vonstout":3gdl1c1e said:
I hope you are kidding about moving Britt to LT. He's a good run blocker, but a below average in pass blocking. He'd get Russ killed on the blind side.
Britt was really impressive for a rookie, especially considering he is likely not a natural right side lineman, and considering how heavily he was targeted by defenses on passing downs. Early in the year, he was given a lot of (needed) tight end support, but by the end of the year he demonstrated significant improvement and the Hawks removed the crutch. On his own, he did give up some pressure, but continued to improve throughout the year. People who were dogging on him throughout the season were really shocked at how much we missed him in the NFCCG. He looked fabulous in the final outing.
I suspect he is actually a natural left. In college, he had 24 starts at left tackle and only 6 at right tackle. This would explain some of his struggle in pass pro early in the year, and would help explain why he was so much better in the running game than in pass protection. It also might explain his struggle with holding that outside edge.
Deep into the season, I was still of the opinion that he would likely need to move inside to guard because of his struggle on setting the edge, but I am not so sure now. He never played guard at the college level, and his performance at tackle was admirable for a rookie. I think a full offseason of conditioning and training will help immensely.
This will probably make some heads explode, but I actually think he is our future left tackle in training. Assuming his injuries don't resurface, I could see him taking over for Okung in a year when the big daddy hits free agency. It depends on how Okung holds up this season, and on the money he demands in free agency.
In terms of moving Britt to left guard this year, I would certainly like to watch him and Bailey battle it out. From what I have seen, we don't have any good options after Britt at right tackle so some of this might depend on who we can bring in this offseason. Bailey has performed admirably in both the left tackle and left guard roles and I would have no issue moving him up to start at left guard.
Carpenter is a big loss, but he is the least valuable player on our current offensive line.
-bsd RPA