Is our Offensive Line really that bad?

[Attyla the Hawk]

I would go with no.

There are a lot of factors that go into the statistical analysis. I'll cite a few that I can see would skew any analysis for the worse.

1. Injuries. Yes they happen. Although Seattle was pretty unfortunate in that regard -- particularly along the line. We were forced to play Bowie/Bailey a lot more than hoped. While they struggled, they also had some success. Overall, I'm pleased with their performance given the inexperience on what is admittedly a pretty long learning curve. I expect both players to really show consistency this season befitting the experience level. They paid the learning curve and should be poised to emerge from the other end more quickly as a result of the game experience they amassed last year. We will be a good 8 deep at the position group this season with a lot more flexibility in terms of plugging depth guys in.

2. Our offense. I don't see it cited much -- but our passing model is not a quick hitting WCO style. It relies more heavily on longer developing routes and play action passing. Additionally, since we run the ball with such frequency -- we often have a lot of attention paid at the LOS. Our offense by design really puts pressure on the Line and QB because of the numbers of defenders close to the line and the time we hold the ball.

Additionally, our offense is a run first offense. Pass protection is going to be a secondary element to run blocking. Seattle ran the ball extremely effectively. That's their primary function and they performed well.

I'm not really shocked at the lack of short yardage success. Teams that succeed at that are typically your traditional power man blocking types. Guys that move players. The zone scheme really isn't ideally suited for that purpose. The power in our attack comes from the backs. Not the line. You see it in the rigid prototype athletes we acquire at the RB position. The line doesn't have a lot of people movers. They are more get in the way and allow the back to engage in a seam where the defender is fighting through the lineman to get to him.

3. Personnel. Wilson is a great scrambling QB. More to the point, when he does scramble, he is great at buying time, allowing the defense to break down, and then executing good throws while on the move. That advantage really does appear to be game planned into the passing attack.

4. Inexperience. Russell is still developing. He is not as good as he will be. He should continue to improve in his ability to read defenses and slide protection as needed. His ridiculous success often obscures the fact that he doesn't yet have 50 starts to his credit. Most QBs who emerge as 10 quality starter types begin to accelerate their effectiveness after the 40 start mark. Peyton. Brady. The list is pretty long and it's almost predictable in terms of how much better a QB performs above and beyond that mark. I fully expect Russell to do the same. His steady improvement and dedication to his development really bodes well for him making that leap.

Overall, I think we could afford to upgrade the line. But if you pull back and look at it big picture -- let's also admit what the scheme and the current corps is allowing us to do. We don't have to spend top draft stock or UFA money at the position. We can allocate those resources elsewhere on the team. Just compare the difference in cap space between us and SF. They have a line that we should be envious of. But that cost in picks and salary means they have to sacrifice elsewhere. Like on the D Line. The secondary. At WR. We simply don't retain Thomas or Sherman or Bennett if we're spending cap space on the O line.

For what we want our O line to do (run the ZBS), they perform extremely well. Our rushing attack is top grade. Our offense ranked 8th overall in the NFL in scoring. Some of that credit has to go to the line.

Getting players that fit the scheme and can excel at both pass pro and run blocking is difficult. St. Louis just added a guy at #2 overall whose pass pro is considered extremely underdeveloped. You can spend a lot of high draft picks on the O line and still not get great pass pro prospects -- particularly if run blocking is the primary attribute you must consider.

I'd like to upgrade the line. I do think it's a major risk to keep allowing Russell to get hit. But I also think that improved experience in the guys we already have on the line at behind center will provide an organic improvement this season. Even if we're similarly unlucky at injury this year, we should be in good shape to absorb that challenge.

Ultimately, if the right prospects become available to us, I'd like us to pull the trigger. I do agree that OT talent is currently being severely overdrafted in the NFL. Next year should be yet another bumper crop of OT prospects. There are at least 3 guys going into 2015 that would have pushed the OTs taken in the back half of this past draft into round 2. If we look at teams that are taking these guys so highly -- the results that they've provided really pales compared to the line we already have right now.

Overall, I'm not willing to overlook the results of the whole. Not spending draft and cap stock along the O line has allowed us to redistribute that elsewhere on the team. We are a top 10 offense (even without Harvin for the year) and we're capable of retaining personnel elsewhere so that our team is very good across the board. We are effective running the ball. We are efficient at throwing the ball. The line factors into that. Not just in their performance. But in the flexibility their costs provide for the other 35 positions on the club.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Our run blocking has been good, but pass blocking is terrible.

