The offensive line is a problem but it isn't as horrible as people are saying. Wade Smith has dropped in quality over the last two seasons, that I can't and won't deny. Newton seems to make 2 bad plays a game but is solid when not going against a premier pass rusher. He is no Eric Winston but the difference in returns (especially Winston's last few years here) aren't exactly canyon sized. Plus Newton is a freaking 7th round pick who beat out our previous swing tackle (injury may have played a role but the fact remains even before Butler was placed on IR Newton had the position won last season), add to the fact we already drafted a 3rd rounder to compete with him (once he gets healthy) I don't see RT being that worrisome of a position especially in the future. The offensive line hasn't played great but they aren't the worst players in the team and have had spots of great production this season.
What happened to that "HUGE" 350 pounder we drafted a couple of years ago. Can't think of his name. I don't keep up with the OL much.
Brandon Brooks, our starting Right Guard and he lost a lot of weight before they even let him hit the field but is still the heaviest offensive lineman we have on the roster. He is playing pretty well although I hear Myers is helping him on more then a few plays.
Elite teams have elite lines... ones that play well more often than "spots". Frankly, of all the "constants" on this team, the line has been one of the biggest disapointments... inconsistent from the very first game, couldn't pick up the extra man against Tennessee, and they bottomed out on Sunday (albeit more due to injury). Good news is that its still early, and lines do have an ability to hit a stride as the season goes on (see Baltimore, last year). Second biggest dissapointment has been the OLB play... which has further exposed our never-elite secondary.
Don't buy the injury reason on the offensive line, a lot of Tackles have been lost this season, Denver even lost their starting center in training camp along with losing Clady in week 2 but they still got it done. Sure you can put it on the Manning factor but truth is guys stepped up, not seeing that on the offense this season outside of maybe the WR position.
Take a look at the official NFL data comparing our O-line from last year with this year (small sample size obviously) 2013 2012 *Once again, small sample size* A little bit worse in sacks given up: from 8th to 11th this yr Also sort of worse in QB hits given up: 20th to 24th Is this really the O-line or is it Schaub? Rushing avg has jumped from 15th (4.2) to 5th (4.9) However, total rushing attempts have dropped from 4th all the way down to 17th So our run game is more effective, but we are going to it less? An interesting stat is "Rush Power" Rush Pwr from the Left: ranking about the same (20th to 21st), however whereas we used to convert 57%, we have only converted 33% so far. Rush Pwr from the right: last year had the same stats as from the Left (20th, 57%), However, this year has us at 24th with 0% Rush Pwr from the Center: 9th and 75% last year whereas 16th and 50% this year Bottom line: it appears that Schaub is feeling about the same pressure as last year, however, the O line has been worse in run blocking short yardage situations or they are getting less opportunities. Is this drop in opportunities reflected in the drop in total rushing attempts? And when given the chance, Arian and Tate have been more productive. What all of this means: Start Ante..i mean...Keenum
all you have to do is look at our screen plays. we used to be the best at running screens prior to the casualties of briesel and winston, now we can't even get 3 yards out of that play. A bad o-line can change the gameplan. instead of kubiak going for a balance attack against teams that bring pressure from all angles, he will go ultra conservative, routes considered to be safe. But with film study, defense will take the gamble. It's a win win for the D.
I don't know if Briesel and Winston were that good as individual linemen, but I do know that when we had those 5 guys (Brown, Wade, Meyers, Briesel, Winston), our O-line was better than the sum of its parts. And unquestionably the best O-line in franchise history. There is something to be said for continuity. In hindsight, we probably should have kept that line together for a few more years. Winston probably wouldn't have cost much. He loved playing here and has said that he wanted to retire a Texan.
Winston already was costing them a lot... and he signed a big deal as a FA that even that team couldn't afford. Continuity is the biggest thing... which is why I'm hoping this line continues to improve the longer they are together. Right now, they have an injured LT (Brown), a LG coming off injury (Smith), a pro-bowl center, a first-time starter in RG (Brooks) and a RT coming off injury (Newton). Looks pretty bad and non-contiguous on paper. It looks like a mess. What was supposed to be a constant/strength is a total coin-flip (but a unit that can improve... just like the Ravens did last year).
