O-Line ranks 12th

[PDaDdy]

Kevin Boss or Mercedes Lewis are two free agents we should make a move for, assuming neither of them gets the franchise tag. Boss is a vicious run blocker and Lewis is no slouch in that area either. Both of them are scary good receivers as well. It would be a huge upgrade to the offense and to the offensive line to get either one.

 

I like this idea. We have had so many other problems that normally I could almost care less about TE but it might be a way to improve the OL, the running game and the passing game all at once. IMO the problem now is that we have too many young WR who are showing flashes not to mention Marcus Easley our 4.3 6'4" WR was supposedly looking like a probable starter before being put on IR. We ran a lot of 4 WR sets to take advantage of that depth and Fitz's ability to utilize it.

 

When we actually do run a 3 WR set one of the TEs you mentioned could be a big help. I just don't know how often we would actually run 3 WR sets to make it worth it if those TEs come with a big price tag.

[thewildrabbit]

The line is what it is. Most of the teams have average lines. The steelers had a line that was worse than ours and yet made a deep run.

Your arguments regarding Fitz are weak.

Nelson was never a contributor when Fitz was having his good days...so I am not sure he counts...The same goes for Parrish. Parrish was gone more than half the season. Lee Evans was a shadow of himself...so losing him at the end of the season was really a minor issue. Marshawn was pretty much invisible last season, so I am not sure how he contributed to Fitz success and how him not being there caused Fitz to fail.

 

Actually Jones and Nelson stepped up and had good games at the end of the season. Fitz threw horrible INTs and fumbled the ball. The focus was just not there @ the end of the season.

Where do you guys get this stuff from...some stat sheet? look at the individual players on the line and compare them. Do the Buffalo Bills have a center that made the pro bowl recently that I missed? Did the Bills have a 12 year vet at RT?

 

LT-Jonathan Scott 4yrs-Max Starks-6yrs

LG-Chris Kemoeatu 5 yrs

C-Maurkice Pouncey-rookie made the pro bowl

RG-Ramon Foster-2yrs-Trai Essex 6 yrs

RT-Flozell Adams-12yrs

 

Look at the veteran experience of that Steeler line, and the one exception happens to have made the pro bowl he was so good, no comparision

 

That Steeler O line was was way better then anything the Buffalo Bills fielded in almost every facet. The Steelers had injuries throughout the season and moved some players around, but because big ben scrambles around behind the LoS waiting for his receivers to break open he makes the O line stats look worse then that line really is. The difference is that Fitz didn't have quality receivers to get open and his line couldn't hold their blocks long enough for him to scramble around behind the LoS, had he to make plays with his legs. Which he did to the tune of 6.7 YPR, and btw was as good as Mike Vick.

 

 

""The line is what it is""...and it is a PoS line with 2 decent players on it atm. You think Fitz looked bad at the end of the season behind that line, then explain why Brian Brohm looked 10x worse in his start.

[paintmyhouse]

Where do you guys get this stuff from...some stat sheet? look at the individual players on the line and compare them. Do the Buffalo Bills have a center that made the pro bowl recently that I missed? Did the Bills have a 12 year vet at RT?

 

LT-Jonathan Scott 4yrs-Max Starks-6yrs

LG-Chris Kemoeatu 5 yrs

C-Maurkice Pouncey-rookie made the pro bowl

RG-Ramon Foster-2yrs-Trai Essex 6 yrs

RT-Flozell Adams-12yrs

 

Look at the veteran experience of that Steeler line, and the one exception happens to have made the pro bowl he was so good, no comparision

 

That Steeler O line was was way better then anything the Buffalo Bills fielded in almost every facet. The Steelers had injuries throughout the season and moved some players around, but because big ben scrambles around behind the LoS waiting for his receivers to break open he makes the O line stats look worse then that line really is. The difference is that Fitz didn't have quality receivers to get open and his line couldn't hold their blocks long enough for him to scramble around behind the LoS, had he to make plays with his legs. Which he did to the tune of 6.7 YPR, and btw was as good as Mike Vick.

 

 

""The line is what it is""...and it is a PoS line with 2 decent players on it atm.

 

 

You think Fitz looked bad at the end of the season behind that line, then explain why Brian Brohm looked 10x worse in his start.

 

Brohm looked no worse than Fitz did the week before, do you even watch the games? How come Brohm gets no benefit of the doubt you give Fitz when making excuses or him? You fell for it, hook, line and sinker. Fitz could have played that game but it was a calculated mercy sitting to sell fans like you the lasting memory of how poor Brohm looked and try to make you forget how bad Fitz looked just one week before, both were awful.

Edited June 10, 2011 by paintmyhouse

[mattsox]

Yea well, you guys gush all you want about how good the O line is and how much they improved....

 

Never-mind the fact that when the pocket broke down Fitz had a yard per rush as good as Mick Vick at 6.7 YPR . That he was running for his life in some games, he was still able to make something positive out of nothing many times.

 

That he would find the open receiver and he had the ball out in about 3 seconds most plays. That deep ball to Stevie Johnson only took 3.5 seconds before it left Fitz's hands.

 

Never-mind the fact that Fred Jackson makes 2 tacklers miss before he hits the line.

 

 

 

The reason why that line didn't give up as many sacks or pressures is because the QB play was remarkable from Ryan Fitzpatrick, not because the line suddenly blossomed into all pro's. When he didn't have an open receiver he was able to leave the pocket and make yards with his legs. Buffalo plays a tougher schedule this year and we will see if Fitz can survive the season with the current line.

