Eyes Front: Can Packers Slow Saints’ March?

One of the under-the-radar truths about the Packers is that their highly touted offensive line (when healthy) is elite in only one phase of the game. It’s built to protect the quarterback, and has been for some time, which makes sense when you have consecutive franchise quarterbacks who are masters of the air attack.

And so we tend to measure O-line success in terms of protection blocks missed and made, number of pressures and sacks allowed, etc., while rarely looking at run-blocking performance.

Which makes Green Bay look good, but masks the other side of the coin. So far this year the team ranks 13th in pass protection, per ESPN analytics. In run-blocking win rate, the Packers rank 25th.

It’s…