(12-12-2023, 03:31 PM)Joelist Wrote: Volson looks good for the same reason the rest of the line are looking good. The line is getting to play under center more and getting to run block and block down more - this allows them to attack the defense and also helps them get in a groove for the game. In other words this system with better run-pass balance and more balance also between under center and shotgun is not hanging the OL out to dry like we were doing with the extreme imbalance to shotgun and extreme lack of run carries.

Well also Brown has been playing hurt, as well as I believe Cappa (from some of his games, he had to be hurt) Jonah is settling in nicely as a RT the more he plays it.

(12-13-2023, 09:43 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Well also Brown has been playing hurt, as well as I believe Cappa (from some of his games, he had to be hurt) Jonah is settling in nicely as a RT the more he plays it.

Save for a couple of bad games, he's been steady there all season.  It'll be interesting to see if the team makes a legitimate attempt to sign him to a long term contract, or if they elect to go cheaper with a draft pick and a cheaper free agent to bridge the gap.

(12-12-2023, 09:14 AM)Sled21 Wrote: It's almost as if Karras and Cappa knew what they were talking about when they said he'd turn into a top guard in the league.....

...no I think I’m comprehending this correctly. You’re saying Karras and Cappa were right to say he’d turn into a top guard.

a couple hot weeks from Volson and now Karras foretold the prophecy!

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/bengals-film-breakdown-cordell-volson-recent-performance

Bengals Sans with a recent breakdown of Cordell Volson. The inconsistencies at the second level in thr run game are still there. I also think Sans forgot to mention that Volson isn't great running the long trap pulling from his LG spot to get the strong side edge (Cappa on the other hand does it very well the other direction).

Here's the article from that link, for some reason the videos wouldn't come with it.

Quote:Bengals Film Breakdown: Analyzing Cordell Volson's Recent Performance
The second-year guard has taken a few steps forward in recent weeks.
After a rocky start to the season, Cordell Volson has turned it around over the past few weeks.

He's finally hit his groove and started to gel alongside Orlando Brown Jr. This has come against some tough matchups. He's done it against a Colts duo of Deforest Buckner and Grover Stewart. He also played well against Steelers star Cam Heyward, who had his way with Volson last season. He’s improved upon a few areas throughout the season.

Let’s dive into the film to take a closer look at the second-year guard:

Footwork

Volson improved his kick slide tremendously. He went from an extremely run heavy system in college that prioritized him understanding his run blocks to an extremely pass heavy system that prioritized him working in pass protection. His kick slide improved tenfold in just the offseason before his rookie year.

This year I think it’s improved again, as he has stopped lifting his feet so much and kept them closer to the ground with each kick.
By keeping his feet closer to the ground, this allows him to change direction quicker and mirror rushers inside on plays. Last year he had some struggles in this area, but this season he has done a better job of it and that starts with his improved footwork on the kick slide.

The other area that has helped him is that he is just doing a better job of moving his feet after contact.

One of the biggest issues that young offensive linemen have is stopping their feet on contact which will allow rushers to beat them to the inside or outside. Volson has done a great job of keeping his feet moving over the past few games.

Those two improvements in his footwork combine to give him a better foundation in pass protection. Now he can effectively move with rushers as they try to win around the outside or to the inside against him and he recovers a little bit more when he is out of position.

Anchor

Volson is a big guard that weighed 315 pounds at the NFL Combine. He is also an extremely tall guard at six-foot six. This means that naturally he will give up leverage to shorter defensive tackles (average DT height is 6-3), which makes it difficult to anchor and stop defenders from getting underneath of him to push him backward.

Volson appears to have made a concerted effort to get lower, but also be able to reset his hands and get his hands lower than his opponent’s hands if he loses initially.

That way he can break the leverage that the opponent has and lift them upward. He has been rock solid in terms of his anchor over the past three games and it has helped him hit one of the best strides he’s had as a professional.

It’s not always perfect, but no one is flawless in any offensive line room. The improvement that he has made has given firmer pockets and he has been able to “die slowly” instead of losing quickly. Typically offensive linemen only have to hold up for 2.5-3 seconds on any given play, so dying slowly can work, provided that the quarterback gets the ball out on time.

You can see both the improved anchor and the improved footwork come together in his matchup against Heyward. He did a great job when left alone with the All-Pro defender:

In pass protection, Volson understands the areas that needed improvement and has put in the work to get better. It’s all about consistency and keeping this strong pace up to finish the season, but it appears as if there has been a jump in his play. Especially since the Bengals have done more to help Jake Browning with this offense. That has also helped the offensive line.

Areas For Improvement Going Forward

Like most players, Volson isn't perfect yet. Even during this hot stretch of play, he has still had some errors both in pass protection and in the run game. The three main areas that have shown up the past couple of weeks have been leaning too far forward in pass protection, sustaining blocks, and taking proper angles to the second level.

The leaning in pass protection doesn’t always kill him such as this play where he is able to stay attached and recover:

However, there are also plays like this where the defense takes advantage of his lean and how overzealous he is when trying to kick out the penetrator on a stunt.

