The Current State of the Offensive Line

[ProblChld32]

I know this is only game 1 and I don’t want to overreact. But after watching the performance that the offensive line put on , I can safely say that help is needed. Everyone had there fair share of moments but the RG position needs to be addressed Immediately. Fries is just simple not the answer. You can see on several plays that Braden Smith gets beat because he’s trying to help Fries as much as he can. Richardson was under duress almost all game , if it not for his legs he would have been sacked more than 4 times. I don’t want to put this young man in the same position where it led Andrew Luck to retire from all the punishment he took. The run blocking was abysmal, outside of one solid Evan Hull run for I believe 15 yards or so , none of our backs could get going. The holes simply weren’t there. I don’t know what it’s going to take for Ballard and Company to realize that help is needed on the Oline.

[JMichael557]

right guard and center are both bad. Left Guard is overpaid by several million but there is no way to fix that.

[csmopar]

51 minutes ago, ProblChld32 said:

I know this is only game 1 and I don’t want to overreact. But after watching the performance that the offensive line put on , I can safely say that help is needed. Everyone had there fair share of moments but the RG position needs to be addressed Immediately. Fries is just simple not the answer. You can see on several plays that Braden Smith gets beat because he’s trying to help Fries as much as he can. Richardson was under duress almost all game , if it not for his legs he would have been sacked more than 4 times. I don’t want to put this young man in the same position where it led Andrew Luck to retire from all the punishment he took. The run blocking was abysmal, outside of one solid Evan Hull run for I believe 15 yards or so , none of our backs could get going. The holes simply weren’t there. I don’t know what it’s going to take for Ballard and Company to realize that help is needed on the Oline.

You do realize that most of those sacks was from AR running out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage right?

[PeterBowman]

Other than the running game being non-existant for various reasons, I thought the o line held up fairly well for the most part in the passing game.

Even on his sacks where AR ran out of bounds he had a decent amount of time to throw. 

[Dark Superman]

I'll admit I never understood handing Will Fries the starting RG spot without bringing in a veteran to push and compete with him. Chris Ballard did the same thing last season with Pryor and Pinter and look what happened. The depth behind the starters in the trenches is by far the worst in the league and the Colts are 1-2 injuries away from repeating 2022 all over again with how terrible the line played.

[KB]

3 minutes ago, Dark Superman said:

I'll admit I never understood handing Will Fries the starting RG spot without bringing in a veteran to push and compete with him. Chris Ballard did the same thing last season with Pryor and Pinter and look what happened. The depth behind the starters in the trenches is by far the worst in the league and the Colts are 1-2 injuries away from repeating 2022 all over again with how terrible the line played.

What's even worse is Ballard admitted that mistake at the end if the year, then doubled down on it. 

[ProblChld32]

11 minutes ago, csmopar said:

You do realize that most of those sacks was from AR running out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage right?

That’s actually inaccurate. I’m not sure what you consider most but Josh Allen beat Braden Smith for a clear sack and walker beat BR for a clear sack as well neither of those plays and on another play where he was gang sacked im not sure who all were credited for that one . Neither of those plays Richardson was running behind the LOS or towards the boundary for that matter. 

[csmopar]

2 minutes ago, ProblChld32 said:

That’s actually inaccurate. I’m not sure what you consider most but Josh Allen beat Braden Smith for a clear sack and walker beat BR for a clear sack as well neither of those plays and on another play where he was gang sacked im not sure who all were credited for that one . Neither of those plays Richardson was running behind the LOS or towards the boundary for that matter. 

Just going by the official stat. He was “sacked” twice by running out of bounds. So maybe most wasn’t the best word but half it appears would be a better word.

 

that said, it most certainly can be pointed out that even those running sacks were the fault of the OL not holding up and forcing him out of the pocket

[throwing BBZ]

8 minutes ago, KB said:

What's even worse is Ballard admitted that mistake at the end if the year, then doubled down on it. 

 

 Wrong. He banked on Pryor coming back in the best shape of his life.

Pryor admitted he went home after the season knowing he had this great opportunity, and he put on 20 lbs getting up into the 360's. He came to camp to get back into shape, back down into the 340's. He screwed Ballard, the team and himself. 

 The good news was Ballard drafted Raimann, who got thrown to the wolves and by the last half of the season he went up against the best, game after game and was holding his own. Yes, Ballard doubled down on a good player in Raimann.

 Fries is not the long term answer, but watching every pass play from yesterday's game one should admit his pass protection was quite solid.

 He plays with to high a pad level to knock guys off the line.

 Did you clowns watch Glo getting destroyed last night?

 

[lollygagger8]

I cannot believe this is still a problem. 

 

Esp after the Luck debacle. 

[Valpo2004]

Pass protection I thought was solid.  I didn't see them opening up many holes in the run game.  

