Bills’ Schobel must pass rush well, stop rushers from passing by

[mysticsoto]

Bills’ Schobel must pass rush well, stop rushers from passing by

The Buffalo Bills' Aaron Schobel is a great run defender and OK pursuing the quarterback. That doesn’t read right, and for the bulk of his career it’s been precisely the reverse, but the fact is that the Bills’ premier defensive end was better versus the rush than the pass last season. Excelling simultaneously at both is an obvious goal, and, while he’s been hampered lately by his responsibilities in the Bills’ system, new defensive neighbors will help him reach the objective.

Schobel totaled 57 tackles in 2007, which supports the alternative theory that he’s a useful rush defense weapon. Getting over 3.5 stops per game is a sound rate for an end lineman, especially because it provides evidence that he did more than just pursue quarterbacks.

He also managed to gunk up passing attempts in another way: Schobel defended five passes, a stellar amount for an end in a defense that doesn’t exactly revolve around the zone blitz. The relatively high total is an indication that, even if he wasn’t able to consistently wrap and drop the quarterback, he still found a way to disrupt the opponent’s aerial game.


http://www.realfootball365.com/index.php/articles/bills/11911

[The Answer]

Bills’ Schobel must pass rush well, stop rushers from passing by

The Buffalo Bills' Aaron Schobel is a great run defender and OK pursuing the quarterback. That doesn’t read right, and for the bulk of his career it’s been precisely the reverse, but the fact is that the Bills’ premier defensive end was better versus the rush than the pass last season. Excelling simultaneously at both is an obvious goal, and, while he’s been hampered lately by his responsibilities in the Bills’ system, new defensive neighbors will help him reach the objective.

Schobel totaled 57 tackles in 2007, which supports the alternative theory that he’s a useful rush defense weapon. Getting over 3.5 stops per game is a sound rate for an end lineman, especially because it provides evidence that he did more than just pursue quarterbacks.

He also managed to gunk up passing attempts in another way: Schobel defended five passes, a stellar amount for an end in a defense that doesn’t exactly revolve around the zone blitz. The relatively high total is an indication that, even if he wasn’t able to consistently wrap and drop the quarterback, he still found a way to disrupt the opponent’s aerial game.


http://www.realfootball365.com/index.php/articles/bills/11911

I really hope that Schobel is going to have a good year now that we have some semblance of defensive tackle again. Because if not this defense is still going to suck if we can't get any pressure on the QB, no matter how good our secondary is.

It will also be another glaring hole we will have to address next year.

~The Answer

[justasportsfan]

why did they attempt to compare him to arguably the best DE in football Bruuuce?

Compare him to Hansen . Aaron would've loved to play opposite Bruce.

[OpIv37]

why did they attempt to compare him to arguably the best DE in football Bruuuce?

Compare him to Hansen . Aaron would've loved to play opposite Bruce.

Because Bruce was the best DE on this team in his day and Schobel is the best DE now (*sigh- I long for the good old days).

Schobel's supposed to be the Bruce to Kelsay or Denney's Hansen. Instead, Schobel's the Hansen and there's no one to be Bruce.

[Night Train]

He usually rushes very wide, making it easy for RB's to find an inside lane he just abandoned.

[justasportsfan]

Because Bruce was the best DE on this team in his day and Schobel is the best DE now (*sigh- I long for the good old days).

Schobel's supposed to be the Bruce to Kelsay or Denney's Hansen. Instead, Schobel's the Hansen and there's no one to be Bruce.
that's expecting too much. There won't be another Bruce for a long time.

Besides, Aaron is white and Bruce is a brotha.

[OpIv37]

that's expecting too much. There won't be another Bruce for a long time.

Besides, Aaron is white and Bruce is a brotha.

Well, obviously he's no Bruce Smith. But despite his racial handicap, Schobel is supposed to be the best DE on the team- he's supposed to be the one who commands extra attention and allows someone else to roam free. But he's not. He's easily handled by one blocker and often runs himself out of the play. He doesn't make life easier for Kelsay or Denney the way Smith did for Hansen.

No one's asking him to get 4 sacks in a game or break the all-time sack record. He just needs to get the attention of the blocking scheme, but he doesn't.

[HHURRICANE]

The fact that Schobel is single teamed is enough for me. He never, ever draws anymore than one guy.

He has one move, which has been his criticism since college, and if he gets stopped on that he's completely out of the play. Add that he's not a team leader and you have a very overrated player.

[justasportsfan]

Well, obviously he's no Bruce Smith. But despite his racial handicap, Schobel is supposed to be the best DE on the team- he's supposed to be the one who commands extra attention and allows someone else to roam free. But he's not. He's easily handled by one blocker and often runs himself out of the play. He doesn't make life easier for Kelsay or Denney the way Smith did for Hansen.

No one's asking him to get 4 sacks in a game or break the all-time sack record. He just needs to get the attention of the blocking scheme, but he doesn't.
I think we've already covered that. My point is, he's not Bruce but he's definitely better than Hansen and would've even been better if he had Bruce opposite him.

[mysticsoto]

Op, it's alot to ask for ANYONE to be like Bruce. Bruce Smiths don't grow on trees!!! There are a handful of teams that may have something comparable, but I'd say most teams don't have DEs in Bruce's league either...

[OpIv37]

Op, it's alot to ask for ANYONE to be like Bruce. Bruce Smiths don't grow on trees!!! There are a handful of teams that may have something comparable, but I'd say most teams don't have DEs in Bruce's league either...

I'm not saying he should be like Bruce exactly. I'm saying he should do ONE thing that Bruce did: take up more than one blocker to free up the rest of the pass rush. And he can't do it. All it takes is one guy to neutralize Schobel.

[mysticsoto]

I'm not saying he should be like Bruce exactly. I'm saying he should do ONE thing that Bruce did: take up more than one blocker to free up the rest of the pass rush. And he can't do it. All it takes is one guy to neutralize Schobel.

If it was that easy to take on two blockers and our entire Dline could do it (including the bigger DTs) we'd have an awesome line. Taking on 2 blockers is a difficult task and you have to be an elite Dlineman. You have to have speed and power/strength and Schobel's smallness may mean he may never have that power level unfortunately. Schobel is not an elite dlineman, but with his quickness, he's a decent one. Here's hoping that Stroud is that elite Dlineman that we've been lacking for some time. McCargo has potential there also.

[justasportsfan]

take up more than one blocker to free up the rest of the pass rush. And he can't do it. All it takes is one guy to neutralize Schobel.
he does take up more than one blocker. He just isn't as good as Bruce. Bruce got to the qb even with 2 blockers. That's where they differ amongst several other things.

[Mr. Pink]

Schoebel needs to not run himself out of plays and maintain some lane and line responsibility. Most tackles have it easy becase Schoebel tries to beat everyone outside and runs 5 yards behind the QB. QB then steps up, because we have no push from the middle, and then Schoebel is rendering meaningless on the pass play.

Unfortunately this happens so many times during a game.