Jiggyfly
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Trench Fanfare: The 10 Best Offensive Linemen of the Past Year
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/10-best-offensive-linemen-2014-marshal-yanda-jason-peters-joe-staley/
10. Joel Bitonio (LG, Browns)
9. Zack Martin (RG, Cowboys)
Two of the real success stories from the 2014 draft, both college tackles who shifted to guard in the pros, started from day one and never looked like rookies. Bitonio had the advantage of playing between two of the best players in the league at their positions (Joe Thomas and Alex Mack) — and Martin isn’t exactly surrounded by slouches, either — but that only played a small part in just how good each was in his first season.
Martin was a better pass-protector than run-blocker, but considering the positional transition, that’s expected. It’s a different animal, having to create leverage that quickly off the ball. Bitonio, on the other hand, managed to figure it out early. With his active feet, Bitonio was a perfect fit in a Kyle Shanahan offense that hums best with quick, mobile guards.
The success of these two is sure to encourage more teams to look at college tackles with imperfect traits and imagine how to use them on the inside at the next level. The scariest part of all this is that at 23 (Bitonio) and 24 (Martin), they both have room to get a lot better.
7. Tyron Smith (LT, Cowboys)
All we really need to know about Smith is that the Cowboys signed him to one of those decade-long hockey contracts, and no one even blinked. OK, fine, it’s an eight-year deal, but that’s still insane. At this rate, we’ll go through two more election cycles by the time Smith is done in Dallas.
Any conversation about him starts with age. Drafted in 2011, Smith is still just 24. I don’t even know how that’s possible. He’s almost a month younger than Zack Martin, who was drafted three years later. By 2023, Smith will only be 32, and what makes his crazy-long contract seem reasonable is that his play might not fall off much between now and then.
SmithSitdown
Even at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, Smith is plenty athletic, but what sticks out when you watch him is just how easily the position comes to him. Rarely does he expend unnecessary energy, thanks to those ridiculously long arms. They’re 36 3/8 inches, by the way, which means 6-5 turns into 6-9 real quick.
When Smith faces off against a guy like Trent Murphy for an entire afternoon, you won’t see much chasing. As Murphy starts to bend his approach toward Tony Romo, all Smith needs is one small shove with that left tree branch, and a defensive end is a yard farther upfield than he should be. There isn’t much waste in his game, and while he may not have as many punishing “wow” plays as others do, he’s set up to be good for a long, long time.
6. Travis Frederick (C, Cowboys)
Admit it: You laughed when the Cowboys took Frederick in the first round in 2013. It’s fine. I did, too. Well, now Dallas is laughing all the way to the bank. Two years in, for my money, Frederick is the best run-blocking center in football. The Cowboys running game starts with him. Sure, it literally has to, but schematically, what Frederick is able to do frees up the rest of the line in a way most centers can’t.
FrederickReach
This sort of play pops up all the time. A lot of teams would use the play-side guard in this scenario to at least chip the nose tackle, just to give the center a little help in turning him. Frederick needs no such help. He’s so quick and so strong that he regularly handles defenders in the play-side gap, allowing his guard to bolt toward a linebacker. It’s an unbelievable advantage for the Dallas offense. The aggressiveness that makes Frederick such an impact player in the run game can occasionally make him a liability in pass protection, but from a center, that’s a trade I’m willing to make
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/10-best-offensive-linemen-2014-marshal-yanda-jason-peters-joe-staley/
10. Joel Bitonio (LG, Browns)
9. Zack Martin (RG, Cowboys)
Two of the real success stories from the 2014 draft, both college tackles who shifted to guard in the pros, started from day one and never looked like rookies. Bitonio had the advantage of playing between two of the best players in the league at their positions (Joe Thomas and Alex Mack) — and Martin isn’t exactly surrounded by slouches, either — but that only played a small part in just how good each was in his first season.
Martin was a better pass-protector than run-blocker, but considering the positional transition, that’s expected. It’s a different animal, having to create leverage that quickly off the ball. Bitonio, on the other hand, managed to figure it out early. With his active feet, Bitonio was a perfect fit in a Kyle Shanahan offense that hums best with quick, mobile guards.
The success of these two is sure to encourage more teams to look at college tackles with imperfect traits and imagine how to use them on the inside at the next level. The scariest part of all this is that at 23 (Bitonio) and 24 (Martin), they both have room to get a lot better.
7. Tyron Smith (LT, Cowboys)
All we really need to know about Smith is that the Cowboys signed him to one of those decade-long hockey contracts, and no one even blinked. OK, fine, it’s an eight-year deal, but that’s still insane. At this rate, we’ll go through two more election cycles by the time Smith is done in Dallas.
Any conversation about him starts with age. Drafted in 2011, Smith is still just 24. I don’t even know how that’s possible. He’s almost a month younger than Zack Martin, who was drafted three years later. By 2023, Smith will only be 32, and what makes his crazy-long contract seem reasonable is that his play might not fall off much between now and then.
SmithSitdown
Even at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, Smith is plenty athletic, but what sticks out when you watch him is just how easily the position comes to him. Rarely does he expend unnecessary energy, thanks to those ridiculously long arms. They’re 36 3/8 inches, by the way, which means 6-5 turns into 6-9 real quick.
When Smith faces off against a guy like Trent Murphy for an entire afternoon, you won’t see much chasing. As Murphy starts to bend his approach toward Tony Romo, all Smith needs is one small shove with that left tree branch, and a defensive end is a yard farther upfield than he should be. There isn’t much waste in his game, and while he may not have as many punishing “wow” plays as others do, he’s set up to be good for a long, long time.
6. Travis Frederick (C, Cowboys)
Admit it: You laughed when the Cowboys took Frederick in the first round in 2013. It’s fine. I did, too. Well, now Dallas is laughing all the way to the bank. Two years in, for my money, Frederick is the best run-blocking center in football. The Cowboys running game starts with him. Sure, it literally has to, but schematically, what Frederick is able to do frees up the rest of the line in a way most centers can’t.
FrederickReach
This sort of play pops up all the time. A lot of teams would use the play-side guard in this scenario to at least chip the nose tackle, just to give the center a little help in turning him. Frederick needs no such help. He’s so quick and so strong that he regularly handles defenders in the play-side gap, allowing his guard to bolt toward a linebacker. It’s an unbelievable advantage for the Dallas offense. The aggressiveness that makes Frederick such an impact player in the run game can occasionally make him a liability in pass protection, but from a center, that’s a trade I’m willing to make
