OC Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 http://nflspinzone.com/2015/06/25/atlanta-falcons-state-offensive-line/The play of the Atlanta Falcons offensive line has been nothing short of abysmal the last two seasons, and has certainly contributed to the disastrous 10-22 record. A combination of poor player evaluation by the coaching staff, poor talent evaluation by the scouting department and player injuries have all been a factor in the units incompetence.It all began with the 2012 draft where the Falcons drafted Peter Konz and Lamar Holmes with their first two picks. Both players were expected to fill in as future starters but both have been nothing but big disappointments. In 2013, the coaching staff felt these men were ready to start so parted with veterans Todd McClure and Tyson Clabo in the offseason. They also decided to re-sign the injurious Sam Baker who had a solid 2012 campaign but truthfully, that was the only solid season in his career. Finally, they felt like they had good competition with in-house youngsters for the starting RG position.However, it turned out the Falcons went 0/4 in key personnel decisions along the offensive line. The play of the 2013 Falcons offensive line is as poor as it gets, unable to be useful in the pass or rush game.The Falcons made a valiant effort to right the ship in 2014. They drafted Jake Matthews #6 overall and finally stabilised their RG position signing Jon Asamoah in free agency. The line wasnt good even on paper but it was still a big step in the right direction. It was always going to be unrealistic to go from horrific to good in one offseason.Sam Baker was expected to start at LT and hopefully regain his 2012 form but a torn patellar tendon in preseason forced the Falcons hand and prompted the Jake Matthews LT era. As the 6th overall pick, anything less than a franchise LT would be considered unsatisfactory. Veteran Justin Blalock remained as the starting LG and has largely been the one stabilising presence on the offensive line over the years.After Joe Hawley was forced into action as the starting center in the second half of the 2013 season, he himself also added stability to the group and found himself as the favourite for the starting position heading into 2014 training camp. Asamoah was expected to slide in seamlessly at RG while Holmes was expected to show improvement at RT.So how did they do?Jake Matthews finished dead last in ProFootballFocus OT rankings. It is worth mentioning, though, that he played with injuries for much of the season and his week-by-week grades reflect that.FROM WHAT I SAW OF MATTHEWS, I FULLY BELIEVE HE WILL BE THE FRANCHISE LT.After suffering an ankle sprain during the New Orleans thriller in week 1, he missed week 2 against Cincinnati. He returned to have solid games in weeks 3 and 4 but had his ankle rolled up on during the week 5 game against the Giants and seemingly badly aggravated his injury.He was clearly very hampered from here until he got some much needed recovery time during the bye (week 9) and that is reflected in the grades. It was this 4-week stretch representing the bulk of his negative grade. He performed much better after the bye until the end of the season. In the final game of the season he unfortunately suffered a Lisfranc fracture also, never getting close to 100% healthy.I dont consider myself an optimist but from what I saw of Matthews, I fully believe he will be the franchise LT. Even outside of that 4-week stretch, he still graded negatively with a -0.7 average per game but for the first time ever I saw a Falcons LT that doesnt consistently get overwhelmed on passing downs. I mentioned Baker having a solid 2012 season but youd see him just barely hanging on or fighting for his life on them obvious passing downs. That was not the case with Matthews who was calm, composed and in control.Justin Blalock was as dependable as ever but he had started to incur injuries after being relatively healthy in his career. He also had a miserable season closer. Having turned 31, it was perhaps a wise decision the Falcons did end up parting ways because the 4 signs of decline were all there Age, injury, performance drop, non-ideal scheme fit.Joe Hawley only lasted 4 games but the stability he provided was noticeable compared to his backups. How he recovers from his ACL tear will play an important part in the units success for 2015.Jon Asamoah was a rock. Its always tough to play as a lineman when a teammate on your shoulder isnt doing so well but it didnt seem to faze him. He will continue to be the best offensive lineman heading into 2015.Lamar Holmes looked a little better from the year prior but still had his struggles against Cameron Jordan and had a brutal game against the underrated Carlos Dunlap before losing his season to a foot injury after 4 games.The real intrigue at RT is the emergence of Ryan Schraeder, who played a lot better than Holmes and the first backup Gabe Carimi.In fact, he played well full stop. Charles Johnson gave him problems in both Carolina games but otherwise he did a nice job holding down everyone else. Its always great when a young in-house player can lockdown a position for you and its what Falcons nation hopes for from Schraeder.Projected starting offensive lineJake Matthews-Chris Chester-Joe Hawley-Jon Asamoah-Ryan SchraederChris Chester is the new name here, having recently been signed after the Washington Redskins released him as they shift from a zone scheme towards a more gap blocking scheme. I wouldnt call him a liability but dont expect an Asamoah-like level of play.He should be OK, maybe a little below average. Hawley and Matthews need to return healthy and Schraeder needs to prove last year wasnt a fluke. I dont have the slightest of worries about Asamoah. If everyone can play up to their ability, this is a good group. Theyre thin on talent so any injuries will be heartfelt.These men fit the zone blocking scheme well, and the emphasis on the run game coupled with play action and bootlegs helps out the pass protection. Just through scheme alone, the offensive line will be a lot more productive in terms of pressure given up. The real challenge will be how they can do on 3rd downs when the smoke and mirrors disappear. However, I see this as an offensive line capable of being in the 10-16th range rather than the 27-32nd range weve been seeing lately and that would be an outstanding achievement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayOzOne Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Contrary to popular belief, TD did try to augment the offensive line through the draft. He just failed magnificently to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FentayeJones Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If healthy, the staring five will not be bad. If injuries occur and they will, I'm more concerned about what he have playing behind the starters - especially at tackle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Contrary to popular belief, TD did try to augment the offensive line through the draft. He just failed magnificently to do so.I think the issue has been his inability to properly scout OL. I think the conversation is totally different if Konz and Holmes had panned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons_Frenzy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 So if you properly scout you will never select a bad player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madman88 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 This line as a whole is still average even when healthy..Im hoping they stay healthy