Differentiating the OL

[RogueHominid]

Pappy Knuckles (nee Buddy Knox) and I were having a conversation the other day about the legend OL and what differentiates them. We know a lot about the signature styles and some under the hood stuff when it comes to position players, but very little when it comes to the OL. The game we played was using all-line teams, so it provided a perfect opportunity for checking some of this out.

In the interest of getting the much-underused OL some love, I'm gonna post a few findings of my own, and perhaps others can add to them.

Steve Wisnewski: Good in-line. He doesn't get tons of push, but he gets enough to run behind, and he's okay on short pulls. He's not the quickest, though, so he's not a guy for a sweep/toss offense. He can also be beat by quickness, especially inside.

Guy McIntyre: Okay in-line, and the best puller at bronze. His pass protection is very good, and he's quick enough to stifle the inside rush by the DT.

Larry Little: Not an in-line type, but excellent on the pull and in space. Stretch plays are good, as are sweeps, tosses, and counters with him.

Bob St. Clair: Excellent in-line and in space. This guy plays like a gold, and just runs people over. And nobody is going to beat him in pass protection. His speed also makes counters and tosses where the tackle does a short pull work very well.

Jim Otto: A beast in-line and on those designed cutback plays. He can be beaten in pass protection, though.

Anthony Munoz: Probably the best in the game. He runs people over in the run game and, though he can be beaten on occasion in the passing game, his protection is very reliable, plus he calms the QB down. He is always getting to the 2nd and 3rd level.

Tony Boselli: Not that great in-line, but solid. He won't get you tons of push, but he'll hold his ground. He is also fairly active on the second level. In pass protection, he plays like a silver. I don't really see him get beat much if at all.

Randy Cross: Not a good run blocker at all, but pretty good in pass protection. I used him in a West Coast offense, and he was nowhere near the pulling threat that McIntyre is, and he just doesn't get any push. But if you want to stop the strong side tackle's pass rush, he's a good pick to do it.

[CreatineKasey]

I can add to this. I actually used OL when I first got this game!

NO offensive tackles in this game have leadership, period. Only ONE has stonewall at silver and that is Delamallure (sp?)

Wisniewski: Correct he doesn't get much of a push at all. In fact I see him as fairly average ability-wise on the OL. I'd have to imagine he helps the generics hit their assignments better with his leadership.

Joe Delamallure (Silver OG) - Best lineman I've used. He is very solid on pulls. He doesn't drive blocks particularly great in line, but is serviceable. IN pass protection he is solid, but not exceptional. He really shows up on runs in space and can really be a threat on pulls because he can really run. He is also the ONLY silver player in the game with stonewall. This paired with a bronze rocket-armed QB can add a lot to an offense in both the run and pass with a single pick.

Tony Boselli - quicker than I imagined on run plays, and very solid against the pass. I was very surprised how well he plays the run.

Larry Little - Give this guy a jetpack... he can just fly around the field! This guy gets up the hole on pulls better than any OL in the game that I've seen. It is nice he has leadership too.

[DJ]

Joe Jacoby has been real solid for me in our league. He gets a great push on the left side of the line and does a good job in keeping that side of the pocket strong on pass rushes.

[sportyguyfl31]

The bronze OLs are barely better then generics IMO. Now the silver and gold ones?


different story. I once put a team together with Larry Little + Joe Dalliamure, blocking for Natrone Means.

Carnage

[RogueHominid]

My all-line team is a blast to use. The pocket integrity is amazing, as are the running lanes. The difference is palpable--it's too bad more people don't incorporate the line into their team designs.

With a generic back and a legend line, I am able to run about as well as I can with a generic line and a legend back. It's a lot of fun. And those generic backs aren't half bad.

[CreatineKasey]

Generic RB's aren't slow, they just are very difficult to break tackles with in my experience.

Maybe you need to be a trendsetter with a solid OL! The most linemen I've used on competitive teams is 2 and a bulldozer TE. With some leadership and placement of even a couple of linemen, vast improvement can be seen.

As far as bronze OL goes - from what I've seen they only excel at one thing. Jacoby can really drive block. Boselli is solid against the Pass and pretty bad at pulling.

You'd have to imagine a couple solid choices at OL could be worthwhile as it improves all aspects of your offense.

[RogueHominid]

I might give it a shot in our next league season. It would be fun to win with legends in the trenches.

I think you're mostly right about the bronzes, with the exception of Guy MacIntyre. He's very good in pass protection and he's a good puller. I just used him today offline, and he was fine in the run game. Not a lot of push, of course, but good in space--he can locate and hit a target, unlike many of the generics.

[catcatch22]

You never mentioned Stringer. I gind him to be one of the better bronze lineman along with Fralic since they have superior strength. They get plenty of push.

However the best O-lineman I have used was Bob St. Clair. He can do it all and rarel do I see him getting beat by anyone.