Chargers vs Chiefs Week 8: Breaking Down The O-Line Film

by Bewsaf on Nov 3, 2011 10:55 AM PDT

The Chargers lose to the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-23. If it could go wrong, it probably did at some point this past Monday. The Chargers ended the day with 12 penalties for 105 yards, 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles lost...the last one being the death blow. Their red zone efficiency was only 25% and they had the ball over 29 minutes and didn't come away with a win.

A couple of lineman had rough days pass blocking: Marcus McNeill and Jeromey Clary. The Chargers passed so much that their assingment grades ended up being respectable. And depending on what play you watched them on...they might have been looking pretty good. But on key plays, especially if Tamba Hali was on them, they struggled.

I cover all the AFC West teams, grade all the O-Line film. And I can tell you that Tamba has brought havoc on every team he has faced. The man is a legitimate pro bowl player, and must be considered when evaluating how the offensive line did. The issue that I had in this game was that it is no secret that Tamba is a threat. Yet, the Chargers continued to only use one blocker on him many times. Yes, the Chargers are the team that puts more receivers out than any other AFC West team. Yes, the Chargers usually leave only 5 players to block for their quarterback (unlike all the other AFC West teams). But if one man is that much of a disruption...then you need to keep somebody in to combo block on him.

As always, the tight ends and backs film grades, are here.

Let's take a look at the O-Line scores for the game...

If you like this article check out more film breakdown at Pro Football Spotlight

	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
Percent Scale

Team Run Blocking	Power Blocking	Power Blocking Score	2nd Level Blocks
Did the lineman get the job done or not? These grades are good for understanding value for a team and not necessarily for comparing across teams. A game in the mid 80s to 90% is a decent score.	How often did the offensive lineman dominate the block or how often did he get dominated? These scores are good for comparing across teams and finding the most dominant lineman in the league.	Anything over zero is a good score. The more over zero the more the lineman dominated the defender. Each lineman is scored a minus for being dominated, a zero for a draw, or a plus for dominating the defender.	The number of success over failures for the lineman when blocking linebackers and safeties on the second level. The lineman must be athletic to accomplish a high second level score.

Run Blocking Grades

Percent

Grade Bar

Power

Pull

2/Level

Grade

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/100-rating-run-bar.png

Blocking

Blocks

McNeill

80%

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/70-rating-run-bar.png

-3

Green

65%

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/60-rating-run-bar.png

Hardwick

90%

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/90-rating-run-bar.png

Vasquez

95%

Clary

85%

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/80-rating-run-bar.png

-1

Run Blocking Notes:

Tyronne Green had a bad day run blocking. The man is obviously powerful. He gets off the ball well, starts to get movement. But more often than not the defender gets off his block.
Marcus McNeill...well, what can I say. Lots of penalties: 3 false starts, holding...the list goes on. Not one of McNeill's better games, to be sure. He also had problems sustaining blocks, this week. Could be his injury issue.
At 9:52 in the 3rd quarter, Tyronne Green whiffs when he fires out and attempts to engage in a run block.
Clary gets a nice pull block at 3:11 in the 3rd quarter. The Chargers end up pulling him a little more this week.
AT 11:11 in the 4th quarter, Louis Vasquez drives his man out of the hole on a run play. Nice.
At 2:45 in the 4th quarter, Green gets two great blocks on one play. He helps the drive the nose guard to the ground and then locks onto a linebacker and drives him 4 yards down field.
To see how an offensive lineman has done in previous weeks then go, here.

Team Pass Blocking	Passing Power Blocking	Pressures	Combo Help
Did the lineman get the job done or not? These grades are good for understanding value for a team and not necessarily for comparing across teams. A game in the 90% is a good score for pass blocking.	How often did the offensive lineman dominate the block or how often did he get dominated? Each lineman is scored a minus for being dominated, a zero for a draw, or a plus for dominating the block.	How often did the offensive lineman give up pressure on the quarterback? Every once and a while a lineman can do his job but give up pressure on the QB. This stat will help glean more info from the line grades.	How often did the offensive coordinator provide help for a tough defender or a struggling lineman. Yea, two lineman ended up with the same grade...but how much help did either of them get?

Pass Blocking Grades

	Percent	Grade Bar	Power	Pressures	Sacks	Combo
	Grade		Blocking	Allowed	Allowed	Help
McNeill	85%		-3	6	1	3
Green	93%		-2	3	0	18
Hardwick	97%		+1	0	0	22
Vasquez	93%		0	3	0	13
Clary	85%		-5	7	1	9

Pass Blocking Notes:

Marcus McNeill's numbers in pass protection might need explaining. The Chargers passed so much that his assignments score doesn't look that bad. Actually, when he wasn't blocking Hali he looked very good. He dictated the action, controlled the defender, and generally stifled them on the pass rush. He racked up some good scores against them. But then Hali would make his play stand out. Well, he ends the day with a -3 power score (after looking good and then bad). He allowed 6 pressures and 1 sack.
Clary was the same way. Lots of reps in which he did okay in most of them. But when he stood out...he stood out. He ends the day with a -5 power score, 7 pressures allowed, and 1 sack.
I could put all the times the two tackles get beat...but I'm not going to. We all know they had a bad night.
One good not in pass protection. Nick Hardwick and Louis Vasquez have decent nights pass blocking. And Tyronne Green, despite only a couple of miscues, has a nice pass blocking grade.

Tight ends and Backs article

(Click it)

This FanPost was written by a member of the Bolts From The Blue community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bolts From The Blue editors or SB Nation.

Tweet Comment 2 comments | 2 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Great post

Yet, the Chargers continued to only use one blocker on him many times.
You said what I was thinkin throughout the game. That has to be on the coaching staff right? I always felt Norv made good adjustments at the half, but the last 2 games have been abysmal with Burress and Hali beating us every time. Maybe it was Chudzinski making the adjustments?

Bewsaf, do you think that the single coverage on Hali lead to McNeil having so many false starts? Specifically, if McNeil knows in the huddle the play is for him to guard Hali one-on-one with no help, he was trying anything to get ahead?

"A man has got to have a code." -Bunk, Season 1; Omar, Season 4.

by L Magico on Nov 3, 2011 2:02 PM PDT reply actions

I do think

That offensive lineman know that they have to really get moving at the snap against good speed rushers.

Arrowhead was really loud…so McNeill also probably couldn’t hear the signals a third of the time. Those two things together probably contributed to some of those false starts (IMO).

Pro Football Spotlight
Bewsaf@comcast.net

by Bewsaf on Nov 3, 2011 4:38 PM PDT up reply actions