With all the talk about Ball's performance in this preseason game, I decided to go and do a little film study (even though I usually just stick to the numbers).
I wanted to compare Ball's numbers in the 1st half to his numbers in the 2nd half with different blockers in the game. I also wanted to see how Bibbs performed given he was playing behind the same offensive line as Ball in the 2nd half.
HOW I GRADED
I graded both the blocking and running on a scale of 1-5, 5 indicating the best.
Here is the general scale for the blocking grades:
- RB is hit in the backfield or has to elude a defender immediately after the QB hands the ball off to him
- RB has no immediate defender near him, but the o-line did not open any running lanes for him to go where the play was intended
- The o-line opened a running lane for a brief moment, but the RB has to fight through tacklers
- The o-line opened a solid running lane without any defenders attempting a tackle in the immediate running lane
- The o-line opened a significant running lane and no defender is in position to impede the runner for a few yards (minimum)
MONTEE BALL
Here is his chart of all 16 runs. The first 7 were in the 1st half, the final 9 were in the 2nd half.
M. Ball | ||||
Dwn/Dist | Yds Gnd | Blocking | Run Grd | |
1 | 2nd 10 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
2 | 3rd 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
3 | 1st 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
4 | 4th 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
5 | 2nd 11* | 2 | 2 | 2 |
6 | 1st 10 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
7 | 1st 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
8 | 1st 10* | 1 | 2 | 1 |
9 | 3rd 24* | 5 | 4 | 2 |
10 | 2nd 10 | -2 | 1 | 1 |
11 | 1st 10* | 1 | 2 | 1 |
12 | 2nd 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
13 | 2nd 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
14 | 2nd 10 | -2 | 1 | 1 |
15 | 1st 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
16 | 1st 10 | -2 | 1 | 1 |
This 2nd chart will indicate Montee Ball's carries, yards gained, average blocking grade and average running grade.
M. Ball | ||||
Car. | Yds | Avg Blck | Avg RG | |
1st | 6 | 22 | 2.7 | 3.5 |
2nd | 9 | 3 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
Observations
- Ball's YPC average in the first half was 3.7
- The average blocking grade for Ball in the 1st half was only a 2.7, which is less than average (3.0).
- Ball actually outperformed his blocking grade in the first half, with a respectable score of 3.5.
- The 2nd half is where everything fell apart, and mostly for the offensive line. The o-line and receivers had a blocking grade of 1.7. This means Ball had no running lanes and was getting hit in the backfield on every 3rd run (on average) during the 2nd half.
- As a result, it's no coincidence that his running grade dropped to an awful average of 1.3. The pressure really got to Ball and he stopped running with any confidence. On Ball's final 7 runs, the o-line and receivers got a blocking grade of 1 (5x) and 2 (2x).
KAPRI BIBBS
Here is a chart with all 6 of his runs, 5 of them occurring in the 2nd half.
M. Ball | ||||
Dwn/Dist | Yds Gnd | Blocking | Run Grd | |
1 | 1st 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
2 | 1st 10 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
3 | 2nd 2 | 9 | 4 | 5 |
4 | 2nd 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
5 | 1st 10* | 1 | 2 | 1 |
6 | 1st 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Here is the 2nd chart indicating the averages for the blocking and running grades.
K. Bibbs | ||||
Car. | Yds | Avg Blck | Avg RG | |
1st | 1 | 4 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
2nd | 5 | 23 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
Observations
- Not much to take away from the 1st half (1 run). Bibbs had solid blocking and did what you would expect. Solid run for 4 yards.
- Bibbs had 2 really good runs for 17 yards, and then 3 average runs that gained 6 yards. His 4.6 YPC in the 2nd half was pretty good, but it was also a small sample size, just like Ball's first half totals.
- Bibbs had average blocking, or better, on 3 out of his 5 runs in the 2nd half. He gained 21 yards on those runs. On the 2 runs where the team got a 1 or 2 blocking grade, he gained a total of 2 yards.
- The blocking was much better for Bibbs than it was for Ball in the 2nd half and it showed.