Did not know this....interesting.

[tonyballs]

According to PFF, Joe Dahl the Lions 5th rd pick graded out as the #1 OT in pass protection. Impressive. Reason for slipping was because of his short arms, tends to get bullrushed and lack of experience in a 3 point stance. Hogwash!!! Short arms theory is bs and the rest can be taken care of in the gym and plenty of repetitions on the field. Starting to really feel this pick.....

We really nailed it with this kid IMO. Will probably play Guard as a Lion tho but another versatile player. Boom.

 

[kdp1980]

Hope so. Glad we finally went all out and built this line.

 

[sggatecl]

It's a passing league. If my OT/OG is going to be the best at one thing, it's going to be pass protection. Thanks for that info.

 

[tomdalton22]

According to PFF, Joe Dahl the Lions 5th rd pick graded out as the #1 OT in pass protection. Impressive. Reason for slipping was because of his short arms, tends to get bullrushed and lack of experience in a 3 point stance. Hogwash!!! Short arms theory is bs and the rest can be taken care of in the gym and plenty of repetitions on the field. Starting to really feel this pick.....

We really nailed it with this kid IMO. Will probably play Guard as a Lion tho but another versatile player. Boom.

While he may be a good depth guy, and maybe (hopefully) a starter, I don't buy into PFF saying he was the #1 OT in pass pro. Just like I don't buy that Decker is #79.

 

[kingofdetroit57]

According to PFF, Joe Dahl the Lions 5th rd pick graded out as the #1 OT in pass protection. Impressive. Reason for slipping was because of his short arms, tends to get bullrushed and lack of experience in a 3 point stance. Hogwash!!! Short arms theory is bs and the rest can be taken care of in the gym and plenty of repetitions on the field. Starting to really feel this pick.....

We really nailed it with this kid IMO. Will probably play Guard as a Lion tho but another versatile player. Boom.

I'm with you, Tony. I'm sick of hearing about arm length for OL too. If they are blocking correctly, they are in on the chest of the defender. So, I'd think that the guys with shorter arms would have an easier time staying engaged in their blocks and wouldn't have so many issues with over-extending (i.e., defender is closer to their body when engaged) or being out leveraged. Also, arm length doesn't really tell you a whole lot about overall reach or width. Some guys have extremely wide chests and shoulders, so while having "short" arms they may still have a wider wingspan than the narrower guy who has "long" arms. If you want to pick on arm length for DL, WR, DB, or even LB, fine... I can see better arguments for that with field of reach for catching balls, blocking passes, or tackling. OL just don't do those things though.

 

[tomdalton22]

I'm with you, Tony. I'm sick of hearing about arm length for OL too. If they are blocking correctly, they are in on the chest of the defender. So, I'd think that the guys with shorter arms would have an easier time staying engaged in their blocks and wouldn't have so many issues with over-extending (i.e., defender is closer to their body when engaged) or being out leveraged. Also, arm length doesn't really tell you a whole lot about overall reach or width. Some guys have extremely wide chests and shoulders, so while having "short" arms they may still have a wider wingspan than the narrower guy who has "long" arms. If you want to pick on arm length for DL, WR, DB, or even LB, fine... I can see better arguments for that with field of reach for catching balls, blocking passes, or tackling. OL just don't do those things though.

I did a quick google search and this is the answer I found.

The length of the tackle's arms are very important. An offensive lineman with short arms is a big concern. I cannot stress to you enough how important this is in the NFL. The offensive lineman must be able to get good extension with their arms to keep the defender at bay. If the defender can get inside to the lineman's body...the defender can get the advantage.

This makes sense to me, but only to an extent. A player can be stronger or have great technique that will "make up for" his less than ideal physical attributes.

 

[SoCalLions]

I did a quick google search and this is the answer I found.

The length of the tackle's arms are very important. An offensive lineman with short arms is a big concern. I cannot stress to you enough how important this is in the NFL. The offensive lineman must be able to get good extension with their arms to keep the defender at bay. If the defender can get inside to the lineman's body...the defender can get the advantage.

This makes sense to me, but only to an extent. A player can be stronger or have great technique that will "make up for" his less than ideal physical attributes.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/08/06/does-arm-length-affect-ot-play/

Goes both ways. People have attempted to prove the opposite.

