Offensive Line Analysis Thread, Week 2 2014 Minnesota

unoriginal said:

So last week I speculated after Jordan Devey's gruesome second half against Miami that the Pats would probably evaluate other options at the RG spot in Week 2. Obviously that didn't happen. Maybe Ryan Wendell's knee injury tied their hands a bit, but the Pats still had Josh Kline and Bryan Stork available if they needed a warm body. So lukewarm as it may be, Devey certainly got a vote of confidence this week.

As far as I can see, the Patriots are basically committed to putting big, mauling guards on the field, which Cannon (6'5") and Devey (6'6") are and which Kline (6'3) Connolly (6'4") and Wendell (6'2") are not, which fits with DeGuglielmo's m.o. So long as those two don't kill somebody or **** themselves for an entire game the Pats look like they will roll with them until they "stop improving" and I think we can all agree that there is plenty of room for improvement.

Despite their large size the Pats are not shy about pulling either Cannon or Devey, and especially Devey. Against Minnesota they did it repeatedly, both for runs and play action. Very little zone or straight drive blocking going on which is good because both Cannon and Devey tend to suck at straight power blocking, especially Devey. Cannon can move people but tends to slide off. Devey tends to get bowled over backwards.

Anyways the 1st half, focused as always on the pass blocking:

Code:

1st Drive 1st Quarter 10:54
1.    Run
2.    Run
3.    Run

2nd Drive 1st 6:57
1.    Run
2.    Run

3rd Drive 1st 4:43
1.    Play action

2.    Run
3.    Run
4.    Fly sweep

5.    Play action

6.    Play action
7.    Run / Holding Cannon
8.    Draw
9.    WR bubble screen

4th Drive 2nd 13:30
1.    Run
2.    Quick pass (offensive tackles cut block)
3.    Clean pocket / OPI Dobson
4.    Fake draw / Devey picks up stunt

5.    Run
6.    Clean pocket
7.    Pressure Solder 97

8.    +1 Blitz / Free rusher knockdown / Pressure Hoomanawanui 96

5th Drive 2nd 5:51
1.    Run
2.    Play action

3.    Run
4.    Run
5.    Run / Cannon Connolly Devey demerits

Code:

Player        Sack    Knockdown    Pressure    Demerit
Solder        0        0        1        0
Cannon        0        0        0        1
Connolly    0        0        0        1
Devey        0        0        0        1
Vollmer        0        0        0        0

Now before everyone gets all excited and happy concerning the 1st half blocking dominance of the o-line, take a closer look at the play chart up there and note all the run plays and play action plays the Pats ran. The Pats did not run a straight-up pass play until their 17th play of the half, 20 minutes into the game. The third time they did it Solder allowed a pressure off a spin move to the inside.

Let me emphasize that again: out of 27 offensive plays the Pats ran in the first half, 23 of them were either runs, passes off of play action, or designed quick throws such as WR screens, slants, or quick outs. The Pats o-line was only asked to block against a bona-fide pass rush four times. They gave Brady a clean pocket twice, and a third was a +1 blitz Brady hit Edelman for a TD on.

The offensive line really wasn't given a chance to screw things up.

I would like to call special attention to the last play of the half, where I gave the entire interior of the line a demerit. That was the third and one call where Ridley lost a yard running off-tackle to the left. Cannon let his guy slide past him and tried to hook him, while Connolly and Devey basically got bowled over at the snap, Devey ending up on the ground three yards in the backfield. Ugly stuff.

Second half coming eventually.

EDIT: the whitespace handling continues to be touch-and-go.

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Ivan said:

I agree that sets with extra lineman can be a good tool I just want them to sort out their starters and how they set therm up as soon as possible.

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PP2 said:

Uno, I am eager to get your thoughts on Stork.

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mayoclinic said:

I'm inclined to give Devey a chance to develop at LG. He has the size and physicality, and RG doesn't demand a huge degree of athleticism.

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6. Two minus plays were jotted down for left guard Marcus Cannon. He couldn’t hold his block on defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd on the first running play of the game (no gain) and was correctly penalized for holding linebacker Chad Greenway on the second level later in the quarter (1:42 remaining). I also wondered if Cannon moved early on Stevan Ridley’s 1-yard touchdown run, and perhaps caught a break from the officials, who didn’t spot his early twitch.

7. Running back Shane Vereen’s 7-yard run on third-and-8 was a case where there were a lot of good things unfolding but one debatable decision by Vereen – to go out of bounds instead of trying to power through at the sticks -- ultimately trumped the good. Tight end Tim Wright came in motion right to left and helped with a nice seal block on defensive end Everson Griffen, while left tackle Nate Solder had a nice kick-out block to create a gaping hole. Edelman was also working hard down the field.

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unoriginal said:

Many more straight pass plays in the 2nd half and consequently more pressure.

