In the Season 2 NSFL draft, most NSFL GMs could have told you that you better hit on an offensive lineman now, because it was clear at that point the supply of capable blockers in the league was already dwindling. The league has for a few seasons now fretted over a scarcity of capable quarterbacks, and starting appearances from rookies like Clifford Rove and Nick Pierno give a good reason for this concern. But an equally alarming problem has arisen as many offenses, especially in the running game, just don’t reach the same levels that we expect to see in a professional setting. When it comes right down to it, you can put out the best skill position players in the league, but if you don’t have the big guys up front to prevent sacks and open running lanes for you, you’re going to have a bad time. The NSFL is amid a continuing offensive lineman drought, and the talent drain at the position is damaging the quality on the field in even uglier fashion than poor quarterbacking ever could. “I believe that the lineman shortage is a major problem,” said one NSFC scout, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “I don’t know if I can even compare it anything in another sport. It’s not real good.”
In the S2 draft, the first round was dominated by offensive linemen picks, including three Season 2 Pro Bowlers and the best offensive lineman in the league last season in Tim Pest. In addition to those players, there was a wealth of OL talent to be found in the later rounds including Baltimore’s Avon Blocksdale, Brokk Lee and Dieter Koch, San Jose’s Jordan Yates, and Yellowknife’s Matt James among others for a total of more than 20 linemen in the draft. Fast forward to the S3 draft and we can already see that the number of pro-ready linemen entering the league is in a downward spiral. With not even half as many offensive linemen in the draft as in season 2, and only one worthy of first round consideration, it’s clear that the level of offensive line talent entering the league is falling off in each season.
Those within the league believe the lack of serviceable blockers derives from a few primary factors: Offensive linemen enter the NSFL less prepared than ever, they have less opportunity to improve once they’re in the league and the existing level of talent in the league forces these young, inexperienced players into prominent starting roles they aren’t ready to handle, potentially burning them out early in their careers. The addition of the DSFL is going to be a huge benefit to young players looking to improve before truly joining the league. But, unfortunately for offensive lineman, they aren’t going to be afforded that luxury to learn in the DSFL for some time still. At this point, if you weigh more than 300 pounds and you have a pulse, you can get a starting job as an offensive lineman in the league.
You don’t even have to look further than defending champions, the Arizona Outlaws, to see how desperate teams are for offensive linemen. The signing of free agent offensive lineman Pat Pancake was a big boost to the weakest unit on their team, but in addition their recent conversion of deadbeat defensive tackle Arbin Asspie to the offensive line is clear evidence of this desperation to find players to fill the position. Whether this was a decision by the team or Asspie himself is unclear, but it’s still obvious the former defensive lineman knows nothing about playing the position or human anatomy for that matter. “Well most offensive linemen are taller than me, so I’ll probably grow another half a foot just by switching to the other side of the ball,” said Asspie, probably. He was basically invisible on defense this season, so it’s hard to say what he’ll do now on the offensive line. The Outlaws have shown they know what it takes to win, so maybe it’s an idea just crazy enough to work. But, it's disappointing to say the least that even the best team in the league has to resort to this kind of a move because of the dearth of OLine talent.
So, if the DSFL is still some ways off from being an ideal training ground for linemen, what can be done to prepare new offensive linemen for the league? It all comes down to what is learned playing at the college level and as of right now, it’s not nearly sufficient enough. The college spread offense, a frequent object of scorn among NSFL evaluators, is the main culprit in the lack of development of offensive linemen before they enter the league. Most players come from college systems reliant on screens, quick passes and misdirection, which means they enter the NSFL accustomed to rarely hitting beyond their initial block or having had to thwart a pass rusher’s secondary moves.
“The tempo is so fast in college now that the techniques just aren’t taught like they used to be,” our source said. “Now it’s about guys trying to get back to the line of scrimmage and not finish. The spread offenses are nothing like the offenses you run in the NSFL, so guys come in just not as prepared.”