[richard pallo]

14 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 Wrong. He banked on Pryor coming back in the best shape of his life.

Pryor admitted he went home after the season knowing he had this great opportunity, and he put on 20 lbs getting up into the 360's. He came to camp to get back into shape, back down into the 340's. He screwed Ballard, the team and himself. 

 The good news was Ballard drafted Raimann, who got thrown to the wolves and by the last half of the season he went up against the best, game after game and was holding his own. Yes, Ballard doubled down on a good player in Raimann.

 Fries is not the long term answer, but watching every pass play from yesterday's game one should admit his pass protection was quite solid.

 He plays with to high a pad level to knock guys off the line.

 Did you clowns watch Glo getting destroyed last night?

 

Here we go again people banging on Fries all the time.  Like you said his pass protection was solid and he also delivered big blocks on AR’s touchdown as well as Pittman’s.  He pulled both times and delivered big blocks .   It’s only the 1st game and we started a 3rd string running back.  I swear people crucify him just because they need someone to blame.  There is no reason to think he can’t improve his game.  He already has from last year.  Who knows he might be the answer given some time.  Raimann needed time.  Why not Fries?  So far so good if you ask me.

[richard pallo]

2 hours ago, ProblChld32 said:

I know this is only game 1 and I don’t want to overreact. But after watching the performance that the offensive line put on , I can safely say that help is needed. Everyone had there fair share of moments but the RG position needs to be addressed Immediately. Fries is just simple not the answer. You can see on several plays that Braden Smith gets beat because he’s trying to help Fries as much as he can. Richardson was under duress almost all game , if it not for his legs he would have been sacked more than 4 times. I don’t want to put this young man in the same position where it led Andrew Luck to retire from all the punishment he took. The run blocking was abysmal, outside of one solid Evan Hull run for I believe 15 yards or so , none of our backs could get going. The holes simply weren’t there. I don’t know what it’s going to take for Ballard and Company to realize that help is needed on the Oline.

None of our back’s could get going because they were 3rd and 4th string.  Just average backs at best.  Nothing special about them.  Your evaluation of Fries is way over the top.  I thought he had a solid game with a couple of outstanding blocks on scoring plays.

[KB]

39 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 Wrong. He banked on Pryor coming back in the best shape of his life.

Pryor admitted he went home after the season knowing he had this great opportunity, and he put on 20 lbs getting up into the 360's. He came to camp to get back into shape, back down into the 340's. He screwed Ballard, the team and himself. 

 The good news was Ballard drafted Raimann, who got thrown to the wolves and by the last half of the season he went up against the best, game after game and was holding his own. Yes, Ballard doubled down on a good player in Raimann.

 Fries is not the long term answer, but watching every pass play from yesterday's game one should admit his pass protection was quite solid.

 He plays with to high a pad level to knock guys off the line.

 Did you clowns watch Glo getting destroyed last night?

 

Pryor never should of been handed the spot. No matter what happened with his weight, there should of heen competition brought in during last years offseason to push him. Ballard also banked on Pinter holding down the RG spot and didn't bring in anyone to challenge him. He did the same thing with Raimann and Fries this year. Out of Pryor, Pinter, Fries, and Raimann, only one is worth the starting spot and has shown that. 1 out of 4... wow.

 

All he had to do was what he talked about at the beginning of his tenure. Bring in competition for every spot on the roster and not hand anyone a starting spot. For two years in a row there has been nobody to push LT or RG. Those starters were penciled in before voluntary workouts in the offseason. If Raimann didn't take as well as he has so far then we would be absolutely screwed.

 

If we did bring in competition to challenge every spot on the line, we wouldn't have a bare cupboard of backup lineman. Fries should be one of the backups.

 

I won't say Fries pass protection was solid because it wasn't IMO. He wasnt even decent at run blocking and thats supposed to be what he is best at. Not the worst in the league, definitely bottom third of a all starters league wide though.

[csmopar]

51 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 Wrong. He banked on Pryor coming back in the best shape of his life.

Pryor admitted he went home after the season knowing he had this great opportunity, and he put on 20 lbs getting up into the 360's. He came to camp to get back into shape, back down into the 340's. He screwed Ballard, the team and himself. 

 The good news was Ballard drafted Raimann, who got thrown to the wolves and by the last half of the season he went up against the best, game after game and was holding his own. Yes, Ballard doubled down on a good player in Raimann.

 Fries is not the long term answer, but watching every pass play from yesterday's game one should admit his pass protection was quite solid.

 He plays with to high a pad level to knock guys off the line.

 Did you clowns watch Glo getting destroyed last night?

