O-Line ranks 12th

[ganesh]

Where do you guys get this stuff from...some stat sheet? look at the individual players on the line and compare them. Do the Buffalo Bills have a center that made the pro bowl recently that I missed? Did the Bills have a 12 year vet at RT?

 

LT-Jonathan Scott 4yrs-Max Starks-6yrs

LG-Chris Kemoeatu 5 yrs

C-Maurkice Pouncey-rookie made the pro bowl

RG-Ramon Foster-2yrs-Trai Essex 6 yrs

RT-Flozell Adams-12yrs

 

Look at the veteran experience of that Steeler line, and the one exception happens to have made the pro bowl he was so good, no comparision

 

That Steeler O line was was way better then anything the Buffalo Bills fielded in almost every facet. The Steelers had injuries throughout the season and moved some players around, but because big ben scrambles around behind the LoS waiting for his receivers to break open he makes the O line stats look worse then that line really is. The difference is that Fitz didn't have quality receivers to get open and his line couldn't hold their blocks long enough for him to scramble around behind the LoS, had he to make plays with his legs. Which he did to the tune of 6.7 YPR, and btw was as good as Mike Vick.

 

 

""The line is what it is""...and it is a PoS line with 2 decent players on it atm. You think Fitz looked bad at the end of the season behind that line, then explain why Brian Brohm looked 10x worse in his start.

 

Other than Pouncey, everyone on that line was horrible including Adams. Jonathan SCott was cut by the Bills because he could not be the 3rd replacement at LT the previous season. Again, my point was that no team in the NFL has outstanding players at all the 5 positions on the line. The Steelers made good use of the available talent and game planned, something Gailey was not able to do with Spiller and Jackson in hand.

[thewildrabbit]

Other than Pouncey, everyone on that line was horrible including Adams. Jonathan SCott was cut by the Bills because he could not be the 3rd replacement at LT the previous season. Again, my point was that no team in the NFL has outstanding players at all the 5 positions on the line. The Steelers made good use of the available talent and game planned, something Gailey was not able to do with Spiller and Jackson in hand.

Yea they were so horrible they made it to the super bowl, just to bad the Bills couldn't get their players to play as well. This whole idea that the Steerers line is better then what the stats show is lost on you I guess.

 

Adams hasn't quite hit the wall yet, and he certainly would have been a drastic improvement in free agency over Cornell Green who did hit the wall and was completely worthless. What bothers me is that none of the coaches on the Bills staff were able to identify that Green had lost it until several games into the season, when clearly to the fans saw he was bad from day one, and posted such. What does that say about the Bills offensive coaches?

[PDaDdy]

here's some stats regarding Fitz's performance under pressure

 

 

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=594145

 

Beating the Blitz

May 12th, 2011 | Author: Khaled Elsayed

 

You want to be a quarterback in the NFL? Well you know you need to be gifted physically. You need to have the arm to zip the ball into tight spots, the accuracy to hit your man, and the mobility to avoid defenders that are crashing in around you.

 

You also need to be smart. You need to recognize defenses and see what is coming. You need to process information quickly and make the right decision.

 

Nowhere is that ability (or lack thereof) more apparent than in the face of a blitz. It doesn’t matter whether the defense is bringing everyone or dropping an end into coverage and overloading on the other side. You need to pick it up and get that ball somewhere.

 

It’s what can separate a good quarterback from a truly great one and that begs the question: who are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with the blitz?

 

Well, fortunately, Pro Football Focus tracks every blitz and every result of every blitz and we’re going share with you what the numbers say. It only took a spreadsheet with over two hundred columns to process it all.

 

The qualifying minimum to be part of this study was being blitzed at least 100 times.

 

 

Bullseyes On Their Backs

 

I guess if you’re going to break down how quarterbacks deal with the blitz, it would be nice to look at which quarterbacks get blitzed most often. Something of particular interest to Raider fans, who will see two of their players in the top six.

 

Having the house thrown at him more than any other was Bruce Gradkowski. The former Buc and Brown felt the blitz on 57.8% of all of his drop backs for Oakland in 2010 with the next in line, Joe Flacco, finishing a figurative mile behind, seeing blitzes on 49.51% of his drops from center. Just outside of the Top 5 was the aforementioned other Raider, Jason Campbell. Elite quarterbacks Matt Ryan (44% of plays) and Ben Roethlisberger (41.21%) both saw a lot of men coming their way as teams tried to slow them down.

