Wade Smith Graded "F".....

[CloakNNNdagger]

.........as the worst guard in the NFL, as per ProFootballFocus.

They report that by far the best pass rushing inside linebacker this season has been Brian Cushing. He’s had 20 overall pressures; eight more than anyone else.

[redwhiteANDblue]

I thought he was one of the better olinemen

[TejasTom]

Re: Wade Smith - No extra credit for the touch down?

Re: Brian Cushing - I guess Wade Phillips was right about him playing in the middle.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by redwhiteANDblue

I thought he was one of the better olinemen

He was awesome last year. This year, there have been serious issues with his game.

But rather than celebrate that rare OL TD, Wade Smith (-3.2) needs to be concerning himself with yet another poor performance. Our second-ranked left guard last year has now put in four performances ‘in the red’, with this one coming down to some sub-standard run blocking. The bane of his existence in this game was primarily Haloti Ngata, with the Ravens defensive tackle constantly able to shrug Smith’s attempts to get him moving laterally from the point of attack. It very rarely led to tackles for Ravens (though Ray Lewis was able to beat Smith at the second level to make a tackle for a short gain with 13:33 left in the game), but it squeezed holes and made the running backs work extremely hard.

[TimeKiller]

How do you just fall off like that?

[beerlover]

overall informative site for fantasy nerds but stats don't always tell the whole story. Imagine Haloti Ngata did impact those numbers, back in division now should reflect better results. These guys are fricken huge, athletic, strong & surprisingly quick. There are so many factors involved grading offensive linemen performance. My big issue is this offense is easy to game plan against, its as if the defense is in the huddle & knows the plays being called, much to predictable. Load the box, pressure Schaub & force him to beat you with his arm while he stares down receivers. If Wade Smith grades out an "F" it is more a reflection of the parts around him.

[TejasTom]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

How do you just fall off like that?

It is a common theme here.

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

How do you just fall off like that?

I dunno....

Signed,

Brian Cushing's second season.

[dream_team]

There were alot of times this season where he missed a key block on a screen play, stopping a big play. But I have faith he'll turn it around.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by beerlover

overall informative site for fantasy nerds but stats don't always tell the whole story. Imagine Haloti Ngata did impact those numbers, back in division now should reflect better results. These guys are fricken huge, athletic, strong & surprisingly quick. There are so many factors involved grading offensive linemen performance. My big issue is this offense is easy to game plan against, its as if the defense is in the huddle & knows the plays being called, much to predictable. Load the box, pressure Schaub & force him to beat you with his arm while he stares down receivers. If Wade Smith grades out an "F" it is more a reflection of the parts around him.

I think it is easy for a team that plays the same offense, like the Raiders & the Ravens. Other than that, not so much.

We'll see.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by dream_team

There were alot of times this season where he missed a key block on a screen play, stopping a big play. But I have faith he'll turn it around.

Against the Raiders, where Matt was saying, "That was a touchdown, we've got to make that play guys!"

That was one where Smith wiffed on a block that would have freed Walter on a big gain (Walter wasn't going to score a TD from there.. he ain't Dre)....

[MojoMan]

The Texans have two primary needs on offense in the next draft. A wide receiver and an interior lineman. If they can get a couple of guys who can start at these two positions, that would be hugely helpful.

[jtexas]

Originally Posted by beerlover

overall informative site for fantasy nerds but stats don't always tell the whole story. Imagine Haloti Ngata did impact those numbers, back in division now should reflect better results. These guys are fricken huge, athletic, strong & surprisingly quick. There are so many factors involved grading offensive linemen performance. My big issue is this offense is easy to game plan against, its as if the defense is in the huddle & knows the plays being called, much to predictable. Load the box, pressure Schaub & force him to beat you with his arm while he stares down receivers. If Wade Smith grades out an "F" it is more a reflection of the parts around him.

They don't grade just on stats. They grade on actual production using a statistical standard. Meaning they leave very little to judgement calls. For example, Connor Barwin actually graded out poorly last game. Everyone was raving about his production, yet profootballfocus pointed out he was completely unblocked on 5 plays. Those are plays he should have made so it doesn't grade "positive" for him, its neutral. If you go back and watch how they graded each play its pretty impressive.

[thunderkyss]

This is ProFootballFocus' All PFF team from Weak 6, kinda repeats what they've written in the other article.

Defensive Front: 3-4

Defensive Line: Justin Smith, San Francisco 49ers (+8.5), Barry Cofield, Washington Redskins (+2.7) and Tim Jamison, Houston Texans (+3.3)

Smith, if I’m completely honest, put in the best performance I saw all week. The Lions simply couldn’t handle him. Rob Sims was overmatched in the run game, with Smith picking up four defensive stops to go with the two sacks, one hit and six pressures he racked up. Jamison gets on this team despite only playing 23 snaps. A strip sack and recovery, combined with another sack and two pressures will do that. In the middle, Cofield continues to impress for the Redskins after a slow start, being a real nuisance at the heart of Washington’s defense.

.

Outside Linebackers: DeMarcus Ware, Dallas Cowboys (+2.0) and Brooks Reed, Houston Texans (+1.9)

Ware didn’t have his best game rushing the passer, and even then he still picked up two sacks and two pressures. It was just an all-around solid display, not something you always see from the pass-rush-heavy Ware. Reed didn’t pick up much pressure (just a hit and a hurry), but made an impact in run defense with five defensive stops.

.

Inside Linebackers (3-4): Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers (+5.0) and Brian Cushing, Houston Texans (+3.7)

There aren’t many ILBs who can drop back into coverage the way Willis did on his way to picking up three passes defensed. Joining him is Cushing, who was simply too explosive for Ravens linemen to get their hands on him to stop him making plays.

.

[Brisco_County]

He could be playing hurt. This O-line is one serious injury away from being in crisis.

No surprise on Cushing. Many times last year I had to point out that he had the most tackles per game of the front seven, and our bad secondary was depriving him of opportunity.