Breaking Down The O-Line

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Getty ImagesIn the aftermath of the New York Jets opening pre-season game against Cincinnati, fans have raised concerns that glaring inadequacies in pass protection have not been addressed during the off-season. Here's what happened when I broke down the game tape in order to see whether or not these fears have any foundation in reality:
The first thing that can be seen by observing the tape is that when Mark Sanchez was sacked with 13:48 to go in the first quarter, no blame could be apportioned to any member of the offensive line or, for that matter, running-back Bilal Powell.
Picture 1 shows how the two teams lined up prior to the snap. The circled linebackers are both on blitz assignments.
Image 1
In Picture 2 it can be seen that the offensive line is efficient in protecting its quarterback, and Powell (circled in red) has also been effective in picking up the middle linebacker blitz. The problem here is that nobody has been assigned to block Rey Maualuga (circled in blue).
image 2
All of the blocks are held, but Maualuga is allowed to waltz straight through and record the sack (Picture 3). On this occasion blame must be apportioned to Sanchez for his failure not only to read the blitz as the play developed, but also for being slow in getting the pass away.
image 3
Sanchez went down for a second time with 7:02 remaining in the first (Picture 4). Once again the offensive line was effective in pass blocking, but on this occasion TE Jeff Cumberland (circled in red) failed to lay anything like an effective block on Manny Lawson (circled in blue).
image 4
By the time Sanchez has faked the handoff (Picture 5), Cumberland is all but beaten. Lawson's pace has left him flat-footed and he is unable to get any leverage into his block. Moments later the hapless TE is left to spectate as his QB goes down for a second time.
image 5 In conclusion, the New York Jets' starting offensive linemen were responsible for zero sacks during the game against the Bengals. Hopefully this fact might give their critics reason to re-evaluate their beliefs.
Special thanks to Steve (aka the Game Breaker) for his insight on the O-line and missed blocking assignments. Be sure to give him a follow on twitter @SB_II and your thoughts on the above. You can also follow the site on twitter @nyjoverthepond.