Chicago Bears Pass Blocking: How Does It Rate?
by Mike Mueller on Jun 16, 2010 10:00 AM CDT
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PrintLast week, we looked at pass rushing. LINK This week we'll take a look at the Bears' pass blocking. How does it rate? Short answer: not good. However, with Chris Williams entrenched at Left Tackle instead of someone else, this season's pass blocking should be better.
ProFootballFocus writer Khaled Elsayed published a very informative article about pass blocking productivity. Part 1 (tackles), Part 2 (centers & guards).
They broke down every single pass blocking opportunity for each player and credited 1 point for a sack and 0.75 points for a QB hit or QB pressure allowed by who they were blocking to get Pass Block Points. Then divide by the number of pass blocking opportunities (minimum 150 opportunities, 200 players ranked) and multiply by 100, and voila: Pass Block Productivity.
PassBlockingProdSpreadsheet <= Click here to download excel file.
Bears Offensive Lineman Pass Blocking Productivity & Rankings:
- Olin Kreutz: 1.371 PBP; 5th ranked Overall (out of 200 ranked linemen), 3rd among Centers.
- Roberto Garza: 2.155 PBP; 42nd Overall, 15th among all Guards, 9th ranked Right Guard.
- Frank Omiyale: 3.595 PBP; 100th Overall, 54th among Guards, 23rd ranked Left Guard.
- Kevin Shaffer: 4.390 PBP; 124th Overall, 21st among Tackles, 12th ranked Right Tackle.
- Josh Beekman: 4.412 PBP; 126th Overall, 70th among Guards, 30th ranked Left Guard.
- Chris Williams: 6.740 PBP; 183rd Overall, 63rd among Tackles, 33rd ranked Right Tackle.
- Orlando Pace: 7.626 PBP; 192nd Overall out of 200, 71st among Tackles, 33rd ranked Left Tackle.
This truly illustrates what an utter disaster Orlando Pace was at Left Tackle. Chris Williams 2nd half was much better than his first half. His last 5 games at Left Tackle were very good (projected over an entire season those numbers would rank him 8th in the NFL among all Left Tackles).
Chris Williams Snaps / Sacks / Hits / Pressures / Points / PBP
Total 638 7 11 37 43 6.74
1st Half 319 5 10 22 29 9.091
2nd Half 319 2 1 15 14 4.389
Right Tackle 436 5 11 30 35.75 8.200
Left Tackle 202 2 0 7 7.25 3.589
I added up all the stats for the NFC North and the Bears ended up 3rd in the division...not good. Vikings have elite pass rushers in Jared Allen & Kevin Williams. Ray Edwards is no slouch either. Green Bay's pass rushers (Cullen Jenkins & Clay Matthews) are good too, and now even Detroit has brought in 3 new pass rushers in Kyle Vanden Bosch, Corey Wiiliams (a 3-4 DE who will probably rush from the tackle spot), and Donkey Kong Suh.
NFC North Snaps / Sacks / Hits / Pressures / Points / PBP
Vikings 2967 22 28 61 88.75 2.991 (5th in NFL)
Lions 3256 23 40 103 130.25 4.000 (20th)
Bears 3194 16 31 124 132.25 4.141 (23rd)
Packers 3297 36 32 114 145.5 4.413 (26th)
If we do a little math and take out Orlando Pace's numbers and Chris Williams' stint at right tackle, then project CW's left tackle numbers over an entire season; the Bears improve to a PBP of 2.861. That's good for 4th in the NFL. Let's hope Chris Williams continues to do what he did at the end of last season. Simply put, having Chris Williams as the starter at Left Tackle over Orlando Pace is a huge improvement in the ability of the Bears' offensive line to pass protect.
Bottom line: Kreutz, Garza, and Chris Williams at LT are all good pass protectors. Frank Omiyale was mediocre at pass blocking at the Left Guard spot & Kevin Shaffer was OK at right tackle. Frank's move to right tackle doesn't guarantee success, however, tackle is his natural position. Chris Williams at right tackle was disastrous, so I don't think Omiyale could do worse. If Frank stumbles again, having Shaffer at right tackle would not spell doom for the Bears. Looking at these numbers, Beekman's stats at Left Guard are not very good. It looks like Johan Asiata and Lance Louis will battle it out to see who gets the job. What could go wrong?
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Great Analysis!
Way too soon to tell, but the addition of some solid coaching and young players eager to impress, our O-Line will be MUCH improved over last year, without a doubt.
