Offensive Line

[Peppers90 NC]

And do what with Gross? Or were you saying shift Wharton to RT and then who would start at LG?

some people have no idea what the hell they're saying.

[chbright]

duke robinson seams more suitted as a RG mauler than bernadeau. didnt bernadeau play LG when we reshuffled the LT spot when gross went down? what we really need is big jeff back in there to push the right side and possibly move schwartz inside over there (not sold on the idea yet) too. vincent was a stud at getting the push people saw and expected from a power running team. so far we dont have that. i love the push otah gets, but the injuries are really an issue. as nice a backup as the dude is, he is not season starting material yet. great guy to come in fresh at the end of a season, but he is outmatched right now at RT. i am not sold that the dude is going to get the same drive that vincent did last year. likely better than bernadeau, but not as big a mauler as vincent. he will be doing up against bigger stronger guys and while it is true his issues at RT are dealing with the pass rush, he hasnt gone up against 300LB anchors yet.

the sad thing is the 4th and 1 last week was stoned behind the left side where we tied up all the money........ that was where we should have been able to punch it in.

shuffling the line with our currrent roster isnt the answer though. the left side is the best left side we can field right now even if they are not all 100%. the right side is missing 1 huge cog in otah, but a complete reshuffle will not make the line better. we need the mauler back over at RT and then re-evaluate the RG spot.

[MHS831]

Good points. Bernadeau is the reason the cutbacks are not there. He is getting beat a lot. Schwartz will be the RG by mid season, IMO. Gross will be fine--a lot of his success hinges on the play calling-. When the D tees off, anybody looks bad on occasion. We have abandoned the run as fast as I would abandon my wife if Jessica Alba wanted me--and she might.

I think Bernadeau is a career reserve center/LG. Schwartz has good enough feet to pass block at RG and the power to run block. Robinson may be a bust. He fell to the 5th and was considered by many to be the best G in the country.

Williams is coming along nicely, so Wharton needs to stay where he is. Kalil is good, but even he has looked bad on occasion. That is why I blame Davidson. He can't keep the Offense on the field in the first half, and we have to throw in the second.

[2plankingpanther]

The running game doesn't seem as effective w/o B Hoover blocking,why did they get rid of him AND keep D Jarrett?

[TarHeel74]

Jeff Otah please get your big ass back on the field.

[gmonet]

So for the past two weeks the O-line has been burned constantly. What do you think the odds are that after this year we might not see some of our typical "starters" for the past couple years still here? Or if they are still here we spend a couple draft picks on some high end talent with the o-line.

Gross- Has been burned a couple times lately with the pass rush. Played 15 games in 2008, 9 games in 2009, and so far is healthy this year but has been burned by fast DE's coming from the corner. Do we currently have his replacement on our roster? How many years does he have left?

Wharton-Has been a very underrated guard and has done everything we ask him from playing tackle to guard and back and forth. Had injury early in his career but seems to be healthy now. Been in the league a year less than Gross. Whats the average span for a guard to be in the league?

Kalil-Good young center we should lock up asap. Bright spot of a center that can be our next Jeff Saturday and be here for a long time.

Bernadeau-Another one of our young guys who is just starting to get playing time. Look good filling in last year when everyone on our o-line got hurt. This will be his first true year starting and his third year in the league, if he can solidify his technique he could be here for a long time.

Otah/Schwartz-What do we do here in this position? Do we lock up Otah for the long term once his rookie contract is up even though he has yet to play a full season the past three years? You don't want to give a tackle top money if he can't play a full season. Schwartz reminds me of Hangartner. Good fill in guy. Does what is asked but can get burned. I have a feeling same thing will happen with him when is contract is up. Otah will keep getting injuried. We re-sign him, Geoff signs to be a starter and doesn't "shine". Do we draft another RT anytime soon?

So after this read who on our roster other than Kalil and maybe Bernadeau do you see being here long term? I think even though we have had a good o-line past couple years, and have had guys who no one has heard off fill in and not miss a beat....I think its almost time to rebuild our o-line. Anyone disagree?

