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The Cult of Jib
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http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7036746
You have to click on the link on the right where it says 17-32 to see ours...
7. Philadelphia Eagles (16) Shawn Andrews is the league's best guard, and he makes a huge difference to Brian Westbrook and the rest of the running game. The other guard, Todd Herremans, is probably the weakest point on the Eagles' line, but he is strong in blocking straight ahead. Jamaal Jackson, a 330-pound center, showed a lot of promise in 2006, his first full season as a starter. Left tackle William Thomas and right tackle Jon Runyan are smart, experienced players who are tasked with the extremely important — and challenging — job of keeping Donovan McNabb upright. The Eagles have great young talent in backups Winston Justice and Max Jean-Gilles, although there have been concerns about work ethic for both
13. Washington Commanders (6) Legendary offensive line coach Joe Bugel has done good work in his second stint with the Commanders. The line did a nice job of protecting young quarterback Jason Campbell last season, and the running game played at a much higher level than anyone could have predicted after Clinton Portis went down.
The loss of guard Derrick Dockery to free agency will hurt, though. Todd Wade will replace Dockery in the starting lineup, and that's a step down, especially in run blocking. Casey Rabach is a good center and Randy Thomas is a tough run-blocking guard, so Dockery's departure won't devastate the middle of the line. Left tackle Chris Samuels made his fourth Pro Bowl last year, and right tackle Jon Jansen had a good season despite playing with a leg injury. A serious injury to either one of their tackles would be a huge loss to the Commanders, as there isn't much depth behind them.
22. Dallas Cowboys (19) The Cowboys hope they bought a big upgrade when they signed Leonard Davis to a seven-year, $49 million contract. The biggest question is where that upgrade will come — guard or tackle. The most likely scenario has Davis starting at right guard, with Marc Colombo and Flozell Adams manning the tackle spots. Kyle Kosier, penciled in as the starter at left guard, is the weak link. He gets overpowered too often, especially against bigger defensive linemen. There's been talk that Pat McQuistan, who has played just one game in his NFL career, could beat Kosier for the starting job.
25. New York Giants (15) Who's going to protect Eli Manning's blind side? The Giants released left tackle Luke Petitgout and didn't seem to have a good plan in place for what to do with the position. Considering that the entire 2007 season seems to revolve around whether Manning will finally develop into the kind of quarterback the Giants thought he was when they engineered their big 2004 draft-day trade to acquire him, it doesn't make sense that they didn't do more to address the left tackle spot.
The most likely answer is that David Diehl will move from left guard, where he played last year, to left tackle. That could cause big problems for Manning; Diehl just isn't quick enough to deal with pass rushers coming off the edge. The rest of the line is fine. Kareem McKenzie is an effective run blocker at right tackle, and the middle three of Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara and Chris Snee get a good initial surge on running plays, which means Brandon Jacobs should be very effective when the Giants pound him up the middle in short yardage. But left tackle is both the most important position and the biggest question mark.
You have to click on the link on the right where it says 17-32 to see ours...
7. Philadelphia Eagles (16) Shawn Andrews is the league's best guard, and he makes a huge difference to Brian Westbrook and the rest of the running game. The other guard, Todd Herremans, is probably the weakest point on the Eagles' line, but he is strong in blocking straight ahead. Jamaal Jackson, a 330-pound center, showed a lot of promise in 2006, his first full season as a starter. Left tackle William Thomas and right tackle Jon Runyan are smart, experienced players who are tasked with the extremely important — and challenging — job of keeping Donovan McNabb upright. The Eagles have great young talent in backups Winston Justice and Max Jean-Gilles, although there have been concerns about work ethic for both
13. Washington Commanders (6) Legendary offensive line coach Joe Bugel has done good work in his second stint with the Commanders. The line did a nice job of protecting young quarterback Jason Campbell last season, and the running game played at a much higher level than anyone could have predicted after Clinton Portis went down.
The loss of guard Derrick Dockery to free agency will hurt, though. Todd Wade will replace Dockery in the starting lineup, and that's a step down, especially in run blocking. Casey Rabach is a good center and Randy Thomas is a tough run-blocking guard, so Dockery's departure won't devastate the middle of the line. Left tackle Chris Samuels made his fourth Pro Bowl last year, and right tackle Jon Jansen had a good season despite playing with a leg injury. A serious injury to either one of their tackles would be a huge loss to the Commanders, as there isn't much depth behind them.
22. Dallas Cowboys (19) The Cowboys hope they bought a big upgrade when they signed Leonard Davis to a seven-year, $49 million contract. The biggest question is where that upgrade will come — guard or tackle. The most likely scenario has Davis starting at right guard, with Marc Colombo and Flozell Adams manning the tackle spots. Kyle Kosier, penciled in as the starter at left guard, is the weak link. He gets overpowered too often, especially against bigger defensive linemen. There's been talk that Pat McQuistan, who has played just one game in his NFL career, could beat Kosier for the starting job.
25. New York Giants (15) Who's going to protect Eli Manning's blind side? The Giants released left tackle Luke Petitgout and didn't seem to have a good plan in place for what to do with the position. Considering that the entire 2007 season seems to revolve around whether Manning will finally develop into the kind of quarterback the Giants thought he was when they engineered their big 2004 draft-day trade to acquire him, it doesn't make sense that they didn't do more to address the left tackle spot.
The most likely answer is that David Diehl will move from left guard, where he played last year, to left tackle. That could cause big problems for Manning; Diehl just isn't quick enough to deal with pass rushers coming off the edge. The rest of the line is fine. Kareem McKenzie is an effective run blocker at right tackle, and the middle three of Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara and Chris Snee get a good initial surge on running plays, which means Brandon Jacobs should be very effective when the Giants pound him up the middle in short yardage. But left tackle is both the most important position and the biggest question mark.
