our offensive line play

just looked plain offensive today



discuss

Pretty good in run blocking, less than great in pass protection. Pretty much the same as last year and the year before.

Tackles are struggling. The guard play has been good.

Britt has had some really good DE's to get his schooling from, he may not be perfect but he is improving. Okung, dumb penalties, he is not going to get a contract that is going to be all that rewarding from the Seahawks, Gilliam I hope gets some playing time at some point this season so he can get baptised and we can see how he holds up.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/hawkblogger/status/513917848083656704[/tweet]

Britt is pretty raw, but so was Sweezy.

It's not fun watching the tackles struggle...knowing what this team is capable of doing when every thing is clicking.

Jville":i3eii5uk said:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/hawkblogger/status/513917848083656704[/tweet]

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I dont think we are ever going to have "very good" or "great" pass protection with the way Wilson plays.

This isnt a knock on anyone, its just MUCH easier to block for a QB whom you know is going to be at a certain place in the pocket.

Wilson is a a dynamic runner, and one of the best scramblers you will see in your lifetime, but along with that he will take some sacks because of his amazing scrambling ability. Those defenders are amazing athletes also, so its just part of the game.

Jacknut16":13bpirik said:

Jville":13bpirik said:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/hawkblogger/status/513917848083656704[/tweet]

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I dont think we are ever going to have "very good" or "great" pass protection with the way Wilson plays.

This isnt a knock on anyone, its just MUCH easier to block for a QB whom you know is going to be at a certain place in the pocket.

Wilson is a a dynamic runner, and one of the best scramblers you will see in your lifetime, but along with that he will take some sacks because of his amazing scrambling ability. Those defenders are amazing athletes also, so its just part of the game.

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As has been noted before, he could stand to learn to step up in the pocket on occasion instead of always trying to turn it outside. Just a guess but I feel like 10-15% of his sacks could have been avoided or at least the play been extended if he'd have stepped up when the tackles let their rushers go by instead of trying to turn and roll outside. Easy for me to say though.

Bailey actually looked pretty good when Okung was out.

Seattle is on pace for just 32 sacks allowed this season despite passing the ball significantly more often than last year. During that stretch, Seattle has faced Matthews, Peppers, Ingram (who might finally be good), Miller, and Ware.

Seattle is running the ball well too. At this point we are nitpicking.

Zebulon Dak":11ynvvks said:

Jacknut16":11ynvvks said:

Jville":11ynvvks said:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/hawkblogger/status/513917848083656704[/tweet]

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I dont think we are ever going to have "very good" or "great" pass protection with the way Wilson plays.

This isnt a knock on anyone, its just MUCH easier to block for a QB whom you know is going to be at a certain place in the pocket.

Wilson is a a dynamic runner, and one of the best scramblers you will see in your lifetime, but along with that he will take some sacks because of his amazing scrambling ability. Those defenders are amazing athletes also, so its just part of the game.

Click to expand...

As has been noted before, he could stand to learn to step up in the pocket on occasion instead of always trying to turn it outside. Just a guess but I feel like 10-15% of his sacks could have been avoided or at least the play been extended if he'd have stepped up when the tackles let their rushers go by instead of trying to turn and roll outside. Easy for me to say though.

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I think this is where Wilson can and will improve, cause once you bounce outside of the tackle, that tackle cant help the QB anymore.

Also stepping up in the pocket and taking a sack isnt the end of the world, its better to take a 4 yard sack then a 13 yard sack.

He is as smart as they come, he will get it. Sometimes this doesnt come to a QB until they lose a step however. Its hard to take away his natural instinct as a coach in the meantime, Im sure.

Tarkenton played for 18 years, never really lost a step, but had the legacy below.

He played for the Vikings from 1961 to 1966, during which time he frequently locked horns with head coach Norm Van Brocklin, who disdained the idea of a mobile quarterback, a concept that Tarkenton dramatically advanced in the NFL. Tarkenton was given the nicknames "The Mad Scrambler," "Frantic Fran," and "Scramblin' Fran" because he frequently ran around in the backfield to avoid being sacked by the opposition (among his other nicknames: "Sir Francis," used occasionally by Howard Cosell of ABC Sports)

Fun fact, another 3rd round pick that people were skeptical about.


NFL Draft: 1961 / Round: 3 / Pick: 29

kearly":14dxy4yp said:

Seattle is on pace for just 32 sacks allowed this season despite passing the ball significantly more often than last year.

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I agree that the sack totals look reasonable. On the other hand, "According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Wilson was sacked or under duress on a career-high 20 of his dropbacks Sunday (45.4 percent) in the 26-20 overtime victory over the Denver Broncos. It was the most for any game in his three-year career, including the playoffs."

I know the "under duress" stat is always going to be debatable when it comes Wilson and I certainly agree with you that our first three games has been against many of the best pass rushers in the NFL. I still think this is an important issue today and it will become the dominant issue several years from now when Wilson is a bit older and has a hefty contract. We can certainly win games and even championships with this year's offensive line but at some point this strategy is like picking up pennies off of railroad tracks. The train only has to hit you once for there to be a lot of hindsight-laden regrets.

