Quote:
Originally Posted by MeSayDayo
I don't really get why everyone is pushing the notion that this offensive line was fantastic last year. Yes, they were good enough to usher JT to 1800 yards. That's great, they should have, given what they were paid. But need I remind you all that we started last season 1-5? For as good as they run blocked at times last year, they were almost as abysmal in pass blocking. I would say streaky at best.
So the devolution of this line is not a 2022 thing. The seeds were clearly in place before that. Some have suggested COVID- But I think its a combination of losing at least one starter per year from a consistent unit and trying to replace it with lesser talent. You might be able to get away with that in one offseason, but three in a row? The line, as everyone knows, is just as much about health and playing together as a unit as it is about the individual talent in each spot. Yes, the line is only as good as the sum of its parts, but that doesn't matter if players aren't afforded the luxury of building chemistry year to year with the man beside him.
Through this deficiency in doing exactly half of what is asked of them, the line forced our offensive philosophy with Reich to, over the span of 1.5 seasons, become quite one dimensional. This- and this primarily- had a domino effect that we are now seeing come to fruition. As todays NFL stands, you have pass to set up the run to be successful, and I don't think any of you could convince me otherwise. It's almost gotten so advanced that you have to pass to establish the run to set up the play action.
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We had arguably the best run blocking OL in the league last year and a top 10 pass blocking line (finished the season 9th in sacks), which is pretty damn good when you put the two together. Especially compared to this year where our OL is either last or close to last in the league in both categories.
Agree that the replacement of players with lesser talent has definitely had an impact, especially at LT since it's the lynch pin of the OL. But this doesn't explain why we have guys (Nelson and Kelly) who got bitched once or twice a year are now getting bitched once or twice a game in Nelson's case and once or twice every set of downs in Kelly's case.