Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › The Seattle OL
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September 17, 2016 at 11:01 am #53140
znModeratorThe entire Seattle OL is a mess right now. It has been a mess before, when injured. Now it’s a mess without being injured.
There are a small handful of qbs who can keep an offense going when the OL is either subpar or injury plagued or both. For different reasons, Wilson is one and Brady is another. But in Wilson’s case it depends on his legs and his ability to extend or save plays. So we’ll see how that ankle holds up.
Here’s PFF on the Seattle OL:
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https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-mia-sea-grades-seattle-miami-defenses-both-impress-in-opener/O-line proving to be major issue right away
The Seahawks’ offense did just enough on Sunday, highlighted by Doug Baldwin’s game-winning catch, but showed some glaring holes in their offensive line. The Seattle offense often employs inside zone runs; that type of zone blocking relies a lot on interior linemen. Seattle’s two guards, Mark Glowinski and J’Marcus Webb, graded at 34.3 and 32.6, respectively, in run blocking, which is a bad omen if they want to build around their inside-zone game.
More from a different source:
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Seahawks, and Russell Wilson, may finally pay the price for ignoring offensive line
For the past four years, Seahawks general manager John Schneider has been playing with fire. Until now though he’s managed not to get burned.
Seattle has invested heavily in Russell Wilson as their franchise quarterback, however they’ve done little to nothing in the way of protecting that investment. In fact, all signs point towards a calculated divestment in those most responsible for the quarterback’s health — the offensive line.
It’s difficult to question the strategy up until this point with one Super Bowl ring and another Super Bowl appearance over that span, but without the luxury of Marshawn Lynch and with Wilson already suffering an ankle injury in Week 1, it’s worth questioning whether or not Schneider’s plan will be sustainable in the future. Or the present.
From 2013-15 Russell Wilson was knocked down or sacked on 359 of his 1,892 dropbacks, the second highest total in the NFL over those years behind only Ryan Tannehill (372). When looked at as a percentage of dropbacks though, Wilson’s 19 percent easily leads the league. That’s quite the figure, especially considering quarterbacks like Andy Dalton (8.8 percent) and Peyton Manning (9.4 percent) were half as likely to get hit as Wilson, yet both missed considerably more playing time due to injury over those years. While it’s true that Wilson brings some of that upon himself, it’s also true that the Seahawks’ offensive line has been one of the worst in the league over that span.
That’s what happens though when an entire unit is for the most part ignored. From 2012-15, here are the Seahawks’ draft picks along the offensive line:
2012: None
2013: Ryan Seymour, G, 7th round; Michael Bowie, T, 7th round
2014: Justin Britt, T, 2nd round; Garrett Scott, T, 6th round
2015: Terry Poole, G, 4th round; Mark Glowinski, G, 4th round; Kristjan Sokoli, G/DT, 6th round
Four years of drafts, one lone pick spent on an offensive lineman before the fourth round. And it doesn’t stop there. Last offseason they traded away center Max Unger, their highest graded offensive lineman, for Jimmy Graham without any reasonable backup plan in place. Then this past offseason they yet again lost their top offensive lineman as they let Russell Okung sign a very friendly deal in Denver that has a cap hit of only $5.2 million this season. Yet again they had no discernible replacement strategy.
Seattle did use its first-round pick in the 2016 draft on an offensive lineman: Texas A&M tackle Germain Ifedi, who has missed the start of the season due to injury. But simply put, the Seahawks have diverted fewer resources to their offensive line than any team in the NFL. The average Seahawks offensive lineman is making a shade over $1 million a year, the lowest figure in the NFL. Only five other teams fall below a $2 million yearly average and seven teams are above $3 million. This season, the Seahawks offensive line counts just $8.9 million against their cap. That’s a mere 5.9 percent of their total cap liabilities for the year. The secondary on the other hand makes up 25.2 percent of their cap liabilities this season. As the old adage goes, you get what you pay for.
From 2013-15 the line has never finished higher than 26th in pass-blocking and 22nd in run-blocking as a team in Pro Football Focus’s grading system. The current incarnation of the Seattle offensive line may be the best they’ve had in some time, but that isn’t saying much. They signed career backups Bradley Sowell (left tackle) and J’Marcus Webb (guard) this offseason and both were thrust into starting roles Week 1 with predictably poor results. Justin Britt looks much more competent at center and left guard Mark Glowinski had a solid preseason, but Garry Gilliam has shown little to no improvement so far after he was the fourth-lowest graded right tackle in 2015.
In the past though offensive line issues have been swept under the rug. Much of that can be attributed to the work of Wilson and Marshawn Lynch. One rushing play, the zone read, turns their running game from an average one into an elite. On 128 zone reads in 2015 the Seahawks averaged 5.3 yards per carry. On all other runs that number was only 4.2. That play doesn’t work though without Wilson, and it’s one you can’t risk running if your quarterback is nursing even the most minor of injuries.
So is this the year Schneider’s gamble finally goes sour? We can’t know that answer right now. It’s a question though that should worry Seahawks fans as the stakes at the moment could not be higher. With Wilson battling a bad ankle that could limit his mobility, he may be more susceptible to punishment than ever before. And given the shaky history of the Seattle line, that’s saying something.
