345 nose tackles vs 295 centers?

[dalsyk]

Just wondering if the center position needs to get much larger in todays NFL? It use to be a position where some agility was a plus. Now the nose tackles are behemoths with most over 340. It would seem to me you fight fire with fire. Do we need to get or develop 340 centers? Just wondering and very interested in you guys and gals feedback.

 

[burmafrd]

If more and more teams go to the 3-4 with the large NT's, then the centers will have to get bigger and stronger. Quickness can only do so much; at some point pure power comes into it. Now there are 295 lb centers that have the muscle to win their share of battles like that; unfortunately AL is not one of them.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

If more and more teams go to the 3-4 with the large NT's, then the centers will have to get bigger and stronger. Quickness can only do so much; at some point pure power comes into it. Now there are 295 lb centers that have the muscle to win their share of battles like that; unfortunately AL is not one of them.

There aren't any centers coming out this year that are that big either... as a matter of fact all are smaller than Al-- at least the top 8 or so.

 

[Big Country]

go back and look at the 1995 Dallas Cowboys... they had lost Stepnoski to the Oilers and we acquired Ray Donaldson from the Lions that year... Donaldson was 300+ lbs compared to Stepnoski's 260-270 lbs.

Emmitt had like 160 yards in the first game against the NYG on MNF as the Cowboys totally dominated the Giants that night. Remember his first touch of the game... 60+ yard untouched TD run... Emmitt wound up with like 1700+ yards for the year...

The running game crushed opponents that year, and it started to suffer after Donaldson went down with a broken ankle vs. the Chiefs that year... Dallas running game wasn't the same against the Steelers in SB XXX. If Donaldson was healthy that game the Steelers probably wouldn't have had the defensive success they had most of the game that day.