OL question; are we missing Callahan?

[burmafrd]

So did the line forget everything Callahan taught them and suddenly can't block? I don't buy it...

the easy answer crowd never wants to have to really think.

 

[tyke1doe]

The starters really didn't play together in the preseason so they're still getting their legs under them.
They'll be fine.

 

[neosapien23]

Callahan is a great OL coach, maybe one of the greatest of all time. However, he is a lousy playcaller and an even worse OC than Garret. Once Linehan was brought in to take over playcalling, there was no way Callahan was going to stay after being demoted. He wanted out last year and Jones flatly said "no." Callahan was not going to stay in Dallas as the OL coach no matter how much money Jerrah threw at him.

 

[Bullflop]

It might have been "peachy" and all if Callahan had seen fit to stick with the team but his pride wouldn't let him. Frank Pollack is supposed to be somewhat of a clone as far as his methods but who's to say he measures up to everything Callahan was? At this point in time, it matters not, since the team is compelled to do what it can with what they now have. In all fairness to Pollack and the OL, they didn't have the opportunity to work intact at all in TC and it shows. Hopefully, they'll manage to improve as the season continues and their timing gets in sync.

 

[Jarv]

Interesting to note that although the run blocking seems to have slipped, the pass blocking is greatly improved over the first two games of this season vs last season. Maybe they just focused on that more this year in TC than the run blocking? Just a thought?

 

[Daillest88]

All I'm saying is. The giants game we stone walled the giants defense lineman. Romo had like 8 seconds to throw. We struggled against philly last year too. Pollack does have the same scheme as Callahan. And he coached the line in 2013 , which was pretty darn good. And like another poster said , its not like we forgot everything he taught us. We will be fine. The offense line will start to gel. And Leary us back, dude is do underrated on this line.

 

[Clarkson]

The OL played great in game #1. Lack of rushing yards because we were playing from behind entire 2nd half.

The OL played about the same against the Eagles as they did against the Eagles last year.

Let's see what happens this week. Too early to judge imo.

Yup, much too early. Give it time.

 

[JoeKing]

Calla... who?

 

[Cumart21]

Yes, they miss Callahan because he's one of the best in the business.

That said, I don't think their performance is much different than last year. They're playing well, but the legend of their greatness grew to a point during the offseason that was not able to be realized once the reality of the season started this year. They are a very good offensive line but our expectations have grown beyond what's realistically possible. No Dez and No Romo means they'll likely look worse during this stretch since they'll see 8 in the box and increased blitzing. Hopefully the offensive scheme and Weeden can keep defenses honest. Otherwise, we'll be wearing out the panic button.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Just a thought that has occurred to me.

I realize some injuries have occurred to Martin and Leary..

and now Witten.

But I'm curious what the rest of you are thinking about what is going on.

I realize Murray being gone maybe is exposing that the OL isn't as dominating as we all were lead to believe.

Something is not clicking like last year and I'm not sure what the real reason is.

Anybody?

Look at our rushing yards per game this year vs last year. (147ypg vs 94ypg) Look at Washington's rushing yards per game this year vs last year. (105ypg vs 171ypg) What changed. We had Callahan last year, they have Callahan this year. ...and we no longer have power running of DeMarco Murray.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

If he is missed, it would only be for his input into the offensive game plan. I would venture to guess that he had some significant influence based on his experience.

 

[pansophy]

Just a thought that has occurred to me.

I realize some injuries have occurred to Martin and Leary..

and now Witten.

But I'm curious what the rest of you are thinking about what is going on.

I realize Murray being gone maybe is exposing that the OL isn't as dominating as we all were lead to believe.

Something is not clicking like last year and I'm not sure what the real reason is.

Anybody?

Last year when Free was out, Parnell came in and thugs worked about the same. But when Leary went out that's when we noticed a drop off in production.

I'd say we are seeing the same effects here, though it possible we are missing Callihan too.

