Oline analysis: Bengals game # 1

[Ibleedbrown]

I’m going to give this a shot again. It’s my terribly amateur attempt at a play by play breakdown of the Oline’s blocking acumen (and other blockers) for the most recent game against the Bengals. I’ll try to do this for games l can record during the season, time and steam permitting. I managed to get through the first half of this one. Hats off to Tour who had this idea first a couple years back. It’s a tedious but rewarding endeavor. I typically get some real insight into the team and scheme and hope to share with you if you can manage to muddle through this. 

All plays graded from left to right, meaning where the player starts on the line with notes on other blockers after that. 

The key is the key: W = Wills, B = Bitonio, Tr = Tretter, Te = Teller, H = Hubbard, 81 = Hooper, 31 = Janovich, 88 = Bryant, 80 = Landry, OBJ = OBJ, 24 = Chubb, 27 = Hunt. 12 = Hodge. There may be others. 

 Grading system

 - means l felt the player did ok that play. They did what they were asked to do on the play and were effective

 + means l felt the player did above and beyond just good on the play. Maybe blocked a couple dudes, maybe laid an exceptional block. Maybe made an athletic move to pick up a delayed blitzer. Things like that. 

 £ means the player did a poor job at doing what was expected during the play and they were a weight on the team. 

Plays will be noted much like Tour used to. S = series, P = plays. So S1P3 is series one play 3. Notes and side bars are included.

S1P1: Line blocks right, Baker rolls left. Landry reception. W - seems to do a “fake pull” but then redirects to take a side blocking angle on the DT to his right and blocks him into the ground. B - lunges at the DT in front of him but then redirects to the DT on his right who ran away from him seeing the direction of the play. Tr - arm bar blocked both Bito and Teller’s guys point guard style. Tr + pretty much mauled the guy to his right into submission. H - staved off the guy to his right. 81 - chipped Hubbard’s man on the way to his route. 31 - didn’t really need to block anyone on his way to rolling right. 24 - same as 31. OBJ + gets a plus here for basically blocking a DB with his ass allowing Landry to get an extra 5 yards or so. His back was to his man pretty much the whole play, but he puts his arms out and sticks his ass out effectively hindering that guy from advancing towards Landry. Note: nice play design. The unblocked Bengals edge defender was thoroughly confused on where to go and what to do.

S1P2: Inverse of the last play, line blocks left, Baker rolls right. Hodge 1st down reception. W - blocked the man on his left and maybe got away with a facemask or hands to the face penalty. B - chipped the DT in front of him and then moved to support Wills with his guy. Tr - took the guy Bito chipped and escorted him several steps. Te - chipped the guy in front of him then released him to Hubbard on his way to assisting Tretter with his man. H - blocked the guy Teller passed to him into the ground. 81 - sort of chipped/got in the way of the LDE then did a nifty spin move in front of a defender to look back at the QB, effectively tripping that defender to his knee. Likely unintended, but slick footwork nonetheless. Note: l liked the tone set with the first 2 plays with the line moving right then moving left. Very feng shui.

 

S1P3: Line went left, Chubb run off RT. W, B, and Tr - they bunched up 2 rushers and escorted them left a few steps. Te £ chip blocks a DLman on his way to the 2nd level but totally whiffs on his next assignment and falls down. H £ runs a couple steps left and somehow loses his feet and falls down. 81 + does an admirable job corralling 2 defenders and driving them left since his teammates on that side kept falling down. Not a brutish block but used their momentum against them. Judo block!

S1P4: Hooper catch. W - looks like he sets up to block the man on the edge who ends up tailing Hooper on his route. He instead gets a guy passed to him from Bitonio and does well enough. B + chucks a guy to Wills and then slides over to help Tretter with his man. Nice work delegating and steering the rush. Tr - took on a bull rush and angled him to allow Bito to help. Te - held up on a rusher just long enough. H - saw he wasn’t needed elsewhere so he slid over to assist Teller with his man.

