Carson and Penny have averaged .4 and .7 yards before contac

[toffee]

Our backs aren’t getting the 2–3 yards some better running teams are crating for their RBs. Our much improved OL is ranked #31 for week 3.

Quite sure the Girls didn’t stack 8 in the box just to stop our runs. Why aren’t our OL creating more push on run plays?

Interestingly, Penny somehow enjoyed almost double the yardage before contact than Carson but Carson got a lot more yards after first contact.

#31
Starting Lineup:

Left Tackle: Duane Brown, 67.1
Left Guard: J.R. Sweezy, 50.8
Center: Joey Hunt, 59.6
Right Guard: D.J. Fluker, 47.1
Right Tackle: Germain Ifedi, 46.4

Their pass protection hasn’t been as dreadful as we’ve seen in the past, but they are still the lowest-graded run blocking team in the NFL. Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny have averaged .4 and .7 yards before contact respectively. Good luck establishing the run with that.

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[lobohawk]

Meh. They performed much better, in spite of a couple position swaps.

 

[West TX Hawk]

This begs the question is there anything Solari can do differently schematically to improve the run blocking or does our starting 5 just collectively lack the size or ability to improve?

 

[toffee]

This begs the question is there anything Solari can do differently schematically to improve the run blocking or does our starting 5 just collectively lack the size or ability to improve?

Doesn't look like lacking in size, so the lack of performance remains a myth.

 

[zetes]

I was wondering what the "yards after contact" stats were for Carson because we used to hear that quoted all the time for Marshawn Lynch. It looks to me that Carson is getting hit as soon as he hits the line of scrimmage which means a 3.3 avg in the last game is actually a lot more impressive than it looks.

Z.

 

[toffee]

I was wondering what the "yards after contact" stats were for Carson because we used to hear that quoted all the time for Marshawn Lynch. It looks to me that Carson is getting hit as soon as he hits the line of scrimmage which means a 3.3 avg in the last game is actually a lot more impressive than it looks.

Z.

My thought exactly. 3.2 - 0.4 = 2.8 yards would be yards after first contact. If the line gives him 2 yards before first contact, he could have averaged 4.8. or just 21 carries to reach 100 yards. 32 carries could yield 154 yards. How that would have been game changer.

It's up to our line, play design, and timing to create that extra 1.5 yards or so before first contact.

 

[Seymour]

Disclaimer:

The majority of those runs came against a top 3 defense and without 2 starting olinemen.

Not worried......yet.

 

[hawknation2018]

They actually dropped from #29 last week. I thought they would move up a bit due to their improved pass blocking.

Justin Britt should be back this week against Arizona. He is our best run blocker at this point.

D.J. Fluker is incredibly overrated. I have not been impressed by his run blocking. Carroll is heralding him, but he looks slow and unathletic to my eye. He’s not getting any push. Sometimes he can use his massive frame to shield off lineman or linebacker, but that’s about it. He’s also the worst pass blocker on the roster. I assume he will start at RG going forward, but I’m not excited at that prospect.

PFF says “Good luck establishing the run with that,” but Chris Carson’s hard running style did allow us to successfully establish the run, gave us 3rd and shorts and first downs in short yardage situations, and allowed us to control the time of possession and gave the defense time to successfully recuperate.

The poor run blocking is even more a testament to how good Chris Carson has been, averaging nearly four yards per carry behind the worst run blocking line in the NFL and rushing for over 100 against Dallas.

We just have to stick with Carson on 60+% of our plays on first and second downs.

Penny is better than he has shown; the line is just not opening the type of holes Penny’s running style requires to be successful.

Pocic is still a below average run blocker, though he is improving. Sweezy has been a below average run blocker, particularly at LG (where he made his first career start on Sunday) and probably due in part to the high ankle sprain he suffered in the preseason. Fluker has been far worse at run blocking than most people realize. And Ifedi continues to look very awkward as a run blocker at the tackle position. Duane Brown also looks more sluggish, less explosive as a run blocker than he has in the past. That adds up to a bad run blocking unit, with no power lead blocker on the roster.

 

[toffee]

Our guard plays still left a lot to desire. Both Fluker and Sweezy were low cost linemen, sort of cast offs. At this point, it’s up to Solari and Schotty to game plan around their strength and weakness.

