Did we find a new starting line??

[JansenFan]

With all the shifting and moving, the offensive line looked better than it has all season. Stephon Heyer may not like it, but he may have found his calling at Guard.

[The Hogster]

Stephon is a better guard than tackle. Still view him as a swing backup though. Will Montgomery deserves to start at Center.

[langleyparkjoe]

With all the shifting and moving, the offensive line looked better than it has all season. Stephon Heyer may not like it, but he may have found his calling at Guard.

Aye JF, long time no see buddy, hope all's been well!!

Kind of crazy that guys playing out of position would do so good, especially considering we came off a tough loss. I was very impressed but had to keep myself grounded because we go up and down weekly.. but to answer you question, compared to what we've seen previously I'm all aboard with these guys doing the work. We'll have to see how they holdup vs the vikes but at least the vikes defense isn't as strong as they were before.

[langleyparkjoe]

Ironically, talking about OLine.. check this out

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-Shutdown-Corner-Midseason-No-Pro-Team-The?urn=nfl-287740

So again JF, yep!!!

[VetSkinsFan]

I was quite impressed with the job they did with all the injuries. I wouldn't mind seeing that setup (well, maybe not Heyer) and see how they run. It can't really be worse than what we've run the past two years.

And I noticed that McNabb trips again from a different lineman. Leads me to believe that there's a problem with the McNabb/lineman cohesion. The time he got stepped on with a backup, the lineman wasn't getting blown up.

[MDSKINSFAN]

I think Montgomery earned the right to start at center. Rabach is not good, and we need to find a replacement soon so we might as well see what Montgomery's got.

[cowboykillerzRGiii]

If the new line is better How is it the coaches are just finding this out wtf?

[RedskinsFreak]

It's worth pointing out that Tennessee's front light was a bit on the 'light' side. All the beasts that used to play there -- Van den Bosch, the good Haynesworth, Kearse, etc. -- aren't there any more.

If they have to play as a unit next week, a couple of guys named Williams (or WILLAIMS) will show just what they're made of.

[DarthMonk]

LT = Williams = 22 years old = very good to excellent
LG = Lichtensteiger = 25 = we'll see but probably fine with experience/chemistry
C = Montgomery = 27 not 33 = not Raubach = could be very good
RG = Heyer = 26 not 32 (in a week) = not Hicks = always better in pass pro than run blocking but not good enough in space to be LT so never had a real home but maybe RG is it - good pass pro there and maybe a better run blocker there for this system
RT = Brown = 29 = All Pro if healthy

The best thing about this combo is youth = hunger. The average age is under 26. It appears we have all-pro or all-pro potential at both tackles and I really think Heyer could be very good next to Brown at RG.

DarthMonk

[1niksder]

It's worth pointing out that Tennessee's front light was a bit on the 'light' side. All the beasts that used to play there -- Van den Bosch, the good Haynesworth, Kearse, etc. -- aren't there any more.

If they have to play as a unit next week, a couple of guys named Williams (or WILLAIMS) will show just what they're made of.

The Tennessee is tied for first place in the NFL in sacks, 2nd in tackling and tied for their division lead until Sunday. Minny is tied for 26th place in sacks, tied for 15th in tackling and the Lions are the only reason the Vikings are dead last in their Div.

Those 2 guys named Williams have a combined total of 1 sack and 31 tackles while Tony Brown and Jason Jones have a combined total of 5.5 sacks and 41 tackles. They played the better defense already.

IMO The two Williams are more popular but not more productive.





Jason Babin has 38 tackles and 8 sacks, add in Dave Ball's 28 tackles and 7 sacks and fail to understand what you are saying.

The best thing about this combo is youth = hunger. The average age is under 26. It appears we have all-pro or all-pro potential at both tackles and I really think Heyer could be very good next to Brown at RG.

DarthMonk

I agree with the youth angle but not having Rabach in there has to be the second best thing. Lichtensteiger is always getting blown up but the one day Casey isn't there he has no problems.

[chiefhog44]

If the new line is better How is it the coaches are just finding this out wtf?

There are "under the lights" players, practice players, and a little of both. Montgomery is, hopefully, not a practice player. He may just play well in games. It's still too early to tell though, but I'll be rooting for him, as I now think Rabach has been the problem for the last 3-4 years.

[Kilmer72]

If the new line is better How is it the coaches are just finding this out wtf?

There are "under the lights" players, practice players, and a little of both. Montgomery is, hopefully, not a practice player. He may just play well in games. It's still too early to tell though, but I'll be rooting for him, as I now think Rabach has been the problem for the last 3-4 years.

Nah, I would say 2 years but its still has been a problem. The thing is how can we fix the whole line? I think our rookie really should be at RT not LT and if we found a real LT someone lets just say could be at Jim Lachey's level or JJ. That is what we need but don't get me wrong I think we drafted a keeper.

[VetSkinsFan]

If the new line is better How is it the coaches are just finding this out wtf?

