Chargers line up league's top unit

[Shamrock]

Chargers line up league's top unit (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/sfl-spbricker12nov12,0,4094715.column) - Miami Sun Sentinel

You know the great offensive linemen.

Steve Hutchinson, Walter Jones, Orlando Pace, Willie Anderson, Alan Faneca, Olin Kreutz and, of course, big old Jonathan Ogden.

Not one of them plays on the best offensive line in the NFL, which plays the Bengals today.

Hudson Houck, the Dolphins' offensive line coach, knows most of these heavyweight Chargers. He coached them when he was in San Diego for three years, and he's primarily responsible for putting in the foundation of right tackle Shane Olivea's game, for cultivating young center Nick Hardwick and for fitting in veteran right guard Mike Goff when he went over from the Bengals as an unrestricted free agent in 2004.

It isn't likely that any of these five linemen, including rookie left tackle Marcus McNeill and undrafted left guard Kris Dielman, is going to the Pro Bowl.

But that's fine. They all understand that the quality of the line's work has more to do with the sum of its parts than the greatness of its individuals.

There isn't much statistical evidence to guide you to the great offensive linemen. Perhaps you recall some pancake block that was replayed several times on television, or you examine the number of times a quarterback has been sacked and relate it to the men assigned to protect him, or the yardage of the club's running back.

But the shame of a sack doesn't always fall on an offensive lineman and, in fact, of the 13 times Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has been dunked this season, only six can be ascribed to his offensive line.

That's a remarkably low number, and what is just as impressive is that, as a group, the Chargers' line has been penalized only six times for false starts and been called for holding only twice.

This is not only great coaching, but great discipline. But all that would be mere gingerbread if the Chargers' offense hadn't scored 26 touchdowns in eight games.

The suspects (sack information comes from STATS, Inc.):

LT McNeill: Rookie second-round pick, 336 pounds from Auburn, where he played road grader for Ronnie Brown of the Dolphins and Cadillac Williams of the Buccaneers. Called for two false starts, no holds, given up 2.5 sacks.

LG Dielman: Undrafted fourth-year player, 310 pounds from Indiana who is a converted tight end/defensive lineman. Called for one false start, one hold, given up 0.5 sack.

C Hardwick: Third-round pick, 295 pounds from Purdue, a starter since his rookie year. Hasn't been called for a false start or holding and has given up 1.5 sacks.

RG Goff: Originally a third-round pick of the Bengals, 311 pounds, ninth season from Iowa and the line leader. Clean slate. No false starts, no holds, no sacks yielded.

RT Olivea: Third-year seventh-round pick, 312 pounds from Ohio State. Sleeper in the 2004 draft who is still developing. Has been called for three false starts, one hold, given up 1.5 sacks.

Maybe, instead of sending individual offensive linemen to the Pro Bowl, they ought to select a unit. If they did, these guys would be No. 1.

[DutchCheddar]

I miss Hud :(

[JoeMcRugby]

I miss Hud :(

Not me.

Jack Henry is doing an outstanding job!! :Bolt:

[TCUFAN5]

Jack Henry is the ishhhhh he has weilded only 6 sack to the OLINE this year.. and we thought they would get Rivers killed... that man is teaching them something.. KEEP AT IT JACK!!! YOU ARE THE MAN oh yea and look at that LT had 12 RUSHING TDs.. hmm who would have thunk it.. LOL especially with all the junk you guys were talking early about the OLINE SUCKS!!! we should get DBRICK and all that jazz.. GO MCNEILL

[sonorajim]

I miss Hud :(
He says nice things about our linemen and coaches, don't he?
Thanks for the post Shamrock, good read. It underscores something I believe may be more true of the o-line than any other group- they live or die as a five man unit. They can be helped a lot by what the TE(s) and backs are doing but it's what they do together that makes the offense take wing or crash.
It's exciting to think they may be the best o-line in the NFL. When you win in the trenches, anything is possibile. It's a fact that the blocking I saw vs the Browns in the fourth qtr was very impressive. Here's hoping they build on that performance.

