It appears the current version is: Gilliam- Glow- Britt- Ifedi- Webb
Here are my thoughts:
I think Gilliam will step up this season and become an average LT. He did okay late in the season at RT, and I think he’s a better fit at LT. He still has a huge ceiling left, and I believe by 2017 he will likely be a Top 10 LT.
Glow was one of my guys since way before the 2015 draft. I thought they should have yanked Britt last year and let Glow start at LG, or even switch Sweezy to LG and let Glow play RG. I assume that spending a year with the coaches makes him even more ready, and the move to LG this year shouldn’t be a problem for him. If Britt doesn’t make it at Center and they move Britt back to starting LG, I’m going to be livid.
Britt makes me worried. My gut tells me that if he couldn’t play RT or LG worth a darn, playing Center will be way over his head. Just as before, he still has to block, but now he has to also call plays and snap the darn ball…it could get ugly. But they seem committed to it, so I guess there’s still a chance that he finally shows up. I personally would keep his leash really short and be ready to replace him (actually, if it were up to me, he’d be a swing backup already).
Lewis is tough to figure out. My guess is that they consider him to have a low ceiling and he’s already maxed out. I sensed that they thought Nowak had a higher ceiling than Lewis, and that’s why they started him in Week 1 last year. To be fair, I don’t think Nowak was all that bad last year as compared to Lewis. I think Nowak played against all of the tough teams, and Lewis played through the easy part of the schedule…of course there was also the fact that Russell seemed to be on fire and they were using "quick release" plays more frequently. We’ll never know, but it’s possible that, had Nowak stayed on, he may have done even better than Lewis in the second half of the season. I never really considered Lewis some kind of miracle cure. I believe that Cable is not really sold on Lewis' play calling. My gut tells me they won’t start Lewis this year unless Britt fails at Center in TC or the preseason, or unless both Britt and Hunt are injured.
Ifedi is straight-forward for me. He will be the starting RG, and I think he will stay there the entire season and be at least average. The only caveats would be if injuries of other linemen cause him to be moved around, or perhaps if, Webb fails, I could see Ifedi being moved to RT. If Webb were to fail at RT, I could see the line look like this: Gilliam- Britt, Webb or Odhiambo- Hunt or Lewis- Glow- Ifedi.
Webb is an unknown. I have no clue how he might perform. He’s made some changes in his life and he’s playing on a new team for a decent salary. He could turn out to be an above-average RT, or as I said above, he could even fail. A complete unknown. If he does even an average job, the rest of the line could actually look pretty decent.
I think Sowell will be a competent backup. Not enough recent information to evaluate him. He could even surprise us.
Odhiambo could be another surprise. If he gets a shot due to an injury or another guy’s poor performance, he could be a starting Guard sooner than anybody expected.
I don’t have a lot of faith in Pericak at this point. Too much of an unknown.
Hunt…as I said above, if Britt or Lewis fail, which is a definite possibility, Hunt gets a shot at some point.
Poole is on his last leg. We don’t know if he’ll gain 25 pounds in the current 5-week vacation he’s in. He’s another unknown. I wouldn’t bet the farm on him, at least not just yet.
Sokoli…hmmmm…they’ve invested so much time in him that I can’t see them giving up quite yet. Perhaps he will surprise.
If Britt doesn’t make starting Center for Week 1, I think Lewis will get the nod and Hunt will move up the depth chart to #2 Center.
So here is my best guess at Week 1’s starting O-Line and backups:
Starters- Gilliam, Glow, Lewis, Ifedi, Webb
Backups- Sowell, Odhiambo, Hunt, Britt, Poole
OR Sowell, Odhiambo, Hunt, Sokoli, Britt
Practice Squad- Poole or Sokoli…whichever player doesn’t get the 10th O-Line spot; Pericak, Schwenke or Fant…one of these guys will make PS…not sure if Pericak or Schwenke still qualify.
Here are my thoughts:
I think Gilliam will step up this season and become an average LT. He did okay late in the season at RT, and I think he’s a better fit at LT. He still has a huge ceiling left, and I believe by 2017 he will likely be a Top 10 LT.
Glow was one of my guys since way before the 2015 draft. I thought they should have yanked Britt last year and let Glow start at LG, or even switch Sweezy to LG and let Glow play RG. I assume that spending a year with the coaches makes him even more ready, and the move to LG this year shouldn’t be a problem for him. If Britt doesn’t make it at Center and they move Britt back to starting LG, I’m going to be livid.
Britt makes me worried. My gut tells me that if he couldn’t play RT or LG worth a darn, playing Center will be way over his head. Just as before, he still has to block, but now he has to also call plays and snap the darn ball…it could get ugly. But they seem committed to it, so I guess there’s still a chance that he finally shows up. I personally would keep his leash really short and be ready to replace him (actually, if it were up to me, he’d be a swing backup already).
Lewis is tough to figure out. My guess is that they consider him to have a low ceiling and he’s already maxed out. I sensed that they thought Nowak had a higher ceiling than Lewis, and that’s why they started him in Week 1 last year. To be fair, I don’t think Nowak was all that bad last year as compared to Lewis. I think Nowak played against all of the tough teams, and Lewis played through the easy part of the schedule…of course there was also the fact that Russell seemed to be on fire and they were using "quick release" plays more frequently. We’ll never know, but it’s possible that, had Nowak stayed on, he may have done even better than Lewis in the second half of the season. I never really considered Lewis some kind of miracle cure. I believe that Cable is not really sold on Lewis' play calling. My gut tells me they won’t start Lewis this year unless Britt fails at Center in TC or the preseason, or unless both Britt and Hunt are injured.
Ifedi is straight-forward for me. He will be the starting RG, and I think he will stay there the entire season and be at least average. The only caveats would be if injuries of other linemen cause him to be moved around, or perhaps if, Webb fails, I could see Ifedi being moved to RT. If Webb were to fail at RT, I could see the line look like this: Gilliam- Britt, Webb or Odhiambo- Hunt or Lewis- Glow- Ifedi.
Webb is an unknown. I have no clue how he might perform. He’s made some changes in his life and he’s playing on a new team for a decent salary. He could turn out to be an above-average RT, or as I said above, he could even fail. A complete unknown. If he does even an average job, the rest of the line could actually look pretty decent.
I think Sowell will be a competent backup. Not enough recent information to evaluate him. He could even surprise us.
Odhiambo could be another surprise. If he gets a shot due to an injury or another guy’s poor performance, he could be a starting Guard sooner than anybody expected.
I don’t have a lot of faith in Pericak at this point. Too much of an unknown.
Hunt…as I said above, if Britt or Lewis fail, which is a definite possibility, Hunt gets a shot at some point.
Poole is on his last leg. We don’t know if he’ll gain 25 pounds in the current 5-week vacation he’s in. He’s another unknown. I wouldn’t bet the farm on him, at least not just yet.
Sokoli…hmmmm…they’ve invested so much time in him that I can’t see them giving up quite yet. Perhaps he will surprise.
If Britt doesn’t make starting Center for Week 1, I think Lewis will get the nod and Hunt will move up the depth chart to #2 Center.
So here is my best guess at Week 1’s starting O-Line and backups:
Starters- Gilliam, Glow, Lewis, Ifedi, Webb
Backups- Sowell, Odhiambo, Hunt, Britt, Poole
OR Sowell, Odhiambo, Hunt, Sokoli, Britt
Practice Squad- Poole or Sokoli…whichever player doesn’t get the 10th O-Line spot; Pericak, Schwenke or Fant…one of these guys will make PS…not sure if Pericak or Schwenke still qualify.