If we can keep the injuries to a minimum, and bring our youngin’s along, Jay and Co. will have ample time to pick apart opposing defenses.
by Suffering from Chicago Sports on Jun 16, 2010 10:13 AM CDT reply actions
Before anyone says that there hasn't been any type of "talent improvement" on the offensive line...
… PLEASE take a look at the 2007 offensive line.
It was aged (John Tait), stiff (Rueben Brown), and just tired (Fred Miller). Even the depth on the offensive line (Terrence Metcalf, John St. Clair, etc) was sub-par at best.
Compared to 2007 or 2008, this team has an substantial amount of upside to it, but what makes me “optimistic” that it will have success is that they NOW have proper coaching and leadership at the control in Tice.
Wasn’t there in previous years.
Semper Fi
The offensive line will be better, if for no other reason than it appears the Bears seem willing to allow the players to play their natural positions this year.
That, improved coaching and the fact that an offensive line gets better once team management quits tinkering and experimenting, allowing the players to grow comfortable in their positions and cohesive as a unit.
by BigGeorgeTX on Jun 16, 2010 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions
bit premature since we do not even know who is playing two of the positions
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jun 16, 2010 10:45 AM CDT reply actions
bit premature for what? Analyzing last years' stats. That's quite appropriate.
Making predictions for next year is what we do on this Bears blog if you haven’t noticed.
by Mike Mueller on Jun 16, 2010 11:28 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Knock yourself out, make all the predictions you want
I got no problem with that. But, for reasons I have already pointed out, you might want to find more useful info, if you can. The utility of the stats you spent so much time collecting, analyzing and posting, is debatable since three of the 5 OLs did not start last season in their 2010 position.
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jun 16, 2010 5:30 PM CDT up reply actions
The stats are very useful and informative
If my posts are too complicated for you, feel free to skip over them in the future.
by Mike Mueller on Jun 16, 2010 9:09 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Trust me, your posts are not too complicated
just wish you would learn to draw more relevant conclusions from them. That is what makes stats “useful and informative”.
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jun 17, 2010 9:04 AM CDT up reply actions
Please enlighten all of us "genius", what unrelevant conclusion did I make?
I stated that Kreutz, Garza, and CW at LT are really good pass blockers. FO is a ?, but at least he’s now playing tackle-his natural position. If Shaffer needs to play, we are not that bad off because his pass blocking #’s are above average.
by Mike Mueller on Jun 17, 2010 10:49 AM CDT up reply actions
didn't you read your own fan post?
using last year’s stats to draw conclusions about how guys like Omiyale and CWilliams will perform this year is premature as they will be playing in new positions.
BTW, “unrelevant”? Really?
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jun 17, 2010 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Chris Williams is not playing a new position,
try and keep up. He played 5 games at left tackle to end the season. In those 5 games he was outstanding at pass blocking. Omiyale’s pass blocking numbers are not terrible, and I don’t make any definitive claim to how he will do at right tackle.
The point you’re missing is that any offensive line is much better with Orlando Pace not on it. That is the definitive conclusion of the post.
This is a blog about the Bears. The writers, all of us, put out stories weekly and sprinkle in a bit of analysis, lots of hyperbole, and many, many, many predictions. If that’s not your cup of tea, then why come here?
by Mike Mueller on Jun 17, 2010 1:33 PM CDT up reply actions
I come for the sarcasm
and stay for all that other stuff.
If you can't laugh at yourself you must not be very funny.
I remain a pessimistically hopeful Bears fan.
Analysis is fine as are predictions
I would say just don’t get upset if someone challenges your conclusions and predictions , but it is too late for that.
Williams played well in his limited time at LT, but it was still only five games, .
Omiyale played zero games at RT last season, so once again it is premature to draw conclusions.
While I agree the OL should be much better this year for a variety of factors (no Pace, Williams and Omiyale at their natural spots for the whole year, Kreutz’s ankle being better, Tice coaching the group, Martz’s offense), last year’s stats are not overly helpful in making predictions about how the OL will perform this season.
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jun 18, 2010 8:03 AM CDT up reply actions
which 2?
LG is up in the air, but the other 4 are set
"When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something." ~ Dick Butkus
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jun 16, 2010 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
I was still calling RT open, but I agree
Omiyale appears to be a lock.
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jun 16, 2010 5:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Can't get any worse than 2009-- Can it?
Semper Fi
by ChicagoMarine on Jun 16, 2010 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions
That's a possibility! haha!?