 

I am very concerned about the OL and more so Ryan Fitzpatrick. There is alot more film to break down on him now. If someone figures him out, we're in a world of trouble. The Offense wasn't on the field long enough. We couldn't sustain drives. The fact we haven't done squat to upgrade the Offense in the draft scares the living crap out of me, quite seriously. We need another Deep Threat at WR and we need an actual threat at TE. We don't have the weapons.

 

The OL might be ok, but we really need a RT, they tried to address that last season and failed, but we need to go into FA this year and sign one, if we want to be good.

 

Buddy's got alot of work left to do...

[PDaDdy]

Where do you guys get this stuff from...some stat sheet? look at the individual players on the line and compare them. Do the Buffalo Bills have a center that made the pro bowl recently that I missed? Did the Bills have a 12 year vet at RT?

 

LT-Jonathan Scott 4yrs-Max Starks-6yrs

LG-Chris Kemoeatu 5 yrs

C-Maurkice Pouncey-rookie made the pro bowl

RG-Ramon Foster-2yrs-Trai Essex 6 yrs

RT-Flozell Adams-12yrs

 

Look at the veteran experience of that Steeler line, and the one exception happens to have made the pro bowl he was so good, no comparision

 

That Steeler O line was was way better then anything the Buffalo Bills fielded in almost every facet. The Steelers had injuries throughout the season and moved some players around, but because big ben scrambles around behind the LoS waiting for his receivers to break open he makes the O line stats look worse then that line really is. The difference is that Fitz didn't have quality receivers to get open and his line couldn't hold their blocks long enough for him to scramble around behind the LoS, had he to make plays with his legs. Which he did to the tune of 6.7 YPR, and btw was as good as Mike Vick.

 

 

""The line is what it is""...and it is a PoS line with 2 decent players on it atm. You think Fitz looked bad at the end of the season behind that line, then explain why Brian Brohm looked 10x worse in his start.

 

Great points. I think everyone just bought the Steeler's line isn't that good thing without actually looking at it. Big Ben does face a good deal of pressure at times but that is partly because he holds on to the ball forever and usually ends up making the play dragging players behind him.

 

I am very concerned about the OL and more so Ryan Fitzpatrick. There is alot more film to break down on him now. If someone figures him out, we're in a world of trouble. The Offense wasn't on the field long enough. We couldn't sustain drives. The fact we haven't done squat to upgrade the Offense in the draft scares the living crap out of me, quite seriously. We need another Deep Threat at WR and we need an actual threat at TE. We don't have the weapons.

 

The OL might be ok, but we really need a RT, they tried to address that last season and failed, but we need to go into FA this year and sign one, if we want to be good.

 

Buddy's got alot of work left to do...

 

What scares me is we need a RB that can score TDs.

[thewildrabbit]

In the post before this you as a backup QB in 13 games, well, I contend he was not the backup. He was unquestioned starter as of week 3, they cut the other guy. Fitz and Edwards shared 1st team reps for most all of last year's camp BTW. Also, Fitz was hurt for the last game, but seriously, it was more of a mercy sitting than anything, it was a convenient way to see how bad Brohm was against the Jets and try to make you forget how much Fitz even was the week before against a far worse defense the Patriots. Brohm was no worse against a full out blitz Jets team and turned the ball over with 3 INTS and 1 FUMBLE. the week before Fitz had 3 INTS and 2 FUMBLES and got 3 points. You also realize Fitz was dreadful against the Jets earlier in the season too, right? I will use your logic. Brohm did not get to work with what Fitz got to work with earlier against the Jets, however, Fitz still sucked, the first 4 of 6 drives were 3 and out and then punt. Bills did not move the ball, it was a game at halftime still and it was because of the defense, and that defense got tired from the lack of Bills offense.

 

Do yourself a favor and ask your doctor to change your dosage

 

Trent Edwards saw most of the reps in the preseason and entered the season as the starter. If a player comes off the bench to replace a player named the starter at the beginning of the season, then he is considered the back up QB for that season, just the way the NFL works. Ask Fitz if its important or not to be named the starter at the beginning of the season.

 

 

Exactly what was better about the Bills when Fitz played against the Jets? Cornell Green at RT?. The line was so bad at RT they had to bring in 3 other guys off the street during the season to see if they could play. Spiller named starter, the rook who couldn't block, find a hole, run a route to save his life? Fred Jackson with a cast on his hand?

 

Look at the difference between the important stats of both Jets games-score 14-38 ---Fitz 12-27 129 passing yards 2 TD's 7 attempts rushing for 74 yards Fitz was the leading rusher-12 first downs- sacked 3-19 yards, Evans- Parish-Martin TD -McIntyre all caught only one ball-Nelson 4 rec-Johnson 3 rec TD. Fitz running for his life the entire game because the line couldn't hold their blocks. the difference was the Jets able to control the clock with their running game, 273 yards 2 TD's to Buffalo's 114 rushing yards, again Fitz had 74 of those.

