OL for next year

[Eskimo]

I've been thinking about moving some of the existing players around to create an overall better OL. One of the controversial moves will be moving Davis back to OT but this time to RT where his strength will be more of an advantage in the running game and he can get a bit of help from the TE in pass protection against speed rushers who tend to play RDE anyways.

LT: Free
LG: Kosier
C: Gurode
RG: Holland/Proctor/draft choice/FA
RT: Davis/Brewster competition

I think this OL will have more lateral agility on the interior line which has been giving us trouble on blitz pick ups. It will also give us a good strong right side for run game. It will give us a very athletic left side to get out on some screens and pull across the line and make blocks in space.

I would work really hard to get Free ready. 10 more pounds of muscles, lots of power cleans, lots of work on anchoring in for the bullrush. He has the size, quickness and footwork for the position but played at a smaller school so his learning curve has been longer than expected.

I think this is a more versatile, less error prone OL that can form a more consistent identity.

I know some will criticize Bigg going back to tackle but he wasn't entirely a failure at the spot in Arizone and even made the Pro Bowl a couple of times. He was okay as a pass blocker and struggled some against speed rushers but his numbers weren't really much worse than Flo's are over the last few years. Plus, this time he'll be on the power side and will be lining up beside Witten.

 

[Silverstar]

So, you're just going to throw Colombo on the scrap heap now?

 

[Cochese]

Holy god, this looks like a disaster.

 

[TheSport78]

I've been thinking about moving some of the existing players around to create an overall better OL. One of the controversial moves will be moving Davis back to OT but this time to RT where his strength will be more of an advantage in the running game and he can get a bit of help from the TE in pass protection against speed rushers who tend to play RDE anyways.

LT: Free
LG: Kosier
C: Gurode
RG: Holland/Proctor/draft choice/FA
RT: Davis/Brewster competition

I think this OL will have more lateral agility on the interior line which has been giving us trouble on blitz pick ups. It will also give us a good strong right side for run game. It will give us a very athletic left side to get out on some screens and pull across the line and make blocks in space.

I would work really hard to get Free ready. 10 more pounds of muscles, lots of power cleans, lots of work on anchoring in for the bullrush. He has the size, quickness and footwork for the position but played at a smaller school so his learning curve has been longer than expected.

I think this is a more versatile, less error prone OL that can form a more consistent identity.

I know some will criticize Bigg going back to tackle but he wasn't entirely a failure at the spot in Arizone and even made the Pro Bowl a couple of times. He was okay as a pass blocker and struggled some against speed rushers but his numbers weren't really much worse than Flo's are over the last few years. Plus, this time he'll be on the power side and will be lining up beside Witten.

No way Free at LT and Davis at RT. We will draft an OT in the 1st round, keep Free as the swing tackle, cut McQuistan and Proctor, and release Flozell.

 

[craig71]

You lost me when I saw Proctor's name listed.

Craig

 

[rojan]

No way we get rid of Colombo..

 

[TD-33]

lol ....

 

[craig71]

No way we get rid of Colombo..

One wouldn't think so but.

I think that will depend on how Columbo rehabs from injury.He has had some pretty serious injuries in his past,the latest injury may aggravate some of those old injuries.Hopefully he will make a full comeback but I would think that Dallas has to have a contigency plan in place just in case.

Craig

 

[jrumann59]

One wouldn't think so but.

I think that will depend on how Columbo rehabs from injury.He has had some pretty serious injuries in his past,the latest injury may aggravate some of those old injuries.Hopefully he will make a full comeback but I would think that Dallas has to have a contigency plan in place just in case.

Craig

Yeah knee injuries always happen at the ankle.

 

[RS12]

One of the top two picks, and probably two of the top three picks in 2010 will be O Linemen.

 

[Derinyar]

One of the top two picks, and probably two of the top three picks in 2010 will be O Linemen.

Should be enough to scare you considering what we have done with high round OL since Flozell. We have at least 2 2nd round OL already out of the league, within 6 years of draft. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't get that number up to at least 5 or 6 if you expand it down to the 4th round. We really don't draft OL worth a flip most times.

 

[Eskimo]

No way we get rid of Colombo..

