Originally posted by finfan54
BTW, i will be watching Rivers and Losman. Linemen are too difficult to watch with five or six of them baning inside. I will also be watching for a late round type steal at DE. I will be watching any cheerleaders (no males please):D
The key to grading linemen usually ends up being where the person they were defending is at. I understand, they get jumbled up, and the camera doesn't usually give you a long enough shot of them exclusively. Other positions are different because you see a lot more of them, and it's easier to pick them out.
What you can do, is take note if their opposition guy is putting pressure on the QB or not. Also on run plays YOU have to try to read the play in a way, and see if they do their job well. Like pulling guards, are they fast enough, do they get outside the line etc. Another key thing to watch, that you should be able to see nearly every play, is how fast they get off the ball. That seems to be the easiest.
Grading linemen is an exercise in frustration IMO. I try to do my own grading on players, and tend to trust myself more than draft experts, but in general, I have to just trust them when it comes to linemen, as I have the same problem as you. Safeties offer me the same problems sometimes. I usually don't get to see them at the beginning of the play, so it's hard to see if they bite on coverage. A lot of times though, the announcers will single them out as having bit, or not supplying help so you know without a doubt then. Ok, i'm sure you didn't want that, so I'll shut up now :D