By Rich Tandler
A lot of folks out there are concerned about the Redskins drafting a quarterback—or getting a new QB by any other means, for that matter—because they say the Redskins offensive line is in shambles.
Some people need to take a look at the numbers. No, the line this year is a far cry from the ’91 Hogs but they also are considerably better than the 2009 group that provided defenses with only token resistance.
Let’s look at some numbers from statheads and some more standard stats to show how the line has been performing this year.
--According to Football Outsiders, the Redskins’ offensive line finished 15th in the league in adjusted sack rate. The average offensive line gives up a sack 6.8 percent of the time the quarterback drops back. The Redskins give one up 6.4 prtvrmy of the time, better than average.
--Checking the traditional numbers at Pro Football Reference, we see that the Redskins have given up 41 sacks while the league average is 37.1. That’s a difference of about four sacks over the course of 16 games or one every four games. And keep in mind that the Redskins gave up 10 of those sacks, 25 percent of their total, in one game, the fiasco against the Bills in Toronto. If you remove that one fluke day, the Redskins would be for ninth in the league with 31 sacks given up.
Of course you can’t take away those sacks in Toronto and the numbers are what they are. And there is no question that the offensive line has a lot of room for improvement. But it would make no sense to delay in attempting to get a franchise quarterback because of the quality of the line. It’s not an awful unit, it’s in the middle of the pack despite the problems caused by injury and a suspension.
Comments