I think we gave up almost 3 sacks a game in 2013, and that's with one of the most mobile and allusive QB's in the league, arguably THE most allusive QB.

Russell can't continue to take the beatings he's taken over the past couple of years, so yes IMO it is bad and needs big improvements in pass blocking and sacks allowed.

 

[falcongoggles]

Yes, next question.

 

[Largent80]

Unlike the old days, the modern nfl O-Line is constantly being shuffled due to injury, contracts, and a lack of good talent.

Ours will be different again this year, so, we can only speculate until we see what several of the newbies have to offer.

 

[Pie Romania]

Okung - Bailey - Unger - Sweezy/Bowie - Britt

Put that line out there and I bet we see a solid improvement, even from the beginning. Okung will go down with an injury (like he does every year), so in that scenario, kick Britt to LT and Bowie to RT. Bailey's size, strength and athleticism will be a thing of beauty in both the run & passing game. Will be a solid left side and if Unger gets it together, the only real questions I'd have are whether Britt will be ready for the speed of the game as a rookie and who wins the battle between Sweezy and Bowie. Sweezy has improved vastly, but Bowie showed enough last season that I think he'd steal the position. Sweezy as a backup would be good depth at the position and he'd get time if Bowie had to kick outside. Bailey can kick outside too, but I'd much rather have him at the LG position. I truly think he will dominate there and with 2 talented players surrounding him, Lynch and Michael will be able to churn out yards on the ground consistently.

 

[kearly]

I don't think it's going to get much easier, but it's worth noting that last years pass rush opponents were extremely tough for Seattle. Six games vs. the NFC West, plus four against the NFC South which had three very tough D-lines in that division. They also played the Giants, Texans, and Colts. The Titans defense was also pretty good last year.

The team sack rate was actually pretty good when the starting five returned, but yeah, power running was a huge problem last season. Part of that was Sweezy being uncharacteristically ineffective as a run blocker, but most of it was Max Unger who played terribly fighting through injuries.

Okung is the kind of player who's still good even when hurt, but the games missed really hurt the team in 2013. Unger however, is not the kind of guy who plays well hurt and if injury returns in 2014 I want to see him benched immediately for LJP.

Sweezy is really interesting, he's pretty much got his game figured out now, he just needs to add more core power. The coaching staff had him add 20 pounds of muscle this offseason... this is definitely a player to watch in 2014.

My expectations are much lower for Carpenter, though he is currently in by far the best shape of his NFL career and is playing for a contract this season.

I like Britt but I worry that he is going to get rag-dolled by some of the stronger pass rushers. Britt has some nice traits but he's seems like the classic example of a player that was over-drafted because a coach or GM fell in love with a prospect.

Bowie seems like a pure road grader type and he was a pretty big liability in protection last season. Bailey continues to sit on the bench despite having a clear edge in both talent and performance. Breno was allowed to leave for a meager $7 million guaranteed over two years after having his best season as a pro. I think those dicey decisions at RT will be the turd in the punch bowl.

 

[Hawknballs]

Until I see it in action and working i'll be nervous.

For as great as the team was last year the oline performances when we weren't healthy were incredibly hard to watch.

the fact that Wilson actually improved a little on his rookie numbers is pretty impressive

 

[hawknation2014]

Bowie seems like a pure road grader type and he was a pretty big liability in protection last season. Bailey continues to sit on the bench despite having a clear edge in both talent and performance. Breno was allowed to leave for a meager $7 million guaranteed over two years after having his best season as a pro. I think those dicey decisions at RT will be the turd in the punch bowl.

Bowie is a better pass blocker than you give him credit for. I think "road grader" is somewhat of a misnomer because of how explosive Bowie is off the line of scrimmage.

Bailey's biggest issue is his run blocking. It's the only reason he wasn't drafted, as his agility and footwork is very impressive for a player his size. Unfortunately, his run blocking leaves a lot to be desired; he doesn't attack his man with any aggression or finish off blocks. At this point, he is more of an east-west blocker than a north-south blocker.

