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PFF's system isn't perfect, but in this case I think it paints somewhat of an accurate picture of the current state of our offensive line. It's obviously still early in the season, so these guys have a chance to improve/regress as the season goes on.

 

Brandon Linder- PFF's 3rd (out of 34) ranked center, Linder is ranked 6th in pass blocking and 4th in run blocking. Linder is obviously the Jags best offensive linemen and is one of the best linemen in football, he's a clear staple on the Jags offensive line.

 

Luke Joeckel- for whatever reason PFF still has Joeckel classified as a tackle, if you take his numbers and compare them to other guards he'd be the 36th (out of 71) ranked guard, however, his run blocking grade of 85.3 ranks 3rd among tackles and 5th among guards, if Luke improves in pass protection grade of  43.7 (58th ranked)  he'll have a chance to be one of the better guards in football, I think his play will continue to get better as the season goes along, he has a high upside at that position.

 

Jeremy Parnell- he's PFF's 44th (out of 75) ranked tackle, his pass protection grade of 78.4 ranks 26th (out of 75) but he has an horrendous run blocking grade of 42.5 which ranks 61st out of 75. This is a case where their rankings back up the eye test, Parnell is adequate in pass protection but consistently gets blown up in the run game, if his play doesn't improve (drastically) I expect the Jaguars to move on after this season, his play doesn't warrant the contract.

 

AJ Cann- he's PFF's 39th (out of 71) ranked guard, his pass protection grade of 85.1 ranks 9th overall but he (like Parnell) has a horrible run blocking grade of 39.5, which ranks 58th out of 71. This is another case where their rankings back the eye test, both Cann & Parnell have been adequate to good in pass protection, but both guys are absolutely terrible in the run game, at least in this scheme. Cann is a fairly high draft pick so I expect David Caldwell to give him time, but he's simply not the "mauler" (again at least not in this scheme) needed at the RG position. His development as the year goes on will be interesting to watch, he might be better served moving to LG long term.

 

Kelvin Beachum- albeit in limited snaps, he's PFF's 31st (out of 75) ranked tackle, with a pass protection grade of 78.1 (good for 27th overall) and a run blocking grade of 64.8, good for 42nd overall. Other than his health, I have no concerns about Kelvin, he'll never be a Tryon Smith like mauler in the run game but is really good in pass pro, when healthy.

 

The take I got from this information is simple, outside of Joeckel the Jags have 4 linemen that are consistently good in pass protection. On the flip side, outside of Joeckel & Linder they have no-one that is consistently good in the run game, we have only one well-rounded linemen, and that's Brandon Linder. If this trend continues throughout the rest of the season, expect David Caldwell to "blow-up' the offensive line this off-season by bringing in 3-4 new potential starters. 

Pretty much what I've been saying, especially in regards to Parnell and Cann.

Quote:Pretty much what I've been saying, especially in regards to Parnell and Cann.

 

Yea when I saw this information I thought by your post in another thread, dead on.

If you have subscription to their rankings, I'd love to see what Alex Mack is ranked as.

Quote:If you have subscription to their rankings, I'd love to see what Alex Mack is ranked as.

 

Mack is their 4th overall ranked center

Correction- Brandon Linder is their 2nd overall ranked center, obviously keep in mind he didn't play last week.

Quote:If you have subscription to their rankings, I'd love to see what Alex Mack is ranked as.

Mack is playing really well. Watching him call out all those protections to fellow offensive linemen last night made me think that is exactly what Blake needs. An experienced center, not a guy in year 1..

Quote:Mack is playing really well. Watching him call out all those protections to fellow offensive linemen last night made me think that is exactly what Blake needs. An experienced center, not a guy in year 1..

 

The problem with our offensive line isn't the center position, Linder (by PFF's rankings) has actually played better than Mack. The problem with our line is the inability to open lanes in the run game, with Cann & Parnell (the "mauling" right side of the line) shouldering the blame.

Quote:The problem with our offensive line isn't the center position, Linder (by PFF's rankings) has actually played better than Mack. The problem with our line is the inability to open lanes in the run game, with Cann & Parnell (the "mauling" right side of the line) shouldering the blame.

Might be playing well through PFF, but having a guy who has played center most his life would do amazing things for Blake. You can't just judge a center on his pass and run blocking skills. The center is essentially the quarterback of the offensive line and can help Blake with protection alignments. Blake has to do everything for the line, and we aren't even sure if he is good at it. Which may be part of the problem with the run game. 

I'd like to see a mauler added to the roster next year.

 

Maybe we can sign Chance Warmack in the offseason and hope he has a Chris Naeole-like turn around.

If Linder, Beachum and Prince are back this week, I think we win.

