Offensive Line Ranked #22 in 2014 (Down from #7 in 2013)

[MHS831]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/01/08/2014-pff-offensive-line-rankings/

(this article is a bit old, so if it has been discussed, I could not find it, I apologize to you and whatever God you worship, and please do not feel the tremendous obligation to read on)

 

22. Carolina Panthers (7th)

Pass Blocking Ranking: 27th, Run Blocking Ranking: 15th, Penalties Ranking: 3rd

Stud: While his work in pass protection was suspect, you have to appreciate the run blocking of Ryan Kalil that contributed to his +6.6 grade.

Dud: The move to left tackle was no easier for Byron Bell (-33.4) who continues to give up too much pressure.

Breakdown: All things considered, this could have been a lot worse. After losing studs Jordan Gross and Travelle Wharton to retirement and dealing with injuries during the season, they tried a number of different combinations with more success than you had any right to imagine. A bit of special praise here for the pickup of Andrew Norwell who has been something of a revelation.

 

Comments:  This is interesting because we should be able to see upgrades across the board.  When I see that we were ranked #7 in 2013, I am a bit shocked.  We had Bell at RT, Silatolu/Wharton at LG, Gross was on the decline of his career, and RG was by committee (Scott, Chandler, Bond).  Hats off to Matsko and to Cam Newton for freezing the defensive pressure.  In 2014, Cam was injured and defenses could pin their ears back.  

 

This year, the OL should be better in nearly every aspect.  Kalil is still rather solid-no longer elite, but he was flanked by 2 rookies for much of the season.  The two rookie Guards really stepped up in 2014, showing they belong.  Next season, I expect them to be more comfortable with the offense and more experienced.  Rookie linemen are often targets for the DL, so we endured in 2014.  Heck, Remmers was even a rookie in terms of experience.  He did OK in pass protection but was a liability in the run game.  I wonder if he would not be the same on the left side, where his body seems more suited to play.  Having said that, finding a RT is much easier than a LT.  I would still bring in a developmental LT (rookie, in other words) because Remmers would be an awesome backup OT. 

 

Having said all that, I expect both G positions to be upgrades in 2015 due to experience.  Kalil should continue to anchor, and we should see upgrades in talent at both Tackle spots--even if the best we can do is move Remmers to LT--still an upgrade.

 

There are other factors that will improve the OL play.   First, people do not realize how much Brockel helps us.  When he went down, we struggled more.  Secondly, Cam was dinged and the defenses knew it.  His run threat was not a concern.  Third, the upgrade at RB (Williams was 31 and played like it; Tolbert and Stew were hurt much of the season) will help.  In addition, another WR weapon will help Cam get rid of the ball sooner and keep Safeties out of the box. 

 

I would first like to take my hats off to coach Matsko for taking what we had and doing better than 9 other offensive lines.  In addition, for having the 7th OL last year with the issues we had at G and RT.  Amazing that the unit was ranked 7th.

 

I would also like to say that these are the reasons I expect, barring injury, that the OL will be one of the best in 2015.  It could be that we are 1 player away.

 

Just my perspective.

[KARASMATIC444]

duh

[Dex]

-33 lol

[nctarheel0619]

-33 lol

Dude, that poo was common sense after a while.  

[Moorgan]

I agree. 1 player away and an injury free year is always the key. Which is why depth on the line is always important too. But I can only imagine us going up and could be just 1 guy away from doing very well. I do believe the team is on the cusp of turning the corner to a bright future for several years. Sustained success starts with the OL and DL (once you have a QB of course).

[RelaxImaPro]

Our o-line was better in 2013, but no way in hell was it 7th best in the league.  For some reason they gave us and absolute ridiculous run-blocking grade for 2013 that really inflated the overall score.

 

Anyone who watched us in 2013 knows we were nowhere near as good at run-blocking as PFF made us out to be.  They make out like we were godly at run-blocking that season.

 

And we DAMN sure weren't the overall 22nd best line the league this past season.  For about a 8-9 game stretch we had about one of the worst offensive lines I've ever seen.  Couldn't pass block at all, couldn't run block... the only thing they were even remotely good at was not getting penalized, but even then Byron still found a way.

 

Their o-line rankings are always very suspect.

[MHS831]

Our o-line was better in 2013, but no way in hell was it 7th best in the league.  For some reason they gave us and absolute ridiculous run-blocking grade for 2013 that really inflated the overall score.