September 17, 2016 at 12:14 pm #53145
InvaderRamModeratorgo after russell wilson. punish him.
if rams can’t get up for first home game in los angeles we’re in for a long season.
September 17, 2016 at 3:44 pm #53169
wvParticipantSo are you on the Wilson bandwagon now? There was a time you did not think he was ‘elite’ — but if you are putting him in the same category as Brady, does that mean you have elevated him?
w
vSeptember 17, 2016 at 5:08 pm #53180
WinnbradParticipantIf the Hawks are smart, and they’re not, they’ll throw short quick passes all day against the Rams. The Hawks have VERY sure-handed WRs. They can move the chains, keep our D on the field, and kind of protect Wilson.
The game probably won’t go that way though. I’m guessing the Hawks will turn the ball over, try to take deep shots against our safeties (they’re not good), and Wilson will run all over the place because that’s what he always tries to do.
Oh, and let’s not forget the massive amounts of penalties both teams will incur.
Hopefully, this will be a very ugly game. The Rams can win those. 🙂
September 17, 2016 at 7:03 pm #53189znModeratorSo are you on the Wilson bandwagon now? There was a time you did not think he was ‘elite’ — but if you are putting him in the same category as Brady, does that mean you have elevated him?
w
vWell I have double answer to that.
He always had the unique ability to get away with playing behind a less that spectacular OL. He used his legs, was elusive, and so on. It’s not just that he could run, he was elusive. He knew where to run.
So both he and Brady, in completely different ways, could still play behind bad lines. Brady actually usually has a good line but last year it was a mess. They could still play because he could run a very smart, very tight quick passing game.
Though they both shared that ability, for different reasons, Brady was still elite and he wasn’t.
But starting last year Wilson picked up his passing game. I would put him up there in a long list of good to very good qbs in the NFL right now. He has grown into being a very proficient passer.
It’s no longer the case where he is on a team where the defense and Lynch do most of the difference making. He is much more of what they do now.
But I am very withholding when it comes to tossing the word elite around.
That means that putting Brady and Wilson in the same category as qbs who can actually play with damaged or subpar lines (or damaged subpar lines) doesn’t mean I had them at the same level overall as qbs. I was just referring to that one thing.
There are actually very good qbs and in fact elite qbs who CAN’T play well under those conditions (bad OL). Manning couldn;t, Luck couldn’t.
In fact here’s a companion piece on Luck and his improved OL:
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from PFF: COLTS’ O-LINE IMPROVEMENT MAJOR FACTOR IN ANDREW LUCK’S HOT START
Andrew Luck recorded the league’s top QB grade in Week 1; Sam Monson breaks down the performance.Against Detroit, though, the gameplan hadn’t changed. Luck’s average depth of target against the Lions was 11.3 yards, and his average time per pass attempt was 2.66, identical to a year ago. The only changes were that Luck was once again back to his best, and that the offensive line was significantly better at protecting him.
The Colts have made investments in that line, with first-round rookie center Ryan Kelly the most notable, and it resulted in Luck being pressured on just 29.4 percent of his dropbacks against the Lions. If that rate holds up over the season, it would mark the first time in his career that the number has been less than 30 percent of his dropbacks. In fact, it would be the best figure by a clear six percent, as every other year of his career has been somewhere between 36.2 and 40 percent. The line still isn’t exactly good, but it’s at least taken a major step forward from bad.
While Luck may never have quite lived up to his potential in the past—and there has always been a greater volume of “bad Luck” in his play than people like to recognize—it’s impossible to accurately describe how much of that is influenced by poor protection on his offensive line. Not necessarily on any single play, but what effect the overall feeling of insecurity in the pocket has on him. Even if Luck doesn’t improve from the level we have seen in the past on a tangible, individual level, we may well see a significant improvement in his play if the O-line protecting him can sustain the development they showed in the first game of 2016.
September 17, 2016 at 7:10 pm #53190wvParticipantWell I’ll tell ya, this trait you are talking about — ie, “ability to be effective behind a bad OLine” — that is a damn important and rare trait.
I’d say any QB that can do THAT is at least ‘near-elite’. Ya know.
I mean that is a helluva trait.Other than the ability to play well in the clutch or in the redzone,
I cant think of a more important trait.w
vSeptember 17, 2016 at 8:00 pm #53193znModeratorWell I’ll tell ya, this trait you are talking about — ie, “ability to be effective behind a bad OLine” — that is a damn important and rare trait.
I’d say any QB that can do THAT is at least ‘near-elite’. Ya know.
I mean that is a helluva trait.Other than the ability to play well in the clutch or in the redzone,
I cant think of a more important trait.w
vWell except, again, there are qbs who ARE elite who don’t perform well behind badly beat up OLs.
The more important trait, IMO, is the ability to see the field an get off an accurate throw to the right spot, regardless what the defense is doing.
Actually in last year’s playoffs the Patz went up against Denver as you remember, and the Patz could not pull off going against a top defense with that OL. Brady reportedly got hit more times in that game than qb in any other game the entire season. He wasn’t as good that day.
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