 

In less of a surprise, rookies Colt McCoy (45.59%), Sam Bradford (42.03%), and Jimmy Clausen (41.28%) all faced their share of blitzes, while defenses smelt blood with Ryan Fitzpatrick (45.95%) and those multiple receiver sets the Bills liked to use.

 

Here’s a complete list of how much each quarterback was blitzed.

 

 

Percentage of Pass Play Blitzed

Rank (DropBack) (DropBack Blitzed) (Blitzed %)

1 Bruce GradkowskiOAK 173 100 57.80%

2 Joe Flacco BLT 618 306 49.51%

3 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF 494 227 45.95%

4 Colt McCoy CLV 261 119 45.59%

5 Matt Ryan ATL 650 286 44.00%

6 Jason Campbell OAK 388 168 43.30%

7 Sam Bradford SL 640 269 42.03%

8 Josh Freeman TB 544 225 41.36%

9 Jimmy Clausen CAR 344 142 41.28%

10 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT 546 225 41.21%

11 Alex D. Smith SF 375 153 40.80%

12 Brett Favre MIN 383 154 40.21%

13 Matt Schaub HST 611 244 39.93%

14 Mark Sanchez NYJ 640 251 39.22%

15 Carson Palmer CIN 620 243 39.19%

16 Derek Anderson ARZ 355 139 39.15%

17 Jay Cutler CHI 565 219 38.76%

18 Aaron Rodgers GB 695 266 38.27%

19 Donovan McNabb WAS 525 199 37.90%

20 Drew Brees NO 747 282 37.75%

21 Kyle Orton DEN 545 205 37.61%

22 Peyton Manning IND 724 271 37.43%

23 Eli Manning NYG 565 210 37.17%

24 Chad Henne MIA 540 199 36.85%

25 Michael Vick PHI 510 186 36.47%

26 Philip Rivers SD 591 209 35.36%

27 Tom Brady NE 572 200 34.97%

28 Matt Cassel KC 519 176 33.91%

29 David Garrard JAX 421 141 33.49%

30 Jon Kitna DAL 357 119 33.33%

31 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 566 181 31.98%

32 Shaun Hill DET 448 136 30.36%

 

 

 

 

Down near the bottom, teams shied away from attacking the aging trio of Shaun Hill (30.36%), Matt Hasselbeck (31.98%), and Jon Kitna (33.33%). Meanwhile, it would appear teams were scared of sending more men after Tom Brady, for fear of leaving his receivers even more room to roam.

 

One figure that did catch my attention was how low Michael Vick was on the list. Understandably, teams have to account for Vick’s mobility, but the Vikings showed how susceptible he could be to pressure off the edge as Antoine Winfield got the zone blitz working. Furthermore, Vick wasn’t exactly seeing the whole field, with just 15.55% of his throws going to the right side.

 

Philadelphia can expect more of this. If you want to know why, you need only look at Vick’s completion percentage when blitzed as it dropped to 52.98%.

 

 

Accuracy Impacted

 

At the top of this next list – completion percentage when blitzed – it’s no real surprise that Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers are securely among the best, but there may be a small shock in store for some with Chad Henne ranking so highly. When you consider Miami’s preference for keeping extra guys in to protect, some explanation is offered. With 5.84 men kept in on average, Miami’s number was third highest in the league. Comparatively, teams like New Orleans and San Diego keep in a relatively low 5.51 men per pass play.

 

 

