our work begins @ home with the resigning of Garner & Incognito with free-agent offensive linesmen 1) Ryan Kalil - 25 (Panthers) 6'2" 295lbs is the right man @ center 2) Logan Mankins- 28 (Patriots) - LG would cost a pick & some money but is a sure thing 3) Jeremy Trueblood - 26 (TB) 6'9" 330lbs can provide competition & could start either side. both our Tackles are dinged up. the draft: 1) Mike Pouncey, C/G, Florida: possesses good size at 6-foot-4, 310 pounds and has the versatility to play any of the three interior line positions. late first-round to early second-round prospect. 2) Derek Sherrod, OT, Mississippi State: excellent size & skills @ 6'6", 311lbs 3) Stefen Wisniewski, Center, Penn State: (6-foot-3, 305 pounds), intelligent, tough and plays with instinct & technique. 4) Danny Watkins, G/C,Baylor: the oldest prospect in the draft @ 26 (6-foot-4, 312 pounds) a top guard prospect if we're not going after the best QB in the draft, then the offensive line should be rebuilt this season. we really have to get the offensive line right in 2011. I understand the difficulties in acquiring any of these players in the draft or free agency, however, if the offensive line is the priority we should be able to find a way to pick up a Center & LG, perhaps a Tackle.
Friend Gish: Each team is allowed to designate one of their players who is going to become a unrestricted free agent with the 'franchise tag'. An unrestricted free agent is a player whose contract has expired and is free to negotiate with any team without his present team having the opportunity to match the contract negotiated between the player and the other team. There are two types of franchise tag ... exclusive and non-exclusive: Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_NFL_franchise_tag#ixzz1Ei4RNs24 I believe he's tagged non-exclusive, which means he's available to negotiate Read more: http://www.fox28.com/Global/story.asp?S=14029457
I don't know what we have to give up for him. I know it won't come cheap but it might not be as bad as you think. the patriots also have to negotiate a contract with Matt Light this year. Mankins is a ProvenBull & an answer @ LG. all these players are long-shots. nothing ventured nothing gained. a lot of it will be about priorities & the offensive line should be the priority in 2011
i just told you. two 1st round picks. no priority on the offensive line is worth giving up two 1st round picks and an expensive salary to a 28 year old player.
if you're right & there is no negotiating a lesser exchange, then he's obviously not worth it. all I know for sure is that he's unhappy in NE & they have other problems on the offensive line to consider in 2011 with Matt Light & finding a stronger starting Center for the up-coming season.
Technically, to make the trade a team is entitled to 2 first round picks for a franchised player but, and here is where it gets a bit cloudy. When NE put the franchise tag on Cassel it was a common thought around the league that if someone wanted Cassel bad enough they would have to pick up the 14 million dollar salary and give up 2 first round picks. Instead, NE traded Cassel to Kansas City and also sent them Vrabel for what ? Kansas City gave up their second round pick, 34th overall for both Cassel and Vrabel. I then would have to take this as evidence that infact 2 first round picks in trade for a franchised player is not , by any means, written in stone.
I've only listed players I thought were a quality solution to our offensive line dilemma that are available in the draft & free agency, players that would start & would get the job done right. everything is a matter of pick & treasure. like I said: a lot depends on where the priority is going to be in the draft & you never know who will fall in the rankings. as far as free agency goes, that too, is subject to change & negotiation.
we have more issues on our offensive line than they do. so by your logic that is another reason he is not an option for us.
No, it's not, but NE was never going to pay Cassel Franchise money. In fact, given Belichick's connections with Pioli the groundwork for that transaction was probably laid out ahead of time. I think the difference here is that the Patriots have every intention on keeping Mankins unless someone comes in with an offer that's hard to refuse.
we need immediately a pro-bowl or pro-bowl potential Center, Left Guard & a possible Tackle to compete for the start & add depth on the offensive line. I submitted a list of those possibilities in both Free Agency & the Draft. its always a matter of money, of picks, of needs, its all about negotiation.
everything begins up front: if the offensive line gets the push on the defensive trench the running game sets up & the opposition defense responds by moving up when that happens, the passing game opens & our defense stays off the field, allowing them to enter the game fresh
that philosophy is outdated. the new emerging trend is to set up the run with the pass. the steelers knew the packers were going to pass the ball, and still couldnt stop it. we need a quarterback more than an interior lineman.
