In part one we looked at the bottom ten teams, and naturally in part two we move to the middle tier of teams ranked between 13 and 22 as we examine who the best pass protecting outfits were in the 2009 season.
Before diving into the Pass Protection ratings, let's look at the methodology we used to rank the teams:
OUR FORMULA
The factors we've used in determining our rankings are as follows:
Total Pressure — This is a measure of how much total pressure the team has given up. It's a combination of the sacks, hits and hurries, some of which we attributed to individual players and some that we didn't. On average, 21 percent of total pressure is either completely unblocked or we don't have enough information to pin it on a specific individual. Don't forget, our mantra is, “We grade what the player attempts to do.” Hence a proportion of pressure is captured by us but not assigned to players. We've also used our standard methodology of weighting a hit and hurry as 0.75 of the value of a sack, as this is the average value that comes from our grading work. Therefore:
SACKS + 0.75[HITS] + 0.75[HURRIES] = TOTAL PRESSURE
Passing Plays — It's obvious that a team that attempts more passes gives more opportunities for pressure, so this is a key number. This is not the number of passes thrown by the team but the number of times a QB dropped back to pass regardless of whether they were then sacked or ran with the ball.
Average Blockers/play — As we alluded to earlier, teams take a very varied stance when it comes to use of blockers over and above the offensive line. It seems reasonable that a team keeping more people in should have a better chance to avoid pressure, and so this number is factored in too.
So the formula we use is as follows:
[TOTAL PRESSURE/PASSING PLAYS]*AVERAGE BLOCKERS/PLAY=PASS PROTECTION RATING
And now back to the rankings (a reminder to click here for 32-23).
No. 22 — San Francisco 49ers
With one exception (at an individual level), the 49ers line did OK. But a combination of having to persist with Adam Snyder at right tackle and not gelling well as a group left them with big holes in their protection. They knew after 2008 Snyder was not up to the job; he gave up more total pressure than any lineman in the NFL despite playing the first seven games at left guard. So, in the offseason they planned an upgrade. Even though they knew they were taking something of a risk, they signed ex-Steelers tackle Marvel Smith, who had not finished either of the previous two seasons because of issues with his back. Unfortunately, offseason surgery didn't work as planned and his chronic back problems forced him into retirement late in the preseason. With few other options, the 49ers stuck with the devil they knew and Snyder struggled once more. So they signed Tony Pashos, who was just beginning to find his feet when he was laid low by a broken shoulder. Snyder remained, gave up 10 sacks, eight hits and 13 pressures and to the best of our knowledge still resides at the top of the 49ers' depth chart (well for now at least).
It's worth mentioning a large proportion of the 49ers' pressure was unblocked (rushers and blitzers just coming free), probably due to the constant movement on the line. Nearly 26 percent of the sacks, hits and hurries were unassigned, the largest percentage in the league.
No. 21 — San Diego Chargers
The Chargers ranked fifth in passing yards and touchdowns, so it is reasonable to assume the protection they enjoyed was of a similar quality. However, their season went to prove, once again, that a great QB with a good set of receiving threats can overcome a lot. It wasn't that the pass protection was woeful (it wasn't), but when your backup center is the highlight of your QB security team, then you know you could do much better.
Right tackle was probably the biggest weakness last year; though Jeromey Clary was not a top-flight lineman, he was usually solid. Unfortunately, when he went down and Brandyn Dombrowski had to shift across from guard, things deteriorated markedly. As alluded to earlier, when the line played poorly the coaches tried to help out by leaving complementary players in to block, but that didn't help. Brandon Manumaleuna stayed behind more than he went out but didn't do much and LaDainian Tomlinson continued to struggle in picking up blitzers. With them both now gone in free agency, if and how the Chargers choose to supplement their line next year should be interesting to watch.
