Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightfyre
I think the biggest problem with our oline is cassel. He got put on his back more than 40 times behind the pats oline. Meanwhile, charles was the best back in the league for half a season. Hmmm.
Posted via Mobile Device
|
I would say that's debatable. He was only sacked 15 times in the last 8 games, as opposed to 27 in the first 7. And he was dropping back a bit per game more the second half of the year than the first. I'd say a lot of factors played into the first half of the year, ranging from problems with the blocking scheme, installing a new offensive system, total lack of a running game, and so on.
I would also go on to say that while the line did improve to a degree, it was not as drastic as Charles' performance would seem to indicate. Because much of the time he was making yards on his own (in a way I don't think anybody expected him to, at his size; he showed an amazing capacity for running through contact). In the passing game, even in the second half of the year, the "protection" was often a turnstile, especially in the middle. The play of the center and guards was not very good a lot of the time.
Which is separate from the fact that Cassel was making mistakes on his own late in the year, even on the occasions when the blocking was there...