My biggest observation from today is how pass happy this league is. Not one of these offenses today made any effort to establish the run. You would think a team like Buffalo would have tried to shorten the game a bit, but nope. Allen had 60+ drop backs. What’s that tell you? Jets would be nuts to draft a tackle second overall. Teams with good QBs and elite skill players win in this league.
Buffalo can't run. KC can, they just can do whatever they want on offense so might as well go for the bigger plays. GB can usually run but they fumbled too much and got behind. I thought Tampa had a good thing going with Fournette today
Ask the competition committee who has for a few decades, at the behest of the owners (same thing) decided that passing makes ratings and money. NFL is money follow it for ANY answer
No, that tells me shit. Without a top OL most all QBs are fairly inaffective, Bad, Bad, analysis. Now, there is a supreme argument to the effect that without a great QB you are screwed no matter how good your OL is.
If Green Bay ran Dillon more they would have probably won the game. They panicked and went way too pass happy when Dillon was carrying guys 6 yards after hits.
The running game in the NFL has been downgraded because most of the college backs run out of a Run-Pass-Option offense and then they get to the NFL and they just have no clue how to be productive when they have 8 eyes on them on every carry. We keep getting 2,000 yard backs in college who have the QB making the decision as to whether they get the ball and who have a couple of guys on the edge to beat once the decision is made. Sometimes they just have one guy to beat because the QB was reading where the linebackers and safeties were looking before he handed them the ball. It's like the strangest backwards scheme from an NFL point of view because the QB's are reading the run defenders before they decide to pull the ball back and pass or give it to the back. In the NFL they have to read the pass defense but they have spent 2+ seasons in college diagnosing where defenders might be based on the threatened run before they pull it back.
The Chiefs don’t have an elite OL. They drafted Fisher first overall, but beyond that not any household names. They are built around Mahomes and explosive playmakers all over field.
The Chiefs offensive line is very good. Not elite and individually they might be average at best on other teams. But Reid makes chicken salad out of chicken shit with every offensive lineman he coaches. They'll never get the Pro Bowl or All-Pro nods but they're damn good.
That's funny. The single biggest difference I saw between the Packers and Bucs was that Shaq Barrett continuously beat #71, RT Rick Wagner. Even for JPP--all but one of JPP's hits on Rogers came when Barrett had badly beaten Wagner, and Rogers had got flushed left, or moved up because of Barrett. To follow the thread-- the league leaning ever harder into the passing game. It's a good time to abandon the old idea of having road graders on the right side of the OL. We should start thinking in terms of LT, LG, C, LG, LT, where pass protection is at a significant premium over run blocking at all 5 positions.
The Saints, Titans, Browns and Ravens approve this message. Still - I wouldn't go tackle at 2. We can find a right tackle at 23 or beyond. But we should definitely make it an emphasis.
Ideally, you need both. Otherwise your opponent will recognize one is weaker than the other and try to overplay the stronger suit. Nevertheless, a strong passing game is what enables a team to overcome a large deficit late in the game, which IMO is paramount in today's game. In addition, a good passing game allows a team to build a lead early in the game, forcing your opponent to abandon it's running game and making it easier for the defense. Conversely, a good running game keeps the other team's offense sidelined for a good portion of the game resulting in a low scoring game. It also allows a team to hold on to a lead as time runs out in a game.
This, 1000%. OL in my view is what separates good teams with high QB efficiency and makes the great QB deadly. Brady and Aaron are classic examples of that, as are the Saints and Ravens and even Browns. KC with Mahomes has a very good offensive line, not elite, but efficient and solid to allow him the time to be mobile and to survey the whole field. Not to mention that Mahomes is in a league of his own with his passing on the run.
I think a lot of this has lead to a downgrade of offensive lineman coming out of college as well. College guards and tackles are blocking for much shorter periods of time due to quick hitting plays and/or having running quarterbacks. The NFL running game hasn't necessarily gone away (even if yesterday indicated it seemingly has), it has just evolved. The quick receiver screens, jet sweeps, etc. are all an extension of the run game to stretch the defense out and open up the middle of the field. Kind of amazing how the NFL has adjusted to what the college game has become more than ever.
