Redskins-Lions Game Reviews

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

Great job as always & thanks much!

I was wondering what your take on Lichtensteiger v. dockery is? I know you've said that Licht. gets blown up in pass pro, which seems obvious so often. But you also said that he makes good adjustments in protection schemes picking up blitzes.

I really felt after the last 3 weeks that if this is going to be a pass first offense (as you note above) then Dock should get back in. Also, seems the success running has been on the right side more than the left this year.

Neither Dockery nor Lichtensteiger is much of a run blocker. I compared Lichtensteiger to Pete Kendall earlier in the year because they are very stylistically similar. Kendall, however, was a great player in making those really difficult reach blocks that guards sometimes have to make. Lichtensteiger is adequate at best.

Lichtensteiger is playing because as the coaches thought the rushing attack would develop, he offers far more scheme diversity than Dockery does. You can do so much more with Lichtensteiger in the game in terms of pulls, traps, reaches, cuts, and screens (particularly screens). The problem is, by and large, we don't really do enough of these things to justify telling Derrick Dockery "you don't fit this scheme". Theoretically, he wouldn't fit the scheme, but the scheme more often than not is "try not to screw this up."

I think Dockery is a good pass protector for a left guard. I also think Kory is a pretty good pass protector. There's no question that Kory has blown as many blocks in 6 starts as Dockery blew all of last year. He's younger and has never really had consistent playing time at the NFL level. But I think Trent Williams gets more out of working with Lichtensteiger about how this offensive scheme wants to diversify its protections, and I think that at his peak development, Kory Lichtensteiger is going to be a leader on an NFL interior line, and a centerpiece on the line.

Right now, he's a guy struggling through his first starting assignment in the NFL. And it's hard to not see Derrick Dockery offering more value at that position right now. But while Casey Rabach and Artis Hicks have limited future value on the Redskins, I think Lichtensteiger has some.