Preseason Chargers vs 49ers: Breaking Down The O-Line Tape - Preseason Week 4

The San Diego Chargers lost to the San Fransisco 49ers 20-17 Thursday night. Even though the Chargers lost the game,many of the players that were on the bubble got the opportunity to show their stuff before final cuts.

The starting offensive line came out of the game at 12:04 in the second quarter which gave the fans a good opportunity to check out the next group of blockers like Tyronne Green, Stephen Schilling, and Hutch Eckerson. How did they do?

This week we will cover the O-Line for Bolts from the Blue. We have broken down every play in the first half and have grades and notes for the performances.

Let's take a look at those numbers...

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

• Please refer to the Chiefs Preseason: Breaking Down The O-Line Tape - Primer at the bottom of this article for any inquiries into the method used to grade the lineman.

Run Blocking Grades

	Percent	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100		Power	2/Level	Pull
	Grade												Blocking	Blocking	Blocks
Dombrowski	66%												-1	-1	0
Dielman	83%												0	0	-1
Hardwick	96%												0	+1	0
Vasquez	83%												0	+2	-1
Clary	83%												0	+1	0
Eckerson	95%												+1	0	0
Baxter	66%												-1	0	0
Mruczkowski	96%												0	0	0
Green	96%												0	0	+1
Schilling	66%												0	0	0

Run Blocking Notes:

• There wasn't many power blocks by the offensive lineman this week. The San Francisco 49ers had stout defenders and had their way with the second group of offensive lineman (especially in the pass rush).
• Hutch Eckerson had the best run blocking power score for the Chargers this week with a +1.
• Ahmad Brooks #55, a linebackers for the 49ers, proved to be a problem for the first and second units. He was physical and very quick.
• Brandyn Dombrowski starts off good in the run game but then, just before the first unit comes out, he misses some blocks.
• Hutch Eckerson and Colin Baxter can both run block well. The only problem is that they are a liability in pass protection. At least they were in the San Francisco game.

Pass Blocking Grades

	Percent	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100		Power	Pressures	Sacks	Combo
	Grade												Blocking	Allowed	Allowed	Help
Dombrowski	75%												-1	1	0	0
Dielman	98%												0	0	0	2
Hardwick	98%												0	0	0	2
Vasquez	98%												-1	0	0	1
Clary	75%												-2	1	0	1
Eckerson	57%												-5	3	2	1
Baxter	60%												-3	3	1	3
Mruczkowski	83%												0	0	0	3
Green	98%												0	0	0	2
Schilling	93%												-2	1	1	0

Pass Blocking Notes:

• At 5:38 in the 1st quarter, Brandyn Dombrowski has a nice cut block in a three step pass protection.
• The Chargers offensive tackles were having some problems, not big ones, but problems with the 49ers on the edge. Later, when the second group came in, San Fransisco really got to the quarterback. It showed that the 49ers defenders were hard to handle...even for the first group.
• Kris Dielman has a nice game pass blocking. Never really gets pushed around or out matched on any bull rushes.
• The first unit does a nice job, overall, in the pass protection area. Some mistakes here and there...but, overall, did well. That's a good sign for Philip Rivers, and the Chargers, going into the regular season.
• Both Hutch Eckerson and Colin Baxter had very poor games in pass protection. In fact, they had the kind of game in pass protection that sometimes finds players on the cut list. Every passing play Eckerson and Baxter were getting handled by the 49ers defenders.

Chargers TEs and Fullback Film Breakdown

If you liked this analysis, I've also posted the TEs and Fullback Film Breakdown and you can check it out over at Pro Football Spotlight.