What my gut (and all the articles) tell me about the O line

[burmafrd]

Everything I have heard says the Hotel is doing fine and will be physically 100%. Up untill that injury he had played YEARS without missing a game- so he is NOT injury prone. His injury is not a reoccurring one like a Shoulder or a back. So He should be fine. Question is will he play as well as he did in 2003? I think that the chance at being a top team will help motivate him.
so I believe that LT is not a problem - of course we are counting on no bad injury here, but THAT is reasonable.

Kosier- the biggest mystery on the line. Very versatile player who has not been allowed to stay at one position and settle down. BP believes that he can be good at the Guard slot. The number of teams that were after him and the speed at which we signed him are good signs. I am cautiously optimistic that this will not be a downgrade from the powerfull but immobile LA.

Johnson- bulking up would decrease the one weakness he has which was getting bull rushed and ran over by big DT's. I think he could lose a little quickness if the result is more power/strength/bulk. He was decent before- he could be good now. Right now I am pencilling in a small upgrade here.

Rivera- one year removed from a Pro Bowl. His back and elbows were bad last year - they are healed now. He SHOULD be back to his Pro Bowl form. He is still young enough to be very good for another year or two. But of course back problems are tricky. So I am optimistic that he will be better and the position will be upgraded from last year.

Fabini-currently our starter for RT. though it is possible that Petitti and Columbo will compete. Had started 89 straight games before a pectoral tear injury. that is not a chronic type injury so he should be fine. Is not a pro bowl guy but is solid- so he will be better then Petitti was last year. Upgrade.

Therefore I submit that the line will be better then it was last year. Just how much better depends on how well they work together.

 

[aikemirv]

Who is going to spell Flozell at LT.

If Columbo is coming along my guess is that Petitti has to be moved to the left side - who else is going to do it?

 

[Canadian BoyzFan]

Here's hoping my friend. I agree with your assessment other than Johnson to me it's a push. We should be much better at RT, slighlty better at LG/RG, we get the Hotel back, and the C position stays the same.

Overall should be better.

 

[Doomsday101]

Who is going to spell Flozell at LT.

If Columbo is coming along my guess is that Petitti has to be moved to the left side - who else is going to do it?

Teams do not rotate offensive lineman so unless Flo gets hurt again no one is. As for backups they will be competing for the job and I hope to see a good battle take place for that job.

 

[Alexander]

Kosier- the biggest mystery on the line. Very versatile player who has not been allowed to stay at one position and settle down. BP believes that he can be good at the Guard slot. The number of teams that were after him and the speed at which we signed him are good signs. I am cautiously optimistic that this will not be a downgrade from the powerfull but immobile LA.

I think he will surprise some people who think he is terrible, but might fall short of the expectations the organization has of him, which seem very high. He will be solid I am guessing. I really believe he will be better at what we want from a Dallas Cowboy guard than Larry Allen could be at this stage in his career. He isn't "better", but he will be able to carry out his assignments because he is more athletic and can block a moving target.

Johnson- bulking up would decrease the one weakness he has which was getting bull rushed and ran over by big DT's. I think he could lose a little quickness if the result is more power/strength/bulk. He was decent before- he could be good now. Right now I am pencilling in a small upgrade here.

If not, we can continue to platoon with Gurode. I am assuming that is why we signed him again.

Rivera- one year removed from a Pro Bowl. His back and elbows were bad last year - they are healed now. He SHOULD be back to his Pro Bowl form. He is still young enough to be very good for another year or two. But of course back problems are tricky. So I am optimistic that he will be better and the position will be upgraded from last year.

If he cannot rebound, it really puts us in about the same situation as last year. He needs to get his confidence back. A neck/back injury can make you play tentative and it certainly looked that way last year. The aggressive battler I saw in Green Bay wasn't a Cowboy last season.

Fabini-currently our starter for RT. though it is possible that Petitti and Columbo will compete. Had started 89 straight games before a pectoral tear injury. that is not a chronic type injury so he should be fine. Is not a pro bowl guy but is solid- so he will be better then Petitti was last year. Upgrade.

Not a question. Mentally, he will be an upgrade because he is so experienced. He won't require as much help and we can do different things to help out our other weak areas.

Therefore I submit that the line will be better then it was last year. Just how much better depends on how well they work together.

They have to stay healthy from day one. We never got any cohesion last year because the right tackle situation was unsettled until the first preseason game and even after that, we had to handicap ourselves to help Petitti.

I am not so sure we were perfect like is implied before the Adams injury. We were getting by with trickery and support from the backs and tight ends to bolster a right tackle who was getting by on guts alone.

The line has to be able to support itself this year if we are able to do what we want on offense. It looks like the plan is to spread the field with the tight ends and open everything up. If we have to commit more help to the line, that pretty much kills the idea. And if Bledsoe gets pressured, it also ruins the plan.

 

[aikemirv]

Teams do not rotate offensive lineman so unless Flo gets hurt again no one is. As for backups they will be competing for the job and I hope to see a good battle take place for that job.

I understand that, but who is going to run with the second team in TC and if he goes down you need someone to be familiar with it.

So, let me rephrase. If Flozell goes down with injury, do they just plan to move Fabini over and keep Petitti on the right or do they have Columbo backing up RT and Petitti backing up LT.

 

[Doomsday101]

I understand that, but who is going to run with the second team in TC and if he goes down you need someone to be familiar with it.

So, let me rephrase. If Flozell goes down with injury, do they just plan to move Fabini over and keep Petitti on the right or do they have Columbo backing up RT and Petitti backing up LT.

Without seeing the improved condition of Petitti or the re-emergence of Columbo off a serious injury there is no way of knowing who may have the inside track for the job. It should be very interesting to see how this plays out during training camp.

