FootballOutsiders.com is the only site I've seen that actually measures how well a line does with blocking by measuring how well a player does close to the line of scrimmage (a measure of the line) versus how well a player does father away from the line of scrimmage (a measure to the talent of the player). I still don't 100% trust them, but I believe their stats more than a lot of people's "eye".
As of this exact moment (which does not include week four) the New York Jets have the third best rushing offensive line. Although this may change because they just had two running backs go over 100 yards in week four, I believe the Jets have the best rushing offensive line in the NFL.
When scientist do experiments (or really anyone) in order to measure a specific variable, they have to keep every other variable constant to test the specific variable. The New York Jets give us as close to a real life experiment as we possibly can get. While the line for the Jets has not been the same exact line over the past few years (most notably the departure of Alan Faneca this year) for the most part- this line and scheme (anchored by D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold) have stayed constant. The variable that have changed are the running backs the Jets have acquired over the past few years- most notably Thomas Jones and LaDainian Tomlinson. The changing variable of the running backs helps us test how good that constant offensive line really is.
Seeing Thomas Jones play in Chicago for three years, I can say with confidence, that even in his "old" age, he still looked good. I've always liked Jones and he had a career 4.11 YPC during his stint in Chi-Town. But in Thomas Jones' last two season in New York he had a YPC of 4.5 and 4.2 respectively.
I will admit that during Thomas Jones' first season New York he had AN AWFUL offensive line which showed in Jones YPC (3.6, his lowest since 2001) and in FO stats toward the Jets line (ranked 23rd among the 32 teams). This was largely accredited toward the poor play of 4th overall pick Ferguson. In fact, in 2007 FO ranked the Jets left tackle position's play 32nd among 32 teams. (Now considering I don't really watch Jets games I'm just making a strong educated guess that D'Brickasahw played at least 95% for the team at the left tackle position in 2007).
However, it was the right side of the line that dramatically improved the running back play in later years. In 2008, the left tackle position still was ranked last among all left tackles, but the center (Mangold) was 3rd at run blocking and the right guard and tackle were the very best at their position- one of whom I just found out while doing research for this post is an Illinois alum: Brandon Moore.
This improved line showed up in Thomas' Jones stats. In 2008, Jones had a 4.5 YPC- the best average he's had while getting at least 200 carries. In 2008, Thomas Jones also has the most TDs he had ever had in his career jumping from a career high 9 in 2005 to getting 13 in '08. This earned Jones his lone pro bowl appearance.
In 2009, Ferguson became mediocre (17th overall) as opposed to the worst guy ever while their center dropped to above average (12th overall) and their right tackle slot stayed the very best. But despite the "crappier" play of the Jets line, Thomas Jones had a career season getting a career high in touchdowns (14), yards (1402), and carries (331). All with a damn fine 4.2 YPC.
Thomas Jones' two best seasons was when he was 29 and 30 years old and for the Jets. In fact, most running backs who reach this age start to show signs of their decline. Case in point: LaDainian Tomlinson.
LT is one of the greatest running backs that has ever played the game of football. LT is 8th all time in rushing yards, 2nd all time in rushing TDs, 3rd all time in rushing/receiving yards, and 8th all time in rushing yards per game- just to name a few stats. LT could run the ball, catch the ball, and even pass the ball. But in his last two years in San Diego, when he was 29 and 30 years old, he looked like he was one bad hit away from retirement.
Between 2001 and 2007, Tomlinson has a YPC over 4.0 five times and a YPC over 5.0 twice and a YPC under 3.90 once. Between 2005-2007, LT had a 4.3, 5.2, and 4.7 yards per carry respectively. And then he looked like age hit him.
In 2008, Tomlinson had almost a yard per carry drop off (4.7 to 3.8) and he took an even bigger hit last year with a career low 3.3 YPC. During the 2009 off season, TBO and I called LT "done" and last year he did nothing bur prove us right.
But then he came to the fountain of youth that is the Jets rushing offensive line.
In four games, Tomlinson has a 6.09 YPC with 3 rushing touchdowns.
