One of my favorite clips is from Jim Mora where he deadpans to a reporter "You think you know, but you don't know..."

 

I try to have that clip first and foremost in my mind whenever I give my impressions posts.  I can give my take on what I think happened on a play or given series of plays, but the most I'm doing is giving a small fraction of what happened or what I think was supposed to happen, largely based upon the end result.

 

This is from yesterday's MMQB, penned by Lions OL Geoff Schwartz.  It shows just how complex OL play is and why, though they are on the TV screen for the bulk of the play, we fans still can't tell what's going on outside of the most general sense.

 

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/07/11/geoff...roit-lions

 

A sample...

 

Quote: 

I’ve played for six offensive line coaches in the NFL. You might think OL play is simple enough that the coaches are basically teaching the same things. Nope. Only two of my OL coaches taught the same technique. Ironically, these also have been my favorite OL systems.

Everything linemen do in a system is for a purpose and has a reason. I can get down with that. So I’ve had to adapt to various ways to pass block. Some OL coaches teach strong inside hand, some want vertical sets, some want a jump set at 45 degrees. I’ve been taught two-hand punch, independent hand usage and outside hand punch. I’ve been taught three different ways to stop a bull rush and different aiming points on zone plays. How difficult could it be to pull right? Well, if you’re pulling on power, some schemes take the guard inside (but always outside of the double team) and ask him to “swab out” anything in the hole. Other schemes, if the guard sees it’s congested inside, then he adjusts and pulls around the blocks. It’s all madness. So you have to adapt and obey. You find out what the OL coach demands. You follow that.

(Emphasis added)

 

It's the nuggets like these that keep (or should keep) me and other fans humble when we give our takes on the game.  This gives a glimpse as to why Bortles would say what he said last year (about fans questioning playcalling is like a kindergartner questioning a college professor).

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