S1P5: Chubb run/penalty on Teller. W - fended off the rusher to his right and did fine until tripping over the scrum. B - split through the line to move up to the next level to find a block. Tr - looks like he started the play arm barring the 2 guys in front of him then fully engaged the man to his right. He got pushed back but held up long enough. Te - he and Hubbard doubled a guy, then he released to find a next level block. H - did ok here but l would’ve liked to have seen him get his feet more in front of his man. 81 £ starts off well but loses containment on his man. It was his and Hubbard’s men who crashed the hole. 31 - did well enough leading the way through the hole and smooshing a defender. Note: l think this play would’ve been better without the FB and Chubb getting the ball to the hole a beat faster when it was more open.

S1P6: Chubb run. 88 - started his block well but got a little holdsy as his man tried to release and run towards the play. 81 - chipped a guy in the direction of Bryant then released to the second level where he did well walling off a defender. W £ lost his feet lunging at the guy to his right, but at least he took that guy down with him. Didn’t look like great technique there. B - took out the guy to his right and did a decent job turning the defender away from the play until the Wills domino and direction of the play toppled him. Tr + squeezed through the line and did a great job driving his man back. Te £ took a bad angle and totally got swam through. Fortunately Chubb is fast and that guy didn’t get to him. H + he was the key hole maker here. Nothing flashy, a chuck and some feet shuffling but effectively held his man back. 80 - got in on the action, first going for Tretter’s guy and then doing a 180 to at least get in the way of the defender behind him. 

S1P7: Chubb completion. W + nice work fending off a speed rush on the edge. B - nice work fending off a bull rush until Tretter came in to help. Tr + started off doubling with Teller’s man, then peeled over to assist with Bito’s guy. Te £ kind of lost containment of his bull rusher once Tretter left and got pushed back into the QB. H - fine job blocking on the edge. 

S1P8: QB scramble for first down. W - got a little turned around from an edge rusher but held up long enough. B - doubles a guy with Tretter and makes first contact with the defender until Tretter slides in to help. At one point you see him look back while blocking with one arm and motion towards Mayfield with the other, almost like he’s telling him to run. Quite the multitasker that Bitonio. Tr - fine job picking up where he’s needed by sliding in to help Bito. Te - does a nice job staving off and angling away his rusher. H - does a great job keeping his rusher at bay. 27 - can be seen chucking a guy downfield.

S1P9: Chubb run. 81 - actually does an effective job with an ass block himself a la OBJ. W £ doesn’t really get his feet in front of his man in time and maybe gets away with a hold. Again, fortunately Chubb is fast. B £ hard to see what happened here but it looks like Bito was leaning into a block that wasn’t there and lost his feet. He took a Bengal down with him. Tr + looks like he squeezed through a tight hole on the line to wall off the right side so Chubb could run behind him. He chipped a guy or 2 along the way. Te - a nice mano e mano block, drove his man to the ground. H - with a little chip help from Bryant ate up a defender. 88 + real nice work here. Chipped Hubbard’s guy, then released to drive back another defender. 31 + real nice FB work here. Hit the hole and a defender with authority and drove him laterally a half dozen steps or so away from Chubb. 

S110: Chubb TD run. 81 + real nice job totally occupying a defender right at the LOS. W - does a fine job holding his man back and in front of him. B - finally a pull! He sweeps right and upfield behind Teller and engulfs a defender. Tr + totally stonewalls the guy in front of him. Te - he and Hubbard seal off one side of the hole by double teaming a DLman. Teller stayed with that block while... H + bulldozed his first defender away with Teller’s help, then released that guy to double team another guy with Bito, then released again to find another upfield block. Helluva play. 88 - he created the other side of the hole by fending off a defender long enough for 31 and Chubb to scoot past. 31 - another fine job hitting the hole before Chubb and driving a defender out of the way. 12 - can be seen sorta blocking a guy in the end zone where Chubb was running to. 

S2P1: Chubb run. 80 - looks like Landry tried to play fullback here and double teamed a guy with Bryant. 88 - seemed to hold a block just fine. 81 + admirable drive block trying to open a hole behind him. He effectively drives his man right. W + appears to double Bito’s guy, then passes that guy to Bito then goes on to double Hooper’s man. B - doubles a man with Wills until Wills departs to help Hooper. Tr - drives his man right. Te - does the same as Tretter. H - holds back as though expecting an outside rush and then engages a defender coming inside. Note: seemed like the Bengals knew this play was coming. 

