Offensive Line - Silver Lining For Next Year?

In your opinion is there a chance this offensive line could be at least average next year? We can have every one of these guys back if we want to and for cheap. Britt is signed through 2017, and the rest are rooks, a 2nd year player, or in the case of someone like Sowell, it's not like he's gonna get paid in FA.

Carroll has said continuously, you need continuity on the line to be successful. Well, here's our chance. Carroll has also said multiple times that the biggest jump is between your rookie year and 2nd year which would apply to Ifedi, Odihambro and Hunt. I've gotta think it somewhat applies to Glowinski as well.

It seems unlikely, but would like to hear your thoughts.

I actually think this could be the case. I certainly don't accept the opinions of internet coaches and wannabe talent scouts as some kind of gospel.

We'll see, of course, and it never seems a team gets all 5 guys back very often, but perhaps if we get some games playing together, something could be built from the materials at hand.

Having said that, I would expect them to draft at least 1-2 OL this coming off season, though I'm sure many here will complain that we don't draft them high enough.

It appears we are in fair shape in the interior of the line. Glow, Britt, and Ifedi can come together to hopefully become NFL average at their position. We are half way through the 1st year of what may take a year or 2 to perform as hoped.
How great it would be if Fant can blossom into a LT that is workable with a mobile QB.
If that is what we can hope for, we really only need to hit on a RT next year.
If Cable can get this group to an almost NFL average OL by midway through next year, we win.
It is easy to disagree with my post because we all want a top flight OL, but the braintrust of the team believes the best chance to win is to allocate $ to position groups other than the OL.

Should see improvement this year, just put a Cowboys star on the uniforms and start holding.

I think we are in a position that we can replace just one starter next year. Right tackle. If we can just stay in that place of replacing one starter a year on the OL, instead of, you know, all of them, I think we'll be good.

If the Redskins don't resign Ty Nsekhe I wouldn't mind seeing him land here.

We all thought we turned a corner last year too. I think this is just how this team operates.

0 % chance. Under this staff our oline has never been more than average. We were able to camouflage that with superhuman play from some QB and RB positions. Our staff/office got cocky though. As rookie deals were replaced by actual contracts our brain trust thought our QB could continue to cover the line's inadequate play even if they replaced the few average players with guys who were not NFL caliber players at all. This made it easier to fit all of the key defensive starters and some really nice depth under the cap. This way our defensive head coach can field a top defense with out having to work too hard on Xs & Os. Well it worked for the defense but our QB and all our running backs have been beaten to a pulp attempting to play behind an offensive lineman made up of projects and out right rejects. Unfortunately there is no cap left to fix the problem and even if there was our coach refuses to admit there is a problem. As I see it our only hope is that Russell Wilson gets so beat up that he uses some of his own contract to purchase a body guard.

McGruff":1li038ak said:

I think we are in a position that we can replace just one starter next year. Right tackle. If we can just stay in that place of replacing one starter a year on the OL, instead of, you know, all of them, I think we'll be good.

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I respectfully disagree. We have a staff in place that thought it would be okay to go with a starting offensive line where three players had 0 experience at their positions, one had zero experience with the game itself, and one had been cut from multiple teams. Any one of these guys might have worked out on their own if plugged into an already experienced or otherwise talented offensive line but there was 0 chance that rolling the dice on ALL 5 offensive line positions at once would pay off! Any staff that would even attempt such malarkey is too stupid to recover from. It
Is not enough to replace one player. More of the same moves won't get it done.
We need to replace the person responsible for making this call to begin with unless he is willing to learn from his mistakes.

It would be nice to get some continuity with the guys but I hope they'll be some changes. I agree the interior is in good shape but I wonder if they might try moving Ifedi out to tackle? My hope is we draft a Tackle and let Fant, Obmutmbo, Gilliam and new guy battle it out for those positions. With Carolina, Arizona and LA on the schedule to finish it will interesting to see how this group finishes the year.

WindCityHawk":3ev1y8sv said:

We all thought we turned a corner last year too. I think this is just how this team operates.

