PFF oline final rankings

[Jville]

It makes a lot of sense to prioritize run blocking in our situation.

First, we can't afford everything at once and pass protection is expensive. We have one of the most expensive QBs, are about to have a very expensive group of receivers, and want to have an effective running attack. Many areas need to be cheaper than average to make that work.

Then we need to realize that veteran QBs can do a lot themselves to mitigate the opposing pass rush. Brady lost two of his best OL in the game today and it didn't slow him down at all because he was getting the ball out immediately. At this point in Russ's career as a veteran he needs to be working on the same thing. The early play where they let Chandler Jones rush free and then Russ didn't get the ball away was completely on him.

Lastly, good OL run blocking is necessary to have even a decent running game. We saw what a difference it made giving Penny an initial hole to run through and if teams are scared of our rushing attack then that takes a huge amount of pressure off the passing game on it's own.

Excellent points. It's also worth noting that they have already invested time and training into power players and conceded some lateral movement and range as a trade off. Gabe Jackson & Damien Lewis are two noteworthy examples. So they are already committed. Plus projecting an attacking blocking scheme onto an opponent builds esprit de corps and unites the offense. Where as retrograde blocking really doesn't do that.

 

[Jville]

One additional note .............

Last years offensive line was more disciplined than what we saw not so long ago.

False Starts enforced ....... 5th fewest in the league.
Offensive Holding enforced ....... 4th fewest in the league.

That meant fewer drive killing penalties by the offensive line than what most other offenses suffered thru.

 

[toffee]

One additional note .............

Last years offensive line was more disciplined than what we saw not so long ago.

False Starts enforced ....... 5th fewest in the league.
Offensive Holding enforced ....... 4th fewest in the league.

That meant fewer drive killing penalties by the offensive line.

That is itself is HUGE, just feel like our OL is on the right track at this point with youth, smart, and discipline, hoping skill will follow, soon.

 

[A-Dog]

Lots of questions:

1) Do the Seahawks feel comfortable with bringing Duane Brown back to start at LT or do they need to upgrade and get younger? If the Hawks decided to make a move for a long-term starter (e.g. Terron Armstead) could/would Brown return as quality depth?

2) Same as above for Ethan Pocic (minus the age factor). Does the team feel comfortable re-signing Pocic to be the starter or do they try to improve here? Pocic has struggled with pass blocking and staying healthy.

3) Same as above for Brandon Shell. Jake Curhan played well against the run but is still a question mark against the pass. Do they bring back Shell to compete for the RT position with Curhan (and provide depth)?

4) Is Gabe Jackson worth his $9M cap hit, especially in light of the promising play of Phil Haynes? The team could say $6M against the 2022 cap by designating Jackson as a post-June1 cut.

5) What to do with Damien Lewis? His play declined in 2022 after the switch to LG. Does the position switch account for his regression or is there more to it? Could Haynes be the starter at LG and Lewis move back to RG (especially if they cut Jackson)? Do they keep all three to compete for two spots? Could Lewis be moved to C to compete with Pocic?

7. Is the team confident that Stone Forsythe is a solid backup at LT? This is a big concern, especially if they bring back Brown at LT, should age continue to catch up to him.

8. With Brown (UFA), Shell (UFA), Pocic (UFA), and Haynes (RFA) all hitting free agency, and with a ton of cap space availably, do they take this opportunity to revamp the entire O-Line, or do they bring everyone back for the sake of continuity? Did the existing unit show enough, particularly in the run game, towards the end of the season to justify running it back? And if they do go with the status quo, is Russ going to be satisfied that they are doing everything they can to win?

 

[GeekHawk]

Also, does Solari's preferred O-line blocking scheme mesh with Waldron's offense? (This is an actual question, I have no idea of the answer).

 

[jammerhawk]

Ans: The scheme certainly looked like it did fit with the first game of the season and the last two games, however a reasonably effective running game set it up.

 

[TCHawks]

Moving Lewis was terrible. I hope they move him back to his better spot. No excuse to go backwards that far in year two. PFF seems way off here but he does seem worse

 

[Own The West]

Lots of questions:

1) Do the Seahawks feel comfortable with bringing Duane Brown back to start at LT or do they need to upgrade and get younger? If the Hawks decided to make a move for a long-term starter (e.g. Terron Armstead) could/would Brown return as quality depth?

