O-Line analysis

[milkman]

Saw this posted eleswhere.
Took a quick look around and didn't see it here.
If it's repost, then that's just too damn bad.

Frankie gets to give me shit, though, if it is.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3...-line-analysis


With the addition of what should be two new starters, I thought I would give you a few facts that the public is not aware of, along with some personal reflection on my part.

The Chiefs have made some positive moves this past week, but the team knows a lot more has to be done. They need a right tackle and depth.

I thought I would expand a bit and give some statistics you will rarely see anywhere.

First of all, this OL was bad last year, but that's in the past.

Lets look at the starters at this point.



BRANDEN ALBERT

Albert did not have the greatest of seasons in this year's rankings. His overall ranking was in the bottom 20 percent among offensive tackles in the league. He gave up seven sacks and 18 QB pressures playing left tackle. He was also guilty of being called for 13 penalties—that was more than any tackle in football.

I think a lot of the problem with Albert was that he played hurt. He started the year injured but was still willing to play. One would have to wonder if that in any way hindered his performance. I believe it did.

Albert is too gifted to not succeed at that position. We have not seen Albert at his best.

As a straight-ahead run blocker, at the line, he has average strength. It's when he's on the move that he is most dangerous.

At Virginia, Albert pulled frequently from his left guard position. The longer he ran, the bigger the impact. He was a BEAST when it came to blocking on the move—I mean he exploded into guys on the second level and drove them into the ground. That was the big reason for his success—his explosion on the move.

I would think that with Charles and Jones, who are better in space, Albert should find more confidence that will help him from being measured only by his ability to pass block. If healthy, he'll get a lot better. He has the feet to protect the quarterback.

One more note about Albert: Many have said that he was a natural guard in college and that he didn't play tackle because Eugene Monroe was better. That is totally untrue. The reason he played guard is because Monroe refused to. Albert made that move inside because he was an unselfish player. So before people jump to conclusions, they shouldn't speak at all unless they know the whole story.

The people involved in this falsehood were fellow divisional "bashers" not Chief bloggers



BRIAN WATERS

Waters had a very poor season as well, mostly because of aging. He ranked 20th amongst players at his position, and most of the reason he was that high was because of his excellent pass protection. For the season, he was charged with only giving up one sack. In addition, when blocking straight ahead, he opened a few holes. But his mobility is the problem at this point in his career.

His other problems? Penalties.

Like Albert, he was the most penalized player at his position in the game.

Despite those figures he's still a very good player—just not one of the best anymore.



CASEY WEIGMANN

Weigmann ranked 23rd out of the 32 starting offensive centers last year. At his age, his better years are behind him, but that doesn't mean he can't play. He was only slightly better at pass blocking than Niswanger, but he graded out much better as a run blocker.

Weigman, of course, played in a zone-blocking scheme in Denver and played extremely well these past few years, proving that he was not as washed up as the Chiefs thought. He still excels in making line calls and adjustments, and he can still pull.

Remember those classic sweeps that Priest Holmes ran under Vermeil? It was Weigmann that was the first guy down the field, not Roaf or Shields. The problem now, however, is how much does he have left?



RYAN LILJA

Well, we all know his story, so I won't repeat it. Lilja graded out at 14th at offensive guard—which is very good. It is by far the best grade of any Chief lineman last year.

Despite being 290 pounds, it is his run blocking that stood out more than his pass protection. He was in the top five out of 64 guards when it came to screen blocking—great news for the Chiefs with both Albert and Weigmann excelling in that area.

He did not give up many sacks, but you have to take into account the quarterback that was behind him all these years.

Indianapolis usually leads the NFL in pass protection, but its not because the line is that talented. It's because they have Peyton Manning. It is Manning's intelligence, ability to get rid of the ball quickly, short drops, making quick reads, and throwing the ball away that skewed their stats favorably.

Without a doubt though, Lilja will play as well as Cassel plays, which means that Cassel needs to play well.



RYAN O'CALLIGHAN

Do you really want to know? I didn't think so.

Actually I thought he did OK, but looks are deceiving. He finished 57th. He played less than 850 snaps and still gave up nine sacks and was responsible for 24 QB pressures. His run blocking was just as bad, and he got flagged a lot to boot. Its very clear with this guy—bad starter, but decent, experienced backup.



As for the backups, well, if everything was great in Kansas City most of the guys mentioned would be the backups. Niswanger provides depth at center. Ndukwe played out of position at tackle, but is really their depth at guard. After that, all bets are off.

So where does that leave the Chiefs?

They need to get a stud right tackle for sure and a few guys they can groom for the immediate future.

Many people now feel that Bulaga and Okung don't seem to fit at this point.

But they're wrong.

Both of those guys are outstanding run blockers and would be great right tackles. In addition, that player would provide depth at left tackle, should Albert get hurt. Last year, they played the season without one.

No matter how you slice it, the Chiefs now have a better line, and that's good news.

But it's not rebuilt yet. We'll see where they are after draft days.


(Props to HG at HoTC)

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by DaWolf

They're also a one dimensional team that can't run the ball. That's why when they ran into a D like the Jets, they did nothing...

That was 1 season and I don't think it was because the line more so the decline of LT.

[DaWolf]

Originally Posted by billay

That was 1 season and I don't think it was because the line more so the decline of LT.

Possibly, although I read somewhere after LT signed with the Jets that he was moving from one of the worst run blocking OL's in the league to one of the best, so my impression is that the line has been slipping more into a pass protection first mentality in SD. I credit that to Norv Turner, who is probably one of the softest football coaches out there...

[BigMeatballDave]

No, I posted that while your girlfriend was blowing me.

Originally Posted by billay

You used your 10 minute break at McDonalds to log in and talk trash? You renegade.

