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The Great Falcons Roster Breakdown, Offensive Line Edition

Another exciting edition of our sprawling roster breakdown? You bet your currency of choice!

Last time we visited the land of tight ends and checked in on a position of strength, and today we'll tackle the offensive line. Please give it up for bigskee, who is headlining this post and accompanied by the great tlozwarlock. Due to a personal obligation that also kept me from posting yesterday, I will only be able to add some brief commentary near the end. Don't shed too many tears, friends.

To find out our collective thoughts on the offensive line—bigskee has an ambitious take on the position—follow along after the jump.

Star-divide

bigskee writes:

Statistically, the offensive line is a little harder to judge than say wide receivers and quarterbacks. So I will be comparing our line to the same positions on other teams and also just providing a gut feeling/opinion about the OL, and I expect nothing less than tons of disagreement, but that's the nature of the beast.

LT: Sam Baker

Sam Baker, AKA the bearded wonder. Our first round draft pick now two seasons removed, he has proven to be pretty solid, when he's uninjured. He had a few bad games, the most notable of them the first game against the Bucs where he allowed 3 sacks on Mr. Matty Ice. He allowed 5 sacks during the season and a whopping 28 QB pressures. That was a pretty startling statistic to me. Beyond that, my gut, which is almost never wrong, tells me that he is due for his breakout season. The biggest thing he needs to continue improving on is his strength and conditioning, because honestly that's the biggest way to combat his slight tendency to be injured.

Final Grade- B-

LG: Justin Blalock

I really like Justin Blalock for some reason. He's a bulldozer who, according to the stat sheet is a little sub par against the run. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that Turner got off to a slow start, was subsequently injured, and the backups took over for the rest of the season. My only gripe is a small one; he's the most invisible lineman I think I have ever seen. But I prefer someone do their job competently yet invisibly to making bonehead mistakes that make me smack my head against the wall. He was solid in pass coverage, allowing only 2 sacks all season while allowing 14 QB hits, which was fairly average.

Final Grade- B

C: Todd McClure

The munchkin of the group, I have nothing bad to say about him. He is the glue of our line, and a great leader for the offense. A left over of the old cut blocking regime, he handles his pass blocking duties extremely well, allowing only 1 sack, and 6 QB hits. This is impressive for a center that only weighs in at just over 300 pounds who must block the monster nose tackles that anchor most defenses these days. The downside is that he is aging, and it's a solid bet we will be drafting his replacement this year, and I think the new guy will have a great mentor to groom him into the position.

Final Grade- A-

RG: Harvey Dahl

Harvey Dahl is probably my favorite guy on the team; he is a hard worker and strikes fear into the heart of defenders. He is absolute proof that being gigantic and having a nasty personality on the field will get you places in life. That said, this season was not one worth falling in love with. His run blocking numbers were just average, but once again, Michael Turner spent a hefty chunk of time riding the pine from that ankle injury, so I won't hold his numbers against him. He allowed 3 sacks and 1 QB hit, which is acceptable considering his role is primarily to scare defensive players into losing bowel control when Turner is handed the ball. I feel like he is our guard of the present and future, so if he keeps his numbers up, he could be getting a nice contract extension after this season, if all goes well with the players union.

Final Grade- B+

RT: Tyson Clabo

Tyson Clabo, what can we say? He bounces back and forth between decent and not so decent. While allowing 5 sacks and 5 QB hits, he allowed a whopping 25 qb pressures. (And we wondered why Matt Ryan is always fleeing the pocket in terror). While a serviceable lineman, and a good duo with Harvey Dahl, Smitty and the Comrade seem to be looking to the future at this position. I do like ol baby face, but our pass protection with the tackles really needs to improve unless we want Matt Ryans turf toe to be an annual flare up. Despite the negativity, I think he's a good option for now, but eventually he either needs to protect better or watch his back, cause Garrett Reynolds is coming.

