So true. Offensive lines can make or break a team. Too many teams concentrate on the skill position players, when their o-line is the problem/solution. A great o-line can make average players great (see Jonathan Taylor).
True. Now for the tricky part: how to tell before the season which o-line will be great? Once the RB has gone through the roof, it’s too late for fantasy purposes.
You and me will have to eat a lot of crow for laughing about the experts who predicted Saquon could be elite once more this season. Looking back at my reasoning why I don’t think he could be more than the #10 RB at best, I still like that reasoning. Still, barring an injury, I was obviously wrong.
Looking back 6 weeks, what should have told me that the Giants’ o-line will allow him to increase his rushing yards per game by 150%?
Thursday night was a good illustration. Mixon is a VG RB but was running into a 300 pound defender brick wall with nowhere to go.
Miami had one of the worst OLs in history last year but added a couple, changed coaching and to a zone blocking scheme. They are FAR from great but decent enough to give Mostert some room to run.
The big question for Managers is if you have a guy you know is good but his OL sucks, do you hold em? How long?
Each OL is different with having vets vs rookies and injuries but I have found on average after 4 games you have a pretty good picture.
It depends on the “guy”. In the case of Najee Harris, he showed last year he could still produce behind a bad line. Barry Sanders was the textbook case of “greatness can overcome bad o-lines”.
If you’re talking about a more pedestrian RB, like Jonathan Taylor, then he needs his o-line to produce. If the o-line isn’t giving him holes so he can hit the second and third levels of the defense, then Taylor is done.
Correct, although that can change with injuries later in the season.
