FanPost

Eric Fisher vs the Panthers

It's time for a another snap-by-snap review of Eric Fisher (here's a link to last week's review), this time against the Panthers on Sunday night. Here's what I do: I review each play and assign a grade of +1, 0 or -1. If a player fails to execute his assignment, even if it doesn't affect the outcome, he gets a -1. If he excels at a run of the mill assignment or handles a difficult one, he gets a +1. If I'm not sure or if he just does his job, the player gets a 0.

1. 13:27 1st Quarter, 1st and 10 at KC 20. Knile Davis runs over left guard for 11 yards. Eric Fisher has no 1st-level assignments, gets to the second level and places a nice block on ILB AJ Klein to allow Davis an extra 5 yards or so.

Grade: +1

2. 12:57 1st Qtr, 1st & 10 at KC 31. Smith executes a play-action fake left to DAT end and then rolls right to hit a wide open Fasano in the flat for a gain of 16. Fisher chips the RDE into a block by LG Allen and then engages LB Klein.

Grade: 0

3. 12:30 1st Quarter, 1st and 10 at KC 47. Knile Davis runs over LG for no gain. Fisher engages RDE Greg Hardy as he rushes upfield to set the edge and prevents Hardy from getting back into the play. OT note: Fasano ran out of bounds on the previous play, but the clock was allowed to run after the ball was set. Is this a new rule or a referee error?

Grade: 0

4. 12:09 1st Quarter, 2d and 9 at KC 48. Smith passes complete, short right to Bowe for 10 yards. RDE Hardy takes two hard steps upfield, hesitates just slightly and dips his left shoulder just a bit to the inside on his third step before continuing upfield. He gets outside leverage on Fisher (the left hand to the facemask doesn't hurt) and would have finished with a sack if Smith had held the ball. However, Fisher does maintain the block long enough. Side note: Hardy is a tricky customer with fast hands and subtle moves. Are other LTs more effective at keeping Hardy's hands off of them?

Grade: 0

5. 11:20 1st Quarter. 1st and 10 at Carolina 42. Ugly "screen" pass right to Knile Davis. I put screen in quotes b/c the blocking never really developed. Only Fulton managed to get out front and he got called for holding. Fisher engages RDE Hardy, but he doesn't have good position. His left hand is grasping Hardy's outside right shoulder for a second or two before he lets go. Smith is a half-second from taking a hit.

Grade: 0 (a shaky 0)

6. 10:54 1st Quarter. 1st and 20 at KC 48. Smith passes incomplete short to Fasano over the middle. Pass tipped by Kuechly. Fisher stops a straight on power rush by RDT Kawann Short.

Grade: 0

7. 10:50 1st Quarter. 2d and 20 at KC 48. Smith passes complete to Knile Davis short right for 6 yards. Fisher handles outside rush by RDE Hardy with no issues.

Grade: 0

8. 10:09 1st Quarter. 3d and 14 at Carolina 46. Smith pass short right to K.Davis to CAR 36 for 10 yards. Fisher again handles RDE Hardy's outside rush. Allen shows up at the end of the play to get a lick in. This is Fisher's best pass block of the evening so far.

Grade: 0

9. 8:16 1st Quarter. 1st and 10 at KC 27. Knile Davis has a nice run up the middle. Could have lost 2, but gained 5 instead. Fisher seals RDE Hardy on the edge.

Grade: 0

10. 7:45 1st Quarter. 2d and 5 at KC 32. Knile Davis left guard for -1 yard. That was one ugly play. The blocking didn't account for Kuechly, it seems. Oversight or error by Fulton? Allen didn't really hit his block on RDT Colin Cole. Fisher did his job -- he chipped on the RDT and then moved to the second level to position himself for sealing off backside pursuit.

Grade: 0

11. 7:14 1st Quarter. 3d and 6 at KC 31. Smith passes complete over the middle to Bowe for 19 yards. Oh boy. Fisher allows RDE Hardy to run right past him and to lay a nasty hit on Smith. Was Fisher a) too slow?; b) setting up for a more shallow drop by Smith?; or c) too careful about giving up the inside move? I think it was a combination of (a) and (c).

Grade: -1

12. 6:32 1st Quarter. 1st and 10 at KC 50. Smith incomplete deep to Avery. Offsides on Carolina's LDE Charles Johnson. Fisher has a nice set against RDE Hardy, but then Hardy spins off Fisher, behind the RDT and into the A-gap. There's no way Fisher can stay with that. Davis picks up Hardy and keeps Smith clean. Hardy is really something else.