 

[burmafrd]

Right NOW I would guess that Fabini would be the swing guy and that Petitti has the edge for RT. BUT remember that Kosier can play four positions. Realisitically, I would Say Fabini is the backup if the Hotel goes down.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

We will not have a true picture of our projected OL performance until deep into the preseason games in Aug.....then, we will have a clue as to what we are going to do during the season....personally, I am concerned.

 

[burmafrd]

realistically speaking the only real concern on this team is the O line. I would love to plug 5 pro bowlers in but that ain't going to happen. We have 2 now, plus one other that has had a solid rep for years. So that is 3 positions that really SHOULD NOT be a concern. That leaves center and LG. center was not bad, not great last year; and Johnson is a year older and has bulked up. Gurode - its possible the light has come on. So if nothing we will be just as good as we were last year- and a little better is reasonable.
Kosier is expected to be good- not as powerfull as LA (no one is) but he CERTAINLY is quicker. HE SHOULD reach guys that LA never got near. SO AT the least he SHOULD be a push.

 

[aikemirv]

Right NOW I would guess that Fabini would be the swing guy and that Petitti has the edge for RT. BUT remember that Kosier can play four positions. Realisitically, I would Say Fabini is the backup if the Hotel goes down.

As for right now, I would say that is the case too. If Columbo were to pan out though, I would like to see Petitti moved back to his normal position of LT. I know he was not effective at RT but he was injured and it was a new position. If Columbo is not the answer long term at RT, then Petitti needs to make the transition permanent.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

One little comment from Parcells last week that I didn't see mentioned a lot was that he wanted to run more "scheme things" on the O line. That means zone blocking.

And that's one reason I think the line and Kosier will be better -- because we finally have a group of agile, quicker O-linemen who actually should be able to work together. A line with mismatches like the smaller, quicker Rivera and and the plodding Allen never made much sense... It kind of gave us the worst of both worlds. That shouldn't be the case as much this year.

 

[burmafrd]

Personally I have always favored the road grader type of line. BUT in todays NFL with the number of quick LB's out there, you really need someone that can get to them. LA could not anymore.

 

[junk]

One little comment from Parcells last week that I didn't see mentioned a lot was that he wanted to run more "scheme things" on the O line. That means zone blocking.

And that's one reason I think the line and Kosier will be better -- because we finally have a group of agile, quicker O-linemen who actually should be able to work together. A line with mismatches like the smaller, quicker Rivera and and the plodding Allen never made much sense... It kind of gave us the worst of both worlds. That shouldn't be the case as much this year.

You are right on the money. I think BP wants this more agile, athletic guys. LA never really fit. Lots of OL coming in from pass happy offenses.....Rivera, Kosier, Procter.

Thats why I think Peterman might get the old heave-ho this year. Doesn't fit that philosophy.

 

[onetrickpony]

Who is going to spell Flozell at LT.

O-lineman almost never come out unless injured. The key question about LT is who would go in if Flozell was hurt again. I have great confidence that who ever has to replace Flo would be better than Tucker was last season.

 

[Doomsday101]

O-lineman almost never come out unless injured. The key question about LT is who would go in if Flozell was hurt again. I have great confidence that who ever has to replace Flo would be better than Tucker was last season.

A traffic cone would be better than Tucker. I was suprised he was not cut before last season and was very glad to see him gone after this past season.

 

[burmafrd]

It would hard to find anyone who could do worse.

 

[burmafrd]

You really have to question tampa bays intelligence for actually WANTING him.

 

[gbrittain]

Everything I have heard says the Hotel is doing fine and will be physically 100%. Up untill that injury he had played YEARS without missing a game- so he is NOT injury prone. His injury is not a reoccurring one like a Shoulder or a back. So He should be fine. Question is will he play as well as he did in 2003? I think that the chance at being a top team will help motivate him.
so I believe that LT is not a problem - of course we are counting on no bad injury here, but THAT is reasonable.

Kosier- the biggest mystery on the line. Very versatile player who has not been allowed to stay at one position and settle down. BP believes that he can be good at the Guard slot. The number of teams that were after him and the speed at which we signed him are good signs. I am cautiously optimistic that this will not be a downgrade from the powerfull but immobile LA.

Johnson- bulking up would decrease the one weakness he has which was getting bull rushed and ran over by big DT's. I think he could lose a little quickness if the result is more power/strength/bulk. He was decent before- he could be good now. Right now I am pencilling in a small upgrade here.

Rivera- one year removed from a Pro Bowl. His back and elbows were bad last year - they are healed now. He SHOULD be back to his Pro Bowl form. He is still young enough to be very good for another year or two. But of course back problems are tricky. So I am optimistic that he will be better and the position will be upgraded from last year.

Fabini-currently our starter for RT. though it is possible that Petitti and Columbo will compete. Had started 89 straight games before a pectoral tear injury. that is not a chronic type injury so he should be fine. Is not a pro bowl guy but is solid- so he will be better then Petitti was last year. Upgrade.

Therefore I submit that the line will be better then it was last year. Just how much better depends on how well they work together.

Good read. The only player which concerns me greatly at this point is Rivera. I have no facts to base this on, but he strikes me as a guy that is going downhill with skis on. Like you said back problems are indeed tricky and Rivera is no young pup. I do not have a warm fuzzy at all when it comes to Rivera.

Flo should be back to normal. Kozier will be fine. Gurode/Johnson should be the same to better. Fabini or even a 2nd year Petitti for that matter would be an upgrade over the Petitti we had last year.

 

[burmafrd]

Rivera has a lot of pride and has worked, from all accounts, like a fiend to get back in shape. AS I pointed out, he is still YOUNG enough to be very good for a while longer. The back is a problem- BUT outside of that there is no REASON to say he is going downhill.