Another issue that affects the development of offensive linemen is the amount of safety that has been imposed on the way teams practice as a result of recent awareness of traumatic brain injury and CTE. From the youth level through college, skill players and quarterbacks can participate in noncontact leagues and clinics to gain the skills and knowledge they need to be successful and develop. But, a similar opportunity does not exist for an offensive lineman. Teams have fewer offseason practices and hit at full speed less often when they do practice. The decrease of full-speed offseason practicing hurts offensive lines more than any other unit, especially in comparison with defensive linemen. In order to learn how to block, you have to physically engage with another player, not just some stationary piece of equipment. And every defensive lineman is going to come at you with a different bag of tricks. There just isn’t enough time and preparation available to these players right now for them to keep up with the rest of the league.
A lack of offensive production isn’t an inherent problem. The problem is the nature of how offenses get dragged down when the line can’t do its job. It is one thing for a tough defense to have a great gameplan, but when defensive lines are shoving offensive linemen into the backfield or just bowling them over, it ruins any chance an offense has to succeed. It can make games painful to watch — it stops looking like football and starts looking like survival. The past two championship games, and especially the most recent one, suffered mightily from this. Even a highly regarded Hawks offensive line was no match against the Outlaws defense, giving up two safeties in a championship game. That is absolutely astounding and should be eye opening for anyone that still doubts how big a problem this is for the league.
The NSFL offensive game may be fundamentally changing for the worse as a result of poor offensive line play. Of course, the league could always use new, high caliber talent at any position, but offenses desperately need better linemen to protect them. There are definitely linemen in the league that have shown they are able to adapt to the professional game despite the rough transition. Again, look at Tim Pest, who was absolutely atrocious in his first season before becoming one of the best less than a year later. But, there aren’t enough of these types of players for every team to fill their offensive lines like there are at every other position. And, what happens when those players currently in the league start to retire or another expansion happens? There will be even less offensive line talent to go around than there already is. The league needs to find a way to attract more high potential linemen and give them the training they need before the problem gets more and more out of hand. Otherwise, we could see the spread offense making its way to NSFL playbooks everywhere.
((1392 words, ready for grading))
GRADED
In the S2 draft, the first round was dominated by offensive linemen picks, including three Season 2 Pro Bowlers and the best offensive lineman in the league last season in Tim Pest. In addition to those players, there was a wealth of OL talent to be found in the later rounds including Baltimore’s Avon Blocksdale, Brokk Lee and Dieter Koch, San Jose’s Jordan Yates, and Yellowknife’s Matt James among others for a total of more than 20 linemen in the draft. Fast forward to the S3 draft and we can already see that the number of pro-ready linemen entering the league is in a downward spiral. With not even half as many offensive linemen in the draft as in season 2, and only one worthy of first round consideration, it’s clear that the level of offensive line talent entering the league is falling off in each season.
Those within the league believe the lack of serviceable blockers derives from a few primary factors: Offensive linemen enter the NSFL less prepared than ever, they have less opportunity to improve once they’re in the league and the existing level of talent in the league forces these young, inexperienced players into prominent starting roles they aren’t ready to handle, potentially burning them out early in their careers. The addition of the DSFL is going to be a huge benefit to young players looking to improve before truly joining the league. But, unfortunately for offensive lineman, they aren’t going to be afforded that luxury to learn in the DSFL for some time still. At this point, if you weigh more than 300 pounds and you have a pulse, you can get a starting job as an offensive lineman in the league.
You don’t even have to look further than defending champions, the Arizona Outlaws, to see how desperate teams are for offensive linemen. The signing of free agent offensive lineman Pat Pancake was a big boost to the weakest unit on their team, but in addition their recent conversion of deadbeat defensive tackle Arbin Asspie to the offensive line is clear evidence of this desperation to find players to fill the position. Whether this was a decision by the team or Asspie himself is unclear, but it’s still obvious the former defensive lineman knows nothing about playing the position or human anatomy for that matter. “Well most offensive linemen are taller than me, so I’ll probably grow another half a foot just by switching to the other side of the ball,” said Asspie, probably. He was basically invisible on defense this season, so it’s hard to say what he’ll do now on the offensive line. The Outlaws have shown they know what it takes to win, so maybe it’s an idea just crazy enough to work. But, it's disappointing to say the least that even the best team in the league has to resort to this kind of a move because of the dearth of OLine talent.