Completion Percentage When Blitzed

Rank Blitzed Attempts Completions Completion%

1 Drew Brees NO 282 267 176 65.92%

2 Chad Henne MIA 199 179 114 63.69%

3 Aaron Rodgers GB 266 245 154 62.86%

4 Philip Rivers SD 209 190 118 62.11%

5 Matt Schaub HST 244 226 140 61.95%

6 Matt Ryan ATL 286 268 165 61.57%

7 Jon Kitna DAL 119 104 64 61.54%

8 Eli Manning NYG 210 198 121 61.11%

9 Carson Palmer CIN 243 223 136 60.99%

10 Peyton Manning IND 271 261 159 60.92%

11 Josh Freeman TB 225 200 121 60.50%

12 Shaun Hill DET 136 124 75 60.48%

13 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 181 166 100 60.24%

14 Joe Flacco BLT 306 276 162 58.70%

15 Matt Cassel KC 176 158 92 58.23%

16 Jay Cutler CHI 219 188 108 57.45%

17 Tom Brady NE 200 190 109 57.37%

18 Alex D. Smith SF 153 137 78 56.93%

19 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF 227 203 115 56.65%

20 Sam Bradford SL 269 246 139 56.50%

21 David Garrard JAX 141 119 67 56.30%

22 Jason Campbell OAK 168 139 78 56.12%

23 Colt McCoy CLV 119 100 56 56.00%

24 Brett Favre MIN 154 148 82 55.41%

25 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT 225 194 106 54.64%

26 Michael Vick PHI 186 151 80 52.98%

27 Donovan McNabb WAS 199 182 96 52.75%

28 Mark Sanchez NYJ 251 231 120 51.95%

29 Kyle Orton DEN 205 191 93 48.69%

30 Bruce GradkowskiOAK 100 88 41 46.59%

31 Jimmy Clausen CAR 142 116 51 43.97%

32 Derek Anderson ARZ 139 127 52 40.94%

 

 

 

 

Down where you don’t want to be, you get a little bit of numbers to back up what we already know when it comes to Derek Anderson. After our deep ball article looked favorably at his accuracy going downfield, you see the true problem with him. He gets flustered in stressful situations. While others excel against the blitz, he’s completing just 40.94% of his passes. When you’re ranked lower than Jimmy Clausen you got some explaining to do.

 

 

Points Not Picks

 

So we’ve looked at accuracy, but what about the plays that show up on highlight reels? Which players are using the blitz to put up points, and which ones are feeling the heat and turning it over? In a shocking result, Peyton Manning is at the top.

 

Turning the sarcasm off for a second, it is a surprise to have him joined by Mark Sanchez. For all his faults (and he has a few), Sanchez tends to work best when teams give him more of the field to exploit, handling the teams that go after him.

 

Touchdown to Interception Ratio When Blitzed

Rank Blitzed TDs INTs TD / INT

1t Peyton Manning IND 271 13 3 4.3

1t Mark Sanchez NYJ 251 13 3 4.3

3 Joe Flacco BLT 306 12 4 3.0

4 Matt Ryan ATL 286 14 5 2.8

5 Michael Vick PHI 186 8 3 2.7

6 Sam Bradford SL 269 10 4 2.5

7t Eli Manning NYG 210 16 7 2.3

7t Jon Kitna DAL 119 9 4 2.3

7t Ben RoethlisbergerPIT 225 9 4 2.3

10t Josh Freeman TB 225 11 5 2.2

10t Aaron Rodgers GB 266 13 6 2.2

12t Carson Palmer CIN 243 10 5 2.0

12t Tom Brady NE 200 8 4 2.0

14t Matt Cassel KC 176 9 5 1.8

14t Kyle Orton DEN 205 7 4 1.8

16 Philip Rivers SD 209 10 6 1.7

17 Matt Schaub HST 244 8 5 1.6

18 Jason Campbell OAK 168 6 4 1.5

19t Ryan FitzpatrickBUF 227 12 9 1.3

19t Donovan McNabb WAS 199 8 6 1.3

21t Chad Henne MIA 199 7 6 1.2

21t David Garrard JAX 141 7 6 1.2

23t Drew Brees NO 282 6 6 1.0

23t Matt Hasselbeck SEA 181 5 5 1.0

23t Alex D. Smith SF 153 4 4 1.0

23t Jimmy Clausen CAR 142 2 2 1.0

27t Jay Cutler CHI 219 5 6 0.8

27t Bruce GradkowskiOAK 100 3 4 0.8

29t Shaun Hill DET 136 2 3 0.7

29t Colt McCoy CLV 119 2 3 0.7

31 Brett Favre MIN 154 4 8 0.5

32 Derek Anderson ARZ 139 1 5 0.2

 

 

 

 

Again it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Derek Anderson, and it gives some numbers to the widely held feeling that Brett Favre should never have come back. A more surprising figure sees Drew Brees towards the bottom at 23rd. Given how many times he threw the ball when blitzed you can understand the six interceptions to a degree, but it’s slightly stunning there weren’t more touchdowns.

 

 

Grading

 

Lastly, as everyone knows, we grade plays on a certain scale. Some of that was explained briefly in this article. I reviewed our grades specifically for blitz situations. Things that won’t astound are how well our the top three in this list did, but Eli Manning probably doesn’t spring to mind as a guy expected to rank well. The same goes for Carson Palmer, who may not be coming off his best year, but there’s something left in the tank if the Bengals are prepared to let him go.

