OL (december thread)

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leoram

What we have in the OLine are guys that are generally smart and just physical enough to operate well as a unit. Havs is strong but a bit stiff. Corbett has improved his strength and technique considerably. Blythe lacks power but at center is just strong enough to use his intelligence and technique to win more than he loses. He just isn’t powerful enough at guard. Edwards is a godsend as he will lock down his position for a long career and can fill at tackle if needed. Whit is elite but time is not our friend with him so the staff has to continue to develop Noteboom who needs to continue strengthening his core.

The key though is HOW they are utilized. Most of their reps have been with zone blocking principles and teams have learned how to beat this line in that manner which is why we just witnessed the shift in play design I’ve shouted for weeks to use. They are now using combo blocks and *gasp* Corbett actually pulled left on first down to spring Akers for 14. They used Everett as a fullback. By mixing up the run game, they’ve become less predictable and given this line a chance to attack rather than defend their deficiencies. Now, if they will just become less predictable on their play action game and screens, we may finally see the explosiveness this offense is capable of becoming.

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Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger are the most interesting ones. Each has thrown 7% of their career passes in 2020, but Rodgers has taken just 3% of his sacks and Ben just 2% this season.

— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) December 16, 2020

the goal of a great OL is not necessary a low sack rate. It's to maximize the team's chances of moving the ball. A great OL can be asked to hold up for longer, have less help from backs, etc., and so just having a great OL only goes so far. Meanwhile, some data has PIT OL as bad

— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) December 16, 2020

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from Which systems are the most OL-friendly and why?
Examining how some top offensive minds make life easier for the offensive line

Brandon Thorn

https://trenchwarfare.substack.com/p/which-systems-are-the-most-ol-friendly

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Sean McVay

Rams head coach Sean McVay runs a very similar offense as the coaches we covered in part one, with a heavy reliance on a zone-based running game and extensive use of play-action. But there are also some differences that make his system unique and enhance the offensive line’s ability to do their jobs.

McVay and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer structure the run and pass game as simply as possible, and practicality is at the forefront of their decision-making process. Rams starting center Austin Blythe gave me a snapshot of how McVay makes that happen by explaining an example in the run game. “Sean’s offense is nice because he designs it to be realistic,” Blythe said. “For example, the run game is a lot of zone running and he doesn’t ask us to do some ‘out of this world’ reach blocks that no one can do. We find the guys on the angle they’re on and move them where they want to go.”

Finding defenders on the angle they’re on and moving them where they want to go is essential to understand what makes the Rams such a productive rushing offense. In the example below, the Rams are running their staple wide zone concept out of a familiar alignment: 11 personnel formation and a condensed formation, with jet motion at the snap to pull the man coverage corner over the top.

The frontside of the line all depart at the same angle and look for someone to block on that angle, rather than chasing any single defender or having to ‘hook’ or ‘reach’ anyone. The backside has to seal and form a wall to create a cutback lane.

By teaching the O-line how to take a proper angle and find defenders rather than trying to track and stop a more athletic player’s movement in space, blockers are able to use the defender’s momentum to create horizontal displacement by guiding them further in the direction they want to go.

In any zone-oriented scheme, many of the big gains on the ground occur when the O-line uses their backside hand to expand or widen the point of contact. “Kromer emphasizes driving the backside knee with the backside hand to create movement on defenders,” Blyhe said.” A good backside hand can make a lot of really big plays.”

Using the backside hand and knee as a blocker helps to secure a block by keeping the defender flowing in one direction, which limits their ability to cross face back inside and cleans up the read for the runner. In the next clip, the Rams again are running a wide zone concept out of a condensed 11 personnel formation. Only this time, the frontside of the 49ers D-line slant inside. This changes the frontside O-line’s track based on the rules we discussed earlier about taking them in the direction they want to go. Blythe makes the key block here — note, using his backside hand — that springs a 61-yard gain.

In pass-protection, McVay incorporates considerable help for the O-line through the use of roll-outs, play-action, and screens. Said Blythe: “As far as the pass game goes, he (McVay) doesn’t make us drop back every time. Sure, that’s the majority of [any offense]. But there are so many rollouts, boots, screens, and PA, teams can’t just pin their ears back on pass downs and rush the crap out of us.”