1) the GB offensive line was underrated 2) an offensive line moves as one. timing & understanding are paramount 3) their collective quality was of obviously superior or they wouldn't have gone to the SuperBowl 4) they had a QB that was a constant threat, anywhere on the field, which improved the play of the offensive line
no, you need one of the top three QB's in the NFL & we're not talking about one interior linesman, we need an interior offensive line overhaul. a QB cannot survive without a quality offensive line. Peyton Manning, Rogers, Ben Roethlisberger, whoever would not have taken us to the SuperBowl playing behind the 2010 dolphin offensive line. as far as out-dated goes, not to worry, football 101 will never be deleted from the play book. the basics are exactly that, the basics. everything else is embellishment or trends based on adaptation to phenomenal personal abilities. these things come & go. as long as we play football, it will always begin in the trenches.
Many will agree that the Packers offensive line was the weakest unit on their team. Rodgers pocket presense and ability to quickly locate the open receiver MADE THEM LOOK GOOD. In 2009, Rodgers was sacked more than any other quarterback. From that he learned to speed his progressions and be more alert. Just because the Packers won the Super Bowl doesnt mean they did it because of their offensive line. Think of this. http://m.packers.com/news/headlines/2011/02/508d9936-db8d-4e4c-b2b0-c49d5fd64b70/ The deciding factor in a championship team is forcing turnovers, and converting them into points. Despite what you say about the importance of winning in the trenches, history proves otherwise. Take this Super Bowl for example... Now then, does interior linemen win championships? No, defense does.
C'mon Gish, stop making sense. People said the same thing about Az Oline, way underated when they beat everyone in the playoffs and made the Superbowl. In 2010, that same exact Oline, minus Kurt Warner, sucked in fans opinions. LOL Same guys, with exception now they had Faneca at LG, same RBs same coach but no Warner. FAIL Been saying it for years and years, Its the QB and believe me, I was not heavy on the fact when they changed you cannot bang a WR around until he gets the ball. I also firmly believe , our offensive line coach Blows. I would wager not if but when he gets fired, he is not going to find a job as the lead offensive line coach anywhere in the NFL, I can almost guarantee it. There were many times it looked like the Right side of the Oline had no clue what the left side was doing and what bugged me the most about Berger, beyond his blocking ( good or bad ) 70% of the time Berger had no clue of what was going on and who was doing what on that offensive line. Line play is designed in such a way if there is one Olineman that does not do his job, the other 4 pay for it. Well, I am not privy to the Line set ups but can tell you that many many times, Mr. Berger had no clue if he was to go left, right or stay put, many times. Perhaps it was not even his fault but the way he has been trained. Add to that there was a rookie at RG to start off and lets face it, it was more then evident he was not quite ready yet for the NFL stage. This was prior to his illness popping up.
i trusted the front office when they let smiley, grove, and thomas go in the offseason last year. it is obvious that was a mistake. Henne playing poorly didnt help.
Ryan Kalil was just tagged. So with Mankins and Kalil tagged we can pretty much eliminate going after them (they would cost too much)
The Steelers had an exponentially worse offensive line than us last year, so I'd have to disagree. Aaron Rodgers' offensive line was a sieve in '09 and he put up similar statistics in '10 with an improved line. What made them so much better was their continuing improvement on the defensive side of the ball, in my opinion. Manning, on the other hand, may be a different story. He never really had a bad offensive line and he's not as mobile as the others. That's why many, including myself, are for drafting a mobile quarterback; to make up for the shortcomings of our offensive line.
I do not think it was a mistake. What did any of them contribute to any of the other 31 NFL teams last year ? Seriously, if they were even as close to good as some think , would it not make sense all of them would have played/started for other teams ? Not one of them came close to even getting off the bench, not one. So 31 other NFL GMs, and head coaches are that dumb ? Seriously, I do not think so. Stuff went on none of us are privy too because if they were as good as people imagine they are, we would not be having this conversation.
It was quite obvious they wanted to transition to a pass heavy offense. Even when Ricky was talking to the press in January he said last year a nice portion of practice was dedicated to the Wildcat. This year he said IF they practiced it at all, it was only for a few play counts. I went to camp and did not miss much of it. I can count on one had the number of times I saw them in the Wildcat formation in the summer.
I dont think thats the case in terms of the transition, I just think there is such a void of athleticism along the oline, they comprimised at times.
I do not agree. I think it is obvious that they were not happy with the pass protection from the 2009 line.
