Oakland Raiders vs Dolphins: Breaking Down The O-Line Film

by Bewsaf on Dec 7, 2011 11:32 AM PST

Week 13

The Oakland Raiders lost to the Miami Dolphins, 14-34. Oakland is now 7-5 on the season and no longer in control of their own destiny.

via profootballspotlight.com

I had heard from a friend that the Oakland vs Miami game was bad for the Raiders...so I went into this game expecting bad things from the offensive lineman from the beginning. But at first, I didn't see that.

After grading the film, I was satisfied with the offensive line at the very first of the game and disappointed with the running backs choices. Sure, the offensive lineman were not blowing people of the ball from snap, one. But they were doing an adequate job...at first, that is. Then the game started to unravel. I saw some poor line play, poor blocking, poor running back decisions, mixed up plays . And then I got sick.

Out of all that mess, Cooper Carlisle came away from the game with a 80% run assignment grade and a 82% passing assignment grade. And even with that score, Carlisle was beat 5 times in pass protection.

The backs and tight ends didn't far much better, but they did do a little better. If you are interested in their grades then, go here.

Let's take a look at the rest of those scores...

If you like this article check out more film breakdown at Pro Football Spotlight

	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
Percent Scale

Team Run Blocking		Power Blocking		Power Blocking Score		2nd Level Blocks
Did the lineman get the job done or not? These grades are good for understanding value for a team and not necessarily for comparing across teams. A game in the mid 80s to 90% is a decent score.		How often did the offensive lineman dominate the block or how often did he get dominated? These scores are good for comparing across teams and finding the most dominant lineman in the league.		Anything over zero is a good score. The more over zero the more the lineman dominated the defender. Each lineman is scored a minus for being dominated, a zero for a draw, or a plus for dominating the defender.		The number of success over failures for the lineman when blocking linebackers and safeties on the second level. The lineman must be athletic to accomplish a high second level score.

Run Blocking Grades

Percent

Grade Bar

Power

Pull

2/Level

Grade

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/100-rating-run-bar.png

Blocking

Blocks

Veldheer

70%

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/60-rating-run-bar.png

Wisniewski

70%

Satele

63%

Carlisle

80%

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/80-rating-run-bar.png

Barnes

63%

-1

Heyer

98%

http://profootballspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/90-rating-run-bar.png

Run Blocking Notes:

The pic, below, is an example of what went wrong with the running back. There were a hand full of times (and when you run as little as the Raiders did that ends up being a lot) that the running back just runs into the pile instead of...oh...getting outside. You can see Bush, below, cutting it back and then running right into the pile. The end has the defender sealed, Barnes is picking up a charging linebacker, and the corner is blocking on the perimeter. And Bush cuts up.

**Pic from Sunday's NFL game

In the pic, below, you can see Bush cutting it back and running right into the middle of a pile. Outside looks open. At the very least, possibly run off tackle. You can see Veldeer just getting ready to twist his defender to the ground.

**Pic from Sunday's NFL game

At 14:25 in the 2nd quarter, the Raiders look to be running the ball. The quarterback does not look to throw and then turn to hand off for a draw. He just runs straight back. The running back doesn't act like he is blocking then get the ball. He just goes into his running the ball mode from the beginning. But...the left side of the line drops in a pass protection stance (you can see Wisniewski doing it in the pic, below) and the other side fires out like a run block. Looks like miscommunication.

If you would like to see how the O-Line has performed in previous games then go, here.

Team Pass Blocking		Passing Power Blocking		Pressures		Combo Help
Did the lineman get the job done or not? These grades are good for understanding value for a team and not necessarily for comparing across teams. A game in the 90% is a good score for pass blocking.		How often did the offensive lineman dominate the block or how often did he get dominated? Each lineman is scored a minus for being dominated, a zero for a draw, or a plus for dominating the block.		How often did the offensive lineman give up pressure on the quarterback? Every once and a while a lineman can do his job but give up pressure on the QB. This stat will help glean more info from the line grades.		How often did the offensive coordinator provide help for a tough defender or a struggling lineman. Yea, two lineman ended up with the same grade...but how much help did either of them get?