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Om, we blew up the entire line because we knew we hadn't turned a corner there. Sure, the offense improved through scheming, but that was in spite of the line, not becuase of it.

brimsalabim":2zwqcdzz said:

McGruff":2zwqcdzz said:

I think we are in a position that we can replace just one starter next year. Right tackle. If we can just stay in that place of replacing one starter a year on the OL, instead of, you know, all of them, I think we'll be good.

Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. We have a staff in place that thought it would be okay to go with a starting offensive line where three players had 0 experience at their positions, one had zero experience with the game itself, and one had been cut from multiple teams. Any one of these guys might have worked out on their own if plugged into an already experienced or otherwise talented offensive line but there was 0 chance that rolling the dice on ALL 5 offensive line positions at once would pay off! Any staff that would even attempt such malarkey is too stupid to recover from. It
Is not enough to replace one player. More of the same moves won't get it done.
We need to replace the person responsible for making this call to begin with unless he is willing to learn from his mistakes.

Click to expand...

Oh, I think they knew the risks, but figured the risk was worth the wait. Coaches, especially coaches with a top 5 defense, top 5 offense, 5 year playoff run and 2 Superbowl appearances on their resume, have the benefit of playing the long game. Of course they want to win every game every year, but they also want to build for the future. They've been in bandaid mode in the OL since they got here. I get the sense they are trying to move beyond that by investing in young guys with athletic potential, and they are trying to let them grow together.

It's why Sowell makes no sense to me.

But if I am reading you right, I'm guessing you don't see a silver lining, right? Nothing positive that could be coming out of the current oline configuration?

McGruff":2n3wqcpu said:

brimsalabim":2n3wqcpu said:

McGruff":2n3wqcpu said:

I think we are in a position that we can replace just one starter next year. Right tackle. If we can just stay in that place of replacing one starter a year on the OL, instead of, you know, all of them, I think we'll be good.

Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. We have a staff in place that thought it would be okay to go with a starting offensive line where three players had 0 experience at their positions, one had zero experience with the game itself, and one had been cut from multiple teams. Any one of these guys might have worked out on their own if plugged into an already experienced or otherwise talented offensive line but there was 0 chance that rolling the dice on ALL 5 offensive line positions at once would pay off! Any staff that would even attempt such malarkey is too stupid to recover from. It
Is not enough to replace one player. More of the same moves won't get it done.
We need to replace the person responsible for making this call to begin with unless he is willing to learn from his mistakes.

Click to expand...

Oh, I think they knew the risks, but figured the risk was worth the wait. Coaches, especially coaches with a top 5 defense, top 5 offense, 5 year playoff run and 2 Superbowl appearances on their resume, have the benefit of playing the long game. Of course they want to win every game every year, but they also want to build for the future. They've been in bandaid mode in the OL since they got here. I get the sense they are trying to move beyond that by investing in young guys with athletic potential, and they are trying to let them grow together.

It's why Sowell makes no sense to me.

But if I am reading you right, I'm guessing you don't see a silver lining, right? Nothing positive that could be coming out of the current oline configuration?

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I agree McGruff,

I don't believe our FO is deliberately cutting or releasing good O-line talent. I believe we haven't found the right group of guys to this point but the future looks bright to me.

This FO is all about competition and team first mentality and the doesn't stop on the field. When a player shows up after the off season out of shape they have one foot out the door. I'd they can't be relied upon to stay healthy within reason, they have one foot out the door. When they put themselves before the team, they have one foot out the door.

We watched then give Unger a nice fat contract and let others like Carp and Unger both walk. We have watched them give Britt every possible chance and it now looks like the smart move.

This draft our philosophy changed and we actually went after guys with O-line experience get drafted instead of training defensive players.

I like what we are trying to build and believe the only way it will succeed is with guys who are willing and able to put in the work. If you believe in Pete's philosophy it makes sense they are trying to build the line the way they have built the rest of the team.

Maybe we see Ifedi move to right tackle and Sowell move inside next year.

I get a kick out of people who state "We can't do the same old thing again" and then add that we have to blow up the O-line and replace everybody.