 

[kingofdetroit57]

I did a quick google search and this is the answer I found.

The length of the tackle's arms are very important. An offensive lineman with short arms is a big concern. I cannot stress to you enough how important this is in the NFL. The offensive lineman must be able to get good extension with their arms to keep the defender at bay. If the defender can get inside to the lineman's body...the defender can get the advantage.

This makes sense to me, but only to an extent. A player can be stronger or have great technique that will "make up for" his less than ideal physical attributes.

When I see stuff like this, I think it has to be written by someone who never played the positions and doesn't understand basic leverage.

I'm a mechanical engineer (oooh... I know) and a big guy with a wide chest, broad shoulders, and long arms (I'm 6'5" and 290lbs, wear shirts with a 37/38 sleeve length, can reach up and touch an 8' ceiling, and I have a wingspan over 7'). I played OL and DL, and I don't really agree with the idea that long arms are some huge benefit or requirement from the OL perspective. Tall guys have a tendency to lean, twist, and overextend, and they typically get beat like rented mules and/or penalized for reaching when they do. A good OL engages the defender on the chest and up into the armpits and lifts to gain leverage and control. Guys who are a bit shorter and stouter have an easier time with this and can typically do it with greater consistency. They just have a lower CoG (sometimes significantly so depending on how they carry their weight) and have an easier time getting under the defender. Plus, they typically tend to be very strong over short distances. This is why most powerlifters you see are short dudes who are built like traffic barrels, not the LeBron James types. The shorter guys may struggle a bit against fast edge rushers where a little more reach would help to clear the perimeter of the pocket, but that's one of the few instances I can think of where arm length is an issue. Again, this is my point of view from an OL perspective only.

If we are talking DL, you'd definitely want to have long arms to keep the shorter armed OL away from your body, and to be able to reach up and out to deflect passes or hit/slow QBs and RBs. It is a much more athletic position, outside of a true space-eating NT. If we are talking NT, you'd want that low, wide OL build to just take up space and clog the middle.

Just my two cents on this topic. I'm sure some will completely disagree.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I think it helps to have long arms just like it helps to be a tall QB. But short armed OT and shorter QB's have been successful.

 

[tonyballs]

While he may be a good depth guy, and maybe (hopefully) a starter, I don't buy into PFF saying he was the #1 OT in pass pro. Just like I don't buy that Decker is #79.

Not saying PFF is gospel, but it's intereresting to say the least. The "experts" say this kid will play inside, but lets see what Caldwell wants to do with him. Maybe he snatches a starting gig right out of someones hands. I'm just glad that Quinn and Co did the dirty and went after quality players. Looks great on paper right now and we all know it means shit.....lets see it on the field. I want to hear that this kid pancaked a guy like Ziggy in practice....get his name out there lol.

 

[cheeno]

Not saying PFF is gospel, but it's intereresting to say the least. The "experts" say this kid will play inside, but lets see what Caldwell wants to do with him. Maybe he snatches a starting gig right out of someones hands. I'm just glad that Quinn and Co did the dirty and went after quality players. Looks great on paper right now and we all know it means shit.....lets see it on the field. I want to hear that this kid pancaked a guy like Ziggy in practice....get his name out there lol.

Play him over Decker. PFF is never wrong Stafford top 5 QB!

 

[biggunsbob]

All I know is I hope Tony is right because the kid could be a steal and none of us should complain at this draft because we have all at one time or another have yelled out

" Damm it lions draft some darn offensive linemen" !!!!!!!!

Who knows if this draft will work out but it's a start and looks decent so far.

 

[kdp1980]

It will work out, I just don't see Reiff staying around. Are we going to pay him LT money, move him back to RT(if we decide Decker can handle LT) and pay Reiff RT money, or, are we going to move on from Reiff all together and hand his job to Dahl? I just don't see Reiff being content staying here if we don't pay him LT money.

 

[mhughes0021]

Nice future piece. short term you have Schwartz there to back up warford and Tomlinson. If he develops you have options....something weve never had before lol. If he doesn't....what else is new....were the lions.