ghz in pittsburgh
11-30-2005, 11:26 AM
The Steelers nation is upset this week. They lost to the Colts and everyone is pointing his/her finger at the offensive line: running backs cannot run and Big Ben has no time. Even the all pro Fenaca is beated for sacks - one on one.
Which brings to me the question the Bills fans have been complaining for years, when are we going to have a good O-Line?
In all honesty, I think today's offensive linemen need more brain than physical prowess. Seeing with my own eyes, more than 70% of the Bills O-line problem is mental: picking the right guy/figuring out who to engage.
The defense, particularly those 3-4 defensive and zone blitz, brings a complex number of combinations of pass rush and run stuffing alignment. If Bennie Anderson does not recognize who is coming, merely a half second late puts him in a very vulnerable position, often unable to recover.
Athletic guys can do a bit better. Teague is lauded as the best linemen by Bills staff because he, more often than not, puts his body between the tackle and Losman, though he might be too close to Losman a lot of times. Maybe that's why the Bills are so anxious to get Peters there.
I would put the blame squarely on the Bills coaches in the O-line performance. At this point, I'm convinced TD did what coaches ask him to get. But they fail to make the interior O-Line to function together, in sync.
If they can merely put themselves between the pass rushers and Losman to start with on most snaps (regardless whether they can hold the rushes for 2 seconds), that would be a big improvement in my eyes.
Which brings to me the question the Bills fans have been complaining for years, when are we going to have a good O-Line?
In all honesty, I think today's offensive linemen need more brain than physical prowess. Seeing with my own eyes, more than 70% of the Bills O-line problem is mental: picking the right guy/figuring out who to engage.
The defense, particularly those 3-4 defensive and zone blitz, brings a complex number of combinations of pass rush and run stuffing alignment. If Bennie Anderson does not recognize who is coming, merely a half second late puts him in a very vulnerable position, often unable to recover.
Athletic guys can do a bit better. Teague is lauded as the best linemen by Bills staff because he, more often than not, puts his body between the tackle and Losman, though he might be too close to Losman a lot of times. Maybe that's why the Bills are so anxious to get Peters there.
I would put the blame squarely on the Bills coaches in the O-line performance. At this point, I'm convinced TD did what coaches ask him to get. But they fail to make the interior O-Line to function together, in sync.
If they can merely put themselves between the pass rushers and Losman to start with on most snaps (regardless whether they can hold the rushes for 2 seconds), that would be a big improvement in my eyes.