Surprising info on 2007 Left Tackle sacks

[capATL]

The Falcons ranked tied for 25th in sacks allowed last year with a total of 47 [about 3 per game]. It was certainly not something to brag about, but can be attributed to the disarray of coaching, injuries, and QBs who held the ball too long.

To shore up the offensive line, we moved up to draft Sam Baker in the first round to play left tackle. We also had a spirited training camp competition that has resulted in Dahl and Clabo emerging as "nasties."

What is really interesting is that of our 47 sacks allowed, only 4.5 were charged to the left tackle position, ranking our LTs 6th for percentage of total sacks allowed at 9.6%. This was tied for 11th place for number of sacks. Credit would have to go to Gandy [i know, I know], Foster, Clabo and whomever else was on the LT committee.

So, maybe we went out and drafted Baker to fix something that wasn't broken. If he gives up 4.5 sacks or fewer this year, most of us would be delighted and congratulate TD on a great pick even though it would not be a great improvement. But of course, this is a team game and the team performance is more important to our success than an individual lineman's performance. I believe our line will be greatly improved this year.

Overall, I think we should be able to improve our ranking to at least middle of the pack which would be around 32 sacks or 2 per game. Baker will be an improvement, and Blaylock looks stronger and should be improved with a year of experience. McClure is savvy, and the nasties, Dahl and Clabo will team with Wiener to secure the right side. We have a QB in Ryan who processes the game quickly as opposed to last year's QBs who held the ball entirely too long [mainly Harrington]. Couple this with a run oriented offense [it remains to be seen if we can control time of possession], which if successful will simply give fewer opportunities to sack the QB.

Sacks are definite drive killers and fewer of them will result in more scores, more time of possession, a fresher defense, and hopefully a better record.

[innovativefx]

I think our O-line will be much better this year.. Maybe not top 10... but possibly in the top 18-20...

[great white hope]

One huuuuge difference that will visibly make our oline look better is that Ryan doesn't hold onto the ball like Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich

[innovativefx]

One huuuuge difference that will visibly make our oline look better is that Ryan doesn't hold onto the ball like Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich

Bingo - He gets rid of the ball faster than any rookie I've ever seen.

[Bullitt]

The Falcons ranked tied for 25th in sacks allowed last year with a total of 47 [about 3 per game]. It was certainly not something to brag about, but can be attributed to the disarray of coaching, injuries, and QBs who held the ball too long.

To shore up the offensive line, we moved up to draft Sam Baker in the first round to play left tackle. We also had a spirited training camp competition that has resulted in Dahl and Clabo emerging as "nasties."

What is really interesting is that of our 47 sacks allowed, only 4.5 were charged to the left tackle position, ranking our LTs 6th for percentage of total sacks allowed at 9.6%. This was tied for 11th place for number of sacks. Credit would have to go to Gandy [i know, I know], Foster, Clabo and whomever else was on the LT committee.

So, maybe we went out and drafted Baker to fix something that wasn't broken. If he gives up 4.5 sacks or fewer this year, most of us would be delighted and congratulate TD on a great pick even though it would not be a great improvement. But of course, this is a team game and the team performance is more important to our success than an individual lineman's performance. I believe our line will be greatly improved this year.

Overall, I think we should be able to improve our ranking to at least middle of the pack which would be around 32 sacks or 2 per game. Baker will be an improvement, and Blaylock looks stronger and should be improved with a year of experience. McClure is savvy, and the nasties, Dahl and Clabo will team with Wiener to secure the right side. We have a QB in Ryan who processes the game quickly as opposed to last year's QBs who held the ball entirely too long [mainly Harrington]. Couple this with a run oriented offense [it remains to be seen if we can control time of possession], which if successful will simply give fewer opportunities to sack the QB.

Sacks are definite drive killers and fewer of them will result in more scores, more time of possession, a fresher defense, and hopefully a better record.

We ended the season with Ojinnaka as our LT so the LT position was definitely somthing that needed to be fixed. And Joey at QB definitely inflates the sack numbers.

[phattywankenobi]

There were too many different QB's and line personnel to even make sense of a ranking where the best position on the opponents defense will vary from team to team or even game. I believe one of the bright spots are the combination of an improved line and Ryan's quick and decisive release. Sometimes it is just a matter of perception when people say the line did not hold up but after 5 sec the QB either has one **** of a line, can move really well in the pocket, or is about to get slammed to the turf.

If nothing else the line needed to be addressed because of the age of most of our Oline. Build for the future not duct tape for the present.

[jluk]

There were too many different QB's and line personnel to even make sense of a ranking where the best position on the opponents defense will vary from team to team or even game. I believe one of the bright spots are the combination of an improved line and Ryan's quick and decisive release. Sometimes it is just a matter of perception when people say the line did not hold up but after 5 sec the QB either has one **** of a line, can move really well in the pocket, or is about to get slammed to the turf.

If nothing else the line needed to be addressed because of the age of most of our Oline. Build for the future not duct tape for the present.

nicely said. also to make a comparison from last year to this year is an apples to orange. the main reason for this is due to:

1.) scout reports on our o-line last year had pressured more on right side as it was "easier" to dictate. when did u ever see an all out bltiz on our line? i am ashamed to say this but our opponent pretty much took it easy on us when they played our o-line.

2.) our 2008 o-line has one thing that we didnt last year... d-e-p-t-h.

as phattywankenobi and others stated, ryan has a quick release. and if u move the chains, guess what? the o-line builds confidence and works harder to sustain drives. so i guess its not just about physical but also a mental game eh? plus we have a beautiful rotation in the making for 1st,2nd, 3rd down. i am keeping my fingers crossed that it shows up this sunday.