To further help prove my point, in 17 career games with 138 carries, former Iowa running back Shonn Greene has a career 4.7 YPC. And that doesn't include his 22 carries for 117 yards (a 5.3 YPC) that he had in Week Four.
In Leon Washington's four years on the Jets he never had a YPC under 4.3 and has 13 rushing TDs in 13 starts for the Jets.
The Jets' ability to make old running backs look like they're in the prime of their careers and to continue to make every running back that plays behind them have spectacular numbers makes the Jets have the best rushing offensive line in football right now.
Showing posts with label Offensive Line. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Offensive Line. Show all posts
How Do Sacks Affect a QBs Performance?
Here's some data I did from a recent post of how Matt Cassel, Jay Cutler, and Kyle Orton have performed on new team with a new offensive line. I talked about the reason for the poor/better performance of these players is because of the new offensive line these players had. Now I would love to to a full on regression analysis/ correlation chart to prove truly how QB performance is based upon the O-line. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the knowhow. However, I thought I'd do some more analysis of players that have switched teams to see if my data still holds a little bit of water. I decided to do analysis on Brett Favre (both this year and last year), Chad Pennington (two years ago he was on the Jets and last year he was on the Dolphins), and Aaron Rodgers (Yes, he's been a Packer both years but is O-line is drastically different this year/ my outlier to again to show how awesome Rodgers is this year).
NOTE: S/100 = how many times the QB has been sacked per every 100 passing attempts and the (+/-) equals how often or how little the QB was sacked per every 100 attempts compared to the previous year. i.e. +2.00 S/100 means that that QB was sacked 2 more times this year than he was in the previous year per 100 passing attempts.
So here's what I did earlier:
Cassel (2009/2008)(+2.66 S/100)
YPA: -1.2
Completion Percentage: -8.4
Passer Rating: -11.5
TD/INT ratio: +.09
Cutler (2009/ 2008)(+1.79 S/100)
YPA: -0.7
Completion Percentage: -0.6
Passer Rating: -11.5
TD/INT ratio: -0.56
Orton (2009/2008)(-1.41 S/100)
YPA: +0.6
Completion Percentage: +3.5
Passer Rating: +8.2
TD/INT ratio: +0.7
And some my new data:
Brett Favre (2008/2007) (+2.94 S/100)
YPA: -1.1
Completion Percentage: -0.8
Passer Rating: -14.7
TD/INT ratio: -0.87
Brett Favre (2009/2008) (-1.03 S/100)
YPA: +1.3
Completion Percentage: +4.0
Passer Rating: +31.1
TD/INT ratio: +6.0
Chad Pennington (2008/2006) (-1.14 S/100)
Pennington only had 260 passing attempts in 2007. He had 450+ in '06
YPA: +0.8
Completion Percentage: +2.9
Passer Rating: +14.8
TD/INT ratio: +1.65
Aaron Rodgers (2009/2008) (+6.27 S/100)
YPA: +0.7
Completion Percentage: +1.2
Passer Rating: +8.8
TD/INT ratio: +1.65
Analysis:
Take out Aaron Rodgers for a moment and what do you consistently notice? When a QB moves to a new team a thus gets sacked more, his major stats go down. When he moves to a new team and he gets sacked less, his major stats go up (the exception being Matt Cassel and his TD/INT ratio). I think this should come as no big surprise. When a QB is getting sacked more, that means the O-line is allowing more defenders to break penetration and getting to the QB more. And when the defense is getting to the QB more often, it makes the QBs job tougher and makes it harder for the QB to complete throws. This is a simple aspect of the game. Defenses tend to be better when they can get to the QB and offenses tend to be better when the O-line has great pass protection. This again just reinforces the extreme importance of an offensive line and how overrated people make out the QB position to be.