 

Bills player of the game was clearly the QB play of Ryan Fitzpatrick, no other player even came close to stepping up to make a play

 

 

Jan 2, 2011 Score 7-38, the only Bills score came from an INT return from DB Byrd -- Brian Brohm 12-27 for 130 yds passing 3 INT's sacked 3-5 yds 6 first downs Levi Brown replaced a struggling Brohm- No Bills player stepped up on offense, only Byrd did well on defense

 

The Jets sat a lot of their starters for this game, resting them for the playoffs. Mark Brunell was the starting QB for the Jets, they rested Tomlinson, Revis, Cromartie. That huge name RB Joe McKnight had 158 yards on the ground against the Bills

 

 

 

If this game showed anything its that the Buffalo Bills have a long way to go in competing for the division. That the Bills O line showed just how good they really are with a QB that really does suck. Plus even Fred Jackson only had 35 yards rushing on 13 carries, pathetic and not his fault if there are no holes. ""The Bills O line is not that bad"" I say BS! This is one of the teams that Buffalo must beat in order to win the division and this game showed they couldn't even compete with the Jets back up players.

 

 

You call it a mercy sitting, call it anything you want but I think the Bills wanted to see what they had in Brian Brohm before the season ended, and he showed them what a bad QB looks like. Looking at how Trent Edwards, Brian Brohm and Levi Brown all played last year.... Bills fans should be counting their blessings they have a guy who can scramble and make a first down rushing when the pocket breaks down and no receivers are open. If Fitz injures his wheels he will be like a sitting duck back there

[paintmyhouse]

Harvey, it is clear you don't watch the games and know what really happened and are ignoring that the Bills offense went 3 and out on 4 of the first 6 drives against the Jets in game 1, and in game 2 the Bills also played some backups too. You are criticizing Brohm on that game but giving Fitz no blame for his poor play either, didn't Fitz show us what a bad QB looked like against the Patriots just 1 week earlier? Jets also blitzed every single play, throwing Brohm in there was actually not the most fair thing to me, the season was over after 8 games. Why wait until week 17?

 

The difference in the JEts game in the 2nd half was the Bills defense was tired from the offense DOING NOTHING at all. You are clueless, 4 of the first 6 drives the OFFENSE went 3 and out and punted and sent the defense right back on the field. Don't you understand what this does? Only the Panthers had more 3 and outs. Let's nail Brohm on 1 week of prep against Fitz with 14 weeks prep as the STARTER and give Fitz no criticism at all. Ugh.

Edited June 10, 2011 by paintmyhouse

[thewildrabbit]

Brohm looked no worse than Fitz did the week before, do you even watch the games? How come Brohm gets no benefit of the doubt you give Fitz when making excuses or him? You fell for it, hook, line and sinker. Fitz could have played that game but it was a calculated mercy sitting to sell fans like you the lasting memory of how poor Brohm looked and try to make you forget how bad Fitz looked just one week before, both were awful.

Do you even watch games? Fitz was playing against a very good Patriot team playing for a playoff spot, Brohm was playing against Jets backups, because they had already made the playoffs and were resting their starters. Brohm had a QB rating of 17.9, a tad more awful then Fitz

 

Did you forget that Fitz threw for 3000 yards, 23 TD's in only 13 games , 269 yards rushing for a 6.7 yard avg, as good as Mike Vick and played better then any QB the Bills have had in years.

 

Oh yea, you are the one who thinks that Fitz sucks and the Bills O line is "not that bad"

Edited June 10, 2011 by Harvey lives

[Orton's Arm]

I am very concerned about the OL and more so Ryan Fitzpatrick. There is alot more film to break down on him now. If someone figures him out, we're in a world of trouble. The Offense wasn't on the field long enough. We couldn't sustain drives. The fact we haven't done squat to upgrade the Offense in the draft scares the living crap out of me, quite seriously. We need another Deep Threat at WR and we need an actual threat at TE. We don't have the weapons.

 

The OL might be ok, but we really need a RT, they tried to address that last season and failed, but we need to go into FA this year and sign one, if we want to be good.

 

Buddy's got alot of work left to do...

I share both your concerns. It's clear that the Bills need to add a starting quarterback and significantly upgrade their offensive line play before the offense is where it needs to be. I largely agree with Bill from NYC's analysis of how the line played this past season, and it's clear we need to do better than that. Also, while Fitz brings a lot to the table, he's clearly not an accurate enough passer to be a long-term solution at quarterback. As others have pointed out in this discussion, Fitz's performance over the last few weeks of the season was especially disappointing.

 

However, I'm not concerned about the fact that Nix failed to significantly address the offense in this past draft. There are several reasons for this. 1) This team had more holes than could be fixed in one draft; and the positions he did address were clearly major needs. 2) There was neither a quarterback nor a LT worthy of going third overall. 3) I don't think we could have found our long-term answer at QB or LT in the second round either. Maybe we could have gotten a good right tackle with that pick, and we definitely need one. But using a second round pick on what is (hopefully) a long-term answer at CB is nothing to complain about either. (Unless, of course, he goes first-contract-and-out! )

 

There's a chance some of the offense's problems could solve themselves. Players like Bell and Wood were coming off injuries, and may play significantly better in 2011 than they did in 2010. It's also quite possible some no-name player will step up and capably fill the RG spot. But even if all those things happen, the OL at least needs a RT, and may well need more than just that!

 

If 2011 was the defense's draft, I hope and expect 2012 to be the offense's draft. A quarterback in the first round, followed by a RT in the second and a TE in the third, would be an excellent way to go!