There are "under the lights" players, practice players, and a little of both. Montgomery is, hopefully, not a practice player. He may just play well in games. It's still too early to tell though, but I'll be rooting for him, as I now think Rabach has been the problem for the last 3-4 years.

Nah, I would say 2 years but its still has been a problem. The thing is how can we fix the whole line? I think our rookie really should be at RT not LT and if we found a real LT someone lets just say could be at Jim Lachey's level or JJ. That is what we need but don't get me wrong I think we drafted a keeper.

He's done well as a rook against premiere passrushers. I can't wait to see him with 2 years under his belt.

I also like having him @ LT from teh beginning. No more learning curves and he'll do nothing but become more dominating.

[emoses14]

If the new line is better How is it the coaches are just finding this out wtf?

There are "under the lights" players, practice players, and a little of both. Montgomery is, hopefully, not a practice player. He may just play well in games. It's still too early to tell though, but I'll be rooting for him, as I now think Rabach has been the problem for the last 3-4 years.

Nah, I would say 2 years but its still has been a problem. The thing is how can we fix the whole line? I think our rookie really should be at RT not LT and if we found a real LT someone lets just say could be at Jim Lachey's level or JJ. That is what we need but don't get me wrong I think we drafted a keeper.

He's done well as a rook against premiere passrushers. I can't wait to see him with 2 years under his belt.

I also like having him @ LT from teh beginning. No more learning curves and he'll do nothing but become more dominating.

Agreed. Silver Back at LT for the next 8-9-10 years sounds great to me, especially if he makes the requisite improvement from where he already is. He's been baptized by fire already and we're just over halfway through this year. Why start over, again? I also love the potential youth movement we just stumbled onto. Perhaps its better to be lucky than good sometimes in talent evaluation. If Montgomery can get good game experience over the balance of the year, Heyer sticks at RG and does well, they might both blossom in those positions over the offseason. We draft 2 lineman next year and then really have a solid line in a lot less time than any of us thought.

Keep the faith!

[chiefhog44]

I doubt Heyer stays at guard. Most likely they pick up a lineman in the draft.

[SkinsJock]

The O line needs a lot of new faces and will be addressed IMO by both the draft and by "getting lucky" through players that are here or brought in this off season

this group is the most difficult to 'upgrade' because it's not just a matter of finding good players but also players that complement the guys around them - this takes time

I'm kind of glad at how the players responded to their opportunity and am hopeful that we'll be able to draft a couple of linemen PLUS have some of the young guys here be able to get our offensive line woes behind us a lot quicker

[Kilmer72]

LT = Williams = 22 years old = very good to excellent
LG = Lichtensteiger = 25 = we'll see but probably fine with experience/chemistry
C = Montgomery = 27 not 33 = not Raubach = could be very good
RG = Heyer = 26 not 32 (in a week) = not Hicks = always better in pass pro than run blocking but not good enough in space to be LT so never had a real home but maybe RG is it - good pass pro there and maybe a better run blocker there for this system
RT = Brown = 29 = All Pro if healthy

The best thing about this combo is youth = hunger. The average age is under 26. It appears we have all-pro or all-pro potential at both tackles and I really think Heyer could be very good next to Brown at RG.

DarthMonk

Buges often said if he could just get Heyer to get low enough he would be a very good lineman. Heyer just sucks at tackle and some think he is way tall for the interior. If they can teach him what Buges couldn't then maybe he found his spot.

[welch]

What K72 said.

Plus, although we can't predict the skills and the coordination, we saw some superior determination in this OL.

[SkinsJock]

gotta love the players that take advantage of their opportunity when it comes along

it doesn't happen a lot but many successful teams have a number of players who were not "projected" for much and then are suddenly playing a role that was never expected - these guys are generally really super motivated to play well whenever that opportunity comes along


this line needs to find some plyers like that

[Skinsfan55]

I still think we're very weak up the middle with that offensive line. The only position where I feel like we're strong is LT, and even that's a work in progress. Heyer is not a regular guard, Montgomery is a reserve, Brown is injured and struggling to adjust to a new position, Lichtensteiger has not fared particularly well. If I was the Redskins I'd still spend possibly two draft picks on the o-line this offseason as well as looking for free agency options.

I would love to know what the Skins have in Cook and Capers though, even with all these injuries they can't crack the roster. Are they not good enough, does Shanahan just not think they are ready? Will they ever play for Washington?

[VetSkinsFan]

I still think we're very weak up the middle with that offensive line. The only position where I feel like we're strong is LT, and even that's a work in progress. Heyer is not a regular guard, Montgomery is a reserve, Brown is injured and struggling to adjust to a new position, Lichtensteiger has not fared particularly well. If I was the Redskins I'd still spend possibly two draft picks on the o-line this offseason as well as looking for free agency options.

I would love to know what the Skins have in Cook and Capers though, even with all these injuries they can't crack the roster. Are they not good enough, does Shanahan just not think they are ready? Will they ever play for Washington?

I've been wondering this also.