On Gross: FS king! Now quoted as saying he DID miss the coverage that caused one of the bigger hits on Matt. As you state, very part time employee, and seems to get called on key progressions. Pro-bowler? Talk about living in the past.

On Otah/Schwartz...so true! I have less belief in Otah because he seems to sit there emotion-less, detached and frankly like someone who is thinking about what the future holds. Schwartz is expendable and we need solid everywhere!

To this point I see a OL no better than mediocre and that was not what we saw or hoped for EOS 2009!

[Woodie]

Lets be honest here. It's easy to sit here and complain about the OL, and try and find a scapegoat. However, the reality is that it is almost impossible for 5 or 6 guys to block the 8/9 defenders the opposition has pinning their ears back. Hopefully Clausen can at least hit a few passes to force the defense to keep the safeties back and give the OL a fighting chance. And if that doesn't happen, then we can expect the same problems to continue, Otah or no Otah.

[gmonet]

Lets be honest here. It's easy to sit here and complain about the OL, and try and find a scapegoat. However, the reality is that it is almost impossible for 5 or 6 guys to block the 8/9 defenders the opposition has pinning their ears back. Hopefully Clausen can at least hit a few passes to force the defense to keep the safeties back and give the OL a fighting chance. And if that doesn't happen, then we can expect the same problems to continue, Otah or no Otah.

As long as we continue to be a run 3 and punt team, you are right...but as long as the Ol is as weak as we are showing us to be, they'll pick at the wounds and hope we'll bleed to death.

We have had OL's that owned the D not too long ago, and it all mattered as to who, and what manner, we played! You are right...8-9 is not the ideal to defend against, but that is what you have backs who can nail a dude before he gets to the ball handler..Hoover did it, Moose did it, hell even Goings did it!

OK, Moose was not a back, but anyone not a lineman or QB must be ready to dish out the punishment, NOT take it!

[Woodie]

As long as we continue to be a run 3 and punt team, you are right...but as long as the Ol is as weak as we are showing us to be, they'll pick at the wounds and hope we'll bleed to death.

We have had OL's that owned the D not too long ago, and it all mattered as to who, and what manner, we played! You are right...8-9 is not the ideal to defend against, but that is what you have backs who can nail a dude before he gets to the ball handler..Hoover did it, Moose did it, hell even Goings did it!

OK, Moose was not a back, but anyone not a lineman or QB must be ready to dish out the punishment, NOT take it!

The difference is that we have never had a passing game that was so disrespected that teams sell out to this degree in order to stop the run...not even last year. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the OL is excused from their lackluster play, but I do think it is magnified because teams have no fear that our QB can beat them. And I actually don't think our backs have been doing that bad a job. But the defense is coming in so fast and from so many different angles that it's still not enough to stop all of them.

[Paintballr]

Bump since Jimmy actually did decent for being put on his back the whole game... at this point I just say blow up the line and start almost new except for Kalil

[Paintballr]

Anyone still disagree with rebuilding the o-line when I called it out back in Sept?

[Hoenheim]

O-line definitely needs some work

[RockECU]

I'm sorry, but your assessment of our O-Line play this year is definitely glass half full. After watching today's game, I'm convinced that this is the worst O-Line I have EVER seen. Our center skips a shotgun snap to the QB? Really? That makes me question who is accountable for all of the mishandled snaps. Me thinks it is Kalil now. Because it has happened with every QB if I'm not mistaken. That is high school shi*t. That's just the beginning. I should have made a list for every play during the game in which I was disgusted. I can't believe these guys are getting paid. It's TERRIBLE.

[Matthias]

You add in Mankins next year and get Otah back, we should be good on the O-line. The right side for us has been abysmal all year, the left side gave out because of it. So again, pick up Logan Mankins to fill in at RG, put a healthy Otah back at RT, we will be back to 2008 football and possibly better.