Heres someone else that could really help...

[Avenging Hayseed]

Ive been VERY high on Heath Benedict for awhile now. I like his nasty streak, think thats what this team is missing somewhat. I also like his ability to play different positions on the o line. HERE is another guy who I may like even better, THINK he can be had in round three.........
Chad Rinehart Height: 6-5 | Weight: 308 | 40-Time: 5.20

Official Bio

Strengths:
Terrific size and a big frame...Tough and physical...A decent athlete with excellent feet...Smart...Displays good power...Stout at the point of attack and gets a great push...Does a nice job in space and can get to the second level..Has some upside.

Weaknesses:
Did not play against top competition...Need to play with better leverage and keep his pad level down...Displays poor footwork and hand use and is still raw when it comes to his technique...Has some trouble with quickness..Has lapses in intensity.

Notes:
Could also project outside to tackle at the next level...Redshirted in '03 and then went on to become a four-year starter at left tackle..Has all the physical tools and most of his flaws can be corrected.



Put in some time researching this guy. Seems to have the nasty attitude needed to be a dominant lineman at the next level. Can play guard or tackle. Possible replacement for Kosier after a year of seasoning??? Free at Left tackle, Rinehart at left guard in the coming years??? BTW.....I know this particular draft site has him as a midrounder, this BIO is out of date. Rinehart is now shooting up most draft boards. He's a late 2nd, or 3rd rounder IMO.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

First team all american in 2007, 2nd team all American in 2006, first team all gateway conference in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Not just too shabby IMO.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

First Team All-America - 2007
Second Team All-America - 2006
First Team All-Gateway - 2005, 2006, 2007
First Team All-Northwest Region - 2006
Second Team All-Northwest Region - 2005

2007: Named to preseason All-American by Sports Network ... Lindy's College Football Preview, Street & Smith's College Football Preview and College Sporting News ... ranked as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation by The Sports Network in its preseason breakdown ... named to the preseason all-Gateway team ... Rinehart started all 13 games at left tackle for the Panthers, while earning first-team all-Gateway Football Conference honors ... also named to 2007 ESPN the Magazine academic all-district squad and was a first-team academic all-Gateway selection ... helped guide the Panthers to a perfect 11-0 regular season and a No. 1 national ranking for six weeks ... the Panthers' rush offense (227.38 yards/game) ranked No. 2 in the Gateway and No. 15 in the nation, the Panthers' pass offense (229.92 yards/game) ranked No. 2 in the Gateway and the Panthers' total offense ranked No. 7 in the nation (457.31 yards/game) ... earned first-team All-America honors from the Sports Network, Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, American Football Coaches Association ... earned a spot on the CollegeSportingNews.com's Fabulous 50 team ... participated in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 26 ... selected to take part in the NFL Combine

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

And,....as long as im on the subject... Doug Free is a WAYYYYYYYYY better prospect than most folks realize. This guy is going to be a stud left tackle for the Cowboys in time. In all honesty I think he could handle the job as early as next season, but would prefer to give him one more year of pro strength training . Wish we could sign Flo to a single year contract to afford Free that extra year of seasoning. Now Marten??? He's a whole nuther story, that guy has BUST written all over him. He's LEARCH in a football uniform. Never gonna cut it at any position.

 

[masomenos]

I'm completely on board with Rinehart. He did play against a lower level of competition but he didn't just succeed, he dominated at that level. He has the best career blocking consistency grade of any Division 1-AA lineman for the past 15 years at 88.5% over his first three years. In the first 6 games this season he had a blocking consistency grade of 91%. The guy is one of the best sleeper prospects in the draft. He allowed one tackle for a loss through the first 6 games and was credited with 63 key blocks, 11 resulting in TDs.

He may not be able to step in right away because of the level of competition, but this is a guy who has a shot at being something special in a really underwhelming class of OGs. And, just a side note, when asked what reality TV show he's most like to be on Rinehart's answer was Deadliest Catch, to see if he could handle the physical and mental challenges. You always like to hear people who are willing to put themselves up against incredibly harsh challenges.

