I don't remember where I heard it, or who said it, but in one of the evaluations of our draft it was said that Bill Parcells (and the front office) focused on blocking and tackling. I think thats right and I think thats right. IOW, thats exactly what we did and thats what we needed to do. All the schemes in the world won't help you on offense if you can't block. Countering the best schemes in the world won't help you on defense if you can't tackle. When I look at our Oline now, as compared to the end of the 07 season, it's not even close. Carey is back at his natural position. Jake Long is a player I think will be our LT for a decade. Two of our three interior positions are set, and Smiley and Satele both have a bit of a mean streak. We now have three young guys who can fight it out for one spot. With proper coaching and motivation, I think one of these players is going to step up and be a solid player. With Ronnie's injury and Ricky's proclivities, we have an element of uncertainty at RB. We certainly don't have a proven superstar at WR, and our QB position will be manned by either a second round QB or a journeyman in McCown. But all of these positions are in better shape than they would have been because our oline is now going to be able to not only block on a regular basis, but in due time, take over a game.
Careful how you talk about my boy! Seriously (well sort of) you've hit on something, blocking on the OL and tackling on the DL were the theme of the draft for us. This team is getting back to basics, planning to win by being more basic, stronger, and working harder than the opposition. That's my favorite kind of football, a la Vince Lombardi style, that wins championships.
I hear ya. But seriously, I believe Josh has a chance on this team (journeyman or not). He's big, strong, and has played some damn good football in this league when given the chance. In his best games, he's been as good as their is. Unfortunately, Arizona and Oakland aren't the best place for QBs to develop (see Matt Leinart, all the Oakland QBs). Each of these kids bring something to the table. Beck has an incredible maturity and outlook. That may pay dividends this coming camp. Henne is tough and (actually more experienced than Beck) and was drafted by this front office. Josh is the only one that has played extensively (and in some games very well) in this league. In anycase, and the point I was making in the post, each of them has a better chance to be successful because of the decisions made this weekend.
I am still in shock over how quickly our OL went from being mediocre to bad into what could potentially be one hell of an offensive line in a year or two. Ditto for the defensive front 7. For the first time in year I am really looking forward to next season and thats not even expecting a 7-8 win season. Just looking forward to seeing if these guys can really come together and play well as a unit over the season.
The same logic that the oline makes the rest of the offense better goes for the defense. If we can put pressue on the Qb with the five players, that leaves six in coverage. You won't see six WR sets. The way the Giants beat the Patriots was by bringing pressure. I know that they used alot of creative blitz packages, but still, the Dline won their battles. This team is going to be good...and soon.