and improve together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest facelessman07 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 So if you properly scout you will never select a bad player?correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons_Frenzy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 correctI guess 32 GM's don't get the memo every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest facelessman07 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I guess 32 GM's don't get the memo every year.My response was so outlandish I didn't think the purple was needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons_Frenzy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 My response was so outlandish I didn't think the purple was neededI was hoping that was the case but nothing would surprise me on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconcrest58 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 "However, it turned out the Falcons went 0/4 in key personnel decisions along the offensive line. The play of the 2013 Falcons offensive line is as poor as it gets, unable to be useful in the pass or rush game."Oh lord please don't let the TD hut huggers see ^ this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaigle Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Contrary to popular belief, TD did try to augment the offensive line through the draft. He just failed magnificently to do so.Yes but I still wonder about some of the drafted playersSam Baker and Mike Johnson-----would they have worked out if they could stay healthyG. Reynolds what would he have done if he had gotten to play RTIn 7 years about9 draftees10 free agents4 udfasI don't think TD could miss that many times in a rowsome of the failures have to be on the coaching staffs misuse of talent and ability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons_Frenzy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Yes but I still wonder about some of the drafted playersSam Baker and Mike Johnson-----would they have worked out if they could stay healthyG. Reynolds what would he have done if he had gotten to play RTIn 7 years about9 draftees10 free agents4 udfasI don't think TD could miss that many times in a rowsome of the failures have to be on the coaching staffs misuse of talent and abilitySam Baker was most likely an Arthur Blank selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazoo Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 That's a really good writeup of the state of the line. Whoever penned that knows our linemen and scheme and also did a great analysis of Mathews breaking down the games before and after that nasty re tweak of the ankle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 (edited) Sam Baker was most likely an Arthur Blank selection.Don't know if you're kidding or not, but this contention lately that AB runs the falcons draft is silly.Back to the thread, OL is on the weakest link on this team. We did a nice job in FA and great job in draft addressing other areas that needed addressing, but OL is still a huge, huge question mark. Edited June 25, 2015 by Vandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons_Frenzy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Don't know if you're kidding or not, but this contention lately that AB runs the falcons draft is silly.Back to the thread, OL is on the weakest link on this team. We did a nice job in FA and great job in draft addressing other areas that needed addressing, but OL is still a huge, huge question mark.I'm not joking owners have influence. Sam Baker is the son of a family friend of Blanks. Anyone with that info can put 2 and 2 together. If you want another example Arthur Blank said last off season protecting Matt Ryan was 1st priority and we drafted Jake Matthews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 So if you properly scout you will never select a bad player?I'm not saying never. I'm saying that the issue with TD wasn't that he didn't attempt to address the line, it was just that it was a weakness of his, given the little success he had. Does it all fall on him? More than likely, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconcrest58 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I'm not joking owners have influence. Sam Baker is the son of a family friend of Blanks. Anyone with that info can put 2 and 2 together. If you want another example Arthur Blank said last off season protecting Matt Ryan was 1st priority and we drafted Jake Matthews.You can't convince the TD nut huggers TD is AB puppet and YES Baker was AB pick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 (edited) You can't convince the TD nut huggers TD is AB puppet and YES Baker was AB pickI'm hardly a "TD nut-hugger"Bullsh!t to Part B of your post as well. Edited June 26, 2015 by Vandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 (edited) I'm not joking owners have influence. Sam Baker is the son of a family friend of Blanks. Anyone with that info can put 2 and 2 together. If you want another example Arthur Blank said last off season protecting Matt Ryan was 1st priority and we drafted Jake Matthews.Son of a family friend? Oh my....And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out we needed OT Matthews to protect franchise QBYou guys with your AB conspiracy theories are a riot Edited June 26, 2015 by Vandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wjcorner Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 So if you properly scout you will never select a bad player?No but if you never select a good player in 5 years do you continue to scout as is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons_Frenzy Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Son of a family friend? Oh my....And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out we needed OT Matthews to protect franchise QBYou guys with your AB conspiracy theories are a riotWe also needed a pass rusher. There's no AB conspiracy he has some say just like all owners should have. The riot is the people who believe all the bad picks are all on TD and the good picks are overlooked. It's been a group effort and they all share the blame and credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wjcorner Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 We also needed a pass rusher. There's no AB conspiracy he has some say just like all owners should have. The riot is the people who believe all the bad picks are all on TD and the good picks are overlooked. It's been a group effort and they all share the blame and credit.The good picks get overlooked because his bad picks outnumber his good and he only has 2 'all-pro' caliber picks to his name so far...even though I don't think any of them have actually made an all pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 (edited) We also needed a pass rusher. There's no AB conspiracy he has some say just like all owners should have. The riot is the people who believe all the bad picks are all on TD and the good picks are overlooked. It's been a group effort and they all share the blame and credit.Having some say is one thing, saying Baker & Matthews were picked on his say so is completely different. Not sure what any of that has to do with criticisms of TD. Edited June 26, 2015 by Vandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Doktor Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Im not worried yet. The second week of camp will tell us a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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