Ingorant Question about Offensive Lines

[tvandenberg]

Prior to the first snap this year I always thought that we had one of the best offensive lines in football. I understand that Otah is out and we can come up with some other excuses.

That said, this season (for better or worse) we're trying to throw the ball more, so it makes me wonder out loud to the Huddle experts...

Does a good offensive line for running the ball generally suck at protecting the QB, and vice versa?

Looking at the GB game last night, Rogers had more time in the pocket on the first drive than Jimmy did all game, but they couldn't run the ball for poo. Is it really that hard to do both?

EDIT: F**k me, I can't even spell IGNORANT right.

[panther4life]

I miss Keydrick Vincent.

[rayzor]

they have too many people rushing in and are doing run blitzes to shut down our run game and it's working.

the only thing (other than quit making so many false starts) that is going to improve what th oline is doing is to improve the passing game and get them out of the box. clausen is going to have to hit his stride quickly and his targets are going to have to do a better job about getting open.

right now we can't really afford to be putting too many targets out there, though. we have to have the people hanging back to block. that just means more screens and more of gettis and lafell getting open and catching whats throwed them.

[Tutto]

Generally, the smaller, more agile O-lineman are better at protecting the QB, while the larger, stronger o-lineman are better for running the ball.

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

Until defenses respect our passing game and we find a number 2, our offensive line is going to have their hands full with blitzes and many defenders stacked in the box.

I am really looking forward to Otah getting back and our running game getting to where it needs to be so Jimmy can play action, and connect with Smith and LaFell/Gettis with the deep ball.

[tvandenberg]

I understand the 'respect the pass' concept, but it seems like we're missing key blocks.

That said, I couldn't agree with the false start comment more, penalties have killed good looking drives.

[Guest DrewBreesIsGod]

Prior to the first snap this year I always thought that we had one of the best offensive lines in football. I understand that Otah is out and we can come up with some other excuses.

That said, this season (for better or worse) we're trying to throw the ball more, so it makes me wonder out loud to the Huddle experts...

Does a good offensive line for running the ball generally suck at protecting the QB, and vice versa?

Looking at the GB game last night, Rogers had more time in the pocket on the first drive than Jimmy did all game, but they couldn't run the ball for poo. Is it really that hard to do both?

EDIT: F**k me, I can't even spell IGNORANT right.

this is a very very good question...my guess is it's hard to be very good at both....run vs. pass blocking require 2 different skillsets

[Fenrir]

they have too many people rushing in and are doing run blitzes to shut down our run game and it's working.

the only thing (other than quit making so many false starts) that is going to improve what th oline is doing is to improve the passing game and get them out of the box. clausen is going to have to hit his stride quickly and his targets are going to have to do a better job about getting open.

right now we can't really afford to be putting too many targets out there, though. we have to have the people hanging back to block. that just means more screens and more of gettis and lafell getting open and catching whats throwed them.

This is the biggest thing that's hurting us on O right now, imo. These receivers are getting shut down (Albeit some of the secondaries we've faced are pretty good) but still they don't seem to be getting any separation at all.

Also, I wish we had a quicker and better receiving TE. King, Rosario and Barnidge don't seem to help in the passing game that much and young QBs rely on good TE play. Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller are a perfect example this year...

[rayzor]

I understand the 'respect the pass' concept, but it seems like we're missing key blocks.

That said, I couldn't agree with the false start comment more, penalties have killed good looking drives.

we're missing key blocks because they are just sending too many people in consistently. they aren't in protect against the run mode which is what we have been used to dealing with. they are in full on blitz mode. 5 guys can't handle it. i don't care who your 5 are. otah coming back halthy won't matter much.

the only solution is to get them to pay for constantly blitzing. until we get some success in the passing game every team is going to know that is the way you handle our run game.

[Delhommey]

No body on the line's looked particularly good but Schwartz is bad. Real bad.

[rayzor]

This is the biggest thing that's hurting us on O right now, imo. These receivers are getting shut down (Albeit some of the secondaries we've faced are pretty good) but still they don't seem to be getting any separation at all.

Also, I wish we had a quicker and better receiving TE. King, Rosario and Barnidge don't seem to help in the passing game that much and young QBs rely on good TE play. Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller are a perfect example this year...

here's the thing with that...we can't afford for them to go out as receivers very often at all because we need them to stay back and block.

it has to be jimmy using the receivers down the field keeping that extra safety or lineman from rushing in. until gettis or lafell get that attention, will change.

[Squirrel]

No body on the line's looked particularly good but Schwartz is bad. Real bad.

The Dude a bad.

[Squirrel]

I miss Keydrick Vincent.

Yep we let a starter go and never replaces him with another.

[CatMan72]

A line that's good at run blocking doesn't necessarily have to be bad at pass blocking, but the two can go hand-in-hand. Lineman who are good at run blocking are generally on the larger and more powerful side while lineman who are good at pass blocking are generally lighter and more athletic. Look at the differences between Gross and Otah and you'll see what I mean, there's a reason why Gross plays LT and Otah plays RT.

Having said that, I don't think our line is bad at pass blocking. As others have already said, opponents are bringing 8 and sometimes 9 men in the box even on passing downs and it's hard to tell which of those guys are coming on a blitz. This will continue until we can make someone pay for a single-high safety with our passing game.