No. 20 — Detroit Lions
Who would want to be Jeff Backus? Even when the poor guy steps up to plate and does a pretty good job of looking after his new QB, he still gets slated by the fans. His coach comes out and rightly defends him (and points out what a good job Stephen Peterman did, too) and suddenly the coach is “soft” on mediocre play. Let's get real: The biggest problem the Lions have isn't their line — though it's not great, neither is it a priority. A few years ago the Lions understood they needed an upgrade at the RT position and after a torrid first season, Gosder Cherilus played a lot better in '09. If he continues this development, the Lions OL might actually become a strength next year, but the chances of that happening with a rookie or free agent at left tackle isn't high at all.
An area that does require an immediate improvement is the pass blocking from the tight end spot. The Lions left Will Heller and Brandon Pettigrew in to block 158 times, and between them (Pettigrew being the main culprit) they gave up three sacks, three hits and eight pressures, which is just too much. On the other hand, Detroit got good returns from Kevin Smith when he stayed in. For this reason, coupled with his well developed receiving skills, he's a very useful third-down player who would be sorely missed if he is slow in returning from his Week 14 injury.
No. 19 — Houston Texans
Matt Schaub played extremely well in 2009 (after the disaster of the first week, anyway) and did a good job of getting rid of the ball quickly to the dangerous targets he had at all the skill positions. In addition, the right side of his line protected him well, so it was a little disappointing that the best they could achieve in this ranking was mid-table. What held them back was the play of Duane Brown, who — although he didn't have any of the utterly incompetent displays of his rookie year — still struggled (chiefly through the middle stretch of the season — Weeks 6-13). Also to blame, to a slightly lesser degree, is Kasey Studdard (four sacks, seven hits and 20 pressures is far too much for a guard).
The performance of the backs (among whom Steve Slaton in particular couldn't get to grips with pass protection) was another area that let the pass protecting down, although credit should be given to Joel Dreesen. The only non-offensive lineman who did reasonably well, Dreesen may have offered nothing as a run blocker but held up his end when left in to block. He got the chance to shine frequently, because though Owen Daniels is a rising star in the passing game, his blocking in all areas still needs a lot of work.
No. 18 — Denver Broncos
The Broncos' protection regressed in '09: A mixture of positive and negative changes led to an overall drop, with the biggest factor being the trade of Jay Cutler to the Bears. In '08 everyone wanted to talk about how few sacks the new tackle pairing had given up, conveniently forgetting they ranked No. 1 (Ryan Clady) and No. 4 (Ryan Harris) in pressures allowed during the season. What few noticed was that the Broncos were third in sacks/pressure ratio and the main reason for this was Cutler. The combination of his legs and his quick release allowed him to rarely take sacks regardless of the pressure. With the arrival of Kyle Orton, Denver dropped to 13th in sacks/pressure despite Orton throwing away the ball 21 times (compared with Cutler's five times in '08). The other factors negatively affecting protection was the marked decline in performance of former stalwarts Ben Hamilton and Casey Wiegmann, both of whom recently were let go.
From a positive perspective, although Clady gave up eight more sacks than the previous year (because Orton took the sacks that Cutler avoided), he gave up substantially less overall pressure and Chris Kuper had a very good year in pass protection.
No. 17 — Arizona Cardinals
Kurt Warner had always been very clear that he wanted as many options as possible to throw to, preferred to be blitzed and would accept the downside of that. With the quality of his offensive line, that equates to being hit frequently and hit hard. In essence what he was saying was, “I don't care what's in front of me. Don't make a big deal of trying to help them. I'll sort it out.” In keeping with his philosophy, only the Seattle Seahawks kept extra blockers in more often. What makes this all the more remarkable is despite all the pressure he took, we didn't see a single instance of Warner taking a sack he could have avoided or being responsible for a pressure or hit. That dubious distinction is very much in the hands of his offensive line, whose patent inadequacies he compensated for since he the day arrived in the desert.