That's not to say Bailey doesn't deserve to play more. The coaches found a starting role for him as the sixth blocker in the jumbo packages; that was an effective formation for us in the playoffs. A non-aggressive run blocker can still be somewhat adequate in a zone blocking scheme. Even though Bailey's run blocking has been terrible, it's still probably better than Carpenter's atrocious run blocking. And as a pass blocker, Bailey is leaps and bounds better than Carpenter.

But if they move Bailey to left guard, who takes the reps at LT when Okung is out? Not Carpenter, Britt, or Bowie, due to their lack of elite agility.

 

[DavidSeven]

Our O-line was actually playing at a pretty elite level in late 2012. We got everything we wanted in the run game and kept Russell pretty clean. That was with the following personnel:

Okung -- McQuistan -- Unger -- Moffitt -- Breno.

IMO, we made two fairly big mistakes since then: (1) got too cute with the Moffitt/Sweezy rotation at a crucial time during the 2012 season and heading into the playoffs. I understand Moffitt probably got in the doghouse and wasn't as mean in the run game as Cable likes, but it was too late in the year to make that change and the O-line was playing well at the time; (2) got too cute with McQuistan at LT in 2013. The dude is a lunch pale OG. He simply cannot play LT at the NFL level, and the decision to play him over Bailey probably led to Wilson separating his shoulder.

Of course, the fact that our starting LT, C, and RT were basically hurt all year means the line was going to be fairly terrible regardless. If Okung and Unger can stay healthy and Britt is solid, then I'll feel pretty good about things. Sweezy has developed pretty nicely, and we can get enough out of Carp/Bailey/Bowie at LG. Don't love the idea of Bowie as starting RT. A lot riding on the unproven Britt and Okung's foot...

 

[hawknation2014]

Our O-line was actually playing at a pretty elite level in late 2012. We got everything we wanted in the run game and kept Russell pretty clean. That was with the following personnel:

Okung -- McQuistan -- Unger -- Moffitt -- Breno.

IMO, we made two fairly big mistakes since then: (1) got too cute with the Moffitt/Sweezy rotation at a crucial time during the 2012 season and heading into the playoffs. I understand Moffitt probably got in the doghouse and wasn't as mean in the run game as Cable likes, but it was too late in the year to make that change and the O-line was playing well at the time; (2) got too cute with McQuistan at LT in 2013. The dude is a lunch pale OG. He simply cannot play LT at the NFL level, and the decision to play him over Bailey probably led to Wilson separating his shoulder.

Of course, the fact that our starting LT, C, and RT were basically hurt all year means the line was going to be fairly terrible regardless. If Okung and Unger can stay healthy and Britt is solid, then I'll feel pretty good about things. Sweezy has developed pretty nicely, and we can get enough out of Carp/Bailey/Bowie at LG. Don't love the idea of Bowie as starting RT. A lot riding on the unproven Britt and Okung's foot...

If we're forced to start a rookie at RT, then the offensive line is going to have some trouble.

Ideally, Bowie puts his stamp on the RT position and never lets up. Britt plays a reserve role at both OT spots, perhaps taking over Bailey's role as the sixth linemen in the jumbo package. Bailey gets an opportunity to takeover at left guard. And Carpenter plays out the rest of the year as a backup, and then maybe re-signs for one year on the veteran minimum.

 

[IndyHawk]

Seriously?We won a Championship with a "bad line"..I'll take the same this year if we get the same results...Last year we didn't have Harvin for most of the year..How much pressure was off The line when he came back>? I'd say it made a big difference..

 

[Anthony!]

I would go with no.

There are a lot of factors that go into the statistical analysis. I'll cite a few that I can see would skew any analysis for the worse.

1. Injuries. Yes they happen. Although Seattle was pretty unfortunate in that regard -- particularly along the line. We were forced to play Bowie/Bailey a lot more than hoped. While they struggled, they also had some success. Overall, I'm pleased with their performance given the inexperience on what is admittedly a pretty long learning curve. I expect both players to really show consistency this season befitting the experience level. They paid the learning curve and should be poised to emerge from the other end more quickly as a result of the game experience they amassed last year. We will be a good 8 deep at the position group this season with a lot more flexibility in terms of plugging depth guys in.