S2P2: delayed handoff to Chubb and run. W - fine job fending off his man. B - well done on a single rusher with a little help from Tretter who... Tr + doubled Bito’s man for a beat then released to make a key block downfield to spring Chubb for a chunky gain. Te - l totally didn’t write what he did here so l’m assuming he did well. H - held his dude just fine. 81 - nice work sustaining a downfield block. OBJ + plus job keeping his defender’s attention and sustaining a block longer than l thought he could allowing Chubb to get by him. After releasing that block he went looking for another. Note: well designed play with the Oline largely stepping back as though setting up to pass block only to surprise the Bengals with a run. Some of the preseason Stefanski talk was along the lines of “passing plays that look like running plays snd running plays that look like passing plays”, and this play and the first 2 of the game are testament that they’re really doing that. 

S2P3: Line moves right. Baker rolls left. OBJ TD reception: W - barely needed to block anyone. B - mauled the guy to his right and took him further right. Tr - pretty much did the same. Te - tried to do the same but his guy got a little past him. Teller managed to stay in front of him though. H - I’m not sure who he was trying to block. Perhaps he was leading the way for the rest of the line to follow. 88 - chipped the right most defender on his way out of the backfield. 

S3P1: Intentional grounding, the bizarro play of the half. After watching this play far too many times trying to figure out what the offense was trying to do, l concluded it was supposed to be a screen pass to Chubb, but people fucked up so the play looks fucked up. W - ignored the rusher to his left and instead went for a double team with Bito’s guy, but appears to ole’ that guy. B - l think he was trying to chip and pass a guy to Wills. The defender appears to split both Bito and Wills on the way to a QB pressure. I think one of those guys screwed up but l’m not sure. Tr - appears to pause and then run to the next level to block someone. Te - holds a block for a couple beats and then releases to the next level. H - maintains his block until Baker chucks the ball. 81 - pulls across the backside of the line to pick up the defender Wills ignored. Note: l think where Baker threw the ball was supposed to be the general vicinity of where Chubb was supposed to be, but Chubb moved further upfield into a mess of defenders. I think Chubb fucked up here and the Brown’s screen game could use some work.

S3P2: OBJ reception. W + nicely blocks an edge rusher into the ground. B + redirects the edge rusher to Wills and then doubles Tretter's man. Tr - holds his man with Bito’s help. Te - starts doubling a man with Hubbard then maintains that block when Hubbard disengages to pick up a defender coming over the edge. H + nice awareness picking up the edge rusher and pushing him back. 81 - sort of got in the way of the wide blitzer Hubbard later picked up. 

S3P3: Landry reception. 27 - chips an edge defender then releases to a route. W - picked up the rusher Hunt chipped. B - mostly assisted with Tretter’s man. It was only a 3 man rush. Tr - holds off a rusher with a little help from his friends. Te - also helped with Tretter’s man. H - fended off the third rusher with a little chip from Hooper. 81 - chipped and released into a route. 

S3P4: punt

S4P1: Chubb run for a loss. W - got knocked off balance but recovered nicely to become the aggressor on the play. B - fended off his man well under duress as the momentum of the play had other bodies leaning on him to his right at one point during the play. Nice work keeping his feet. Tr - started off well blocking the man in front of him until his teammate fell on him. Te - it looks like his assignment was to shoot through the line to find a next level block, and he did, but it was a tight fit through the scrum at the line. H £ l think he was trying to block the guy to his left (the guy in front of Teller) but over ran a good angle and sorta engaged that guy sideways and consequently lost balance and fell on Tretter. 81 - chipped a man at the line on his way to occupying a next level defender. 31 - got toppled by the Hubbard led domino effect on his way to the hole. Note: another play l think would’ve been more successful without a FB. 

S4P2: OBJ reception. W £ held a block on a pretty aggressive rusher for a good 3 seconds but lost containment and got away with a hold as the man got past him. B - staved off a pretty fierce bull rush. Tr - nice footwork picking up the rusher to his right. Te - good recognition seeing Tretter pick up the man in front of him and shifting to his right to pick up another man there. H - good feet picking up the edge rush. 80 - picked up a block after OBJ caught the ball. 

