Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Meck
I could not disagree more with Vermeil's statement, and I think his tenure here with the Chiefs does as much to disprove the theory as anything.
I think you build a good football team from the line out, on both offense AND defense. I think the big boys up front make your skill position players.
Roaf, Waters, Wiegmann, Shields, and Tait. How many pro bowls there?
What was Priest Holmes before he ran behind that line? Pretty average. What was Trent Green? A little above average maybe? What was Larry Johnson after Roaf and Shields retired? 2.7 ypc.
I say a great line can give an average QB extra time to make his reads and deliver the ball. More time for WR's to clear coverage. Bigger holes for RB's to run through. In Priest's case, more TIME to sort of glide sideways and pick a crease. Man, sometimes there'd be all friggin' day for him to wait for one. It was that line, man. Priest's biggest gift was his PATIENCE.Give me a great o-line on offense.
A studly front 4 (or in a 3-4, the front 3 and maybe one stud pass rushing OLB) on defense and all the sudden those corners look great because they don't have to defend but about 10 yards of the field. QB's have no time to progress through their reads, get flustered, and make bad decisions. RB's get tired of having no where to run and get tentative. I think the front line has more to do with a great secondary than you might think.
I really think it's STILL all about the big boys up front, and that without quality line play you're not going anywhere.
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Those are very good fundamental points. I think that, in general, plays that last longer are an advantage to the offense. For example, a receiver can usually break free from coverage if given enough time. So, one philosophy could be to lengthen plays when on offense and shorten plays when on defense. I think the key to achieving this is with solid line play.