honyock
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I missed the game live but just watched all the offensive snaps a few times, so here is my impression of the O-line play. Smith and Free played only the first series, and after that series I concentrated mainly on the interior line play...the two backup tackles didn't look good that I saw but I was focusing more on the interior guys.
First off, I thought the interior, with three different combinations throughout the game, did a solid job of creating push, creating lanes, and for the most part keeping the pocket clean. For most of the first half it was Leary-Frederick-Arkin. The last series of the first half, Costa took over at center and Fred slid to RG. After one long series in the 3rd quarter, Arkin replaced Fred at RG and he stayed there the rest of the game. I don't think Leary ever subbed out - he played the whole game at LG.
Leary - I was really impressed with him. I know it is preseason game 1, but he looked in this game at least like someone who has the ability to hold down a guard spot here as long as his knees hold up (hopefully for several years). If he gave up a pressure in the passing game, I missed it...he looked strong and didn't have much of a challenge in protection. In the run game, my notes after several plays were more or less "This guy is strong". He didn't pull as much as Arkin did, but he had several chances to get to the second level and was effective. He looked plenty agile and athletic enough. Between Tyron (who looked good in run blocking in his limited snaps) and Fred, that left side has some potential to get really good push. He and Smith had a little miscommunication in handing off men on a stunt in the first series. But other than that, I can't remember any negative plays from him, and there were plenty of positive plays.
Frederick - Very solid night at center. The guy is strong. The two negatives I recorded at center were not getting out to his block on a screen (and almost getting the running back killed), and getting beat and losing his sealout that led to a run getting blown up in the third series. Other than that, he got good push in the run game, was pretty active in the second level, and had no problems at all in protection. He's got an anchor like an oak tree.
I thought he struggled when he slid to guard. If I counted correctly, he was in for six pass plays and got beat on two of them. On one, he was lucky not to give up a sack. On the second, his guy collapsed the pocket and Tanney couldn't step up when he got tackle pressure. He also got blown back on a running play in that same series. He seemed to have trouble getting beat by quickness at guard, and I didn't see that at center. Maybe just a limited sample size at this point. He just looked more in command at center.
Arkin - lots of good from him, with some concern about strength that keeps following him around. In general, he looked good in zone blocking, good at the second level, effective in pulling...when he was on the move, he was really pretty solid. When he had trouble, it was with anchoring. He got pushed back in Orton once in protection, and got pushed back badly in the run game twice in the first half. He did better in the second half. I was pretty impressed with everything else about his game, it's just that strength thing. It only showed up on a few plays, but enough to be worrisome.
Costa - he was okay. He got bulled back 3 or 4 times, and whiffed on a blitzer once. He looked pretty good in space in the running game. He looked like a decent backup center.
In general, right now, I'd prefer the Leary-Fred-Arkin combination to Leary-Costa-Fred, even though both units were effective. This is a one-game knee-jerk on my part, but I want Fred at center, no doubt about it.. In just this game, I thought Costa-Fred was a slight downgrade at both positions as compared to Fred-Arkin, although I still have my concerns about Arkins strength.
I'd love to see that Smith-Leary-Fred left side here for years to come. I know I'm over-reacting after one preseason game, but I'm excited about what w have in Leary.
First off, I thought the interior, with three different combinations throughout the game, did a solid job of creating push, creating lanes, and for the most part keeping the pocket clean. For most of the first half it was Leary-Frederick-Arkin. The last series of the first half, Costa took over at center and Fred slid to RG. After one long series in the 3rd quarter, Arkin replaced Fred at RG and he stayed there the rest of the game. I don't think Leary ever subbed out - he played the whole game at LG.
Leary - I was really impressed with him. I know it is preseason game 1, but he looked in this game at least like someone who has the ability to hold down a guard spot here as long as his knees hold up (hopefully for several years). If he gave up a pressure in the passing game, I missed it...he looked strong and didn't have much of a challenge in protection. In the run game, my notes after several plays were more or less "This guy is strong". He didn't pull as much as Arkin did, but he had several chances to get to the second level and was effective. He looked plenty agile and athletic enough. Between Tyron (who looked good in run blocking in his limited snaps) and Fred, that left side has some potential to get really good push. He and Smith had a little miscommunication in handing off men on a stunt in the first series. But other than that, I can't remember any negative plays from him, and there were plenty of positive plays.
Frederick - Very solid night at center. The guy is strong. The two negatives I recorded at center were not getting out to his block on a screen (and almost getting the running back killed), and getting beat and losing his sealout that led to a run getting blown up in the third series. Other than that, he got good push in the run game, was pretty active in the second level, and had no problems at all in protection. He's got an anchor like an oak tree.
I thought he struggled when he slid to guard. If I counted correctly, he was in for six pass plays and got beat on two of them. On one, he was lucky not to give up a sack. On the second, his guy collapsed the pocket and Tanney couldn't step up when he got tackle pressure. He also got blown back on a running play in that same series. He seemed to have trouble getting beat by quickness at guard, and I didn't see that at center. Maybe just a limited sample size at this point. He just looked more in command at center.
Arkin - lots of good from him, with some concern about strength that keeps following him around. In general, he looked good in zone blocking, good at the second level, effective in pulling...when he was on the move, he was really pretty solid. When he had trouble, it was with anchoring. He got pushed back in Orton once in protection, and got pushed back badly in the run game twice in the first half. He did better in the second half. I was pretty impressed with everything else about his game, it's just that strength thing. It only showed up on a few plays, but enough to be worrisome.
Costa - he was okay. He got bulled back 3 or 4 times, and whiffed on a blitzer once. He looked pretty good in space in the running game. He looked like a decent backup center.
In general, right now, I'd prefer the Leary-Fred-Arkin combination to Leary-Costa-Fred, even though both units were effective. This is a one-game knee-jerk on my part, but I want Fred at center, no doubt about it.. In just this game, I thought Costa-Fred was a slight downgrade at both positions as compared to Fred-Arkin, although I still have my concerns about Arkins strength.
I'd love to see that Smith-Leary-Fred left side here for years to come. I know I'm over-reacting after one preseason game, but I'm excited about what w have in Leary.
jk lol
