kearly":1xve469q said:
Do we really need OL though? Honest question. Because I can only see Bowie getting better, Sweezy and Carp have actually not been that bad this season, Bailey has looked like a stud when he's played, and our starting healthy line was one of the better groups in 2012 (#2 run, #20 pass).
I think our OL nightmare could be a distant memory by the time the next draft rolls round. Our offense is already hitting top gear with 3/5, sometimes even 4/5 of our line being backups. With Harvin, Okung, and Giacomini coming back, it's going to get pretty ridiculous.
Right now, I don't think OL is a first round priority. Last year Seattle drafted a RB with their first pick and haven't played him despite his enormous talent. Picks don't get much more "luxury" than that. I expect Seattle to remain in luxury mode next year.
The way we need to restructure salaries, I expect McQuistan and Giacomini to walk. So there will be openings regardless.
I agree, that the gap between nightmare to pedestrian is closing. Our project depth is getting infused with experience and improvement at an accelerated rate. But you and I both know that the next game we lose is going to be the fault of this unit. It's the outlier on a championship level team.
If anything, this game highlighted the importance of a good line to begin with. The notion that we need to focus on playmakers early is flawed for me. I believe we have more than enough playmakers on this team. This Falcons game gave a glimpse into just how effective our current players can be with above average to very good OL play.
Do I think we've turned the corner? No. I think we played a horrible defensive front and our OL shone bright against inferior competition. But it gave a brief look at what having an advantage on the LOS makes our team look like:
A complete team.
I agree that we should get a boost with Okung/Breno returning. But I haven't forgotten that even at full strength this unit was underperforming. The nightmare may indeed be over. But it will be replaced by the sober realization that this team's constipated offense against quality opponents lay at the feet of this OL. A good OL maximizes our playmakers' ability. We have more than enough quality everywhere else on the offense to win a title.
I want our offense to look like that against good teams. It's going to take upgrades on the OL to make that happen. Some of that improvement will come organically within the unit we have. And I'm not going to rule out this unit improves to the point where status quo wouldn't be warranted.
But if we don't improve to that point, then we need the crucible of intense competition there to accelerate that improvement and/or allow better talent rise to the top. That will require more than day 3 talent.
