This is a weekly feature we've been playing around with and tweaking, but I like the detail of it. Next week we're going to work in video clips of selected plays (and try to get it out earlier in the week -- that was on me).
USC.rivals.com
Throughout the season, TrojanSports.com will be scrutinizing and assessing USC's offensive line performance, as it remains the biggest variable to the Trojans reaching their full offensive potential.
And the dramatic 17-14 win at Oregon State last weekend provided plenty to both praise and critique.
Here are our in-depth takeaways from our film review of the win over Oregon State:
(Note, PFF grades on a scale of 0-100 with the mid-70s reflecting above average performance, the 80s very good performance and grades in the 90s are rare and elite. How much stock one puts in them is up to the individual -- it did look like the grades and QB pressure stats changed from the start of the week without explanation. PFF also only accounts for one of Caleb Williams' two sacks. Take that for what you will.)
RT Jonah Monheim: With only a few mistakes by Monheim this game, he continues to have a strong season. It seemed like his only mistakes were not knowing who to block or where the help was coming from in isolated situations. Yes, he did have some issues driving defenders off the ball, but every lineman has that issue. Monheim just needs to watch the film and learn from his mistakes and have a bounce-back game at home against Arizona State.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 58.0 overall, 53.4 run blocking/75.6 pass blocking
Stats: 1 penalty, 1 QB hurry allowed
RG Justin Dedich: Just like Monheim, Dedich has his fair share of problems being overpowered. He will be overpowered every now and then due to his size, but he had a very strong game against a good Oregon State team. The one notable mistake he had was a certain play he pulled with Monheim to the other side of the field and tried to pick up the wrong blocker. These types of errors can be fixed in practice.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 74.4overall, 73.1 run blocking/84.6 pass blocking
Stats: 1 QB hurry allowed
C Brett Neilon: There is no other note needed about Neilon’s game besides the Neilon Nudge. He lost a couple of lineman battles throughout the night, but this team would not still be undefeated if it wasn’t for Neilon. He also had a pancake block in the game, something incredibly impressive for someone who doesn’t overpower people with his size. Despite the low PFF grades, Neilon had the second-best game from a USC lineman and contributed to the play of the night.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 56.4 overall, 50.3 run blocking/76.5 pass blocking
Stats: 1 QB hurry allowed
LG Andrew Vorhees: It seems like everyone on the offensive line had some troubles when it came to being power rushed in this game. Besides being overpowered and pushed into Caleb Williams a couple of times, he played well overall. Nothing extraordinary or especially notable but played the way an offensive lineman should play.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 70.1 overall, 69.8 run blocking/72.2 pass blocking
Stats: 4 QB hurries allowed
LT Bobby Haskins: There was a big spotlight on the left tackle position coming into this game. Not only was there a question of who the starter was going to be but how Haskins would bounce back from his tough game against Fresno State. Not only did he play every snap of this game but he also delivered a stronger performance and showed he could be the long-term starter at left tackle. It seems like there was an emphasis on being more physical as he had two pancake blocks in this game. In Week 3 against Fresno State, he had a big problem with just leaning into the defenders. In this game, there was no sign of him doing anything like that. Haskins was driving defenders off the ball and keeping his head on a swivel looking for any defender when he was in pass protection. It was impressive showing not only from the eye test, but he graded out well according to PFF. This was an inspiring performance by a player fighting for his job against the best team USC has faced this season.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 72.0 overall, 65.9 run blocking/78.7 pass blocking
Stats: 1 QB hurry allowed
-Third play, Andrew Vorhees got driven back into Caleb Williams, who scrambled out for a 4-yard gain.
-Fourth play, Jonah Monheim didn't pick up his rush defender on the outside, who then had a free rush after Williams who had to throw the deep ball early, causing it to be offline.
-Fifth play, the offensive linemen did a great job of communicating as Oregon State brought six defenders on the rush and they picked up every single one, giving Williams plenty of time to make a throw. Unfortunately, it was an incomplete pass causing a turnover on downs.
Second Series
-First play, Brett Neilon lost his defender, who almost made the play. The defender who tackled Travis Dye for a loss was an unblocked defender who just made a great read.
