How New England Patriots Guard Ryan Wendell Jumps Out on Game Film
For the rest of the season, I'll be doing a New England Patriots weekly film review after each game. The goal will be to focus on a player who stood out in the Patriots' last game but hasn't quite gotten enough mainstream attention. Up this week is right guard Ryan Wendell.
Jonas Gray is rightly receiving his time in the limelight after setting a regular-season franchise record with four touchdowns, along with 199 rushing yards. In a game billed as a shootout between two premier quarterbacks, the previously anonymous Gray was the best player on the field, carrying the Patriots to control of the race for home-field advantage in the AFC.
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But, of course, no running back can excel without assists from the offensive line. As well as Gray ran Sunday night, the holes on most of the interior concepts were absolutely gaping. There were multiple instances when Gray would rumble five or more yards downfield before reaching the first defender.
Though the offensive line may have played its best collective game, no one stood out more than right guard Ryan Wendell. It's been an astounding turnaround for the erstwhile center, who has bounced back from a rough 2013 campaign to become one of New England's most reliable starters and the emotional leader following Logan Mankins' departure.
Rewinding the Week 11 film (without the benefit of the All-22, unfortunately), let's take a look at how Wendell has become the Pats' best interior offensive lineman.
Looking Back
While Indy's undersized front is hardly the stiffest test, Wendell's dominant road grading was especially impressive when considering that he was playing with a knee injury. Power has never been Wendell's strength, but he appeared no worse for the wear. Against Indy, he compiled a season-high plus-4.5 run-blocking grade, the highest among all guards this week, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
This is not a new pattern for Wendell, whose plus-5.7 run-blocking grade on the season ranks eighth among all guards. PFF's metrics are cumulative, so when considering that Wendell has played roughly half the snaps of most of the other top-10 guards, his 2014 campaign looks even more impressive in that context. While Wendell is unlikely to match his otherworldly 2012 run-blocking season, he seems likely to surpass his mediocre performance in 2013:
| 2014 | +5.7 | 14 (out of 79) |
| 2013 | +3.7 | 18 (out of 35) |
| 2012 | +30.6 | 1 (out of 36) |
Wendell's strength is his lateral agility, which makes him the perfect option to pull on concepts such as Power O, Counter and Lead Toss, as well as zone-blocking schemes where the "bucket step" is sideways rather than forward. On every sustained drive, Wendell was the lead pulling guard on multiple plays, fronting the convoy for Gray:
The Pats did not run as many outside zones as they typically do because of how successful the interior runs were, but per usual, Wendell succeeded in these situations, as he has always demonstrated an aptitude for initial "reach" blocks before getting down to the second level to seal off linebackers. This play did not go for a big gain, but Wendell did his part to ensure that Gray picked up positive yardage:
However, those are concepts that Wendell executed well. Where he has really struggled has been on gap- and man-blocking schemes, where he is required to engage with the man across from him and at least hold him to a stalemate. The 300-pound Wendell is a bit undersized and has consequently always had issues with these concepts—Pats fans will remember how Terrance Knighton abused the New England center during last season's AFC Championship Game.
Indy may not employ anyone of Knighton's caliber, but that does not diminish Wendell's performance. When not pulling, Wendell was frequently asked to hold his man in place to seal off one side of the gap. Despite being at a significant weight disadvantage in the majority of his matchups, Wendell demonstrated impressive strength and leverage in multiple instances:
Sunday's performance was not a season-first for Wendell, who had similarly strong performances against Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams in Week 6 and Jeremiah Ratliff in Week 9, all of whom are former Pro Bowlers. Perhaps Wendell was dealing with an undisclosed injury in 2013, as it's hard to explain how he has improved his greatest weakness without adding on noticeably more weight.
The Pats have never really committed to pure zone- or power-run schemes over the past few seasons, as the versatility of their offensive linemen has allowed them to utilize a variety of play calls. Wendell's improvement has helped preserve that luxury, and while it would be far too simplistic to credit him solely for the line's improvement, it's hardly a coincidence that the unit found its footing in Week 5, when Wendell made his first start.
Looking Forward
Before you book your ticket to Wendell's Hall of Fame speech, realize that he still has his limitations. Though "above-average" is a massive upgrade from what the Pats had in the interior over the first month, Wendell can still be beaten when opposing defenders have the raw strength to overpower his technique.
You'll also notice that all the rosy praise above conspicuously ignored his pass blocking. Wendell's size is more of an issue when he needs to "short set anchor," as interior linemen will typically drop back fewer yards than tackles in pass protection and thus need to reanchor upon contact quicker.
The play below is not a traditional example of that, as the Pats are selling a zone-blocking scheme to give Tom Brady breathing room on play action. However, when Wendell tries to force Ricky Jean-Francois to travel east-west, the Colts lineman overpowers his initial reach block and penetrates upfield to eventually force an interception:
Wendell is never going to become an ace in pass protection, which is not necessarily a problem on the interior. What's more important is that he has improved that facet of his game this season after standing out as arguably the league's worst pass-blocking starting center last season:
| 2014 | -2.8 | 42 (out of 79) | 97.3 % | 13 (out of 77) |
| 2013 | -16.6 | 35 (out of 35) | 95.6 % | 33 (out of 35) |
| 2012 | -7.5 | 31 (out of 36) | 96.9 % | 30 (out of 36) |
Even more so than his run blocking, it is imperative that Wendell sustains that improvement the rest of the season. New England faces some brutal interior lines over its last six contests—Ndamukong Suh, Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson, Mike Daniels and the aforementioned Dareus-Williams tandem.
It will also be interesting to see how Wendell and the new starting line fare against the Miami Dolphins, who pummeled Brady back in Week 1. The starting interior trio of Dan Connolly, Marcus Cannon and Jordan Devey conceded a combined 12 quarterback hurries that day, allowing Dolphins defensive tackles Randy Starks, Jared Odrick and Earl Mitchell to generate a consistent interior push. With Miami's ability to rush four and drop seven, yet still create pressure, that Week 15 meeting could represent the O-line's toughest test remaining in the regular season.
Again, Wendell is far from the only reason for New England's offensive resurgence. But while Rob Gronkowski's return to health, Brandon LaFell's emergence and Brady's generally improved accuracy have all received plenty of pub, Wendell's insertion into the starting lineup has been an underrated factor as well. Considering that he was essentially an offseason afterthought, it's not a stretch to call the converted guard the team's most improved player.
*Unless otherwise cited, all stats via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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