[TCUFAN5]

He says nice things about our linemen and coaches, don't he?
Thanks for the post Shamrock, good read. It underscores something I believe may be more true of the o-line than any other group- they live or die as a five man unit. They can be helped a lot by what the TE(s) and backs are doing but it's what they do together that makes the offense take wing or crash.
It's exciting to think they may be the best o-line in the NFL. When you win in the trenches, anything is possibile. It's a fact that the blocking I saw vs the Browns in the fourth qtr was very impressive. Here's hoping they build on that performance.

:Beer: :Beer: :Beer: !!!!! i couldnt have said it any better go chargers:Cheers:

[BCBoltFan]

The suspects (sack information comes from STATS, Inc.):

LT McNeill: Rookie second-round pick, 336 pounds from Auburn, where he played road grader for Ronnie Brown of the Dolphins and Cadillac Williams of the Buccaneers. Called for two false starts, no holds, given up 2.5 sacks.

LG Dielman: Undrafted fourth-year player, 310 pounds from Indiana who is a converted tight end/defensive lineman. Called for one false start, one hold, given up 0.5 sack.

C Hardwick: Third-round pick, 295 pounds from Purdue, a starter since his rookie year. Hasn't been called for a false start or holding and has given up 1.5 sacks.

RG Goff: Originally a third-round pick of the Bengals, 311 pounds, ninth season from Iowa and the line leader. Clean slate. No false starts, no holds, no sacks yielded.

RT Olivea: Third-year seventh-round pick, 312 pounds from Ohio State. Sleeper in the 2004 draft who is still developing. Has been called for three false starts, one hold, given up 1.5 sacks.

Maybe, instead of sending individual offensive linemen to the Pro Bowl, they ought to select a unit. If they did, these guys would be No. 1.

Good find Shamy. Too bad Goff sucks so bad hey, how good would they be without him?

[JoeMcRugby]

Good find Shamy. Too bad Goff sucks so bad hey, how good would they be without him?

I'm not as down on Goff as Shammy, but as you well know BC: there is a wee bit more that goes into strong offensive line play than not committing penalties. ;)

[TCUFAN5]

tell them look how many times drew brees got sacked last year.. and look at this year..

[BCBoltFan]

I'm not as down on Goff as Shammy, but as you well know BC: there is a wee bit more that goes into strong offensive line play than not committing penalties. ;)
Very true. But between, no fouls, no sacks allowed, leader of the o-line, Rivers and LT's success, I'd say he's doing alright. Most O-line guys hate stats, other than sacks allowed. They refer to most other positions, especially d-players, as "stats guys".

I have only rec'd 3 or 4 of this seasons games, and have not sat down to iso on Goff to figure out what he's doing wrong.

[Shamrock]

Good find Shamy. Too bad Goff sucks so bad hey, how good would they be without him?
I don't know how they count sacks, but I've seen Goff turn to double team with Hardwick and not even see the unblocked delayed LB blitz. Last week, that wasn't a sack, but it was the "non-call" on the Rivers grounding. If Goff had properly picked up that blitz, what would PR have done with the ball?

Goff's strengths are the seal block and short pull within the tackle box. He can't drive block worth a damn, can't lead an outside sweep, and can't make a block at the 2nd level on screens/sweeps, etc.

[TCUFAN5]

ok we bench Goff who would you start?

[Sanitation Man]

tell them look how many times drew brees got sacked last year.. and look at this year..

Though I would concur that the line is playing better than in years past, I would look to yet another reason. They have definitely improved under Henry, but a huge part is because of Rivers quick release. We all know he can throw the deep ball, but how many have you seen? Not many. That's because PR's finding his receivers quickly and efficiently, thereby avoiding sacks.

Which in turn, has put DB's on alert and playing away from the line of scrimmage, allowing LT space at the line to make big runs.

[DutchCheddar]

Not me.

Jack Henry is doing an outstanding job!! :Bolt:

That wasn't meant as a knock on Coach Henry, he's obviously done a great job and the guys have bought into his style.

[56lightsout56]

a good test will come next week in Denver in picking the blitz packages that led to the defeat in the last game of the year

[RMANCIL]

Coach Henry has done a great job and you bet I was worried as I just did not see Oben being ready at the beginning of this season.

Was I wrong ?

Let me answer that for you ( like you every realy had a chance) no of course not! We needed a LOT and we got one in the second round. Were we lucky , you bet we were if anyone had a clue this kid , McNeil would be this good no way would he have fallen to us in the second.

