Thursday Night

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(09-23-2016, 11:28 AM)3wt Wrote: L

I have heard this a lot, though I have not seen enough film of either team to see if it is true.  And I'm not really knowledgeable about what does/ does not work in terms of O-Line technique and scheme.

We have a number of members of the board who played college ball - including a number who played O-Line.

I'd be interested in knowing their thoughts on this - whether one scheme is better than the other, whether Alexander's is an unusual system and whether each system suits a particular style of player.

The only value I could see in having lineman stand up vs. fire out of their stance would be that it would be less of a tell that we are running or passing.  But there are so many other tells that that would seem to be a weak concept.

Particularly for a player like Hill it would seem to make more sense to fire out to establish momentum for the running back to take advantage of.

Thoughts?

Defensive linemen know if they can "stand up" an offensive lineman they just won the battle.  If an offensive lineman goes low, the defensive player is totally involved in absorbing the block and shaking off the offensive lineman.  If the defensive lineman can stand that offensive lineman up, the defensive tackle or end can absorb the block, raise their arms to bat down passes, and have leverage to move either direction and tackle a runner trying to shoot a gap.  It is also easier to spin an upright player out of the way and get to the quarterback!  An upright offensive lineman can only use their arm and pectoral power to block someone while an offensive lineman whose pads are pointed forward can use their entire body to move an end or tackle at will.  That is chapter and verse from Paul Brown.

Last night the Patriots' offensive line totally neutralized JJ Watt.  That's JJ Freakin' Watt. By utilizing proper technique, the New England line took one of the NFL's best defensive lineman out of the game.  There is no reason the Bengals cannot use the same technique.