"One of the best facets of the team that the Falcons have had going for them over the past three seasons has been their standout offensive line play; no doubt the best we have seen in Atlanta since the days of Todd McClure, Justin Blalock, Harvey Dahl, Tyson Clabo and Sam Baker keeping Matt Ryan's pocket clean and opening running avenues for Michael Turner to work with."
"Following some profound success behind the zone blocking scheme in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, general manager Thomas Dimitroff saw the writing on the wall in what was an aging group after a step back in 2018 and utilized significant resources to kick start a transitional rebuild of the unit, starting with the 2019 NFL Draft, which saw him spend two first-round picks on offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary."
"Dimitroff's ultimate vision on that draft night wound up coming to fruition, although he had not been in Atlanta for years by the time it all came together with the ancillary pieces in place which propelled real success. It's very rare in such an ever changing league where rosters are flipped so frequently for a guy to survive multiple regime changes with the same franchise."
"Since then, the team has had three more head coaches, five different quarterbacks going into respective seasons, a change at general manger and even a brand new stadium built - yet the common denominator has always been Matthews at left tackle, where he has started 179 consecutive games. Matthews at age 33 is still dependable as ever, as he has not registered a PFF pass blocking grade of below 77 since his rookie season. 2024"
The Falcons' offensive line has been a standout unit over the past three seasons, representing the best Atlanta has seen since the era of Todd McClure and company. Three long-tenured linemen provided rare continuity through multiple regime changes. After zone-blocking success in 2016-17 and a step back in 2018, general manager Thomas Dimitroff initiated a rebuild by selecting Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary with first-round picks in 2019. That rebuild later produced strong results once ancillary pieces arrived. Jake Matthews has been the enduring anchor, starting 179 consecutive games and maintaining consistently high PFF pass-blocking grades into age 33.
Read at The Falcoholic
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