Steelers Film Room: Can You Hear The “Whimper” Of Big Ben?
By Nick Kelly
Part 2: Pass Blocking
In the past, right tackles have been known more as run blockers, but with the NFL turning into more of a pass heavy league, it is becoming more and more important that they can also pass block well. Regarding Guy Whimper, his pass blocking is so bad that you could consider him stronger at run blocking, and he is a pretty poor run blocker. Quite honestly, this is almost arguably one of the worst pass sets I have seen in a long time. Whimper stops his feet almost immediately, he often over commits, has poor balance, poor hand punch, and he often gets flat-footed. Whimper has a very small kick step, which puts him at a disadvantage almost right away since he needs to gain ground. He does fine with delayed blitzes, but when he faces an immediate blitzer, the defender almost always gets by him. The only reason he doesn’t give up even more sacks is because the ball was either thrown by then, or someone else got to the quarterback first. Below I have broken down a play where the immediate blitzer gets by him for the sack.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
On this play, Guy Whimper prepares for the outside linebacker, Brooks Reed, to come off of the edge. With Reed a little farther out, Whimper will need to take a wider kick step because it is vital for Whimper to keep his outside eye lined up with Reed’s inside eye.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
Right away, Whimper is already starting to turn his shoulders. Reed is not close enough to him that he needs to start turning. If Whimper starts to not keep his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage, it creates an easier path for the defender to get by.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
Right now, Whimper is showing us exactly what NOT to do. He has his arms out, giving something for Reed to use to make his move off of Whimper. Whimper also has his feet together, making himself very unbalanced.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
With Whimper a step behind, Reed now has a straight path to the quarterback, shown by the yellow arrow. Whimper is a step behind mainly because he stopped his feet.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
At this point, what Whimper should be doing is staying on the inside of Reed’s hip so he can just run with him. Being behind, all Whimper can do is chase Reed.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
Reed sacks Gabbert just short of the end-zone. Once again, Whimpers lack of speed and lack of technique cost him, ending with a sack this time.
Additional Notes:
Back in 2011 when Whimper was a starter for 16 games, he lead the league in sacks given up with 14. 14 in 16 games is just ridiculous. With Big Ben trying to stay upright more this year, Whimper doesn’t look to be the most favorable person blocking for Roethlisberger on the right side. New offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. needs to continue to work hard with Whimper on his technique, because if he continues to play like he has in years past, Ben Roethlisberger will be fearful for his life, constantly checking for who is coming off of the right edge next.