What would you expect from a rookie RT?...Perfection?

Is so, get REAL. Plus Okung is mediocre to slightly above average.

Give credit to our guards who are getting it done. Watch the game a few times and focus on the line like I do. It is right there to see.

I think we're sometimes unrealistic with our O-line expectations.

In general O-lines have a much harder time pass protecting than run blocking, especially in the modern era of football with so many amazing pass rushers which seemingly every team has at least one, if not two good to great pass rushers.

The Hawks are no different. If we were having a hard time running the ball I'd be more critical of the line, so I'll take still a kick ass run game and mediocre pass protection over bad run game which directly affects the way we like to play.

Jville":2891w9mm said:

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But that can be happening to RumpRoast. By a converted DT no less.

Loved what Sweezy did to Pot Roast on that TD. Moved his lard right outta there. Beauty we can continue to expect from Sir Sweeze.

Britt will learn fast as stated. Anyone see Jocko on Monday Night? He was holding his own in pass pro. Still kinda miss him.

Carpenter exceeded his play in the opener in having his best game ever. Okung played well in pass pro, but you could tell the shoulder was bothering him as a run blocker. Britt is playing like a rookie, but one with potential. Sweezy and Unger were kind of streaky, but that final play was the creme de la creme of interior run blocking from both of them.

I think our line play is great on the run blocking front. Britt is going to take some lumps this season, rookie tackles usually do. To my eye he has improved every game and I'm happy with that pick. Unger is consistently pretty solid and not terrible in pass pro, it seems as though the snap issue from last season has gone away (I may have missed one or two this season) so chalk that up to injury. Sweezy is improving, and Carp has looked strong (please stay healthy!). Okung is his injury prone self, but appears to be hanging in there when he doesn't get his chest collapsed by a helmet. We struggle on pass pro at times but look at the man taking the snap. He allows us that weakness, and as long as we have #3 back there, that's just not a concern for me.

AgentDib":36z9kw0x said:

kearly":36z9kw0x said:

Seattle is on pace for just 32 sacks allowed this season despite passing the ball significantly more often than last year.

Click to expand...

I agree that the sack totals look reasonable. On the other hand, "According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Wilson was sacked or under duress on a career-high 20 of his dropbacks Sunday (45.4 percent) in the 26-20 overtime victory over the Denver Broncos. It was the most for any game in his three-year career, including the playoffs."

I know the "under duress" stat is always going to be debatable when it comes Wilson and I certainly agree with you that our first three games has been against many of the best pass rushers in the NFL. I still think this is an important issue today and it will become the dominant issue several years from now when Wilson is a bit older and has a hefty contract. We can certainly win games and even championships with this year's offensive line but at some point this strategy is like picking up pennies off of railroad tracks. The train only has to hit you once for there to be a lot of hindsight-laden regrets.

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agentdib, thats what im seeing. forget sacks... if a qb is constantly under durress, there is no trust in the line even when there is time. qbs start seeing ghosts and get fidgety in the pocket. mistakes happen, and i dont just mean interceptions. to me, its a mistake if a 1st or 2nd read is open downfield and is missed: whether because its not seen or the pressure forces a bad throw.

last season, pff ranked our offensive line 31st out of 32 teams. this season, our pass protection from our interior has been VASTLY improved, no doubt. however, guys are just feasting on britt. okung has been letting guys through consistently too. im not saying our line has gotten worse... it just has not improved. i honestly hate to say it, cuz he was a bonehead, but weve missed giacomini at RT. :| (our tight ends/fullback havent been up to par passblocking either, too many missed blocks that have cost us.)

im not gonna sugercoat anything, we have rushed britt. he is the main issue on the line right now. all it takes is 1 weak link to get exposed. there have to have been/be much better options out there that could solidify that spot. yes, the best way to learn is experience, and weve certainly taken lumps with carp and sweezy, and thats AMAZINGLY paid off, lol. sweezy looks like a potential probowler thus far and carp as you all have mentioned, is holding his own.

ill give the running game a pass. it still looks tough. carp has solidified LG thankfully and doesn't "miss" his assignments like he and mcQ did last year. denver has some dogs on the dline and i didnt expect too much between the tackles sunday. lynch looked awesome and saved us from more negative plays. as for the season, we currently are running at a 5.1 y/c clip, up from 4.3 last season. that is very significant, however i think most of that difference is from the percy harvin effect, NOT our offensive line play. not only is percy averaging a crazy 14.3 y/c, but the defense is so focused on percy that its creating holes in the defense. the fake fly sweeps sunday made things MUCH easier on the offensive line.

its just terrible having to watch wilson have 1 second max in the pocket due to britt/okung getting beat off the line. it destroys our original playcall. id love to think we would throw deep more often, getting some big plays downfield and at the same time backing off the defense (creating more running space). i hope i start seeing real improvements from britt, hopefully he gets there by weeks 7 & 8, when we play the rams and panthers back to back.