What surprises me about Al Johnson...

[Drederick Tatum]

... is that Parcells in clinging to a guy who can't finish a whole game because bigger, stronger guys dominate him - then Gurode has to come in and save his bacon from the fire, this happens consistently.

I know that Parcells wants to rotate the centers to keep them fresh (which I think is a good strategy), but why not rotate two guys who can handle the opponent. Al Johnson is not being rotated, he is being pulled. It just surprises me that Parcell have entertained it this long.

 

[Reed]

i cant believe al was a 2nd round draft choice, like #2 or 3 in second round too

 

[ghst187]

I think its because Gurode botches a snap every now and then...

 

[TheEnigma]

I don't know if you noticed, I don't know why, but Johnson finished the game.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

And Al Johnson played every snap last week.

 

[AdamJT13]

Johnson played every snap last week, then we went back to the rotation this week. Johnson played the first and fourth quarters, and Gurode played the second and third.

I haven't reviewed the entire offensive game yet, but from what I have reviewed, both centers played pretty well.

 

[Eddie]

Hey, so you mean Al Johnson's NOT going to the Pro Bowl???

 

[AdamJT13]

I just re-watched every offensive play, focusing on the center. And center WAS NOT a problem today. If anything, Johnson AND Gurode were borderline dominant. Either that, or Ted Washington is just a big bag of nothing these days, because he never once pushed either Johnson or Gurode backward on a running play. He spent more time on the ground -- either on his back or being driven face-first into the dirt -- than he spent near the ballcarrier.

I didn't count a single negative play by Johnson, and the "worst" plays by Gurode were on a 4-yard run (Gurode's guy made the tackle), a 14-yard run (Gurode whiffed on a linebacker, who ended up tripping up Julius at the 12-yard line) and a 2-yard run (when Gurode didn't get any push and his guy reached out and grabbed Julius).

Honestly this probably was the best game so far by both centers. Johnson has been playing well (and has been unjustly criticized, for some reason), and he played great today. Gurode was terrible against Washington, when he barely played, and he didn't even get to play center against San Francisco. But he bounced back with a very good game today and actually ended up with more snaps than Johnson did.