After a miraculous ending in a divisional round win over New Orleans, the Vikings hit the proverbial wall that was the Philadelphia Eagles. Hanging their hat on defense in 2017 and ranking in the top 2 in passing and rushing yards allowed, the Vikings allowed their most passing yards (346) and 5th most rushing yards…
Golden Tate was drafted in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks where he spent four seasons, winning a Super Bowl in 2013 before leaving for Detroit in the 2014 offseason. Tate played running back in high school, but was mostly used as a WR while at Notre Dame. During…
Series Introduction: A scheme fit is when a player’s traits and abilities line up with a certain coach’s style and scheme. Imagine if every NFL team could draft a player that fit perfectly into their scheme. That would benefit both the teams and the players simultaneously, as general managers and coaches wouldn’t be putting a…
Offensive linemen are often the most overlooked and yet important position group on the football field. The general public typically notices offensive line play only when there is a glaring mistake or a big-time block. But offenses don’t succeed in spite of offensive lines, they succeed because of them. With that in mind and the…
Part of the fun of watching a football game is second-guessing the play calling. From the comfort of their couches (or Twitter), fans will criticize an offensive coordinator for running too much or too little, not helping a struggling lineman enough, not using a dangerous weapon, or any number of other sins. One curious play…
Regarding the study of OL play, Offensive Line Performance (OLP) founder and owner LeCharles Bentley delivered a message at the inaugural OLP OL Seminar that resonated with me, “Appreciate the craftsmanship.” My primary focus when I study film every week is on the offensive line, a position that is overlooked by the mainstream media but…
After an up and down season, the Lions added talent in the offseason through both free agency and the NFL Draft. Those new additions have created training camp battles for starting roles. Justin Twell looks at three Detroit Lions training camp battles that he’s watching. The 2015 NFL season was an interesting one for the…
The 2016 NFL season begins now, with 32 teams scheming to knock off the reigning champion Denver Broncos. The NFL Draft is just around the corner, but the first step in any offseason plan is to assess a team’s needs. Here we look at what the Detroit Lions team needs are. These reports were compiled with…
Value is a term thrown around in football constantly. In this latest installment of his series on how much teams value their players, such as quarterbacks and running backs, Dave Archibald looks at the offensive line. Coaches talk about the importance of winning the battles at the line of scrimmage often, but do they invest accordingly?…