Football Outsiders, PFF and CHFF analysis of the Pats offensive line - New England Patriots Forums

RI Patriots fan · 10-24-2012, 01:30 PM

I know how some of you guys just LOVE PFF (note:sarcasm) but I thought that this was interesting given the criticism of the Offensive line this season.

7. New England Patriots

PB = 16th, RB = 3rd, PEN = 1st

Even with Logan Mankins less than 100% the line has still come together to play well with nobody more so than Sebastian Vollmer. Special credit to the run blocking of Ryan Wendell, and how Nate Solder has held up at left tackle.

And our next opponent:

29. St Louis Rams

PB = 29th, RB = 21st, PEN = 29th

29th may not seem great, but when you consider the injuries this unit as overcome, it’s something of a victory. Guys who have been turnstile tackles elsewhere, Wayne Hunter and Barry Richardson, have held up reasonably well, while the worst ranked performer (Quinn Ojinnaka) has just been let go.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blo...line-rankings/

***jmt57*** · 10-24-2012, 02:26 PM

I think the bulk of the criticism of the Patriots offensive line was based on how poorly they were performing in August, partially in training camp but mostly in the pre-season games. It has been a work in progress; as each week goes by the cohesiveness of the unit as a whole becomes more apparent. The more time they spend together the better; one of the biggest obstacles for any NFL offensive line to overcome is a lack of continuity.

For what it's worth here are a couple other current OL rankings.

Cold Hard Football Facts | Offensive Hog Index Through Week 7 of the 2012 Regular Season

Their "Offensive Hog Index" is simply based on three metrics: yards per rush attempt; negative pass play (sack or interception) percentage; and success rate on third down.

CHFF ranks the Pats OL first overall. They place the Pats 11th in yards per carry, 3rd in negative pass plays, and 3rd on third down. Giants rank 2nd and Houston ranks 3rd overall.

Football Outsiders | OL

Through week seven Football Outsiders ranks the Pats OL 5th in run blocking and 12 th in pass protection. They rank the best run blocking teams as being the 49ers, Ravens and Seattle, with the Giants, Cowboys and Bills as tops in pass protection.

ATippett56 · 10-24-2012, 02:39 PM

PFF is garbage!

Cold, Hard Football Facts

Cold, Hard Football Facts.com: The Truth Hurts

***jmt57*** · 10-24-2012, 02:56 PM

As for the Seattle game I would say this: one, Seattle has one of the league's very best run defenses. Two, there were times when the Pats were moving the ball on the ground and they stopped (e.g., the 3rd & 1 pick). Three, it's hard to get an effective run game going when you pass the ball 58 times. Four, the stop at the end of the game was due in large part to the coaching decision; when you come out with no WR, three TE and a FB you may as well invite the opposing defense into your huddle to listen to your play call. Seattle saw the formation, brought everybody to the line of scrimmage and the Pats stubbornly ran Ridley right into the line anyways, with no place to go.

***rlcarr*** · 10-25-2012, 11:46 AM

Another nice one from Ben Muth:

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Word of Muth: Bookends of New England

BSR · 10-25-2012, 02:49 PM

Ben Muth did a nice article on the performance of the Pats oline against the Jets complete with examples and pictures. I think its worth the read.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Word of Muth: Bookends of New England

Quote:

The "they" in question are war daddies, studs, fridge hangers, trophy fish, or whatever else you want to call someone that looks like every GM's mental picture of the perfect specimen for their position. On Sunday, when I was watching left tackle Nate Solder, I thought to myself on more than a few occasions "that’s what they look like."

First, he just looks like a left tackle. He’s tall with long arms and plays with better bend than you'd think a guy of his size would. He’s as close to lean as you’ll see from an NFL offensive lineman. On top of that, he does a nice job of giving rushers different looks. One play he’ll jump set a guy and lock-on with his punch, then the next play he’ll take a vertical set straight back and shove the guy on his punch (trying to knock him past the quarterback), and after that he’ll set and cut. He has a lot of tools in his arsenal.

captain stone · 10-26-2012, 11:28 PM

I'd still rather have Koppen than Wendell. Connolly's better than either of them, but he's also our best Guard,
and Bill obviously believes that Wendell's a better Center than Thomas or McDonald are Guards.

VrabelJr · 10-26-2012, 11:55 PM

Pretty crazy that the Giants O Line is also ranked super high. They really have a bunch of JAGs, besides Snee and Baas, that seem to just play well together.

Imagine if we had an elite Center...

***DarrylS*** · 10-27-2012, 05:05 AM

Tip of the hat to Dante...

Last year we started 3 probowlers, last week none....

But I do suspect that the "trust factor" for Brady has been effected...

***MoLewisrocks*** · 10-27-2012, 05:57 AM

You know what Bill says about stats. I think a lot of this "data" gets skewed based on situations. We ran an entire game in Duck mode. Can't do that consistently. Our offense stalled because we couldn't run when we really needed to or complete passes as efficiently as we needed to. Some of that is on the line. Guys can seeming do well in one on one matchups and yet makes mistakes or come up short in critical situations and it doesn't really matter. Not sure how well this unit would do if Brady wasn't standing behind it.