Anyone got data when Carson ran straight ahead, he had more success running to right or left?


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[hawknation2018]

Britt is practicing today and should be back at center (barring an unexpected setback). Pocic could conceivably play, but Carroll expects Sweezy to remain at LG and Fluker at RG.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/bcondotta/status/1045034999659950080[/tweet]

 

[toffee]

Britt is practicing today and should be back at center (barring an unexpected setback). Pocic could conceivably play, but Carroll expects Sweezy to remain at LG and Fluker at RG.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/bcondotta/status/1045034999659950080[/tweet]

Not particular reason to assume Pocic to be a better run blocker than sweezy


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[DomeHawk]

After last week I was thinking that maybe Hunt could play center and maybe Britt at one of the guard positions.

Probably sounds dumb after all the success Britt has had at center but at this point I wouldn't exclude any ideas with that line.

 

[AgentDib]

Quite sure the Girls didn’t stack 8 in the box just to stop our runs.

Just how sure are you? I've been too busy this week to rewatch the game yet but was watching specifically for this on Sunday and noticed them playing the run on just about every snap besides a few token long down/distances. They have excellent corners and were letting them play vs. our receiver group.

 

[toffee]

Quite sure the Girls didn’t stack 8 in the box just to stop our runs.

Just how sure are you? I've been too busy this week to rewatch the game yet but was watching specifically for this on Sunday and noticed them playing the run on just about every snap besides a few token long down/distances. They have excellent corners and were letting them play vs. our receiver group.

I am not at all sure on that one, but speculated that Girls had no reason to focus on our running game, not the first half anymore. They might focus more to stop our run as we were leading and we should be running to kill clock.

 

[seahawkfreak]

I don't care what those stats say. No offsides last week and our O-Line is no longer doing this, at least up the middle.

 

[lukerguy]

I seem to remember the offense as a whole being particularly dreadful in Sept the last few years. Even the year they won the SB, I remember some 10-15 point games.

 

[sutz]

After last week I was thinking that maybe Hunt could play center and maybe Britt at one of the guard positions.

Probably sounds dumb after all the success Britt has had at center but at this point I wouldn't exclude any ideas with that line.

Hunt is a bit undersized for a center. He'd be more so as a guard. He had a good game, but I wouldn't call him starter material just yet.

 

[GeekHawk]

The only reason our O-line wasn't rated #50 or 60 the last few years is that there aren't that many teams. They still should have been assigned a rank like that anyway. #31 is light years ahead of 'rhymes-with-unable's work.

 

[TreeRon]

I read a number of references to PFF on this and other boards. How credible is PFF ? Some think they're full of bunk. Some, if not many of their analysis is done in India and Bangladesh ? One wonders how many of these people "know" the game?
I know some of the commentators (ex players) in NFL radio do not give them much sway.

 

[AgentDib]

There are a couple of things to be aware of with PFF.

1) Completely opaque throughout the process. You see the output, but never the individual scores that would let a third party validate. No mention of the grader or any information that would allow you to double check anything they do. Maybe it's Fred from Nebraska or Omar from India, but it probably isn't a professional scout or they would be name dropped instead of labeled "PFF analyst" or whatever.

2) They rush to get grades out before the coaches tape (all-22) is released. They do supposedly go back and revise grades later on in the week using the all-22, but the few times I have compared the two sets of grades were much closer than you would expect.

3) Their grading scale for any individual play ranges from -2 to +2 so consistency overall is much more important to their rankings than the occasional big play. Whether that's a problem or not depends on what you are trying to use it for.

and the big one...

4) No inside knowledge of the schemes, plays and responsibilities. If you watch any competent film breakdown, such as Chalk Talk from Huard, you will notice many times in which the commentator will be careful when assigning blame because they won't know who was supposed to do what. Did the receiver run the wrong route? Was there supposed to be safety help? Was the TE supposed to run a route, chip and release, or pick up the edge rusher?

Coaching staffs can watch the tape and grade plays because they know who was supposed to do what. Competent outside sources use a lot of disclaimers instead and talk about several people who may have been at fault in different ways. However, because PFF is a black box (#1) there is no discussion of this sort and we are left with the suspicion that they probably just give out grades based on their best guess, but who's best guess you are supposed to trust is also unknown because PFF is a black box (#1).