As we have done since the FanHouse began, I'll be taking a look every week at some aspect of line play. You can read more features in the series here. Check back every Thursday for a new Between The Lines.
When Marvin Lewis came to Cincinnati he arrived with a reputation as a defensive genius. But Lewis' brilliance quickly seemed to fade once he became a Bengal, much like his former boss Brian Billick's offensive genius in Baltimore. In six seasons in Cincinnati Lewis' Bengals have never finished in the top half of the league in scoring defense.
But thanks to Antwan Odom, Domata Peko, Tank Johnson and Keith Rivers, Lewis is suddenly smart again. They're 1-1 with a win over the Packers and would be 2-0 if not for a flukish tipped pass to Brandon Stokely. Odom not only leads the league in sacks; he's coming off of one of the best days a pass rusher has ever had with five sacks against the Packers.
As we have done since the FanHouse began, I'll be taking a look every week at some aspect of line play. You can read more features in the series here. Check back every Thursday for a new Between The Lines.
When the Redskins signed defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to the largest free agent deal in NFL history, the contract came with a lot of expectations. One game into his Redskins' career, there are already columns asking, is that all there is?
Haynesworth had four tackles against the Giants. He had no quarterback hurries and no sacks as the Redskins lost 23-17.
There's a lot of reasons for those stories. It gives a human face to the game's stars, and it helps build interest in a game that will be watched by many people who watch only one football game a year.
But if you're a fan who has Football Outsiders bookmarked and see zone blitzes in your sleep, I'm right there with you. Here's your primer to FanHouse's analysis of Sunday's Super Bowl XLIII.
No greater authority than Mike Tomlin has admitted that the Steelers offensive line is the biggest question as the Steelers get ready for their seventh Super Bowl. Pittsburgh has an outstanding defense, a veteran quarterback and a solid group of receivers, but when it comes to the offensive line, the question is whether it could be one of the worst units to ever win Super Bowl rings.
Tomlin isn't going that far, but when asked about how the line has progressed this year, he didn't give them the standard coach-speak boilerplate about working hard and showing improvement every week:
"As far as I'm concerned, that's still the question as we sit here today," Tomlin answered.
After watching the Cardinals offensive line extensively during the season, I thought I had them figured out. Left tackle Mike Gandy was a solid, if unspectacular blocker. Guard Reggie Wells was very good, center Lyle Sendlein was a good tactician who could be overpowered, guard Deuce Lutui were solid enough and right tackle Levi Brown was a disaster. And that was when they were pass blocking, when it came to run blocking, they all struggled.
So what happens when the playoffs arrive? Gandy shut down John Abraham and dominated Julius Peppers. Brown has gone from slow-footed penalty magnet to a right tackle who eliminates his man, while the interior of the Cardinals line has been impenetrable. And in 95 pass attempts during the playoffs, Warner has only been sacked three times.
Every week during the season we focused on an aspect of line play with Between The Lines. So for the Super Bowl, we're focusing on all aspects of the battle of the line of scrimmage.Today, we look at the Steelers' defense.
There have been many times this postseason when Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals offense have looked unstoppable. On Sunday, we'll find out how true that is. There many matchups to watch, but it's safe to say that if the Cardinals can block the Steelers' pass rush, they likely will pull off the upset. If they can't, Pittsburgh will be bringing its sixth Super Bowl trophy back to the Steel City.
Warner has averaged 286 yards passing per game this season, but now he'll be facing a defense that has allowed more than 300 yards of total offense only twice in 18 games. Warner and an offense with three 1,000-yard receivers will be one of the Steelers' D's toughest tests, but this is not a defense that is untested.
Every week this season we've analyzed some aspect of line play for Between the Lines. So for the Super Bowl, we are analyzing all aspects of the battle at the line of scrimmage.
When you watch the Cardinals defense and try to discover tendencies, or pick out stars and weak spots, you can't help but get tripped up by one glaring problem -- if you go back and watch the Cardinals during the regular season, you feel like you're watching a different team than the one that cruised through the NFC playoffs.
Every week this season we've analyzed some aspect of line play for Between the Lines. So for the Super Bowl, we are analyzing all aspects of the battle at the line of scrimmage.
When you watch the Cardinals defense and try to discover tendencies, or pick out stars and weak spots, you can't help but get tripped up by one glaring problem -- if you go back and watch the Cardinals during the regular season, you feel like you're watching a different team than the one that cruised through the NFC playoffs.
In doing these Between The Lines posts, it's always interesting to see if mismatches jump out, or if there is a player that seems either underrated or overrated.
Normally it doesn't happen. The conventional wisdom on most teams is pretty accurate, and it's really hard to find a stud on the offensive or defensive line that hasn't been noticed at all. But as the Falcons get ready to play the Cardinals this weekend, there is a mismatch that jumps out from paying attention to the two team's lines: if the Falcons are wise with where they line up John Abraham, he could dominate this game.
There are a lot of factors to consider in Saturday's game: how will Matt Ryan react to his first playoff start, can the Cardinals slow down Michael Turner and is the Cardinals' triple-threat at receiver too much for the Falcons secondary, but as I see it, this game will first be decided by whether the Cardinals can block Abraham.
Every week we look at some aspect of line play around the league with our Between The Lines feature.
As the playoffs get closer and closer, the Panthers may supplant the Plaxico Burress-less Giants as the NFC's No. 1 seed. If they do, a lot of the credit will go to an offense that can run (with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart) and pass.
But an even bigger reason the Panthers are 6-1 over the past seven games is because they have finally gotten their starting offensive line playing together.
Early in the season, injuries wrecked the Panthers' line. First guard Travelle Wharton missed two games with a knee injury. Tackle Jordan Gross missed a game with a concussion. Then ankle injuries sidelined tackle Jeff Otah (four games) and center Ryan Kalil (four games). Because of all the injuries, right guard Keydrick Vincent is the only lineman to start all 14 games this season, and three different Panthers' substitutes have started a total of 11 games this year.
As we have done since the FanHouse began, I'll be taking a look every week at some aspect of line play. You can read more features in the series here. Check back every Thursday for a new Between The Lines.
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Every week we look at some aspect of line play around the league with our 
