cover-2":21snmwb9 said:
Here were my thoughts going into the game and then my thoughts after the game of the starting o-line. Side note: I watched & re-watched every offensive snap at least 5 times with our starting o-line.
(LT) Sowell (before the game) - I had low expectations of him, given that it took him until this last week to be part of the stating o-line. I thought he was going to be a hot mess.
(after the game) - Sowell, at least in this game, looks like he could be an above average LT for us.
(LG) Glowinski (before the game) - I was really excited to see Glo, because of his upside. He is a very good athlete for an o-lineman and he is supposedly one of the strongest players in the weight room.
(after the game) - Glo was very disappointing, not that he was horrible, but I just had such high hopes for him. He fell off blocks, lost his balance a hand full of times, seen him tossed aside a couple of times. Maybe yesterdays game was a one-off for Glo.
(OC) Britt (before the game) - I had completely written off Britt and was expecting to see him look like a new born deer trying to walk on ice. Britt was a turnstile at RT and LG, I was expecting move of the same with him at OC.
(after the game) - Damn, Britt was very impressive at OC. He won the vast majority of his plays, only once did I see him lose his battle. He held his ground, did good at combo blocks, when he pulled to the second level he found a defender to block. Very, very impressive game for Britt.
(RG) Ifedi (before the game) - I was fairly excited to see Ifedi play. I like his size, his playing temperament at practice, and I like the he is a super-sized athlete. I questioned whether his on the field temperament that he has shown at practice would show up on game day, because I didn't really notice it when he was at Texas A&M.
(after the game) - Overall Ifedi had a good game. It was fun to see the few time he got the opportunity to block Chiefs nose tackle Dontari Poe, whom is 6-3 345 lbs and the best nose tackle in the NFL. Ifedi was able to push big Poe around a bit. His on the field bully mentality didn't show up in this game, I was expecting to see him play right up until the echo of the whistle, kind of like Breno Giacomini. Ifedi did get pushed back once or twice back into the QB, but overall he looked nice for his first game.
Great observations and analysis. I missed glow getting pushed around, but believe you did see it. That is a little concerning, but i think it will get worked out.
I missed glow getting pushed around because he was the least I was worried about, and was watching other players. I watched Sowell closely, and man did he play well. I am elated by the prospect. I know Hali and Houston were missing, but kc's d line is great too. And the guys playing behind Hali and Houston are no joke. Both of them have been injured in the past and there wasn't much dropoff in the effectiveness of the d.
Gilliam is no surprise to me. He was top 5 or 10 most improved o lineman by the end of last year, just can't remember where exactly the article I read listed him on list of most improved.
As giliam highlighted himself, he was the backup left tackle his first season on the o line, so I'm not too worried about him if he has to move. But if Sowell can continue to play the way he has, there should be no reason to move him over. Gilliam has the potential to be better than okung, I think they were genius to let the walking injury go.
The first snap, I saw Britt calling protection at the line, and was immediately hopefull. Again, if he can keep this level of play up, he may have found a long term home. The coaches have always said he was a smart player, so maybe this is going to be a natural fit. He wasn't perfect, but I didn't expect him to be. He played 100 times better than I expected. I thought this would be the 1 and only game he started at center. Maybe not. And if he ends up not working out, we know pat lewis can come in and rescue the year.
Ifedi is a monster of a man. He looked really good for a rookie lineman. We may have found us a stud for the next decade plus.
Overall, I am so freaking happy with how this is turning out. I know it was a couple of series, and all of this may be a little premature. But on the other hand, it told us a lot about the potential. They faced a high quality opponent, and consistently won the battle. The communication problems of last year don't seem to exist. These are all monster dudes, and strong as the night is dark. Hopefully glow works out, or evans makes a successful switch to left guard. This group has the potential to be better than average this year, and good to great in the future. I am pretty sure that from the beginning, they will be a lot better than last year. I really hope this line makes all the "doom and gloomers " feel silly at the end of the year, and makes me not look like a douchebag for being so optimistic all off season, lol.