Final Grade- B

 

The Backups

Guard: Quinn Ojinnaka

I classified him as a simple guard, although he played a game at left tackle and several at right guard, he even played three snaps at tight end. He started a few games this season and posted decent pass coverage numbers, which is great for a backup to have the ability to play multiple positions without blowing it. While playing 339 snaps he allowed 2 QB hits and 1 QB pressure, which is more than acceptable.

Final Grade- C+

Center/ Guard: Brett Romberg

We didn't see all that much of Mr. Romburg last season, and that's okay with me. Another backup with the flexibility to play multiple positions, he allows coach Smith to have depth at multiple positions which each backup. In 91 snaps he allowed 2 QB hits and 1 QB pressure, which is actually pretty good.

Final Grade- C

Combo Tackle: Will Svitek

It seems as if every backup player we have can play several spots on the line. Will handled 273 snaps while giving up 2 sacks and 6 QB hits. He provides great depth and is a good addition to the team.

Final grade- C

RT Garrett Reynolds

Its impossible to grade a rookie tackle who played 24 snaps at right guard, but if he puts some bulk on his six foot seven frame, he could be a dominant right tackle that can really help out. Thankfully we don't have to rush him because we have Tyson Clabo at the helm, and he is a serviceable starter. If he learns his craft and bulks up we could have the starter of the future on our hands.

Final Grade- INC

 

tlozwarlock writes:

I was going to approach this per position per player and then realized that’d take a smallish novella to accomplish so I’m just going to go for broke with an overall observation: this OL was decent to the point of only allowing two more sacks than they did the previous year.

Then again, they allowed 19 with Matt missing two weeks. Just imagine if the 8 sacks Redman absorbed were instead inserted into Matt’s numbers. Now you’re at 27 total sacks over the period of 16 games. That’s a tiny bit more than one a game.

If we expect to have a healthy, happy, passing QB, we have to get these sacks under control. Half the time Matt was on the field, he had to run for his life or dump the ball away because his protection broke down in mere milliseconds. Heck, his turf toe was likely due to the fact that he had to scramble so much. Let’s face it. Matt is a great QB, but he’s not built to be Brett Farve or Fran Tarkenton. He’s a pocket QB ala Manning. With a stronger OL in front of him, he can achieve that greatness we know he’s destined for.

Oh and…well…okay, they didn’t do so bad on the rush. Still, Turner was out a lot so it’s hard to compare to last year. Jason Snelling was serviceable but it was apparent to me that the holes just weren’t there like they used to be. Remember Turner’s slow start in the beginning games of the season? Yeah, I’m blaming some of that on the OL.

Grade: C-

 

Dave the Falconer writes:

I'm of the opinion that you can never achieve perfection when it comes to an NFL team, so of course I think the offensive line needs to be improved. In this case, your eyes did not deceive you in 2009: the line wasn't great.

Given a plethora of injuries both on the line and around it on offense, it's difficult to tell exactly how effective the line was last season, but I'm going to echo tloz and note that Matt Ryan and Chris Redman got absolutely pounded by opposing pass rushers at times last season. While Michael Turner looked slower at the beginning of the season and they paved the way for Jason Snelling effectively late in 2009, they can't be held blameless in his slow start, either. You're looking at a few bad stretches interrupted by above average stretches. That's basically an average offensive line.

The culprit here is a mix of injuries and ineffectiveness. Sam Baker needs to prove in 2010 that he can be the answer at left tackle, and that means he's got to avoid the injury bug that has bit him hard each of the last two season. Justin Blalock has some putrid games but is generally above average at left guard, Todd McClure is aging but still effective at center, and Harvey Dahl and Tyson Clabo used nastiness and potent beard power to hold down the right side of the line. There's no glaring weak link here, but our depth is mostly middling (Garrett Reynolds and his potential excepted) and the team could definitely stand to upgrade or get younger at some point in the depth chart all along the line.

