Word of Muth: Ravens Crush Panthers

by Ben Muth

If I'm the offensive line coach for Baltimore, I'm happy with how all five guys played up front last Sunday against the Panthers. Sure, some played better than others, but all played well and overall the unit was very strong, if not outright dominant. This is particularly true for the two guards, Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele. In the Week 1 loss to Cincinnati I thought Yanda was just OK and a bit disappointing given his reputation. I'm happy to say that I thought he played great this week. He generated consistent movement on down defensive linemen in the running game, was strong at the second level, and held up very well in pass protection. It was the type of performance that has made Yanda a consistent fixture in Hawaii.

Even more encouraging than Yanda's return to form might be Osemele's play early this year. Osemele started off at tackle as a rookie in 2012 and struggled at that position. Late in the year he was moved to guard and thrived. He was a big part of the Ravens' Super Bowl run, which led a lot of people to predict a very bright future. Last year, however, Osemele took a step back from his late 2012 play (like every Baltimore offensive lineman). So far in 2014, Osemele has been better than ever, and might be playing as well as any guard in the league. He has been fantastic in pass protection and has used his quickness to consistently out-leverage defenders in the running game. If he keeps up this type of play he could be an All-Pro in two or three years. The only reason I say two or three years is that it typically takes a few years for the media to catch on to new interior linemen who weren't first-round picks.

The guards may be the stars up front, but right tackle Rick Wagner also played very well. This is Wagner's first year as a starter and he seems like he could be a fixture on the right side for years to come. The thing I'm most encouraged by is that he has a real feel for run blocking on the edge. A lot of times young tackles struggle with when to keep reaching for a hook and when to let the defensive end stay outside and just try to widen the hole as much as possible. Wagner has a knack for making the right decision depending on how a defensive end is playing him. It also helps that he looks just flat-out strong out there. Take this Justin Forsett touchdown run from the second quarter. It's just a simple inside zone play, but it's blocked up great.

Since it's an inside zone, Wagner has an easy read with the defensive end. He wants to widen him from the snap, but Wagner executes the technique perfectly. He steps wide and peeks his head outside the DE to threaten the defender's gap. When he does that, the DE's immediate reaction will be to jump outside (to keep his gap). When he does, watch how heavy Wagner is with that backhand to shove him out wide. Wagner clubs the DE with the left hand and then gathers him up and continues to run his feet. Textbook form on that play.

Also, take a look at the combo block between Marshall Yanda at right guard and the center Jeremy Zuttah. Yanda steps with his outside foot first, away from the center, so he can drive back into the nose tackle with a little more oomph. Because the nose is lined up so tight to Zuttah, Yanda knows the center won't need a ton of help. He just wants give the NT a little bump to slow him down before climbing to the second level. He loses his block at the second level but gets enough of the linebacker to spring Forsett.

The last thing worth pointing out is that the left tackle for Baltimore, undrafted rookie James Hurst, goes the wrong way. He must have heard the play call wrong and thought it was coming to the left. Look at how confused he looks as he waddles down field, like a lost penguin. I know that feeling and it's terrible, but it usually doesn't get erased immediately with a touchdown. This will probably get laughed off in the meeting room as some harmless fun and I should point out that Hurst actually played pretty well all things considered. (More about him below.)

There won't be much chuckling in the Carolina defensive line room. That three-technique DT (Star Lotulelei) goes unblocked and doesn't come particularly close to making a tackle on an inside zone play. It was one of a couple rough plays for the second-year defensive tackle from Utah.

Later in the game, the Panthers were starting to get more aggressive to try to stop the run. In the GIF below, they bring some pressure off the edge and slant the weak side of the defensive line. The Ravens are running outside zone away from it so they have them out-leveraged a bit. Still, Lotulelei has to (HAS TO) get across Osemele's face on this play. Short of that, he has to shove the guard into the hole and collapse it.

What can't happen is that he can't stay reached and held off on the backside. It cuts the defense in half and leaves a huge hole right down the middle. I will say that it's a great job (and impressive strength) by Osemele to be able to wheel back and throw breaks on to hold Lotulelei back.

You may also want to check out Jeremy Zuttah on this play, because his feet are really good. When you're uncovered on outside zone and working playside, you want to make a decision on your third step. Are you going to stay on a defensive lineman or climb to a linebacker? Here, you see Zuttah get three feet in the ground and shove the defensive tackle's hip right on his third step before climbing to the second level. His feet and hands are perfectly in synch, and as a result he's able to widen the hole at the line of scrimmage and still have time to climb and cover up the linebacker. Really nice job.

It wasn't just the offensive linemen who got Baltimore's running game going early, it was the backs and tight ends too. I thought Forsett did a nice job being patient and picking his way through holes. I also thought that fullback Kyle Juszczyk played well overall, even if he did commit one of my biggest pet peeves in the first quarter.

I love cut blocks. I think they're a vital part of keeping defenders honest and a very effective tool in both the running and passing game. That being said, I have no idea why anyone would throw a cut block in the hole. Because the above play is the best-case scenario, you chop the defender down (awesome) but now there's two 230-plus-pound men lying in the middle of the hole (inconvenient). I see someone try this about once a game, and it works about three times a season.

Before we go I did want to touch on James Hurst again. Hurst has been forced into the lineup by an injury that will keep Eugene Monroe out for about a month. When I look at young, backup offensive linemen who are thrown into lineups, I mainly just look at two things. Is the team going out of their way to protect him from a scheme standpoint? And is the guy able to just hold his own out there?

The first part shows me what the coaching staff thinks they have. If they're bringing in an extra tackle on pass protection to help him, or always running away from him, it means they aren't very confident in the young player. I didn't see the Ravens going out of their way to accommodate Hurst, it seemed like they just ran their offense.

That's from the first Steve Smith touchdown, which was a pass down the field, and Hurst is on an island on the left side. Hurst certainly acquits himself well on a hard inside stunt. That wasn't a one-time thing either. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak clearly thinks Hurst is an NFL-caliber tackle.

As far as holding his own, I think that's a good description of what Hurst did. I don't think Monroe has anything to worry about this year, but Hurst proved himself capable of playing if he has to. He got beat on a couple of running plays but pass-protected well throughout the game (the best thing he probably does is keep a nice base, as you can see from the play above). He probably had the worst game of any Ravens lineman, but that was more due to the quality of his teammates than his own issues. Considering he was an undrafted rookie making his first start, I'd have to say this first performance was very encouraging for his future.