Lions' O Line for 2014 - Montreal shows how to build an OL

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B.C.FAN
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notahomer wrote:http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html

Very good and diplomatic piece by Angus Reid regarding the Oline that I guess will be part of tomorrows BLITZ section. Hope his advice gets followed as its obvious he wants to see both the Oline and the Lions succeed......
That's great insight from Reid. He's saying the same thing that many of us have been saying, but he's saying it as a 13-year veteran who has been an all-star and Grey Cup winner. You can't keep shuffling the line the way the Lions have this year, largely through injuries, and expect the starters to play well. This will be the eighth starting offensive line combination in 11 games. The only way to survive so much upheaval is to dumb things down.

Reid's recipe is simple: Drop all of the complex reads and line calls and just just angle block left or angle block right. Let the backs read the blocks or use the cutback lanes that often open up with angle blocking. As Reid says, that's all the Lions did in 2007. Joe Smith tore up big gains on the cutbacks.
We led the entire league in rushing in 2007 doing only that, and the best part is, it only takes about an hour to learn.
And when the defence flows to the side in response to that blocking scheme, it opens up lots of space for reverses, misdirection and backside screens, and the Lions have great weapons for exploiting those open spaces, unlike in 2007 when Joe Smith was a one-man army.

It seems that whenever the Lions have simplified their blocking schemes in the past, success has followed. Perhaps the spate of injuries on the O-line this year will benefit the rushing game in a roundabout way.
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Seems like Dorazio has never heard of the KISS principle.
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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html

Hallelujah ... Angus is preaching to the choir here. :thup:
As I’ve stated many times before I don’t care how talented the individual players are, an offensive line can only get good with quality time spent working together. That’s just the reality. It looks as though this year’s unit will never get that chance now. We’re getting to the home stretch and they’re still at the training camp stage of finding out who’s going to play where.
And lots of tinkering too. T Dre is healthy. Left tackle has been a schmozzle from the get go. With some brilliant play by Hunter Steward relying on his athletic instincts.
If you can’t create more time, what is left to do? How do you get this line confident playing together and speed up the learning curve to get them playing at the level they need at this time of year? You simplify everything
Confidence, as I noted earlier. More important than pretty much anything. Easy to destroy. Hard to build.
f you can’t create more time, you remove the barriers that occupy so much of it. Highly-detailed techniques and blocking schemes that require a ton of verbiage or lots of defensive recognition need to be shelved or at least massively minimized.
Yup. Throughout this thread, that has been a major theme.
It’s too late in the season now to keep trying to crash course a new unit on the intricacies of your compete offence every week and hope they get it. We’ve seen the results of that too many times already this season. Way too many missed assignments, players left completely unblocked, and lack of aggressiveness due to uncertainty.
The basics of coaching run through every sport, at every level. Ya gotta keep it simple. At the level of the players. More experienced ones can integrate more.
It’s simple: Your run game becomes either run hard right, or run hard left. Forget the detailed double teams, the decisions on who’s supposed to pull, or the hesitation because the opponent lined up in a front you’ve never seen. Get rid of all the complicated, easily misunderstood directions and over-coaching. You either run as hard as you can as a unit on a pre-determined angle to your right, or the call is to all go left. You want to build confidence, aggressiveness, and eliminate all assignment mistakes. That’s how you do it. Just go hard on that angle and block anybody in your way.
Big theme throughout this thread and others. Angle blocking. Keep it simple. Build the confidence.
It’s no different for the pass game. Every single defensive coordinator in the league licks their chops before playing the Lions. They know each and every week there will be a brand new player somewhere on that offensive line. Confusion is the key to any great pass-rush team in this league. Keep the O-line guessing where the defensive players are coming from and any drop-back passing offensive will be in trouble real fast.
And the reverse is true also. Aggressive defence wins games. Conservative defence is a slow death.
So why keep putting yourself in that bad situation? If the O-line is getting confused due to lack of experience or some of the new players are straight out struggling with their one-on-one pass blocking, why keep putting them in that position to fail? It’s too late in this season now to hope a new combination of players every week will have time to learn this whole offence and gain confidence with the man beside them. You have to give them the confidence by simplifying the whole system.
:thup:
Get away from drop-back protection. Defences bringing confusing fronts? Move away from it. All you have to do is base your passing game on having your offensive line slide as a unit to the left or right. The quarterback simply rolls out with them. You stay on the move. That way you are never exposing your inexperienced lineman. You’re simply letting them be aggressive, and having them block as a true unit, thus shortcutting the learning curve.
:thup:
Let’s stop hoping new players can learn the system and mesh together in a week. It’s time to just let them play. Let them perform. Don’t handcuff them with overcrowded details that slow down performance. Get the ball to your playmakers. It sounds simple, but ‘simple’ done with confidence is always more effective than complicated done with hesitation. It’s time to let the big boys loose.
http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html

