Dave Boling on the state of the offensive line 4/11/15

Jville · Apr 11, 2015

Boling lays out his thoughts in a concise well organized presentation >>> [urltargetblank]http://blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/2015/04/11/round-up-every-promising-o-lineman-possible/[/urltargetblank]

EDITED: To reflect correct spelling of authors name

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Largent80 · Apr 11, 2015

It's obvious to me at least that the O-Line needs to be addressed again as it should each and every year. C and LG starters are gone. Everyone is clamoring for all these WR's, but we already addressed the passing game with Graham.

We need horses up front. Not fat asses like Carpenter, unbelievable the Jets gave him 20 million. As Boling said, Okung is in a contract year as well. It is time to bolster the O-Line.

Seafan · Apr 11, 2015

Perfect year to have a lot of picks, there is a lot of OL talent in this draft.

CurryStopstheRuns · Apr 11, 2015

Largent80":5g3ao2o8 said:
It's obvious to me at least that the O-Line needs to be addressed again as it should each and every year. C and LG starters are gone. Everyone is clamoring for all these WR's, but we already addressed the passing game with Graham.

We need horses up front. Not fat asses like Carpenter, unbelievable the Jets gave him 20 million. As Boling said, Okung is in a contract year as well. It is time to bolster the O-Line.

The Seahawks have eleven selections; they can draft offensive line and WR. You are no different clamoring for offensive line or nothing in comparison to those that you accuse of being WR or nothing.

Jville · Apr 11, 2015

I think Bowling's additional thoughts down in the comment section add insightful perspectives.

daveboling
April 11, 2015 at 12:17 pm

I think Cable is a terrific coach. Terrific. I’ve spent a lot of time watching his unit in practice. He’s so organized. His drills are so quick that they make the guys make their decisions and use the proper mechanics under stress — like in a game. It creates a pretty smart group up there and that’s why they’ve been able to change things around on the fly during the season.

I think he’s contributed heavily to this being the best rushing offense in the NFL. I think that’s why we need to think of him as “run coordinator” rather than just O-Line coach. I’ve heard people say that he “likes to take low-round guys and develop them.” I think he’d love to get really talented guys, he just hasn’t really had many. I think the problem with Carpenter from the start was that he didn’t show up in shape and because of injuries he almost never got his feet under him. I thought at the start of last season felt like he was finally in good shape and was getting used to LG … like he was maybe a second-year guy with a lot of room to improve. He may still develop, but paying him $5 million was not something that was going to happen here.

The fact that this team made it to the Super Bowl two years ago with Okung, Breno and Max out so many games was extraordinary. Cable got those guys as ready as they could be, pieced together a scheme that sheltered them as much as possible, and Wilson and Lynch did much of the rest.

Where I consider the O-line the greatest liability is that your two most valuable assets on offense, Wilson and Lynch, rely on the offensive line to reduce the beating they take over the course of the season. They’ve been lucky so far, but there have been games when I wonder how either of them made it through. No matter how they fill those spots this season, there’s going to be a learning curve to deal with, and there’s risks involved there. Plugging in undrafted free agents may get you from Sunday to Sunday, but could be costly in the long run.

Hawks46 · Apr 11, 2015

Largent80":3cb0gvrs said:
It's obvious to me at least that the O-Line needs to be addressed again as it should each and every year. C and LG starters are gone. Everyone is clamoring for all these WR's, but we already addressed the passing game with Graham.

We need horses up front. Not fat asses like Carpenter, unbelievable the Jets gave him 20 million. As Boling said, Okung is in a contract year as well. It is time to bolster the O-Line.

We can address both, but looking at our WR corps last year, I think we need a bit more than Graham, and with a ton of 4th and 5th round picks, we're very well positioned to address OL in the draft. It's a good draft in the mid rounds, it's a deep draft for OL and we have the picks right in the sweet spot.

I think they'll go with at least one more WR. They know they need a returner, and if they can get a guy like Lockette or Dorsett that can also be a decent WR, then you're addressing 2 needs at once. The coaching staff knows more than us, but we really don't know how well guys like Norwood and Matthews will progress. Wilson with throw the ball up to Kease, but we've also seen that backfire pretty badly. Kearse is an above average WR, but he's never going to be great. Also, our guys do get open but either Wilson doesn't see them, or Wilson CAN'T see them. Getting larger guys like Matthews and Graham, or going after larger guys with speed can only help Russ.

Look what he did with Rice. That was a bigger target with speed and hands. Just one more guy, paired with Graham, makes a damned good mismatch and coupled with our running game, makes our offense pretty tough to defend.

MontanaHawk05 · Apr 11, 2015

If the O-line was so terrible and yet Wilson and Lynch looked like all-stars behind it, and in fact have done so for years, the implication here is that the importance of the offensive line has been vastly overstated. And Wilson isn't the only one doing it. What Wilson does by elusivity, the last several Super Bowl winning QBs (other than Brady) have done so with their own quick-passing skill and improvisation (Rodgers and Roethlisberger being right up there with Wilson in knowing how to extend plays).

So once again, I don't see an entire draft getting blown on the O-line. WR, TE, DL, possibly RB...don't leave those positions out or shove them down just because "everyone says OL is important and Seattle's isn't good". Cooperate with the board, balance your needs, and take the guys who fall to you. If an OL star falls to us with one of 11 picks, great. If not...well, we've won the NFC two years running.

kearly · Apr 12, 2015

MontanaHawk05":2ci3646q said:
If the O-line was so terrible and yet Wilson and Lynch looked like all-stars behind it, and in fact have done so for years, the implication here is that the importance of the offensive line has been vastly overstated.

QFT.

I think a big part of the "OL sucks" narrative is based on the classical NFL model with guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady at QB and UDFA's at RB. For most teams, an OL is judged first, second, and third by its pass protection. Then by lack of penalties fourth, fifth, and sixth. And somewhere waaaaaaay down the list, run blocking.

As has been discussed to death, there are many reasons for the inflated sack rate that go beyond talent deficiency. Meanwhile, Seattle manages elite run blocking every year. Lynch is a HoF talent, but he wouldn't be consistently beating teams that build their game plan around stopping him if he didn't have a lot of help up front.

dopeboy206 · Apr 13, 2015

I have a feeling the oline is going to be frustrating us all season this upcoming season. And if we miss the playoffs they're going to be the main reason. My predictions.

RiverDog · Apr 13, 2015

We have more needs than OL and WR. With Maxwell gone, Lane and Simon coming off injury with Simon in particular not being ready for Prime Time, we need to pick up a good CB if one is available. We also need a blocking tight end. Currently our top two TE's, Graham and Willson, aren't real good blockers.

EntiatHawk · Apr 13, 2015

I think this team is always reloading, everywhere. I think ouor right side will be decent this year. Sweezy and Brit working together for another year will be very good for that side.

If we could keep a group of bodies on the field with some consistency will make a biggest difference. Lets hope the Okung has a very healthy year then who we plug in the LG and C will have an easier time.

As frustrated as I can get with our O-line in the end they almost always get it done, we lean on nasty road greater types that most like will never the greatest pass blocking group. But the Hawks obviously will sacrifice that to beat the snot out of teams. Been a pretty good formula for a few years now.

I just want 5 guys to play together one whole season and see what happens.

jlwaters1 · Apr 13, 2015

CurryStopstheRuns":145d905w said:
Largent80":145d905w said:

It's obvious to me at least that the O-Line needs to be addressed again as it should each and every year. C and LG starters are gone. Everyone is clamoring for all these WR's, but we already addressed the passing game with Graham.

We need horses up front. Not fat asses like Carpenter, unbelievable the Jets gave him 20 million. As Boling said, Okung is in a contract year as well. It is time to bolster the O-Line.

Click to expand...

The Seahawks have eleven selections; they can draft offensive line and WR. You are no different clamoring for offensive line or nothing in comparison to those that you accuse of being WR or nothing.

We need BOTH OL and WR. both positions are thin in their depth as well as overall skill level. 1 guy in Graham doesn't fix everything about the passing game.

I think we'll pick 10 players (using 1 pick to trade up) I'd like to see something along these lines.

1-RB
2-WR
2-OL
2-DL
1-LB
2-DB (Safety &CB)

RiverDog · Apr 13, 2015

EntiatHawk":1s1lv7n1 said:
I think this team is always reloading, everywhere. I think ouor right side will be decent this year. Sweezy and Brit working together for another year will be very good for that side.

If we could keep a group of bodies on the field with some consistency will make a biggest difference. Lets hope the Okung has a very healthy year then who we plug in the LG and C will have an easier time.

As frustrated as I can get with our O-line in the end they almost always get it done, we lean on nasty road greater types that most like will never the greatest pass blocking group. But the Hawks obviously will sacrifice that to beat the snot out of teams. Been a pretty good formula for a few years now.

I just want 5 guys to play together one whole season and see what happens.

True. Our FO has been very successful of getting by in some areas, particularly the offensive line. A lot of us were wringing our hands last season when we let Breuno and McQuistran go without providing for viable replacements. But Carpenter finally came to the party and Britt turned out to be adequate. It wasn't the fatal flaw some of us were so worried about.

Wide receiver is another area where we've gotten by. Despite letting Tate go and having the Percy Harvin trade blow up in our face, we got by with Baldwin and Kearse.

The FO seems to be more opportunistic when it comes to acquiring talent rather than zeroing in on "must have" players. That's why we so often trade down to acquire more picks rather than up to snatch one of those "must have" players. I get the sense that we develop a wide list of players that would be satisfactory, allowing for more flexibility in our drafting. Even the Graham trade was a case of the Saints sending feelers out to us.

Largent80 · Apr 13, 2015

There is always a need somewhere. Obviously when you lose 2 starters they need to be replaced, so it makes sense that we address it.

Other needs are secondary. These are obvious needs.

WR's need to be developed if they are later round picks, so it also makes sense to draft at least one every year.

nanomoz · Apr 13, 2015

Thank you for sharing. Boling is easily my favorite writers that (occasionally) covers the 'Hawks.

And he seems like a good dude--he's responded to a comment of mine once or twice.

Comic punning aside, can we make an effort to not butcher his name out of respect? It's "Boling," not "Bowling."

vonstout · Apr 13, 2015

This is a great mock draft that I believe gives the best analysis on how we approach the draft. It talks about addressing the OL, but not early in the draft.

http://seahawksdraftblog.com/seahawks-s ... -3rd-april

Jville · Apr 13, 2015

nanomoz":37ndv12a said:
Thank you for sharing. Boling is easily my favorite writers that (occasionally) covers the 'Hawks.

And he seems like a good dude--he's responded to a comment of mine once or twice.

Comic punning aside, can we make an effort to not butcher his name out of respect? It's "Boling," not "Bowling."

Hum ........

....... thanks for noting that.

Out of respect, I'll go edit the title and fix that now.

Paschtorian · Apr 13, 2015

I agree that the O-line (at this point) is a MAJOR priority.

I am NOT sold on Okung. Pro bowler-or-not,.................this guy sprains his "mangina" (at least) once a year.

He ain't Walter (by a long shot).

Defense may win Superbowls, but a stud O-line puts points on the board.

I say, draft the (seriously) "big uglies".

'Nuff said.

brimsalabim · Apr 15, 2015

Seafan":1dpxxhzc said:
Perfect year to have a lot of picks, there is a lot of OL talent in this draft.

This is contrary to reports that I've been reading that state that this draft is low on NFL ready oline and especially guys capable of playing the left side.

LickMyNuts · Apr 15, 2015

Tom Cable will earn every bit of his salary this year.

If we have many injuries on the OL things will get interesting fast.

Dave Boling on the state of the offensive line 4/11/15

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