-Second play, it looked like Monheim initially went after the wrong defender. His first instinct off the snap was to block the edge rusher, who was already being blocked by tight end Lake McRee. Monheim then readjusted and went for the linebacker, but he was too late as that linebacker likely made a touchdown-saving tackle.
-Third play, the only critique is that Vorhees and Bobby Haskins got pushed back into Williams, who ended up running for the first down. However, Williams did hold the ball for too long, so it wasn’t entirely their fault.
-Eighth play, Monheim did a great job providing late help to Malcolm Epps with his defender, who had already gotten past the tight end and would have sacked Williams otherwise. Instead, Williams rushed for 6 yards.
-Ninth play, Monheim didn’t quite push his defender off the line, who ended up stopping Austin Jones close to the line. One bright spot is that Haskins pancaked his defender.
-Tenth play, Haskins impressively sealed the edge for Dye to cut and have a 16-yard gain. Also another pancake block for Haskins.
-Eleventh play, Haskins and Brett Neilon both put their defenders into the ground, while Vorhees missed his defender who ended up making the play to limit Dye to 1 yard.
-Twelfth play Justin Dedich got beat quickly on the outside, causing Williams to scramble forward and throw an incomplete pass.
-The series ended in a missed 35-yard field goal.
Third Series
-First play, Dedich got driven back all the way into Williams, causing him to throw an errant pass.
-Second play, this was quite phenomenal by Williams. The intended play was a screen pass to running back Raleek Brown, but the defenders got to him too quick so the QB broke the tackle and threw the pass to a somehow open Tahj Washington for 10 yards.
-Third play, the left side couldn't drive their defenders off the ball, causing Brown to lose a yard.
-The series ended in a punt.
Fourth series
-First play, the offensive line did a great job with all the twists from the defensive line.
-Second play, Haskins got driven back into Williams but it doesn’t affect the play.
- The series ended with a 42-yard field goal.
Fifth series
- First play, Monheim did a good job of driving his defender passed Williams, to no negatively affect the play.
-Series ended by halftime.
TrojanSports - In-depth breakdown of USC's Week 4 offensive line performance
In-depth breakdown of the USC's offensive line performance in Week 4 vs. Oregon State.
USC.rivals.com
Throughout the season, TrojanSports.com will be scrutinizing and assessing USC's offensive line performance, as it remains the biggest variable to the Trojans reaching their full offensive potential.
And the dramatic 17-14 win at Oregon State last weekend provided plenty to both praise and critique.
Here are our in-depth takeaways from our film review of the win over Oregon State:
(Note, PFF grades on a scale of 0-100 with the mid-70s reflecting above average performance, the 80s very good performance and grades in the 90s are rare and elite. How much stock one puts in them is up to the individual -- it did look like the grades and QB pressure stats changed from the start of the week without explanation. PFF also only accounts for one of Caleb Williams' two sacks. Take that for what you will.)
RT Jonah Monheim: With only a few mistakes by Monheim this game, he continues to have a strong season. It seemed like his only mistakes were not knowing who to block or where the help was coming from in isolated situations. Yes, he did have some issues driving defenders off the ball, but every lineman has that issue. Monheim just needs to watch the film and learn from his mistakes and have a bounce-back game at home against Arizona State.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 58.0 overall, 53.4 run blocking/75.6 pass blocking
Stats: 1 penalty, 1 QB hurry allowed
RG Justin Dedich: Just like Monheim, Dedich has his fair share of problems being overpowered. He will be overpowered every now and then due to his size, but he had a very strong game against a good Oregon State team. The one notable mistake he had was a certain play he pulled with Monheim to the other side of the field and tried to pick up the wrong blocker. These types of errors can be fixed in practice.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 74.4overall, 73.1 run blocking/84.6 pass blocking
Stats: 1 QB hurry allowed
C Brett Neilon: There is no other note needed about Neilon’s game besides the Neilon Nudge. He lost a couple of lineman battles throughout the night, but this team would not still be undefeated if it wasn’t for Neilon. He also had a pancake block in the game, something incredibly impressive for someone who doesn’t overpower people with his size. Despite the low PFF grades, Neilon had the second-best game from a USC lineman and contributed to the play of the night.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 56.4 overall, 50.3 run blocking/76.5 pass blocking
