A Serious Question Regarding Offensive Line Issue

[Nation]

Question 1: I think with no changes but health that we'd be in the 16-20 range for our line as opposed to being one of the 5 worst. But that's a best case scenario.

Question 2: In there interest of offensive line improvement I'd take one of the top 3 offensive tackles with all things being equal, just a much more valuable position.

[Macnalty]

Originally Posted by SkinsandTerps

Simple answer... the line is nothing special aside from maybe your young Tackle.

Even a mediocre line can look good if they are coached properly and the playcalls fit with what they do best...look at the Redskins as a good example. A better one (aside from Saturday) is the former Colts OL.

I agree it is nothing special and Smith has yet to really shine, that is good for contract negotiations(on Smith) but sucks being Tony. My take is the center was the pivot point last year while Cook did admiral work it was not good enough, a stronger center makes the two guards better. I for one do not feel good about a player with a bad back(Costa), too often this seems to be a chronic condition. We can choose to leave it as the elephant in the room(along with a certain Achilles tendon) but think of your own experiences with back problems within your social circles. Very few walk away with no other incidents with their backs. Most likely within your circle there are no NFL centers who job demand violent hits and one on one clashes weekly.

[burmafrd]

The idea behind a pocket is that if there is pressure from the ends the QB SHOULD be able to step up.

Problem with that for the boys is that there has BEEN NO POCKET for 2 YEARS.

INTERIOR O LINE THIS YEAR EARLY AND OFTEN.

[visionary]

despite all the sunshine pumping in this thread, the reality is we have a HORRID OL

we need at least 2 new starters, maybe 3
1 person (Bern) will have to change position to even have a chance to succeed and we have no idea how he will do with this
this all is assuming the LT and RT that sort of showed something improve

NOT ONE OF THESE THINGS IS A GIVEN

so when people say, they just have to play together, that is a house of cards

[Woods]

Here's what I think WILL happen with our OL going into the new season,

1. T Smith and Livings remain at their spots most likely

2. The team tries to play Costa at OC. I think a lot depends on Costa's back injury, etc.

3. We upgrade Bern at RG. I think this will be the move we make in FA/Draft.

4. I think Parnell likely plays RT.

5. Bern will now be the top back-up at OG (and he will compete at OC against Costa as well during TC). And we have Cook to provide decent depth too.


To me, the biggest question marks in the above scenario are if Costa is 100% healthy. And secondly, the plan at RT to bring in depth/competition for Parnell.

What I would do is bring in a good OG in FA, then in the draft I get another versatile OG/OC player. Whether it's a guy like Cooper who can possibly play OC too and provide competition for Livings, or quite possibly I draft an OC in the 3rd or 4th round. As for OT depth, unless Free takes a big haircut on this comp, I cut him and bring in some veteran depth.

[ghst187]

Originally Posted by Nation

Question 2: In there interest of offensive line improvement I'd take one of the top 3 offensive tackles with all things being equal, just a much more valuable position.

totally agree! Much harder to find a T than G. If Livings got back to playing decently, Berny moves to C and does decent then we got a top 3 T at 18 in the draft we could shore it up with a probably starting caliber G in the second or even better in FA with the guy from the Patriots that has been brought up as a possible target for us. Sure would be great to get a G and C with our first two picks and upgrade the interior but that would essentially mean the Livings and Berny signings were a complete bust. I don't think they're THAT bad. If you have two good Ts and one good G you can run the ball and protect the QB pretty well. If you can't find one decent G in the late rounds, UDFA, or FA then the scouting dept needs to do better.
Still rueing the 2009 draft where we wasted 12 picks. If we had traded all 12 of them to move up just a few spots in the second and gotten Unger....our situation would be completely different along the OL. Wow. Even more sadly, most posters here knew what a complete botch that draft was immediately and as it was happening. Yet our scouting dept didn't.

[burmafrd]

The main reason I want a guard high this year is because of our complete TOTAL failure to draft one anywhere else.

