Protecting the Quarterback: NFL's Best Offensive Lines

Last season, the Tennessee Titans posted a 13-3 record, the best in the NFL. Much of the team's success was attributed to the strong play of the club's offensive line, which allowed only 12 sacks, tied for the fewest in the league.

"The biggest reason we were able to limit turnovers and be efficient was because of the play of the offensive line," says Titans quarterback KERRY COLLINS. "The key was their ability to pass protect and run block. A lot of credit goes to them. Week in and week out last year, they were extremely consistent."

In today's NFL, the ability to protect the quarterback is key

"The Titans had success last year because of the offensive line's ability to protect," says former Indianapolis Colts head coach TONY DUNGY, who now serves as an analyst for NBC. "They were the most consistent team playing mistake-free last season, and that's what really made them tough to beat."

With such a premium placed on keeping the quarterback out of harm's way, it is no surprise that teams have made it a priority to draft offensive tackles. One year after an NFL-record eight offensive tackles were taken in the first round, three of the top eight selections in 2009 were tackles (JASON SMITH, ANDRE SMITH and EUGENE MONROE). It marked just the third time in the past 20 years that three tackles were drafted in the top-10. The second overall selection, St. Louis Rams left tackle Jason Smith, hopes he can replicate the success that 2008 first-overall pick and Pro Bowl tackle JAKE LONG had as a rookie in Miami. The first lineman off the board in 2007, Cleveland Browns tackle JOE THOMAS, was also an All-Star in his rookie season.

"A couple of the linemen were our highest-rated players and it happened to be that they were tackles," says Rams general manager BILLY DEVANEY about the strength of this draft's tackle class. "We didn't manufacture that. That was the unanimous opinion of the coaches and the scouts. That's how they graded out."

With 22 offensive tackles being selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft over the past three years, nearly three-quarters of the teams in the league have made significant decisions at the position since 2007.

"The left tackle is a critical position because usually it is protecting the quarterback's blind side," says Browns head coach ERIC MANGINI, who drafted D'BRICKASHAW FERGUSON fourth overall while with the New York Jets in 2006 and now coaches two time All-Star Thomas. "You get most of the elite pass rushers in the NFL lining up over there."

 

NFL 2009 Preview | Protecting the Quarterback - NFL's Best Offensive Lines