100% correct, I don't know what some of these fans are watching, DT's are in the backfield on the handoff, where is Pollard suppose to run if the DT is in his face and when the DT's aren't in the backfield, there are NO HOLES for the backs to run too...
Agreed. To be honest, even when we have our five best linemen on the field, against a good defense, most of what we generate on offense is off-script. The OL cannot block the men in front of them to get on a block at the second level. The pass game has to go to the short game because by the time a receiver gets to a deeper route, the QB is already dodging the rush. Zack Martin is still above average, but his age is showing here and there. Tyron is still stout when healthy but has lost some of his quickness. Biadasz has gotten stronger, but he cannot handle the best DTs when he’s on his own and he struggles with the handoff blocks resulting from stunts. Steele is clearly not back to what he was last season. He was an above average RT, decent at pass pro, but stellar at run blocking. Now he’s below average at both.
I don’t care what anyone says about the defense, the QB, the receivers, the RB, the coaching. The bottom line is you cannot win enough to succeed in the playoffs without a solid OL. Burrows failed with Mixon, Chase and Higgins the year his OL was bad. They rebuilt it in one year through FA and the draft. Mahommes couldn’t work his magic with Kelsey, Edward’s-Hillair, Tyreek Hill and several others the postseason when his OTs were bad. They had two new OTs the next season.
Fans have lamented the lack of depth on our OL for several years now, but nothing significant ever changes. OL depth shouldn’t just be some old has been LT as an emergency guy, which is how we’ve operated for years. OL depth is about drafting or signing free agents who not only provide depth, but also are developed to become future starters.
Think about it….Tyron has been falling apart for years. We never brought in his replacement until last year, and that guy is playing LG because we let Connor Williams and Connor McGregor both walk without ever bringing in their replacements. When Steele went down last year, who was his replacement? No one until our LT was healthy again and we moved him there. Who is prepared to step in and be Zack Martins replacement?
What good does it do to put so much money in your QB, RB, and receivers if your OL can’t get the job done against the best teams. We have a pretty decent defense, but we cannot win against the better teams expecting the defense to win because we also have neglected the DT position and the LB position. If we had one power DT frontlines who can push the pocket back and demand double teams, our DEs would thrive, but we also need LB help.