Pass Blocking Grades

	Percent	Grade Bar	Power	Pressures	Sacks	Combo
	Grade		Blocking	Allowed	Allowed	Help
Veldeer	68%		-10	8	0	4
Wisniewski	79%		-6	6	0	16
Satele	90%		-1	0	0	24
Carlisle	82%		-5	5	0	18
Barnes	71%		-8	5	0	6

Pass Blocking Notes:

At 1:29 in the 1st quarter, Palmer throws the screen before his lineman are set or the defenders work their way toward him. No gain.
The below pic, is a perfect example of what happened all day against the Raiders...they were blitzed. At first Palmer didn't read it and get the ball out. Because when the Dolphins send 8 players on a blitz (like below) the line cannot block that many defenders. So the quarterback must hit a hot route. And Palmer fails to do that until the second half...and that is when the offensive line started doing bad.

**Pic from Sunday's NFL game

Another play that looks like miscommunication is when both offensive tackles cut block like it is a called quick pass...but Palmer just stands in the shot gun looking down field like he has all the time in the world (pic below). He ends up getting sacked.

**Pic from Sunday's NFL game

At 1:35 in the 2nd quarter, Palmer does not see a blitz from the his blind side and Veldeer can only block one player. Palmer is sacked.

You might like the TEs and Backs article also! (click it)

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Comments

Ass kicking right there....

Far and away their worst game. But in all honesty, I think the problem wasn’t their effort as much as the game plan. The Raiders should have been passing short, with controlled passing routs off of a 3 step drop (they didn’t have a healthy deep threat anyways). That is the type of thing that has been killing Miami all year. The raiders instead chose to run into the teeth of the #7 ranked run D, whom knew it was coming, and piled 8 and 9 in the box to stop it. 5 guys to block 8 or nine always spells disaster. Then when they couldn’t run, they chose to throw it deep with 7 step drops. Wake was holding a team meeting in the backfield, and Palmer was invited. Can’t blame the line for the runs up the gut, or the continued 7 step drops with impending blitzers on the line. That is the play calling and game planning…

I would like to see a chart of how well the game was called. How many times did Hue set them up for failure by calling a play that had no chance for success due to Miami stacking the box.

by TD Rader on Dec 7, 2011 3:44 PM PST reply actions

That has always been the limitation with Bush. He almost always runs up the middle. A team with good run stopping defensive tackles and a good middle linebacker can stop this. That’s why I’m against the Raiders signing him long term for a lot of money.

by timbaland on Dec 7, 2011 6:09 PM PST reply actions

Next draft, and im probably talking next next draft

We really need to complete our Young Line, Carlise and Barnes performance is slacking and i believe its due to age. I totally agree about Bush having horrible vision, but i think time will help that, remember he’s a plodder, is what i tell myself but im getting more and more fustrated with our O each game. O line, palmer, the WR’s, TE, the whole lotta them. Started good when CP3 came in, but due to Moore, and Ford not being their, production has slacked…Schillens and DHB are trying but their not giving the spark we need. Hopefully a little more practice will build chemistry and who knows what will happen.

by Raider_Renagade on Dec 7, 2011 7:02 PM PST reply actions

Hopefully that's where Bruce Campbell comes in

I really hope we can develop this guy to be a starting RT for us. I have been impressed with Barnes up until a few games ago but overall he’s played above expectations. Carlisle has always been looked at as “good enough” but he’s clearly aging and we should probably look to replace him this offseason.

Moore, DMC, and Ford are our home run hitters and without them, I don’t see us giving GB much resistance this Sunday unfortunately. The only way we stand a small chance in this game is if Jackson can out coach McCarthy which is almost laughable.

You know what would make a good story? Something about a clown who makes people happy, but inside he's real sad. Also, he has severe diarrhea.

by Buster Bluth on Dec 8, 2011 4:31 AM PST up reply actions