Re: LG, RG, run vs. pass blocking, Dotson - another mtram long read
| October 17, 2023 06:29AM |
According to what I looked up when we got him. Dotson came into the league having played RG in college; he was written up as strong in pass blocking but weaker in run blocking coming out of college.
OK... what to believe? Zack Evans comes to us with a bad rap for being a head case, defiant, me-oriented, etc. because of a one-time run-in with a high school coach over his cell phone. Never mind that he showed up making intelligent decisions and was an exemplary team player after that. And never mind, also, that he was listed by some as weighing 195 (his teenage freshman weight) instead of 215 (his senior grown-up weight) when he came to us. Unless they're writing about the color of superstar Caleb's nails, they're notoriously inaccurate and lazy. Did someone mis-transcribe their notes when writing about an interior lineman when he came into the league?
Did his run blocking improve after he turned pro and got pro-level coaching? Does that answer why he came to us more highly graded as a run blocker than a pass blocker? And this answers another underlying question: does he do what is asked, and does he take coaching well? The answer must be yes.
Then there's this: Dotson goes to the Steelers having played RG all his college careeer and has trouble transitioning to LG. Some players can flip footwork and hand placement, etc. in their brain and some can't. Kromeer thought that he wanted all OL players to play all OL positions - like a set of interchangeable parts. Theoretically it should work.
It doesn't work that way when individual differences in the human brain are taken into consideration. When applied to practicality and football players, the theory breaks down. Some can make the transitions Kromer was demanding, some simply can't. The differences have their beginnings neurologically. I have two grandchildren (pups from different litters, you might say) who have mixed dominance. That is, left master eye, right master hand. They both can do a lot of things either-handed, while their siblings perceive the world from their dominant right side and do everything right-handed. Ask any of them to learn a position in football at one side and then flip it in their brains and you'd get as many different responses as there are grandchildren, but the two with mixed dominance could likely do it without problem.
Bottom line: some players can play all over the line with ease, and some, regardless the talent shown in one spot, find it more difficult. Assignments at LG and RG differ as well. It's not uncommon for teams to run primarily to the right side, with the LG pulling. Or watch the plays where Avila goes past the LOS, hangs a right, and smashes (you can't call it sealing) a LB when he gets there. I don't recall offhand seeing a RG regularly doing that on a running play designed to go left. And you want a stud pass-blocking LG playing next to your LT on the QB's blind side, and your road grader RG on the running, or right, side.
Botttom-bottom line after that, Dotson is where he belongs, doing the things he does best, and getting the coaching he needs to up his best game. I hope the Rams keep him there.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2023 06:31AM by mtramfan.
OK... what to believe? Zack Evans comes to us with a bad rap for being a head case, defiant, me-oriented, etc. because of a one-time run-in with a high school coach over his cell phone. Never mind that he showed up making intelligent decisions and was an exemplary team player after that. And never mind, also, that he was listed by some as weighing 195 (his teenage freshman weight) instead of 215 (his senior grown-up weight) when he came to us. Unless they're writing about the color of superstar Caleb's nails, they're notoriously inaccurate and lazy. Did someone mis-transcribe their notes when writing about an interior lineman when he came into the league?
Did his run blocking improve after he turned pro and got pro-level coaching? Does that answer why he came to us more highly graded as a run blocker than a pass blocker? And this answers another underlying question: does he do what is asked, and does he take coaching well? The answer must be yes.
Then there's this: Dotson goes to the Steelers having played RG all his college careeer and has trouble transitioning to LG. Some players can flip footwork and hand placement, etc. in their brain and some can't. Kromeer thought that he wanted all OL players to play all OL positions - like a set of interchangeable parts. Theoretically it should work.
It doesn't work that way when individual differences in the human brain are taken into consideration. When applied to practicality and football players, the theory breaks down. Some can make the transitions Kromer was demanding, some simply can't. The differences have their beginnings neurologically. I have two grandchildren (pups from different litters, you might say) who have mixed dominance. That is, left master eye, right master hand. They both can do a lot of things either-handed, while their siblings perceive the world from their dominant right side and do everything right-handed. Ask any of them to learn a position in football at one side and then flip it in their brains and you'd get as many different responses as there are grandchildren, but the two with mixed dominance could likely do it without problem.
Bottom line: some players can play all over the line with ease, and some, regardless the talent shown in one spot, find it more difficult. Assignments at LG and RG differ as well. It's not uncommon for teams to run primarily to the right side, with the LG pulling. Or watch the plays where Avila goes past the LOS, hangs a right, and smashes (you can't call it sealing) a LB when he gets there. I don't recall offhand seeing a RG regularly doing that on a running play designed to go left. And you want a stud pass-blocking LG playing next to your LT on the QB's blind side, and your road grader RG on the running, or right, side.
Botttom-bottom line after that, Dotson is where he belongs, doing the things he does best, and getting the coaching he needs to up his best game. I hope the Rams keep him there.
Like this post? Ring the bell or hit subscribe.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2023 06:31AM by mtramfan.
