The Blindside

After reading Michael Lewis' The Blindside, I've become a lot more conscious of the presence of offensive line play in the NFL. Offensive linemen are often hidden in plain view, and the book goes into great detail of how the Left Tackle in particular goes about his business. The evolution of the Left Tackle, with more eyes on them than ever before, is because of the elite pass-rushers they have to go up against. As Lewis writes, it all started with Giants Outside Linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who made opposing coaches change their entire game-plan. Taylor was arguably the first elite, game-changing pass-rusher. He would line up opposing the Left Tackle, go around or through him, and then hit the Quarterback at his blind side (hence the name of the book). It's the point of weakness for all offences. It's the only area of the field the Quarterback can't see, so he has to be able to trust his Left Tackle to keep him safe. Obviously, this logic is based on the fact that most QBs are right handed. For left-handed QBs like Michael Vick and Matt Leinart, the best offensive tackle would then line up at Right Tackle.

Ever since reading the book, I've been intrigued by the battle between the Left Tackle and the pass rusher. I've found myself watching the battle more than actually watching the ball. So, for this week's column, I decided to look at two of the best Left Tackles in the game right now:


Jake Long (Miami Dolphins) vs. New York Jets
Long was the no1 overall pick in the 2008 draft, and he swiftly showed everyone that he was money well spent. If the Dolphins keep him happy, he should be there for fifteen years. Whether he's protecting QB Chad Henne or Running Backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams (when in the option formation, or 'wildcat'), they have nothing to worry about.

The Jets defense is renowned for being aggressive, hard-hitting and stubborn. They play the 3-4 defense and blitz a lot of men, a lot of the time, meaning Long would go up against different pass-rushers on each play. Sometimes he would be double-teamed too. I looked through every offensive play the Dolphins had in their 31-23 loss to the Jets, and this is what I found:

- On seventy-one offensive snaps, the Dolphins had double or triple protection (Running Backs, Linemen or Tight Ends) involving Long on only five of those plays.
- Those five plays came on passing downs, and not when Brown or Williams were taking the snap. The plays were decoys for run plays, but all turned into play-action. Two of the throws were deep, as they hoped the extra blocking and the hint of a run play would draw a safety so Marshall or Hartline would be one-on-one with the erratic Cromartie or the rookie Wilson. Of those five plays however, only one pass was completed, a seven yard gain to Hartline.
- He had trouble on only two plays. 1) A four yard run by Brown where Bryan Thomas managed to trip Brown. 2) On a third-and-ten, Thomas got thisclose to Henne before he got the throw off.
- Other problems on the offensive line really don't help him. On one play, Long and Incognito were lined up opposite two Jets pass-rushers. Long easily handles his man, but Incognito suffers from a lapse in concentration and lets Howard Green almost decapitate Henne.
- He lined up at Right Tackle for one snap – a wildcat play that finished with an end around the Left Tackle by Cobbs for a loss of six. The play was HORRIBLE.
- As I said, Bryan Thomas was the only Jet to give him any trouble. The other three starting Linebackers (Taylor, Harris, Scott) didn't get to breathe anywhere near Henne when Long was on them.
- There were two plays that stood out in particular when watching Long. The first was the eleven yard Touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall. The Jets blitz as it's third-and-one. Long gets matched up with two pass-rushers (Gholston and Cummings) and obliterates them, making them crash into each other, giving Henne all the time in the world to throw it to Marshall for the score. The second play was similar. On first-and-ten on the final drive of the game, the Jets blitz again. This time, Long faces Bryan Thomas, the only guy to make any sort of impact against him, and Drew Coleman. Long simply pushes Thomas back, and he stumbles into Coleman. Two birds, one stone. The result? A thirty yard pass to Marshall. Two Jets blitzes with two men on Long, two completed passes for forty one yards and a touchdown. I think the Jets can do that normally, but right now, when all-world Cornerback Darrelle Revis is out injured, they can't afford to free up those passing lanes for opposing offenses.

So what can you take from all of this? Well, for starters, despite it being only one game, everyone who watched Jake Long saw a great offensive tackle. The Dolphins are wasting their time putting in extra blockers on his side, when they could be using those guys as extra receivers. Despite the offense playing largely a good game, it's clear that the Dolphins could use an early round draft pick next year on an interior lineman to tighten things up. Richie Incognito has been playing good at Left Guard, but at times in this game he showed that he's certainly not the best Guard in the league by any measure.


Ryan Clady (Denver Broncos) vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Broncos spent their first overall pick in the 2008 draft (no12) on Boise State's Clady, and like Long, he has established himself as a very dependable NFL Left Tackle. This past Sunday he was challenged with protecting Quarterback Kyle Orton from one of the best pass-rushers in the league in the Colts' Dwight Freeney.

- On seventy-eight offensive snaps, nine featured double team protection on the left-side of the offensive line. Eight of them were passing downs, predominantly on third down. On most of those plays it was Clady and someone else blocking only Freeney, which in my eyes tells you the respect opposing coaches have for Freeney, not the frailties Denver see in Clady (at all).
- Clady handled Freeney very well, forcing him to rush the A gap (between the Center and a Guard) more often as the game progressed.
- Despite the little number of double teams, it surprised me that a considerable amount of the run plays were to the right, and not the left, where Clady is. Laurence Maroney, picked up in a trade with the Patriots is a horrible, horrible Running Back. He played a part in helping the Broncos lose this game (27-13) as he was just terrible. It wouldn't have mattered had there been five Ryan Cladys playing on the offensive line, he would have likely produced the same numbers (twelve rushes for twenty-four yards). He is a terrible runner who dances forever at the offensive line before being tackled (either by a defender, or by tripping over his own teammates).

Until Knowshon Moreno returns from injury, or the Broncos give more carries to Correll Buckhalter, the Broncos should just air it out against the Titans this week (despite the Titans having a solid group of defensive backs) because Maroney is stifling the team's potential. Clady's pass protection looks to be exquisite, so why shouldn't the Broncos play to their strengths - despite playing against their opponents best strength?

Week 4 Picks
Jets @ Bills
Bengals @ Browns
Broncos @ Titans
Panthers @ Saints
Lions @ Packers
Seahawks @ Rams
49ers @ Falcons
Ravens @ Steelers
Texans @ Raiders
Colts @ Jaguars
Redskins @ Eagles
Cardinals @ Chargers
Bears @ Giants
Patriots @ Dolphins

Last week: 10-6
Overall: 30-18