[PDaDdy]

Harvey, it is clear you don't watch the games and know what really happened and are ignoring that the Bills offense went 3 and out on 4 of the first 6 drives against the Jets in game 1, and in game 2 the Bills also played some backups too. You are criticizing Brohm on that game but giving Fitz no blame for his poor play either, didn't Fitz show us what a bad QB looked like against the Patriots just 1 week earlier? Jets also blitzed every single play, throwing Brohm in there was actually not the most fair thing to me, the season was over after 8 games. Why wait until week 17?

 

The difference in the JEts game in the 2nd half was the Bills defense was tired from the offense DOING NOTHING at all. You are clueless, 4 of the first 6 drives the OFFENSE went 3 and out and punted and sent the defense right back on the field. Don't you understand what this does? Only the Panthers had more 3 and outs. Let's nail Brohm on 1 week of prep against Fitz with 14 weeks prep as the STARTER and give Fitz no criticism at all. Ugh.

 

You are so fighting a losing battle. I think it's pretty clear who doesn't watch the game or perhaps you can't see the forest for the trees. Fitz was so important to what we did accomplish on the offensive side of the ball it is laughable you could assert otherwise.

[1B4IDie]

Great points. I think everyone just bought the Steeler's line isn't that good thing without actually looking at it. Big Ben does face a good deal of pressure at times but that is partly because he holds on to the ball forever and usually ends up making the play dragging players behind him.

 

 

 

What scares me is we need a RB that can score TDs.

This is a good point.

We don't know if we have a back with a nose for the endzone. This is definitely a special talent, not every RB has the will or skill to squeak into the end zone when the defense is collapsed into a smaller space.

 

It is a function of the offensive line for sure but the creaks and crack get smaller in the redzone no matter what line you have and you need a back that can work in those smaller holes.

 

Freddy only had 2 TDs total under Mauron, his offense also liked to call pass plays on 3rd and short to close out the game so there is a little obscurity of the skill set there. He only only 5 in 2011, and Spiller is an unknown. Johnny White had 7 TDs in 2010. If he has a nose for the end zone he could find a place in this offense.

 

But to your point we really don't have a known quantity as far as RB that can find the end zone.

 

Harvey, it is clear you don't watch the games and know what really happened and are ignoring that the Bills offense went 3 and out on 4 of the first 6 drives against the Jets in game 1, and in game 2 the Bills also played some backups too. You are criticizing Brohm on that game but giving Fitz no blame for his poor play either, didn't Fitz show us what a bad QB looked like against the Patriots just 1 week earlier? Jets also blitzed every single play, throwing Brohm in there was actually not the most fair thing to me, the season was over after 8 games. Why wait until week 17?

 

The difference in the JEts game in the 2nd half was the Bills defense was tired from the offense DOING NOTHING at all. You are clueless, 4 of the first 6 drives the OFFENSE went 3 and out and punted and sent the defense right back on the field. Don't you understand what this does? Only the Panthers had more 3 and outs. Let's nail Brohm on 1 week of prep against Fitz with 14 weeks prep as the STARTER and give Fitz no criticism at all. Ugh.

 

Seriously dude did you see that game?

aBrohmination was an abomination at QB he didn't look he was familiar with American Football. You can't blame the line on that, although it did look the line was A-Ok with aBrohmination getting killed in that game.

The team plays for Fitzy is what that game proved to me.

[paintmyhouse]

This is a good point.

We don't know if we have a back with a nose for the endzone. This is definitely a special talent, not every RB has the will or skill to squeak into the end zone when the defense is collapsed into a smaller space.

 

It is a function of the offensive line for sure but the creaks and crack get smaller in the redzone no matter what line you have and you need a back that can work in those smaller holes.

 

Freddy only had 2 TDs total under Mauron, his offense also liked to call pass plays on 3rd and short to close out the game so there is a little obscurity of the skill set there. He only only 5 in 2011, and Spiller is an unknown. Johnny White had 7 TDs in 2010. If he has a nose for the end zone he could find a place in this offense.

 

But to your point we really don't have a known quantity as far as RB that can find the end zone.

 

 

 

Seriously dude did you see that game?

aBrohmination was an abomination at QB he didn't look he was familiar with American Football. You can't blame the line on that, although it did look the line was A-Ok with aBrohmination getting killed in that game.

The team plays for Fitzy is what that game proved to me.

 

They sure play hard for Fitzy, hard enough to win 4 games against 4 bad teams and that was it. Fitz is the best we got right now and better than Edwards, Losman, Borhm, Brown, and even better than Me, but that surely does not make him an even average NFL QB capable of leading a team to the playoffs, he is a nice backup QB, and that is it.

[....lybob]

The O-line started off pretty bad but improved over the season- just getting Green out at RT was a huge improvement. I have some hope for a pretty good O-line this year Bell and Wood have an off-season where they can actually strength train instead of rehab and Levitre should be coming into his own this season. The right side is up in the air but the Bills have a lot of bodies to throw at it 8-10 depending on if you think Hangartner RG and Heard RT are in the running- some candidates below.

 

COLIN BROWN-RT

ERIK PEARS- RT

JASON WATKINS-RT

Chris Hairston-RT

KRAIG URBIK- RG

CHAD RINEHART-RG

MANSFIELD WROTTO-RG

CORDARO HOWARD-RG

 

Is there enough talent here to get two legit starters? RG for sure, RT not so confident.