Quote:Might be playing well through PFF, but having a guy who has played center most his life would do amazing things for Blake. You can't just judge a center on his pass and run blocking skills. The center is essentially the quarterback of the offensive line and can help Blake with protection alignments. Blake has to do everything for the line, and we aren't even sure if he is good at it. Which may be part of the problem with the run game. 

 

I understand the point you're trying to make, but Linder isn't only "playing well" through PFF, the eye test tells me he's clearly the Jags best offensive linemen and one of the better linemen/centers in the league. Now if you were to ask me would I've been in favor of signing a stud like Alex Mack in the off-season while keeping Linder at RG, the answer is a resounding YES, I think the o-line will be a focal point this off-season, it has to. It's impossible to have a succesful offense if there's no threat of a run game, defenses are literally stopping our "rushing attack" with 4 down linemen.

Quote:I'd like to see a mauler added to the roster next year.

 

Maybe we can sign Chance Warmack in the offseason and hope he has a Chris Naeole-like turn around.

 

Except Warmack isn't exactly a mauler, he's another guy that's average/above average in pass pro but struggles in the run game.

Quote:I understand the point you're trying to make, but Linder isn't only "playing well" through PFF, the eye test tells me he's clearly the Jags best offensive linemen and one of the better linemen/centers in the league. Now if you were to ask me would I've been in favor of signing a stud like Alex Mack in the off-season while keeping Linder at RG, the answer is a resounding YES, I think the o-line will be a focal point this off-season, it has to. It's impossible to have a succesful offense if there's no threat of a run game, defenses are literally stopping our "rushing attack" with 4 down linemen.

Do you think it's time to start thinking about Reed or Shatley at one of the G positions? They both are strong run blockers, but not so good in the pass game. When do you decided to trade off one for the other (pass versus run)? I just don't think you mover Linder again as he is above average and center is where you want your best O-lineman, in my opinion.

Quote:Do you think it's time to start thinking about Reed or Shatley at one of the G positions? They both are strong run blockers, but not so good in the pass game. When do you decided to trade off one for the other (pass versus run)? I just don't think you mover Linder again as he is above average and center is where you want your best O-lineman, in my opinion.

 

If it were up to me I'd be willing to do anything to get the run game going, if that means shuffling the offensive line and giving guys like Shatley/Reed a opportunity then so be it. I think what we (potentially) gain in the run game will be more valuable than what we'd (potentially) miss in pass-pro, an effective run game is crucial to the success of the type of offense the Jags (ideally) would like to run. The Jags are a vertical based offense that needs to run game to setup play-action and deep shots down the field, if we were running an offense with West-Coast based pass principles it'd be different, as the short passing game is an extension of the run game in that type of an offense.

Doesn't mean [BLEEP].

FWIW Parnell has been dealing with a groin injury the past couple of weeks.

Quote:I understand the point you're trying to make, but Linder isn't only "playing well" through PFF, the eye test tells me he's clearly the Jags best offensive linemen and one of the better linemen/centers in the league. Now if you were to ask me would I've been in favor of signing a stud like Alex Mack in the off-season while keeping Linder at RG, the answer is a resounding YES, I think the o-line will be a focal point this off-season, it has to. It's impossible to have a succesful offense if there's no threat of a run game, defenses are literally stopping our "rushing attack" with 4 down linemen.

What I am saying is, yes Linder is a good pass blocker and run blocker. For an experienced QB or an experienced O-line he would be amazing. The offensive line looks flat out lost. It is like nobody knows who to block. This falls on both the center and quarterback. Linder played only 3 games as a center in 4 years of college. He then only played 3 games last season. He is a rookie playing center right now. I think Linder will turn out to be a great player, it is obvious he is the most talented lineman we have.

 

Against Balt with Linder out, we had another guard conversion playing center in Shatley. We had a total of 48 yards rushing and 48 yards after contact. The offensive line generated a grand total of 0 yards. An experienced QB I feel can help the offensive line with protection and calling players out at the line, Blake doesn't really seem to do that. An example is when he is pointing out a player to Yeldon to block mid play (SD game). Why didn't he do this BEFORE the play. So what do you need if the QB isn't going to help do it? An experienced center. Maybe the offensive line can gel after the bye. 

Linder is our best OL, well water is wet, the dude is a stud pro bowl level C

 

Its kinda like we keep getting screwed, week one I feel if we had Ivory and not bad refs, we win, week 3 is Linder plays we win, we just needed a few simple rushing yards vs B-More and the OL stunk it up.

Quote:The problem with our offensive line isn't the center position, Linder (by PFF's rankings) has actually played better than Mack. The problem with our line is the inability to open lanes in the run game, with Cann & Parnell (the "mauling" right side of the line) shouldering the blame.

But wouldnt you want Mack at C, and Linder at LG? Thats the thing with Mack, we fixed one issue and created another, instead of fixing the hole.