Finally had a chance to rewatch the GT game after being in attendance in Atlanta. I tend to not really watch the line play so I made a commitment to focus on their pass protection. I kept track of which players were engaged when Kenny was releasing the ball. I counted that as a win. I also kept track of when an OL lost contact with his man and he was basically running free when the pass was released. I counted that as a loss. If an OL didn’t have anyone to block then that snap wasn’t counted for that player.
A few points of interest
- Morrisey and Kradel played the whole game. All other OL were subbed for during the game
- Pitt used a total of 7 OL
- GT basically ran no stunts and maybe only blitzed twice. Assignments were fairly straightforward.
- Pickett ran out of a clean pocket 5 times instead of hanging in there to make a throw. It happened more earlier in the game.
- That worked both ways since Kenny hung in the pocket under duress, especially in second half, and made some good throws under pressure. I suspect some halftime coaching got him back on the right path.
- I believe Kenny was only sacked once and that was on a mid 4th Qtr naked bootleg and the DE did not bite. So none of his OL were responsible for it.
- Daniel Carter was mostly in the game on pass plays and he tended to run a pattern every time. I doubt that he was a decoy so he must have some skills in this area.
- Despite their stature, the backs are pretty good pass blockers (V Carter, V Davis and AJ Davis)
The OL grades
1 Morrisey 33 wins 1 Loss. 97%
2 Kradel 30 wins 3 losses 90.9%
3 Houy. 9 wins 0 losses 100%
4 Warren. 19 wins 2 losses 90.4%
5 Hargrove. 27 wins 4 losses 87%
6 Van Lynn 13 wins 2 losses 86.6%
7 Ulizio 21 wins 4 losses. 84%
8 Griffin-Stewart 1 win 0 losses
Kradel has really come out of nowhere. Inserted in Duke game and has just been turning it on since.
Houy has nice versatility being used as a backup at G and T and being totally clean in pass protection in this game.
One of Hargrove’s losses was the only pressure in the game that flushed Kenny from the pocket. It did not result in a sack though.
All things considered the Pitt OL continues to get better and depth appears to be a key part of it.
A few points of interest
- Morrisey and Kradel played the whole game. All other OL were subbed for during the game
- Pitt used a total of 7 OL
- GT basically ran no stunts and maybe only blitzed twice. Assignments were fairly straightforward.
- Pickett ran out of a clean pocket 5 times instead of hanging in there to make a throw. It happened more earlier in the game.
- That worked both ways since Kenny hung in the pocket under duress, especially in second half, and made some good throws under pressure. I suspect some halftime coaching got him back on the right path.
- I believe Kenny was only sacked once and that was on a mid 4th Qtr naked bootleg and the DE did not bite. So none of his OL were responsible for it.
- Daniel Carter was mostly in the game on pass plays and he tended to run a pattern every time. I doubt that he was a decoy so he must have some skills in this area.
- Despite their stature, the backs are pretty good pass blockers (V Carter, V Davis and AJ Davis)
The OL grades
1 Morrisey 33 wins 1 Loss. 97%
2 Kradel 30 wins 3 losses 90.9%
3 Houy. 9 wins 0 losses 100%
4 Warren. 19 wins 2 losses 90.4%
5 Hargrove. 27 wins 4 losses 87%
6 Van Lynn 13 wins 2 losses 86.6%
7 Ulizio 21 wins 4 losses. 84%
8 Griffin-Stewart 1 win 0 losses
Kradel has really come out of nowhere. Inserted in Duke game and has just been turning it on since.
Houy has nice versatility being used as a backup at G and T and being totally clean in pass protection in this game.
One of Hargrove’s losses was the only pressure in the game that flushed Kenny from the pocket. It did not result in a sack though.
All things considered the Pitt OL continues to get better and depth appears to be a key part of it.
