DMN Blog: It's Marc Colombo's job when he's ready

[NextGenBoys]

[Free has done pretty well at the easier postion of RT. Expecting him to do LT as well is a big reach.

Yeah I remember wade last year saying proctor was our best lineman one game. That was the final straw for me as far as believing ANYTHING he said about ANY player.

How? He has the best feet of any linemen we have, and with this experience plus another offseason of training and conditioning, I think he will be just fine at LT.

He can handle speed rushers much better than Flo.

 

[burmafrd]

How? He has the best feet of any linemen we have, and with this experience plus another offseason of training and conditioning, I think he will be just fine at LT.

He can handle speed rushers much better than Flo.

There is a big reason why LT is so hard to get. You don't hear much about how hard it is to get a RT do you? Think about that.

 

[NextGenBoys]

There is a big reason why LT is so hard to get. You don't hear much about how hard it is to get a RT do you? Think about that.

I see what you're saying and I completely agree...but Free was drafted to be a LT, and IMO has shown no reason why he cant handle it next year.

Not to mention what we've heard about his footwork and his matchups against Ware in training camp.

 

[theogt]

[Free has done pretty well at the easier postion of RT. Expecting him to do LT as well is a big reach.

Yeah I remember wade last year saying proctor was our best lineman one game. That was the final straw for me as far as believing ANYTHING he said about ANY player.

You have it backwards. He'll be a better LT than he is a RT.

 

[AbeBeta]

You have it backwards. He'll be a better LT than he is a RT.

folks say that ... and if he can perform as well at LT as he has at RT we are in great shape. I doubt we cut Flo in the off-season but we will see a serious competition for that LT spot next year

 

[EPL0c0]

As he should once he's 100%

Agree, it should be, but the way Free's been playing, I think Colombo should have faith in him and get himself to 100%. Coming back early w/ rust won't help the team.

 

[Eskimo]

There is a big reason why LT is so hard to get. You don't hear much about how hard it is to get a RT do you? Think about that.

It is hard to find big men with quick, coordinated feet needed to play LT against speed rushers. They have to play going backwards but have the balance to meet someone coming at them forwards fullspeed at not get knocked over. The position pretty much requires people to be at least 6'4" to have long enough arms to play the position. There just aren't many people who have the size, feet, balance and strength to do this. But the big thing is finding a guy with that kind of size with good enough footwork.

RTs don't need great footwork because they aren't blocking the backside and usually have a TE lined up over them who can assist them with a chip block if needed. Since this is the traditional strong side the DEs they line up over tend to be bigger, stronger and slower as they tend to be more run defenders than pass rushers.

Free with be a good LT in this league for many years and thankfully we don't need to trade up in the draft to get one for next year as they are very hard to find. Now we can draft BPA understanding we have needs at OL, ILB and safety.

 

[Eskimo]

I remember a time in the past when Wade said Cory Procter graded out the best in a game. It made me wonder what that really means.

It can sometimes be harder to tell what an OG's responsibilities are during a game making the position harder to grade for an outside observer. It is easier to tell at OT and anyone who has watched the last couple of games knows that Free has played very well. This is especially true in the NO game where he was dominant against all the Saints speed rushers.

 

[Eskimo]

folks say that ... and if he can perform as well at LT as he has at RT we are in great shape. I doubt we cut Flo in the off-season but we will see a serious competition for that LT spot next year

We have four guys with big contracts who are clearly underperforming and I'm not sure if their fate's will be spared another year if it ends up being uncapped. Those four guys are:

Flo
RW
Hamlin
Barber

Of those 4 Barber and RW have the best chance of being spared IMO. Flo is not a good player, is old and has a bad contract. He also has a capable replacement on the roster so I think he is toast or traded.

 

[gimmesix]

Colombo should come back extra feisty. He'll be fresh from his layoff and champing at the bit.

I view this as a good thing. Some linemen might get out of shape or rusty during a layoff, I don't think Colombo's that type. He's game is based on technique and attitude, and I don't think he's lost either of those.

 

[dmq]

I am really confused. So Free graded out as our best lineman against maybe the best team in the league. He doesn't commit penalties. Game film people, who is better?

 

[Eskimo]

I am really confused. So Free graded out as our best lineman against maybe the best team in the league. He doesn't commit penalties. Game film people, who is better?

I'm not "game film people" but Free is better than Columbo but quite a large margin. I think Wade is a bit of an "old school softie" and the longstanding rule in football has been you don't lose you job due to injury. I think this is an application of that rule. Whether this is a wise decision or not is debateable.

I could live with that so long as Wade let Roy Williams lose his job due to gross incompetency. He should be losing snaps to Crayton, Hurd and Ogletree.

 

[jobberone]

I think it's almost a foregone conclusion that Free will be our LT next season.

What in the world makes you actually think that? Flo will be the LT next year unless he gets injured and can't play well enough or at all.

I'd really like to know (besides the few isolated examples) where Flo has played so poorly he needs to be replaced. He's protecting his QB well enough although not perfectly. But then I don't expect perfection just well above average. I can live with the false starts. He doesn't give up too many sacks nor does he get penalized too frequently for holding. He grades out well in run blocking and the results of our running game are at the top of the league.

Free can't break into the starting rotation on this team. He can be the next guy up at tackle.

Be happy to have quality depth at tackle. We don't have it at guard or center at the present time.

 

[NextGenBoys]

What in the world makes you actually think that? Flo will be the LT next year unless he gets injured and can't play well enough or at all.

I'd really like to know (besides the few isolated examples) where Flo has played so poorly he needs to be replaced. He's protecting his QB well enough although not perfectly. But then I don't expect perfection just well above average. I can live with the false starts. He doesn't give up too many sacks nor does he get penalized too frequently for holding. He grades out well in run blocking and the results of our running game are at the top of the league.

Free can't break into the starting rotation on this team. He can be the next guy up at tackle.

Be happy to have quality depth at tackle. We don't have it at guard or center at the present time.

I shouldnt have said foregone conclusion. That is just my opinion that he's going to be starting, but it's far from a foregone conclusion haha.

Flo is mistake ridden, and struggles mightily against speed rushers.