[spartacus]

You are so fighting a losing battle. I think it's pretty clear who doesn't watch the game or perhaps you can't see the forest for the trees. Fitz was so important to what we did accomplish on the offensive side of the ball it is laughable you could assert otherwise.

here's some stats regarding Fitz's performance under pressure

 

 

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=594145

 

Beating the Blitz

May 12th, 2011 | Author: Khaled Elsayed

 

You want to be a quarterback in the NFL? Well you know you need to be gifted physically. You need to have the arm to zip the ball into tight spots, the accuracy to hit your man, and the mobility to avoid defenders that are crashing in around you.

 

You also need to be smart. You need to recognize defenses and see what is coming. You need to process information quickly and make the right decision.

 

Nowhere is that ability (or lack thereof) more apparent than in the face of a blitz. It doesn’t matter whether the defense is bringing everyone or dropping an end into coverage and overloading on the other side. You need to pick it up and get that ball somewhere.

 

It’s what can separate a good quarterback from a truly great one and that begs the question: who are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with the blitz?

 

Well, fortunately, Pro Football Focus tracks every blitz and every result of every blitz and we’re going share with you what the numbers say. It only took a spreadsheet with over two hundred columns to process it all.

 

The qualifying minimum to be part of this study was being blitzed at least 100 times.

 

 

Bullseyes On Their Backs

 

I guess if you’re going to break down how quarterbacks deal with the blitz, it would be nice to look at which quarterbacks get blitzed most often. Something of particular interest to Raider fans, who will see two of their players in the top six.

 

Having the house thrown at him more than any other was Bruce Gradkowski. The former Buc and Brown felt the blitz on 57.8% of all of his drop backs for Oakland in 2010 with the next in line, Joe Flacco, finishing a figurative mile behind, seeing blitzes on 49.51% of his drops from center. Just outside of the Top 5 was the aforementioned other Raider, Jason Campbell. Elite quarterbacks Matt Ryan (44% of plays) and Ben Roethlisberger (41.21%) both saw a lot of men coming their way as teams tried to slow them down.

 

In less of a surprise, rookies Colt McCoy (45.59%), Sam Bradford (42.03%), and Jimmy Clausen (41.28%) all faced their share of blitzes, while defenses smelt blood with Ryan Fitzpatrick (45.95%) and those multiple receiver sets the Bills liked to use.

 

Here’s a complete list of how much each quarterback was blitzed.

 

 

Percentage of Pass Play Blitzed

Rank (DropBack) (DropBack Blitzed) (Blitzed %)

1 Bruce GradkowskiOAK 173 100 57.80%

2 Joe Flacco BLT 618 306 49.51%

3 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF 494 227 45.95%

4 Colt McCoy CLV 261 119 45.59%

5 Matt Ryan ATL 650 286 44.00%

6 Jason Campbell OAK 388 168 43.30%

7 Sam Bradford SL 640 269 42.03%

8 Josh Freeman TB 544 225 41.36%

9 Jimmy Clausen CAR 344 142 41.28%

10 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT 546 225 41.21%

11 Alex D. Smith SF 375 153 40.80%

12 Brett Favre MIN 383 154 40.21%

13 Matt Schaub HST 611 244 39.93%

14 Mark Sanchez NYJ 640 251 39.22%

15 Carson Palmer CIN 620 243 39.19%

16 Derek Anderson ARZ 355 139 39.15%

17 Jay Cutler CHI 565 219 38.76%

18 Aaron Rodgers GB 695 266 38.27%

19 Donovan McNabb WAS 525 199 37.90%

20 Drew Brees NO 747 282 37.75%

21 Kyle Orton DEN 545 205 37.61%

22 Peyton Manning IND 724 271 37.43%

23 Eli Manning NYG 565 210 37.17%

24 Chad Henne MIA 540 199 36.85%

25 Michael Vick PHI 510 186 36.47%

26 Philip Rivers SD 591 209 35.36%

27 Tom Brady NE 572 200 34.97%

28 Matt Cassel KC 519 176 33.91%

29 David Garrard JAX 421 141 33.49%

30 Jon Kitna DAL 357 119 33.33%

31 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 566 181 31.98%

32 Shaun Hill DET 448 136 30.36%

 

 

 

 

Down near the bottom, teams shied away from attacking the aging trio of Shaun Hill (30.36%), Matt Hasselbeck (31.98%), and Jon Kitna (33.33%). Meanwhile, it would appear teams were scared of sending more men after Tom Brady, for fear of leaving his receivers even more room to roam.

 

One figure that did catch my attention was how low Michael Vick was on the list. Understandably, teams have to account for Vick’s mobility, but the Vikings showed how susceptible he could be to pressure off the edge as Antoine Winfield got the zone blitz working. Furthermore, Vick wasn’t exactly seeing the whole field, with just 15.55% of his throws going to the right side.

 

Philadelphia can expect more of this. If you want to know why, you need only look at Vick’s completion percentage when blitzed as it dropped to 52.98%.

 

 

Accuracy Impacted

 

At the top of this next list – completion percentage when blitzed – it’s no real surprise that Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers are securely among the best, but there may be a small shock in store for some with Chad Henne ranking so highly. When you consider Miami’s preference for keeping extra guys in to protect, some explanation is offered. With 5.84 men kept in on average, Miami’s number was third highest in the league. Comparatively, teams like New Orleans and San Diego keep in a relatively low 5.51 men per pass play.