 

 

Pro Football Focus Grade When Blitzed

QB Rating When Blitzed Grade When Blitzed

1 Aaron Rodgers GB 60.9 39.0

2 Matt Ryan ATL 86.5 34.0

3 Philip Rivers SD 74.3 23.5

4 Eli Manning NYG 61.0 22.0

5 Carson Palmer CIN 63.9 22.0

6 Joe Flacco BLT 64.0 21.5

7 Ben Roethlisberger PIT 81.1 19.0

8 Peyton Manning IND 67.4 18.0

9 Matt Schaub HST 58.7 17.5

10 Drew Brees NO 64.3 16.0

11 Shaun Hill DET 52.0 14.5

12 Sam Bradford SL 51.0 14.0

13 Josh Freeman TB 79.4 13.5

14 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 67.7 12.5

15 Mark Sanchez NYJ 51.9 11.5

16 Chad Henne MIA 48.8 11.5

17 Tom Brady NE 84.5 11.0

18 Jason Campbell OAK 60.6 9.5

19 Michael Vick PHI 65.3 9.0

20 Jay Cutler CHI 68.9 9.0

21 Jon Kitna DAL 78.7 8.0

22 Ryan Fitzpatrick BUF 44.0 6.5

23 Brett Favre MIN 43.2 6.0

24 Alex D. Smith SF 66.1 4.0

25 David Garrard JAX 67.2 3.5

26 Colt McCoy CLV 53.8 2.5

27 Kyle Orton DEN 62.4 1.0

28 Matt Cassel KC 63.2 0.5

29 Jimmy Clausen CAR 50.3 0.5

30 Donovan McNabb WAS 46.7 -1.0

31 Bruce GradkowskiOAK 64.8 -2.0

32 Derek Anderson ARZ 56.1 -11.0

 

 

 

 

That brings to a close our look at the quarterbacks against the blitz. With metrics there are always mitigating circumstances and it’s so with our grading: players who are blitzed more are rewarded with more opportunities to make plays.

 

Such is life that things are rarely perfect, but there’s plenty of food for thought here as you wonder why some quarterbacks make it look so easy, and others seem like they’re playing a different game.

 

That’s what the blitz can do to quarterbacks.

 

That was a LOT of somethin'. Honestly I skimmed it but the point I was making that you were responding to was in relation to Trent Deadwards. Fitz got vastly improved play from the line imo and actually put points on the board making us look competitive. Tough to do when you don't have a running game that can get into the endzone.

 

I'm not sure if you addressed this point in the novel you wrote but how often and effectively teams Blitz in my opinion is more of a function of the offensive line than the QB. I think every team likes to blitz and disrupt the QB but realistically they have to consider the risk and more importantly if the pressure will actually get there and have an effect. For example a great line probably doesn't get blitzed that much because they will pick it up and give their QB an advantage throwing the ball. Blitzing a bad line is easy as the pressure and extra man committed is much more likely to get the QB impacting his performance.

 

Guess it's all how you look at it.

 

It's a huge concern. The Bills OL and QB play is fine if they want to continue being a 4-7 win team. Pat Kirwan has noted in his recent book that of the 5 OL positions, the order of importance is LT, RT, LG, C, and RT. At LT, homers keep talking about Bell's potential, but his inability to remain healthy and overall lack of "sand in the pants" are the reasons why can't handle power rushers and is not yet starting caliber. The RT position has bodies, none of which appear to be more than marginal NFL'ers. I'm fine with the LG and perhaps the C, while not as concerned that the least important position, RG, will work itself out. Perhaps Rinehart or Urbik is at replacement level.

 

Still, this group isn't blowing people off the line in run blocking, save perhaps Levitre. I'm not insinuating they need to all be Pro Bowlers, but as a unit they left a lot to be desired. If the OL is the foundation of the offense, they need more talent, not more bodies. As for TE's, well, they've become extra blockers and I'm not confident they'll invest money into someone that can attack a defense.

 

Bills fans keep talking up Bell because they hate Jason "Probowl" Peters. If Bell isn't or doesn't become great they could be faced with the ugly truth that getting rid of him was big mistake and that Bell might not be starting LT material. This hatred is so great and blinding they even call into question the integrity of the probowl itself. Coaches and players largely are who determine probowl bids. I'll take their word over some faceless nameless internet forum blow hard.