2. Our offense. I don't see it cited much -- but our passing model is not a quick hitting WCO style. It relies more heavily on longer developing routes and play action passing. Additionally, since we run the ball with such frequency -- we often have a lot of attention paid at the LOS. Our offense by design really puts pressure on the Line and QB because of the numbers of defenders close to the line and the time we hold the ball.

Additionally, our offense is a run first offense. Pass protection is going to be a secondary element to run blocking. Seattle ran the ball extremely effectively. That's their primary function and they performed well.

I'm not really shocked at the lack of short yardage success. Teams that succeed at that are typically your traditional power man blocking types. Guys that move players. The zone scheme really isn't ideally suited for that purpose. The power in our attack comes from the backs. Not the line. You see it in the rigid prototype athletes we acquire at the RB position. The line doesn't have a lot of people movers. They are more get in the way and allow the back to engage in a seam where the defender is fighting through the lineman to get to him.

3. Personnel. Wilson is a great scrambling QB. More to the point, when he does scramble, he is great at buying time, allowing the defense to break down, and then executing good throws while on the move. That advantage really does appear to be game planned into the passing attack.

4. Inexperience. Russell is still developing. He is not as good as he will be. He should continue to improve in his ability to read defenses and slide protection as needed. His ridiculous success often obscures the fact that he doesn't yet have 50 starts to his credit. Most QBs who emerge as 10 quality starter types begin to accelerate their effectiveness after the 40 start mark. Peyton. Brady. The list is pretty long and it's almost predictable in terms of how much better a QB performs above and beyond that mark. I fully expect Russell to do the same. His steady improvement and dedication to his development really bodes well for him making that leap.

Overall, I think we could afford to upgrade the line. But if you pull back and look at it big picture -- let's also admit what the scheme and the current corps is allowing us to do. We don't have to spend top draft stock or UFA money at the position. We can allocate those resources elsewhere on the team. Just compare the difference in cap space between us and SF. They have a line that we should be envious of. But that cost in picks and salary means they have to sacrifice elsewhere. Like on the D Line. The secondary. At WR. We simply don't retain Thomas or Sherman or Bennett if we're spending cap space on the O line.

For what we want our O line to do (run the ZBS), they perform extremely well. Our rushing attack is top grade. Our offense ranked 8th overall in the NFL in scoring. Some of that credit has to go to the line.

Getting players that fit the scheme and can excel at both pass pro and run blocking is difficult. St. Louis just added a guy at #2 overall whose pass pro is considered extremely underdeveloped. You can spend a lot of high draft picks on the O line and still not get great pass pro prospects -- particularly if run blocking is the primary attribute you must consider.

I'd like to upgrade the line. I do think it's a major risk to keep allowing Russell to get hit. But I also think that improved experience in the guys we already have on the line at behind center will provide an organic improvement this season. Even if we're similarly unlucky at injury this year, we should be in good shape to absorb that challenge.

Ultimately, if the right prospects become available to us, I'd like us to pull the trigger. I do agree that OT talent is currently being severely overdrafted in the NFL. Next year should be yet another bumper crop of OT prospects. There are at least 3 guys going into 2015 that would have pushed the OTs taken in the back half of this past draft into round 2. If we look at teams that are taking these guys so highly -- the results that they've provided really pales compared to the line we already have right now.

Overall, I'm not willing to overlook the results of the whole. Not spending draft and cap stock along the O line has allowed us to redistribute that elsewhere on the team. We are a top 10 offense (even without Harvin for the year) and we're capable of retaining personnel elsewhere so that our team is very good across the board. We are effective running the ball. We are efficient at throwing the ball. The line factors into that. Not just in their performance. But in the flexibility their costs provide for the other 35 positions on the club.

Huh the answer is yes it doe snot matter if it was due to injuries or not they were still dead last in pass blocking, and as the other link I showed stated only 1 sack can be attributed to Rw the rest all o-line. The o-line was that bad

 

[Anthony!]

Our oline sucked pretty bad at times last year.
Blaming our division or injuries is lame for two reasons.
1. We're still in the same division
2. Injuries happen

The biggest thing we need is quality depth. Next, a RT who can better handle quinn/long/smith/etc.

No, I disagree, injuries explains the issues. No OL's in the in the NFL have tremendous depth. I've read articles all last year pointing out that teams are struggling just to find 5 quality starters, when your best players on the OL-- LT and C and injured for over a quarter of the season, it's obvious that the team would struggle.

