Does Arm Length Affect OT Play?
Arm Length @ Tackle
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There has been some discussion here on arm length. So here's a study saying there's no correlation between arm length and playing ability.
Interesting, because I've always though longer arms allowed the player to keep the other player out of his chest and getting leverage over him.Now, if you excuse me, I have some Charger memories to suppress.
The Wasted Decade is done.
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Broncos 2015 draft: Arm length and the offensive line
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In recent years a great deal of scrutiny has been leveled at the arm length of offensive linemen. Can you be a successful offensive lineman with "T-Rex" arms? Are all NFL linemen with freakishly long arms successful NFL starters?
By Joe Mahoney@ndjomo76 Apr 9, 2015, 1:00pm MDT
Here are the tackles from the All-Pro and Pro-Bowl teams from the last five seasons and their arm lengthsName Arm Length Ryan Clady 36 3/4 Tyron Smith 36 3/8 Russell Okung 36 Jake Long 35 7/8 D'Brickashaw Ferguson 35 1/2 Andrew Whitworth 35 Jermon Bushrod 34 1/2 Trent Williams 34 1/4 Matt Kalil 34 1/4 Michael Roos 33 5/8 Brandon Albert 33 5/8 Joe Staley 33 1/2 Duane Brown 33 1/4 Sebastion Vollmer 33 1/4 Jordan Gross 33 1/4 Matt Light 33 1/4 Jason Peters 33 1/8 Chad Clifton 33 Tyson Clabo 33 Donald Penn 33 Joe Thomas 32 1/2
So we see that while Tyron Smith and Ryan Clady have used their long arms to earn multiple All-Pro selection, guys like Jason Peters, Tyson Clabo and Joe Thomas have done so as offensive tackles with relatively short arms.
The takeaway is this - while having long arms helps at tackle, there are good, even elite, offensive tackles who compensate for shorter arms by being quicker, tougher, smarter and better technicians.
Now, if you excuse me, I have some Charger memories to suppress.
The Wasted Decade is done.
Build Back Better.
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I think the arm length thing is misleading. Of course, all things being equal, if you have longer arms, it would be harder for a player to get around your OT. All things are rarely equal, or even close to equal.
It has long been known that technique is far more important for OL, then probably any other position. So, judging a player on their technique is what is important. Only if your body is in position can you take advantage of the long arms.
One thing that is interesting, many of the best OT are at the bottom of the arm length list.
The flip side of the argument would be that if the arm length thing were really true, then why wouldn't it be true of defenders. They use their arms to keep the OL from getting their arms extended. So, the long arm thing would be similarly important for them. Of course, it is not. The height thing got debunked in a hurry about the time we drafted Ingram. For years there had been almost zero 10 sack in a season performance for players with 33 or shorter inch arms (might be a different length, but it doesn't matter). Then a bunch of players all gets 10 sacks in a season, and the whole theory goes to hell. There are just very few NFL sized guys who are big enough to play DL or OLB and don't have arms that size. The fact that no one ever has, doesn't mean it can't happen (necessarily), it could mean it hasn't happened yet. (http://www.thepowderblues.com/forum/...538#post737538)
Last edited by Steve; 04-14-2019, 09:17 AM.
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I don't think anyone is saying that it makes no difference at all. It makes a very minor difference.
But if you are looking for key measurables for an OT, and looking for the ones that are best going to indicate who can play, arm length is way down on the list.
Again, if you think it is so important, look at Joe Thomas with the shortest arms on the list. He was the best LT in football for virtually his entire career, and for most of that time, it wasn't even close. Clearly, his arm length was not a problem, or if it was, it was so minor that he overcame it.
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There isn't a measurable that really that key for OL.
The best OL are the guys who have good technique and understand angles. Those are things that come out when you play. The technique will get better once they start working with pro coaches, but guys who have some technique clearly get it, and have such a big head start, it is a tangible advantage.
The bench press is important indirectly I guess. It shows if you have been preparing for the combine. But I am always suspicious since 225 lb is such a light weight for those guys, and who really cares how many times you can do weight repeatably? One rep max would be a better indicator of bulk strength, but it takes too long to find, you would have to make the bench press a real competition and it would take forever, plus someone would get hurt.
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