Offensive line comparison

[football karma]

The Cards without question need to improve their o line play -- but for perspective, here are some statistical comparisons to other teams-- I have used the two SB teams as the standard, and then threw in a couple other teams for perspective. I have used two basic stats -- rate of sacks per passing attempt and yards per carry.

Here is whats interesting (at least to me):

Seattle -- not surprising that they are the gold standard. NFL best rushing yards per attempt at 4.7 and a top ten low 5.6% sack rate.

Pittsburgh -- reputation as an awesome o-line, but stats suggest average: 4.0 rush yards per attempt, which is the NFL average and a sack rate of 8.4% -- also pretty average to below average.

Cardinals-- league worst 3.2 yards per carry but a sack rate of 6.7%, which is top third in the league (For perspective, Indy had the lowest sack rate at 3.8%). The interesting thing here is the low rushing yards per carry suggest that the Cards faced, on average, longer passing downs than every other team and makes the relatively good sack rate even more attractive. Also, the 7th rated completion percentage and 12th rated yards per attempt mean that the offense didnt avoid sacks by throwing the ball away or dumping a bunch of check downs.

Dallas -- as I have posted before, while the Cards' o-line gets a lot of criticism, Dallas' seems to get a pass, and statictically, I dont think its any better, and arguable, worse than the CArds. Yards per carry of 3.6, which was 26th, and a sack rate of 10%, also bottom third. While Bledsoe isnt very mobile -- neither is Warner -- so this rate cant totally be blamed on Bledsoe alone.

St. Louis -- NFL average 4.0 yards per carry, but a sack rate of 7.6%. How much Martz's system can be blamed for the sacks is hard to tell.

Houston -- reputation as the league's worst offensive line -- but rushing yards per attempt of 4.2, which is 11th. Sack rate of 15%, which is dead last. This makes me wonder as much about David Carr as anything else. He has a pretty good rushing attack, is king of the dump off pass with a yards per attempt less than 6 yards, yet also takes alot of sacks.



take it for what its worth.

 

[40yearfan]

Good comparison. Thanks for all your efforts.

 

[abomb]

Interesting stuff.

A-Bomb

 

[PortlandCardFan]

Anything on penalties?

I think those % would have been better if penalties were not so prevalent.

 

[seesred]

Interesting stats. I have been saying alll along we need to improve, but we are not nearly as bad as some would think. Some call us the worst or single out individuals that cause us to be real bad. we are not real bad we just need to get better.

Stay healthy
Keep same 5 starters together for more than one game
Keep improvments from thed rook Brown
Bring Davis up a notch to pro bowl status
Move Wells to center
Add the new Brown in town
Add Rook to the mix via draft
Add Running back.....EDGE!!!!!!!!!

The formula for a winning season. Move the chains, keep the defense on the sidelines, win the battle of the field through special team upgrades.

GBR
40

 

[BACH]

Great analysis..

What I think is missing is a player evaluation. With all the injuries we had last year, I have no doubt that we fielded the worst interior line in the league, which resulted in our poor rushing game.

It's the exact opposite with Houston.. Pretty good interior line and horrible OTs resulted in a nice rushing attack and the worst pass blocking.

 

[Redheart]

...It's the exact opposite with Houston.. Pretty good interior line and horrible OTs resulted in a nice rushing attack and the worst pass blocking.

Too bad we couldn't get a guard from Houston in free agency, that sounds like it would have been a good pick-up.

Oh well, let's go after a old Dallas guard with lots of experience and a pro-bowl appearance in 2005 because he must be better than Houston's gaurd.

En Fuego, you are on fire.

 

[Redrage]

Great analysis!

We need more posts like this one.

 

[BigRedFan]

While sack % does say something, what % of our passes are pressures or hurries, a stat they show a lot on TV, is more important than sack %. Some of the credit there goes to Kurt Warner for getting the passes off in time.

Also, the yards per attempt% I think does suggest throwing the ball away somewhat. Given we were #1 in passing yardage, and 7th in completion%, the yards per attempt should be a little higher. We shouldnt have to throw the ball 45 times to get 300+ yards.

But the running game is the key issue anyway. It's (not) getting those 3rd and shorts which just kills us. Thats why the Cardinals were one of the best teams between the 20s last season, and leader in field goals. An improved running game will also improve the efficiency of the passing game.

 

[john h]

Great analysis..

What I think is missing is a player evaluation. With all the injuries we had last year, I have no doubt that we fielded the worst interior line in the league, which resulted in our poor rushing game.

It's the exact opposite with Houston.. Pretty good interior line and horrible OTs resulted in a nice rushing attack and the worst pass blocking.

A couple of players can change the entire makeup and success of a team. Each player is not on his own and for the most part has success depending on those around him. Look at how teams like San Diego or Miami in recent years come from last or near last to playoff contender in one year. Football more than any other sport is a TEAM game. A coach can make a large difference. Look at what Miami had to give up for Gruden. Something like 4 players and 7 million dollars. Parcells was traded for some heavy duty stuff.