The mass of injuries was a significant factor into the OL play as a whole.

I think the OL is much better off than most believe, I think we added good depth with Britt and Gilliam at tackle and we've added competition at guard with a few free agent/ futures contract guys. I think we'll see Sweezy take a big leap forward in consistency and production going into year 3.

yes in 2012 healthy they were ranked 20th in pass blocking we are really just fine that is only below avg not bad. Sarcasm off.

 

[Anthony!]

Our O-line was actually playing at a pretty elite level in late 2012. We got everything we wanted in the run game and kept Russell pretty clean. That was with the following personnel:

Okung -- McQuistan -- Unger -- Moffitt -- Breno.

IMO, we made two fairly big mistakes since then: (1) got too cute with the Moffitt/Sweezy rotation at a crucial time during the 2012 season and heading into the playoffs. I understand Moffitt probably got in the doghouse and wasn't as mean in the run game as Cable likes, but it was too late in the year to make that change and the O-line was playing well at the time; (2) got too cute with McQuistan at LT in 2013. The dude is a lunch pale OG. He simply cannot play LT at the NFL level, and the decision to play him over Bailey probably led to Wilson separating his shoulder.

Of course, the fact that our starting LT, C, and RT were basically hurt all year means the line was going to be fairly terrible regardless. If Okung and Unger can stay healthy and Britt is solid, then I'll feel pretty good about things. Sweezy has developed pretty nicely, and we can get enough out of Carp/Bailey/Bowie at LG. Don't love the idea of Bowie as starting RT. A lot riding on the unproven Britt and Okung's foot...

Ahh since when is 20th in pass blocking elite? 20th would be below avg not elite.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol2012

 

[Anthony!]

Seriously?We won a Championship with a "bad line"..I'll take the same this year if we get the same results...Last year we didn't have Harvin for most of the year..How much pressure was off The line when he came back>? I'd say it made a big difference..

The law of averages says you play with the same bad o-line and another r40_+sacks and Rw will get hurt and then that same results is gone, and maybe for more than 1 year. Huge dumb gamble.

 

[Pie Romania]

Bowie seems like a pure road grader type and he was a pretty big liability in protection last season. Bailey continues to sit on the bench despite having a clear edge in both talent and performance. Breno was allowed to leave for a meager $7 million guaranteed over two years after having his best season as a pro. I think those dicey decisions at RT will be the turd in the punch bowl.

Bowie is a better pass blocker than you give him credit for. I think "road grader" is somewhat of a misnomer because of how explosive Bowie is off the line of scrimmage.

Bailey's biggest issue is his run blocking. It's the only reason he wasn't drafted, as his agility and footwork is very impressive for a player his size. Unfortunately, his run blocking leaves a lot to be desired; he doesn't attack his man with any aggression or finish off blocks. At this point, he is more of an east-west blocker than a north-south blocker.

That's not to say Bailey doesn't deserve to play more. The coaches found a starting role for him as the sixth blocker in the jumbo packages; that was an effective formation for us in the playoffs. A non-aggressive run blocker can still be somewhat adequate in a zone blocking scheme. Even though Bailey's run blocking has been terrible, it's still probably better than Carpenter's atrocious run blocking. And as a pass blocker, Bailey is leaps and bounds better than Carpenter.

But if they move Bailey to left guard, who takes the reps at LT when Okung is out? Not Carpenter, Britt, or Bowie, due to their lack of elite agility.

I don't know how you can justify saying Alvin Bailey's run blocking has been terrible. Even in a VERY limited role, he showed last season that he's athletic and strong enough to be a potential stud in the run game with a little bit of coaching. He didn't dominate by any means, but he does need to be a bit more decisive and blow guys up in the 2nd and 3rd levels, which he's fully capable of doing. The biggest thing with Bailey is that he will give us an outstanding pass-blocking guard, something that would have helped fans not be so scared for Wilson's life. This will help keep Wilson calm in the pocket rather than having a near immediate interior pressure in his face and having to take off in a nano-second. Bailey has been a favorite of mine for the last 3 years between Arkansas & Seattle. I'm telling you now, if he gets a fair bit of time working with the 1st team O-Line to help the unit gel/understand what the guys next to them can and cannot do and Cable brings out the nasty in him with the run game, he's going to be a very well-rounded beast for us. Pro-Bowl(esque) or greater on field results. Guys like Marshawn Lynch (if he restructures/takes a paycut after the season) & Christine Michael will be wanting to run behind him often, and succeeding. He and Bowie both can be great on the inside, but that hinges on Britt doing well enough at RT to push Bowie inside. I like next year's potential O-Line class far more than this year's and if someone ends up falling, adding one more tackle and guard for depth & competition would have me completely satisfied with our line. I really do think we have a couple diamonds in the rough with Bailey/Bowie though.

