Comparing the ATL and SF Offensive Lines.

by MontanaPass on Oct 9, 2009 2:04 PM PDT

The Falcons are coming to town and it appears that the performance of the offensive lines for both teams will be key factors. Atlanta is depending on their high-octane offense to overcome the 49ers' smothering defense to win the game. The 9ers will be depending on their offense to put up enough points to win the game while the defense stops Atlanta's offense. The Falcons are depending on their anemic defense to match up well with the 9er's anemic offense. So it may boil down to which OL performs the best on Sunday, and if that's the case it would be interesting to compare their OL to ours.

I went to the ProFootballFocus website to get the subjective grading results on players of both teams. They grade every player on every play, with about 63% of grades being either +0.5 or -0.5 and the highest and lowest grades on each play being +2.0 and -2.0, respectively. One can argue whether or not subjective grading is all that useful, but it is how every NFL team evaluates their players. As a general guide, positive numbers are good and negative numbers are bad, and the higher the magnitude the better, or worse, the player is. These numbers include all four 9ers games but only three Falcons games.

The following table displays the following PFF information on each player:

1. Rank At Position = that player's ranking compared to other NFL players at that position.

2. His position and name

3. The player's PFF overall score, his pass blocking score, and his run blocking score

FALCONS
64. LT Sam Baker (-4.6, 1.3, -4.9)
73. LG Justin Blalock (-4.8, -0.7, -1.1)
4. C Todd McClure (5.7, 1.4, 4.3)
61. RG Harvey Dahl (-1.8, -1.7, 0.4)
35. RT Tyson Clabo (-0.6, 2.3, -1.9)

49ERS
64. LT Joe Staley (-4.6, 0.3, -4.9)
80. LG David Bass (-6.9, -0.6, -6.8)
23. C Eric Heitmann (1.6, 0.5, -1.7)
74. RG Chilo Rachal (-4.9, -1.1, -3.8)
75. RT RT Adam Snyder (-7.8, -4.9, -2.9)

Interestingly, LTs Joe Staley and Sam Baker are tied at #64 in rank with overall grades of -4.8 and -4.6, respectively. Neither of them is very good at run blocking while Baker holds a small edge in pass blocking. At RT, Atlanta's Tyson Clabo far outranks Adam Snyder, with Snyder's very bad run blocking grade comparing badly to Clabo's.

At OG, Atlanta's LG Justin Blalock and RG Harvey Dahl outclass both Baas and Rachal, but still aren't highly ranked compared to other NFL guards. Neither has a positive grade in run blocking and only Dahl has a marginally positive grade in pass blocking.

At Center, Atlanta's Todd McClure is Atlanta's best O-lineman and is ranked #4 in the NFL compared to all other NFL Centers. NT A. Franklin will have his work cut out for him. Eric Heitmann is the 9er's best O-lineman but still ranks only 23rd and has a negative grade in pass blocking.

Conclusions: Neither of these offensive lines is all that good, which is a little surprising given Atlanta's dependence on their offense. I don't think Atlanta can dominate the 49er's defensive front seven given their relative performances so far. On the other hand, the 49er's OL is pretty sad and will have to improve if the team expects the offense to improve.

Note: After the BYE week I intend to do a complete PFF workup on the 9er's players and units to compare with FloridaDanny's presentation of the FO statistics. A confirmation of FO's objective analysis with PFF's subjective grades should improve our confidence level in whatever conclusions are reached and give us something to argue about over a long two weeks. The PFF grades usually aren't completed until well into the week (it's Friday and only four games are done), so I won't complete this until the leadup to the Texans game.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

Tweet Comment 14 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Wow.

This is a very interesting website. Check out our defensive player rankings:

OLB – #2 – Parys Haralson
ILB – #1 – Takeo Spikes, #2 – Patrick Willis
CB – #5 – Nate Clements, #9 – Shawntae Spencer, #12 – Dre Bly
DE – #1 – Justin Smith, #13 – Isaac Sopoaga, #19 – Ray McDonald
NT – #3 – Aubrayo Franklin

by mr. instigator on Oct 9, 2009 2:21 PM PDT reply actions

Funny thing is...

… Mark Roman is the 49ers highest rated safety.

by sfgfan on Oct 9, 2009 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions

I didn't trust those stats last year

Didn’t Frog spend the entire summer posting how Clements was ranked 29th? I should look into this website’s evaluations but Nate Clements was clearly better.

Another factor is the offenses ability to pitch around the defense. Mark Roman might be the pitcher claiming to have never given up a HR to Barry Bonds but if you look at the stats it’s because he walked him every time. I’m guessing a hidden factor is who offenses decide to attack and whether they can find that match up which gives them the advantage.

by bignerd on Oct 9, 2009 3:09 PM PDT up reply actions

Subjective grading implies bias.

Sites like FO go to great lengths to remove subjective biases and provide an objective analysis, which is very difficult. Subjective grades like the ones coaches give their players inevitably reflect the biases of the grader. In this case, it’s the biases of the two or three people who do the grading at PFF which will show up. Maybe one of them thinks Nate should have covered a receiver differently than how the 9ers coach does. Happens all the time. But I haven’t been able to discover any obvious biases based on my own knowledge – if Jared Allen was listed as a middle or bottom ranked DE, I’d be concerned, but I haven’t seen anything like that. Take a look and satisfy yourself, though, because I don’t know the people who run the site any better than you do. It does have the advantage of being free, however.

by MontanaPass on Oct 9, 2009 3:32 PM PDT up reply actions

I just checked Jared Allen and he IS ranked #41.

