The Answer Is Simple-Build A Better "O"line.

[Doomsdayblitz]

It became crystal clear to me as I watched with ever increasing nausia, our Cowboys get their heads handed to them by the not so Deadskins. Give Washington the credit, they wanted this game many times more than we did. Do they have a contact over at the hotel our team slept at?? Because I could have sworn I saw several of our players sleeping on the sideline. I wonder if it's possible to spray Zoloft or Valium through the ventilation system. Just a thought.

Ya know, though, even if we had wanted it as badly, we still have the problem of an offensive line that is too many times, well, offensive. Three penalties called on the OL on the same drive?? Seven sacks, four by Phillip Daniels....Phillip Daniels?!!! Dude had 23 tackles & 2 sacks the entire season before yesterday! It's not like he's the second coming of Michael Strahan!! Sorry Torrin, I really had hopes you would pull things together toward the end of the season, but, come on, four sacks to Daniels?

This brings me to the 2006 NFL Draft. Come on!, you say, it's way too early too be talking about the draft! Is it? What are going to talk about? How great our chances are to get into the playoffs? I'm sorry, but after yesterday, I cringe just thinking about the playoffs. If these guys can't get animal crazy ready for the Commanders....the HATED Commanders.....how in the world are they going to get up for anyone else. And the teams they will play in the playoffs are actually pretty good.

No, to me the season ended yesterday. All I want to think about is how our team can improve. It starts, as it always does, up front. Our line is average at best, poor at worse. We have three out of the five who will be at least 31 by May, '06 (Adams). The other two are a rookie 6th rd. choice, and a UDFA in his 4th year who just doesn't get it.

Lucky for us, the '06 draft has one of the deepest & strongest OL offerings in the past 10 years. 4-6 OTs are valid LT candidates, and 3-4 more will make excellent RTs in the NFL. That's at least 10, probably more OTs who are NFL starting material. The OGs & Centers are average to good, especially the top 3-4 in each category. Then, of course, there are always 6-10 OL in a draft that surprise the pundits and become solid backups in the NFL.

That is why I strongly urge JJ & whoever else is running the show next year, to go Line, Line, & more Line. Now, I'm sure we'll pick up an LB or DL along the way, & that's never a bad thing--unless they suck...haha. There are also a handful of FSs, one of which I would love to see us get our hands on. There is one from Texas & Ohio St. I favor, but any good one will do.

Other than that, we HAVE GOT to build that line with every avenue we can. Put some money under LeCharles Bentley's nose, put a few more pounds on the bar for Marc Columbo so he'll be able to show what he's got a little sooner. Really, though, if we don't grab an OL in two of the first three rounds, then these guys haven't been watching.

I simply love MBIII. Ditto for a healthy JJ. And you Bledsoe bashers need to listen to the REAL experts like Troy Aikman, when he says that Bledsoe can do it all when protected. He did lead the NFC in passer rating for half the season, before FA went down. We have a couple of good, young WRs coming aroung, and could use another to polish up. These guys can't do a thing without a line that can blow open holes, protect the QB, and have the mentality to remember the snap count.

Remember when we had a OL so good, that it didn't matter if the other team knew what we were running, we were running it anyway--just try & stop us. We can build a line like that again, but it takes an administration who sees the need & the value of having the next "Great Wall of Dallas". Sorry, got a little crazy....haha.

 

[Hiero]

i agree, we need tackle guard center, we can draft oneof each. Marcus McNeill in the first, would be a tremendous upgrade at RT and also add some depth.

 

[Champsheart]

I agree 100%.

People can talk about everything they want.

QB, Playcalling, Julius, our Recievers, Parcells, or whatever....

The whole thing, and everything comes back to the O LINE!

It is that simple!

Against good defenses we just can not function on Offense, period.

We open no holes in the running game, our QB gets clubbered, we try to max protect, and still cant, we can not get anyone out in the patterns because they have to block, we cant call what we want to, because our QB has no chance.