 

[Joe Realist]

Callahan is rated as the best run blocking coach in the NFL. I was one of those that wished that we resigned him to a contract. I think he deserved it.

Its no wonder now that the Skins have revived their running game - averaging over 100 yards. per game.

So yes. We miss Callahan.

Agreed. This was a concern I had going into this year.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Callahan is rated as the best run blocking coach in the NFL. I was one of those that wished that we resigned him to a contract. I think he deserved it.

Its no wonder now that the Skins have revived their running game - averaging over 100 yards. per game.

So yes. We miss Callahan.

They aren't just averaging over 100 yards per game this year. They are averaging 171 yards per game. That's far more than we averaged last year. (147 per game) We aren't even averaging 100 yards per game this year. (94)

 

[DC Cowboy]

Just a thought that has occurred to me.

I realize some injuries have occurred to Martin and Leary..

and now Witten.

But I'm curious what the rest of you are thinking about what is going on.

I realize Murray being gone maybe is exposing that the OL isn't as dominating as we all were lead to believe.

Something is not clicking like last year and I'm not sure what the real reason is.

Anybody?

I think what folks are realizing now is how the OL and Murray were a perfect fit for each other (and throw in Callahan).

 

[BlindFaith]

Look at our rushing yards per game this year vs last year. (147ypg vs 94ypg) Look at Washington's rushing yards per game this year vs last year. (105ypg vs 171ypg) What changed. We had Callahan last year, they have Callahan this year. ...and we no longer have power running of DeMarco Murray.

Washington has a much improved OL and Matt Jones is showing to be quite the player. They are also rushing the ball about 10 times more per game than us.

 

[Jarv]

Well Murray got 939 yards before contact last year on his way to 1,845 total rushing yards. That was over half of his yards before contact. I don't have the stats this year, but it sure looks less than that this year.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Washington has a much improved OL and Matt Jones is showing to be quite the player. They are also rushing the ball about 10 times more per game than us.

If I had Callahan and a better prepared OL, I would run the ball 10 times more per game too. Especially if Cousins was my QB.

 

[BlindFaith]

If I had Callahan and a better prepared OL, I would run the ball 10 times more per game too. Especially if Cousins was my QB.

they also have Morris and Jones.

 

[xwalker]

Just a thought that has occurred to me.

I realize some injuries have occurred to Martin and Leary..

and now Witten.

But I'm curious what the rest of you are thinking about what is going on.

I realize Murray being gone maybe is exposing that the OL isn't as dominating as we all were lead to believe.

Something is not clicking like last year and I'm not sure what the real reason is.

Anybody?

It is doubtful that Callahan's absence would be an issue at this point in time.

1. The starters have already been coached by him. They would just forget how to play.
2. Leary missed the Eagles game.
3. Free had 2 foot/ankle surgeries in the past 18 months and is getting older.
4. Martin is still a young player and missed most of training camp with the neck injury.
5. Fred has some issues with the power of the big DTs Hankins (Giants) and Logan (Eagles). He couldn't move them like he moves most DTs.
6. The TEs are also part of the blocking and Hanna was limited in game 1 and out for game 2. Witten also struggled with some blocks and is reported to have issue with both ankles and a knee.
7. The Cowboys struggled against the Eagles front last year and IIRC the rushing average was not good in those games.
8. Not having Dez for a big part of the Giants game and all of the Eagles games allows defenses to stack the line against the run because they don't have to double team him.
9. When Weeden entered the game the defense definitely stacked the line against the run.

If Callahan's lost is an issue, I would expect it to show up later. Now that they've played 2 games they can look at the film and make adjustments. Can Pollack make the adjustments that Callahan would have made?

Also, developing young players might be the biggest question mark with Callahan gone and we won't really know that for awhile; although, Collins looked quite good in his 1st regular season game.

In regards to the Skins, I'm sure that Callahan has helped them; however, they have two early draft picks playing on the OL that were not playing on it last year.