Hint, we just did that this year. Sounds like you want that to be an annual thing. :34853_doh:

Sooner or later, you have to pick your guys and stay with them. I suspect next season's line will look a lot like our current line.

McGruff":if304jfu said:

I think we are in a position that we can replace just one starter next year. Right tackle. If we can just stay in that place of replacing one starter a year on the OL, instead of, you know, all of them, I think we'll be good.

Click to expand...

I think this as well. I don't want the whole line back, but I think a piece, maybe two and the line should be pretty good to go.

HawkGA":2ozpv3gj said:

McGruff":2ozpv3gj said:

I think we are in a position that we can replace just one starter next year. Right tackle. If we can just stay in that place of replacing one starter a year on the OL, instead of, you know, all of them, I think we'll be good.

Click to expand...

I think this as well. I don't want the whole line back, but I think a piece, maybe two and the line should be pretty good to go.

Click to expand...

Supposedly Ifedi was drafted to be the right tackle but they wanted to get him some experience before putting him there.

I look at Sowell and he kind of reminds me of Chris Gray. Not an athletic freak but a guy who is willing to do whatever it takes. Maybe he could be a good journeyman guard for us.

When Sowell was injured it broke his heart. It was obvious. It was also obvious he was willing to work his ass off to get back on the field.

Chris Gray tore an ACL toward the end of the season and was back to start game one the next year. He was never a stud but he was said to be the hardest worker on the O-line and maybe the team.

I could see this line possibly developing into a very good unit if things pan out.

I myself will keep a watch on Fant. He has looked good so far all things considered. Hopefully he uses the off season to develop and comes back next year ready to play instead of pulling a Gilliam or Bailey.

Hopefully the lineman we have now have enough examples of players losing their position and often their roster spot, that they take their opportunity seriously.

Wonder what happened to Michael Bowie? He was the RT for some of the season during the Superbowl winning season. He should still be young and he did play well. Maybe they can bring him back?

To the OP, nope. Even if we do keep the same players for once what is there in the history of Cable coaching and player selection that suggest improvement will be linear?
Gilliam was last year's wonder SPARQ drool, going to be the answer at LT, and this year he can barely play RT.
Could go exactly the same way with Fant. That's the thing with these projects, the consistency in play and growth isn't there. Remember how Nowak was the best option at center to begin last year?
We have maybe two or three guys we can count on improving or staying the same. Ifedi, glowinski, Britt, and glowinski hasn't been doing great so far nor has Ifedi so those are just projections. It's totally possible, likely even, that we will go into next season with a "plan" on the edges and find ourselves scrambling once more 8 games in on the edges at least.
Cable has yet to produce a single player worth a second contract. We can say they have gone cheap on OL but every decision to let a cable developed player go was defensible. Pay sweezy who never protected consistently? Pay carp and hope he stayed in shape? And those were the cable "success stories".

brimsalabim":24we9b54 said:

0 % chance. Under this staff our oline has never been more than average. We were able to camouflage that with superhuman play from some QB and RB positions. Our staff/office got cocky though. As rookie deals were replaced by actual contracts our brain trust thought our QB could continue to cover the line's inadequate play even if they replaced the few average players with guys who were not NFL caliber players at all. This made it easier to fit all of the key defensive starters and some really nice depth under the cap. This way our defensive head coach can field a top defense with out having to work too hard on Xs & Os. Well it worked for the defense but our QB and all our running backs have been beaten to a pulp attempting to play behind an offensive lineman made up of projects and out right rejects. Unfortunately there is no cap left to fix the problem and even if there was our coach refuses to admit there is a problem. As I see it our only hope is that Russell Wilson gets so beat up that he uses some of his own contract to purchase a body guard.

Click to expand...

You are spot on. The front office put their money elsewhere. We have had a weak line for some time. M Lynch hid that fact by being so physical going through the line. The line has been exposed for what it is. We pass a lot more because we can't
run. And it starts up front. Go Hawks!

Let us see what transpires the rest of this year and the playoffs, then talk about silver linings.

The line is very young in the middle and getting experience which is good, same could be said for LT except the body of work is too small right now.

RT?........ ukeface: