Filed under: NFL Analysis
"O-Line 'Em Up" is a regular feature that analyzes offensive line play each week of the 2010 season.
Even with a shocking win against the Saints this past week, the Cardinals' offense has taken a dramatic step back this year. Much of that can be blamed on Kurt Warner's retirement, but if you watch the offensive line play of the Cardinals, it's also clear that Brandon Keith is part of the problem.
Promoted to the starting lineup when Mike Gandy was allowed to leave in the offseason, the new Cardinals right tackle leads the league in sacks allowed after five weeks. Arizona has plenty of reasons to worry about Keith's play, most notably because he appears to lack the speed to block rushers coming off of the edge. Of the six sacks Keith has allowed, four have come on speed rushes to his outside, and most of those have been sacks where Keith barely touches the man he is supposed to block.
Keith is one of a number of players who are showing how hard it is to find a good offensive tackle. But it's more surprising to see veterans Sam Baker and David Diehl near the top of the sacks-allowed list. Baker has been a pretty reliable left tackle since the Falcons took him in the first round in 2008, but this year he has allowed a sack every week except for Week 2. In Diehl's case, he's faced some of the better pass rushers in the league (Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney, for example), but he is also being beaten consistently by speed rushers, which leads to a legitimate concern that the former guard may be a step slower than he needs to be.
Here's a look at the "leaders" in sacks allowed this season.
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