Semper Fi
by ChicagoMarine on Jun 16, 2010 2:48 PM CDT up reply actions
Will they even run the ball with Martz taking over?
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan [I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad. And don't switch to whichever team wins the Super Bowl each year.
There will be no fb dives at least
Even though there weren’t last year, the isn’t a chance for any this year.
Looking Beyond Stats And Numbers................
I have my own mathematical formula.
Bears Offensive Line minus Pace, plus Tice, equals success.
by Gesiakob on Jun 16, 2010 12:56 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
+1...
but did anyone notice that Tice’s guys in Jacksonville were among the worst ranked linemen in this analysis?
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO FIRE LOVIE!
Tice was the Tight Ends coach in Jax not O-Line Coach.
Andy Heck
Offensive Line Coach
Andy Heck is in his fifth season as the Jaguars offensive line coach and his seventh season with the organization.
by Mike Mueller on Jun 16, 2010 1:25 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
TE Pass Blocking stats just for fun:
Name Snaps / Sacks / Hits / Pressures / Points / PBP
Olsen 57, 2, 3, 4, 7.25, 12.72
Dez 27, 0, 0, 3, 2.25, 8.33
Manu (SD) 136, 1, 2, 6, 7, 5.15
M.Lewis (Jax) 125, 0, 1, 4, 3.75, 3.00
Tice, while coaching the Jax TE’s, did a pretty good job coaching up Marcedes Lewis in pass blocking. Lewis’ run blocking rating from PFF was also good. Tice had a nice stint in Minny as their Offensive Line coach too. He’s the real deal.
by Mike Mueller on Jun 16, 2010 1:55 PM CDT up reply actions
That's very encouraging about Lewis
I remember when he came out of college… Lewis was a pure pass-catching TE (about the same as G.Olsen).
Though Tice isn’t the TE coach, I’m sure he’ll be able to help Olsen along with his blocking, considering his success with M.Lewis.
Former Bears tackle
"Is there any truth to the rumor that the Bears gave up their first-round pick in 2011 for the decals?" - Someone registered as the DailyNorseman at PFT suggesting the Bears gave up picks in order to get Gaines Adams tribute decals. Stay classy Minnesota fans!
good catch...
I stand corrected. Honestly, I’m excited to see what he can do with this group, I just found it funny.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO FIRE LOVIE!
That was why he came to Chicago
he wanted to coach the line again
"When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something." ~ Dick Butkus
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jun 16, 2010 4:12 PM CDT up reply actions
not entirely sure...
but I think it has something to do with taking your valuables to a shady building where guys with half buttoned up Hawaiian shirts and thick gold plated herringbones give you a loan because you’re about to get your lights turned off.
I could be wrong though.
-------
Stupid babies need the most attention!
by David Taylor on Jun 16, 2010 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Or a
combination of “owned” and “pawned.”
"Is there any truth to the rumor that the Bears gave up their first-round pick in 2011 for the decals?" - Someone registered as the DailyNorseman at PFT suggesting the Bears gave up picks in order to get Gaines Adams tribute decals. Stay classy Minnesota fans!
from urbandictionary.com:
pwned
A corruption of the word “Owned.” This originated in an online game called Warcraft, where a map designer misspelled “owned.” When the computer beat a player, it was supposed to say, so-and-so “has been owned.” Instead, it said, so-and-so “has been pwned.” It basically means “to own” or to be dominated by an opponent or situation, especially by some god-like or computer-like force.
“Man, I rock at my job, but I still got a bad evaluation. I was pwned.”
OR
“That team totally pwned us.”
by Mike Mueller on Jun 16, 2010 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Love the picture
Going against Peppers every day in practice can’t do anything but help a young OL like Williams. He has to get used to dealing with speed and power.
Tice
Luckily for us, he’s known to be a great technique coach for the O-line. I see a significant improvement from last season. It was evident that CW was out of his element on the right side and Omi at LG, while Pace was more done than a Christmas goose.
"Is there any truth to the rumor that the Bears gave up their first-round pick in 2011 for the decals?" - Someone registered as the DailyNorseman at PFT suggesting the Bears gave up picks in order to get Gaines Adams tribute decals. Stay classy Minnesota fans!
I'm still waiting for Marinelli
to make our D-line betterer.
If you can't laugh at yourself you must not be very funny.
I remain a pessimistically hopeful Bears fan.
