Sean Lahman at the Football Project has a good report on the zone-blocking Denver offensive line. He credits the Broncos for developing a system and succeeding by drafting running backs who fit the system. This, however, looks like a hole in the argument:
All too often, teams turn to a kid who was a dominant college rusher and presume that he can replicate that success in the NFL. They figure that the way to build a good rushing attack is to find a great runner and build an offense around him.
Is that really the case? I mean, recently at least? It's a "straw man" paragraph. I read Lahman's article a day or two ago, and while I really enjoyed it at the time, I've also been thinking about it since then and realize this is a good opening to write another post about the all-importance of offensive line play.
First, let's consider the suggestion that other teams don't draft backs to fit a system but, "too often," create systems to fit the backs they drafted. The only three backs taken in the first round of the 2004 draft were Steven Jackson, Chris Perry, and Kevin Jones, and all fit a pre-existing system. Mike Martz, who selected Jackson to serve as Faulk's understudy, can hardly be described as a guy who lacks a consistent offensive philosophy or fails to develop systems. And as Len Pasquarelli has recently reported, Jackson fits right in and looks ready to succeed. Head coach Marvin Lewis took Chris Perry, who is now injured (bum hammy), to back up Rudi Johnson. Perry and Johnson are patient one-cut bulldozers and look like twins when you compare them to juke-and-jazz Corey Dillon. The Lions went into the draft looking for speed and took Kevin Jones, a former track guy. If we are to take press conferences seriously, they traded up to get Jones because, looking out from within their system, they saw him as the #1 guy.
Seriously, a NFL team would have to be grossly incompetent to draft as naively as Lahman suggests toward the end of that essay. I'm not saying that doesn't happen. But it is an exaggeration to praise Denver as one of only a few teams that drafts running backs to fit. Lahman is right that Denver doesn't look for brusing power (Perry) or blazing speed (Jones) and yet continue to succeed, but I think every team these days has a philosophy or system that significantly colors their choice of backs. Denver stands out not so much for having a system but for having one that works and works well.
Still, Denver's continued success with a zone-blocking offensive line depends not so much on the choice of backs but on the stability and excellence of their offensive line. It's not Griffin who needs to be the savvy draft choice so much as it's George Foster, their high draft pick from 2003 who is starting and playing for the first time this year. When evaluating a running game, you put the cart before the horse if you look at the backs first and the line second.
Last week, the Denver o-line began the year with dirty Tom Nalen at center, veteran guards Hamilton and Neil, and versatile tackle Matt Lepsis, four guys who have been with the team and in the system for some time. The newcomer was rookie right tackle George Foster. As a unit, they played up to the level they've established for themselves over the last ten years. This doesn't surprise me; Shanahan emphasizes the o-line more than most coaches. Coming into the season, many observers were interested to see if the O-line would continue to play as well after they lost their hall-of-fame offensive line coach, Alex Gibbs, to Atlanta.
The jury is still out on rookie tackle George Foster. As Andrew Mason writes for denverbroncos.com, the Jaguars are the team to test Denver's line. I read that report - published Friday - and now think there's no way the Broncos will have as much success on the ground this week. Also, making Denver - a road favorite - a best bet to prevail over this Jaguar D-line, looks stupid to me now. It was a sucker bet, and I'll live with the consequences.
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