 

 

Completion Percentage When Blitzed

Rank Blitzed Attempts Completions Completion%

1 Drew Brees NO 282 267 176 65.92%

2 Chad Henne MIA 199 179 114 63.69%

3 Aaron Rodgers GB 266 245 154 62.86%

4 Philip Rivers SD 209 190 118 62.11%

5 Matt Schaub HST 244 226 140 61.95%

6 Matt Ryan ATL 286 268 165 61.57%

7 Jon Kitna DAL 119 104 64 61.54%

8 Eli Manning NYG 210 198 121 61.11%

9 Carson Palmer CIN 243 223 136 60.99%

10 Peyton Manning IND 271 261 159 60.92%

11 Josh Freeman TB 225 200 121 60.50%

12 Shaun Hill DET 136 124 75 60.48%

13 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 181 166 100 60.24%

14 Joe Flacco BLT 306 276 162 58.70%

15 Matt Cassel KC 176 158 92 58.23%

16 Jay Cutler CHI 219 188 108 57.45%

17 Tom Brady NE 200 190 109 57.37%

18 Alex D. Smith SF 153 137 78 56.93%

19 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF 227 203 115 56.65%

20 Sam Bradford SL 269 246 139 56.50%

21 David Garrard JAX 141 119 67 56.30%

22 Jason Campbell OAK 168 139 78 56.12%

23 Colt McCoy CLV 119 100 56 56.00%

24 Brett Favre MIN 154 148 82 55.41%

25 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT 225 194 106 54.64%

26 Michael Vick PHI 186 151 80 52.98%

27 Donovan McNabb WAS 199 182 96 52.75%

28 Mark Sanchez NYJ 251 231 120 51.95%

29 Kyle Orton DEN 205 191 93 48.69%

30 Bruce GradkowskiOAK 100 88 41 46.59%

31 Jimmy Clausen CAR 142 116 51 43.97%

32 Derek Anderson ARZ 139 127 52 40.94%

 

 

 

 

Down where you don’t want to be, you get a little bit of numbers to back up what we already know when it comes to Derek Anderson. After our deep ball article looked favorably at his accuracy going downfield, you see the true problem with him. He gets flustered in stressful situations. While others excel against the blitz, he’s completing just 40.94% of his passes. When you’re ranked lower than Jimmy Clausen you got some explaining to do.

 

 

Points Not Picks

 

So we’ve looked at accuracy, but what about the plays that show up on highlight reels? Which players are using the blitz to put up points, and which ones are feeling the heat and turning it over? In a shocking result, Peyton Manning is at the top.

 

Turning the sarcasm off for a second, it is a surprise to have him joined by Mark Sanchez. For all his faults (and he has a few), Sanchez tends to work best when teams give him more of the field to exploit, handling the teams that go after him.

 

Touchdown to Interception Ratio When Blitzed

Rank Blitzed TDs INTs TD / INT

1t Peyton Manning IND 271 13 3 4.3

1t Mark Sanchez NYJ 251 13 3 4.3

3 Joe Flacco BLT 306 12 4 3.0

4 Matt Ryan ATL 286 14 5 2.8

5 Michael Vick PHI 186 8 3 2.7

6 Sam Bradford SL 269 10 4 2.5

7t Eli Manning NYG 210 16 7 2.3

7t Jon Kitna DAL 119 9 4 2.3

7t Ben RoethlisbergerPIT 225 9 4 2.3

10t Josh Freeman TB 225 11 5 2.2

10t Aaron Rodgers GB 266 13 6 2.2

12t Carson Palmer CIN 243 10 5 2.0

12t Tom Brady NE 200 8 4 2.0

14t Matt Cassel KC 176 9 5 1.8

14t Kyle Orton DEN 205 7 4 1.8

16 Philip Rivers SD 209 10 6 1.7

17 Matt Schaub HST 244 8 5 1.6

18 Jason Campbell OAK 168 6 4 1.5

19t Ryan FitzpatrickBUF 227 12 9 1.3

19t Donovan McNabb WAS 199 8 6 1.3

21t Chad Henne MIA 199 7 6 1.2

21t David Garrard JAX 141 7 6 1.2

23t Drew Brees NO 282 6 6 1.0

23t Matt Hasselbeck SEA 181 5 5 1.0

23t Alex D. Smith SF 153 4 4 1.0

23t Jimmy Clausen CAR 142 2 2 1.0

27t Jay Cutler CHI 219 5 6 0.8

27t Bruce GradkowskiOAK 100 3 4 0.8

29t Shaun Hill DET 136 2 3 0.7

29t Colt McCoy CLV 119 2 3 0.7

31 Brett Favre MIN 154 4 8 0.5

32 Derek Anderson ARZ 139 1 5 0.2

 

 

 

 

Again it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Derek Anderson, and it gives some numbers to the widely held feeling that Brett Favre should never have come back. A more surprising figure sees Drew Brees towards the bottom at 23rd. Given how many times he threw the ball when blitzed you can understand the six interceptions to a degree, but it’s slightly stunning there weren’t more touchdowns.

 

 

Grading

 

Lastly, as everyone knows, we grade plays on a certain scale. Some of that was explained briefly in this article. I reviewed our grades specifically for blitz situations. Things that won’t astound are how well our the top three in this list did, but Eli Manning probably doesn’t spring to mind as a guy expected to rank well. The same goes for Carson Palmer, who may not be coming off his best year, but there’s something left in the tank if the Bengals are prepared to let him go.

