Good News on the Run-stopping skills of DT Kendrick Clancy

[kerouac9]

FYI --

Defensive linemen have historically been one of the most underrepresented positional groups from a statistical standpoint. Sure, they get credit for sacks, but there are many other contributions they make that they don't get credit for, especially in the running game. One of my goals in researching Scientific Football 2006 was to create a series of metrics to try to help remedy this situation.

After compiling a season's worth of these metrics, it was clear there are a number of defensive linemen who don't get the credit they deserve. Below is a list of some of these underappreciated linemen, along with some comments about them from Scientific Football 2006.

[snip]

Kendrick Clancy, DT, Cardinals: Clancy ranked first among defensive tackles in yards per attempt allowed. He was also second in success percentage and first in the SYPA (success percentage times yards per attempt) metric. With the Giants last season, Clancy also ranked second in the league in total run blocks defeated. He was like Williams in that there were games when he was simply unstoppable (including a game against Dallas, when Clancy single-handedly caused a fumble that the Giants returned for the eventual game-winning touchdown).

 

[arthurracoon]

 

[General Chaos]

I watched numerous Giants games last year, and really did like what i saw out of Clancy. He is exactly what this line needs, a guy who will take on blockers and hold his ground to stop the running game.

 

[SeattleCard]

That's good news - we'll need him

 

[BigDavis75]

FYI --

Can you post the rest of that article, it looks like an interesting read.

 

[kerouac9]

Can you post the rest of that article, it looks like an interesting read.

All right, but it's really not that interesting. "Here's a news flash: Pat Williams, Albert Haynesworth, and Michael Strahan are good!"

Defensive linemen have historically been one of the most underrepresented positional groups from a statistical standpoint. Sure, they get credit for sacks, but there are many other contributions they make that they don't get credit for, especially in the running game. One of my goals in researching Scientific Football 2006 was to create a series of metrics to try to help remedy this situation.

After compiling a season's worth of these metrics, it was clear there are a number of defensive linemen who don't get the credit they deserve. Below is a list of some of these underappreciated linemen, along with some comments about them from Scientific Football 2006.

• Pat Williams, DT, Vikings: Williams led all defensive tackles in the number of times he defeated an offensive lineman's block. In fact, Williams' 44 defeated blocks were nine more than the second-place finisher in that category. There were games when Williams was simply unblockable, yet he still didn't make the Pro Bowl.

Williams claimed that part of the reason he didn't make the Pro Bowl was due to an effort by some offensive linemen to keep him out, a voting conspiracy of sorts. Part of this may have been due to Williams' way of approaching the game. Williams says he hates all centers and guards and wants to destroy all of them.

I don't know about a conspiracy, but I will say this: The person or persons who pick the Pro Bowl injury replacements could have selected Williams to replace the injured Rod Coleman. Instead they picked La'Roi Glover, who had one of the worst success percentages of any defensive tackle. It makes you wonder about the entire selection process.

• Kendrick Clancy, DT, Cardinals: Clancy ranked first among defensive tackles in yards per attempt allowed. He was also second in success percentage and first in the SYPA (success percentage times yards per attempt) metric. With the Giants last season, Clancy also ranked second in the league in total run blocks defeated. He was like Williams in that there were games when he was simply unstoppable (including a game against Dallas, when Clancy single-handedly caused a fumble that the Giants returned for the eventual game-winning touchdown).

• Grant Wistrom, DE, Seahawks and Michael Strahan, DE, Giants: Wistrom and Strahan certainly aren't undervalued defensive linemen, but they deserve to be included on this list because of their ranking in the metric called pursuit plays. Pursuit plays are plays when a defensive lineman either chases a play down from the back side or runs at least 5 yards downfield to make a tackle. Wistrom led all defensive linemen with 20 pursuit plays and Strahan finished second with 19. These two are seen as exceptional pass rushers, but this metric proves that they do a whole lot more.

• Albert Haynesworth, DT, Titans: Haynesworth may have been the most disruptive defensive lineman in the league outside of Williams and Clancy. Haynesworth defeated a ridiculous 43 percent of his point of attack blocks, which was the highest percentage in that category among defensive tackles. His specialty was exploding into the backfield, something clearly shown by the 13 penetration plays he made, which were tied for second in that category. One other incredibly surprising metric for Haynesworth is that he also had 19 pursuit plays, which is something one would not expect from a man of his size.

• James Hall, DE, Lions: Hall is largely seen as a pass rusher but nearly all of his major run metrics were in the top four among defensive ends. Hall defeated over 35 percent of the run blocks directed at him. His 3.6 yards allowed per run attempt was good enough to rank him 11th in the league at his position.

• Mike Patterson, DT, Eagles: Patterson could easily make a case that he was the best rookie defensive lineman in the NFL last year. He defeated over 27 percent of his blocks (the 15th best percentage among defensive tackles) and he also allowed only 3.5 yards per attempt. If Patterson did this well last year when the Eagles were very thin on the defensive line due to injuries, he could be positively dominant if that unit stays healthy this year.

 

[kerouac9]

Here's another one--I don't know if it was posted here:

"News flash: Cards' 2005 offensive line blew!:

When I first learned the Arizona Cardinals had signed Edgerrin James as a free agent, I was a bit perplexed. The Cardinals had easily the worst offensive line in the league last season, and flirted with being statistically the worst running team in NFL history.

