FanPost

San Diego Chargers vs Lions: Breaking Down The O-Line Film

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The San Diego Charger lost to the Detroit Lions, 10-38. The San Diego Chargers have fallen to 7-8 on the year, while the Lions improve to 10-5.

It is a shame that we didn't get to see more run blocking in the Lions game. Most all the lineman, and even the tight ends, were doing a pretty good job against a stout Lions defensive front four. But the Chargers got behind early, and ended up pass the ball a lot.

The remarkable thing was that the Lions got up early on the Chargers. That usually means the defense can pin their ears back and come after the quarterback because they know the other team must start throwing more. But the line still did a decent job pass blocking.

The Chargers didn't lose this game due to the offensive line play. In fact, they lost despite some good line play.

Jared Gaither ends the day with a 95% run assignment grade and a 91% and +2 pass assignment grade. Gaither gets highlighted again because he did a good job at left tackle...and it raises the question of whether the Chargers will try and retain Jared's services for the 2012 season.

Let's take a look at the rest of those grades...

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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
Blocks
Gaither 95%
http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/90-rating-run-bar.png
0 +1 +2
Green 88%
http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/80-rating-run-bar.png
0 -1 0
Hardwick 88%
http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/80-rating-run-bar.png
0 0 0
Vasquez
95%
http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/90-rating-run-bar.png
+1 +3 +1
Clary 88%
http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/80-rating-run-bar.png
+1 0 -1










Run Blocking Notes:

  • At 8:02 in the 1st quarter, Jeromey Clary and Louis Vasquez have a nice run double on Ndomukong Sue. I was looking forward to seeing how Clary and Vasquez would handle Sue, due to my high opinion of their run blocking. I wasn't disappointed. There were a lot of power battles in the trenches between the three of them...and the Charger's lineman neutralized Sue.
  • The Lions were very aggressive with their 2nd level players early in the game, which might have made it look like the line wasn't doing as well as they were. In the end, the Chargers line does a nice job run blocking.
  • No run blocking pics, this week.
  • 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 http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/100-rating-run-bar.png
    Blocking
    Allowed
    Allowed
    Help
    Gaither 91%
    http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/90-rating-run-bar.png
    +2 2 0 3
    Green 82%
    http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/70-rating-run-bar.png
    -4
    4 0 18
    Hardwick 95%
    http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/90-rating-run-bar.png
    +1
    0 0
    24
    Vasquez 94%
    http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/90-rating-run-bar.png
    +2 2 0 14
    Clary 91%
    http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/90-rating-run-bar.png
    -1 5 0 11











    Pass Blocking Notes:

    • As much pass as the Chargers did...from behind...it is a wonder that Rivers wasn't running for his life. That just goes to show how far the line has come from just a few weeks ago. San Diego lineman did a nice job pass blocking all night. Like I said in the intro, the Chargers didn't lose this game due to the offensive line.
    • Tyronne Green has the worst day, pass blocking, of all the lineman. You can see one of the plays he was beat, below.

    Week16-chargers-ln1_medium

    **Pic from Chargers game on NBC

    • At 5:12 in the 2nd quarter, you can see the Charger line providing some nice protection. Mike Tolbert has stepped up and picked up the blitz and Rivers is about to throw the ball deep. The protection was pretty good, all night.

    Week16-chargers-ln2_medium

    **Pic from Chargers game on NBC

    • At 5:08 in the 2nd quarter, Jared Gaither gets beat around the corner. Rivers got the ball away in time, but the defender hit him on the play. That was one of only a couple of plays that Gaither got beat. Most of the time he did a nice job.

    Week16-chargers-ln3_medium

    **Pic from Chargers game on NBC

    • One player I would like to mention that did a good job blocking, that is not a lineman, is Antonio Gates. I have not seen Gates block with so much energy on run plays, this year. Whatever he ate that day...do it again next week.
    • As always, the tight ends and backs film grades...click the bar, below.

    Tight ends and Backs article

    http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/Chargers-TE-Bar.png

    (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.