S4P3: Chubb run. 81 + really mashed into the man in front of him and turns him inside. W - follows Hooper’s lead to help seal off the right side of the hole Chubb would run through. B - drive blocks his man turning him inside. Tr - holds his man. Te £ shot to the next level to find a second level block but whiffed on 2 guys. H - held his man at the LOS. 31 - delivered a chuck to his man behind the LOS effectively creating the other side of the hole. 88 - can be seen on the other side of the field taking a defender out of the play. 

S4P4: incomplete to OBJ. 81 - took on the edge rusher and held up long enough. W - didn’t really have anyone to block at first so moved up to assist Bitonio. B - blocked his man like a pro. Tr - same as Bito. Te - started off doubling Tretter’s man then slid over to double Hubbard’s man. H - held his man at bay. 

S4P5: Hunt first down run. 12 - was the motion man who ended up playing Tackle on the left side. He was in position to block a guy but seeing the direction of the play that man ran away from him. W + holy pulling Jedrick! From his Tackle position he stomps his left leg out and sweeps from left to right behind the line and somehow squeezes his big frame between Hubbard and Hooper  to engage a defender beyond them springing Hunt for first down yardage. B - stonewalled the defender to his left and turned him outside. Tr - engages the defender to his left and pushes him back. Te - appears to start off doubling Hubbard’s guy then recognizes the LB coming to his left and does a nice job picking him up. H - does well occupying his man and turning him away from the play creating one side of the hole. 81 - creates the other side of the hole by getting in front of his man and turning him away from the hole. It was a tiny hole. 80 - got involved pushing a defender away from the run. 

S4P6: line blocks right, Hunt reception. W £ engaged the rusher to his right but lost containment pretty quickly allowing the rusher to get in Mayfield’s face. B - he ultimately pulled and moved left to pick up the unblocked rusher on that side. The interesting thing is he initially turned right, so instead of turning 90 degrees to pick up a blitzer, he turned 270 degrees. I’m not sure if that was by design (to dupe the defense?), a mid play adjustment (no one there to block so turned the other way), or a mistake (conventional wisdom says to take the shortest path to where you’re going). Either way he met his man in time to keep him away from the QB. Tr - effectively kept his man occupied at the LOS until Mayfield had to scramble. Te + nice work using leverage and his opponent’s momentum to block him to the ground. H - didn’t really have anyone to block so he shadowed Hooper’s block then moved to assist Teller. 81 - held a block at the LOS until the defender released into coverage. 

S4P7: Chubb first down run. W + does a real nice job adjusting mid play. I think his assignment was to block the outside rusher, so he plows into the left most lineman, but sees a LB sweeping to his outside so he disengages the first guy and blocks the LB. This caused a bit of discombobulation for the fullback later on though. B - blocked and turned his man away from the run like a pro. Tr £ his job was to burst through the line to make a next level block but he whiffed on the eventual tackler. Te - nice side step move to wall off a defender. H - walled off his side of the line with Hooper’s help. 81 - doubled Hubbard’s guy. 31 + forced to adjust mid play. He can be seen initially aiming for the guy Wills eventually picked up, so he had to redirect to the rusher Wills started with. It was messy, but he and Wills did create a crease for Chubb to run through. 

S4P8: Chubb run. W - looks like he delivered a right hook to his man knocking him back. Wills could have done a better hob staying in front of him once he recovered though. B - with no one to block on the line he moved up to engage a next level defender. Tr - fended off and redirected a bull rush. Te - nice work pushing his man back and staying with him after Chubb changed direction to his side. H - nice footwork getting back and in front of his man and pushing him downfield. 81 - tried to get to a next level block but didn’t have a good angle. 

S4P9: Hodge reception. W - nice work staying in front of the outside rush. B - had no one to block so he chipped Tretter’s man then slid over to assist Wills. Tr - staved off his man. Te - locked horns with his rusher and turned him downwards. H - decent footwork keeping up with the outside rusher. 24 - looks like he chipped Teller’s guy before taking a step into a route.

S4P10: Chubb run. W - good work staying in front of and steering his man. B - nice work driving his man right and into the ground. Tr - first step right then moved up to find a next level block. Te £ hard to see but he loses his feet and loses containment of his man causing Chubb to have to change direction. H - does well driving his man back with Hooper’s help. 81 + helps double Hubbard’s guy then disengages mid play to find a next level block. 80 - can be seen downfield executing a block. OBJ - can be seen downfield occupying a defender as well. 