Their problems up front weren't limited to one or two players, as evidenced by the blocking success percentage of each lineman last year:

Blocking Success Percentage
Player Position Success % Rank
Nick Leckey Center 73.4 34
Alex Stepanovich Center 59.6 43
Elton Brown Guard 70.5 61
Leonard Davis Tackle 85.5 14
Fred Wakefield Tackle 72.5 54
Oliver Ross Tackle 60.0 66

To put these numbers in perspective, the median success percentage for offensive linemen is 80 percent, and anything in the low 70s will be near the bottom of the league. All but one of Arizona's linemen were in the low 70s or below.

It wasn't just the linemen who were failing. The median blocking percentage for fullbacks is just over 83 percent and Obafemi Ayanbadejo (71 percent) wasn't close to that number. Tight end Eric Edwards (72.9 percent ) was also more than five percentage points under the median blocking percentage for tight ends.

Some offensive lines are personnel based, meaning they are set up to feature certain blockers. Such teams usually run a lot of counter, isolation and sweep plays. These plays are designed to get the best blockers to the point of attack and let the running back play off their blocks. This was the type of blocking scheme the Cardinals ran last year with very little success, as illustrated by Marcel Shipp's averages in each of seven major run types:

Sinking Shipp
Run type Runs Yds Yds/Att Rank
Counter 8 16 2.0 35
Dive 17 65 3.8 9
Draw 23 93 4.0 25
Isolation 29 84 2.9 28
Off tackle 16 46 2.9 30
Slant 33 68 2.1 34
Sweep 16 48 3.0 24

A big reason for the lack of success was offensive line coach Everett Lindsay. Green thought Lindsay was ready to assume the position, despite having no coaching experience at any level. Unfortunately, the offensive line committed mental mistakes all year long and often looked like it was sleepwalking.

Arizona's linemen showed no explosion, burst or enthusiasm. Green has a lot of faith in his system and probably thought he could get away with taking this huge risk, but it backfired big time. Green realized the mistake and fired Lindsay after the season, replacing him with Steve Loney, his old offensive line coach from his days in Minnesota.

I think Loney will end up implementing a predominantly zone blocking scheme. James is coming from a zone run blocking offense in Indianapolis that predominantly ran the slant/stretch play. Here are his 2005 totals by run type:

In The Zone
Run type Runs Yds Yds/Att Rank
Counter 7 6 0.9 36
Dive 28 68 2.4 29
Draw 32 167 5.2 10
Isolation 6 18 3.0 25
Off tackle 51 239 4.7 10
Slant 180 769 4.3 16
Sweep 35 158 4.5 15

Exactly half of James' runs and just over 50 percent of his yardage last year came on slant plays. The Cardinals will definitely need to master this type of blocking if they want to get maximum production from James, and that is one reason they will change their blocking scheme.

However, I don't believe it is the only reason. It's also a sound strategy for a team lacking in talent, because it is much easier to implement a zone blocking scheme than finding a bunch of quality blockers. Loney's offensive line in Minnesota last year wasn't all that talented, but the unit was still able to piece together a solid performance in more than a few games. There is no reason to think he can't do the same thing this year.

 

[BigDavis75]

All right, but it's really not that interesting. "Here's a news flash: Pat Williams, Albert Haynesworth, and Michael Strahan are good!"

Alright, thanks. I remember I would always argue with someone on this board (maybe Joe?) over if Pat Willliams was having a great season or not.

 

[joeshmo]

I liked this line the most.

"Instead they picked La'Roi Glover, who had one of the worst success percentages of any defensive tackle. It makes you wonder about the entire selection process."

Should help our run blocking in 2 games this year.

 

[kerouac9]

Should help our run blocking in 3 games this year.

Why only three games?

BTW - For my money, Albert Haynesworth is the most underrated DT in the NFL. I'm really happy that Dave McGinnis passed on him for character reasons.

 

[joeshmo]

Why only three games?

BTW - For my money, Albert Haynesworth is the most underrated DT in the NFL. I'm really happy that Dave McGinnis passed on him for character reasons.

I meant 2.

As for why only 2 games it will help our run blocking.

Becuase we play Glover twice.

 

[kerouac9]

That's what I thought you meant, but I wasn't sure whether you were beating up on Clancy for some reason, or guessing that we'll be playing the STL in the NFC Championship game.

 

[Cardsmasochist]

Here's another one--I don't know if it was posted here:
Blocking Success Percentage
Player Position Success % Rank
Nick Leckey Center 73.4 34
Alex Stepanovich Center 59.6 43
Elton Brown Guard 70.5 61
Leonard Davis Tackle 85.5 14
Fred Wakefield Tackle 72.5 54
Oliver Ross Tackle 60.0 66

"News flash: Cards' 2005 offensive line blew!:

According to these statistics, Fred Wakefield will be an upgrade replacing Oliver Ross.

 

[CardLogic]

Blocking Success Percentage
Player Position Success % Rank
Nick Leckey Center 73.4 34
Alex Stepanovich Center 59.6 43
Elton Brown Guard 70.5 61
Leonard Davis Tackle 85.5 14
Fred Wakefield Tackle 72.5 54
Oliver Ross Tackle 60.0 66

​

Wells is not listed? Wonder why he was omitted? (writer making a point, perhaps...) The coaching staff repeatedly named Wells as being a top rated (Cardinals) OL. It would be interesting to see what his ratings were...

Also, Leckey (73.4) graded out much better than Stepanovich (59.6), yet Step seems to be getting the nod in camp. I'm guessing that Step's low numbers are significantly due to playing injured most of the year.