Columbo wasn't having that great a year and seemed to be getting beat quite a bit. He also isn't really all that young as he was out of the game for a long time after that knee injury of his. He also has been penalized almost as much as Flo.

I guess I just think this team is better off without Bigg Davis at guard. There aren't many interior OL in the league the size of Bigg. Size like that tends to do better out in space which is why most guys like this play tackle. I think it has an effect on blitz pickups. Now Bigg is still a good player and I happen to think his natural position is tackle. He had some problem with speed rushers but really was not much worse at it than Flo which is why the team had thought about moving Bigg back to LT if it could not re-sign Flo for the 2008 season. Bigg's natural position, IMO, is right tackle. He will play in many Pro Bowls at that spot.

Unfortunately, Columbo isn't athletic enough to play LT. He could be trade bait for another team.

The same can be said for Flo - trade him somewhere else.

I want to start fresh and get rid of some overrated players and would like to start with these 3: Bigg at guard, Flo and Columbo.

 

[Primetime42]

No way Free at LT and Davis at RT. We will draft an OT in the 1st round, keep Free as the swing tackle, cut McQuistan and Proctor, and release Flozell.

I don't get this line of thinking. Free's clearly better at pass blocking than run blocking, which to me says LT.

The RT should be a mauler, like Columbo.

 

[Eskimo]

You lost me when I saw Proctor's name listed.

Craig

He was just thrown out there since he is on the depth chart. I don't know if Holland is ready to play or even if he is in the team's plans for next year. It may be best just to go the FA route here for the best guard available in FA.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Why the hell would we get rid of Columbo? What the heck has he done wrong, while he's been injuried, to deserve being thrown away?

 

[TheSport78]

I don't get this line of thinking. Free's clearly better at pass blocking than run blocking, which to me says LT.

The RT should be a mauler, like Columbo.

At this point, are you ready to say Free is the future at LT? You draft an OT in the 1st round anyway because Colombo isn't exactly a spring chicken either.

 

[Eskimo]

Holy god, this looks like a disaster.

And the current line isn't a disaster?

We have to get rid of Flo sooner or later as his play drops each year. He is just about too slow to get a hand on most speed rushers. His days at LT are really limited.

I would trade him for a good pick from another team and move Free over there. I actually think Free will be better than Flo by training camp next year anyway so Flo was going to be riding the pines.

 

[Eskimo]

At this point, are you ready to say Free is the future at LT? You draft an OT in the 1st round anyway because Colombo isn't exactly a spring chicken either.

I think we still draft OL heavy next year and a first rounder at OL would be fine by me but the team hasn't done it in 27 years.

Yes, I think Free will be ready next year. He has the footwork and the long arms for the position. I think he has gotten better each week he has been here and he looked like the best OL on the team today to me. It seemed like Romo was having to roll away from pressure from Flo's man all-game long.

 

[Cochese]

And the current line isn't a disaster?

We have to get rid of Flo sooner or later as his play drops each year. He is just about too slow to get a hand on most speed rushers. His days at LT are really limited.

I would trade him for a good pick from another team and move Free over there. I actually think Free will be better than Flo by training camp next year anyway so Flo was going to be riding the pines.

A disaster is what the Bears put on the field week after week. We have good players on the line, I blame the scheme.

 

[Eskimo]

A disaster is what the Bears put on the field week after week. We have good players on the line, I blame the scheme.

This is the Hudson Houck scheme which he has run in multiple locales with great success for the better part of 30 years. The scheme is fine. The problem is that Bigg is not a natural interior OL but he was a good LT that had some problems with speed rushers. JJ just thought he could move him to guard and let his 380 pounds beat on a DT right in front of him - problem solved. The issue is that tackles play in space but interior OL play in a confined space very close to the QB. Whereas a tackle can get beat initially and have a bit of time to get out and re-direct, there isn't much time if you are beat at OG and the player is in a direct line to the QB so you can't just use your long arms to re-direct him past the QB. They are different positions requiring different skills. Bigg is great at guard when he gets the man square in front of him with his arms square in his chest. However, he doesn't handle penetrating type players all that well.

Just move Bigg back to his natural position at tackle but move him to right tackle where he can get a bit of help from Witten and won't face as many speed rushers.

Free will be ready for LT next year. We can even keep Flo around at the start if we aren't sure and then trade him in pre-season.