Quote:There's a trick to evaluating Offensive Linemen, but anyone can do it if they know what to look for. Granted, it gets tricky when you start pairing down between pass blocking and run blocking but if you watch enough you'll start to get a feel for it.

 

For me, the most important thing was did they let anyone "cross their face"? What this question is asking is did the blocker allow a Defensive player to go around him without moving him off of his path? He doesn't have to stop the guy, but he better have laid hands on him and moved him off of his track.

 

The next thing for me is "did he chase"? This isn't as universal but it is rather standard, Offensive Linemen should not chase Defenders. If your guy is going away from you, let him go. Odds are, he's just getting out of the way of someone else on his squad, so just be a little patient and the real target will show up. If he chased a guy and left his spot, did another defender come through his location? If so, that's bad. Really bad.

 

Then we get to "How was he at impact?" Did he move his man with his shot or at least change his trajectory? Did he get blown back? If he did, was it a footwork / foot positioning thing or simply a power thing? Was he under balance when he went to strike?

 

Next is "how does he move in space?" Were there any plays where he had to climb up to get to a Linebacker or pull around behind another blocker and lead a play? If so, did he get his hands on someone? Did he outrun the play? Did he maintain good balance on the run so that when he did impact his guy, he gave a good shot.

 

And lastly, how did he finish? Not all blockers are going to finish their blocks on their feet. Some guys are dirtballs and just have sloppy blocks but are they effective? Did they run their feet through contact and follow the play? Do they get every last shove in that they could before the whistle blew?

 

Now, I haven't done that for this season but those are some of the things that I look at when grading out tape of players. It can really be a lot of fun if you pick one guy and follow him throughout a season.

 

Completely agree.

 

You learn so much when watching yourself on film, everyone in the room's eyes on your play, and taking criticism (good and bad) from your coaches.

 

If you've been in the room, it really goes a long way to understanding what you're seeing/not seeing when you watch the interior.  If you haven't, then it's sometimes difficult to explain to someone what they are/are not seeing or understanding/not understanding.

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