Grade: 0

13. 6:25 1st Quarter. 1st and 5 at CAR 45. Davis runs over RT for 4 yards. Fisher heads straight to second level and gets a good block on ILB Kuechly. Fisher gets position on Kuechly's left shoulder, who is then able to slip the block as Davis cuts to Kuechly's right. However, the ILB is not really a factor in the play.

Grade: +1

14. 5:43 1st Quarter. 2d and 1 at CAR 41. Davis runs left end for -3 yards. The play is designed to go in the B-gap between LT and LG. Fisher pulls to lay a cut block on the CB, Melvin White, while TE Kelce blocks down on RDE Hardy (nice!). Unfortunately, LBs Kuechly and Davis fill the gap. FB Sherman and LG Allen both take aim at LB Davis, leaving Kuechly free. K.Davis tries to bounce outside and White recovers in time to bring the RB down for a loss. This is one reason I don't like cut blocks - the defender can get back into the play too easily.

Grade: 0. Fisher did his job, but it wasn't enough to overcome the rest of the Carolina D.

15. 5:06 1st Quarter. 3d and 4 at the CAR 44. Smith passes incomplete to WR Hemingway. The whole line moves right on the snap, and Fisher effectively engages a defensive tackle.

Grade: 0

16. 3:09 1st Quarter. 1st and 10 at the KC 48. Smith pass complete deep right to Bowe. TE Kelce has lined up outside Fisher and is the first to engage RDE Hardy. Fisher is there too for the double-team, and Hardy has no chance.

Grade: 0

17. 2:36 1st Quarter. 1st and 10 at the CAR 31. Smith pass complete short left to Bowe. Fasano lined up outside Fisher and then went into a route at the snap. Still, I think that putting the TE on the left forces RDE Hardy to line up further outside and gives Fisher more time to get into his pass set. In this instance, Fisher is ready for Hardy and blocks him effectively.

Grade: 0

18. 2:14 1st Quarter. 2d and 4 at the CAR 25. Smith passes complete to DAT short right for 10 yards. Fasano is justly called for offensive pass interference. TE Kelce is lined up outside Fisher. Fisher effectively blocks RDE Wes Horton.

Grade: 0

19. 1:45 1st Quarter. 2d and 14 at the CAR 35. Smith pass complete, short right to Avery for 15 yards. Fisher is uncovered this time and effectively blocks RDE Hardy as Smith rolls right to complete the pass.

Grade: 0

20. 1:24 1st Quarter. 1st and 10 at the CAR 20. Smith passes deep left to TE Fasano. Ruled incomplete after CAR challenge. Fasano lines up outside Fisher and chips RDE Hardy into Fisher's block, who has no trouble holding it.

Grade: 0

21. 1:20 1st Quarter. 2d and 10 at the CAR 20. Smith passes complete short left to DAT for -4 yards. This play had no chance as CB Cason and LB Davis read the pass to DAT immediately. DAT had no blocking in front of him and no time to make a guy miss. Fisher gives up ground on a bull rush by RDE Hardy and gets help from LG Allen. Hmm. Starting at play #15, Fisher has had help of some form or another for 6 of last 7 plays. I guess the coaches could see that he was having trouble with Hardy.

Grade: 0

22. :36 1st Quarter. 3d and 14 at the CAR 24. Smith passes complete to Cyrus Gray for -2 yards. Fisher does a nice job selling the screen. He engages RDE Hardy long enough for screen to develop on the opposite side. Unfortunately, the screen does not develop. At all.

Grade: 0

23. 12:28 2d Quarter. 1st and 10 at KC 7. Smith passes incomplete short right to Avery. This is a play-action fake to the left and then Smith rolls right. No one is open so Smith turfs it in the general direction of Avery. Fisher engages RDE Mario Addison effectively and gets (unneeded) help from Allen late.

Grade: 0

24. 12:23 2d Quarter. 2d and 10 at KC 7. Smith throws a swing pass right to K. Davis, who runs for 7. Fisher has no trouble blocking RDE Addison.

Grade: 0

25. 11:37 2d Quarter. 3d and 8 after a False Start penalty on RT Stephenson. Smith scrambles for 9 yards. Fasano lined up outside Fisher, forcing Hardy into a wider position. I don't know how to describe Hardy's move, but he heads upfield, clubs Fisher's left shoulder and then grabs his right arm to drag him down. I guess the idea was to attack Smith from behind. It was a good move, but Smith scrambled for the 1st down before Hardy could finish his work.

