According to Pro Football Focus [
www.msn.com] ...
"Blythe earned a very respectable 74.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus that season, allowing zero sacks and only committing two penalties." <That was 2018, when he played 16 games at guard.>
"He regressed this past season, though, by allowing two sacks and receiving a 50.5 overall grade from PFF." <That was 2019, when he played both guard and center>
It is generally recognized that Blythe is more suited to center than guard. Even Blythe says so: “(Playing the center position) was kind of going back to my bread-and-butter, I would say. I think I’ve felt really comfortable in all three positions on the interior of the o-line, but playing center is like riding a bike. I welcomed it a little bit. [
theramswire.usatoday.com]
So why did he grade out significantly higher when he just played guard in 2018 than when he played both positions in 2019?
Well, one possible answer is he played 2019 with two bad shoulders. He had surgery on both of then in the offseason. [
theramswire.usatoday.com]
With that in mind we could well see a more effective Blythe at center this season than we saw last year. Even if he stays healthy he's not making the Pro Bowl. But he should be noticeably better than last season. Perhaps even returning to 'very respectable' in the eyes of PFF.
AlbaNY_Ram