Easy and simple, rebuild the O Line.

There are no excuses, go get a RT and Center, and Flo should be back.

THIS IS A MUST!

 

[Portland Fanatic]

We absolutely need an upgrade, BUT we also need a NEW Scheme! I have no doubt we need to be upgraded at some positions, but I'm starting to think our scheme is crap!!!

Lehr goes to Atlanta and starts...doing very well there. Hardly ever sees the field here and is not even an after thought. We complain about big AL getting blown up all the time at center, however he is the average size center in the NFL...and may be in the upper half of size for centers at 6'4/295. Rivera an all-pro with GB...getting blown up by bull rushers all the time....

I'm convinced our scheme is horrid! We have better talent at RB then many teams, but how often do they get hit in the backfield for no gain or a loss. We get NO push, but they all weigh 300+

This is making NO sense......we should be able to blow some holes wide open...even with Flo we were not getting it done in the running game.......

 

[lspain1]

I wonder if Columbo is at all ready? I guess it can get worse, but I think Sunday is gonna be ugly in Charlotte.

 

[sago1]

Only concern re drafting Marcus McNeill is somewhere I read he had back problems in Auburn and I don't want another back problem (remember former TE from LSU who had back problem while in college) but we still drafted him to much regret within a year. We can't afford to screw up our OL selections this year. As far as I'm concerned, we need draft OT & OG, both of whom capable starting asap either permanently or as result of injury. We do need upgrade our WRs cause Keyshawn inability get separation is really hurting us down the stretch--much as I like Keyshawn. Also need a young WR to go along with Crayton (who will get more playing time w/o Keyshawn) & would like see more of Copper in next 2 games. Also need a blocking TE (who maybe can catch occasionnaly) to replace Campbell who unfortunately has lost a step. Also can we get a blocking FB on this team? If Polite can't do it then get someone who can w/o wasting draft pick. Would also like to see some of Peterman; let's see him in place of Riveria next week unless Gurode is better then Peterman and then we are in trouble cause Gurode as all agree can't play guard in NFL. With 7 picks in draft (no 4th rounder, but we do have 1 fifth & 2 6th and a 7th), hopefully we will have another good day particularly on offensive side. Any chance we will see a few of our PS players that Jerry Jones/Parcells has talked about like Jamaica Rector (W/-C/b) and OG Snell along with C Matt Truillo.

 

[Funxva]

How is Flozell doing in his rehab?

 

[Eddie]

What we need:

LT, LG, C, RG, RT
FB, WR
DT,
OLB, MLB
FS

Them be alot of holes to fill.

 

[Chuck 54]

"If you build it....they will come." When I see it, I just might.

 

[MDCowboy]

What we need:

LT, LG, C, RG, RT
FB, WR
DT,
OLB, MLB
FS

Them be alot of holes to fill.

I completely agree. I am not that excited to see Flo and LA on the left side next year.

 

[AbeBeta]

I don't think you have to replace every "bad" part to make a better line. The OL is a unit. One bad part can make the whole deal break down -- and make good players look bad. To me, the issue is the guards. They make too much and give us too little. We fix that and the rest of the guys are going to be much better.

 

[KingTuna]

It became crystal clear to me as I watched with ever increasing nausia, our Cowboys get their heads handed to them by the not so Deadskins. Give Washington the credit, they wanted this game many times more than we did. Do they have a contact over at the hotel our team slept at?? Because I could have sworn I saw several of our players sleeping on the sideline. I wonder if it's possible to spray Zoloft or Valium through the ventilation system. Just a thought.

Ya know, though, even if we had wanted it as badly, we still have the problem of an offensive line that is too many times, well, offensive. Three penalties called on the OL on the same drive?? Seven sacks, four by Phillip Daniels....Phillip Daniels?!!! Dude had 23 tackles & 2 sacks the entire season before yesterday! It's not like he's the second coming of Michael Strahan!! Sorry Torrin, I really had hopes you would pull things together toward the end of the season, but, come on, four sacks to Daniels?