His work on stunts has improved, but this play sticks out as an example of why you want to punch that player out, while keeping your head back and your body in control and balanced. Here he’s leaning forward on the punch and he is unable to recover in time to get himself back to take the looper.

He also needs to make sure he is staying square in pass protection. On this play he jumps the defender but then misses his hand placement. It gets worse as he drops his kick foot which gives the defender a short corner to get around him for a quarterback hit.

When it comes to sustaining blocks, this mostly applies to his work at the second level.

His issues sustaining this block are frustrating because he takes a good angle and before contact is made, Volson is in a good position to control this block. The defender however makes the first meaningful contact and gets him in the chest. Volson has some length, but not enough to overcome this and he loses the block entirely. He needs to shorten the distance here and keep the defender close. Protect his chest and instead get into the defender’s chest and drive him on the play.

Sustaining a second level block is the difference between a 5-yard gain and an explosive play. If Volson sustains that block, then Mixon might be off to the races as Alex Cappa clears out the next most dangerous defender.

The other issue that Volson has had the past couple of weeks is his angle of departure to the second level.

This is taking an improper angle on a play and not cutting off the defender to meet him where he is going to be. Volson is a bit of a limited athlete, so that means that he has to be correct on his angles to the second level. He has a smaller window and doesn't have the margin for error to recover like some lineman have due to their athleticism.

You can see Volson ends up way too far to the inside of the linebacker on this play. The linebacker is able to make the stop even though Volson is now attached and trying to clear him out because he won initially by just beating Volson to the spot.

Again you can see that instead of getting his helmet across the defender and driving him, he kind of catches him and instead is in poor position to make this block. He doesn't sustain the block because he needs to take a better angle in the first place.

It’s tough to be less athletic than your opponent, but most of the Bengals offensive line fits that description. They play at a disadvantage on these plays and instead need to be more skilled and technically sound than their opponent.

When it comes to Volson, he has looked like a solid offensive lineman and has settled into the season. He has to keep this going with consistency, but the past few weeks have been encouraging. It looks like he's taken a step forward in his young career, which is great news for the Bengals.

(12-12-2023, 01:26 AM)casear2727 Wrote:

Cordell Volson starting to really blossom down the back stretch of his 2nd season.

Over the last 3 weeks, amongst 74 other guards, Volson ranks:

? t-1st - 0 Sacks Allowed
? t-4th - 1 Pressure Allowed
? 5th - 99.5% Pass Block Efficiency
? 13th - 78.5 PFF Pass Block Grade… pic.twitter.com/oSnqh4TeYT

— Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) December 11, 2023

That is really great to see. Let's hope it's permanent and not a trend. Three weeks of good play certainly suggests the former. 

(12-12-2023, 12:46 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Did anyone notice on the long TD pass to Brown, Volson was way down field not far from Brown when he crossed the goal line. Will we see Volson pulling to lead backs in the future?

Great news is the entire OL is playing better, in 2024 we have at least 4 of the 5 back who are now used to playing together.

I noticed, hell, he almost beat Chase to the EZ, lol.

(12-11-2023, 09:00 PM)C0de_M0nkey Wrote: How did Trey Hendrickson score below 70 with 2 sacks and a batted pass into an interception?

(12-11-2023, 09:07 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Not sure other than the penalty. Colts certainly didn’t have any success running the ball, which is where Trey sometimes gets dinged on his grades.

Run defense. It was under 60 against the Colts.

Hendrickson's pass rush grade on the entire season is 90.2 but his run defense is only 51.5.
He's also not doing well in coverage for the 24 snaps they've put him in that role this year.

(12-13-2023, 11:29 AM)Wyche Wrote: That is really great to see. Let's hope it's permanent and not a trend. Three weeks of good play certainly suggests the former. 

The improved footwork is a good indicator that it's trending in the right direction. The more positive reps he gets there, the more it becomes muscle memory and he can focus on other areas. Like the article above says, he's a limited athlete so he needs to be technically sound every time but things are looking up right now.

Being able to handle Cam Heyward is huge. It was impressive to see how he did against him because Heyward was just throwing Volson around in previous matchups. 

(12-13-2023, 11:32 AM)Wyche Wrote: I noticed, hell, he almost beat Chase to the EZ, lol.

This is kind of off topic, but who was the last OL that the Bengals drafted and developed that actually panned out and earned a second contract? (aside from Jonah Williams still being on the team for his 5th year option)

(12-13-2023, 01:04 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: This is kind of off topic, but who was the last OL that the Bengals drafted and developed that actually panned out and earned a second contract? (aside from Jonah Williams still being on the team for his 5th year option)

Boling

(12-13-2023, 01:25 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Boling

I knew that it had been a while, didn't realize it was that far back.

(12-13-2023, 01:46 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I knew that it had been a while, didn't realize it was that far back.

You could also say Trey Hopkins, but he was an UDFA.  

(12-13-2023, 03:10 PM)Whatever Wrote: You could also say Trey Hopkins, but he was an UDFA.  

Yes, but he doesn't really fit the criteria of draft and develop into a long term starter.  More like sign and develop into a career backup caliber player.

(12-13-2023, 01:25 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Boling

Bingo