Joe Barksdale: Best tackle in the NFL?

http://ramblinfan.com/2014/09/16/pro-football-focus-grading-review-top-performers-week-2/

At least week 2 he was–according to PFF.

Last week, the St. Louis Rams did not perform well enough to deserve a review of their grades. Aside from Aaron Donald, the straight-A student thus far, there were barely any passable grades in the class. This week, that is not the case, with plenty of positivity to go around following the Rams gutsy win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road this past Sunday. While there is still certainly room for improvement across the board, there were some individuals that truly stuck out this week.

Making direct comparisons between players can be difficult, if not impossible, without a trained eye and more advanced metrics. With that in mind, we turn our attention to Pro Football Focus, one of the most reputable sites for advanced statistics and players grading in the NFL.

Like with any semi-subjective form of analysis, the experts at the site are certainly not “perfect” in their weekly evaluations of players. However, taken with a grain of salt, their grades are about as close to “fair and objective” as you’ll find anywhere in the world of NFL personnel analysis.

So, using their Week 2 evaluations as a reasonable metric for performance, how did some of the “key” St. Louis Rams units fair against the Bucs?

Top “Skill” Player- Austin Davis (+1.8)

Austin Davis was the offensive “man of the hour” on Sunday, ended his first NFL start with a gutsy win on the road. Following a solid game plan, laid out by Brian Schottenheimer, Davis went 22 of 29 passing for 235 yards. His performance would not only rank him atop the St. Louis Rams skill players, but also notch him in the Top 10 overall quarterbacks in Week 2. Austin Pettis, after stepping in for the injured Tavon Austin, graded out second among the skill players, despite getting only 18 total offensive snaps. However, he made the most of each one, with three catches on four targets, including the game-changing 3rd down grab that set up the game-winning field goal.

Top Offensive Lineman- Joe Barksdale (+4.5)

Not only was Barksdale the highest graded offensive lineman on the St. Louis, he was also the highest graded offensive tackle in the NFL in Week 2. Sporting a +1.9 pass blocking grade and +2.4 run blocking grade, the Rams starting right tackle truly showcased his skills versus a diminished Tampa Bay defensive line. He allowed zero sacks, zero hits, and zero hurries in 63 offensive snaps, with running backs averaging 5.0 yards per carry when running off his shoulder. Jake Long (+3.0) was not too far behind, grading out second overall on the team, and 7th overall among offensive tackles in the league.

Top Defensive Lineman- Aaron Donald (+4.1)

Despite sharing a defensive line with Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald, for the second-consecutive week, graded out tops among defenders for the St. Louis Rams. Not only did he grade out ahead of all Rams defensive personnel, he also ranked No.1 among defensive tackles this week, with a positive showing as both a pass rusher and run stopper after managing one sack, three tackles, and three defensive stops in only 25 snaps. Not bad, rookie.

Top “Back-Seven” Player- James Laurinaitis (+1.7)

Had special teams plays counted towards these grades, T.J. McDonald would have ran away with his category. Alas, they do not, leaving the Rams defensive signal caller in the No.1 spot for the second- and third-level defenders. Laurinaitis had a solid all-around game on Sunday, including two hits on the quarterback, two defensive stops, and zero missed tackles. He was also exceptional in coverage, being “targeted” only once, and tackling Bobby Rainey for a -3 yard loss on the play. Rodney McLeod (+1.2) was next down the list, recording five tackles and making the critical redzone interception on his lone “targeted” pass attempt.