NFL Offensive Linemen Found A Loophole & Are Working Around It?

In today’s NFL, players attempting to gain an unfair edge are most visible in a passing play. Defensive backs and receivers will violate pass interference laws on practically every throw. Offensive Linemen have likewise elevated the ordinary grip to the level of an art form.

NFL Offensive Linemen Found A Loophole & Are Working Around It

But how do NFL players get away with breaching the rules so severely? Sometimes it is the offender’s subtlety, and other times it is bad officiating that precludes a punishment.

NBC commentators Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth frequently mentioned the issue with Kansas City’s new right tackle during the NFL’s Week 1 opener between the reigning champion Chiefs and the visiting Lions at Arrowhead Stadium, and it quickly became a rainstorm on the field.

With edge rushers faster and faster than ever before, tackles have begun to cheat a little off the line in recent years.

Former Eagles linebacker and current FOX Sports commentator Emmanuel Acho tweeted a video of Johnson in January during the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, with the caption: “Somebody help me out here, is Lane Johnson getting away with blatant False Starts?”

Tra Thomas, a former Eagles Pro Bowl offensive lineman, reacted to Acho’s tweet with, “Nope!! His get off is perfectly timed”

Johnson has even wowed current Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons: “I don’t think people understand what Lane Johnson is accomplishing! Freaking heroic! One of my league’s favorite players!”

It’s not a stumbling block. He’s simply adjusting, and there’s nothing you can do about it. He’s the best back foot fixer in the game’s history. Anyone who complains about Lane Johnson gaining an edge within the rules just does not understand the beauty of this art.

A guy who has committed himself to honing a craft and does it better than anybody before him. Lane Johnson is not a rule breaker, and anyone who believes he is should be ashamed of themselves. He’s an artist, and his Mona Lisa is the back foot adjustment.

To be clear, the NFL rulebook requires at least seven offensive players to be on the line of scrimmage. This usually consists of all five offensive linemen and two skill-position players. Linemen must have a body component that crosses the imaginary line drawn sideline to sideline beginning at the center’s belt. This is usually the crown of the helmet.

Across 16 games in Week 1, the league called only seven unlawful formation fouls. The NFL then blew the flag on 10 in Week 2 after giving out its weekly teaching film, which finished with a string of failed formation calls, including numerous would-be violations by Taylor. One of them was on Taylor in Kansas City’s 17-9 victory over the Jaguars.

Nobody hates to see great plays ruined by minor fouls, which is why referees are educated to warn players before scattering yellow flags across the field.

Why are tackles seemingly getting off the ball faster without being flagged for a false start or an unlawful formation on a continuous basis?

The solution is found in the specifics of line play.

“There’s been an emphasis on really getting off the ball on the silent cadence,” says Geoff Schwartz, a retired offensive lineman who played for the Panthers, Vikings, Chiefs, and Giants across seven NFL seasons. “When I was younger, we were taught as a tackle to look at the ball, and when the ball is snapped, you move. But you’re a little bit late when you do that, right? Now guys are taught that when the center puts his head up to snap, or when the guard throws his hand forward to alert the center, tackles have practiced the timing. When the center brings his head up, or when the arm goes forward, it’s one second from snap. They don’t even look at the ball anymore.

“When you watch the best centers in the NFL, it’s no wonder it’s the Eagles and Chiefs. Those centers [Jason Kelce and Creed Humphrey] are really good with their cadences. If you watch them, it’s very consistent and routine. The tackles … know the exact rhythm. One second, half of a second, it’s practiced so much now that this is what’s happening. It’s the perfection of the system, to use the cadence to your advantage.”

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“Tackles align off the guards, not the center,” Mitch Schwartz says. “They kind of know how to align off your guards based on the guard alignment, what they see on film of themselves, whether the refs are telling them they’re too deep or not.” Guards are the ones who play around more with how deep or shallow they are. So the tackle, for the most part, is relatively constantly relative to the depth of the guard, not the center.”

Ultimately, no matter whether strategy is used, the purpose is to generate a split second as well as extra grass between the two lines. If it is accomplished and no flag is thrown, the offense has a significant advantage before the ball is placed into play.

The maestro of the split-second-early start will be on exhibit in Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Lane Johnson is the Eagles’ right tackle. And he’s mastered the skill of departing early without getting penalized.

It requires talent. He must anticipate when the ball will be snapped and begin at the appropriate time to avoid becoming obvious.

At a period when defensive linemen are often superior to offensive linemen, the offensive linemen require assistance. From false starts not being recognized to holding fouls not being called, quarterbacks are less likely to be hit – and hence less likely to be injured.

As a result, despite what we saw in the first game of the first week of the 2023 regular season, the league is far more concerned about preventing what we saw in the last game of the first week of the 2023 regular season. The NFL cannot afford to lose any more quarterbacks this season. So what if it means not calling false starts?

 

 

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