Friend Gish: from the get-go I leave open the possibility for going after the QB in this draft Luck would be one of those QB's in my opinion, you bet the house on in the 2012 draft don't know if we have that QB-quality available in 2011 what I said was in an attempt to open a conversation on offensive line possibilities, which I see as one of the most important things to fix on the offense as they go: OL, QB, RB whatever is available using pro-bowl/franchise potential players
Of the 6 teams with a pro bowl runningback in 2010, only 1 made the playoffs (and lost their first game very badly).
contrary, argumentative, whatever... simple truth is, everybody has an opinion & most can base it in a philosophy or statistics coached to support their argument. a quick catchy-statement is always a way to score points & distract but it doesn't answer the question the thread I started was an attempt to open a conversation on offensive line possibilities, which I see as the primary target on the offensive fix list only makes sense, you need a base to build on & the foundation of football has always been the trench argue the point if you choose to do so however the reason for the thread was to discuss possible resolutions http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/23/2080253/draft-might-not-fill-miami-dolphins.html no QB, Running Back or WR would have taken us to the Superbowl in 2010 playing behind our Offensive Line this is a simple reality we must face & fix for 2011
Stefen Wisniewski @ Center, Penn State: (6-foot-3, 305 pounds), intelligent, tough and plays with instinct & technique. Danny Watkins, @ G/C,Baylor: the oldest prospect in the draft @ 26 (6-foot-4, 312 pounds) a top guard prospect would due just fine for a start. doable?
Things are very hard to predict for college centers, I am not as confident in them because they had good college careers. Brett Romberg, Miami. won Rimmington award. played on several national championship teams, was a can't miss guy. Spent his career mostly as Practice squad or backup and was cut in 2010 by Atlanta. Donovan Raiola, brother of Dominic Raiola,starting center for Detroit, winner of Rimmington award ( best center in college football ) Great career at Wisconsin was to be a chip off the old block of his brother Dominic. Did not even get drafted, spent most of career on practice squads and last few years, mostly summer camp material. Centers are not a slam dunk perfect yes they will work out scenario in the NFL.
Friend mommabilly: agreed & that's what makes the situation absolutely urgent. got a slew of talented linesmen in the draft that should become available. I think Mike Pouncey could possibly fall to the third round if we were interested in his services. we've all seen it happen before & there is the added weight of a very talented, defense-heavy draft to facilitate the fall of any offensive player this year. just some that could fall to us in varying levels of the draft in no particular order: Danny Watkins, @ G/C/T,Baylor: the oldest prospect in the draft @ 26 (6-foot-4, 312 pounds) a top guard prospect would due just fine for a start. doable? Kristofer O'Dowd, Center, USC Height: 6-4. Weight: 303. Projected 40 Time: 5.07. Stefen Wisniewski, Center/Guard, Penn State Height: 6-3. Weight: 298. Projected 40 Time: 5.13. Will Rackley, Guard, Lehigh Height: 6-4. Weight: 310. Projected 40 Time: 5.27. Marcus Cannon, Guard/Tackle, TCU Height: 6-6. Weight: 350. Projected 40 Time: 5.34. George Bryan, TE, N.C. State Height: 6-5. Weight: 265. Projected 40 Time: 4.77. Zach Pianalto, TE, North Carolina Height: 6-4. Weight: 250. Projected 40 Time: 4.85. most FreeAgency ProvenBulls will probably cost a an arm & a leg, but you never know how a negotiation will go. going with a veteran takes the guess work out of the equation. Ryan Kalil (Panthers) would definitely get the job done @ center, if attainable. depending on the physical abilities of Alan Faneca, @ 34 would bring much needed experience to the offensive line. he's a proven bull & maybe has another year or two to play. he might be had reasonably @ this point in his career. Tampa's Jeremy Trueblood @ 6'9" 330lbs would provide serious competition & like Carey could start either side, a consideration with both our Tackles dinged up.
I would not personally draft anyone from Baylor. Jason Smith, the number two overall pick in 2009 that was to replace Orlando Pace could not even beat out the back up at RT in his first year. Last year he was put at LT and beat out by Roger Saffold, a second round pick. Baylor is about the worst football program on the planet earth. Good school, football program SUCKS.
Faneca was horrible at Arizona this past season. Jets cut ties with him for a good reason. Hope you do not plan using any of them as pulling guards with those 40 times.
I get where you are coming from. You say the offensive line is the #1 priority to fix the offense. Your suggestion is to acquire Pro Bowlers to fill the needs in this area. Im arguing that it is not worth the price it would cost to acquire those players, both because they arent worth it, and the need is being over-dramatized. My argument is that Qb play and play calling are the primary issues. We didnt have a hard time moving down the field most of the time, did we? Only once we got into field goal range did things turn into a mess. Did our offensive line not know how to block at that end of the field? I doubt it. Henne finished 15th in passing yards (3301), ahead of Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez who both led their teams to the conference championship. I think Henne can still do it given the chance. And I dont think we need a fabulous running game to get it done. We need creative play calling and for Henne to take a step forward. Spending through the roof for an interior line wont get us as far as you might think. We would be better off spending that money on Nnamdi Asomugha to improve the secondary. You dont know that. I could just as easily say that no QB, RB, or WR would have taken us to the Super Bowl with Anthony Fasano at TE. this is a simple reality we must face & fix for 2011. Just because you declare it a fact, doesnt mean its true.
