I watch more non-Giants games than ever before and this is what I see:
(1) Teams with good passing attacks create a U-shaped pocket for their QB.
(2) And teams that are good at pressuring the passer crush the pocket until the U-shape flattens into a sieve.
When the Giants pass the ball, not a lot of U-shaped pockets to admire... only when the opposing teams pass the ball.
I don't know which year (or decade it will be), but if the Giants do not change the shape of their own pocket and the pocket of opposing teams, we are stuck with a cellar-dweller.
Yes, indeed!
It worked out pretty well for them, no?
It worked out pretty well for them, no?
Ironically the Giants proved it by getting in Brady's face up the middle in the 2 SB wins.
I think C is the most undervalued position in the NFL. I don't how great the tackles are, if your C is weak you will have poor pass protection
In New England, when he was successful was that he used let the rusher get by him and then push him past brady who would step up in the pocket because he had a strong interior. Solder also did regress but his success was based on a strong interior and a QB with great presence and the space to step up.
Your best and most athletic OL was typically the center
The center has so many responsibilities
Ironically this concept changed when LT started destroying offenses from the edge.
The center, like the offensive guard, plays in the heart of the trenches—where it's difficult enough to tell who's who, let alone who's winning the battle.
A center is a critical part of run-blocking; guards can't pull and escort running backs to the second level unless the center does his job. To use pass-rushing defensive tackles' explosiveness against them, a center has to work with his guards to take those tackles out of the play with trap and wham blocks. Centers also need to be athletic enough to do their own pulling, and can't be so big they interfere with their quarterback's passing lanes.
In pass protection, centers don't just have to block; they have to understand how the defense is attacking them. They have to watch for blitzers and execute double-teams.
Most importantly, centers don't just read defenses, but often adjust the line's assignments based on those reads. A savvy center can improve the whole line's protection—and, regardless of how well he blocks, a center who can't quarterback the line well is a liability.