+1
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Stupid babies need the most attention!
by David Taylor on Jun 16, 2010 2:38 PM CDT up reply actions
Statistically, they were better.
Not by a whole lot cause of underachievers like Ogun, Brown, Harris and Harrison.
"Is there any truth to the rumor that the Bears gave up their first-round pick in 2011 for the decals?" - Someone registered as the DailyNorseman at PFT suggesting the Bears gave up picks in order to get Gaines Adams tribute decals. Stay classy Minnesota fans!
since Marinelli
got his rep as Tampa’s line coach, has anyone watched tape of their line? was it all front 4 pressure or did they run a lot of blitz packages as well? it also helped that they had sapp and rice on that line.
I lived in Tampa during their heyday..
It was alot of front 4 pressure with the occasional Ronde corner blitz. Also during that stretch they had their leaders on each level with Sapp on the line Brooks at the linebacker position and Lynch in the secondary but the thing with that is none of these guys missed very much time at all. So it didn’t matter who they brought in the foundation was always in place and on the field.
When they brought in Rice it was just the icing on the cake. They had a swagger about them also. They went into every game knowing they were gonna hold whoever they played to less then 3 scores. They knew what their jobs were and they did them all out every play.
Adrian Pedestrian!! Now that's funny Mr. Bayless...
O-Line
I hope they run block well enough that when we do get the lead late in the game we can close games out. As far as pass blocking goes, just need to protect Jay, give up less than 2 sacks a game.
Asiata the starter?
A relatively unknown member of the Chicago Bears’ practice squad only one year ago, former undrafted free agent Johan Asiata took every rep with the first team at left guard during Wednesday’s organized team activity at Halas Hall.
by boondock_saint812 on Jun 16, 2010 2:57 PM CDT reply actions
I don't get it
Didn’t the Bears say they shifted their organizational philosophy on guards? Like, bigger is better? Yet, they’re going with a smaller one in Asiata. Hmm…
"Is there any truth to the rumor that the Bears gave up their first-round pick in 2011 for the decals?" - Someone registered as the DailyNorseman at PFT suggesting the Bears gave up picks in order to get Gaines Adams tribute decals. Stay classy Minnesota fans!
I think when Kreutz is back
Beekman will go to starting LG
"When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something." ~ Dick Butkus
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jun 16, 2010 4:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Call the Beekman War Wagon...
The main reason his numbers were relatively bad, is that every single game he started last year was while Pace was starting as well, so he kinda got screwed by the guy to his left, getting stuck trying to pick him his slack on inside moves and such.
If you look at his stats the year before, they were much better.
Associate Writer - WindyCityGridiron.com - Artist formerly known as Sklz711
+1
But I thought I read somewhere that the Bears where trying to concentrate on gooming him to replace Olin, and didn’t really want him in the Guard mix. I could be wrong, but I’d swear differently……
in•san•i•ty \in-ˈsa-nə-tē\ noun
1 : The practice of repeating the same action while expecting different results.
by Timothy Hockemeyer on Jun 16, 2010 11:19 PM CDT up reply actions
I've said that...
They’ve also hinted at it on a few occasions, but since Olin is still recovering from ankle surgery Beeker is getting first team snaps at C either way.
However, it was Tice that made an off hand comment about how Beeker was getting a bit of a short end of the stick because he wasn’t going to be able to get reps at LG since he was getting reps at C.
Associate Writer - WindyCityGridiron.com - Artist formerly known as Sklz711
I don't believe it can be overstated
This team will go as far as the O-line and D-line take it. If those units are among the best in the league, so will the Bears. If those units fail, so will the Bears.
Tice is supposed to be an elite O-line coach. And Marinelli is supposed to be an elite D-line coach… Let’s hope these guys reputations come to fruition this season.
by rdent4hof on Jun 17, 2010 11:17 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
AMEN!!!
in•san•i•ty \in-ˈsa-nə-tē\ noun
1 : The practice of repeating the same action while expecting different results.
by Timothy Hockemeyer on Jun 17, 2010 11:58 AM CDT up reply actions
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Stupid babies need the most attention!
by David Taylor on Jun 17, 2010 12:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Undecided
We have positives: Moving back to natural positions, adding Tice, giving Pace his retirement card
But one has to question: Martz’s offenses of the past have required holding blocks longer and more complex schemes, shifts, timing, etc.
With a line in question already, requiring them to do it better and longer might be an issue. But here is to blind faith they will get the job done well
Oh…
requiring them to do it better and longer
TWSS
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