 

Glo was HORRIBLE last night and I was one wanting Glo to be resigned here

[MikeCurtis]

I agree that RG is the biggest problem for the OL

 

I dont see the push from that spot

 

 

 

[ProblChld32]

37 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

None of our back’s could get going because they were 3rd and 4th string.  Just average backs at best.  Nothing special about them.  Your evaluation of Fries is way over the top.  I thought he had a solid game with a couple of outstanding blocks on scoring plays.

Over the top? He’s a backup at best on about 75 percent of any NFLs roster. He is just simply not that good. If you watch the tape you can see that. The bad outweighed the good. He had far more bad snaps than good ones. 

[ProblChld32]

40 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

None of our back’s could get going because they were 3rd and 4th string.  Just average backs at best.  Nothing special about them.  Your evaluation of Fries is way over the top.  I thought he had a solid game with a couple of outstanding blocks on scoring plays.

Being a backup RB has nothing to do with the offensive line being able to create running lanes. It wouldn’t have mattered if JT was back there to be completely honest with you. 

[ProblChld32]

1 hour ago, csmopar said:

Just going by the official stat. He was “sacked” twice by running out of bounds. So maybe most wasn’t the best word but half it appears would be a better word.

 

that said, it most certainly can be pointed out that even those running sacks were the fault of the OL not holding up and forcing him out of the pocket

“it most certainly can be pointed out that even those running sacks were the fault of the OL not holding up and forcing him out of the pocket” 

So back to my original point that I made you’re basically agreeing with me. The Oline played poorly. 

[John Waylon]

Remember when we used to have the best offensive line in the league there for a second? 
 

 

Nelson and Kelly have never been the same since they got sick in 2021. They literally have not been the same from that before and after point and at this point it just is what it is. They’ve never gotten back to that level of play or consistency, and its starting to seem like they just won’t. 

 

[ColtsSouljah]

The run blocking yesterday was an absolute abomination for a line that makes so much money. I am really, really tired of Nelson and Kelly underperforming so terribly.

To be fair, the line's pass blocking was so much better than last year, and I will certainly acknowledge that.

[Jackie Daytona]

7 hours ago, Dark Superman said:

I'll admit I never understood handing Will Fries the starting RG spot without bringing in a veteran to push and compete with him. Chris Ballard did the same thing last season with Pryor and Pinter and look what happened. The depth behind the starters in the trenches is by far the worst in the league and the Colts are 1-2 injuries away from repeating 2022 all over again with how terrible the line played.

It's not "by far" the worst in the league.  This shows me you haven't truly looked at OL depth around the league.  

 

It may be the worst.....it's certainly not good.  If it is, it isn't "by far" though.  OL depth sucks in the entire league.  OL play overall is subpar in the NFL as a whole.

[Solid84]

8 hours ago, ProblChld32 said:

That’s actually inaccurate. I’m not sure what you consider most but Josh Allen beat Braden Smith for a clear sack and walker beat BR for a clear sack as well neither of those plays and on another play where he was gang sacked im not sure who all were credited for that one . Neither of those plays Richardson was running behind the LOS or towards the boundary for that matter. 

I agree. I had two plays on Smith I thought were sacks where he got beat by a speed rush. AR had started trotting slightly so they probably chalked it up as a run attempt and a tackle, but that’s not what it looked like to me. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

8 hours ago, Dark Superman said:

I'll admit I never understood handing Will Fries the starting RG spot without bringing in a veteran to push and compete with him. Chris Ballard did tChrishe same thing last season with Pryor and Pinter and look what happened. The depth behind the starters in the trenches is by far the worst in the league and the Colts are 1-2 injuries away from repeating 2022 all over again with how terrible the line played.

 

It's a Formula Ballard feels comfortable with. 

[Moosejawcolt]

7 hours ago, richard pallo said:

None of our back’s could get going because they were 3rd and 4th string.  Just average backs at best.  Nothing special about them.  Your evaluation of Fries is way over the top.  I thought he had a solid game with a couple of outstanding blocks on scoring plays.

Well, with the amount of money and draft capital in the Oline, I should be able to get 4 yards lol. Plus, I refuse to blame the backs. They may not be talented enough, but when u got the investment u do in the Oline, average talent should look great.

[1959Colts]

Aside from the lack of opening holes for our running game, I thought the line did ok. Most of the Jaguars pressures, came as a result of missed blocking assignments, on blitzes and stunts or AR holding the ball a bit too long. Raimann looked good once again. Fries and the rest didn't do too bad pass protecting. Some work is needed on run blocking. Perhaps the Jags defense is good against the run? I'd say, with the new offensive system, lets give the line a chance to come together, before we decide certain  players need to be replaced this early on.

[Solid84]

19 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

I agree. I had two plays on Smith I thought were sacks where he got beat by a speed rush. AR had started trotting slightly so they probably chalked it up as a run attempt and a tackle, but that’s not what it looked like to me. 

So, I’m rewatching the game right now. 
 

