Fundamental Football 101 - Offensive Line.

[COR-TEN]

I am by no stretch an expert. There are many here with loads more experience and wisdom by way of football. Many others with decades worth of watching experience. But I'll say this :

The place were football begins is at the line of scrimmage. That is where the games are won and lost. Sometimes skill players can make up the deficit. So far this season : a stellar defense for 10 games, WR's making catches, and BR sending lasers and dimes dropped their way in less than 3 seconds covered up the dismal O line play. This entire season has been played with a subpar O line. Sub par O line coaching, and sub par effort. Blame that on injuries, or whatever, but the O line sucks donkey dick. The steelers were lucky through the first six games of the season.

Add to crappy O line play boring, stale, and predictable play calling (to protect both the O line and QB?), a WR group that can't catch, a RB group that has zero vision, while sprinkling in a defense depleted of starters as a result of injuries, and you have an 11-0 team trending downwards like a limp dick (Lit?), losing two in a row, and probably should be three, maybe four.

These coaches and players see this. They aren't stupid, but what the fuck do you do when you're 11-0 and you know your O line sucks? Can't hold the point of attack, and has zero push or control over the LOS?

I'll let the more knowledgable posters detail the problems, but I think it all comes down to the O line.

[alancac98]

I asked this question in the game thread but don't believe anyone answered it. Why is Ben under center and the online in pass protect stance? Then, a commentator or someone mentioned that Dotson was the only one putting his hand on the ground and that was the reason he was moving people. What the fuck are the coaches seeing and going to do about making changes to try and right the ship. I mean hell - all they have to do is turn on the TV and listen to the pundit critique and offer suggestions about what to do if they want to take the lazy approach but they aren't even doing that! This offence is a cluster fuck and Fitchner came out last night calling the same fucking 20 plays he has the last 2 or 3 games and surprisingly it didn't fucking work! Hell, at this point, I beg him to go back and look at the film of the first five games, write the plays and set down and call those plays in the e act same order. I don't remember the play calling being so stale and predictable. I told my wife Everytime the team ran last night with 95% accuracy and I'm an armchair coach!!! Those defensive players knew every play as well - easily!

[bradshaw2ben]

I asked this question in the game thread but don't believe anyone answered it. Why is Ben under center and the online in pass protect stance? Then, a commentator or someone mentioned that Dotson was the only one putting his hand on the ground and that was the reason he was moving people. What the fuck are the coaches seeing and going to do about making changes to try and right the ship. I mean hell - all they have to do is turn on the TV and listen to the pundit critique and offer suggestions about what to do if they want to take the lazy approach but they aren't even doing that! This offence is a cluster fuck and Fitchner came out last night calling the same fucking 20 plays he has the last 2 or 3 games and surprisingly it didn't fucking work! Hell, at this point, I beg him to go back and look at the film of the first five games, write the plays and set down and call those plays in the e act same order. I don't remember the play calling being so stale and predictable. I told my wife Everytime the team ran last night with 95% accuracy and I'm an armchair coach!!! Those defensive players knew every play as well - easily!

You pretty much can't block edge rushers in pass pro in the NFL if you start with your hand on the ground. You can only hope to fool them on play action. You can run block from that pass pro set, though, so most teams have their tackles always play from a pass pro stance except for some goal line and short yardage.