Tremendous article by a man who has been in the trenches, playing at an extremely high level for 13 years.

These themes have been harped on over and over on this site. It is very gratifying to see these words from Angus Reid.

Can we do it? Of course we can. Our guys are huge, powerful, intelligent and hard working. They bring vast athletic experience to their tasks, even those who are rookies.

Let their athletic instincts prevail. Let their strength prevail. Play the power game.

Angle block to the right. Angle block to the left.

Will we do it? Dunno about that ...

But it is always very interesting to watch.
 
 
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TheLionKing wrote:Seems like Dorazio has never heard of the KISS principle.
There may be a different kiss principle at work when it comes to Dorazio, but this is a public and family friendly forum so let's not go there.
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Toppy Vann
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Not sure I fully buy the veteran's statement about how much of a challenge the Lions O-Line always is.

I hear far different things coming from the Calgary coaches and they can win to back it up. The mindset in BC seems wrong in that O - line and has been for a long time since the likes of leaders like Bates, Murphy, Jimenez moved on. Angus is part of that thinking and no doubt has to be diplomatic but why is that other team coaches seem to talk less negatively and you don't hear them whining about how hard it is to teach run blocking - that narrative in BC under Dorazio has gone on too long.
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notahomer
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Its hard to believe Dorazios had the same coaching position for so long. I wonder if we'll see a strong but simple format the rest of the way.
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WestCoastJoe
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Angle blocking right. The D Line has to move with the O Line. Hard to resist the big guys. Plus the run starts that way. The D Line tries to penetrate, but it is very difficult. Harris makes the excellent cutback. Big gain. No complicated assignments. No complicated techniques. No difficult reads. Fired up O Line. In the brain is the primitive goal of "contact, drive the opponent," not hand fighting technique, nor foot position, nor where the eyes focus, or the like. Contact. Drive. Huge freaking hole/lane. Using their humongous size. Just ask an O Line if they like run blocking.

Going back to the Joe Smith days, I tended to think of it as a great Buffalo Run at the LOS.

Image re-sized to fit the restrictions ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe wrote:Angle blocking right. The D Line has to move with the O Line. Hard to resist the big guys. Plus the run starts that way. The D Line tries to penetrate, but it is very difficult. Harris makes the excellent cutback. Big gain. No complicated assignments. No complicated techniques. No difficult reads. Fired up O Line. In the brain is the primitive goal of "contact, drive the opponent," not hand fighting technique, nor foot position, nor where the eyes focus, or the like. Contact. Drive. Huge freaking hole/lane. Using their humongous size. Just ask an O Line if they like run blocking.

Going back to the Joe Smith days, I tended to think of it as a great Buffalo Run at the LOS.

Image re-sized to fit the restrictions ...
Great illustration, Joe. It's the cutbacks that produce big gains. O-line, D-line and linebackers go right and running back cuts left into vacated space. It worked well for Joe Smith in 2007 and Harris probably has even quicker feet that Smith to allow him to cut on the fly.