Our very first drive of the game. 3rd & 8. Smith beat by Josh Allen. AR was moving, but clearly with the intent to pass. 
 

2nd Qtr. 0:34 remaining. 1st & 10. Smith beat by Walker. How this wasn’t called a sack I don’t know.
 

Both instances were speed rush. 

[colts52761]

Sign gabe jackson and andrew norwell on 1 year deals. Cut kelly.

[Peter Nova]

6 minutes ago, colts52761 said:

Sign gabe jackson and andrew norwell on 1 year deals. Cut kelly.

[Archer]

Fwiw, the overall pff grades are up for yesterday, and every one of our OL graded out in the low 70s except Fries, who was 55.4.   Compare that to the OL we’re playing next (Houston), and their highest grade was 69.4 and they had a player at 43.7 and two in the 50s.  Since it might make more sense to compare to their D: they have one player over 70 in the defensive front 7 (Will Anderson - 83.1).  For the next week, anyway, I think the OL is the least of our worries…

[IinD]

It really is a league wide problem as much as you wanna knock our team.

 

There's a lot of trash oline players in the league sadly.

[Superman]

9 hours ago, Dark Superman said:

I'll admit I never understood handing Will Fries the starting RG spot without bringing in a veteran to push and compete with him. Chris Ballard did the same thing last season with Pryor and Pinter and look what happened. The depth behind the starters in the trenches is by far the worst in the league and the Colts are 1-2 injuries away from repeating 2022 all over again with how terrible the line played.

 

I'm pretty sure Danny Pinter was meant to be the RG, and he got hurt. I didn't like that strategy either, just pointing out that there was some comp for Will Fries.

[MikeCurtis]

9 hours ago, Valpo2004 said:

Pass protection I thought was solid.  I didn't see them opening up ANY holes in the run game.  

Fixed it for you

[MikeCurtis]

Risner and Fournette 

 

both would help this team

 

Risner for push in running game…. We had ZERO push against average DTs

 

Fournette for the big back that is not on the team today… would complement JT when he gets back

 

 

[MikeCurtis]

52 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I'm pretty sure Danny Pinter was meant to be the RG, and he got hurt. I didn't like that strategy either, just pointing out that there was some comp for Will Fries.

I think that was their strategy but IMHO.  It was a very poor decision. Pinter was shoved back on his time at OL last year

 

We need outside help asap at RG

[Fluke_33]

1 hour ago, Peter Nova said:

The cat version of that gets me every time 

[NewColtsFan]

2 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

Risner and Fournette 

 

both would help this team

 

Risner for push in running game…. We had ZERO push against average DTs

 

Fournette for the big back that is not on the team today… would complement JT when he gets back

 

 

The team isn’t looking for help.   The Colts are going to have a losing season and the Colts know it and are ok with it.  
 

Most projections have the Colts winning 6-7 games.   What difference does it make if the Colts sign some good vets and they win one game more?   Who cares?   The Colts are not trying to have a winning season.   The Colts are trying to let the young kids play and let them learn on the job.   The Colts are fine if they take their lumps this year.  
 

I know this isn’t a popular view, but that’s what I see clearly.  

[MikeCurtis]

Just now, NewColtsFan said:

The team isn’t looking for help.   The Colts are going to have a losing season and the Colts know it and are ok with it.  
 

Most projections have the Colts winning 6-7 games.   What difference does it make if the Colts sign some good vets and they win one game more?   Who cares?   The Colts are not trying to have a winning season.   The Colts are trying to let the young kids play and let them learn on the job.   The Colts are fine if they take their lumps this year.  
 

I know this isn’t a popular view, but that’s what I see clearly.  

I think a solid RG keeps your QB from having to do it all this year and allows him to have a balanced offense 

 

I thought we would have a bad year, but this team, with a running attack could win 8 games

[jimmy g]

9 hours ago, KB said:

 

 

I won't say Fries pass protection was solid because it wasn't IMO. He wasnt even decent at run blocking and thats supposed to be what he is best at. Not the worst in the league, definitely bottom third of a all starters league wide though.

 

Fries played mostly Tackle at Penn St. That’s what the Colts drafted him to play. He was put in at Guard last year here because of his Pass Protection. He was not strong enough for NFL Run Blocking.  The Colts picked Sills off Phila’s Waiver List because of his Strong Run Blocking, but admit that Fries is the better in Pass Pro.  I’ve never seen a report saying Fries is known for his Run Blocking.

[jimmy g]

20 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

I think a solid RG keeps your QB from having to do it all this year and allows him to have a balanced offense 

 

I thought we would have a bad year, but this team, with a running attack could win 8 games

 

The most recent Colt RB that most fit Steichen’s System was Nyheim Hines. Now, it’s Hull. But he’s hurt.