Stats: 1 QB hurry allowed
LG Andrew Vorhees: It seems like everyone on the offensive line had some troubles when it came to being power rushed in this game. Besides being overpowered and pushed into Caleb Williams a couple of times, he played well overall. Nothing extraordinary or especially notable but played the way an offensive lineman should play.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 70.1 overall, 69.8 run blocking/72.2 pass blocking
Stats: 4 QB hurries allowed
LT Bobby Haskins: There was a big spotlight on the left tackle position coming into this game. Not only was there a question of who the starter was going to be but how Haskins would bounce back from his tough game against Fresno State. Not only did he play every snap of this game but he also delivered a stronger performance and showed he could be the long-term starter at left tackle. It seems like there was an emphasis on being more physical as he had two pancake blocks in this game. In Week 3 against Fresno State, he had a big problem with just leaning into the defenders. In this game, there was no sign of him doing anything like that. Haskins was driving defenders off the ball and keeping his head on a swivel looking for any defender when he was in pass protection. It was impressive showing not only from the eye test, but he graded out well according to PFF. This was an inspiring performance by a player fighting for his job against the best team USC has faced this season.
PFF grade at Oregon State: 72.0 overall, 65.9 run blocking/78.7 pass blocking
Stats: 1 QB hurry allowed
Notable highlights/miscues
First Series-Third play, Andrew Vorhees got driven back into Caleb Williams, who scrambled out for a 4-yard gain.
-Fourth play, Jonah Monheim didn't pick up his rush defender on the outside, who then had a free rush after Williams who had to throw the deep ball early, causing it to be offline.
-Fifth play, the offensive linemen did a great job of communicating as Oregon State brought six defenders on the rush and they picked up every single one, giving Williams plenty of time to make a throw. Unfortunately, it was an incomplete pass causing a turnover on downs.
Second Series
-First play, Brett Neilon lost his defender, who almost made the play. The defender who tackled Travis Dye for a loss was an unblocked defender who just made a great read.
-Second play, it looked like Monheim initially went after the wrong defender. His first instinct off the snap was to block the edge rusher, who was already being blocked by tight end Lake McRee. Monheim then readjusted and went for the linebacker, but he was too late as that linebacker likely made a touchdown-saving tackle.
-Third play, the only critique is that Vorhees and Bobby Haskins got pushed back into Williams, who ended up running for the first down. However, Williams did hold the ball for too long, so it wasn’t entirely their fault.
-Eighth play, Monheim did a great job providing late help to Malcolm Epps with his defender, who had already gotten past the tight end and would have sacked Williams otherwise. Instead, Williams rushed for 6 yards.
-Ninth play, Monheim didn’t quite push his defender off the line, who ended up stopping Austin Jones close to the line. One bright spot is that Haskins pancaked his defender.
-Tenth play, Haskins impressively sealed the edge for Dye to cut and have a 16-yard gain. Also another pancake block for Haskins.
-Eleventh play, Haskins and Brett Neilon both put their defenders into the ground, while Vorhees missed his defender who ended up making the play to limit Dye to 1 yard.
-Twelfth play Justin Dedich got beat quickly on the outside, causing Williams to scramble forward and throw an incomplete pass.
-The series ended in a missed 35-yard field goal.
Third Series
-First play, Dedich got driven back all the way into Williams, causing him to throw an errant pass.
-Second play, this was quite phenomenal by Williams. The intended play was a screen pass to running back Raleek Brown, but the defenders got to him too quick so the QB broke the tackle and threw the pass to a somehow open Tahj Washington for 10 yards.
-Third play, the left side couldn't drive their defenders off the ball, causing Brown to lose a yard.
-The series ended in a punt.
Fourth series
-First play, the offensive line did a great job with all the twists from the defensive line.
-Second play, Haskins got driven back into Williams but it doesn’t affect the play.
- The series ended with a 42-yard field goal.
Fifth series
- First play, Monheim did a good job of driving his defender passed Williams, to no negatively affect the play.
-Series ended by halftime.