[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Positives: Has a tall frame with good overall body thickness, especially in his legs...Has room to add additional bulk, but it could affect his overall quickness...Has good arm length and very good straight-line quickness and explosion for his size...Durable athlete with the ability to play through pain...Has very good balance on the move and takes good angles in pursuit of second-level defenders, evident by his high amount of downfield blocks every year...Shows good body control and adequate change-of-direction agility...Could shift inside to guard at the next level because of his trap-blocking skills and his ability to pick up stunts and blitzes when working in-line...All-out battler with a solid work ethic, showing a good mental grasp of the game, quickly taking plays from the chalkboard to the playing field...Hard worker in the weight room and does a nice job of using that power to deliver a jarring hand punch...Shows the explosion off the snap to easily seal the corner and has a "take no prisoners" approach taking on defenders, as he plays until the whistle and will not hesitate to punish him man...Respected team leader who will not hesitate to get vocal when a teammate fails to perform to standards...Must improve his knee bend, but backpedals quickly in pass protection, taking full advantage of his big chest, powerful arms, wide hips and thick thighs to easily wall off the defender...Has adequate quickness off the snap, showing the balance to keep his feet in attempts to gain position blocking in-line...Classic mauler who has the hand pop to shock and surprise a defender, doing a nice job of getting under the opponents' jerseys to sustain...When he keeps his pads down, he generates the explosion needed to create and maintain the rush lanes and has the ability to execute good angles to stalk and neutralize second-level defenders (eight downfield blocks in five 2007 games and 15 more in 11 game in '06)...With his strength, hand punch, body control and ability to square up, he is very effective at getting out in front on pulls and traps...Does a nice job of getting position to wall off the blitzers and displays very good balance and anchor taking on the bull rush...Very active going after other defenders after the initial block...Will deliver the crunching hand punch to keep defenders on their heels and is a very focused drive blocker who simply knocks over defenders with true aggression...Generates movement, firing low to take the defender off his feet...Knows how to extend his arms and take proper blocking angles to prevent the bull rush.

Negatives: Has good explosion coming off the snap, but might be a better fit to play inside at guard, as he is a bit of a waist-bender and struggles at times to move laterally, but does compensate with a strong hand punch and ability to maintain his anchor...Has a very powerful hand punch, but must do a better job extending to make reach blocks and keeping placement longer in attempts to sustain...Has the explosion to get back and take on edge rushers, but lacks the speed to recover when beaten off the snap...Might not have the flexibility to play tackle at the next level, but he shows the strength to leverage and create movement, along with holding the crease for the running game when redirecting inside (traits needed for an offensive guard).

Compares To: LOGAN MANKINS-New England...Like Mankins, Rinehart is a collegiate tackle who might have a quicker route to a starting job at the professional level with a potential shift to offensive guard. He is a punishing trap blocker with good explosion getting out in front when pulling. He uses his strength well to sustain and widen rush lanes, but must work on bending more at the knees than at the waist. He has a hand punch that will shock and jolt an opponent, showing improvement placing those hands as a senior than he did in the past. In isolated coverage, he will dominate a smaller opponent. With his body control and ability to square up and wall off second level defenders, he could bring immediate value with a possible shift in-line.

*Courtesy of NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com


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[masomenos]

And,....as long as im on the subject... Doug Free is a WAYYYYYYYYY better prospect than most folks realize. This guy is going to be a stud left tackle for the Cowboys in time. In all honesty I think he could handle the job as early as next season, but would prefer to give him one more year of pro strength training . Wish we could sign Flo to a single year contract to afford Free that extra year of seasoning. Now Marten??? He's a whole nuther story, that guy has BUST written all over him. He's LEARCH in a football uniform. Never gonna cut it at any position.

Like you, I'm pretty high on Doug Free and if Flo isn't back then I imagine that's who we'll see protecting Romo's blind side. As for Marten, I'm not quite as negative on him as you are as I think that over time he could develop into a pretty good right tackle. He needs to add some weight and work on his strength, but it'll be interesting to see how a year in the NFL treated him come training camp.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

Hey Maso........NOT just saying this because you agree with me on Rinehart and Free, BUT I love to see good knowledgable fans like yourself posting in here. Fans that are willing to put in a little time researching these guys instead of just shooting from the hip. Kudo's....