 

 

Pro Football Focus Grade When Blitzed

QB Rating When Blitzed Grade When Blitzed

1 Aaron Rodgers GB 60.9 39.0

2 Matt Ryan ATL 86.5 34.0

3 Philip Rivers SD 74.3 23.5

4 Eli Manning NYG 61.0 22.0

5 Carson Palmer CIN 63.9 22.0

6 Joe Flacco BLT 64.0 21.5

7 Ben Roethlisberger PIT 81.1 19.0

8 Peyton Manning IND 67.4 18.0

9 Matt Schaub HST 58.7 17.5

10 Drew Brees NO 64.3 16.0

11 Shaun Hill DET 52.0 14.5

12 Sam Bradford SL 51.0 14.0

13 Josh Freeman TB 79.4 13.5

14 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 67.7 12.5

15 Mark Sanchez NYJ 51.9 11.5

16 Chad Henne MIA 48.8 11.5

17 Tom Brady NE 84.5 11.0

18 Jason Campbell OAK 60.6 9.5

19 Michael Vick PHI 65.3 9.0

20 Jay Cutler CHI 68.9 9.0

21 Jon Kitna DAL 78.7 8.0

22 Ryan Fitzpatrick BUF 44.0 6.5

23 Brett Favre MIN 43.2 6.0

24 Alex D. Smith SF 66.1 4.0

25 David Garrard JAX 67.2 3.5

26 Colt McCoy CLV 53.8 2.5

27 Kyle Orton DEN 62.4 1.0

28 Matt Cassel KC 63.2 0.5

29 Jimmy Clausen CAR 50.3 0.5

30 Donovan McNabb WAS 46.7 -1.0

31 Bruce GradkowskiOAK 64.8 -2.0

32 Derek Anderson ARZ 56.1 -11.0

 

 

 

 

That brings to a close our look at the quarterbacks against the blitz. With metrics there are always mitigating circumstances and it’s so with our grading: players who are blitzed more are rewarded with more opportunities to make plays.

 

Such is life that things are rarely perfect, but there’s plenty of food for thought here as you wonder why some quarterbacks make it look so easy, and others seem like they’re playing a different game.

 

That’s what the blitz can do to quarterbacks.

[thewildrabbit]

To add to the above elongated post.....Team pass protection rankings

 

http://forums.footba...howtopic=594145

 

20. Buffalo Bills (1.71)

 

Improvement from the Bills. Demetrius Bell isn't even an average left tackle yet, but he was much better than 2009, and Fred Jackson seemed to finally begin to get what picking up the blitz was all about. But players like Cord Howard still get beat far too often, and the interior is all too readily pushed back. That will need to improve. With Ryan Fitzpatrick still at quarterback they at least have a guy who knows how to avoid sacks.

Pressure Per Play Rank: 21st

 

Sack % of Pressure Rank: 12th

 

Average Number of Blockers Per Play Rank: 19th

 

 

So basically what the poster is stating that even tho the Bills ranked 20th in team pass protections, a lot of it has to do with Fitz knowing how to avoid sacks

[ColdBlueNorth]

Last year we were 10th in rushing yards per attempt. So why do people keep saying our o line was terrible in the run game? Our rush totals were lower because of how often we passed, even in games we effectively ran the ball, not because we couldn't run. FJ was (if I am not mistaken) 4th or 5th in the NFL in rushing over the second half of the season once he was full time starter.

This is one of those cases where stats don't outright lie, but they do distort the truth. 10th per attempt, but we were dragging the bottom of the bowl in attempts per game - somewhere around 25th in the league.

 

Granted, I will agree that it was not just an o-line run blocking issue; although that did factor in at the worst times. Our team has been so pathetic passing the ball the last few years that teams have always loaded the box on us against the run and dared us to pass. Fitz finally started making them pay a bit for that.

 

A better passing game will loosen things up for our running game, I would like to see Easley out there and a tightend that forces the linebackers/safeties to stay home or cover them out in the flat. That, and Gailey has to be a bit more patient with the ground game as well. When we needed the tough yards we couldn't get them and the coaching staff would give up on the ground game. Running backs like Jackson need more carries to get on track than he normally got per game last year. I can understand if the team seriously falls behind and has to catch up through the air. The Bills had their share of those.

 

It is better with Jackson in there, and maybe Spiller will develop into something.

[BillsVet]

I am very concerned about the OL and more so Ryan Fitzpatrick. There is alot more film to break down on him now. If someone figures him out, we're in a world of trouble. The Offense wasn't on the field long enough. We couldn't sustain drives. The fact we haven't done squat to upgrade the Offense in the draft scares the living crap out of me, quite seriously. We need another Deep Threat at WR and we need an actual threat at TE. We don't have the weapons.

 

The OL might be ok, but we really need a RT, they tried to address that last season and failed, but we need to go into FA this year and sign one, if we want to be good.

 

Buddy's got alot of work left to do...

 

It's a huge concern. The Bills OL and QB play is fine if they want to continue being a 4-7 win team. Pat Kirwan has noted in his recent book that of the 5 OL positions, the order of importance is LT, RT, LG, C, and RT. At LT, homers keep talking about Bell's potential, but his inability to remain healthy and overall lack of "sand in the pants" are the reasons why can't handle power rushers and is not yet starting caliber. The RT position has bodies, none of which appear to be more than marginal NFL'ers. I'm fine with the LG and perhaps the C, while not as concerned that the least important position, RG, will work itself out. Perhaps Rinehart or Urbik is at replacement level.

