Yeah, our new scheme is a much better fit for Jensen.
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The Offensive Line Thread
- Thread starter Sledge Hammer
- Start date
cobrajet
Hall of Famer
I am just worried about Howard against the edge rush. I was excited when we signed him, but he gave me reason to be concerned watching him move in preseason. With him coming off injury and getting older, he may not have the bounce back season I was hoping for when we picked him up.
Yes, hoping he is our answer at center and we don't have to resort to the draft. Then again, he is a free agent this year and We will not be offering him a big contract.
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
Jensen disappointed me today. If he can knock off the penalties he will be a fine center, but that's a big if.
Howard didn't look good, that sack where joe got sandwiched was the worst effort I have ever seen from a OT, he gave a nudge, Dunlap sidestepped a good 2 yards wide and walked right into joe, Howard barely backpedaled.
Stanley could have been better, I believe he had a hold or something of the sort and he gave up a few pressures that I saw, but nothing too bad, I'll chalk it up to rust since he was also very rusty on his return last year.
Howard didn't look good, that sack where joe got sandwiched was the worst effort I have ever seen from a OT, he gave a nudge, Dunlap sidestepped a good 2 yards wide and walked right into joe, Howard barely backpedaled.
Stanley could have been better, I believe he had a hold or something of the sort and he gave up a few pressures that I saw, but nothing too bad, I'll chalk it up to rust since he was also very rusty on his return last year.
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
How did Hurst do?
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
Couldn't pay attention to everyone in live action but iirc he had a costly penalty but our interior held up well in all facets so I can assume he performed ok
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
Dom McRaven
Hall of Famer
It definitely has to be rust. I remember he didn't look impressive in his first game from injury last season. Couple of games later saw the return of Stonewall Stanley. I expect the same by no later than week 4.
The Raven
Veteran
Tbh Jensen's holding calls were bullshit. Calling holding on a pancake is a judgment that defies the laws of physics, and they did that twice.
TheCity5
MVP
I have to agree I really didn't like the calls on Jensen.
I'm very happy with the performance the OL has put together. The Bengals front is not an easy one to deal with and they showed up. Yes, penalties, some pressures allowed, OK. But remember, OL play is a lot about chemistry and experience as a unit. We usually settle by season's ends because that's the moment the OL starts to gel. To see them have an OK performance against a good front for the first game of the season is absolutely positive.
The OL will only get better as games go and as long as no one gets injured (knock knock wood wood) and if this was the starting point, this unit is far better than we expected it to be. Hats off to James Hurst, who no one trusted 5 monthes ago, and who has proved not only good at RT but now also at LG, something I would have never dreamed of.
Keep it up OL and continue to progress.
The OL will only get better as games go and as long as no one gets injured (knock knock wood wood) and if this was the starting point, this unit is far better than we expected it to be. Hats off to James Hurst, who no one trusted 5 monthes ago, and who has proved not only good at RT but now also at LG, something I would have never dreamed of.
Keep it up OL and continue to progress.
Edgar
Ravens Ring of Honor
Sound points.
The Raven
Veteran
Jensen's bullshit penalties aside, he played a good game and more than held his own against one of the league's better fronts. Hurst didn't totally shit the bed which was good. I was actually somewhat impressed, and I think he'll actually be okay at LG if he maintains his weight. Howard makes Michael Oher look like a HOFer in pass protection, but his run blocking was better than it was in the preseason. I think he's getting into game shape. He looked a little less husky which was good.
Yanda fits right in in this run scheme. As strong and gritty as he is, he's not one that can overpower DTs every play. However, he was a beast on pulls, traps, and lead blocks. Stanley played well. I think I saw some giving him heat for struggling a bit more than usual in pass protection, but let's remember that Michael Johnson is quite the athlete. He's a solid RE and I never expected Stanley to wipe him out.
One more takeaway on this unit: they were physical. I've been harping on this all offseason and preseason but here we go again. Now we're seeing the results of getting more aggressive players in a more aggressive scheme. The Bengals stacked the box every play. We were routinely dealing with eight man boxes. We even saw some nine man boxes. It's hard for an offense to get positive yardage against a nine man box that knows the run is coming -- and yet we did. We averaged 3.7 yards per carry against a defense that knew the run was coming. 3.7 on its own is mediocre, but when you look at it in this perspective, it's not all bad. We got a lot of push upfront. I mean,Terrance West averaged 4.2 yards a carry. That's solid.
Yanda fits right in in this run scheme. As strong and gritty as he is, he's not one that can overpower DTs every play. However, he was a beast on pulls, traps, and lead blocks. Stanley played well. I think I saw some giving him heat for struggling a bit more than usual in pass protection, but let's remember that Michael Johnson is quite the athlete. He's a solid RE and I never expected Stanley to wipe him out.
One more takeaway on this unit: they were physical. I've been harping on this all offseason and preseason but here we go again. Now we're seeing the results of getting more aggressive players in a more aggressive scheme. The Bengals stacked the box every play. We were routinely dealing with eight man boxes. We even saw some nine man boxes. It's hard for an offense to get positive yardage against a nine man box that knows the run is coming -- and yet we did. We averaged 3.7 yards per carry against a defense that knew the run was coming. 3.7 on its own is mediocre, but when you look at it in this perspective, it's not all bad. We got a lot of push upfront. I mean,Terrance West averaged 4.2 yards a carry. That's solid.
Ravensnation5220
Ravens Ring of Honor
As long ass hes just there, he helps. His size and length helps a ton. I dont think well leave him on an island vs the like of khalil mack. However I would like to think he could hold up against a bull rush vs James harrison
With access to the PFF Edge subscription, I can now post the numbers for anyone interested. Apparently we gave up the second most disruptions per snap as a unit. James Hurst was 64th out of 64 in that category among guards, Marshal Yanda being 37th. Ryan Jensen was 20th out of 30. Ronnie Stanley was 56th out of 62 and Austin Howard was 48th. Should be taken with a slight grain of salt in that we only had 18 pass attempts. But for anyone without access, here are the PFF grades of our OL (Link).
The Raven
Veteran
Those run blocking numbers got me feeling good.
I don't see how Yanda got a C- for pass blocking but whatever. Also not sure where Jensen's run blocking grade came from. He at least got a C from what I saw. What probably killed him was the constant screw ups at the second level. I'm not sure how you give a center a 48 in run blocking when one of your backs averaged 4.2 YPC on constant interior runs against eight man boxes, but what do I know?
I like PFF's methodology for assigning grades but it is a little subjective, as is all scouting.
Thanks for sharing.
Not quite sure how this is possible considering how many units have badly struggled this week.
It's great you want to share to everyone your paid subscription to PFF. That is a very admirable thing for you to do since it was money out of your own pocket. I for one would like to add to that and tell you what a literal joke they really are and their only sole purpose is to sell subscriptions. They are biased amongst teams and players (as you can see with the Ravens grades you posted). I noticed they gave Howard the best grade on the ol this past weekend. That in itself is enough to back up my statement since his performance this weekend was deplorable at the least. Make your own opinion of how the OL plays and not rely on a bunch of knuckleheads like PFF. It was a kick in the gut to Ravens fans who are still excited about our win this weekend and the future of this season to have PFF as a reason to change that!