Posted via Mobile Device

[milkman]

Originally Posted by orange

Al Groh you say?

"We saw Eugene as the natural heir apparent," Groh said. "Behind 'Brick,' he was only going to play so much, but he was going to get a taste of it and be ready to go.

"Then, the second or third day of his first spring practice, he dislocated his knee. So, he missed the whole spring and was severely impeded by it over the course of the next season."

Monroe was so ineffective early in the season that he lost his starting job to Zak Stair, although he got his job back for the last month of the season and started six games overall.

Doctors had cleared Monroe to begin the 2006 season, "but, frankly, if we had a way to look into the future and known how much he was going to be impeded, we probably wouldn't have played him," Groh said.

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/uvafootball/wb/202396

So Monroe played the whole season with an injury. Do you suppose that might have affected his mobility? Fortunately, when he couldn't get it done, Groh was able to turn to his first choice Branden Albert Zak Stair to start in his place.

THEM'S the facts.

Well then, he was talking out of both sides of his ass, wasn't he.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by milkman

I'm not overly concerned about the penalties stats.
The majority of those penalties were false starts.

Install a brand new scheme just two weeks prior to the start, and that's what you get.

Lots of holding calls on Albert and Waters too. Especially on longer runs.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

I find the Lilja info interesting. 14th best out of 64 guards. I know Manning was part of it but that's still pretty good.

You must not have read the Lilja thread. I kept bringing up these facts to call out Dane as he said Lilja sucks, he's done, his knees are shot. Fact is though, Dane's more than likely wrong. Well, the only thing I know for sure he's wrong on is his run blocking. Manning could still have a lot to do with Lilja's success.

[Mecca]

The mere suggestion that Okung or Bulaga are ok because we need a RT is just awful.

That is not how you build championship teams.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by BCD

No, I posted that while your girlfriend was blowing me.
Posted via Mobile Device

Doubtful she could find your cawk.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by Mecca

The mere suggestion that Okung or Bulaga are ok because we need a RT is just awful.

That is not how you build championship teams.

Dude draft Tony Washington in the 4th round. He'll be just as good as anyone of the "elite" prospects ater a few years.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by aturnis

Lots of holding calls on Albert and Waters too. Especially on longer runs.

According to this:

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/playersta...d=5349&team=12

Waters had the most holding calls of his career, but it was still only 4, while Albert was only called for 2 holds.

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/playersta...d=8792&team=12

[Mecca]

I don't know if I'd go that far but if you are of the belief that Albert is the LT then even considering an OT with the top 5 pick is blatant idiocy.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by billay

I didn't read it. 1 guards played has declined for a few years now the other supposedly failed a physical, and the center is 37 years old and got thrown around like a rag doll. Forgive me for not being excited about the o-line.

Looks like you've learned quite a bit whilst sucking on the nutsack of Dane.

Yes, it is VERY easy to be pessimistic about everything and to say it will always be as bad as it could be. You think you look like a genius when you HAPPEN to be right through no fault of your own, and you don't have to be disappointed when you're wrong, in fact, the worst you have to due is say you're glad he's doing well, so rough. It's a smart and easy game to play if you want to look like you know what you are talking about as most players never live up to the fans expectations.

Waters isn't really that bad of a player. Playing next to Niswanger would make about anyone look worse than they really are. He's not spectacular, but adequate.

Lilja failing that physical has been pretty well discounted by a few sources and I'm sure you know that. Not only that, but Lilja was a has been rated the top 16, and 14 player at his position out of more than 64 in '07 and '09 with a knee injury in '08.

Lilja's a very good run blocker, the best on the Colts line by a long shot, and we'll see about the pass blocking, was it all Manning? One thing is for sure though, the pass protection should be better at RG than at any point in time last season.

Plenty of people have been round and round with you about Weigmann. He's been a top rated center in this league each and every season since 2001. Two years ago, he was the #2 center behind only Nick Mangold, a 1st round center, and perennial stud. Last year being the only bad year he's had.

You know damned well that Denver abandoned their zone blocking scheme in favor of more power blocking last year. A power blocking scheme isn't going to favor a 285lb. center much, especially not when his team played a lot of 3-4 teams that year with some big ole nose tackles. Giving up 30lbs. on a guy would play a big roll in a bad season.

Fact is that he has been a proven stud when playing in a zone blocking unit. You realistically have no reason to think he'll be anything less than what he was from 2001-08, other than the fact that he is one year older than he was last year.

Get a clue ****-o.

[Titty Meat]

Blah blah I suck off Dane Blah Blah. Why don't you actually read for once dumbass?

Lilja was such a great run blocker the Colts were horrible running the ball and released him.

You dumbass you argue aginst your own point. You admit Weigmann struggles vs 3-4 teams guess what defense teams in our divison play?

You comparing a 37 year olds play from nearly 10 years ago to current is laughable.

[el borracho]

Oline analysis: Pioli didn't like what he saw last year and has brought in some temporary fixes to give him time to draft some linemen in the next few years. On paper, at the moment, 2010's line is better than 2009's line; not great, but better.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by billay

Blah blah I suck off Dane Blah Blah. Why don't you actually read for once dumbass?

Lilja was such a great run blocker the Colts were horrible running the ball and released him.

They weren't a great run blocking team, but I did say he was by far and away the best run blocker on that team.

You dumbass you argue aginst your own point. You admit Weigmann struggles vs 3-4 teams guess what defense teams in our divison play?

Yes, you're right, but then again, we don't run a power blocking scheme now do we? Dumbass.

You comparing a 37 year olds play from nearly 10 years ago to current is laughable.

No, not 10 yrs. ago. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3, and 2 years ago.


Lapdog.