Chiefs vs Browns - Breaking Down The O-Line Tape

Week #2

Chiefs vs Browns

Nothing feels better than a win. And it's a good thing because the Chiefs offensive lineman had their worst day blocking so far this season. In the first half the Cleveland Browns were winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. No wonder the Chiefs had a hard time getting the run game going.

During the season I will review every game tape in an attempt to bring you the execution of each offensive lineman on every offensive play. Each lineman will be graded on whether or not he got the job done. Did he get the guy blocked or not?

OFFENSIVE GAME NOTES:

• The Browns nose tackle (Shaun Rogers) was a beast in the first half. No one could block him. He appeared to be to strong to move and to quick for KC to reach block.
• In the first half Weis and company did a lot of zone reach plays and the Cleveland Browns beat the Chiefs to the spots every time. In the second half KC stopped doing reach blocks and started pulling guards and running straight ahead base blocking. The change made a tone of difference.
  
• This was the first game that I saw Weigmann miss a line stunt.
• Moeaki is the real deal. Can anyone say H-back. The H-back was popularized by the Washington Redskins in the 80s. The way the Chiefs are using him to motion and block is very similar to the glory days in Washington.
  

	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	00
Percent Scale

• Please refer to the Chiefs Preseason: Breaking Down The O-Line Tape - Primer at the bottom of this article for any inquiries into the method used to grade the lineman.

----------------------------------------------------------- Kansas City Chiefs vs Bronwns - Line Play -----------------------------------------------------------

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Percent Scale												Percent Scale
Albert												Albert
Waters												Waters
Wiegmann												Wiegmann
Lilja												Lilja
Richardson												Richardson
Pope												Pope
Moeaki												Moeaki	0 for 1

Run & Pass Blocking Notes:

• Very poor run blocking grades. Remember 70% in the run game means the lineman had a poor game and probably stood out...60% means he got handled often or missed blocks often.
  
• On quick throws the Chiefs need to work on getting the defenders hands down.
• In the first half Wiegmann, Waters, and Lilja could not successfully reach block the nose tackle. Rogers is a brute. In the second half Wiegmann and the changed line play slowed Shaun down.
  
• On the second drive for KC, Lilja jumps off the ground as he fires off the ball and while he is in the air he grabs the defenders helmet with both arms (like a bear hug) and twists. I thought, what the... There was No flag, so I guess he gets a plus. :-)
• Richardson did not hold his blocks long enough. But then again, the Browns were very good at getting off blocks against all the lineman.
• On the 3rd series the Chiefs started deep in their own territory. On the 2nd play Cassel drops back and throws a strike for a first down. The problem was that all the lineman were blocking for a draw play and Albert was down field. No flag was thrown so KC gets the first down.
• Richardson was left alone this week, and it showed. He struggled the entire game in both the run and pass blocking.
• On the 7th play after the half the Kansas City Chiefs finally successfully reach block the Browns and set the edge.
• Weigmann was driven 8 times, Richardson 3, Lilja 2, and Pope 2.
• The offensive line, with the exception of Pope and Richardson, graded out much better in the second half.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Percent Scale												Percent Scale
Albert												Albert
Waters												Waters
Wiegmann												Wiegmann
Lilja												Lilja
Richardson												Richardson
Pope												Pope
Moeaki	2 for 2											Moeoki

Graphic bars from draftboardinsiders.com

Second Level Blocking Notes:

• Only Lilja got to the second level more than 3 times. The Browns defense was flying to the football. As I said above, this was finally corrected in the second half by a change in line blocking.
• This is Pope's second bad game in a row. His missed blocks, particularly in the second half, frequently were the lone block needed for a big gain.
• The only lineman that had a halfway respectable point of attack blocking night was Waters. Not because he did not have trouble, he did. But because he knows how to tug, hold, twist, scratch, bite (never really saw that but I bet he did), and a number of other things to make sure his guy misses the tackle.
• To be fair, Moeaki did not have the same responsibilities or have to block the same defenders as Pope or the lineman. However, he did a very nice job with the responsibilities he was given.

OTHER PRESEASON STATS

Click On "Bewsaf Past Posts" for more past articles