So what does that mean for the Falcons? It means that the team needs to continue to work to keep the O-line healthy and address the position through the draft in 2010, preferably through a couple of mid-to-late round picks who can be brought along slowly yet still provide value in case injuries strike again.

Is that a tall order? I don't think so.

Grade: B-/C+

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments.

Poll
Grade the offensive line, as currently constructed, for the 2010 Atlanta Falcons.
A
15 votes
B
127 votes
C
108 votes
D
10 votes
F
1 votes
Qwerty
4 votes

265 votes | Poll has closed

2 recs  |  Comment 36 comments |

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Comments

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WTF

Dave can you kick people off of the forums or something?

by FlyYouFalcons on Mar 18, 2010 8:52 AM EDT reply actions  

Doing the best I can

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by Dave Choate on Mar 18, 2010 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions  

Spammers

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by Dave Choate on Mar 18, 2010 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions  

oh

maybe I came too late to see what yall were talking about, so this particular thread is obsolete (since you removed the spam)

by brotherbrown on Mar 20, 2010 3:47 AM EDT up reply actions  

Yeah, the network's just getting hit hard lately

Hopefully they’ll stop soon.

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by Dave Choate on Mar 21, 2010 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions  

C-

You’d have happy feet too if this line was blocking for you. I’d probably go D+ if the same line hadn’t played so well in ’08.

Longest Atlanta Falcons winning-seasons streak: 2008 - current
The Falcoholic · Blog · Twitter

by Jason Kirk on Mar 18, 2010 9:04 AM EDT reply actions  

With the concensus seeming to be that our O-Line is somewhere around average...

I could see us taking a O-Lineman in the first round. I know it isn’t as sexy as picking a linebacker, D-end, or CB. But I honestly believe that teams are built and games are won in the trenches. So if we can get a franchise tackle, guard or center in round one, I say pull the trigger. I know it will cause a lot of second guessing but I think we can get some good value for the O-line at the bottom of the first round.

Just as a comparison in Round 1 of the 2006 Draft:

-the Rams selected Tye Hill at 15 (pick from Atlanta via Denver)

-the Jets selected Nick Mangold at 29 (pick from Denver via Atlanta)

Which team do you think regrets its decision the most?

by Leon07 on Mar 18, 2010 9:57 AM EDT reply actions  

is there any additional evidence

to support the idea that picking an O-lineman in the 1st round is a safer bet than picking players of other positions?

Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia

by Gemini-RU on Mar 19, 2010 8:50 AM EDT up reply actions  

here is your evidence.. from www.ninersnation.com (you might as well just flip a coin.....)

What positions should you draft for in the first? Most of ‘em are basically a coin toss but there’s one you should stay away from at all costs, and that’s WR

Position Bust Non-Bust Percentage
Center 1 5 17%
CB 34 33 51%
DE 31 25 55%
DT 22 28 44%
OG 2 11 15%
LB 17 40 30%
OLB 6 7 46%
OT 27 32 46%
QB 23 15 48%
RB 37 20 65%
S 6 16 27%
TE 7 13 35%
WR 43 19 69%

 

If you’re a GM considering grabbing a WR in the 1st round I’d think long and hard about it. On the other hand if you’re thinking about taking a guard jump on it because that’s the safest pick you can make. LBs do very well as do safeties. Defensive line not so much. Offensive tackles and CBs it’s pretty much a coin flip as to which will end up being success ful.

center and guard have the 2 lowest bust rates (Pouncey anyone?)

by durst on Mar 19, 2010 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions  

wow that's interesting

offensive line is pretty much a safe bet as I can see here.
could this difference between Center and WR be attributed to the difference in criteria when selecting players? I mean, size is very important in an o-lineman, and not so important for a WR. you can still become a Steve Smith even if you’re small, but a small o-lineman will be run over by the defensive front. so whenever success at some position depends on the objective criteria, like size or dash, the chances of picking a bust are slim, unlike skill positions like WR.

Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia

by Gemini-RU on Mar 21, 2010 5:35 AM EDT up reply actions  

You’ve also got to consider the positional values, too – just look at the numbers… 6 Centers, 13 Guards, and 62 WR’s!! (also 13 OLB vs 56 DE’s and 22 S vs 67 CB’s). Interior O-Linemen, Outside Linebackers (well, except 3-4 rush backers, who are often college DE’s), and Safeties just aren’t valued very highly unless they are absolutely elite talent. You can always make a failed CB into a Safety, or a failed OT into a Guard.

But yeah, if you get a C/G that grades out as a first rounder, he’s pretty much a sure thing.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Mar 22, 2010 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions  

Nope

I think video evidence shows that we should commit to the defense first

by falconboy on Mar 20, 2010 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions  

Dave

I noticed that your love of Redman has no bounds. You had to find a pic with Redman in it didnt you? You know how I feel about this guy. Why Dave, why?

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Mar 18, 2010 10:22 AM EDT reply actions  

I don't love Redman

Just your mind playing tricks on you.

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by Dave Choate on Mar 18, 2010 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions  

Could be

My mind is pretty much a mess most days.

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Mar 18, 2010 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions  

Based on the poll

that our Oline needs to be improved. My question to all the falcoholics is who are the weak links on the line that you would want to replace?

This is what I think happened last year. Ryan started holding the ball a little too long waiting for our receivers to get some kind of separation from the defenders. Once the defenses locked up White and Gonzo, that was it. Jenkins definitely wasn’t getting open.

by Fear Me on Mar 18, 2010 10:32 AM EDT reply actions  

Agreed

I think a star receiver would do us a lot of good, but where???

by falconboy on Mar 20, 2010 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions  

M Turner

Last year was just plain weird.Hows that for a football phrase.Everything seemed good at first then we had the Roddy White episode and things went north after that.I really like M Turner but he seemed out of shape.I just can’t blame the o line for that.My reasoning being that after a good bit of criticism M turner perked right up and had a great game.By the time that had happened it seemed the team was slowly starting to fall apart.When he runs good other things start to happen.We cannot be slack this year.We have to hit it hard right off the bat and carry through.Every one needs to be ready to go the first game not the fourth or fifth.Coaches need to ride everyone ass starting next week.We have a great team as long as the team is ready.In my humble uninformed just a fan not a coach opinion.

by JT131 on Mar 18, 2010 10:52 AM EDT reply actions  

I was at the Carolina game when

Turner was gonna break 200 for sure. He was over 100 before the half and he looked like a freak but then he was injured and the season started tanking. He started the season a little rough but was in good form til the injury. He rested a great deal and should br true to form again.

Rule #1: Double tap.

by Ball Hawk on Mar 19, 2010 8:02 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions  

thanks for posting dave!

This team can do wonderful things if everything works our properly and injuries mend the way we all want them to. Is this a superbowl team? I dunno… But we have the ability to dominate teams when all cylinders are firing, and i can’t wait to see a little of that this year. This game is won and lost in the trenches, and I think the front office has done a good job building it up. Here’s to 2010, 11 wins!

If peeing your pants is the coolest, consider me Miles Davis

by BigSkee on Mar 18, 2010 2:17 PM EDT reply actions  

good job with the article!

interesting to see the stats on the O-linemen. while I admit there must be some degree of subjectivity in determining which player gave up a sack or a pressure, I was surprised to see Baker’s numbers. Could it be only due to the fact that he plays LT and opposing defenses prefer to attack the QB with their best pass rusher from that side? A negative answer here would imply he’s just mediocre.

Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia

by Gemini-RU on Mar 19, 2010 8:56 AM EDT up reply actions  

well from the stats i agonized over

it would seem he his good games were against moderately good pass rushers, and his bad games were against the good ones. (how enlightening, i know) but for a second year LT not named Jake Long, he performed ok when he wasnt injured, and is still learning, and still has tons of upside. It takes a little time to learn the tendencies and ways to counter the premier pass rushers he has to face every sunday, or so says I

If peeing your pants is the coolest, consider me Miles Davis

by BigSkee on Mar 19, 2010 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions  

I have faith

The Falcons have the potential to steamroll the best, I say we at least make it to the play-offs provided we stay healthy

by falconboy on Mar 20, 2010 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions  

as long as Ryan doesnt run right into the blitz like he did last year we should be fine

by 4Ever Golden on Mar 18, 2010 2:50 PM EDT reply actions  

Also

I saw some plays, where he could have really made a better decision with the ball, this is year 3; 3 is the magic number; i think it’ll be a defining season for him

by falconboy on Mar 20, 2010 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions  

Here's hoping Sam Baker has a breakout season

We need him to be the solution at LT. Several times I remember him just getting beat; hopefully he continues to learn from this experience and improve in year 3. Assuming Baker picks it up, our o-line situation is much more manageable. We would need to focus on interior linemen, and there should be plenty of good ones in the 3rd – 4th rounds, like Tennant and Jerry. I don’t care how much we need a center, if we take Pouncey with pick #19, I will be furious.

by orion12 on Mar 18, 2010 3:53 PM EDT reply actions  

Mmm....This homemade spaghetti is delicious...

….Oh, sorry Dave, you meant thoughts about this article.

I do think that we got punished for Turner’s lack of productivity, all blaming aside. Defenses were able to sic their DL on our young QB and they made him pay. The strength of our OL the past two seasons has been dictating the tempo of the game. When we’re not able to do that, we get hit hard. I think our OL is a bit two-faced when it comes to that, and if we’re going to win the SB we need to get everyone going in the same direction.

"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, to either side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham

by Zippo729 on Mar 18, 2010 5:25 PM EDT reply actions  

I'd probably give Clabo a C+, but that is either here nor there

What I did notice is that a lot of teams thought they could send their extra rusher at Clabo, and considering that, he was OK. But still, a C in my book.

by VenomySnicket on Mar 19, 2010 3:10 AM EDT reply actions  

maybe

a) better defenses in ‘09 being able to read Mularkey’s plays (?)
b) more balanced offense in ’08 because of healthy Turner (?)

Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia

by Gemini-RU on Mar 19, 2010 8:59 AM EDT up reply actions  

I know this sounds crazy but...

Do linemen study Judo and Sumo hand technique. I know stupid question but if I did that for a living I would.

Rule #1: Double tap.

by Ball Hawk on Mar 19, 2010 8:38 AM EDT via mobile reply actions  

yeah

they should take ballet and modern dance to help with the agility…LMAO!

Life is a garden. Dig it!

by Hardcore Falcon on Mar 22, 2010 7:44 AM EDT up reply actions  

not sure about Judo

as that could make them do things that get them penalized, but Sumo sounds like a perfect match. that’s where size matters although what matters most of size+agility

Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia

by Gemini-RU on Mar 19, 2010 9:02 AM EDT reply actions  

Late, but here’s my grades:
Baker – really needs to step it up in 2010 (and stay on the field): C-
Blaylock – pretty decent in pass protection, but sure looks like the weak link in run blocking: C+
McClure – very solid in 2009: A-
Dahl – good, but not nearly the road grader we like to make him seem around here; adjusted for snaps, he was worse than Blaylock in Pressures allowed: B-
Clabo – dependable, but just OK as a run blocker; if I calculated it right, he was just outside the Top 10 Right Tackles in Pass Blocking Productivity (at 4.14; Baker was just outside Bottom 10 LT’s at 6.38): B+
Backups – Svitek was much worse than Baker in pass protection; Ojinnaka was a penalty machine and a poor run blocker; Romberg and Reynolds didn’t get enough snaps to make a determination: C- as a group (and I think that’s generous)

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Mar 22, 2010 1:48 PM EDT reply actions  

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