 

[glad2bdada3]

I don't know if it's just me but it seems like we've been plagued by average or crappy or injured O- lines since about '06 or '07. I'd like to see the stats on our lines since '06. I remember one year when Pork Chop was our most effective lineman. And that guy was always injured. I think that was the only yr. he played a whole season. To me it's especially painful when ya' look back on that 03,04,05 line. God! Could you even imagine what this team would be like with those 5 guys in front of Lynch and Wilson?

 

[hawknation2014]

Bowie seems like a pure road grader type and he was a pretty big liability in protection last season. Bailey continues to sit on the bench despite having a clear edge in both talent and performance. Breno was allowed to leave for a meager $7 million guaranteed over two years after having his best season as a pro. I think those dicey decisions at RT will be the turd in the punch bowl.

Bowie is a better pass blocker than you give him credit for. I think "road grader" is somewhat of a misnomer because of how explosive Bowie is off the line of scrimmage.

Bailey's biggest issue is his run blocking. It's the only reason he wasn't drafted, as his agility and footwork is very impressive for a player his size. Unfortunately, his run blocking leaves a lot to be desired; he doesn't attack his man with any aggression or finish off blocks. At this point, he is more of an east-west blocker than a north-south blocker.

That's not to say Bailey doesn't deserve to play more. The coaches found a starting role for him as the sixth blocker in the jumbo packages; that was an effective formation for us in the playoffs. A non-aggressive run blocker can still be somewhat adequate in a zone blocking scheme. Even though Bailey's run blocking has been terrible, it's still probably better than Carpenter's atrocious run blocking. And as a pass blocker, Bailey is leaps and bounds better than Carpenter.

But if they move Bailey to left guard, who takes the reps at LT when Okung is out? Not Carpenter, Britt, or Bowie, due to their lack of elite agility.

I don't know how you can justify saying Alvin Bailey's run blocking has been terrible. Even in a VERY limited role, he showed last season that he's athletic and strong enough to be a potential stud in the run game with a little bit of coaching. He didn't dominate by any means, but he does need to be a bit more decisive and blow guys up in the 2nd and 3rd levels, which he's fully capable of doing. The biggest thing with Bailey is that he will give us an outstanding pass-blocking guard, something that would have helped fans not be so scared for Wilson's life. This will help keep Wilson calm in the pocket rather than having a near immediate interior pressure in his face and having to take off in a nano-second. Bailey has been a favorite of mine for the last 3 years between Arkansas & Seattle. I'm telling you now, if he gets a fair bit of time working with the 1st team O-Line to help the unit gel/understand what the guys next to them can and cannot do and Cable brings out the nasty in him with the run game, he's going to be a very well-rounded beast for us. Pro-Bowl(esque) or greater on field results. Guys like Marshawn Lynch (if he restructures/takes a paycut after the season) & Christine Michael will be wanting to run behind him often, and succeeding. He and Bowie both can be great on the inside, but that hinges on Britt doing well enough at RT to push Bowie inside. I like next year's potential O-Line class far more than this year's and if someone ends up falling, adding one more tackle and guard for depth & competition would have me completely satisfied with our line. I really do think we have a couple diamonds in the rough with Bailey/Bowie though.

Bailey is an extremely apathetic run blocker. Watch him for five minutes and that will jump out at you.

I'm far from the only one who has taken note of Bailey's lackadaisical run blocking. Cable even mentioned this when he was first scouting Bailey: “In terms of running the football, he had a huge intensity problem in college. On film, he would stand up and look like he loved to pass-protect, but here that’s only half the battle. It’s not too difficult to see why he was available to us where he was. At the same time, if we can get that out of him, he’ll have a chance.”
http://nfl.si.com/2013/08/16/seattles-a ... ed-him-by/

 

[Pie Romania]

Bowie seems like a pure road grader type and he was a pretty big liability in protection last season. Bailey continues to sit on the bench despite having a clear edge in both talent and performance. Breno was allowed to leave for a meager $7 million guaranteed over two years after having his best season as a pro. I think those dicey decisions at RT will be the turd in the punch bowl.