Now we move to Aaron Rodgers. He's not only one of the best QBs in the league right now, he's doing it with an AWFUL O-line. I mean they've been dreadful. Yes, they're injured, but awful nonetheless. Yes, despite this and in the face if statistical data, Rodgers puts up great numbers. Look at his S/100 spike. Out of the seven players, no spike has gone above or below 3.00. Yes, Rodgers S/100 has taken a huge hit this year; he's getting sacked over 12 times per every 100 passing attempt and is getting sacked over six times more per every 100 passing attempt than he was last year. But he's STILL improved. I don't think people realize what an amazing feat this is! (as shown by my crude poll ranking NFC QBs, I was the only one to vote for Rodgers).
So when you go talking trash about your QB, please take a look at his O-line before you judge.
NOTE: S/100 = how many times the QB has been sacked per every 100 passing attempts and the (+/-) equals how often or how little the QB was sacked per every 100 attempts compared to the previous year. i.e. +2.00 S/100 means that that QB was sacked 2 more times this year than he was in the previous year per 100 passing attempts.
So here's what I did earlier:
Cassel (2009/2008)(+2.66 S/100)
YPA: -1.2
Completion Percentage: -8.4
Passer Rating: -11.5
TD/INT ratio: +.09
Cutler (2009/ 2008)(+1.79 S/100)
YPA: -0.7
Completion Percentage: -0.6
Passer Rating: -11.5
TD/INT ratio: -0.56
Orton (2009/2008)(-1.41 S/100)
YPA: +0.6
Completion Percentage: +3.5
Passer Rating: +8.2
TD/INT ratio: +0.7
And some my new data:
Brett Favre (2008/2007) (+2.94 S/100)
YPA: -1.1
Completion Percentage: -0.8
Passer Rating: -14.7
TD/INT ratio: -0.87
Brett Favre (2009/2008) (-1.03 S/100)
YPA: +1.3
Completion Percentage: +4.0
Passer Rating: +31.1
TD/INT ratio: +6.0
Chad Pennington (2008/2006) (-1.14 S/100)
Pennington only had 260 passing attempts in 2007. He had 450+ in '06
YPA: +0.8
Completion Percentage: +2.9
Passer Rating: +14.8
TD/INT ratio: +1.65
Aaron Rodgers (2009/2008) (+6.27 S/100)
YPA: +0.7
Completion Percentage: +1.2
Passer Rating: +8.8
TD/INT ratio: +1.65
Analysis:
Take out Aaron Rodgers for a moment and what do you consistently notice? When a QB moves to a new team a thus gets sacked more, his major stats go down. When he moves to a new team and he gets sacked less, his major stats go up (the exception being Matt Cassel and his TD/INT ratio). I think this should come as no big surprise. When a QB is getting sacked more, that means the O-line is allowing more defenders to break penetration and getting to the QB more. And when the defense is getting to the QB more often, it makes the QBs job tougher and makes it harder for the QB to complete throws. This is a simple aspect of the game. Defenses tend to be better when they can get to the QB and offenses tend to be better when the O-line has great pass protection. This again just reinforces the extreme importance of an offensive line and how overrated people make out the QB position to be.
Now we move to Aaron Rodgers. He's not only one of the best QBs in the league right now, he's doing it with an AWFUL O-line. I mean they've been dreadful. Yes, they're injured, but awful nonetheless. Yes, despite this and in the face if statistical data, Rodgers puts up great numbers. Look at his S/100 spike. Out of the seven players, no spike has gone above or below 3.00. Yes, Rodgers S/100 has taken a huge hit this year; he's getting sacked over 12 times per every 100 passing attempt and is getting sacked over six times more per every 100 passing attempt than he was last year. But he's STILL improved. I don't think people realize what an amazing feat this is! (as shown by my crude poll ranking NFC QBs, I was the only one to vote for Rodgers).
So when you go talking trash about your QB, please take a look at his O-line before you judge.
How Are Cutler, Orton, and Cassel Doing On Their New Teams?
I was watching the video TBO posted where Cutler says "you know" more times than Joe Morgan says something dumb. It got me thinking, the whole reason the Bears got Jay Cutler was because Josh McDaniels was actively seeking to get Matt Cassel in a trade. The Broncos, Chiefs, and Redskins among others also were actively seeking to get Cassel. The Chiefs did end up getting Cassel, but 10 games into the regular season you think to yourself, was it really worth it? Do teams really want Cassel?