Where this leaves Matt Leinart, we're not sure. Fixing the line is not just a case of changing one or two parts — every position and current alternative option at that position is below average or worse as a pass blocker and the tackles, Levi Brown and unrestricted free agent Mike Gandy, are especially poor.
No. 16 — Cleveland Browns
The first thing to say about the Browns is they don't pass very much. No other team asked its quarterbacks to drop back less than Cleveland, which attempted to throw only 490 times. Although this doesn't affect the overall rank directly, as we based our stats on the number of passing plays, it does beg the question how much better would Cleveland be if it got an additional 43 percent of its passing snaps as “practice.” This is the case with Seattle, which ran 213 more passing plays.
Having the premier left tackle in football, Joe Thomas, helps the ranking significantly and the guards — Eric Steinbach and Floyd Womack — aside, no blocker really performed poorly for the Browns. This consistency across the board accounts first and foremost for their mid-table position. Two people who didn't help were the quarterbacks, Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, who between them accounted for more than 6 percent of the pressure, ranking 27th among QBs.
No. 15 — Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are one of those teams whose QB does a pretty good job of making his protection look worse than it is. It's great when Ben Roethlisberger shrugs off tacklers and makes plays, but as he showed last year, he can also give up large chunks of yardage and take sacks. No one came close to the Steelers in turning nearly 26 percent of the total pressure they faced into sacks, and that number doesn't compare well at all to the league average of 16 percent. That said, it would be unfair to lump everything on Big Ben. Overall, he played well and, as mentioned, he turns a fair percentage of these types of plays into big gains. No, the real area of concern is the interior of the line, where Justin Hartwig, Trai Essex and Ramon Foster (when he subbed for Chris Kemoeatu) struggled with pass protection (and pretty much every other facet of their play).
Before leaving the Steelers, a word on Mewelde Moore, who in '08 was probably one of the worst pass-blocking backs in football. In 116 “attempts” at blocking he gave up five sacks, six hits and three pressures and was used like a rag doll by almost every linebacker he faced. What a difference a year makes, as this season those numbers dropped to zero sacks, one hit and four pressures in 85 snaps. Perhaps one of the biggest turnarounds we've seen by any player in any dimension of play.
No. 14 — New York Giants
Add the Giants to the list of teams that keep in blockers more often than their ability might suggest. David Diehl remains their key weakness, but although his making the Pro Bowl is laughable, he's not so poor as to warrant leaving in more blockers than 29 other teams. The rest of the line was OK, if not great, but perhaps the areas most worthy of note are at other positions. Tight end Kevin Boss is rapidly becoming a very good player, but unfortunately not improving as a pass protector. In the 113 snaps he stayed in, he gave up a sack, four hits and six pressures, which can best be viewed in comparison to his teammate, Ahmad Bradshaw. In only four fewer plays, Bradshaw allowed two hits and one pressure. He was ranked No. 2 by us overall in this regard, just behind Maurice Jones-Drew.
No. 13 — Tennessee Titans
The Titans definitely regressed in this area from '08. It's not that they were poor; more that guys with talent like Michael Roos and Jake Scott didn't perform as they had the previous season, particularly in the early part of the year. For example, Roos gave up only one sack, one hit and 12 pressures in '08 but this year (in 53 more snaps) he surrendered four sacks, six hits and 23 pressures. No one was dire and the coaches didn't feel the need to do much by way of additional blocking, so it could well be they bounce straight back in '10. However, one area that will need work is Chris Johnson's blocking. If the Titans want to use him on third down (as they absolutely should because of his game-breaking ability), he needs to work on his blitz pickup.
Another area that is worth noting is the sacks/pressure ratio. The Titans were ranked No. 1, meaning they let pressure become sacks less frequently than any other team. Many automatically assume this is a result of Vince Young's mobility and though this has some truth, Kerry Collins was actually better in this area than Young. Collins allowed 7 percent of pressure to become sacks, as opposed to Young's 10 percent.
Come back for Nos. 12-1 as we get closer to our top pass-protecting team.
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