2) Same as above for Ethan Pocic (minus the age factor). Does the team feel comfortable re-signing Pocic to be the starter or do they try to improve here? Pocic has struggled with pass blocking and staying healthy.

3) Same as above for Brandon Shell. Jake Curhan played well against the run but is still a question mark against the pass. Do they bring back Shell to compete for the RT position with Curhan (and provide depth)?

4) Is Gabe Jackson worth his $9M cap hit, especially in light of the promising play of Phil Haynes? The team could say $6M against the 2022 cap by designating Jackson as a post-June1 cut.

5) What to do with Damien Lewis? His play declined in 2022 after the switch to LG. Does the position switch account for his regression or is there more to it? Could Haynes be the starter at LG and Lewis move back to RG (especially if they cut Jackson)? Do they keep all three to compete for two spots? Could Lewis be moved to C to compete with Pocic?

7. Is the team confident that Stone Forsythe is a solid backup at LT? This is a big concern, especially if they bring back Brown at LT, should age continue to catch up to him.

8. With Brown (UFA), Shell (UFA), Pocic (UFA), and Haynes (RFA) all hitting free agency, and with a ton of cap space availably, do they take this opportunity to revamp the entire O-Line, or do they bring everyone back for the sake of continuity? Did the existing unit show enough, particularly in the run game, towards the end of the season to justify running it back? And if they do go with the status quo, is Russ going to be satisfied that they are doing everything they can to win?

I share a lot of these same thoughts. If I had my druthers, I'd want:

LT Armstead
LG Haynes
C Lewis
RG Jackson
RT Curhan/Shell

If we bring back Brown, then we miss out on the opportunity to get Armstead who should hold down the position for the next 5-6 years. If we keep Brown, he may continue his downward trend and there is nobody comparable to Armstead hitting FA in 2023.

I don't hate Pocic, but he's always lacked a little sand. And in a division with Aaron Donald, that's not just something you can technique away. Mark Glowinski and Joey Hunt are doing fine in the AFC South...

"Blowing it up" would be bad. OL need familiarity to gel. If you get 2-3 guys on a line that have never played together, it's a disaster.

 

[Jville]

Lots of questions:

5) What to do with Damien Lewis? His play declined in 2022 after the switch to LG. Does the position switch account for his regression or is there more to it? Could Haynes be the starter at LG and Lewis move back to RG (especially if they cut Jackson)? Do they keep all three to compete for two spots? Could Lewis be moved to C to compete with Pocic?

Damien added even more strength during his first off season. I wonder if he would have been more successful by working on change of direction and range improvement. The switch from the right side to the left may or may not have been a factor in his perceived drop off as well. I see Damien as a power guard. I think better agility, range and length is advantageous for a starting center. I like the prospect of Lewis and Jackson and Haynes as a trio of power guards. It's seventeen games in a season now. The days of getting by with only 7 linemen on an active roster are probably over.

 

[toffee]

From the OL perspective, what operated differently in the last 4 games of the season? What did they do that was different from rest of the games? Why did Penny suddenly have boulevards covered with red carpet for him to run through? Were those running lanes there in other games?

Only things that I read was Curhan taking over from Shell, and Haynes stepped in for Jackson, and Lewis back to the right side? And the line didn't just try to push north south but running east west at times.

 

[Jville]

From the OL perspective, what operated differently in the last 4 games of the season? What did they do that was different from rest of the games? Why did Penny suddenly have boulevards covered with red carpet for him to run through? Were those running lanes there in other games?

Only things that I read was Curhan taking over from Shell, and Haynes stepped in for Jackson, and Lewis back to the right side? And the line didn't just try to push north south but running east west at times.

It's not an individual sport like tennis that we are following. It's a team sport we are attempting to follow. All the individual participants must sync up and complement each other. And, it isn't enough for just one particular position group to coordinate their actions. All eleven men of all the position groups must get into rhythm for any offense to roll.

An all to common fan failure is to accuse the offensive line, independent of the actions of skill position players, for failing to block. Typically an accompanying fan failure lies in an inability to recognize the responsibility of skill players and ball handlers to complement all blocking designs.

When team chemistry shows up and all 11 participants complement each others play, the team emerges as a force. With regards to Penny, think of him as the final piece that fell into place and resulted in the solidification of an eleven man effort that finally came together as a team to successfully exerted it's will on opponents.

For me, it was a joy to watch it all come together.