One of the best indicators of offensive line performance can be the ratio of sacks to attempts. This is not the definitive evaluation metric for the position but it does give insight into how your offensive line performed. I believe this stat also depends on the QB position. A veteran QB is going to produce a lower sack to attempt ratio than will a rookie. This is not necessarily a reflection on the offensive line so I've chosen to title this article Offensive Line/QB Combo to better reflect what I believe the statistic shows. Most GM's will also know that your playbook will also influence this statistic, but there's no simple way to reflect this so I've chosen not to address it in this article. OK here are the numbers from 2006
#1-Falcons 19/526- 3.61%- The Falcons passing attack was prolific last season so them being #1 makes sense. Trent Green was no doubt a huge factor here. It will be interesting to see what this stat looks like post-Green.
#2- Raiders 15/410- 3.65%- The Raiders have a veteran offensive line with a veteran QB in Chad Pennington. They allowed the fewest sacks in the league at 15 but also threw it 116 times less than the Falcons.
#3- Vikings 19/509- 3.75%- Like both the Falcons and the Raiders, the Vikings have a high AWR veteran QB in Daunte Culpepper. However, their line is relatively young but has high STR.
#4- Panthers 20/506- 3.95%- Another team with a high AWR QB in Mark Brunell. It's clearly a trend. The Panthers were a little higher than I thought because I didn't necessarily see their offensive line as elite. But the combo of QB/Offensive line certainly was.
#5- Jets 20/471- 4.25%- It's pretty much a broken record at this point. Jake Plummer is another higher AWR veteran QB so it's not a surprise the Jets are here. They also have a younger offensive line with perhaps the best STR in the league.
#6- Bills 21/485- 4.33%- The Bills had a breakthrough season in 2006 and this stat is more proof of this. They, of course, have Steve McNair and he's a huge part of their success but their offensive line is a good example of how you can build a good one for fairly cheap. They signed two starters in free agency, drafted two (only one in round 1), and traded for the other.
#7 (Tie)- Cardinals 25/519- 4.43%- The Cardinals QB position was a tag team between Carson Palmer and Kerry Collins. Both high AWR QB's. The Cardinals also have one of the most athletic offensive lines in the league.
#7 (Tie)- Bengals 20/451- 4.43%- Jon Kitna is quietly one of the most successful QB's the SFL has ever seen. He gets the ball out quickly. The left side of the line is very athletic, but the right side is more average athletically. Still this team is consistently among the top teams in this category.
#9- Cowboys 30/652- 4.6%- The Cowboys also had a QB combo with QB's that are higher AWR in Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner. However, the Cowboys offensive line is among the elite athletically as well. It shouldn't be a surprise Dallas is here. It might be a surprise that they had the second-most attempts in the league.
#10- Rams 23/495- 4.65%- The Rams have a high AWR QB in Drew Brees and an offensive line with great blocking skills. In fact, if you looked at just the Rams offensive line, I think you could conclude that Pass Blocking is the only attribute that matters for preventing sacks.
#11- Browns 23/485- 4.74%- The Browns GM will probably be happy to see his team up this high in this category. His focus last offseason was improving the offensive line and it looks like he has. It helps to have Drew Bledsoe as well.
#12- Lions 27/522- 5.17%- The Lions have an underrated offensive line and a good AWR QB in Michael Vick.
#13- Eagles 22/412- 5.34%- Eli Manning shows his worth here with the Eagles with a veteran offensive line that is average athletically.
#14 (Tie)- Patriots 28/488- 5.74%- Tom Brady does everything well. Even in a down season the Patriots are in the top half of this category.
#14- (Tie)- Seahawks 23/401- 5.74%- Matt Hasselbeck and the resurgent Seahawks are in the top half of this category. They appear to be a run-first team but kept the sack totals low in 2006.
#15- Jaguars 30/478- 6.28%- The Jags have a good offensive line and with McNabb they have a high AWR QB, but they were only able to finish middle of the pack this season.
#17- Colts 43/661- 6.5%- Peyton Manning attempted the most passes again in 2006. This is the norm for the Colts. The 43 sacks in that context don't look nearly as bad once you consider 661 attempts.
#18- 49ers 32/448- 6.56%- This is actually pretty good for a team with a young QB in Kyle Orton. Although, it should be pointed out that Orton is progressing quickly.
#19- Dolphins 33/499- 6.61%- The Dolphins have a higher AWR QB and a decent offensive line though I think they want to address the RT position this offseason.
#20- Packers 34/480- 7.08%- The Packers have a veteran presence in Jake Delhomme so this number makes sense.
#21- Chiefs 35/430- 8.14%- Bryon Leftwich is a young and progressing QB. But I think this is one team that could probably substantially improve their offensive line.
#22- Ravens 39/473- 8.23%- Considering how low Charlie Frye's AWR is, this is a pretty good number for the Ravens.
#23- Titans 39/471- 8.28%- Considering the talent of Philip Rivers at QB, these numbers are quite disappointing. Whether it is a game plan issue or offensive line talent issue. The Titans can and should be better.
#24- Texans 48/561- 8.56%- David Carr is still developing so this number makes sense. The Texans have also addressed the offensive line this offseason with Walter Jones.
#25- Bucs 54/554- 9.75%- Matt Leinhart is the rawest QB in the league. This type of ratio was pretty much inevitable.
#26- Chargers 37/370- 10.0%- I believe the Chargers had the fewest attempts in the league, but that still couldn't help Charlie Whitehurst avoid getting sacked 10% of the time.
#27- Bears 47/447- 10.5%- Sure Alex Smith is a little lower on AWR but the Bears won't be happy with ratio.
#28- Redskins 49/476- 10.3%- The Super Bowl champions with Rex Grossman are near the bottom of this category. For me this is shocking.
#29- Saints 48/441- 10.9%- The Saints are intent on developing David Greene and so this will always be a challenge for them, even with some talented offensive linemen.
#30- Steelers 42/376- 11.2%- Vince Young anyone? Seriously, the Steelers will be better in 2007. Their GM is going to upgrade their talent level everywhere and I don't think Vince Young is the starting QB in 2007 either.
#31- Broncos 52/430- 12.1%- Jim Sorgi was not successful in Denver. They have brought in Ben Roethlisberger who should be better. But Sorgi definitely has potential.
#32- Giants 49/395- 12.4%- I don't know how the Giants ended up here because they are a pretty good team. Schaub needs to get his AWR up to help improve though.
|
