O-Line

[SkinsFreak]

What do you guys think?

Is there a soft spot in the line?

In your opinion, who needs to step up or who might need to be replaced?

[USS Redskin]

From home its hard to tell - they are not run blocking to well at all.
This is the same unit that helped Portis gain 1,300 yds in 2004 and 1,500 in 2005, so its perplexing.
I assume its the play calling and the new system. Maybe they need a full season to start to gel.
During the game last week, the color commentator said that these guys are too big (300+ each) to be pulling and that the o-line themselves said they were uncomfortable with the new system.

[joebagadonuts]

Mark Brunell. That guy hasn't made one damn block all season.

[ArizonaHOG]

Running the football seems to take a back seat to passing in the new offense. I just does not appear that we will commit to running the football. This puts puts our offensive line in a bad position because we have so many 3-and-long downs. I would prefer to let the O-line play smash mouth football and simply run it right at the defense.

On another note, I have wondered for weeks if Al Saunders is still facing a steep learning curve in terms of playing in the NFC East. Perhaps his playbook needs a new chapter called smash-mouth football.

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

Mark Brunell. That guy hasn't made one damn block all season.

And he's been notably absent on Special Teams, too. What a waste of a roster spot.

[ClintonHill]

I don't know what to think about the line. They're an enigma. They're capable of total dominance (see: Jags game), or total failure (see: Giants game). They're so damn inconsistent.

But the thing is, there's no one on the line who jumps out at me and says, "this guy needs to be replaced" (except maybe Derrick "yellow flag" Dockery). At this point I would not break up this line. I would keep them together for another year or two and see what Crazy Ol' Man Buges can do with them.

Bringing in a high-priced free agent is not the answer. Plus Walter Jones isn't going to be hitting the market any time soon. The line is inconsistent, not horrible, and for that reason, I'd give them more time.

The biggest change I would make is to perhaps invest a few mid-round picks in some linemen. However to do that we'd need to actually have mid-round picks.

[SkinzCanes]

Rabach has been solid. Thomas is the only guy on our line that plays at a high level consistantly. Other than that I wouldn't mind seeing any of the others replaced. Samuels is overrated, Dockery hasn't really developed, and Parcells was dead on about Jansen.

[Chris Luva Luva]

IMO DD is the weakest link.
Samuels doesnt warrant his pricetag.

[The Hogster]

Derrick Dockery is a cupcake.
Jon Jansen pansy...way more talk than production and he is wayy overrated, and I would rather have a younger more athletic tackle.

[Snout]

It is not just a matter of who is good, but how to get the best players for the money.

Here are the 2006 and 2007 salary cap numbers for the line:

Rabach $1.5M $3.6M
Jansen $5.6M $5.8M
Samuels $6.3M $8.6M
Dockery $1.5M --
Thomas $4.9M $5.4M

Rabach is a great bargain. I like Samuels and Jansen, but for a combined $12M this year and more than $14M next year, I think we are overpaying.

A lot of people criticize Dockery, but in my mind you need to compare him to the other $1.5M guards in the league.

[SkinsFreak]

Is Joe Jacoby still available?

[roybus14]

I don't think that this offense has found it's identity yet for me to judge the O-Line. This is on Al Saunders and my guess is that he is developing game plans to see what this line can and can't do. I also don't think it would have looked so bad if we had a different QB running it.

We now have younger, stronger, more mobile QB behind them now so we might be able to see something in terms of play calling. Because until this O-Line becomes comfortable with Saunders' offense, he will probably mix it up to use one thing to set up the other as opposed letting everybody know we are running and just punching them in the mouth.

I will reserve my judgement until the first three games of next season because Saunders would have had a full season of these guys in his system and I am sure that Gibbs and his staff will treat this off-season and pre-season differently than they did this past one.

Also keep in mind that RBs in Saunders' system have always been 1,000+ yard rushers.

Priest Holmes Stats under Saunders before he got hurt:

2001 Kansas City Chiefs 16-(Games) 16-(Games Started) 327-(Att) 1555-(Yds) 4.8-(Avg.) 8-(Tds)

2002 Kansas City Chiefs 14-(Games) 14-(Games Started) 313-(Att) 1615-(Yds) 5.2-(Avg.) 21-(Tds)

2003 Kansas City Chiefs 16-(Games) 16-(Games Started) 320-(Att) 1420-(Yds) 4.4-(Avg.) 27-(Tds)

Larry Johnson's Stats under Saunders system:

2004 Kansas City Chiefs 10-(Games) 3-(Games Started) 120-(Att) 581-(Yds) 4.8-(Avg.) 9-(Tds)

2005 Kansas City Chiefs 16-(Games) 9-(Games Started) 336-(Att) 1750-(Yds) 5.2-(Avg.) 20-(Tds)

2006 Kansas City Chiefs 10-(Games) 10-(Games Started) 248-(Att) 1045-(Yds) 4.2-(Avg.) 12-(Tds)

I seriously doubt that Herman Edwards scrapped Saunders' system when he left. Like I said before, I think that next year should be the year to judge this offensive line.

[TincoSkin]

a point about our line ive been pondering for some time is this:

do joe bugles and al saunders styles of poket protection/smash mouth running attack not mesh?

is buges a stupendous line coach for a gibbs style offense? you bet!! but is he the right guy for a saunders offense?? i dont know. now, im not saying replace the man, i love the guy, and not in a plutonic way. but do their styles clash? can buges mold a line into what Al wants?

my 2.

[Redskin in Canada]

:hmm: Is Joe Jacoby still available?

How about Roaf?