Last year, Cassel Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to as well as a great O-line. So you knew his numbers were skewed a bit. Even still, Cassel was never that efficient ranking 17th in DYAR and 12th in DVOA. Those who liked him because of his fantasy football production also were misled the same way we were misled my liking Tyler Thigpen- Cassel was able to run the ball pretty well (again, helped by the Pats O-line). Cassel was 10th in passer rating, 10th in YPG, and 15th in YPA with a 1.91 TD/INT ratio. So how's Cassel doing this year?
To start off with, the Chiefs have an awful O-line ranking 27th in pass blocking (and as any Bears fan can tell you now, it's hard as hell for a QB to throw the ball with an awful line) and Dwayne Bowe and um, uh, whoever the Chiefs #2 receiver was before Chambers arrived are much much much worse than Moss and Welker. However, Cassel still took a 11.5 hit in passer rating, 1.2 YPA hit, and is completing 8.4% less passes. Yet despite this, his TD/INT ratio has gone up .09 points.
Normally, I would think that maybe I would start talking about how shitty Cassel is, but I think looking at Kyle Orton and Jay Cutler from this year to last year is a great example of just how important a line and receiving corps can be.
Jay Cutler went for playing for a team that ranked 4th in pass blocking to a team that now ranks 15th (and I think this is an example where stats can lie b/c I feel Cutler being able to scramble and throws the ball before he gets sacked screws this number because no way in hell the Bears are only middle of the pack in pass blocking). Anyway, Cutler is going from a great line to a shitty one. He's going from a 1.39 TD/INT ratio to a .833 ratio. He took a .56 hit in TD/INT ratio, 11.5 hit in passer rating, a .70 hit in YPA (and to put this into perspective, he has a 7.3, 7.5, and 7.3 YPA in Denver. He's down to 6.6 this year), but only a slight hit in completion percentage. .
Compare this now to Kyle Orton who went from a shitty situation to a better one. Last year the Bears ranked 11th in pass blocking and this year the Broncos rank 7th (again, a slight situation where numbers lie because football outsiders rank pass blocking by sacks and Orton also does a fine job alluding sacks). Trust me, I've actually watched football, Orton is in a much better situation and this shows in his numbers. He has increased his passer rating 8.2 points, his YPA by 0.6, is now completing 3.5% more passes, and has increased his TD/INT ratio by 0.7 percent.
Last year Cutler was sacked only 20 times. This year, he's already been sacked 20. Last year Cutler got sacked 1.79 times for every 100 times he's thrown the ball. This year, he's getting sacked a whooping 5.26 times every times per every 100 pass attempt. Compare this to Orton. Last year Orton was sacked 27 times. This year he's only gotten sacked 14. Orton got sacked 5.81 times per every 100 attempts. This year he's getting sacked 4.4 times per every 100 attempts.
I think this Orton/Cutler trade just goes to show you how important a line can be. So with this in mind, let's look to see how sacks per every 100 attempt has affected each players numbers.
Cassel (+2.66 sacks per 100 attempts)
YPA: -1.2
Completion Percentage: -8.4
Passer Rating: -11.5
TD/INT ratio: +.09
Cutler (+1.79 sacks per game)
YPA: -0.7
Completion Percentage: -0.6
Passer Rating: -11.5
TD/INT ratio: -0.56
Orton (-1.41 sacks per 100 attempts)
YPA: +0.6
Completion Percentage: +3.5
Passer Rating: +8.2
TD/INT ratio: +0.7
Statistically speaking, these numbers are pretty close to each other. The sacks per 100 attempts are vastly different, yet the numbers below seem pretty darn close. The most discernible effect S/100 (sacks per 100 pass attempts) seems to have is on YPA. The more a QB has gotten sacked, the more his YPA is hurt.