So that may indicate cause for concern or that my own impression of Allen’s performance is off. But he did only have one QB sack through three games, so maybe that’s correct.

by MontanaPass on Oct 9, 2009 4:47 PM PDT up reply actions

if it’s +/- 2, how is it that 4 out of the 5 Niners OLmen grade out at lower than -2….

Can just anyone vote?

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.

by zenbitz on Oct 9, 2009 3:48 PM PDT reply actions

+-2 is the max/min grade on each play, not in total.

The numbers given are the cumulative grades, in this case four games for the 9ers and three games for the Falcons. A player can accumulate multiple +-2 grades over the course of a game, and many more over a 16 game season. For example, ILBs Willis and Spikes have cumulative grades of 7.8 and 8.0, respectively. Which is outstanding and makes them rank #1 and #2 of all ILBs in the NFL.

For a better explanation of their grading system, click the “About” tab, then the “Grading” tab at the website.

by MontanaPass on Oct 9, 2009 3:59 PM PDT reply actions

hmmm...

I think you did a great job finding the stats and making the comparisons. However, I think those numbers are quite useless in determining who’s going to win, especially when you consider what we were able to do against Seattle and Minnesota. Both teams were expected to bring the pressure up front all game long (which in turn was supposed to have a great effect on the 49ers ability to put up points), and yet when you look at the actual outcome of the two games while disregarding the stats that you pulled up, you would have come away thinking that the 49ers O-line won the battle in the trenches. Take the Minnesota game for example. The 49ers O-line were clearly graded as inferior to the Viking’s D-line, and yet the 49ers were able to put up 24 points: 2 TD’s behind Hill’s arm (which meant the O-line gave Hill enough time to make a decision), 1 TD behind the special teams/defensive unit, and 1 field goal.

My point? It’s going to take a team effort from all phases of the game in order for either team to win. Sure the 49ers loss against the Vikings, but it was because of a miraculous play by Favre. So the question now becomes, who is the better OVERALL team? Atl or SF? Clearly, I think it’s the 49ers. (And I’m not being biased here. I’m just being honest.) The defense is great, and I think teams really, REALLY underestimate the 49ers ability to put up points. The 49ers have scored 20, 23, 24, and 35 points in the 4 games that they’ve played. If 20+ points isn’t enough to win you ball games, I don’t know what is.

My pick? 49ers win! And I wouldn’t be surprised if they did so in a convincing fashion. I’m more sold on the 49ers defense being great than I am on Matt Ryan being great. Just look at his numbers. The guy has a great running back in Michael Turner, a great TE in Gonzalez, and a borderline great receiver in White who’s able to stretch the defense, and yet his numbers are comparable to Hill’s. We’re not talking about Peyton Manning here.

Have a great weekend, folks.

- W4JM

by Waiting4JoshMorgan on Oct 9, 2009 4:10 PM PDT reply actions

ust look at his numbers. The guy has a great running back in Michael Turner, a great TE in Gonzalez, and a borderline great receiver in White who’s able to stretch the defense, and yet his numbers are comparable to Hill’s. We’re not talking about Peyton Manning here.

I’d strongly disagree that White is a “great” WR. He’s definitely at least an average possession WR and maybe a tick or two higher, but not much.

As the OP tried to point out, the Falcons offensive line really isn’t great. Outside of the center, the offensive line is pretty much around average or below. You can have a good RB and a decent set of receiving targets, but a weak offensive line will definitely make your offense weaker.

I’m not saying that the Falcons are going to win or that Ryan is great. I’m just saying he may not be as weak as you’re making him out to be. Besides, I doubt anyone is making him out to be Peyton Manning, as you’re suggesting.

by sfgfan on Oct 9, 2009 4:15 PM PDT up reply actions

:)

I guess I mentioned Peyton Manning only because of what I hear on the NFL network, which by the way is a program that I tune in to quite often. Those guys really hype him up to be something great, and they always seem to refer back to what he was able to do last season in leading the Falcons to the playoffs.

But no, I wasn’t trying to say that Ryan is ‘weak’. I was just saying that the guy isn’t great, that’s all, and I made that argument only because it’s in my opinion that if you’re going to beat the 49ers (especially given how the defense has played this season), you’re going to need a great performance out of your quarterback, and I just don’t think Ryan has what it takes. Fans can expect that out of peyton manning, with whom the 49ers will be facing shortly after this week, but I don’t think they can expect that out of Ryan. I’ve been reading around various forums recently, and a lot of fans keep saying Ryan will put up big numbers against the 49ers. I just don’t see it.

by Waiting4JoshMorgan on Oct 9, 2009 4:44 PM PDT up reply actions

I’ve been reading around various forums recently, and a lot of fans keep saying Ryan will put up big numbers against the 49ers. I just don’t see it.

I don’t see that either. Ryan would need some serious help from his offensive line in order for that to happen.

However, if Ryan is going to prove he’s an elite QB at some point, he’ll have to step up and have good performances against good defenses. It may not happen this Sunday, but it’ll happen some point if that’s where he’s going.

by sfgfan on Oct 9, 2009 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions