I wouldn't say that he has been atrocious. He has done an admirable job as a rookie facing several of the top pass rushing defenses in the NFL, who have relentlessly keyed in on him with their best pass rushers. He has a big weakness against edge speed which we were able to somewhat mask when Miller was healthy. After Miller went to IR, we tried to help Britt out with Willson and co, but they can't block for ish. Lately we have just left him alone, knowing that he will get beaten around the edge on occasion. He has improved against edge speed over the course of the season, but it is a known weakness that teams are exploiting. I agree that long term he is better suited for guard, but right now he is our second best tackle, and that may not change next year.
In an ideal world I agree that we should let Carp walk, let Britt and Sweezy battle it out for the two guard positions, and bring in a stud right tackle. Physically, Carp is amazing, but mentally he still struggles and I don't predict much improvement in that area. However, our plans are going to be heavily influenced by who we can bring in in the offseason.
It is much easier to bring in a guard than a tackle, especially when your first pick is essentially the first pick of the second round. Potential starting tackles are going to be long gone before we get to pick (I think there are only two in this year's draft). Unless Isles or Renfrow are ready to step up, or we finagle a stellar free agent tackle (hahahahaha), we will struggle to find a better right tackle than Britt (sad as that is). In this scenario, I would try to keep Carp for one more year, leave the line intact, and draft a developmental tackle or two. If we let Carp go then we need to find a replacement guard who is ready to go and decide whether we want him between Okung and Unger or between Unger and Britt.
In other words, I don't expect a huge improvement or change in our average to slightly above average offensive line for next year unless Isles/ Renfrow is/are dark horses who crack the starting lineup (doubtful).
Another possibility is replacing Carp with Bailey. I think that Bailey is too valuable as a multi-position backup to do this. Especially when Okung is one of the guys he is backing up, but I suppose it might be possible to bring in a decent multi-position backup through the draft or free agency.
Our first priority, however, should be finding a guy to step in or groom as a replacement for Okung in another year or two. It is possible that we will have cap space to do this through free agency next year or the year after. Part of that plan could be finding a guy that we play at right tackle for a year or two then transition to the left side of the line. Hopefully, Britt isn't that guy because I think that we can all agree that he doesn't show starting left tackle potential.
- bsd