Obviously, analyzing three players over 1.5 seasons is absolutely not enough to determine 100% conclusive data. But it certainly just reinforces the point that offensive lines are so important to a team.
So to answer my original question, how are the Chiefs liking this Matt Cassel trade now? Maybe if they put a good team around him Cassel would succeed. And to the point that McDaniels was actively trying to trade for Cassel? He should have kept his big mouth shut because his O-line is good enough for any QB whether it be Cassel or Cutler or Orton. However, as a Bears fan, I'm happy as hell McDaniels is dumb.
Last year, Cassel Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to as well as a great O-line. So you knew his numbers were skewed a bit. Even still, Cassel was never that efficient ranking 17th in DYAR and 12th in DVOA. Those who liked him because of his fantasy football production also were misled the same way we were misled my liking Tyler Thigpen- Cassel was able to run the ball pretty well (again, helped by the Pats O-line). Cassel was 10th in passer rating, 10th in YPG, and 15th in YPA with a 1.91 TD/INT ratio. So how's Cassel doing this year?
To start off with, the Chiefs have an awful O-line ranking 27th in pass blocking (and as any Bears fan can tell you now, it's hard as hell for a QB to throw the ball with an awful line) and Dwayne Bowe and um, uh, whoever the Chiefs #2 receiver was before Chambers arrived are much much much worse than Moss and Welker. However, Cassel still took a 11.5 hit in passer rating, 1.2 YPA hit, and is completing 8.4% less passes. Yet despite this, his TD/INT ratio has gone up .09 points.
Normally, I would think that maybe I would start talking about how shitty Cassel is, but I think looking at Kyle Orton and Jay Cutler from this year to last year is a great example of just how important a line and receiving corps can be.
Jay Cutler went for playing for a team that ranked 4th in pass blocking to a team that now ranks 15th (and I think this is an example where stats can lie b/c I feel Cutler being able to scramble and throws the ball before he gets sacked screws this number because no way in hell the Bears are only middle of the pack in pass blocking). Anyway, Cutler is going from a great line to a shitty one. He's going from a 1.39 TD/INT ratio to a .833 ratio. He took a .56 hit in TD/INT ratio, 11.5 hit in passer rating, a .70 hit in YPA (and to put this into perspective, he has a 7.3, 7.5, and 7.3 YPA in Denver. He's down to 6.6 this year), but only a slight hit in completion percentage. .
Compare this now to Kyle Orton who went from a shitty situation to a better one. Last year the Bears ranked 11th in pass blocking and this year the Broncos rank 7th (again, a slight situation where numbers lie because football outsiders rank pass blocking by sacks and Orton also does a fine job alluding sacks). Trust me, I've actually watched football, Orton is in a much better situation and this shows in his numbers. He has increased his passer rating 8.2 points, his YPA by 0.6, is now completing 3.5% more passes, and has increased his TD/INT ratio by 0.7 percent.
Last year Cutler was sacked only 20 times. This year, he's already been sacked 20. Last year Cutler got sacked 1.79 times for every 100 times he's thrown the ball. This year, he's getting sacked a whooping 5.26 times every times per every 100 pass attempt. Compare this to Orton. Last year Orton was sacked 27 times. This year he's only gotten sacked 14. Orton got sacked 5.81 times per every 100 attempts. This year he's getting sacked 4.4 times per every 100 attempts.
I think this Orton/Cutler trade just goes to show you how important a line can be. So with this in mind, let's look to see how sacks per every 100 attempt has affected each players numbers.
Cassel (+2.66 sacks per 100 attempts)
YPA: -1.2
Completion Percentage: -8.4
Passer Rating: -11.5
TD/INT ratio: +.09
Cutler (+1.79 sacks per game)
YPA: -0.7
Completion Percentage: -0.6
Passer Rating: -11.5
TD/INT ratio: -0.56
Orton (-1.41 sacks per 100 attempts)
YPA: +0.6
Completion Percentage: +3.5
Passer Rating: +8.2
TD/INT ratio: +0.7
Statistically speaking, these numbers are pretty close to each other. The sacks per 100 attempts are vastly different, yet the numbers below seem pretty darn close. The most discernible effect S/100 (sacks per 100 pass attempts) seems to have is on YPA. The more a QB has gotten sacked, the more his YPA is hurt.
