Offensive Line vs Scheme

[Chilly]

There's been a lot of talk from players and fans alike that other teams knew exactly what we were running last year. However, what I haven't heard anyone quantify is how much of an affect that has on the offensive line. If other teams know exactly what you are running, play in and play out, that has to have a big effect on how well you are at blocking.

 

The question is: how much of an affect does it actually have? If other teams knew what you were running each play, would it be easy to overpower the O-line? Should the O-line be able to hold their ground even if the other teams knew what they were running?

 

Personally, I think it's a stretch to say that a good OL would have held their ground regardless. It's pretty unrealistic given how big and athletic the d-line is in the NFL. However, I'm not sure how much the offensive line play will improve with an unpredictable scheme.

[Simon]

An offense's only advantage over defense is that they know what's coming while a defense doesn't. If you negate that singular advantage, defenses will always have the edge.

As it pertains to an OLine, I'd say that predictably is an absolutely brutal albatross for them. Aside from simply overloading the point of attack if you know what's coming, an opposing front 7 can also set up in gaps which complicate blocking assignments (from stacks to wide splits), come off the ball in a manner which makes them more difficult to engage (anchoring, pad level, shooting, etc), employ a variety of techniques to frustrate blocking schemes (from swims to rips to dips) and even exert less energy while the OLine has to work double time.

Even if they don't necessarily "play" any better this year, I'd think their efforts are still likely to lead to somewhat improved results.

[Conch]

In the third game of the season I think the reaction of the NO defense after our 27-7 drubbing said it best. (Our only score came on special teams -- a Brian Moorman pass play). Something like "This team could not score on us if they had all week. They ran a Pop Warner offense."

 

They knew everything without even trying.

[Chilly]

An offense's only advantage over defense is that they know what's coming while a defense doesn't. If you negate that singular advantage, defenses will always have the edge.

As it pertains to an OLine, I'd say that predictably is an absolutely brutal albatross for them. Aside from simply overloading the point of attack if you know what's coming, an opposing front 7 can also set up in gaps which complicate blocking assignments (from stacks to wide splits), come off the ball in a manner which makes them more difficult to engage (anchoring, pad level, shooting, etc), employ a variety of techniques to frustrate blocking schemes (from swims to rips to dips) and even exert less energy while the OLine has to work double time.

Even if they don't necessarily "play" any better this year, I'd think their efforts are still likely to lead to somewhat improved results.

 

Do you think there's any reliable way to judge an offensive lineman's talent in the above scenario, given how bad predictability is for them?

 

It seems like a logistical nightmare to try to judge last year's O-line given what you just said.

[Simon]

Do you think there's any reliable way to judge an offensive lineman's talent in the above scenario, given how bad predictability is for them?

 

It seems like a logistical nightmare to try to judge last year's O-line given what you just said.

I sort of think that holds true for almost every member of the unit, which is why I'm not ready to chuck Trent Edwards out of here until we see him in an offense which is competently designed and innovatively called.

The one caveat I'd give is to say that you can probably get a pretty decent read in how a guy is in passpro regardless of how poor an offense he's thrown into. If you can't win your one-one matchups in pass protection, it probably doesn't matter what calls are coming in. Even with Gailey providing the first experienced steady hand on the till in a long time, I still fear for the Bills QB getting hammered off the edges cuz we simply have no Tackles, regardless of scheme.