I hope the Lions stick with the simplified angle blocking scheme against Toronto and don't wait for the fourth quarter this time. It opens up all kinds of opportunities for power runs, cutbacks and misdirection. And for anyone who wants a head start on writing their keys to the game, the Argos rank seventh against the run, just one spot ahead of Winnipeg. Led by Jon Cornish, the Stamps rushed for 209 yards against the Argos on Saturday.
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B.C.FAN wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote:Angle blocking right. The D Line has to move with the O Line. Hard to resist the big guys. Plus the run starts that way. The D Line tries to penetrate, but it is very difficult. Harris makes the excellent cutback. Big gain. No complicated assignments. No complicated techniques. No difficult reads. Fired up O Line. In the brain is the primitive goal of "contact, drive the opponent," not hand fighting technique, nor foot position, nor where the eyes focus, or the like. Contact. Drive. Huge freaking hole/lane. Using their humongous size. Just ask an O Line if they like run blocking.

Going back to the Joe Smith days, I tended to think of it as a great Buffalo Run at the LOS.

Image re-sized to fit the restrictions ...
Great illustration, Joe. It's the cutbacks that produce big gains. O-line, D-line and linebackers go right and running back cuts left into vacated space. It worked well for Joe Smith in 2007 and Harris probably has even quicker feet that Smith to allow him to cut on the fly.

I hope the Lions stick with the simplified angle blocking scheme against Toronto and don't wait for the fourth quarter this time. It opens up all kinds of opportunities for power runs, cutbacks and misdirection. And for anyone who wants a head start on writing their keys to the game, the Argos rank seventh against the run, just one spot ahead of Winnipeg. Led by Jon Cornish, the Stamps rushed for 209 yards against the Argos on Saturday.
Thanks, BCFAN.

One more advantage of this ...

Wears out the D Line and LBs. They get tired being pushed by 300 pounders, trying to hold ground, trying to penetrate, trying to find the running back, and trying to chase down the RB. Not much energy left to rush the QB.

We certainly did wait to use it. And I thought we might have gone to it only because of two receivers down. Unleash it earlier, and we might have gotten Andrew his 250.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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http://www.cfl.ca/article/morris-fabien ... lions-line
Morris: Fabien looking to provide stability for Lions' line

Posted: September 18, 2014 02:00 PM

Updated: September 18, 2014 02:07 PM

Jim Morris CFL.ca

The two ugly scars look like deep valleys carved down either side of Kirby Fabien’s left knee.

The BC Lions’ second-year left guard traced a finger along one of the scars while he talked about the pain, frustration and months of rehabilitation it took for him to return to playing in the CFL. The healing was both physical and mental.

“Sometimes it was hard,” said the 24-year-old from Calgary. “Sometimes I would have a bad attitude for a day or two."

“At first I was terrified of stepping back on the field and going against people that had two healthy knees.”

After having an outstanding rookie season cut short by a devastating knee injury the six-foot-six, 295-pound Fabien is regaining his poise and promise.

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“There have been ups and downs because my knee still isn’t 100 per cent,” he said. “I’ve had games where I came in, warmed up and felt like I’m 100 per cent."

“Then I’ve had days where I feel beaten up. My knee feels sore, it feels swollen. It’s just managing that up and down, not letting that knee injury pull be back.”

Fabian is part of the much-maligned Lions’ offensive line which has looked like a bus terminal waiting room with players coming and going. Retirements and injuries have resulted in BC using five different players at left tackle.

“It affects us with some chemistry issues,” said Fabian. “The small communication things are a little bit different if new guys are in, but I think we are always in a position to play well.”

Despite giving up three quarterback sacks the offensive line showed improvement in BC’s 26-9 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Friday night at BC Place. The Lions fell short of running back Andrew Harris’s goal of producing 250 yards rushing but still managed 163 yards along the ground and 261 passing yards.

The victory improved the Lions to 7-4 and moved them to within two points of Edmonton for third place in the West.

Veteran right guard Dean Valli says the BC line is a bit like a home renovation that remains a work in progress a lot longer than expected.

“It, likely, is going to be a work in progress) all year,” said Valli. “We have been real unfortunate with injuries and we’ve had a lot of different guys in there."