Grade: -1

26. 10:52 2d Quarter. 1st and 10 at the KC 18. Smith passes complete short right to K. Williams on a WR screen. Gain of 1. Fisher engages with RDE Hardy again. This time Hardy lands a hard punch on Fisher to drive him back a step, then as Fish attempts to recover, Hardy grabs his pads and pulls him forward and past the DE's outside shoulder. Fisher is getting a workout from this guy. I hope he learns from it.

Grade: -1

27. 10:15 2d Quarter. 2d and 9 at the KC 19. Smith passes incomplete to Bowe over the middle. Hardy attacks the B-gap between LG and LT. Fisher is ready for him and gives him no room to advance.

Grade: 0

28. 10:09 2d Quarter. 3d and 9 at the KC 19. Smith sacked by Kuechly for -9 yards. Fisher effectively stops Hardy on a power move inside while K.Davis is not effective blocking the blitzing Kuechly.

Grade: 0

29. 6:18 2d Quarter. 1st and 10 at the KC 18. DAT runs over LT for 13 yards. Fasano lines up outside Fisher and blocks RDE Hardy as Fisher pulls and pancakes LB Kuechly who is attempting to attack the left edge. Boom!

Grade: +1

30. 5:37 2d Quarter. 1st and 10 at the KC 31. Smith passes incomplete deep left to Avery. There's no TE covering Fisher as he takes on Hardy. Hardy punches Fisher hard and drives him back a few yards, then he spins inside as Fisher is resetting his feet. The spin move fails b/c Hardy loses balance and doesn't get to Smith in time.

Grade: 0

31. 5:31 2d Quarter. 2d and 10 at the KC 31. K.Davis up the middle for 2 yards. Hardy schools Fisher with a lightening quick right-left-right stutter step that allows him to get his hands inside and pull down on Fisher's right arm as he shoots by on the left. Embarrassing.

Grade: -1

32. 4:50 2d Quarter. 3d and 8 at the KC 33. Smith passes complete to Fasano over the middle for 13 yards. Hardy puts his left hand on Fisher's grill and drives him back towards Smith. This is rightly called as illegal hands to the face (declined b/c Fasano gained more yards than the penalty would deliver.)

Grade: 0

33. 4:28 2d Quarter. 1st and 10 at the KC 46. Davis runs over LG for 4 yards. Fisher seals Hardy to the outside.

Grade: 0

34. 3:54 2d Quarter. 2d and 6 at the 50. Smith passes incomplete short left to Avery (caught the ball out of bounds). Kelcy lined up outside Fisher, and Fisher's guy, RDE Kony Ealy dropped into coverage on Kelcy, leaving no one for Fisher to block.

Grade: 0

35. 3:46 2d Quarter. 3d and 6 at the 50. Smith passes complete short right to Bowe. Fisher and Allen work well to pick up a stunt by RDE Ealy and RDT Short.

Grade: 0

36. 3:01 2d Quarter. 1st and 10 at CAR 44. Smith rolls right and throws the ball away as Fisher is called for holding. Fisher couln't stay in front of RDE Ealy on his 2d move and got caught grabbing some jersey at Ealy's right rib cage. Tough call on Fisher b/c I've seen LTs get away with this hold dozens of times.

Grade: -1

37. 2:53 2d Quarter. 1st and 20 at the KC 46. Smith sacked for -9 yards. Fisher rides RDE Hardy wide of the play as DT Lotulelei beats LG Allen up the middle to sack Smith.

Grade: 0

38. 2:07 2d Quarter. 2d and 29 at the KC 37. Smith passes incomplete short left to Avery. Fisher blocks RDE Addison effectively.

Grade: 0

39. 2:03 2d Quarter. 3d and 29 at the KC 37. Smith passes complete short left to K.Davis. Fisher blocks RDE Addison effectively.

Grade: 0

That was KC's last possession of the first half and Fisher's last set of downs for the game. The tally for Fisher in this game is 4 pluses, 5 minuses, and 30 0s. From about his 15th snap on, Fisher received a lot of help, mainly by having a TE line up on his outside shoulder. When he didn't have help, he struggled against the quicker and craftier Greg Hardy. Hardy's moves generally worked even when Fisher didn't give up a hit or a hurry; see, e.g., plays 25 and 26.

For the preseason, Fisher has 6 pluses, 9 minuses, and 35 0s in 50 snaps. (Remember, 0s are good when they come in pass protection). I don't know, man. I just don't know. Sometimes Fisher looks great, but then he goes and blows a block and looks really bad doing it. On the other hand, he played better than either guard, IMO, and didn't give up a sack in Sunday's game. The best I can say about Fisher right now is that the jury is still out. He better make the most of his learning opportunities, b/c he will run out of chances if he continues his inconsistent play.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.