Recognition for the traditionally unrecognized

By KEVIN WANDRA
Special to The Citizen

Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Ben Roethlisberger and Larry Fitzgerald are just a few of the many household names in the NFL. They all have garnered numerous accolades and the attention of fans for their offensive production, mainly their ability to generate touchdowns and highlight-worthy plays that frequently appear on ESPN.

All the aforementioned players, and numerous other NFL stars, deserve recognition for their talents, but it’s about time the most overlooked, and important, units on the field, the offensive and defensive lines, received some love and acclaim.
Far too many football fans focus mostly on glamorous, touchdown-producing skill position players — quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends — while watching games.

Knowledgeable fans know the old adage “Football games are won in the trenches” still rings true today and that it is unwise to overlook the play of offensive and defensive linemen.
Skill position players cannot flourish and, in turn, garner accolades without stellar play from the big boys up front, offensive linemen. A quarterback cannot complete passes to his receivers and direct an offense toward the end zone without receiving adequate protection from his line. A running back cannot find, and run through, holes if his line fails to drive defensive linemen off the line of scrimmage.

The five NFL teams with the most rushing yards per game last season — the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings — all reached the playoffs. Six of the 10 teams that scored the most points per game last season — the San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Giants, Panthers and Falcons — reached the playoffs, as well. Those teams, of course, had significant talent at the skill positions, but their offenses were able to flourish thanks in large part to the play of their offensive linemen.

To further see the importance of a reliable, talented offensive line, take a look at the Dallas Cowboys. During the 1990s, the Cowboys had one of the greatest offensive lines in NFL history; tackles Mark Tuinei and Erik Williams, guards Nate Newton and Larry Allen and center Mark Stepnoski were named to a combined 25 Pro Bowls, helped lead Dallas to three Super Bowl titles and paved the way for Emmitt Smith to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.

One of the primary reasons the Cowboys have not reached the Super Bowl since 1996, which is also the last year they won a playoff game, has been their inability to build an offensive line that could come close to comparing to its line from the 90’s.

Defensive linemen can significantly affect the outcome of games as much as offensive linemen do.

It’s impossible for a defense to shut down skill position players and prevent touchdowns without strong play from its defensive line. If a defensive line consistently gets penetration and stifles rushing attacks and applies pressure to quarterbacks and does not allow time for them to throw to receivers, it’s likely game over for the team that trots out an offensive line that is struggling to do its job.

The best case of a defensive line affecting the outcome of a game came in Super Bowl XLII, when the Giants defeated the heavily favored New England Patriots 17-14 in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.

New England entered the game with the most prolific offense in NFL history, having set numerous records during the regular season, including points scored, touchdowns scored and most players scoring a touchdown. The leader of the Patriots’ high-scoring offense, Brady broke the NFL record for touchdown passes in a season (50) and led the league in both passing yards (4,806) and passer rating (117.2). One of Brady’s top targets, wide receiver Randy Moss, broke the NFL record for touchdown receptions with 23 and set the Patriots’ franchise record for receiving yards in a season (1,439).

New England’s offensive line was one of the primary reasons the team was able to set a slew of offensive records; it did a superb job of protecting Brady and giving him ample time to pick apart defenses.

The Patriots were poised to win their fourth Super Bowl title in NFL history. But the Giants’ defensive line, led by tackle Justin Tuck and ends Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan, dominated New England’s offensive line, sacking Brady five times — the most sacks allowed by New England in a single game that season — and hit him nine other times. New York’s defensive line also played a significant role in shutting down the Patriots’ running game, limiting New England to 45 yards rushing.

Last season’s Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the top-rated defense in the league; they led the NFL in total defense (yards per game allowed), points allowed per game and passing defense, and finished second in rushing defense and sacks. Safety Troy Polamalu and linebackers James Harrison, James Farrior and Lamarr Woodley stood out in the Steelers’ stingy 3-4 defense. But they likely would not have been such difference-makers without massive nose tackle Casey Hampton and ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel, among others along their line, tying up blockers.

If you take a look at the organizations that have the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history — the Pittsburgh Steelers (six), Dallas Cowboys (five) and San Francisco 49ers (five) — they possessed solid offensive and defensive lines each time they won titles.

Gomer Jones, Bud Wilkinson’s line coach at Oklahoma, perhaps put it best about the importance of linemen.

“Linemen are literally the unsung heroes of the game,” Jones said. “Their situation is analogous to the infantry in warfare. They do the hard, bitter fighting for victory. As the generals reap the headlines in war, the backs reap the headlines in football. Yet in their hearts, the generals and backs know that victory and the accolades came through the work of the foot soldiers and linemen.”

So, the next time you are viewing a football game, pay close attention to the offensive and defensive linemen. Their play will likely mean the difference between winning and losing for your favorite team.