I was just looking up some stuff on Bodine in a thread in the NFL Draft section and came across this article on Bodine after the 2015 season.
One thing stuck out to me that made me wonder....is the blocking scheme too complex for new players to grasp?

Quote:To be fair to Bodine and show not all hope is lost with him, offensive line coach Paul Alexander runs a complex blocking scheme that takes a few years for players to fully grasp. Just looking at the current Bengals lineman, Clint Boling, Kevin Zeitler, Andre Smith and even Andrew Whitworth made dramatic jumps in their level of play in Year 3 and Year 4.

https://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/2/21/11014908/bengals-exit-interview-center-russell-bodine

Obviously Bodine is now in Year 4 and he hasn't shown improvement, so therefore the hope from the Feb 2016 article didn't actually manifest, but I think that if the OL blocking scheme really is so complicated, it needs to change to a simpler one. And that likely only happens if the architect of the scheme, Paul Alexander, is gone.

Your thoughts?

I find the author that was attempting to use the "complicated scheme" as an excuse for fundament failures and breakdowns in basic technique, laughable. As the Center is the one who makes the blocking calls, as per the scheme..

Bodine, along with the rest of the OL, typically look good and effective against even fronts, where the Center is uncovered and the other four are head up on a man. Where Bodine is a complete failure, and the rest of the OL struggles mightily, is against the odd front. Bodine simply cannot physically match up with a NT, and the Guards always seem to be confused as to what their assignments are.

This was the case, even in years where the OL was considered to be really good. The common factor? Paul Alexander. They need to bring in an aggressive fundamentalist to coach the OL.

(12-04-2017, 05:55 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I find the author that was attempting to use the "complicated scheme" as an excuse for fundament failures and breakdowns in basic technique, laughable.  As the Center is the one who makes the blocking calls, as per the scheme..

Bodine, along with the rest of the OL, typically look good and effective against even fronts, where the Center is uncovered and the other four are head up on a man.  Where Bodine is a complete failure, and the rest of the OL struggles mightily, is against the odd front.  Bodine simply cannot physically match up with a NT, and the Guards always seem to be confused as to what their assignments are.

This was the case, even in years where the OL was considered to be really good.  The common factor?  Paul Alexander.  They need to bring in an aggressive fundamentalist to coach the OL.

Sunset, you nailed it brother.

This is just another excuse for PA's failures. He picked Bodine, he is HIS guy and he doesn't even fit HIS scheme.

Truly pathetic. To not coach up his players to understand how to face odd fronts when we play two teams in our Division who
line up this way all the time is just crazy to me. Unprepared and then they get thrown into the fire, hard to blame some of these
guys considering who their coach is honestly.

(12-04-2017, 07:05 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Sunset, you nailed it brother.

This is just another excuse for PA's failures. He picked Bodine, he is HIS guy and he doesn't even fit HIS scheme.

Truly pathetic. To not coach up his players to understand how to face odd fronts when we play two teams in our Division who
line up this way all the time is just crazy to me. Unprepared and then they get thrown into the fire, hard to blame some of these
guys considering who their coach is honestly.

In this day and age, in order to swim with the big fish in this league, you have to have a Center that can handle a NT one on one.  Or at least have a fantastic set of Guards to chip off, and then work to the next level.  

In any successful offense, the interior 3 on OL should be massive, people moving brutes.  You can get by with athleticism at Tackle, but when you need to QB sneak on 4th and a long one, or need a pocket to step into, you can't rely on "finesse" blockers to get the job done.

I'm not sure how complex it can be since defenses all over the league, except in Cleveland, of course, seem to have it pretty well figured out.

(12-04-2017, 05:55 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I find the author that was attempting to use the "complicated scheme" as an excuse for fundament failures and breakdowns in basic technique, laughable.  As the Center is the one who makes the blocking calls, as per the scheme..

Bodine, along with the rest of the OL, typically look good and effective against even fronts, where the Center is uncovered and the other four are head up on a man.  Where Bodine is a complete failure, and the rest of the OL struggles mightily, is against the odd front.  Bodine simply cannot physically match up with a NT, and the Guards always seem to be confused as to what their assignments are.

This was the case, even in years where the OL was considered to be really good.  The common factor?  Paul Alexander.  They need to bring in an aggressive fundamentalist to coach the OL.

Spot on Sunset !

And I agree completely with your assessment but would just add another element that I think plays into it is the Bengals disjointed system that seems to always be trying to ram square pegs into round holes.

Mike Brown is doing his thing running stuff his way without thought of how it impacts what Marvin Lewis is trying to accomplish. Marvin Lewis is doing this, Paul Alexander is doing that, Whatever current OC is trying to run these plays but that doesn't jive with what PA is teaching and on and on.

The whole system is a convoluted mess. They're not on the same page, there is no single vision.

(12-04-2017, 08:43 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Spot on Sunset !

And I agree completely with your assessment but would just add another element that I think plays into it is the Bengals disjointed system that seems to always be trying to ram square pegs into round holes.

Mike Brown is doing his thing running stuff his way without thought of how it impacts what Marvin Lewis is trying to accomplish. Marvin Lewis is doing this, Paul Alexander is doing that, Whatever current OC is trying to run these plays but that doesn't jive with what PA is teaching and on and on.

The whole system is a convoluted mess. They're not on the same page, there is no single vision.

Any half-witted football fan can see that if your interior OL is strong, then everything works better.  Straight up runs, yep.  Having a pocket to step into, yep.  Play action pass, definitely.