So, if the DSFL is still some ways off from being an ideal training ground for linemen, what can be done to prepare new offensive linemen for the league? It all comes down to what is learned playing at the college level and as of right now, it’s not nearly sufficient enough. The college spread offense, a frequent object of scorn among NSFL evaluators, is the main culprit in the lack of development of offensive linemen before they enter the league. Most players come from college systems reliant on screens, quick passes and misdirection, which means they enter the NSFL accustomed to rarely hitting beyond their initial block or having had to thwart a pass rusher’s secondary moves.
“The tempo is so fast in college now that the techniques just aren’t taught like they used to be,” our source said. “Now it’s about guys trying to get back to the line of scrimmage and not finish. The spread offenses are nothing like the offenses you run in the NSFL, so guys come in just not as prepared.”
Another issue that affects the development of offensive linemen is the amount of safety that has been imposed on the way teams practice as a result of recent awareness of traumatic brain injury and CTE. From the youth level through college, skill players and quarterbacks can participate in noncontact leagues and clinics to gain the skills and knowledge they need to be successful and develop. But, a similar opportunity does not exist for an offensive lineman. Teams have fewer offseason practices and hit at full speed less often when they do practice. The decrease of full-speed offseason practicing hurts offensive lines more than any other unit, especially in comparison with defensive linemen. In order to learn how to block, you have to physically engage with another player, not just some stationary piece of equipment. And every defensive lineman is going to come at you with a different bag of tricks. There just isn’t enough time and preparation available to these players right now for them to keep up with the rest of the league.
A lack of offensive production isn’t an inherent problem. The problem is the nature of how offenses get dragged down when the line can’t do its job. It is one thing for a tough defense to have a great gameplan, but when defensive lines are shoving offensive linemen into the backfield or just bowling them over, it ruins any chance an offense has to succeed. It can make games painful to watch — it stops looking like football and starts looking like survival. The past two championship games, and especially the most recent one, suffered mightily from this. Even a highly regarded Hawks offensive line was no match against the Outlaws defense, giving up two safeties in a championship game. That is absolutely astounding and should be eye opening for anyone that still doubts how big a problem this is for the league.
The NSFL offensive game may be fundamentally changing for the worse as a result of poor offensive line play. Of course, the league could always use new, high caliber talent at any position, but offenses desperately need better linemen to protect them. There are definitely linemen in the league that have shown they are able to adapt to the professional game despite the rough transition. Again, look at Tim Pest, who was absolutely atrocious in his first season before becoming one of the best less than a year later. But, there aren’t enough of these types of players for every team to fill their offensive lines like there are at every other position. And, what happens when those players currently in the league start to retire or another expansion happens? There will be even less offensive line talent to go around than there already is. The league needs to find a way to attract more high potential linemen and give them the training they need before the problem gets more and more out of hand. Otherwise, we could see the spread offense making its way to NSFL playbooks everywhere.
((1392 words, ready for grading))
GRADED
![[Image: 018p.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/WbJGDCCK/018p.png)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Regular Season Stats
[OPTION](S2) 14 Games Played
[OPTION](S3) 14 Games Played
[OPTION](S4) 14 Games Played
[OPTION](S5) 14 Games Played
[OPTION](S6) 14 Games Played
[OPTION](S7) 14 Games Played
[OPTION](S8) 14 Games Played
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Playoff Stats
[OPTION] 27839
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION]Most Likely to Break the Team Bench When Sitting Down
[OPTION]Pumpkin Chuckin' Rally 2017 Semifinalist
[OPTION]Most Likely to Get Traded in S8 (T-1st)
[OPTION]Ultimus Champion S7, S8
![[Image: 4o1njGy.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/4o1njGy.jpg)
![[Image: bxKqp91.png]](https://i.imgur.com/bxKqp91.png)
![[Image: XSfVUgo.png]](https://i.imgur.com/XSfVUgo.png)
![[Image: TBFYuND.png]](https://i.imgur.com/TBFYuND.png)
