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View Full Version : Ranking the remaining playoff teams' offensive lines, from best to worst



Denver Native (Carol)
01-06-2015, 08:31 PM
http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/01/05/nfl-playoffs-best-offensive-lines-cowboys-ravens-broncos

MOtorboat
01-07-2015, 12:58 AM
Interesting.

Simple Jaded
01-07-2015, 01:49 AM
The Broncos OL has struggled vs good defenses and they've played well vs good defenses, why do we insist that the struggles be the games that absolutely define this OL?

DenBronx
01-07-2015, 03:07 AM
Its "remaining" playoff teams. Were more like a top 15 OL...at best.

MOtorboat
01-07-2015, 03:15 AM
Its "remaining" playoff teams. Were more like a top 15 OL...at best.

So three of the Top 15 offensive lines aren't still playing for a Super Bowl?

Northman
01-07-2015, 10:18 AM
Coming into the playoffs the Broncos were ranked #1 as far as Oline's are concerned.

BigDaddyBronco
01-07-2015, 10:50 AM
I would say the OLine is pretty good, but in the games we have lost (in the second half of the season) they have played a large part in the loss. Abysmal against both Cincinnati and St. Louis, they made those two defenses look awesome. The pass rush made Peyton throw into bad places and with good secondaries, they got picks. I think Manning had 2 INT's in each of those games. Look back in the Super Bowl last year. Same thing. Good edge rush forced turnovers and mediocre play from Manning.

I don't see it from Indy, if we lose to them it will be because they couldn't stop Luck and they were able to keep us under 30. Baltimore could stop our offense with interior pressure and edge rush from Doom and Suggs. Good thing is that their secondary isn't good and you can run against them at times. Mix in a decent but not dominate offense and us being at home and I think we beat them.

New England always mystifies me. We should beat them on paper, but we get out coached and out played and are usually flat when we play in Foxboro. I don't feel good about that game.

If we make it to the Big One it will be Seattle that I fear the most. That defense is still nasty. We could get out scored by Dallas or Green Bay, but I think we wouldn't have much trouble with their defenses.

I'm hoping it's a revenge tour for Peyton. Revenge on the Colts for dumping him for the next big thing, revenge on the Patriots or Baltimore for past painful playoff defeats, and the revenge on Seattle for the disaster last year. Make it happen Peyton! Solidify your legacy!

TXBRONC
01-07-2015, 07:02 PM
Coming into the playoffs the Broncos were ranked #1 as far as Oline's are concerned.

Great now Joel is going to spam this thread as well with his circular logic.

DenBronx
01-07-2015, 07:05 PM
Its "remaining" playoff teams. Were more like a top 15 OL...at best.

So three of the Top 15 offensive lines aren't still playing for a Super Bowl?

Yes. Just compare our OL to the entire NFL and we are not ranked that high.

Joel
01-07-2015, 07:12 PM
Coming into the playoffs the Broncos were ranked #1 as far as Oline's are concerned.
In pass protection, but much of that's Mannings quick reads and throws; the FO stats MO cited showed our line not even top ten in rushing. That's despite Ball breaking a ton of tackles for 2 yd gains to start the year and CJ finishing just shy of 900 rushing yards despite not starting till after midseason. It's also not our ranking "per lineman:" Remember, our line blocks so well we've frequently used 2 TEs/3 OTs ALL YEAR—and our line STILL wound up with only the 12 most Adjusted Line Yds; imagine how it looks with just 5 guys, like GOOD offensive lines use.

More importantly, as I, Slick and others have noted, a line so "good" we can't run without 6 linemen and a blocking TE leaves just 2 WRs (because we're not running out of an empty backfield; NO ONE wants to see a QB draw from Manning.) That's about as deceptive as our SB playcalling (i.e. not very,) and even if we DO pass, we've only got 3 receivers (counting the back) so defenses can double cover EVERYONE, and still leave a safety deep.

On the other hand, if that's the only way we can run defenses can be pretty confident of a pass any time we're NOT using 6 linemen—and even if they're wrong it'll only cost them a yard or two, so they should sell out on the pass ANYWAY. I guarantee every DC in the league's more worried about PFM, DT, Sanders, Welker and Orange Julius than CJ or anyone else running for 1-2 yds/att. Our coaches and past and former players weren't publicly calling out our line all season because they played so well, and stringing together two whole games of good play before reverting to crap silenced no critics.


So three of the Top 15 offensive lines aren't still playing for a Super Bowl?
Good lines are necessary for championsips, but not SUFFICIENT. All the folks convinced a HoF QB's the sole difference between 0-16 and 16-0 ought to understand that logic.

