Offensive lineman are the unsung heroes of the football world. They are the work horses, the beasts of burden, or the infantry that leads the way. They do the hard, thankless job of clearing the path for their teams to be successful.
The battle for victory is most frequently won in the trenches.
Last week we took a look at Brandon Albert and evaluated his strengths and weaknesses. This week we will take a look at the Kansas City Chiefs offensive right tackle: Barry Richardson.
So how has Barry Richardson been doing over the last 6 weeks?
Performance Perspective
| 60% or below |
70% | 80% | 90% or above |
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| 60% is an indication the lineman was some defenders boy toy. |
70% is a rough day in both the run or passing game. The lineman probably got notice a lot and won't hold a job scoring 70% every week. |
80% is a solid day for run blocking but only an average day for pass blocking. Players strive to be above 80% every game. |
Player had great game run or pass blocking if they score a 90%. All pro players are consistently in the 90%. |
| Barry Richardson |
# Driven | Game Grades After a Review of the Tape | ||||||||||||||||||
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8 |
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Strength after reviewing the tape: Athletic: can be used in zone blocking schemes. Versatile: Can play both right and left tackle. Has shown the ability to step into an open position and perform with the starting unit. Demonstrates an understanding and ability to pick up blitz schemes such as lineman stunts and linebacker twists. Appears to run block better when at the point of attack. Although he is not a great drive blocker he does sustain the block longer in these situations. Has scored 80% or higher pass blocking in 3 out of five games in 2010.
Weakness after reviewing the tape: Barry has only scored 80% or above in run blocking twice out of five games. Run blocking is not Richardson's strength. He struggles getting to the second level and frequently misses them when he arrives. He is better at reach blocking (setting the edge) at the point of attack than reaching a defender in a backside scoop. Richardson has a tendency to be slow off the line of scrimmage on passing plays which allows defenders to get up field, get under his pads, and turn the corner in the pass rush. So much so that he tends to "over compensates" at times which then leaves the defender the underneath path. This became such a problem that after the Browns game the Chiefs started leaving a tight end in during passing plays to help with protection from time to time. In the Browns game Pope stayed in to help on his side only 3 times. Subsequent games has seen a tight end stay in from 6-9 times a game on his side of the formation. This has helped with protection and inflated Barry's passing grades slightly. Barry displays a difficulty in change of direction during a pass rush: He may even look awkward to the casual observer. Reviewer's Summery: Barry Richardson is defiantly a quality backup in the NFL. What remains to be seen is whether he can progress to being a solid starter. At this point Richardson is successful enough to be plugged into an experienced offensive line and with adequate scheming...can contribute to a teams success. To make that step to the next level, Barry needs to continue to develop in the pass protection area to a point where coordinators do not have to scheme help for him. |
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Many fans have asked Bewsaf if Ryan O'Callaghan will replace Barry Richardson when he returns to the field. When reviewing O'Callaghan's preseason season performance he appeared to have similar issues that Barry is having in the regular season. The Chiefs solution for Ryan was exactly the same as their solution for Barry: Scheme some help by leaving in a tight end on passing downs more frequently.
O'Callaghan might have one thing going for him that Richardson does not and that is the ability to drive block. But upon final analysis it appears to be a coin flip. Problem for Ryan is that Barry is getting the chance to improve while he rehabs.
One thing that Chiefs fans can be certain of is that the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line has improved drastically from the 2009 season. This can be seen by a simple glance at the number of sacks given up by the offensive line: 4.
The Chiefs offensive line coach Bill Muir needs to get a lot of credit along with Charlie Weis for scheming an offense that fits KC's personnel. Both of these coaches have made numerous contributions to this team and it's success.
Click On "Bewsaf Past Posts" for more past articles
| *Chiefs vs Texans - Breaking Down The O-Line Tape | *Kansas City Chief's Brandon Albert: Just The Facts |
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