Per Sports Info Solutions, through 13 weeks of the season QB Jared Goff ranks 1st in roll-outs (71), 3rd in play-action attempts (155), and 2nd in screen passes (59). So of Goff’s 450 drop-backs so far this season, the majority (285) have been one of these three concepts. That obviously makes his job easier as a quarterback, but it makes the offensive line’s job easier too. Because as Blythe said, the pass-rush never gets to “pin their ears back.”

These ideas are similar to ones we discussed last week when examining Kyle Shanahan and Gary Kubiak but neither uses them as extensively as McVay has in 2020.

Another aspect of pass-protection that makes things more straightforward for the O-line in McVay’s scheme — as well as in most systems rooted in West Coast terminology — is that the plays are called. By building the direction of the slide into the play call using 2-3 jet protections, McVay eliminates guesswork for his guys up front.”What’s super nice about Sean’s passing game, as far as center goes, is that a lot of times he has the direction of the slide already built into the call,” said Blythe. “So unless I see something obvious like a pressure from the other side, it’s nice that you don’t really have to think about which way to direct yourself at the center position. Teams that use more of a key/point protection system with a lot of sorting and reading pre-snap make things more demanding for the center. But with McVay’s offense, the center has a good idea about which direction he is moving pre-snap without having to decipher much information, which results in an uptick in play speed.

This next clip is a basic 2-jet protection, which is a 6-man protection with four of the five blockers sliding to the weak-side and blocking anything that comes into their gap. The backside tackle and running back take the defensive end and whichever guy comes off of the edge. You can see that even with a pre-snap motion pulling the weak-side linebacker outside, Blythe doesn’t even look at him because his responsibility is already determined.

This is a general benefit that a system of this style can bring to the center, but it’s important to point out as we get further into the unique things McVay does to assist the line in pass-protection.

Perhaps the best tactic that separates McVay from his peers in helping his offensive line with pass-protection is his use of no-huddle, pace, and tempo.

Heading into Week 14, the Rams ranked 3rd (135) in no-huddle snaps and 4th in plays per game (68.8, per Establish the Run’s Pat Thorman). Dictating tempo and denying a defense the ability to make substitutions or catch their breath slows down the pass-rush while exploiting mismatches up front and in the backend.

“A lot of times they can’t get a rush plan together, and they don’t get off the ball with any kind of get off, Blythe said. “That last part helps with the run and the pass. No get off equals good news for us.”

Manipulating tempo with a hurry-up offense is a great way to give the offensive line an advantage because it can put a defense in disarray. If Goff gets to the line after hurrying up and McVay likes the defensive look, the ball is immediately snapped without any sort of cadence or adjustment.

“That’s just Sean knowing what the defense is in and calling the play he likes against it, really,” Blythe said.

A perfect example is from the 1st quarter of the Rams Week 14 win over the Patriots. After a two-yard loss on 2nd & 10, the Rams go hurry-up and get the Patriots’ defense on its heels. Just before the TV broadcast goes to replay, you can see that linebacker Josh Uche is scrambling. And when the camera cuts back to the game, the ball is already snapped. The Rams move so fast that even the production crew was caught off-guard.

The Rams get a first down on 3rd & 12 primarily due to the quick thinking of their coach, who recognized that their best chance of converting was to use an element of surprise that allowed them to dictate terms to the defense by putting pressure on them to make a hurried decision. Wide receiver Robert Woods also ran a nice stop route that got him wide open for an easy completion and conversion. You can really see the disorganization on the Patriots side of the ball from the end zone angle below.

Because the Patriots weren’t able to get a rush plan together, there was virtually no push up the middle, which both gave Goff a clear picture of the defense without any obstruction and made the jobs for the offensive line easier..

You can see the same principle at work the week prior against the Cardinals, after another minimal gain on a 2nd-down WR screen that leads to the Rams going into hurry-up mode in hopes of confusing the defense.

Because the Rams are able to hit the gas at opportune times, the defense is forced to scramble to get on the same page. That allows the offense to dictate terms to the defense instead of the other way around. This clears up the picture for the offensive line while muddying up the pass-rush’s ability to form a coherent plan. These are just some of the ways that McVay uses his offensive genius to open up pathways for his players to succeed while making the Rams’ scheme one of the most conducive systems in the NFL for O-line linemen to find success.

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