“When we have our best five guys in there, and we are firing, we are as good as anybody. I think we showed some flashes of that (against Winnipeg). We have to get better, we know that. I think we showed we have what it takes to be a top-tier offensive line in this league.”

Last year started as a dream for Fabien but ended in a nightmare

Selected seventh overall in the 2012 draft from the University of Calgary, Fabien shone in his first training camp last spring, earning a starting position.

Strong, quick and intelligent, rookie-of-the-year talk swirled around Fabien after his first four games. Then he suffered a terrible injury in a July 30 loss to Toronto. In a blinding flash of pain his season was over.

Fabien’s knee just wasn’t damaged; it was like a bomb had gone off inside of it. The knee itself was dislocated. Both the posterior and lateral ligaments were shredded. His meniscus was torn. He spent eight weeks on crutches and now wears a brace on the knee.

The Lions' two-game win streak has kept them in the hunt as the Western Division continues to be a tight battle with four points separating last place from a Western Division playoff spot.

“Our athletic therapist said it was probably the second worst knee injury he had ever seen,” said Fabien. “But through the grace of God and my surgeon, through all the rehab, I came back faster than expected and I’m out here playing right now.”

Fabien said the toughest part about training camp this season was convincing himself the knee was strong enough to withstand punishment.

“At first it was mental,” he said. “I hadn’t been in contact for so long."

“After the first week I started to get more contact and started to get back into the feel of things. Sometimes people say, for serious injuries, you get (over) the physical part first and the mental injury takes longer to overcome. Now I am out there and I’m not worried about it.”

Valli, who had suffered an ACL injury in 2012, was one of the veterans who helped Fabien. He was honest in his message.

“It’s going to hurt,” said Valli. “That’s just the way it is."

“I told him it’s not going to feel good, even if the doctor says it’s going too. You almost mentally can’t force yourself to push as hard as you need. The best thing is to get thrown right into the fire. You react before your brain has time to stop you. Once you’ve done that, you realize everything is going to be OK.”

Right tackle Jovan Olafioye credits Fabien for his quick return.

“He tore everything in his knee,” said the two-time CFL most outstanding offensive lineman. “There was a chance he couldn’t come back.

“He fought through adversity. I’m blessed to have him.”

Head coach Mike Benevides said it’s easy to forget Fabien has played just 11 games as a professional.

“Kirby has tremendous potential,” said Benevides. “He’s going to continue to get better and stronger.”

A healthy, confident Fabien will only make B.C.’s offensive line better.

“I just try to get better each week, not go downhill but keep progressing,” Fabien said.
“There have been ups and downs because my knee still isn’t 100 per cent,” he said. “I’ve had games where I came in, warmed up and felt like I’m 100 per cent."

“Then I’ve had days where I feel beaten up. My knee feels sore, it feels swollen. It’s just managing that up and down, not letting that knee injury pull be back.”
Strong, quick and intelligent, rookie-of-the-year talk swirled around Fabien after his first four games. Then he suffered a terrible injury in a July 30 loss to Toronto. In a blinding flash of pain his season was over.
I had no idea Kirby's injury was so devastating. One of the worst he had seen, according to the Lions' therapist.

Full credit to you, Kirby, on your long and difficult rehab back to playing status. :thup:
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Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

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The knee joint was just never designed for football. It seems like an injury waiting to happen on a pretty regular basis.
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http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html

Excerpts from the article ...
Angus Reid: Jermarcus Hardrick brings huge inspiration to B.C. Lions offence

BY ANGUS REID, SPECIAL TO THE PROVINCE OCTOBER 23, 2014
...........
This team needed a spark, something or somebody that you can look to and feed off to elevate your game. That player is Hardrick.

The hulking 6-foot-7, 330-pounder who goes by Yoshi plays the game with the type of passion and joy that makes everyone around him want to play that much harder. It’s a shame that an early-season knee injury kept him out of the lineup for most of this campaign.
“He brings a whole different level of energy to the game, like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” says Matt Norman, the young centre who plays right beside him.