Obviously, analyzing three players over 1.5 seasons is absolutely not enough to determine 100% conclusive data. But it certainly just reinforces the point that offensive lines are so important to a team.
So to answer my original question, how are the Chiefs liking this Matt Cassel trade now? Maybe if they put a good team around him Cassel would succeed. And to the point that McDaniels was actively trying to trade for Cassel? He should have kept his big mouth shut because his O-line is good enough for any QB whether it be Cassel or Cutler or Orton. However, as a Bears fan, I'm happy as hell McDaniels is dumb.
Da Bears O-Line
I was arguing with my roommate about how good Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roesthlisberger (which he is NOT) so I looked back to my old GOI post about Big Ben. While doing so, I was reading the comments. One of them by TBO said this: "[Bears GM] jerry angelo on the radio said that he thought the bears offensive line has been very solid throughout his entire tenure. i think he was high" That comment coupled with the Bears Expo got me thinking, how good will the Bears O-Line be in 2009/10?
The obvious key to any organization doing well is are its lines. Last year Minnesota had THE best defense line to help them go into the playoffs (While they're O-Line was dreadful, it didn't matter because they have one of the best RB that can perform despite a line). I talked about in a previous post that in fact, position players like a RB are not as important as an offensive line. This means that if the Bears do want to win, it is imperative to have a good offensive line. The Bears have a great RB and QB in Matt Forte and Jay Cutler respectively, but that won't matter if their O-line is terrible.
Football Outsiders actually looks and devises a way to measure offensive lines. While, yes, those stats are extremely dependent upon the position players themselves, I think they do a great job of making the line independent on the players. And when you think about it, that's fine, because the whole job of the line is to make sure the position players do well and gain yardage. When looking at the website, I found something that startled me, the Bears were 11th in pass blocking but only 24th in run blocking. The run blocking at first was a little shocking considering how well Matt Forte did last year. But then I thought about it and if you, like I did, actually watched Bears games, you would notice how little opportunities the Bears offensive line give Forte and you saw just how awesome Matt was despite what little was given to him. But the passing shocked me.
Kyle Orton was alright, but I didn't think he had that good of a line to work with. But it turns out the line did an above average job preventing sacks. In 2007, the line was pretty bad, but watching games you would know that Grossman mainly got sacked because he sucks at football and not because of the O-line. But in 2006, when Grossman overall had a decent year, the Bears pass blocking ranked 5th overall.
This year newly acquired Orlando Pace and 2008 first round draft pick Chris Williams will start. Despite many fans love with Pace, me and my cynicism disagree. Last year, the Bear left tackle, John St Clair, ranked 17 last year over Pace who ranked 23rd (FO looks at the direction a play went and how many yards the play went for. Because of substitutions, rests, and injures, it is practically impossible to determine which individual player gets credited with the ranking for for our purposes here it is safe to assume that the FO rankings are essentially attributed the full-time starter in these instances). John St. Clair played well for us considering and either Pace or Willaims (unless he ends up having a monster year) will actually be a downgrade at LT. But, in all fairness, the Bears are not only replacing the Left Tackle, they are also replacing the right one as well. If Williams and Pace both start and stay healthy then this Bears O-line will improve. However, if Pace starts and Williams sits on the bench, which is what is currently listed on the Bears website, then the Bears O-line actually takes a hit.
So what's the verdict on the upcoming O-Line? Well the run blocking concerns me. Hopefully, the addition of Pace and Williams does a better job of that, however, the chances seem slim. The fact that as a rookie, Forte touched the ball too much worries me as well (see: Cadallic Williams), but I think if either Kevin Jones or Adrian Peterson (preferably Jones) gets more carries to ease the burden, then the Bears running attack will be fine despite a sub-par line. I think Forte does have a lot of talent to be darn good without a line. So while the run blocking will probably not be that good, the Bears running attack I think will be fine. Another thing to ease Forte's burden will be the addition of Cutler. I think he will not be the same QB as he was in Denver because he has shittier receivers and a shittier line, but the Bears passing line isn't really that bad. I think a combination of the line improvements and the fact that Cutler is much better than Orton and Grossman, I think, at evading sacks, that the pass blocking will improve greatly this year.