[Risen Star]

Originally Posted by Future

As bad as Free was, I think the biggest problem with the OL has been a lack of push in the run game, and the fact that the guards and center get pushed back into Tony's face. I think Parnell can be solid, so my priority would be guard.

The interior is all time bad. We have a 0% chance of winning anything with those stiffs on the field. Healthy or not. You need NFL caliber talent.

[Risen Star]

Originally Posted by Woods

Here's what I think WILL happen with our OL going into the new season,

1. T Smith and Livings remain at their spots most likely

2. The team tries to play Costa at OC. I think a lot depends on Costa's back injury, etc.

3. We upgrade Bern at RG. I think this will be the move we make in FA/Draft.

4. I think Parnell likely plays RT.

5. Bern will now be the top back-up at OG (and he will compete at OC against Costa as well during TC). And we have Cook to provide decent depth too.


To me, the biggest question marks in the above scenario are if Costa is 100% healthy. And secondly, the plan at RT to bring in depth/competition for Parnell.

[View Full Quote]What I would do is bring in a good OG in FA, then in the draft I get another versatile OG/OC player. Whether it's a guy like Cooper who can possibly play OC too and provide competition for Livings, or quite possibly I draft an OC in the 3rd or 4th round. As for OT depth, unless Free takes a big haircut on this comp, I cut him and bring in some veteran depth.

I think you're right on what will actually happen. It's a bad idea, so it sounds like the plan.

[conner01]

i think costa will return at center, parnell will replace free. then if we replace bernie with a solid guard i think the oline can be decent. maybe not great but decent and that is a major improvement over what we had last year. to me free and bernie have to be replaced as starters and free needs to be cut

[Woods]

Originally Posted by conner01

i think costa will return at center, parnell will replace free. then if we replace bernie with a solid guard i think the oline can be decent. maybe not great but decent and that is a major improvement over what we had last year. to me free and bernie have to be replaced as starters and free needs to be cut

That's what I think as well.

My only issue with this scenario is that I don't trust Costa yet. I would really like to draft another interior OL who can play OC/OG to provide more competition - along with getting a solid FA OG in FA.

I think this is doable as well. One quality FA and one good draft pick.

[Idgit]

Originally Posted by conner01

i think costa will return at center, parnell will replace free. then if we replace bernie with a solid guard i think the oline can be decent. maybe not great but decent and that is a major improvement over what we had last year. to me free and bernie have to be replaced as starters and free needs to be cut

Yep. With Mack backing up at C, though, and a highly-rated rookie G, that interior OL doesn't look so bad. You'd have Leary pushing Livings, Mach pushing Costa, and two high picks at LT and the other G position.

Then RT becomes the question mark. With Parnell, Cook, and whatever vet/Free replacement we end up with. Maybe not great, but a serviceable OL.

[mmillman]

four out of five spots on the offensive line are mediocre our worse. no team has a pro bowler at every spot but four out of five is a terrible line. I would like to see a top guard moved in next to Smith. Over the next decade we can have a solid side at least

[LatinMind]

Originally Posted by Verdict

I am directing this question to everyone on this board, but specifically to the guys who have studied the offensive line in great detail, including the all 22 film.

If we were to stand pat on the offensive line this year, and all of the guys on the line were healthy,(which was far from the case last year) assuming Parnell replaces Free .....how much improvement could we expect over last year simply due to having healthy players?

Assuming Free is cut, and Parnell is penciled in pre-draft as the starter, which do you think would improve the offensive line more:

A) one of the top 2 guards or
b) one of the top 3 offensive tackles?

Well take this in account. Costa was 500% better from 2011 to 2012. Anybody could tell that even with his very limited playing time.

Alot of people try and push their misery on everybody else when it comes to this team. Its no secret that alot of people who get paid to talk about nfl teams on tv radio former players included like what they see in dallas on a yearly basis. Broaddus brings this up alot, and he said sometimes players just dont buy into the posistion coaches.

[Verdict]

Something tells me that they really don't want to start Parnell or Free at rt. I think our first round target is a RT if we get value there. I think they are keeping Free for now to keep from tipping their hand.