11-26-2017, 11:12 PM
Joe Mixon had an amazing game today against the Cleveland Browns. Like many of you, I tend to place a mental asterisk next to any statistics associated with the Bengals against Cleveland because, well, um, because the Browns are really really bad. But, and please hear me out, there’s something encouraging we can take from this game:
The offensive line had their best run blocking game since 2015. Joe Mixon always had the moves and the speed but without holes open in front of him, neither moves nor speed matter. Today there were YUGE holes available in every gap and here’s why: The Cincinnati Bengals used pure directional run blocking for the first time since 2015! The scheme totally changed in a week and that is an impressive feat. I saw pulling guards, a center who pushed the defensive tackle this way or that way, depending on the play, and I even saw some nice edge sealing blocks from Cedric Ogbuehi and Andre Smith. I also saw some interesting tight end sets where Tyler Kroft sealed the edge.
This is most encouraging but there’s a caution because directional blocking assignments against a 4-3 defense Cleveland runs are different than directional blocking assignments against the 3-4 defense Pittsburgh runs. Against a 4-3, primary blocks are executed against the defensive linemen while against a 3-4, primary blocks will necessarily be executed against linebackers too — and you don’t know which gaps they’ll shoot.
Directional blocking is how Paul Brown taught the Browns in Cleveland and how Vince Lombardi taught the Packers in Green Bay. It’s also what the current Steelers, Eagles, and Patriots use — and it works.
The offensive line had their best run blocking game since 2015. Joe Mixon always had the moves and the speed but without holes open in front of him, neither moves nor speed matter. Today there were YUGE holes available in every gap and here’s why: The Cincinnati Bengals used pure directional run blocking for the first time since 2015! The scheme totally changed in a week and that is an impressive feat. I saw pulling guards, a center who pushed the defensive tackle this way or that way, depending on the play, and I even saw some nice edge sealing blocks from Cedric Ogbuehi and Andre Smith. I also saw some interesting tight end sets where Tyler Kroft sealed the edge.
This is most encouraging but there’s a caution because directional blocking assignments against a 4-3 defense Cleveland runs are different than directional blocking assignments against the 3-4 defense Pittsburgh runs. Against a 4-3, primary blocks are executed against the defensive linemen while against a 3-4, primary blocks will necessarily be executed against linebackers too — and you don’t know which gaps they’ll shoot.
Directional blocking is how Paul Brown taught the Browns in Cleveland and how Vince Lombardi taught the Packers in Green Bay. It’s also what the current Steelers, Eagles, and Patriots use — and it works.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
