I wouldn’t say we fell apart completely. We played poorly against a physical SF in a playoff game and lost by a TD.
That game hurt more than the Rams loss prior.
I remember the days when we were considered the Big Bullies on the block, everybody hated us because we had players like Erik Williams that would throw punches and land hay makers at the LOS, and get away with it most of the time.
Now it seems that flags start flying before the OL even start trying.
Smith was drafted with the 1st pick because he was the closest thing at 24 that brought an old school physicality and nastiness back to an OL that was severely lacking in that dept.
Will be immediately interesting to see how Tyron responds to someone playing off his right shoulder that can hold his own, its been awhile.
We count Tyron out, but he is still a top 5 LT in this league when healthy, and having a young buck Rook taking some heat off will extend Tyrons tenure, and that can be a really good thing.
Left side is good, just need to discover some attitude on the right side in camp and this OL can bounce back quicker than a lot are expecting or doubting.
We know this OL gets flagged excessively, so rather than getting flagged for holding constantly, I would rather get penalties and possible ejections for just getting back to being bullies again.
Im sure many will not agree, but being dominant in the trenches means that rules are broken, and flags can fly, but at the end of the day you beat the snot out of your opponent.
EW owned Reggie White, every game that they squared off, Reggie knew already he wasnt dealing with a technique OL, he knew he was getting his rear end kicked in a brawl.
Thats the attitude that at least we might see a spark started with our new big boy rook.