I was talking to a friend of mine and we got into the discussion of the importance of O-Lines. I’m of the opinion that an amazing top-5 O-Line props up nearly any QB enough to be a great QB. He’s of the opinion an amazing top-5 QB helps inflate O-Line stats.
Who is right - or is it a little of both?
I think depending on the permutation of OL quality and QB quality you have different results:
Elite Top 5 OL and Elite QB = Super Bowl team
Elite Top 5 OL and Decent QB = makes QB look much better than they are
Elite Top 5 OL and bad QB = QB looks a bit better than they are, makes OL look much worse
Decent OL and Elite QB = OL looks amazing
Decent OL and Decent QB = your average middling team’s situation
Decent OL and bad QB = QB makes decent OL look terrible, most fans of teams with bad QBs always also claim their OL is terrible
Bad OL and elite QB = OL looks fine
Bad OL and decent QB = OL makes QB look terrible, I think this is the cause for most of the guys who look terrible early in their careers and succeed on a new team
Bad OL and Bad QB = 2023 Jets offense