Joel
01-07-2015, 07:21 PM
Great now Joel is going to spam this thread as well with his circular logic.
Let's not talk logic when half a dozen Kool-Aid drinkers insist a team that's had a bunch of All Pros, a former DRoY and (at least) two first ballot HoFers for THREE SEASONS is still struggling to win ONE SB, but has no fatal fundamental flaws. If our Achilles Heel isn't the line, what is it, because we're SOLID EVERYWHERE ELSE. Irving and Johnson are good, if not great Mikes, and CJ and Thompson have stepped into the role of feature back that Moreno played so well last year, and those are the closest things we have to a "weakness" apart from the line. So if THAT's not a weakness:

Where are our Lombardis? Oh, right: Baltimore and Seattle.

MOtorboat
01-07-2015, 07:24 PM
Joel mad.

Ravage!!!
01-07-2015, 07:40 PM
OMG.. we haven't won a Super Bowl since our LAST two super bowl wins... we must have a franchise flaw!!!!!!!!! RUN.. RUN... its all over for us! If ONLY there were other franchises in the NFL that have had winning traditions that haven't won a Super Bowl in a while!! WHy are we the ONLY ONE!?!?!?

Denver Native (Carol)
01-07-2015, 09:31 PM
Unless these NFL stats are wrong, or I am not understanding this, the Broncos offensive line ranked FIRST for the 2014 regular season

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&role=TM&offensiveStatisticCategory=OFFENSIVE_LINE&defensiveStatisticCategory=null&season=2014&seasonType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=false&Submit=Go

BroncoWave
01-07-2015, 09:33 PM
Well then I have to ask, if our o-line really is so good, then why can we not run the ball without being in a heavy set, and why has Manning struggled in so many games this year?

MOtorboat
01-07-2015, 09:43 PM
How much did Manning actually struggle, though. He posted the second-best yard total in his career, which was fourth-best in the league. He was second with 39 touchdowns and had a rating over 100. He was the least-sacked every game starter.

The team finished middle of the pack in the run game, which we all expected and isn't really a bad thing.

How much did we micro-analyze?

BroncoWave
01-07-2015, 09:49 PM
How much did Manning actually struggle, though. He posted the second-best yard total in his career, which was fourth-best in the league. He was second with 39 touchdowns and had a rating over 100. He was the least-sacked every game starter.

The team finished middle of the pack in the run game, which we all expected and isn't really a bad thing.

How much did we micro-analyze?

I know all of the stats, but it just seems like from watching the games that we were really inconsistent offensively. To me, the o-line is just not very good. The scheming and Manning's quick release have helped to mask that, but they really just haven't been all that impressive to me.

I expect us to look great at home this week because we have all year, but the offense has really not traveled well at all this year, which is why I think we will fall in New England if that's the matchup. Our home/away splits offensively this season (especially for Manning) are pretty staggering.

MOtorboat
01-07-2015, 10:44 PM
You're right, it felt inconsistent. But the overall product doesn't. Denver was second in scoring in the NFL by four total points.

How much of Denver's struggles was really micro-analyzing specific moments? Because as a whole, the product is one of the best in the game.

BroncoWave
01-07-2015, 11:13 PM
You're right, it felt inconsistent. But the overall product doesn't. Denver was second in scoring in the NFL by four total points.

How much of Denver's struggles was really micro-analyzing specific moments? Because as a whole, the product is one of the best in the game.

Not debating it's one of the best in the game. We are for sure a top 5 team. Alot of that inconsistency came on the road, however, and I think that will eventually bite us. I'd feel better about things if we were the 1 seed, but that's unfortunately not the case. Now if Manning can go to New England next week and put up a huge game and get us to Arizona, I will happily eat all the crow. I'd love to be wrong here.

Simple Jaded
01-08-2015, 01:31 AM
The Broncos OL hasn't been the sum of their parts, I think it's due to lack of chemistry and the conditions they played in, unfortunately the discussion is constantly reduced to "every player sucks, I told you so" spin.

TXBRONC
01-08-2015, 01:09 PM
Denver played one of the toughest schedules in the League. It shouldn't be a surprise that the games were more difficult.

Slick
01-09-2015, 10:33 AM
You're right, it felt inconsistent. But the overall product doesn't. Denver was second in scoring in the NFL by four total points.

How much of Denver's struggles was really micro-analyzing specific moments? Because as a whole, the product is one of the best in the game.

I tend to micro-analyze because for as good as Denver has been, there's a sinking feeling deep down that this team isn't going to get it done.