Pass blocking vs. Toronto

[johnzo]

Today I rewatched the Bombers / Argos game and took some notes on the pass protection, to see what was going on when Max Hall was getting belted. Didn't see anything that'll surprise anyone here, but here's how I counted it:

* Hall dropped back 50 times and was hit 11 times.  6 of those hits came in the fourth quarter when Jones started rushing 6 and 7 regularly.  Prior to the fourth quarter, the Bombers had kept Hall reasonably clean.

* The really awful stat is this: only two hits came on plays where the Argos brought more rushers than the Bombers had in protection. 

* The other hits came on
6-on-6 (3x)
6-on-7 (2x)
5-on-5 (1x)
4-on-7 (1x) (!) (Lange beat Greaves)
4-on-6 (1x) (!) (Mitchell beat Sorensen)
3-on-6 (1x) (!) (Mitchell beat Morley)

So, nothing different here than anyone was already saying, our protection really doesn't appear to be particularly good.

* Wil Ford was held in to block 36/50 times and the Bombers also brought in a TE or a SB to block 7/50 times. The extra blocker didn't help much.  Of those seven plays, three were hits and two were hurries.

* Hall was better than 50% passing (6-11-1) on plays where he was knocked down.  Solid work there.
 

[BigBlue]

When Morley's coming back from injury is seen as strengthening the o-line you know we have a problem

 

Walters is high on Neufeld

 

Parentau might help

 

Swiston & Pencer need coaching help as does the whole o-line .... we have no such coach

 

Unless we get a real QB for our 1st round pick, we had better use it on the best lineman out there

 

AND we need to break the bank in FA this February for both QB & o-line

 

Standing pat with what we have won't work & neither will making excuses about it either

 

Wade Miller must have the freedom to spend abundantly on coaches and players

 

We will see if Miller is filled with wisdom or foolishness

[Mark H.]

On the plays where we had more protection than blockers...was it failure to recognize and react to stunts or was the OL just physically getting beat?

[johnzo]

Sometimes our protection was getting physically beat, sometimes the rushers stunted free inside (Mitchell did this a couple times) and sometimes extra passrush came from well outside the tackles and there was no Bomber blocker on that side to counter.

 

At work now so I can't watch to provide more details, alas.

[Mark H.]

Good stuff. I've noticed similar things but never took the time to analyze it like that.

[Mr Dee]

Sometimes our protection was getting physically beat, sometimes the rushers stunted free inside (Mitchell did this a couple times) and sometimes extra passrush came from well outside the tackles and there was no Bomber blocker on that side to counter.

 

At work now so I can't watch to provide more details, alas.

 

Further to that point, It's noteworthy to point out that Hall was aware of those situations and did not get suffer any sacks.

He did suffer though, by getting hit several times after releasing the ball.

Only once last week, against Montreal, did he not recognize the extra man and he got rocked.

Blocking was marginally better IMO, in handling what Toronto was doing and trying to stop a human caterpillar machine that is K. Mitchell.

It's impossible to say for sure, but I believe Goltz would have been sacked and Pierce might have been on a stretcher in those same situations. (and Boltus still wouldn't have gotten 18 inches forward)

[johnzo]

Here's the play-by-play I put together: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiLFGLZnbIP9dHhRT29DV3ZkbnJQZC1xVnVlUEJfaHc&usp=drive_web#gid=0

 

Here's how I bucket the hits on Hall:

 

2x Argos pass rush outnumbered Bombers protection, a blitzer came untouched and Hall ate it.

3x Bomber protection outnumbered Argo pass rush, but a Bomber was beaten one-on-one.

2x Bomber protection and Argos pass rush were even, but a Bomber was beaten one-on-one.

2x Ford was in pass protection, guarding one side, but the Argos blitzed on the other side.

1x January got distracted by #6 Argos, who was not blitzing, and let #92 come unblocked to obliterate Hall.  This one looked awful, it was at 2:53 of the 4Q.

1x Jones helped inside and let two rushers go by him, leaving Ford in a two-on-one.

 

Yeah, I noticed that Hall didn't take any sacks at all.  He doesn't like to eat the ball, looks like.

 

If I could stand to watch this game again I'd take a closer look at Hall because my impression is he didn't move much laterally during the game, he just stood directly behind center and completed pass after pass while the Argos teed off on his ribs and jaw.

[Mark H.]

 

 

If I could stand to watch this game again I'd take a closer look at Hall because my impression is he didn't move much laterally during the game, he just stood directly behind center and completed pass after pass while the Argos teed off on his ribs and jaw.

 

Not there are too many other comparisons between the two...but that's the style Dinwiddie always played. Stand like a statue and take the hits.

[gbill2004]

Great analysis.

I did think Hall was more mobile than what we've seen so far. He did run twice I believe last game, once resulting in a fumble. Hall's scouting report says he can throw well while scrambling do maybe we will see more of that as he gets more comfortable with the offense and the CFL game. Hall improves every game so you can't ask for more than that.