Just how bad was the Oline yesterday? Not very.

[cbear]

Well, the Oline critics won't be too happy with this.

 

I just watched the replay and timed the amount of time Andrew had to throw compared to Hoyer.  Hoyer averaged just about 2 seconds to throw the ball (which is amazing), so their game plan was obviously to get the ball out of his hands quickly.  Luck held the ball about 2.7 seconds on average.  Only 2 sacks (maybe three) were the fault of the Oline.  The others had Andrew holding the ball close to 3 seconds or more before the pocket broke down.  The oft maligned Goode and Haeg held up through most of the game.  On one sack, Goode was off balance and pushed backward, but the pocket still lasted 2.7 seconds to throw.  Haeg got blown up that one time (pocket held for 2.5 seconds, which still isn't bad).  

 

Now, one can argue that a good or great oline should give a QB 3 seconds to throw the ball, but I don't think so.  Maybe somebody knows how long a pocket should last.

 

Interestingly on the 4th Q. TD drive to TY, Andrew averaged just around 2 seconds before throwing.  On the TD to TY, he got rid of the ball in 1.8 seconds.  Now that might be attributed to Chicago playing prevent, I don't know.

 

This sort of confirms the eye test in watching the game yesterday.  The oline did do a good job the majority of time.  Either our pass routes take too long, or the WR don't get open soon enough or Andrew is taking too long going through his reads, but yesterday, you can't blame the oline.

[Rally5]

I think your right, its a combination of oline, QB, route running and scheme.  You don't have 10(guess) plays of 20+ yards without having time to throw.  So, not so bad, not great either.  The run game still leaves a lot to be desired so don't fall in love with 'em just yet but they're not as bad as some may think either.  I'm more worried about the D.

[GoDeep]

Was it the case that the breakdown usually resulted in a sack and not just a hurry?

[jbaron04]

Yea,  to the eye it didn't look that bad most we're coverage sacks 

[stitches]

From my perspective our O-Line seemed a bit bipolar yesterday - it generally was either good protection or a sack and  very little or nothing in between.

[a06cc]

Dropped passes, lack of pressure on QB's and penalties make any team look bad. That's us in a nutshell.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

36 minutes ago, stitches said:

From my perspective our O-Line seemed a bit bipolar yesterday - it generally was either good protection or a sack and  very little or nothing in between.

 

I feel like when they go uptempo, and Andrew's calling the plays, everyone, especially the line, finds a rhythm and things just start to work. It's almost like all the guys on offense trust Luck to call the plays more than they do the coaches. Which makes sense, he's FAR better at it than they are.

[NorthernBlue]

I'm hesitant to defend any Oline that gave up 5 sacks. But I will here. 

 

For the most part, the line held up. (I think PFF said Luck was pressured on 9 drop backs, which seems incorrect tbh, but still). They can give Andrew time. It just seems when there is pressure, it always leads to sacks. 

 

A lot can be contributed to Luck holding the ball too long (although you kind of have to if you plan on airing it out so much). I love the deep ball, but perhaps they should tone it down and go for some slants/digs to take some pressure off the o line. They're still very young.

 

Which leads to my last point. We got 2 rooks, and a second year player (whose a 7th rounder) starting on the Oline. They've shown they can play, but they still gotta work out the growing pains. I think Philibin can help them with that.

[SilentHill]

1 hour ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

I feel like when they go uptempo, and Andrew's calling the plays, everyone, especially the line, finds a rhythm and things just start to work. It's almost like all the guys on offense trust Luck to call the plays more than they do the coaches. Which makes sense, he's FAR better at it than they are.

 

Plus running up tempo gives the DB's less time to prepare for the snap, and thus creating separation for our WR.

 

Maybe Chud should take 1 read out of every play, because it seems like most of the time, luck has 4-5 reads, and by the time he gets to 3 or 4 that 2.5 seconds is gone.

 

Hoyer probably was able to get the ball out early because the primary reads were open against our porous defense. Especially any time they had Howard lined up on a screen or on a LB.

[JRnINDY]

The Oline is playing well. That's a lot of time for Luck to go thru his progressions and while watching the game I felt he had a lot of time. We have smurfs running deep speed routes and DB's know this. I would love to have a bigger receiver that can get short high balls or end zone jump balls. Chud needs to create better schemes with outlets for quick passes. Our TE's are slow so they are used for middle deeper plays.

I admire Gore but I believe Howard could have got a buck fifty with our Oline and the threat of Luck. Let's look at prying Alfred Morris from Dallas or bring in Karlos Williams.

[NorthernBlue]

10 minutes ago, JRnINDY said:

The Oline is playing well. That's a lot of time for Luck to go thru his progressions and while watching the game I felt he had a lot of time. We have smurfs running deep speed routes and DB's know this. I would love to have a bigger receiver that can get short high balls or end zone jump balls. Chud needs to create better schemes with outlets for quick passes. Our TE's are slow so they are used for middle deeper plays.

I admire Gore but I believe Howard could have got a buck fifty with our Oline and the threat of Luck. Let's look at prying Alfred Morris from Dallas or bring in Karlos Williams.

We do have a guy like that. His name is Donte Moncrief. 

 

And sure he's not as tall as a possession type receiver but he more than makes up for it with his leaping and catching ability.

[cbear]

3 hours ago, GoDeep said:

Was it the case that the breakdown usually resulted in a sack and not just a hurry?

 

Anthing above 2.5 seconds, the pocket started to break down, at least a little.  There were about 3 maybe 4 plays where he did get about 3 seconds or more to throw with a nice clean pocket, but normally, if he didn't get the ball out by 3, he was scrambling.

[cbear]

I agree.  For the most part you could see Hoyer go through maybe two reads at the most, and the ball was gone.  Mostly though, he was hitting his first read.  

 

Andrew on the other hand often seems like he'll go through a couple reads.  The pocket starts to collapse, but instead of throwing it (away if nothing else), he starts to look for that third or fourth option.  By that time the pocket is usually collapsing.

 

Maybe if we had Dallas line, he would have the luxury of going through more progressions, but our line is average right now at best (when healthy), which means he needs to get rid of that ball right around 2.5 seconds.  I doubt that's time enough to go through more than a couple reads (unless you're Manning or brady).  If he continues to go to a third or fourth option, he will be making that pass under duress most of the time.  He can still make the play, but it won't be a clean pocket by then.  I doubt it would be for most qbs. 

[JRnINDY]

1 hour ago, NorthernBlue said:

We do have a guy like that. His name is Donte Moncrief. 

 

And sure he's not as tall as a possession type receiver but he more than makes up for it with his leaping and catching ability.

Donte has the attributes to be one; however he has not consistently show them. He is very much a twinner (fast, taller, not physical). Also he's 6'2", I'm thinking more like a 6'4"-6'5" beast.

[AZColt11]

I wouldn't say the OL is playing "well" exactly but I did think they played a little bit better than they have on Sunday.  I would agree several of those sacks seemed to be just waiting for WR's to break open.  But I wouldn't get too carried away with this unit yet.  Remember, this is only the protection piece.  Run-blocking without 3 or 4 WR's is still not good either.  There is potential there with so many young guys, but make no mistake this unit is still below average.