This brings me to the 2006 NFL Draft. Come on!, you say, it's way too early too be talking about the draft! Is it? What are going to talk about? How great our chances are to get into the playoffs? I'm sorry, but after yesterday, I cringe just thinking about the playoffs. If these guys can't get animal crazy ready for the Commanders....the HATED Commanders.....how in the world are they going to get up for anyone else. And the teams they will play in the playoffs are actually pretty good.

No, to me the season ended yesterday. All I want to think about is how our team can improve. It starts, as it always does, up front. Our line is average at best, poor at worse. We have three out of the five who will be at least 31 by May, '06 (Adams). The other two are a rookie 6th rd. choice, and a UDFA in his 4th year who just doesn't get it.

Lucky for us, the '06 draft has one of the deepest & strongest OL offerings in the past 10 years. 4-6 OTs are valid LT candidates, and 3-4 more will make excellent RTs in the NFL. That's at least 10, probably more OTs who are NFL starting material. The OGs & Centers are average to good, especially the top 3-4 in each category. Then, of course, there are always 6-10 OL in a draft that surprise the pundits and become solid backups in the NFL.

That is why I strongly urge JJ & whoever else is running the show next year, to go Line, Line, & more Line. Now, I'm sure we'll pick up an LB or DL along the way, & that's never a bad thing--unless they suck...haha. There are also a handful of FSs, one of which I would love to see us get our hands on. There is one from Texas & Ohio St. I favor, but any good one will do.

Other than that, we HAVE GOT to build that line with every avenue we can. Put some money under LeCharles Bentley's nose, put a few more pounds on the bar for Marc Columbo so he'll be able to show what he's got a little sooner. Really, though, if we don't grab an OL in two of the first three rounds, then these guys haven't been watching.

I simply love MBIII. Ditto for a healthy JJ. And you Bledsoe bashers need to listen to the REAL experts like Troy Aikman, when he says that Bledsoe can do it all when protected. He did lead the NFC in passer rating for half the season, before FA went down. We have a couple of good, young WRs coming aroung, and could use another to polish up. These guys can't do a thing without a line that can blow open holes, protect the QB, and have the mentality to remember the snap count.

Remember when we had a OL so good, that it didn't matter if the other team knew what we were running, we were running it anyway--just try & stop us. We can build a line like that again, but it takes an administration who sees the need & the value of having the next "Great Wall of Dallas". Sorry, got a little crazy....haha.

Great post! We need at least 3 new SOLID starters on the O-line next year..

 

[kojak]

I agree we need an o-line overhaul. But how many years now have we been asking ourselves this question?

Parcells third year and he still has yet to build an o-line with any chemistry. You would think a coach who plays the time of possession battle, ball control with a good running game would address this issue more than what he has.

I see other teams with a solid o-line with coaches that have been there less than two years. So to me is just fustrating as hell that every year it's the same thing with the o-line.

 

[AbeBeta]

just wondering -- how many teams go into the off-season and find 3 or 4 new starters on the OL?

 

[lspain1]

just wondering -- how many teams go into the off-season and find 3 or 4 new starters on the OL?

Don't you go out to the Offensive Lineman Tree and pick a few? Didn't we get LA using 1-8FO-RAG-UARD?

 

[diehard2294]

yes but the problem is. you need a clean sweep

center/ Johnson is awfull,he is constantly getting manhandled

Gaurds/ Rivera= not as advertised Allen is a massive man who has no mobility what so ever. He leans the wrong way he goes down.

Tackles/ we all know the story here

so what do you do? It all starts with the center. This is the first place they need to get someone who can handle the point of attack. I think overall we need to get some players who can at least move and get to second level blocks consistently.

I also believe they need a bonified OL coach