“You absolutely love to play with the guy. He plays with so much passion, it’s completely contagious. You see him blocking guys and literally running them 10, 15 yards down the field, then screaming with passion after finishing the block. You just don’t see stuff like that, ever. It’s really fun to watch”.
From the guy lucky enough to play next to him, Matt Norman.
He’s become a unique style of leader on a team that sometimes has looked lacking in that department. He’s not the biggest talker, but when laughter is needed his humour is second to none. He’s not necessarily a mean guy, but not the least bit afraid to throw a punch in practice if the situation warrants it, or the tempo is lacking.

Bottom line, he’s exactly what the Lions have needed. He has brought passion and energy to a group in need of direction. He has that whatever-it-takes approach.
He certainly has the fire, and the passion, and the joy.
Watch Hardrick play left guard. You won’t need to be an expert on offensive line play. He’s dominant, aggressive, and maybe most impressively, unbelievably passionate. He’s a truly a joy to watch and in my books has become the emotional leader of this offence.

If the Lions end up making a run, it will be because their offence has finally clicked and performances like last game have become their new reality. Rarely does one player make a whole offensive line better, let alone an entire offence, but Hardrick has done just that.
Yes, he is fun to watch. Driving his man 10 yards sideways. Paving the way for Antolin on running plays. Pile driving in front of Beck on short yardage.

And Ramsey at LT also has helped to settle down the O Line. Internationals bringing skill and experience to the group. Out of the box, onto the field. Pow. No need to train a youngster from the get go. Our O Line obviously does better when we can count on guys who bring an extensive background with them from U.S. play. Over the years we have not done so well building from the draft, although that might be changing with Norman, Fabien and Steward.

Three Internationals in the O Line? If that is what it takes ...

Not that many fans watch O Line play closely. Hardrick (Hard Rock) merits that attention, and then some.

Nice article by Angus Reid.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Andre Ramsey, 27 ...
Career history

College: Ball State

Seattle Seahawks (2009)*
Buffalo Bills (2009)
New York Jets (2010)*
Baltimore Ravens (2010)*
Miami Dolphins (2011)*
Kansas City Command (2012)
Carolina Panthers (2012)*
BC Lions (2013-present)
Loads of experience in different systems, with different coaches, showing enough skill and talent to spend some time with many teams.
....................................................

Jermarcus Hardrick, 24 ...
College: Nebraska

2013: Activated from OLEX by the Utah Blaze in January and started all 13 games tallying three tackles. Assigned to the Tampa Bay Storm also of the AFL in September.

2012: Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Bucaneers and released after training camp, he was then signed by the Utah Blaze of the AFL in November before signing with the New Orleans Saints the same month and joining their practice squad.
Younger than Ramsey. Had some exposure to NFL teams. Brings his skill and experience to the Lions. Ferocious blocker. Inspirational, as noted by Matt Norman and Angus Reid.

Just 24. Nice.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Nasty (in a good way :wink: ) and definately a player I'd hate/whine about IF he were on another team........
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WestCoastJoe
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OMG ... Looking at Montreal's All National O Line, makes me shake my head in amazement. Tremendous drafting. Tremendous development of talent.

LT Bourke ... Rd 3

LG Matte ... Rd 1

C Brodeur-J ... Rd 6

RG Bomben ... Rd 4

RT Perrett ... Rd 3

And what it does for the ratio ...

For our part, we had to use three Internationals to get a semblance of productivity from our O Line. And we have drafted high for the O Line, year after year.

Do we actually develop our Internationals? No, they come ready to play, skills intact, out of the box, with NFL experience. But Nationals? They usually take some time to develop. And that takes coaching.

I guess Montreal just got lucky. Time and time again. Yeah, right!

I like our guys. Norman. Fabien. Steward. Thorn. T-Dre. I like Valli too. But in about three years, will this group be able to start 5 Nationals, and play at the level of the Montreal group? What are the odds of that happening? We are a few years behind the 8-ball here in developing our talent. And of course, we see backsliding and stagnation.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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