You know -for all the things we've done I'm still shocked
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AdamJT13
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X-Dawg said:
They brought Gurode back for depth at center and guard. If he miraculously improves a tremendous amount, he might win the starter's job. And if that happens, I'm all for it.
Gurode barely got a sniff at center after the middle of the season, when it became apparent that Johnson was playing better. Parcells ditched the rotation experiment (which really was a rotation for only a few games).
Of course. For the season, Johnson played 85 percent of the offensive snaps at center, compared to a mere 15 percent for Gurode. Yeah, they certainly thought Gurode was better alright.
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What the hell? Who is the crazy saying Al and Gurode are efficient? As far as Parcells "on the record" statement saying most of those fumbles are Bleds fault well....If I had 2 or 3 275-300 pounders knocking me on my *** I think I would probably drop the ball too. The C is definately a position to watch in fear for next yr.
Rack
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Both sides of this are a bit to the extreme. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
Al J isn't as good as Adam seems to be implying, and he certainly isn't as bad as the others here are implying.
I have no problem with his pass blocking or line calls. It's his run blocking that needs a ton of work.
I think eventually Al J will be replaced (by "eventually" I mean a year or two from now), but he's a second round pick and should be given a chance to succeed. If he can greatly improve his run blocking then we'll be fine.
BUt, as others said, there wasn't anything we could really do. I wanted Bentley probably more then anyone here. Not cuz of the way Al played, but because Bentley is already a great Center, and he's actually younger then Al. But he wanted to play for the Browns and they paid him a lot of money to go there. Mawae, at this point, really wouldn't of been much of an upgrade, if at all. He's like 83 years old.
Al J isn't as good as Adam seems to be implying, and he certainly isn't as bad as the others here are implying.
I have no problem with his pass blocking or line calls. It's his run blocking that needs a ton of work.
I think eventually Al J will be replaced (by "eventually" I mean a year or two from now), but he's a second round pick and should be given a chance to succeed. If he can greatly improve his run blocking then we'll be fine.
BUt, as others said, there wasn't anything we could really do. I wanted Bentley probably more then anyone here. Not cuz of the way Al played, but because Bentley is already a great Center, and he's actually younger then Al. But he wanted to play for the Browns and they paid him a lot of money to go there. Mawae, at this point, really wouldn't of been much of an upgrade, if at all. He's like 83 years old.
AdamJT13
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Rack said:
What did I imply?
All I said was 1) I'm confident he can make the calls, 2) he allowed only 1.25 sacks last season, 3) he played better than Gurode, and 4) he took 85 percent of the snaps at center last season, compared to 15 percent for Gurode.
Do you disagree with any of those statements?
AdamJT13
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Rack said:
No problem ... pal.
Just trying to figure out how you can think I'm implying that Johnson is better than he is. Everything I've said either is a fact, is an option that you agree with, or is an opinion that Parcells obviously agrees with.
You're so cool.
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AdamJT13 said:
Oh I dunno... i figured that since you came in here debating against the guy that things AL J sucks, that maybe you didn't agree with him.
That's cuz I spent my time in school banging chicks instead of doing my math homework.
Just messin' with you, Adam.
Seriously though, I didn't mean to say you think he's good. Just not as bad as that x-man or whatever his name is thinks he is. Like you said, we agree with eachother on this one. Although I think his run blocking could improve about 5 notches and still be below average. But if Mark Stepnoski could play in a power run blocking system at 265 lbs then so can Al Johnson, theoretically.
If we could only stick Gurode and Al in that machine from The Fly, and use the person that comes out the other end as our center.
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AJ is still a relatively young player. So is Gurode. Linemen take years to develop. I think AJ is going to be very good before it's all said and done.
How much did Stepnoski weigh? It is not mearly a weight issue, as is being implied. A lot of it is technique. AJ is a smart player and is still learning. He may not bulk up a lot more, but he may not need to. I think we are OK at this position.
My bigger concerns lie in the guard positions and the future at both tackle spots. I don't think we are done with the lines but I personally think we are done at center.
How much did Stepnoski weigh? It is not mearly a weight issue, as is being implied. A lot of it is technique. AJ is a smart player and is still learning. He may not bulk up a lot more, but he may not need to. I think we are OK at this position.
My bigger concerns lie in the guard positions and the future at both tackle spots. I don't think we are done with the lines but I personally think we are done at center.
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Mark Stepnoski was the weakest link on the Cowboys' 92-94 lines. He did not play with power and was only better than adequate at pass blocking because of his blitz protection. I was 100 feet away watching Jason Buck just blast him backwards into Troy in that RFK endzone.
He was a finesse player on a power OL and a backup replaced him with no perceivable dropoff in OL performance in the 1993 playoffs.
1995 showed what a difference a "real" center could make when Ray Donaldson dominated the spot until Thanksgiving. I'll argue that the Cowboys' offense has never been the same since the moment he dropped. When he was there and even before with a young Stepnoski the Cowboys could dictate up the middle.
Shiver was horrid, and Stepnoski in his later years was a shadow of his former self, and we hit a Shiver-esque lowpoint with Tyson Walter, Ben Fricke, and DiNapoli.
The past two seasons we've surfaced, but we are treading water. If it wasn't for such a pressing need at RT there would have been more of an uproar regarding Center, I think.
Maybe we can't afford to improve that spot with two former #2 picks invested in it, but how many years does Drew Bledsoe have left before we have to rebuild anyway?
He was a finesse player on a power OL and a backup replaced him with no perceivable dropoff in OL performance in the 1993 playoffs.
1995 showed what a difference a "real" center could make when Ray Donaldson dominated the spot until Thanksgiving. I'll argue that the Cowboys' offense has never been the same since the moment he dropped. When he was there and even before with a young Stepnoski the Cowboys could dictate up the middle.
Shiver was horrid, and Stepnoski in his later years was a shadow of his former self, and we hit a Shiver-esque lowpoint with Tyson Walter, Ben Fricke, and DiNapoli.
The past two seasons we've surfaced, but we are treading water. If it wasn't for such a pressing need at RT there would have been more of an uproar regarding Center, I think.
Maybe we can't afford to improve that spot with two former #2 picks invested in it, but how many years does Drew Bledsoe have left before we have to rebuild anyway?