S4P11: Mayfield throws it away. W - steps back and keeps his man at bay. B - locks horns with a bull rusher and keeps him at bay. Tr - also fends off a bull rush and with Teller’s help pushes that guy down. Te + starts off chucking a rusher back with Hubbard, then disengages and helps Tretter push a defender down. H - doubled a man with Teller and then ran with that guy as he tried to run into Mayfield’s passing lane. 

S4P12: Hunt TD reception. W - held up on the edge. B - Bitonio’s mere presence caused the defender to jump back and release into coverage. The jilted Bitonio had to take his rejection out on Tretter’s guy. Tr - fends off his man off like a pro. Te + he’s got a knack for making defenders fall down. His bull rusher falls at his feet. H - blocks his edge well. 

S5P1: Baker takes a knee to run out the clock. End of the half.

Notes: 

Hooper’s really something. I know tight ends make the big bucks by catching the ball, but this guy is a hella savvy blocker too. He might be the most complete tight end we’ve had in a good while.

Wills: overall a good performance but l see some chinks in his game to iron out. 

Hubbard: where’d this guy come from? The guy might be one of the best back up Tackles in the game.

Bitonio: l see him as one of the best in the biz. I hope he retires a Brown years down the road. 

Teller: largely nice work, but l think he has limitations. I’m not sure he’s the guy you want doing the fancy footwork blocking like pulling and moving up to be the next level blocking guy. Hella tough in a phone booth though. 

Fullback play: i kinda think the fullback usage is a work in progress. Some plays it seemed like an advantage, but others it seemed like a detriment. Limited sample size though. Janovich does look good at what he does though. 

 

[Tour2ma]

1. Smaller font, please...
2. Nice write up.... clearly you put in the work... and I know it's a lot of work.
3. Summary grade (total) would be a nice add on... also consider "++" and "--" ratings for outstanding efforts and blown assignments respectively.

[alporcini]

Nice write up.

Appreciate the hard work you put into this.

Was excited by the line last week. 

Nice having a fullback!

Look forward to seeing where we go from here.

[Ibleedbrown]

5 hours ago, Tour2ma said:

1. Smaller font, please...
2. Nice write up.... clearly you put in the work... and I know it's a lot of work.
3. Summary grade (total) would be a nice add on... also consider "++" and "--" ratings for outstanding efforts and blown assignments respectively.

The font size is ridiculous for sure. Some kind of copy and paste mishap occurred when l started writing it last night and pasted it today, and for the life of me l couldn’t figure out how to change the font size on my phone. I figured l’d just go with it instead of retype it. Good idea on the grade totals. 

[TypicalBrowns50]

Nice write up

[gumby73]

Well done IBB..  I was floored by the PFF  blocking grade & by others, on Hooper's blocking assignments for last season in Atl.  Sure enough...  I flipped on 3-4 Atlanta games from past seasons on game pass and I had no clue why he was graded out so poorly... Hoop will just plant folks in the grass on their as$ 7 yards off the LOS..  

Again well done & thanks for the time put in..

[Tour2ma]

4 hours ago, Ibleedbrown said:

Good idea on the grade totals. 

Once upon a time I did these analyses...

As for the font... won't this forum's editor shrink it to eye-size?

 

[Ibleedbrown]

On 9/25/2020 at 11:50 PM, Tour2ma said:

Once upon a time I did these analyses...

As for the font... won't this forum's editor shrink it to eye-size?

 

I have no idea how you got through grading the whole game. Salud!

I use an iphone and can do bold, italics and emojis and such but couldn’t figure out the font size editor. If anyone wants to enlighten me please do.  Now l know how John Hancock must’ve felt...

[TexasAg1969]

18 minutes ago, Ibleedbrown said:

  Now l know how John Hancock must’ve felt...

You have to use the "Ego" font there. See how well it works. 😂

[Ibleedbrown]

I may have to retract the bit about Teller’s fancy footwork after the Washington game today. A couple really nice chunk plays where he pulled and led the way for Chubb.