limited snaps and he's much bigger and stronger now. I have no doubt it will translate into the regular season.

And I definitely disagree that our Oline talent is that bad. Maybe slightly below average, but it's not going to be nearly as bad as last years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonzie04

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.

He has Jared Allen potential for sure.

**DaFace** · 08-08-2015, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

He's become a joke at this point.

Good thing he brings so much to the board

Oh, I know. That's probably the first time I've responded to him in over a year. He is about on the level of KnowMo in terms of adding value to ChiefsPlanet.

**DaneMcCloud** · 08-08-2015, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stop, Chiefs

It's a bunch of warm bodies, man.

The only locks are Fisher and Grubbs for obvious reasons.

The rest of the positions they are just throwing shit at the wall and hoping magic happens. It's the same shit they did last year and it didn't work. I mean Christ, they actually thought Stephenson could be a part of the solution? Look how quickly they gave up on him.

I'm beginning to seriously question this regime.

You're jumping to conclusions.

There was absolutely no reason to cut Stephenson before training camp. If he sucks, he sucks. Same goes for Allen. It doesn't cost them a dime to find out.

Most NFL teams consist of "just bodies" along the offensive line. There are very few "superstars" because the sum of an offensive line is greater than its parts.

My only concern is the lack of depth at tackle but as far as the interior goes, they're more than covered.

KCrockaholic · 08-08-2015, 05:41 PM

He looks good and all. But let's just see it in action this year and see how it goes. I have expectations due to his own hype that he's spoken of. But at the same time if it turns out he's JAG, then that's fine too. 98% of 7th round picks are JAG.

O.city · 08-08-2015, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Oh, I know. That's probably the first time I've responded to him in over a year. He is about on the level of KnowMo in terms of adding value to ChiefsPlanet.

I had him on ignore for a while but got bored and took him off. We'll see how long it lasts

**DaneMcCloud** · 08-08-2015, 06:00 PM

Chiefs waived Sage Harold and Arman Binns.

So much for Harold...

milkman · 08-08-2015, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Chiefs waived Sage Harold and Arman Binns.

So much for Harold...

Must be looking to sign a couple of players.

O.city · 08-08-2015, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Chiefs waived Sage Harold and Arman Binns.

So much for Harold...

Curious why you were against signing Mathis?

Hammock Parties · 08-08-2015, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Chiefs waived Sage Harold and Arman Binns.

So much for Harold...

We waived the guy that was owning Fisher.

Hammock Parties · 08-08-2015, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Like you ever didn't "question this regime." We could win the Super Bowl and you'd still be bitching.

I was first in line to hire Reid and loved the Dorsey pickup.

Then we traded for Alex and I began to wonder...evidence is now piling up.

Hammock Parties · 08-08-2015, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

My only concern is the lack of depth at tackle

The lack of depth?

We don't have any good OTs on this roster, period.

08-08-2015, 09:31 AM
DaFace Kind of a mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Donkey Land Casino cash: $1876899	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: 51,878

08-08-2015, 05:41 PM	#53
KCrockaholic Sarcasm Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Olathe Casino cash: $4702900	He looks good and all. But let's just see it in action this year and see how it goes. I have expectations due to his own hype that he's spoken of. But at the same time if it turns out he's JAG, then that's fine too. 98% of 7th round picks are JAG.
Posts: 21,133

08-08-2015, 06:00 PM	#55
DaneMcCloud Supporter Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA Casino cash: $10053648	Chiefs waived Sage Harold and Arman Binns. So much for Harold...
Posts: 88,960