Edited June 11, 2011 by PDaDdy

[Pirate Angel]

Chan kept saying that we dont have as many holes as some people think. Bell missed the entire offseason and a lot of strength and conditioning while nursing an injury and towards the end of the year he was playing much better, Im not saying he is going to be a Hall of Famer or even a probowler but he still may become a good left tackle. Levitre has been a good left guard since day one. We may have one of the best centers in the league if Wood is moved there. In watching a rerun of the Pittsburg game I specifically watched Urbik at Right Guard and he played real damn well. That leaves us with RT. With Pears, Wang, Hairston, Wrotto (if he is still on the roster) and if we ever get to free agency we could have another addition to the battle we have to find something. Hartgarner is also a solid interior lineman that provides depth at all 3 interior positions. Not to mention Fitzpatrick has never taken all the snaps with the starting unit in the offseason (if we have one), with more familiarity and chemistry with the players our offense can only be better.

[Pilsner]

Our O-line is young and growing. Many of us see a lot of potential in this group as do I. If they don't progress this year to satisfy the coaches then new high round talent can be drafted next year. Sure we could have drafted higher end O-line talent this year but then people would be harping on how the FO was so clueless to neglect the run D. Everything cannot be fixed at once. I believe the FO tried to get the most out of their picks with a preference to D as opposed to reaching to fill holes to satisfy grumps on here. I'm an O-line guy and I want our line to be solid, but considering the talent we drafted on the D, I'm satisfied. No more reaching like in the past. Just fill the holes with the best talent available.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

All jokes and snide comments aside, I am genuinely interested in hearing the perspective of our "build the OL at all costs" contingent after reading this report.

 

What is this "build the OL at all costs" contingent of which you speak?

 

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't think I've quite seen that sentiment expressed here.

For example, I never read someone suggesting we should draft an OL #3 overall, or trade Evans and Jackson for a better OL ("all costs" right?)

 

I have heard "build the OL b4 you draft the QB" and "we need better line play on both sides of the ball" expressed.

I happen to agree on both points myself. I also think a lot of the credit for few sacks goes to Fitz.

Remember what the line looked like the 1st two games with TE back there and the last game with Brohm?

These are NFL QBs guys, not starters, but QB who understand the game and have physical skills evaluated as NFL-worthy.

 

very interesting...Fitz can get some of the credit, but it does make me start to rethink how bad I thought the O-line actually was last year. Thanks for the post.

 

While you rethink, rewatch film of the first two and the last game

 

Fitz made the line better - much better. Partly by calling the right protections for the D. Partly by being able to duck, run, and throw his way out of sack trouble (and sometimes into "WTF"? accuracy trouble and INTs)

[1B4IDie]

What is this "build the OL at all costs" contingent of which you speak?

 

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't think I've quite seen that sentiment expressed here.

For example, I never read someone suggesting we should draft an OL #3 overall, or trade Evans and Jackson for a better OL ("all costs" right?)

 

I have heard "build the OL b4 you draft the QB" and "we need better line play on both sides of the ball" expressed.

I happen to agree on both points myself. I also think a lot of the credit for few sacks goes to Fitz.

Remember what the line looked like the 1st two games with TE back there and the last game with Brohm?

These are NFL QBs guys, not starters, but QB who understand the game and have physical skills evaluated as NFL-worthy.

 

 

 

While you rethink, rewatch film of the first two and the last game

 

Fitz made the line better - much better. Partly by calling the right protections for the D. Partly by being able to duck, run, and throw his way out of sack trouble (and sometimes into "WTF"? accuracy trouble and INTs)

The line was not bad week 2 against Green Bay.

So your theory is just a theory.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Why So Serious?

[ganesh]

Yea they were so horrible they made it to the super bowl, just to bad the Bills couldn't get their players to play as well. This whole idea that the Steerers line is better then what the stats show is lost on you I guess.

 

Adams hasn't quite hit the wall yet, and he certainly would have been a drastic improvement in free agency over Cornell Green who did hit the wall and was completely worthless. What bothers me is that none of the coaches on the Bills staff were able to identify that Green had lost it until several games into the season, when clearly to the fans saw he was bad from day one, and posted such. What does that say about the Bills offensive coaches?

 

They made it to the Superbowl because they have an outstanding defense run by Dick LeBeau and a great QB in Ben Rothelisberger. Having a QB like Ben allows the Steelers to get away with a mediocre OL. I watched every single Steeler game and am surrounded by Steeler fans everyday at work, so have a good idea of that team. We don't have the luxury of that team because our QB is not in the same league as Big Ben.

