Bobhaze
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I believe in being proactive about problems on NFL rosters. In fact, in the NFL, if you wait until something is a big problem before you take action, you’re killing your future. Waiting is losing. Last year, we were absorbing a lot of bad news regarding our OL bit by bit.
Our once great OL has been raising some red flags for years that we need to address these positions very soon with some draft capital. There’s some good news and bad news about our once great OL.
THE GOOD NEWS
THE BAD NEWS
Last year we heard the news in late August that La’el Collins was going to miss the entire year because of a hip injury sustained in a car accident. Even before Collins was announced we had received the bad news that Travis Frederick was retiring, one year after missing the entire 2018 season due to Gillian- Barre’ disease. After 3 games last year, we learned our once great LT Tyron Smith would miss the remainder of the season because of a persistent neck injury that required surgery. And just for good measure our All Pro RG Zack Martin missed some games due to a calf strain.
So let’s look at how many games we have lost due to injury or suspension with these our once great OL:
Good news is our line has better depth this year. Bad news is we better be prepared to address the T position very soon with some serious draft capital.
Our once great OL has been raising some red flags for years that we need to address these positions very soon with some draft capital. There’s some good news and bad news about our once great OL.
THE GOOD NEWS
- Tyron Smith (knock on wood) seems healthy again although he’s not as dominant as he once was.
- Zack Martin is back healthy and as dominant as ever after missing 6 games last year due to a calf strain.
- Connor McGovern has developed into a very good option at G, providing much needed depth.
- Tyler Biadaz- has become a decent center. He’s no T-Fred but that’s a very high bar. And he’s still developing.
- Terrance Steele appears to have improved his game enough to be a decent swing T providing some depth.
THE BAD NEWS
Last year we heard the news in late August that La’el Collins was going to miss the entire year because of a hip injury sustained in a car accident. Even before Collins was announced we had received the bad news that Travis Frederick was retiring, one year after missing the entire 2018 season due to Gillian- Barre’ disease. After 3 games last year, we learned our once great LT Tyron Smith would miss the remainder of the season because of a persistent neck injury that required surgery. And just for good measure our All Pro RG Zack Martin missed some games due to a calf strain.
So let’s look at how many games we have lost due to injury or suspension with these our once great OL:
- Tyron Smith- between 2012-2016, Smith was quite simply our best player. A true dominant T. But he’s missed 25 games the last 5 seasons due to injury. Fingers crossed the surgery fixed him. But at 30, he’s not getting any younger.
- La’el Collins- since he joined the team in 2015, he will have missed 35 games due to injury or suspension. Is this guy even reliable enough to count on any more?
- Games missed between T. Smith and Collins: 60 games will have been missed between our two starting tackles. This doesn’t include the 6 games Zack Martin missed last year.
Good news is our line has better depth this year. Bad news is we better be prepared to address the T position very soon with some serious draft capital.
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