Offensive line play is partly the issue with diminishing QB play & devaluing of RB's in the NFL

[jadillac]

Defenses have gotten way more athletic and O-lines havent kept up. Defensive ends are probably faster than ever and LBs are more athletic than they used to be as well. But for the most part O-lines haven't evolved much athletically, and in some ways have regressed. QB's have less time in the pocket, some have no time or pocket at all as soon as the ball is snapped, and RBs have fewer lanes/holes than before.
I think this is partly why the rules have been skewed in favor to the offensive side of the ball more and more.

If you look at what the Cowboys have built the past 5-6 years with their O-line, you'll see what the difference is. That line is a huge factor in the success of both Prescott and Zeke Elliot, and DeMarco Murray before that. Patriots do a great job of keeping their O-line on point as well.

It's not rocket science but it does take a while to build the pieces, and often teams don't want to make that commitment by spending draft picks in consecutive years O-linemen.

 

[David_TheMan]

Cowboys O-line was getting beat with 3 or 4 rushers last night in pass protection though.

 

[dtownreppin214]

Cowboys O-line was getting beat with 3 or 4 rushers last night in pass protection though.

if they were getting beat it was b/c of one man - doug free.

no shame tho, eagles have the top front 7 in the nfl.

 

[Tony D'Amato]

Nah, its the level of incompetence in these front offices. The Colts are about to destroy Andrew Luck's career. Meanwhile the winning teams have good oline play.

 

[jadillac]

Cowboys O-line was getting beat with 3 or 4 rushers last night in pass protection though.

and imagine how bad it would've been if they didn't have probably the best O-line in the NFL.

Point stands that a rookie Prescott has time to look thru his reads and Zeke Elliot rarely gets stopped for a loss

 

[David_TheMan]

and imagine how bad it would've been if they didn't have probably the best O-line in the NFL.

Point stands that a rookie Prescott has time to look thru his reads and Zeke Elliot rarely gets stopped for a loss

I think they are the best run blocking team, which they didn't do enough of last night, but pass protection they leave a lot to be desired.

 

[Rekkapryde]

Nah, its the level of incompetence in these front offices. The Colts are about to destroy Andrew Luck's career. Meanwhile the winning teams have good oline play.

You can't keep giving these huge contracts to one player when there are too many parts the team depends on to win. This ain't hoops. Colts have too many holes up front and on defense and it's gonna be worse when the hat extension kicks in. You gotta find real good guys for cheap and draft well. A lot of these teams suck at personnel acquisitions bar none but use the coach as the excuse when it's the GM

 

[jadillac]

I think they are the best run blocking team, which they didn't do enough of last night, but pass protection they leave a lot to be desired.

pass protection is harder.

Most O-linemen in general prefer run blocking bc they can just fire off the line and maul people.

 

[MikelArteta]

It's hard finding a good olineman yet alone a great

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

You can't keep giving these huge contracts to one player when there are too many parts the team depends on to win. This ain't hoops. Colts have too many holes up front and on defense and it's gonna be worse when the hat extension kicks in. You gotta find real good guys for cheap and draft well. A lot of these teams suck at personnel acquisitions bar none but use the coach as the excuse when it's the GM

Contracts are rising faster than the cap. It furthers the illusion of parity. I've been saying for a while each team should have maybe one player or one player on each side of the ball that they designate for his deal to not count against the cap. Look at what poor drafting and joe Flacco's deal have done to the Ravens the past four years. Look at what happened in Indianapolis. Look at all the bad contracts in New Orleans. How long were the raiders paying Deangelo hall after they cut him? A bad line makes every problem worse. The receivers and backs and quarterback all suck in Baltimore, but a good line can mask that. In 2014 when it was good, they set a record for team scoring. Last year the line was terrible and the team looked awful in every facet. This year the line looks to be the worst in football. They have the second fewest touchdowns scored in football and the fewest passing touchdowns in the league. Barely on pace to throw 10 of them on the entire season. In 2013 they had the worst run blocking line since the merger (2.9 yards per carry, 25% of their rushing attempts saw the back get hit behind the line of scrimmage and 40% of their runs went for 2 yards or less). They sucked that year too. If they didn't have to pay all that money to one guy they could have payed their guard/tackle Kelichi Osemele instead of just lose him for nothing in return. The whole offense has suffered for it.

 

[Rekkapryde]

Contracts are rising faster than the cap. It furthers the illusion of parity. I've been saying for a while each team should have maybe one player or one player on each side of the ball that they designate for his deal to not count against the cap. Look at what poor drafting and joe Flacco's deal have done to the Ravens the past four years. Look at what happened in Indianapolis. Look at all the bad contracts in New Orleans. How long were the raiders paying Deangelo hall after they cut him? A bad line makes every problem worse. The receivers and backs and quarterback all suck in Baltimore, but a good line can mask that. In 2014 when it was good, they set a record for team scoring. Last year the line was terrible and the team looked awful in every facet. This year the line looks to be the worst in football. They have the second fewest touchdowns scored in football and the fewest passing touchdowns in the league. Barely on pace to throw 10 of them on the entire season. In 2013 they had the worst run blocking line since the merger (2.9 yards per carry, 25% of their rushing attempts saw the back get hit behind the line of scrimmage and 40% of their runs went for 2 yards or less). They sucked that year too. If they didn't have to pay all that money to one guy they could have payed their guard/tackle Kelichi Osemele instead of just lose him for nothing in return. The whole offense has suffered for it.

Church.

They do need to implement something to where you can keep the guys you drafted.
Say what you want but I do like the NBA Bird rights (even though they need to stay with the original team that you started with and not transfer). Don't make a supposed luxury tax so bad that it would cripple a Bird rights system as well.

 

[Frump]

And olineman an are coming in rawer then ever because in college their only asked to block for a second or two

 

[NYC Rebel]

Spread offenses have ruined the way o-linemen are now coached.

They're no longer drive blockers or linemen that know how to cover an area. The end result is having lineman coming into the league unprepared. If i'm a scout, I'd only look for linemen who came out of a pro style college offense.

Either way, the NFL needs a developmental league in the worst way. The chasm between the NFL and college ball seems to be growing in certain areas.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Nah, its the level of incompetence in these front offices. The Colts are about to destroy Andrew Luck's career. Meanwhile the winning teams have good oline play.

his bad for resigning, more of these QB's need to suck up that franchise tag and place the power back in their hands. i can't get with crying over ruined QB's when that's the one position with the longevity and demand to weather the franchise tag and truly make their own market in FA.

 

[FreedS[ohh]lave]

Teams don't practice as much as they used too anymore so run blocking isn't being practiced or used in games much.

If you watch 4th and 1 now most teams can't get a yard anymore. It's sad