Grading The Eagles Offensive Line

There’s a new stat over at NFL.com. Well, it’s new to me. I don’t recall seeing it before, but I drink a lot, so it might have been there before this season and I just missed it. Anyway, it focuses on the offensive line, which is nice because I don’t think we talk about the giant gents up front as much as we should.

Thus far this season, the Eagles O-line has been scrutinized for poor run blocking and sketchy pass protection. I think the line is a work in progress, but the best way to judge their performance is by looking at the stats.

The NFL.com chart tracks the cumulative experience of all the O-line starters, their directional success rate in the run game and the total sacks/QB hits surrendered. So, where do the Birds rank? Out of 32 teams, they currently sit at 20. For a little perspective, the Colts are #1, the Saints #7, the Cowboys #10 and the Steelers #27.

We constantly hear Reid say he doesn’t care how many run plays are called, but he does want them to be effective when they are dialed up.

According to the chart, the offense has gained 622 yards on 143 attempts, for a solid 4.3 ypc.  The best ypc average in the league belongs to the Cowboys, who have a 5.6. Only three teams have run the ball fewer times than the Eagles. Nine teams have gained less yards.

What about those nasty negative runs? It seems like Birds’ running backs sure do get blown up in the backfield a bunch. Well, they have 13 runs for minus yards. How does that compare to some other teams? The Colts have 12, the Broncos 8, the Ravens 15 and dem ‘Boys have 13. In other words, the Eagles are on par with everyone else.

Let’s take a closer look at those 13 negative runs. Two have come on the left side, five up the middle and six to the right side. This isn’t surprising. Jason Peters and now Todd Herremans are clearly the strong side of the line. I would expect more runs to the left the remainder of this season.

What about short yardage? Don’t they suck at converting those dreaded third-and-ones?  Uh, not anymore. The chart tells us the offense has converted on all runs to the left and right, and are 67% effective up the gut. We can thank Mr. Leonard Weaver partly for the improvement.

Now to pass protection. The Eagles have allowed 15 sacks, which is more than I like, but it’s about average for the league. However, the 22 quarterback hits given up ties them for 7th best. McNabb and Kolb have not been dinged a lot. In fact, if you throw out the debacle in Oakland, the O-line has surrendered 9 sacks and 14 hits in six games. That my friends is pretty damn impressive.

It’s even more impressive when you take into account the number of combined starts among the starters. Only four teams have a starting line with fewer starts than the Eagles 157. The Cowboys lead the NFL with 535 starts. The Bills bring up the rear with 56.

Looks can be deceiving when it comes to the offensive line. It might seem like they’re not getting the job done a lot of the time, but the numbers tell a different story. And as we all know, the numbers never lie.

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