 

[masomenos]

:gent:

Thanks, and the same to you!

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

Here is the reason im not very high on Marten......To me, the best combination you can have to play O tackle is to be athletic with good feet, AND strong at the point of attack. You can get by being an athletic guy with good feet but not really all that strong, or you can get by being one of those pitbull types who once he gets his hands on you your done, due to his overwhelming strength. But Marten......I just feel like he doesnt have either one. Think he's pretty unathletic truthfully. Also think he's not very strong at all. Bad bad combination. I dunno, he just doesnt pass the eyeball test with me. Think alot of it has to do with his body type. Looks awefull tall and thin for an O.T. Kinda clumsy looking, also doesnt seem to have the body type to ever have very good strength. No BASE. Easy to get knocked out of balance. HOPE im wrong on him though. Time will tell.

 

[masomenos]

I think you're analysis of Marten is pretty spot on actually. My hope lies in us having a phenomenal strength coach in Joe Juraszek and the recent addition of OL coach Hudson Huock. Marten will never probably never be able to improve on his overall athleticism but he's in a near perfect situation to work on his strength and his technique. He has a long ways to go in terms of strength and is probably a few years from having a chance at panning out. Now you may be right, he may not have the frame to pack on the extra weight/muscle, it certainly wouldn't be the first time a player has ran into that problem. I hope you're wrong too, but even with that hope I do realize it's probably more likely that you're right.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

The thing is,....to me anyway, this offseason, free agency period and draft is the biggest offseason we have had in years. We are soooooooo close its scary. Just a tweak here and there away from being Champions. But by the same token im not willing to mortgage our future to do it. I happen to think we can DO BOTH! Win a championship next season AND keep our team filled with a nice blend of youth and experience without blowing the cap or bringing in a bunch of retreads. I really like the direction this team is moving to. We have highly skilled youth all over the field. This free agency period and draft cannot be blown,....NO MATTER WHAT. It sets us up for not only this upcoming season but for years to come. So far, heres what Ive got.......1a.....Felix Jones 1b....Aqib Talib, No second round pick, traded along with a player "probably ayodele" and a future pick to Detroit for Roy Williams. In the 3rd.....Rinehart. So far in freeagency im thinking....Zack Thomas, MUCH needed vet leadership in the middle of that defense. Short term fix to bring us a superbowl. And a nice depth guy at C.B in Randal Gay of the Patriots. Comes from a great system and KNOWS how to win. This allows us to keep our powder dry as Jerry says and sign our own guys.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

And yeah, I KNOW Zach is considered a retread by some. But I tell ya, for a year or two, at a decent contract, this guy is just what the doctor ordered. All great defenses have that leader at inside backer, barking out adjustments, diagnosing the offense. As of RIGHT NOW, we dont have THAT GUY on our D. If we sign Zach........WE WILL!

 

[big dog cowboy]

Let's be honest about Thomas.....he will likely sign with the Pats. As for Rinehart, good stuff in this thread fellas. I think you guys are spot on with much of this information.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

Let's be honest about Thomas.....he will likely sign with the Pats. As for Rinehart, good stuff in this thread fellas. I think you guys are spot on with much of this information.

...................Timing could not be better!...LOL. An article was JUST posted at the daily zone regarding Thomas. Article says........."Thomas leaning towards Cowboys".....I dunno Big Dog, I have nothing in the way of proof or anything. Just a gut feeling thats telling me we end up with Thomas. I can see how the Patriots would be pretty enticing to a guy like Thomas though. Just think he's NEEDED more HERE, than in New England.

 

[masomenos]

Yeah this is a big offseason for us, we've been rebuilding for a long time and it seems like we're finally at that point where we need just a few more pieces to push us over the top and into the position of consistently being a contender. We're a young team thats in pretty good cap shape and with the right moves in the next few months we really have a shot at securing a bright future.

Now this is where we start disagreeing a little bit.