I for one saw him as very raw and was a bit worried about his work ethic along with his back. Clearly a lot of teams also were concerned based on him falling in the draft. That said with coach Henry's help McNeil is one of the two best players at this point in the draft ( Colson) based on his play thus for.

As good as Rivers has played and I must admit he has played much better than I ever dreamed he would not be able to complete a single pass from his backside. McNeil run blocking has improved leaps and bounds as well. The Bolts OL is better than expected for sure but hey I was never that worried. :) Chargerroo on the other hand.....

[Thunderstruck21]

i am so glad we got jack back, he is doing a great job, i think a lot of the success of this team can be attributed to the excellent position coaches we have. Lofton, Henry, Ramsdell, Manusky, Stewart all have done a great job getting these players disciplined and ready every sunday.

[jubei]

i'm not too sure about Stewart...our secondary still blows coverage a lot. And IMO Wade should stop playing zone all the time. We have strong physical corners who can man up with WRs and disrupt the timing of QBs and WRs and their routes. I think we should play man and have safeties patrolling the deep sidelines.

[LtsGirl]

Chargers line up league's top unit (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/sfl-spbricker12nov12,0,4094715.column) - Miami Sun Sentinel

You know the great offensive linemen.

Steve Hutchinson, Walter Jones, Orlando Pace, Willie Anderson, Alan Faneca, Olin Kreutz and, of course, big old Jonathan Ogden.

Not one of them plays on the best offensive line in the NFL, which plays the Bengals today.

Hudson Houck, the Dolphins' offensive line coach, knows most of these heavyweight Chargers. He coached them when he was in San Diego for three years, and he's primarily responsible for putting in the foundation of right tackle Shane Olivea's game, for cultivating young center Nick Hardwick and for fitting in veteran right guard Mike Goff when he went over from the Bengals as an unrestricted free agent in 2004.

It isn't likely that any of these five linemen, including rookie left tackle Marcus McNeill and undrafted left guard Kris Dielman, is going to the Pro Bowl.

But that's fine. They all understand that the quality of the line's work has more to do with the sum of its parts than the greatness of its individuals.

There isn't much statistical evidence to guide you to the great offensive linemen. Perhaps you recall some pancake block that was replayed several times on television, or you examine the number of times a quarterback has been sacked and relate it to the men assigned to protect him, or the yardage of the club's running back.

But the shame of a sack doesn't always fall on an offensive lineman and, in fact, of the 13 times Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has been dunked this season, only six can be ascribed to his offensive line.

That's a remarkably low number, and what is just as impressive is that, as a group, the Chargers' line has been penalized only six times for false starts and been called for holding only twice.

This is not only great coaching, but great discipline. But all that would be mere gingerbread if the Chargers' offense hadn't scored 26 touchdowns in eight games.

The suspects (sack information comes from STATS, Inc.):

LT McNeill: Rookie second-round pick, 336 pounds from Auburn, where he played road grader for Ronnie Brown of the Dolphins and Cadillac Williams of the Buccaneers. Called for two false starts, no holds, given up 2.5 sacks.

LG Dielman: Undrafted fourth-year player, 310 pounds from Indiana who is a converted tight end/defensive lineman. Called for one false start, one hold, given up 0.5 sack.

C Hardwick: Third-round pick, 295 pounds from Purdue, a starter since his rookie year. Hasn't been called for a false start or holding and has given up 1.5 sacks.

RG Goff: Originally a third-round pick of the Bengals, 311 pounds, ninth season from Iowa and the line leader. Clean slate. No false starts, no holds, no sacks yielded.

RT Olivea: Third-year seventh-round pick, 312 pounds from Ohio State. Sleeper in the 2004 draft who is still developing. Has been called for three false starts, one hold, given up 1.5 sacks.

Maybe, instead of sending individual offensive linemen to the Pro Bowl, they ought to select a unit. If they did, these guys would be No. 1.

I guess he was a nice "reach" in the second round with his bad back and all.

Damn, can we say AJ knows how to evaluate talen? Yes!:Cheers:

I wonder how many more people will convert to the "In AJ we trust" model?:D

[nvcharger]

good story.