Bowie is a better pass blocker than you give him credit for. I think "road grader" is somewhat of a misnomer because of how explosive Bowie is off the line of scrimmage.

Bailey's biggest issue is his run blocking. It's the only reason he wasn't drafted, as his agility and footwork is very impressive for a player his size. Unfortunately, his run blocking leaves a lot to be desired; he doesn't attack his man with any aggression or finish off blocks. At this point, he is more of an east-west blocker than a north-south blocker.

That's not to say Bailey doesn't deserve to play more. The coaches found a starting role for him as the sixth blocker in the jumbo packages; that was an effective formation for us in the playoffs. A non-aggressive run blocker can still be somewhat adequate in a zone blocking scheme. Even though Bailey's run blocking has been terrible, it's still probably better than Carpenter's atrocious run blocking. And as a pass blocker, Bailey is leaps and bounds better than Carpenter.

But if they move Bailey to left guard, who takes the reps at LT when Okung is out? Not Carpenter, Britt, or Bowie, due to their lack of elite agility.

I don't know how you can justify saying Alvin Bailey's run blocking has been terrible. Even in a VERY limited role, he showed last season that he's athletic and strong enough to be a potential stud in the run game with a little bit of coaching. He didn't dominate by any means, but he does need to be a bit more decisive and blow guys up in the 2nd and 3rd levels, which he's fully capable of doing. The biggest thing with Bailey is that he will give us an outstanding pass-blocking guard, something that would have helped fans not be so scared for Wilson's life. This will help keep Wilson calm in the pocket rather than having a near immediate interior pressure in his face and having to take off in a nano-second. Bailey has been a favorite of mine for the last 3 years between Arkansas & Seattle. I'm telling you now, if he gets a fair bit of time working with the 1st team O-Line to help the unit gel/understand what the guys next to them can and cannot do and Cable brings out the nasty in him with the run game, he's going to be a very well-rounded beast for us. Pro-Bowl(esque) or greater on field results. Guys like Marshawn Lynch (if he restructures/takes a paycut after the season) & Christine Michael will be wanting to run behind him often, and succeeding. He and Bowie both can be great on the inside, but that hinges on Britt doing well enough at RT to push Bowie inside. I like next year's potential O-Line class far more than this year's and if someone ends up falling, adding one more tackle and guard for depth & competition would have me completely satisfied with our line. I really do think we have a couple diamonds in the rough with Bailey/Bowie though.

Bailey is an extremely apathetic run blocker. Watch him for five minutes and that will jump out at you.

I'm far from the only one who has taken note of Bailey's lackadaisical run blocking. Cable even mentioned this when he was first scouting Bailey: “In terms of running the football, he had a huge intensity problem in college. On film, he would stand up and look like he loved to pass-protect, but here that’s only half the battle. It’s not too difficult to see why he was available to us where he was. At the same time, if we can get that out of him, he’ll have a chance.”
http://nfl.si.com/2013/08/16/seattles-a ... ed-him-by/

I don't know if you failed to read my post, but I clearly stated that he needs to develop a bit of nastiness in the run game and be more decisive. He has all the tools to be a Top 5 Guard though and with Cable coaching him, I have very little doubt that Bailey will be great for us. Give him some time with the 1st unit to develop rapport with the guys, improve technique & adjust to the NFL and I think we'll be very happy. He's already better than Carpenter IMO. It's not like he doesn't have any nastiness to him either. I feel his indecisiveness causes him to stall far too much and if/when Cable can get him confident on exactly what he needs to do in each given situation, Bailey will be throwing fools around like Red did to Mike Iupati, except the offensive lineman will be doing it to the defensive player, obviously, lol. It was his first season as an undrafted rookie. He's not without his faults, but those faults can be fixed and his ceiling is pretty damn high. If he develops like I think he can and Okung can get his crap together & stay on the field, while they won't be close to Jones/Hutch, they will be far better than many anticipate. Here's hoping it happens.