Felix Jones. This guy just screams bust to me. I've never consistently seen anything to suggest that he has the vision or the strength to succeed in the NFL. A large number of his runs, nearly 20%, resulted in no gain or a loss and it only required more than one defender to bring him down on 16% of his carries. In the same offense, McFadden was at 12% and 35% in those same categories. Now I realize Jones isn't being touted as the same kind of prospect as McFadden but his stats are considerably worse for a player who's going to be drafted a mere 20 picks after DMC. You can bring up yards and YPC if you want but the truth is that Jones is purely an outside runner. If Barber goes down then our running game would take a huge hit with a one dimensional runner like Jones back there.

Now we start agreeing again.

I think Talib could be a really good fit for this defense. He breaks to the ball just as well as any CB in the draft (well, maybe he's behind Leodis McKelvin) and he has terrific ball skills. I don't think he's a fit for every defense and I can see him struggling some when asked to turn and run down after down, like the CBs in Green Bay do, but for a defense like ours where the CBs play off a lot he could really make a difference. Some people have said that he may be a better fit for FS because he's best at making plays when facing the play, but really you see our CBs in that position a lot. Talib could be a good fit and has really grown on me this offseason, I'm interested in seeing how he does at the combine.

Trading for Roy Williams? I don't know if it's going to happen, or if a second would be enough like the rumors suggest, but I'd be perfectly happy with it seeing as how I'm a UT homer. Realistically though I doubt it happens as sources close to the Lions have indicated Williams will only be traded if the deal is overwhelmingly in their favor. The other thing with trading for Williams is the fact that he'll be a FA after this season and we would have no guarantees of more than one season with him on the team.

As stated, I like Rinehart. Depending on how his combine goes I think he's probably a 3rd or 4th rounder. If we had him targeted and felt he would be taken in the early 4th then it wouldn't be too much of a reach to nab him at the end of Rd 3.

Zach Thomas and Randall Gay are two FAs who I like who wouldn't cost a ton.

 

[starfrombirth]

I'm not as down on Marten as some here. From what I remember, he was impressing the coaches in training camp. I do like the write up on Rhinehart tho but he does need to add some size. 308 isn't going to cut it in the NFL trenches anymore. Keep up the good work.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

Im actually a LITTLE BIT leary of Felix myself. For exactly the reasons you mentioned. Thing is though, im more looking for him to come in and be a very good complimentary back to Barber. Thunder "Barber" and Lightning "Jones". Another guy who I like is Ray Rice, he could be had in the 2nd round IMO. Like I say though, I have my concerns on Felix, BUT...I think if used properly, on the right team, he can have major success. Key phrase.....IF USED PROPERLY.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

I'm not as down on Marten as some here. From what I remember, he was impressing the coaches in training camp. I do like the write up on Rhinehart tho but he does need to add some size. 308 isn't going to cut it in the NFL trenches anymore. Keep up the good work.

..............Pretty sure you have your wires crossed on which rookie was impressive in training camp. Easy mistake as they are both rookies. It was Doug Free that had the good camp, not Marten. Unless I could have missed a T C report on Marten that was positive. Dont think I did though....

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

Oh, also,.....Im reading that Rinehart is up to 317 pounds. Not bad. Looks like a guy who could hold about 325 and still keep his wheels.

 

[starfrombirth]

Im actually a LITTLE BIT leary of Felix myself. For exactly the reasons you mentioned. Thing is though, im more looking for him to come in and be a very good complimentary back to Barber. Thunder "Barber" and Lightning "Jones". Another guy who I like is Ray Rice, he could be had in the 2nd round IMO. Like I say though, I have my concerns on Felix, BUT...I think if used properly, on the right team, he can have major success. Key phrase.....IF USED PROPERLY.

I actually have Mendenhall and Stewart and Charles all rated ahead of Felix Jones. Our offense is not really meant for a speed back. The blocking lanes are just too small. What we need is that power back with good speed (see Barber and Mendenhall) who can just pound the defense play after play. You would see an exhausted defense by halftime. This is the way I think we should go. If we MUST go speed back then I would want Charles. He is extremely fast and still has good power between the tackles (at least the 2 games I saw). Only time will tell. :starspin