Offensive Line Is Main Priority

[BenjaminBreeg]

You'all need to stop blaming the O-line, because it isn't the problem. 

Bryce has on average 2.5 seconds in the pocket, which is more than decent. Only six teams afford their QBs more time in the pocket. 

 

Here are the stats on hurries, hits, pressures, and pressure %. Our O-line comes out looking average. Not elite, but not horrifying like many are making it to be. 

 

 

[MGH1989]

1a offensive line

1b #1 receiver 

 

I think you have to address the LG, C, and RG position and find a number 1 receiver through free agency.

[RumHam]

honestly at 33 we can take the best center in the draft and i think we should. maybe guard. Stop trying to draft WR or DE in the second it literally has never worked out. You're not finding a franchise LT at 33 either. every team that sucks in the league it's mainly b/c they have an awful offensive line. YOU WOULD THINK MUH ANALYTICS WOULD TELL THESE TEAMS THAT

[RumHam]

5 minutes ago, MGH1989 said:

1a offensive line

1b #1 receiver 

 

I think you have to address the LG, C, and RG position and find a number 1 receiver through free agency.

yeah this is it

[MGH1989]

50 minutes ago, RumHam said:

honestly at 33 we can take the best center in the draft and i think we should. maybe guard. Stop trying to draft WR or DE in the second it literally has never worked out. You're not finding a franchise LT at 33 either. every team that sucks in the league it's mainly b/c they have an awful offensive line. YOU WOULD THINK MUH ANALYTICS WOULD TELL THESE TEAMS THAT

Fair point. G, C usually doesn’t go early in the first and the best ones typically fall late first early second. You can easily find an interior starter with upside in the early second.

Interior is most important for Bryce, so that really needs to be addressed. You’re good with Moton at RT. Whoever gets this job really needs evaluate Ickey and whether he can be fixed in pass pro. Even an improvement back to his form the latter half of his rookie year is an improvement. If not, I think you may have to move him inside.

[Frank9999]

Its so damning of this entire offensive staff that they literally tried to make something work the roster wasn’t built for. 
 

that is a the exact definition of a trash staff 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Frank9999

[Stuart Smith]

On 12/7/2023 at 9:28 AM, Mr. Scot said:

The OL personnel aren't the problem. They were arguably the best line we'd had last year.

The offense was changed to a zone blocking scheme that didn't fit their skill set, especially from center left. Corbett and Moton could do it. If he were healthy, Christensen could probably do it. Everybody else? Not so much.

The only thing I'd recommend with the O-Line is to move Ekwonu inside to left guard. He's much better suited there for going to keep a pass heavy scheme like this. Also more ideal to have a really strong interior line if you have a shorter quarterback.

Yes, that'd leave us needing a left tackle (again) unless the team believes Christensen can handle that job.

Exactly. Icky will probably be a decent guard. I doubt there will be a decent left tackle by the time we draft. 

[Gapanthersfan]

The transition to the high flying offense, if that’s what was wanted, should have been gradual. Our line was a top 5 mauling unit, bottom 5 moving unit. They are very talented, just not in this way. 
 

The problem is we drafted a QB who can (seemingly) only play the way our line can’t. Or, maybe he can but the controlling powers want it this way. 
 

Brady is the only maybe hybrid type player on the line. 
 

I can putt with a 9 iron, but I promise you the results after 18 holes would make me look much worse than I really am. 
 

Our line sucks, but it’s not because they are bad players. They are probably the most talented line we’ve had in a long time and collectively, we were all high on them at the end of last season. 
 

My concern is that after the Bryce experiment is done next year, we will have shipped our (young) linemen off for peanuts, they turn in to pro bowlers, and the league trend changes to an offense that better fits their skill set and we all cry about what could have been yet again. 
 

We find a good player for the line like once every 3 years. If we blow this up, it will continue the trend of the team decision making up to this point. 

[RumHam]

1 hour ago, Frank9999 said:

Its so damning of this entire offensive staff that they literally tried to make something work the roster wasn’t built for. 
 

that is a the exact definition of a trash staff 

what's funny is i was worried about the defense and not the offense. 

[Navy_football]

Playcalling and scheme change for the oline has already shown improvements last week. It's no coincidence Chuba just had a career day. Bryce had more time than he normally does with far fewer inescapable pressures.

Team needs more playmakers on offense. Need guys that can make 1 or 2 defenders miss and break big gains. That was DJ Moore, CMC, Smitty, heck even Curtis Samuel. Laviska is the only real playmaker on the team like that but injuries have derailed the season for him. Though I have a feeling Blackshear and Marsette have the potential - they just don't get enough opportunities. We need guys that make the OC and QB right even when they're wrong. Guys that shorten the field. 100 yards is a long way to go, if you're trying to do it 5-10 yards at a time. 

[Waldo]

13 hours ago, BenjaminBreeg said:

You'all need to stop blaming the O-line, because it isn't the problem. 

Bryce has on average 2.5 seconds in the pocket, which is more than decent. Only six teams afford their QBs more time in the pocket. 

 

Here are the stats on hurries, hits, pressures, and pressure %. Our O-line comes out looking average. Not elite, but not horrifying like many are making it to be. 

 

 

It was always a QB issue combined with the rest of the issues. 

They just can't admit that yet even if it's obvious. 

[pantherclaw]

The oline coach is one of the best in the league. The issue is playing zone concepts with linemen that are better suited for a more physical scheme. 

Scapping the line for finding guys that fit rhe zone scheme more, is going to rake more time, then just switching to a scheme that fits our linemen. 

[BenjaminBreeg]

16 minutes ago, Waldo said:

It was always a QB issue combined with the rest of the issues. 

They just can't admit that yet even if it's obvious. 

Yep, it's clear as day that Bryce creates a lot of problems for the O-line. I see four intermeshing deficiencies in Young's game that directly contribute to the O-line's perceived lack of performance:

– One, Young's dropbacks are way too shallow. On his dropbacks, he usually saunters backward for a few short steps and then leisurely stops. I mean, WTF, right? How are the interior linemen supposed to protect him when he doesn't give them enough depth to block effectively?!
– Two, Young's pocket awareness is very poor, which directly leads to his inability to navigate the pocket when it gets dirty. He also seems incapable (or too scared) to climb the pocket on the few occasions where his shallow dropbacks didn't prevent the O-line from creating a path for him to climb and make a throw.
– Three, Young is undersized and lacks athleticism. If they get one hand on him, he's going down, and if he tries to escape, he's quickly chased down and sacked. 
– Four, Young is a slow processor. He holds onto the ball for too damn long which, combined with his lack of pocket awareness and athleticism, translates into more sacks. 

These four deficiencies all feed into each other and create an unfair impression that our O-line is subpar. The fact is that our O-line on average provides Young with 2.5 seconds of pocket time, which is very respectable; only six teams afford their QBs more time in the pocket than us. I'd even venture to say that our O-line over-performed given the aforementioned deficiencies at the quarterback position.

P.S. I'm surprised that our linemen haven't cornered Bryce in a dark alley and smacked him around a little.

[BenjaminBreeg]

(Continued from post above...)

Here's a great example of a textbook dropback and proper footwork in navigating the pocket (0:20 to 1:44 in the video).