 

Even in our glory years, Kelly bailed us out with his play when our OL was weak after the departure of Wilfork. The point was that our OL is better than people give credit for, minus a RT. Every team does not have all-pros on all the 5 positions at the OL. We have two very young guards who are likely to have above average careers and a questionable LT who may just be able to turn it around and an average Center. The one difference I will give is that the good to excellent teams have Outstanding Centers and that is something we have not had since departure of Kent Hull.

 

Adams Struggled in Pittsburgh mightily and there was even talks to replacing him. The only consistent player on that line was Pouncey and his impact was felt when he could not play in the Superbowl.

 

Another example to support the theory is our own team. When Edwards played the first few games, the OL looked really really bad...However, when Fitz came in, suddenly there was time to pass and make plays. The OL suddenly did not transform into a different entity.

Edited June 13, 2011 by ganesh

[thewildrabbit]

They made it to the Superbowl because they have an outstanding defense run by Dick LeBeau and a great QB in Ben Rothelisberger. Having a QB like Ben allows the Steelers to get away with a mediocre OL. I watched every single Steeler game and am surrounded by Steeler fans everyday at work, so have a good idea of that team. We don't have the luxury of that team because our QB is not in the same league as Big Ben.

 

Even in our glory years, Kelly bailed us out with his play when our OL was weak after the departure of Wilfork. The point was that our OL is better than people give credit for, minus a RT. Every team does not have all-pros on all the 5 positions at the OL. We have two very young guards who are likely to have above average careers and a questionable LT who may just be able to turn it around and an average Center. The one difference I will give is that the good to excellent teams have Outstanding Centers and that is something we have not had since departure of Kent Hull.

 

Adams Struggled in Pittsburgh mightily and there was even talks to replacing him. The only consistent player on that line was Pouncey and his impact was felt when he could not play in the Superbowl.

 

Another example to support the theory is our own team. When Edwards played the first few games, the OL looked really really bad...However, when Fitz came in, suddenly there was time to pass and make plays. The OL suddenly did not transform into a different entity.

Just because some stat sheet states the Steelers graded as the team with the worst O line doesn't make it true, their biggest problem was injuries and not incompetent players like it was in Buffalo...... Huge difference!

 

Your entitled to your opinion, but to compare Flozell Adams who started and played in all 19 games and because there was "talk" of replacing him ....to some complete scrubs that Nix was forced to pull off the waiver wire to fill in on the line is ridiculous.

 

""the Bills simply could not find an answer at right tackle despite giving four guys the opportunity to win the job. Erik Pears (-0.3), Cornell Green (-4.5), Mansfield Wrotto (-10.8), and Cord Howard (-19.5) all played 60+ snaps but their combined play put them third to last of all tackles.""

 

http://www.profootba...-buffalo-bills/

Not to mention the tight end position which should be considered part of the O line because they both block for the running-passing game and greatly help relive pressure from the QB by being an outlet when they get in trouble!

The Steelers actually have really good tight ends that are infinitely better players then anything the Bills currently have. Same thing with the RB position also has to do with blocking and protection schemes as well as outlets when they get in trouble. As well with the receivers blocking the DB's, its a team sport and the Steelers fielded a better coached team in every aspect

 

 

Green Bay is also supposed to have a bad O line because of all the pressures and sacks they give up. Its the same thing, their QB holds the ball and scrambles around BEHIND the LoS like Big Ben does. So because of that it makes the stats for the line look worse then it really is. . The veteran experience alone by most the players of both those teams counts for more then the inexperienced bad players the Bills fielded. Not to mention the 4 different scrubs the Bills tried to fill in at RT.

 

 

 

Fitz HAD to scramble for his life and had a 6 YPR avg, Fitz HAD to get the ball out in 3 seconds or under or he was drilled. There is a huge difference between QB's sliding around in the pocket, scrambling around trying to make a play vs running for your life because you have no pocket

This link put in by the OP the article also goes on to say :"" With Ryan Fitzpatrick still at quarterback they at least have a guy who knows how to avoid sacks.""

 

http://forums.footba...howtopic=594145

 

So basically what he is stating is the line graded better because of the play of the QB, you even say it yourself in your last sentence

Edited June 13, 2011 by Harvey lives

[Bill from NYC]

Bills fans keep talking up Bell because they hate Jason "Probowl" Peters. If Bell isn't or doesn't become great they could be faced with the ugly truth that getting rid of him was big mistake and that Bell might not be starting LT material.

 

The above is 100% true. It might not be saying much, but when Jason Peters was traded he was the best player on this team.