Sooners reporter talks Williams, Sanchez

[Mr. Scot]

John Shinn, a reporter who covers the Oklahoma Sooners, was on WFNZ today talking about a couple of our recent draftees.

Regarding Zack Sanchez, he said that Sanchez is very susceptible to double moves but might not have to worry as much about that playing nickel. He also said that he had never seen Sanchez drop an interception, so when the ball gets in his hands, he's got it.

Asked about Darryl Williams, he said this (paraphrasing):

"He can play all the positions on the line except Center so he'd make a great utility backup. But if you make him a starter, he's going to be one of those guys you're always looking to upgrade from."

Ouch.

[DaanngJohnny]

He's a reporter, not a scout.  Slightly worrisome but I'd trust gentleman's opinion over his.

Interesting though. 

[Mr. Scot]

4 minutes ago, DaanngJohnny said:

He's a reporter, not a scout. 

Valid point.

It can be assumed that he's watched every snap of Oklahoma football for the past several years, but no that doesn't mean he has any kind of eye for talent.

[LinvilleGorge]

He was a 4th round pick for a reason.  Great OT prospects aren't available in the mid-rounds, but that doesn't mean they can't become darn good NFL players.  It just means they probably have a ceiling that's less than elite.  That's okay.  With the salary cap, you're never going to be able to afford to field a team of All-Pros at every position.  I just hope he can be better than Mike Remmers.  We don't need him to be an All-Pro, we just need him to be an upgrade over Mike Remmers who in his own right isn't terrible overall.

[Jeremy Igo]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Valid point.

It can be assumed that he's watched every snap of Oklahoma football for the past several years, but no that doesn't mean he has any kind of eye for talent.

Sounds like he does not.

Daryl Williams has already looked solid at tackle. 

[Eazy-E]

8 minutes ago, 15 said:

how does giving up no sacks for an entire season fall under the category of "needs to be upgraded"?

College and the NFL are two totally different beasts.

[Eazy-E]

I just want to see Williams and Remmers battle it out during camp.

I wish we had competition on the O-line like we do at wide out.

[LinvilleGorge]

Honestly though, we don't need competition along the OL like we do at WR.  I'm just fine with Oher at LT, Kalil at center, and Turner and Norwell at OG.  I'd just like to see RT upgraded.  If we can't upgrade at RT, then Shula just has to get better at compensating for our weakness there when we face good speed rushers.  

I would do hope to see some competition for the backup positions though.  If Oher gets hurt... oh wee mayne.  He may not be an elite LT, but he's the only competent LT we have.  

[The Huddler]

this is like me taking Joe Persons opinion and putting weight in it. 

[MCC]

Yeah, and David Newton watches every Panthers snap, but I wouldn't call on his expert opinion.

[ColumbusCounty]

8 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Honestly though, we don't need competition along the OL like we do at WR.  I'm just fine with Oher at LT, Kalil at center, and Turner and Norwell at OG.  I'd just like to see RT upgraded.  If we can't upgrade at RT, then Shula just has to get better at compensating for our weakness there when we face good speed rushers.  

Exit Remmers Enter Williams and  TE not named Dickson. Along w/ Fully healed Stewart... Will always remember him flipping over that New Orleans player. ..whoever it was.

[Matthias]

Wasn't Williams on his way to starting at RT before the injury?  I hope he steps up because I just don't believe in Remmers.

[KB_fan]

As I keep reflecting on our Oline situation and the surprising lack of adding additional depth up til now.... it's helping me to think of the uniqueness of the Oline and the importance of continuity and chemistry.

As LinvilleGorge just said, it's not like WR where the more competition the better.  You don't want to be rotating guys and trying out a lot of combinations at Oline if you have a solid line with good chemistry.

I'm pretty happy with our current line.  If Daryl Williams can win a spot from Remmers and prove an upgrade at RT, so much the better.

My two concerns are:

1) Lack of solid depth in case of injury at OT.  Yes, we'll have either Remmers or Williams as one backup, but it would be nice to have another backup at tackle - especially one with some experience at LT.  But we can hopefully pick up some experienced vet who gets cut between now and the start of the season.   If the guy is experienced in a system similar to ours, it might not require him to get a lot of reps with the team in training camp, especially if he's OT#4 on the roster - basically the emergency Oline backup.

2) Four of our Five current Oline starters will be in contract years:  Kalil, Oher, Norwell & Remmers.  For awhile I was talking about needing to find and groom Oline backups behind these starters as insurance.  But the more I think about it, I'm realizing that it's hard to develop new Oline players behind full-time starters because of not wanting to mess with the chemistry.  We've already been developing Daryl Williams.  We don't really have a lot of room to try and give some other Oline project any real snaps.

So... I think the plan is going to be to do what it takes to re-sign most of our Oline,  Hopefully they won't all look for top dollar.  (LT is expensive, but Oher's age may keep his Cap hit reasonable.  Norwell & Turner are likely to be pretty pricey.)  But I think we have the cap space to keep most of our line intact for a few more years, and our lack of Oline signings make me think this could be the direction our FO wants to go.

 

TL;DR:  I still want another LT with playing experience to be added to the roster as backup, but barring injury disaster, I'm guessing G'man & co are planning on continuity with this group for awhile.

[Eazy-E]

1 minute ago, 15 said:

that has nothing to do with what I just said.

the sooner reporter said williams is versatile, but you'll constantly be looking to upgrade him. how does not giving up a single sack at tackle for a whole season make one think that? he's never started at tackle in the NFL so that is out of the question.

dudes a fugging idiot, don't try and defend him. 

I am not trying to defend him just going off of basic football knowledge. 

The offenses run in college and the level of competition are very different from the NFL. I mean there is a reason he was a 4th round pick. It sounds like with your assessment of not giving up any sacks he should have been a first if not second round pick. It is why I said I want to watch him and Remmers compete throughout camp. He can prove this reporter wrong. Williams should be able to beat out an undrafted free agent, at least I hope he can. It just makes the Panthers stronger.