Numbers show how offensive, defensive lines have struggled
By Rob Demovsky rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com November 11, 2008
There are no official individual statistics for offensive linemen and only a few for defensive linemen, but plenty of team stats exist to tell the story of how the Green Bay Packers lines have played this season.
And the numbers arent pretty.
The best measure of offensive line play may be the following areas: rushing yards per game, rushing average and sacks allowed.
The best measure of defensive line play may be the following areas: rushing yards allowed per game, rushing average allowed and sacks.
The Packers rank in the bottom half of the 32-team NFL in five of the six areas. They rank 23rd in rushing yards per game and 28th in rushing yards allowed per game. They rank 25th in rushing average and 30th in rushing average allowed. Their 21 sacks allowed ranks 14th in the NFL, and the 16 sacks they have generated puts them 22nd in the league, and it should be noted that three of those sacks have come by linebackers.
Though there are myriad reasons why the Packers find themselves with a 4-5 record after consecutive losses to the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings, the offensive and defensive fronts should bear a significant share of the responsibility.
You win and lose up front, Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman said, obviously.
Last season, the Packers defensive line was arguably the teams strongest position. General Manager Ted Thompson had so much depth he kept 11 defensive linemen coming out of training camp. Kampman made the Pro Bowl, defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila had 9 sacks -- his highest total in three years -- and defensive tackle Johnny Jolly had a breakout season before a shoulder injury ended his year after 10 games.
That group helped the Packers rank 11th in yards allowed, 14th in rushing yards allowed and 13th in sacks per pass play.
The depth of that group, its solid performance and the desire to involve defensive tackle Justin Harrell (a first-round draft pick in 2007) prompted Thompson to trade defensive tackle Corey Williams to the Cleveland Browns for a second-round draft pick in the offseason.
Problems with that group first became evident shortly after the Williams trade, when Harrell hurt his back in March when the players returned for the offseason program. He missed the rest of the offseason, all of training camp and the first seven games of the regular season.
In May, Gbaja-Biamila had knee surgery and never recovered. He recorded just one-half sack in the first seven games of the season and was released on Nov. 1.
Defensive end/tackle Cullen Jenkins, who was off to his best start and was arguably the Packers best lineman the first four games of the season, tore a pectoral muscle on Sept. 28 against Tampa Bay and was lost for the season.
All of that allowed teams to focus more of their blocking on Kampman. Though Harrell returned two games ago, the Packers have filled some of the other holes with the likes of rookie defensive end Jeremy Thompson, street free agent Kenny Pettway and career backup Michael Montgomery.
Youre losing experience there, Kampman said. Corey was a guy that played for us for quite a while. Cullen was the same way and started off the year like gangbusters. Kabeer provided some really good push for us, which allowed me not to be so focused on. All those things combined, you could make a story for that.
"Having said that, theres still guys in those shoes, NFL players who I think are going to be good football players. Now do they have the experience? Not necessarily, but theyre getting it, and I think were continuing to grow and at times show things that are strengths that some of these other guys didnt have.
To be sure, the defensive line bounced back with a respectable performance against the Vikings after blowing many gap assignments against the Titans. In the 28-27 loss at the Metrodome, they played sound gap-control defense but fell victim to too many missed tackles and watched Adrian Peterson rush for 192 yards. The line recorded both sacks of Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte with Jolly getting one and Kampman and Colin Cole sharing the other. Kampman has 6 sacks, but Jenkins still ranks second on the team with 2 despite having not played in six weeks.
Were playing at a high level most of the time, defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn said. Weve just got to close the gap when were not. Thats the most frustrating thing. The thing they have done a good job of is keep coming to work and putting focus on it and not letting it tear us apart because that happens, and teams fall by the wayside.
Justin Harrell had his best game, and Johnny Jolly, I think I had him with 12 or 13 total hits. (Jolly) was all over the field and played with great energy. Its just not showing up yet. If he keeps playing at that level, and Justin keeps doing what he did (on Sunday) and the rest of the guys keep doing what were doing, its going to show up.
The problems on the offensive line might be more stunning, considering it is the same starting five from a year ago, when the offense ranked second in the league in yards and third in fewest sacks allowed per pass play.
After allowing just 19 sacks last season, the Packers have given up 21 sacks in nine games. Not all of that can be placed on the offensive line because one of new quarterback Aaron Rodgers weaknesses has been holding the ball too long.
Did I think, at this stage of the game nine games in, that wed have 21 sacks? offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. No, I didnt envision that. I dont want to say all 21 of those are on the offensive line, but I thought we could do a better job than that, no question about it.
Each lineman has had his share of mistakes, but theres reason to wonder whether left tackle Chad Cliftons best days are behind him. Hes missed significant practice time this season to rest his sore knees and then laid an egg against Vikings defensive end Jared Allen on Sunday. Clifton let Allen hit Rodgers twice, including once for a sack and safety, and then missed a backside block against defensive tackle Kevin Williams that caused running back Ryan Grant to lose 1 yard on the critical final drive.
One of the things thats a challenge for Chad is the amount of practice time he gets, Philbin said. In coaching, you believe in the value of practice. So when a guy misses what he misses, you wonder if he can catch up or how hes going to catch up. Obviously, hes got experience. Thats one of the things he does have. Not just him but a lot of guys on offense have to play better.
When asked how much of the problems on offense have been line-related, Philbin said: I think theres more to it than that. I think everybody has a part in that.