 

Anyone who watched us in 2013 knows we were nowhere near as good at run-blocking as PFF made us out to be.  They make out like we were godly at run-blocking that season.

 

And we DAMN sure weren't the overall 22nd best line the league this past season.  For about a 8-9 game stretch we had about one of the worst offensive lines I've ever seen.  Couldn't pass block at all, couldn't run block... the only thing they were even remotely good at was not getting penalized, but even then Byron still found a way.

 

Their o-line rankings are always very suspect.

In 2013, they had to get a lot of credit when Cam went on 30-yard scampers, when they were the reason he had to. 

 

I agree with you on both counts.  I do not know their history of rating OL play and I do not really have a knowledge of every other team, so I was not going to speak out about it.   However, the point here is--when we add a WR weapon, a solid blocking/h-back/fullback, upgrade at the RB position (which we did when Stew got healthy) and a T to a healthy Cam Newton, this offense will be significantly upgraded.  Heck, if we had the same OL this year and the same WR corps we would be better in 2015 simply because Cam would be healthy and the rookies (Norwell, Turner, Brown, and Benjamin) will be experienced. 

 

There is reason to feel optimistic about this offense in 2015.

 

[TheRed]

One big reason our OL the last few years was ranked anything other than dead last is Cam Newton.

 

That OL last year would have gotten a number of quarterbacks IR'd for the season.

 

I think at times people don't realize just how awful Byron Bell really was. I mean yeah he was a nice guy, but good grief.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

22 is way better than what I thought it would be.  I think the penalty thing really helped.  Turnstile v. Hold type mentality. 

[RelaxImaPro]

In 2013, they had to get a lot of credit when Cam went on 30-yard scampers, when they were the reason he had to. 

 

I agree with you on both counts.  I do not know their history of rating OL play and I do not really have a knowledge of every other team, so I was not going to speak out about it.   However, the point here is--when we add a WR weapon, a solid blocking/h-back/fullback, upgrade at the RB position (which we did when Stew got healthy) and a T to a healthy Cam Newton, this offense will be significantly upgraded.  Heck, if we had the same OL this year and the same WR corps we would be better in 2015 simply because Cam would be healthy and the rookies (Norwell, Turner, Brown, and Benjamin) will be experienced. 

 

There is reason to feel optimistic about this offense in 2015.

 

 

Oh yeah, I agree.  The line definitely has potential to be good if we can find a solid tackle... as bad as it was last season, it did improve substantially once Trai got healthy, Norwell got the start, Kalil found some consistency, and we replaced Chandler with Remmers.  I'm just saying it was so bad for so long, I don't think it should be bumped up to 22 without having an asterik somewhere next to the ranking.  It was terrible for a whoooole lot longer than it was solid last season.  No way in hell there were 10 worse offensive lines than us last year.  I'm having flashbacks to the Eagles game just thinking about it.

 

But yeah, the 2013 ranking is a complete joke.  We honestly weren't even good at run-blocking that year, so I have no idea where they got that from unless they counted Cam's runs... which would be retarded on their part.  I saw Tolbert/Cam make something out of nothing and Deangelo get swallowed up in the backfield immediately after the snap too much to be naive enough to think that was good run-blocking.

 

I think they did something similar with 2012 too where the grade was inflated (another awful o-line year), but it seems like I remember them admitting they couldn't accurately grade it because Cam bailed them out so much.

 

I think their individual o-linemen grades are okay (still to be taken with a grain of salt though)... but somewhere along the line something gets lost in translation when they make their actual rankings.

[Leeroy Jenkins PhD]

22 seems very generous.  Given the absolutely atrocious play early in the season.  And Bell...... 

[Jangler]

[LinvilleGorge]

The latter part of the season probably really helped this ranking.  I can't imagine that we didn't have one of the top 5 worst OLs in the NFL for a good chunk of this season when Amini and Chandler were playing.  Inserting Norwell and Remmers into the lineup really helped the OL.

[Lumps]

I wonder why the Panthers have neglected drafting a LT to replace Gross or even brought in someone better. I have a hard time believing no one could have been drafted or brought in every year for the last 3-4 years.

I wonder why even our fans have been able call out players who suck before professionals finally realize it and let them go, often too late, hurting the team (Bell, Brown, Jarrett, Edwards, Fua etc.).

I wonder why other teams don't have this ineptness the Panthers have. Money can't be the reason for such a broad, long term issue.

Why?