 

Still, this group isn't blowing people off the line in run blocking, save perhaps Levitre. I'm not insinuating they need to all be Pro Bowlers, but as a unit they left a lot to be desired. If the OL is the foundation of the offense, they need more talent, not more bodies. As for TE's, well, they've become extra blockers and I'm not confident they'll invest money into someone that can attack a defense.

[Bill from NYC]

Still, this group isn't blowing people off the line in run blocking, save perhaps Levitre.

 

Nope. Levitre, easily their best blocker, was a LT in college. His biggest asset is finesse and mobility as a pass protector. I like him a lot at LG, but he is not, nor will he ever be a mauler. That was supposed to be Wood but truthfully, I don't see him ever manhandling opponents, but this could be due to his very serious injuries.

 

What the above leaves us with is a team that there is no reason for opposing defensive lines to fear. We just don't have any crushing blockers. They have to address this issue next season. There really isn't any choice.

 

Again, the damage done to this team by Levy/Jauron is almost beyond belief.

[Orton's Arm]

Nope. Levitre, easily their best blocker, was a LT in college. His biggest asset is finesse and mobility as a pass protector. I like him a lot at LG, but he is not, nor will he ever be a mauler. That was supposed to be Wood but truthfully, I don't see him ever manhandling opponents, but this could be due to his very serious injuries.

 

What the above leaves us with is a team that there is no reason for opposing defensive lines to fear. We just don't have any crushing blockers. They have to address this issue next season. There really isn't any choice.

 

Again, the damage done to this team by Levy/Jauron is almost beyond belief.

No argument there! Look at the team Nix inherited. On offense, there was no quarterback, and little on the OL beyond Levitre and Wood. There were a few bright spots at skill positions, however, with guys like Stevie Johnson, Fred Jackson, and an aging Lee Evans from the TD era. That's something, but not enough to compensate for the lack of a QB + OTs.

 

On defense, everyone in the front-7--with only two exceptions--was either a) nearing retirement, b) not particularly good, or c) both. (The two exceptions being Kyle Williams and Poz.)

 

In the defensive secondary, Nix inherited some respectably good safeties, including Byrd, Whitner, Scott, and above all, George Wilson.

 

Good CBs are more valuable, and are harder to find, than good safeties. Despite the fact that Jauron is to the defensive secondary what you are to the offensive line , the cupboard was nearly bare at CB. An aging Terrence McGee was paired with a Leodis McKelvin who seems to lack the instincts necessary to be a good CB.

 

Assuming at least part of Nix's focus is on the long haul, he should be thinking in terms of what I call "building block players." By that I mean players who are young enough to be with you a long time, and are good enough to be part of a long-term answer. The building block players Nix inherited consist of a couple of interior offensive linemen, Stevie Johnson, a DT, an ILB, some safeties, and not much else. That's very few players for Nix to begin with, and none of those players plays a premium, difficult-to-fill position like QB or LT or RDE. Someone's signature--I don't remember whose--quoted Ralph Wilson as saying (with a hearty laugh) that the Bills started the Nix era with no players. While there's some hyperbole to that statement, there isn't very much!

[thewildrabbit]

It's a huge concern. The Bills OL and QB play is fine if they want to continue being a 4-7 win team. Pat Kirwan has noted in his recent book that of the 5 OL positions, the order of importance is LT, RT, LG, C, and RT. At LT, homers keep talking about Bell's potential, but his inability to remain healthy and overall lack of "sand in the pants" are the reasons why can't handle power rushers and is not yet starting caliber. The RT position has bodies, none of which appear to be more than marginal NFL'ers. I'm fine with the LG and perhaps the C, while not as concerned that the least important position, RG, will work itself out. Perhaps Rinehart or Urbik is at replacement level.

 

Still, this group isn't blowing people off the line in run blocking, save perhaps Levitre. I'm not insinuating they need to all be Pro Bowlers, but as a unit they left a lot to be desired. If the OL is the foundation of the offense, they need more talent, not more bodies. As for TE's, well, they've become extra blockers and I'm not confident they'll invest money into someone that can attack a defense.

Pat kirwan might be a smart guy, I dunno, but I see things a bit differently

 

First player on the line with the best grade should be the center, this player calls the plays for the line and sets protections. Plus he touches the ball every offensive play and snaps on the QB's cadence. This player must know how to do his job better then the others IMO

 

The second highest graded position depends on which arm the QB throws with, if a right handed QB then the LT to protect his blind side. If its a left handed QB then you want the RT to have the highest grade. The tackle that protects the QB's blind side should be the best pass protector, and you usually want the best run blocker for the strong side at Tackle. At least that is the way I'd build the line.

 

 

 

The Buffalo Bills used 1st and 2nd round picks on two guards recently and those two are the best players on the Bills line ATM, not great players, just average. Just a little odd because most teams use 1st & 2nd round picks on tackles or center and use 3rd and later picks for guards, unless they look like sure fire pro bowlers.

 

Can the current line players get better, yea sure they can the more time they play together and the more experience they get. Not many old timers on that line.

 

Will they ever be a dominate pass or run blocking unit like the Jets, kinda doubtful from my viewpoint as they simply are lacking in talent it takes to be pro bowlers.