Code:

1st Drive 3rd 15:00
1.    Quick out
2.    Run

3.    Quick hitch
4.    Clean pocket

5.    Run
6.    Run
7.    Clean pocket

2nd Drive 3rd 9:14
1.    Run (Demerit Devey: assigned LB 54 makes tackle)
2.    Quick out
3.    Solder pressure 97 unanchor / Vereen merit blocks two blitzers sequentially

3rd Drive 3rd 6:47
1.    Play action / RB screen / Solder block in the back and holding
2.    Solder false start
3.    Draw
4.    97 offsides / clean pocket
5.    Draw
6.    Clean / Cannon initial whiff

7.    Clean / 3+ seconds of time
8.    Play action

9.    Run
10.    Play action / Cannon pressure 73

11.    Run / Cannon demerit 93 makes tackle, bad cut block / Demerit Devey 73 driven back
12.    Run / Demerit Devey 73 driven back / Holding Devey
13.    Draw
14.    Draw

4th Drive 4th 13:45
1.    Play action
2.    Sack Cannon 92
3.    Run / Demerit Devey 98 failed cut block
4.    Blitz / Vereen Pressure / Edelman merit blocks left edge

5th Drive 4th 9:26
Stork in for Connolly
Solder - Cannon - Stork - Devey - Vollmer
1.    Run
2.    Run
3.    QB sneak / Demerit Devey missed 92

6th Drive 4th 6:41
Kline in for Cannon
Solder - Kline - Stork - Devey - Vollmer
1.    Run (great drive blocking interior line)

2.    Run
3.    False start Fleming
4.    Run
5.    Run

6.    Run
7.    Run
8.    Run (demerits Wright and LaFell)
9.    Pressure Kline Unanchor 93 / Pressure Vollmer 98

Stork and then Kline came on in the late game. Kline's one pass blocking play was not an achievement but he and Stork did get some good movement in the run game, though its hard to tell if this was just a result of Minnesota's fatigue at that point.

I have made the executive decision to count penalties as demerits (though they don't stack per play, saving Solder alone about 4 extra demerits). Below are the whole-game totals:

Code:

Player        Sack    Knockdown    Pressure    Demerit   
Solder        0        0        2        2
Cannon        1        0        1        3
Connolly    0        0        0        1
Devey        0        0        0        6
Vollmer        0        0        1        0
Stork        0        0        0        0
Kline        0        0        1        0
Fleming        0        0        0        1

Cannon and Devey are still a work in progress. On the plus side Devey has gotten a lot better at sniffing out defensive line stunts; he handled at least two successfully, pushing his rusher to Vollmer and picking up the looper.

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unoriginal said:

Historically I would say the Pats have put very athletic guys at RG, i.e. Stephen Neal and Dan Connolly, both of whom they used on the move a lot.

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mgteich said:

Additional points

1) Devey is the kind of mauler that the coach wants.
.

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On his first two plays, the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Stork showed good strength against rookie defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (6-5, 310). On Stevan Ridley's 16-yard run (5:57 remaining), Stork fired off the ball and created some push in the middle as the defender he was blocking winds up on the ground. His two shotgun snaps were solid. Those were valuable reps for Stork, who looks like he’s ready to compete for more playing time.

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mayoclinic said:

I'm inclined to give Devey a chance to develop at LG. He has the size and physicality, and RG doesn't demand a huge degree of athleticism. IF he could work out there, and IF Stork and Fleming continue to develop, it would give the Pats tremendous flexibility and versatility along the OL:

- Solder - Cannon - Stork - Devey - Vollmer as the eventual starters
- Connolly as a 3-position backup/virtual starter at all 3 positions
- Fleming as the backup tackle with versatility at guard and in "jumbo" sets

That would potentially be a very versatile and strong 7 man core, and it would put Wendell and Kline, the 2 weakest links of the OL on the bench or game day inactive list, where they belong. Of course, the assumption that Devey, Stork and Fleming will develop is a huge one, but I'm inclined to give them some patience and try and work through the growing pains.

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mgteich said:

When you are discussing development, are you taking about this year? Obviously, your long-term plan requires the extension of Cannon.

I agree that Stork will start as soon as he is ready. However, I believe that that Connolly as our center is NOT a weakness for 2014. We just don't know how good Stork is at the moment. Personally, I don't think that we will see any change in starters at least until after the bye week.

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captain stone said:

I wonder if Stork could handle starting at LG while refining his Center skills during the week.
Cannon could then move to RG where his weaknesses would be more easily hidden, and
Devey could then move to the bench to join Wendy & Kline. Fleming would continue being
the 6th OLman/Power TE and the first backup at RG/RT.

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captain stone said:

How do you know that I'm the only one? Did you take a census or something?
When I see Cannon at LG, I am not exactly reminded of Mankins, even the 2013 version.
If Stork can't handle the workload, then so be it: keep Cannon at LG, and get Fleming up-to-speed
at RG ASAP.
Whatever combination results in Wendy, Kline & Devey permanently on the bench, or preferably off
the team, is fine by me. I'm just thinking out loud, m'kay?

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