LeCharles Bentley: 5 Things All Great Offensive Linemen Do to be Successful

Isn’t GRob working with him?

He retweeted something from Bentley, but I dunno if he’s actually gone to his training facility.

Greg Robinson – Left Tackle, St. Louis Rams

Greg Robinson could very well be the most physically gifted offensive linemen in the NFL. It’s obvious he possesses a true love for the game by the style in which he plays. In an era where many offensive linemen aren’t being heralded for their toughness or mean streaks, Greg Robinson approaches the game like a true throwback trench warrior.

Unfortunately, his physical prowess hasn’t yielded the performance threshold the St. Louis Rams were anticipating when they drafted him second overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. This reality has come as a surprise to many, but to those that appreciate offensive line as a craft, his struggles aren’t a shock.

Greg Robinson is merely a byproduct of the current football climate we live in. The proliferation of spread offenses throughout the collegiate ranks has stunted the development of the most coveted position in all of football. Spread offenses demand more from every single player on the field, except offensive line. The quarterbacks, defensive backs, defensive linemen and wide receivers are asked to know more and do more than ever before. On the other hand, offensive linemen are asked to know less and do less, thus are not developing the transferable skill sets required to play in the NFL. In reference to Greg’s collegiate offensive scheme, Paul Boudreau, the Rams offensive line coach, told Greg. A Bedard of Sports Illustrated, “They had four run plays and one protection – slide left, slide right. He didn’t have a snap count.”

We aren’t in a position to tell collegiate coaches what style of offense they should be running. The only possible solution to the perfect storm of inept offensive line play that has been created is to do what all great offensive linemen do very well, adapt. If a player like Greg Robinson who has off the chart measurable’s and a true desire to become the best player he can be can’t be “fixed” within this broken system of development, the game of football is in a ditch that may need to double as a grave.

The Block

Stance

All of Greg’s issues stem from his inconsistencies found in the stance. He’s playing in stance’s that are too narrow or too wide at times, his hips aren’t consistently square to the line of scrimmage and his left heel is off the ground (See Photo’s 1 & 2)

Hip open:heel off ground – 1Left heel off ground

Inconsistent / Run Game

Greg’s narrow or too wide of a base (Feet Alignment) causes significant issues for him on run and passing plays. In the run game, his inconsistent base forces him to “lead with his knee” and “swoop” his left foot upon initial movement (see illustrations). These two mechanical flaws cause him to play with too much weight outside his frame and not distributed properly. This will explain why he is so easily thrown off front side base blocks. He plays too far outside of his landmark’s on the defender. Greg is either going to hit big or miss big because of this mechanical flaw. In regards to backside cutoff’s, his base doesn’t allow him to get his frontside hip as open as it should be. He does a very poor job on backside cutoffs, not because he can’t but because he isn’t in a position to effectively do so.

Knee LeadKnee Lead 2

Heel SwoopHeel Swoop 2

Inconsistent Base / Pass Protection

Greg has a problem that is called “under-stepping” (see illustration). During his pass set at about the second kick, you will notice how the left foot travels upfield. This happens because his narrow stance causes him to take too big of an initial kick. He’s trying to make up the difference by attempting to cover more ground than he needs to. This is where momentum takes over, that’s not a good thing. That subtle upfield movement by the left foot is his body trying to autocorrect itself at a high rate of speed. The idea of pass protection is for him to keep the left foot in a “catch” position, meaning at any given point he is ready to take on pressure. When the left foot travels upfield he develops a “soft hip” which shortens the edge for the pass rusher. Greg is ungodly strong but he isn’t able to utilize his full strength because of this issue. I akin this to building an oak stool that only has three legs. The wood is strong, it’s well built, but it has no base.

Upfield Step:Under step – 1Upfield Step : under step 2

Hips not square to line of scrimmage

Greg isn’t consistent with keeping his hips square to the line of scrimmage (See photos above). If you pay close attention to his waistline or jersey numbers, you’ll see they slightly are turned towards the defender. This may seem to be a minor infraction but it’s a felony in the offensive line performance world. Greg loses the holy grail of offensive line play before the ball is even snapped, leverage. He has created a “soft edge” for the defender. When you couple this with his narrow base and the outlined problems created with it, his hips not being square compounds all of the issues.

Heel off the ground / Run & Pass

Here you’ll find the performance leak many offensive linemen suffer from. When the heel being off the ground is paired with the other noted problems, there’s gas thrown on the fire. Greg is constantly in a position where his outside knee leads all of his movement (See knee lead illustration). In the pass game this swinging action sets the stage for him turning way too soon during a pass set. In the run game, he loses control of his body because he’s playing under the influence of momentum and that’s illegal in this country. The body of an offensive lineman must always be in a position to fight pressure with pressure. The knee being inside the toe for as long as possible allows this to happen. There’s more musculature activated in this position and joints are more correctly aligned to be more stable.

Poor Hand Usage

Greg Robinson has issues with his upper body as well. His hand placement in the run game is poor and in pass protection he punches himself “open” far too often. These issues are symptoms, they aren’t the ailment. The ailment is all that has been outlined. Offensive line play begins from the ground up! His hands will be fixed when his lower body is addressed. Investing time into working on his hands while ignoring the obvious issues below the waist is like putting a new paint job on a car with no wheels. It’s a poor investment.

Punching Hip Open 1Punching Hip Open – 2

Bottom Block

There’s nothing going on with Greg Robinson that can’t be fixed. I believe Greg can be one of the greatest offensive linemen to ever play in the NFL. I hear the notion that he’s not cut out to be a left tackle because he’s not “athletic” enough. If Andrew Whitworth is “athletic” enough to play left tackle in the NFL, Greg Robinson can. If he’s moved to guard without addressing the root issues, his career will be shortened. He will play guard as if he’s in a street fight, that’s a good and bad thing. The bad, it’s only a matter of time before something breaks. You can’t run away from bad mechanics. There needs to be more attention to detail in his understanding of how his body is supposed to work as an elite offensive lineman and to how it is prepared to perform at an elite level.