Pass Rush Vulnerability: Perception vs Reality

[AvengerRam]

As Tx aptly described it, this is the "Dead Zone" time of the year. So, with the rep point thread having been retired to the Great Thread Nursing Home, I decided to answer a question I had about the Rams' O line.

Where did the sacks come from: inside or outside pass rush?

So... I ran some numbers (NOTE: its amazing how easy such a task is these days with sites like ProFootballReference) and divided the sacks (against) from 2009 into two categories:

Inside Pass Rush (Sacks by 3-4 DEs, DTs, MLB/ILBs and S) vs. Outside Pass Rush (Sacks by 4-3 DEs, 4-3 OLBs, 3-4 OLBs and CBs).

The result: one category represented a fairly substantial majority (61.4%) of the sacks allowed.

Which one would you guess it is and why?

(I'll reveal the answer later)

[HUbison]

I'm going to go with my gut and say......outside.

[Bralidore(RAMMODE)]

Outside. Alex Barron...being Alex Barron. And Jason Smith being a rookie. Then the injuries and the memorable Justin Smith debacle against the Whiners.

Had to think because I recall some inside penetration (specifically on Incognitos side) in the first couple of games before thinks started clicking a bit.

All in all I'd have to go with outside however.

[VegasRam]

I'll go with inside. IIRC Bulger was rarely, if ever, able to step up into the pocket, and the backers were probably cheating up a bit anyway, expecting a Jackson run.

[Goldenfleece]

I'll say inside after recalling how Justin Smith abused the left side of our line on several occasions as a 3-4 DE. It also seems like we got nailed on a number of linebacker blitzes. Sixty-one seems a little high for that, but I just don't recall seeing guys flying around the edge as often as they shot straight through unblocked and hit the quarterback before he made his read.

[RAMarkable]

I'll go outside on this one. Barron was less than stellar and Adam Goldberg should be arrested for impersonating an NFL OT.

Factor in Jason Smith being a rookie and all (as Dwight Freeney et al showed) and our continuing problems in blitz pick-up and I believe it all adds up to the Rams giving up more sacks from the outside pressure.

WHAT SAY YE?

[mikhal5569]

My first instinct was to blame the tackles, but I know our lines strength is run blocking. I could definitely see cogs over blocking pushing his lineman to far back and leaving a nice gaping whole for a line backer to come in. Purely a guess thou.

[VegasRam]

Mikhal - careful, you've got post 666 coming up.

[MauiRam]

I'll go with the inside .. It seemed when opposing Ds wanted to overload or run a delayed blitz, we were vulnerable up the middle. Heck, now that I think about it - we were just plain vulnerable period ..

[AvengerRam]

I'll give you the answer below in white typeset. Highlight below if you want to see the answer:



The majority of the sacks were the result of an inside pass rush. Most of the damage was done by 3-4 DEs and 4-3 DTs. This may be indicative of poor OG play, which would not be surprising, given that the OG spot was in flux all year as a result of injuries and Richie Incognito's meltdown. Notably, Jason Brown did not give up a sack to a 3-4 NT all year.

[hawaiianpunch]

wow really good stuff, always enjoy reading these articles. I was hoping "that specific linemen" would have an impact, so i hope this year he will definetly be a bruiser for the rams.

[RockinRam]

Notably, Jason Smith did not give up a sack to a 3-4 NT all year.

I'm going to think you meant Jason Brown, because Jason Smith as an OT has nothing to do with a 3-4 NT manned up in front of the center.


If you did mean Jason Brown, Brown had a good showing last season, and proved he was a good FA pick-up.

[HUbison]

I'm going to think you meant Jason Brown, because Jason Smith as an OT has nothing to do with a 3-4 NT manned up in front of the center.


If you did mean Jason Brown, Brown had a good showing last season, and proved he was a good FA pick-up.

Nope, he meant Jason Smith. Here's some more Jason's that did not give up a sack to a 3-4 NT:

...Bourne
...Kidd
..., the killer from Friday the 13th
...and the Argonauts


On second thought, I bet you're right; AV probably did mean Jason Brown.

[live4ramin]

Inside.

You guys way overkill on Barron.

[Nick]

This may be indicative of poor OG play, which would not be surprising, given that the OG spot was in flux all year as a result of injuries and Richie Incognito's meltdown.

I'm a little surprised to hear that the interior line did a poorer job of pass protection than the tackles. My guess would have been the tackles, given Barron's inconsistency, Smith's rookie growing pains, and Goldberg eventually replacing Smith.

That said, I don't think the guard position was in flux all year. Mostly just towards the end of the season, it seems. For the first seven weeks of 2009, the Rams fielded their opening day starters on the interior of the line. Then things started to shift. Richie missed some time (four games I think) but came back against Chicago and Tennessee, where Bell also played. So really, that's nine games - more than half the year - when our starters were out there. After Tennessee, there were some big changes there due to Incognito being cut and Bell being hurt.

I'd agree that's probably way more "flux" than you'd like to have on your line, but they played nearly half the year together before anyone really missed a game.

Inside.

You guys way overkill on Barron.

Apparently so do the coaches, since they decided to move on without him.