Jerry Angelo might be an idiot for thinking the Bears have had a solid offensive line throughout his tenure- he obviously hasn't, but I was a proven a bit wrong too because I thought the Bears line was much worse than it actually was.
The obvious key to any organization doing well is are its lines. Last year Minnesota had THE best defense line to help them go into the playoffs (While they're O-Line was dreadful, it didn't matter because they have one of the best RB that can perform despite a line). I talked about in a previous post that in fact, position players like a RB are not as important as an offensive line. This means that if the Bears do want to win, it is imperative to have a good offensive line. The Bears have a great RB and QB in Matt Forte and Jay Cutler respectively, but that won't matter if their O-line is terrible.
Football Outsiders actually looks and devises a way to measure offensive lines. While, yes, those stats are extremely dependent upon the position players themselves, I think they do a great job of making the line independent on the players. And when you think about it, that's fine, because the whole job of the line is to make sure the position players do well and gain yardage. When looking at the website, I found something that startled me, the Bears were 11th in pass blocking but only 24th in run blocking. The run blocking at first was a little shocking considering how well Matt Forte did last year. But then I thought about it and if you, like I did, actually watched Bears games, you would notice how little opportunities the Bears offensive line give Forte and you saw just how awesome Matt was despite what little was given to him. But the passing shocked me.
Kyle Orton was alright, but I didn't think he had that good of a line to work with. But it turns out the line did an above average job preventing sacks. In 2007, the line was pretty bad, but watching games you would know that Grossman mainly got sacked because he sucks at football and not because of the O-line. But in 2006, when Grossman overall had a decent year, the Bears pass blocking ranked 5th overall.
This year newly acquired Orlando Pace and 2008 first round draft pick Chris Williams will start. Despite many fans love with Pace, me and my cynicism disagree. Last year, the Bear left tackle, John St Clair, ranked 17 last year over Pace who ranked 23rd (FO looks at the direction a play went and how many yards the play went for. Because of substitutions, rests, and injures, it is practically impossible to determine which individual player gets credited with the ranking for for our purposes here it is safe to assume that the FO rankings are essentially attributed the full-time starter in these instances). John St. Clair played well for us considering and either Pace or Willaims (unless he ends up having a monster year) will actually be a downgrade at LT. But, in all fairness, the Bears are not only replacing the Left Tackle, they are also replacing the right one as well. If Williams and Pace both start and stay healthy then this Bears O-line will improve. However, if Pace starts and Williams sits on the bench, which is what is currently listed on the Bears website, then the Bears O-line actually takes a hit.
So what's the verdict on the upcoming O-Line? Well the run blocking concerns me. Hopefully, the addition of Pace and Williams does a better job of that, however, the chances seem slim. The fact that as a rookie, Forte touched the ball too much worries me as well (see: Cadallic Williams), but I think if either Kevin Jones or Adrian Peterson (preferably Jones) gets more carries to ease the burden, then the Bears running attack will be fine despite a sub-par line. I think Forte does have a lot of talent to be darn good without a line. So while the run blocking will probably not be that good, the Bears running attack I think will be fine. Another thing to ease Forte's burden will be the addition of Cutler. I think he will not be the same QB as he was in Denver because he has shittier receivers and a shittier line, but the Bears passing line isn't really that bad. I think a combination of the line improvements and the fact that Cutler is much better than Orton and Grossman, I think, at evading sacks, that the pass blocking will improve greatly this year.
Jerry Angelo might be an idiot for thinking the Bears have had a solid offensive line throughout his tenure- he obviously hasn't, but I was a proven a bit wrong too because I thought the Bears line was much worse than it actually was.
