NoCalMike Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 You can't deny that last season the Cowboys had arguably the best O-line PERFORMANCE in the NFL.....I think as individual lineman the Cowboys only rank middle of the pack, but together as a line they got the job done for most of the season....however towards the last month of the season including the playoff game loss to the Giants, you could see the difference between a line that plays well together, and a unit of truely great lineman. The Cowboys had a lot of over-achieving on the line last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skindogger47 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 You can't deny that last season the Cowboys had arguably the best O-line PERFORMANCE in the NFL.....I think as individual lineman the Cowboys only rank middle of the pack, but together as a line they got the job done for most of the season....however towards the last month of the season including the playoff game loss to the Giants, you could see the difference between a line that plays well together, and a unit of truely great lineman. The Cowboys had a lot of over-achieving on the line last year. They're going to miss Fasano, but Jason Garrett gameplanned to make these guys look great. Too bad they got RUN OVER in the playoffs. Oh, and could only scrape together ONE YARD against us in the finale. And people say they weren't trying, Barber had a 1000 yard clause in his contract he was definately trying to reach at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madden lot Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10851305 If Jansen and left tackle Chris Samuels can stay on the field, He lost all of what little crediblilty (sp?) he had when he didn't mention anything about CS being a superstar 5 time probowler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngloSackSon Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 How anyone could have Minnesota at anything but #1 simply astounds me. Absolutely, 100% correct. Stuff like this rank list are what gives me headaches in the offseason. Barber had a 1000 yard clause in his contract he was definately trying to reach at the time. That rainy Sunday was pretty sweet. Barber is a talented back, but his TD production alone should not have punched his ticket to Hawaii. The Cowboys O-line benefitted from Romo sits to pee's improv in the backfield. Remember how mediocre they were with Bledsoe at the helm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamroller#99 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Wasn't Gurode the guy who kept chucking the ball into Romo sits to pee's face? And this guy thinks he's the Puke's best offensive line player? Okaaaay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zCommander Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Dallas Cowboys Best player: C Andre Gurode. Weak link: LG Kyle Kosier. The skinny: This is an outstanding line from tackle to tackle. Picking out a weak line is tough, but Kosier is the choice. Gurode and right guard Leonard Davis are both coming off outstanding seasons. It will be interesting to see how left tackle Flozell Adams plays with his new contract. Rating: 1 San Diego Chargers Best player: LG Kris Dielman. Weak link: RT Jeromey Clary. The skinny: This line opens a lot of holes for LaDainian Tomlinson. The left side, with Dielman and tackle Marcus McNeil, is very good. Center Nick Hardwick and right guard Mike Goff are above-average players as well, although Goff is getting older at 32. Clary took over as a starter midway through last year and did OK, but he needs to be a better run blocker. Rating: 2 New England Patriots Best player: LG Logan Mankins. Weak link: RT Nick Kaczur. The skinny: This is a unit that took a beating for the way it played in the Super Bowl loss. They struggled in pass protection. But Dante Scarnecchia, the best line coach in football, should get this unit back on track. Mankins is one of the game's best and center Dan Koppen went to the Pro Bowl last season. Left tackle Matt Light needs to play better. Right guard is a concern. Rating: 3 Indianapolis Colts Best player: C Jeff Saturday. Weak link: Whoever starts at right guard. The skinny: The Colts always have a quality line, and this year's group is no different. Saturday is a Pro Bowl player and second-year left tackle Tony Ugoh can get there. Look for rookie Mike Pollak to possibly start at right guard ahead of Charles Johnson. The line had a lot of injuries to deal with last season, but came through them well. Rating: 4 Jacksonville Jaguars Best player: RT Tony Pashos. Weak link: LT Khalif Barnes. The skinny: This is one of the best lines in the league. There are no real weak spots. Barnes' only troubles have been focus. If he's focused, he's a heck of a player. The team is moving Vince Manuwai from left guard to right guard and look for second-year player Uche Nwaneri to push Maurice Williams at left guard. Rating: 5 Cleveland Browns Best player: LT Joe Thomas. Weak link: C Hank Fraley. The skinny: The addition of Thomas last year as a rookie and free-agent guard Eric Steinbach really improved the line, especially the left side. The right side isn't as good, but the addition of guard Rex Hadnot might help the run game. Fraley is solid at center, but he has trouble with the big nose tackles. Rating: 6 New York Giants Best player: RG Chris Snee. Weak link: LG Rich Seubert. The skinny: The Giants' line exceeded expectations last season, especially the tackles. Right tackle Kareem McKenzie and left tackle David Diehl played good football in the Super Bowl run. Center Shaun O'Hara is underrated. Snee is a Pro Bowl player who hasn't gone yet, while Seubert is a fighter. Rating: 7 Minnesota Vikings Best player: LG Steve Hutchinson. Weak link: RT Ryan Cook. The skinny: Hutchinson and left tackle Bryant McKinnie are very good on the left side, but the right side is a concern. Center Matt Birk is getting up in the years, but he can still play at a high level. Right guard Anthony Herrera is good in the run game. Rating: 8 Philadelphia Eagles Best player: RG Shawn Andrews. Weak link: LG Todd Herremans. The skinny: This was the unit that helped the Eagles to the playoffs in 2006. But it didn't play as well last season, giving up 49 sacks after 29 the year before. Andrews was clearly the best of the group, but the others didn't play as well as they did in 2006. Tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan are getting up in years, and that's a concern. Center Jamaal Jackson needs to play better. Rating: 9 Green Bay Packers Best player: RT Mark Tauscher. Weak link: Both guard spots. The skinny: In Tauscher and left tackle Chad Clifton, the Packers have a good combination. Center Scott Wells is a good player, but isn't powerful. It's the guard play that worried the team last season. They need to get better play from both guard spots in 2007 if this line is going to make strides. Rating: 10 Seattle Seahawks Best player: LT Walter Jones. Weak link: RG Rob Sims. The skinny: Jones is the best in football. He continues to play at a high level. Right tackle Sean Locklear is solid. The interior is made up of a center Chris Spencer, veteran (Mike Wahle) at left guard and Rob Sims at right guard. Wahle was signed as a free agent. Spencer needs to play better inside than he did a year ago for the line to improve. Sims moves over from left guard. Rating: 11 Tennessee Titans Best player: LT Michael Roos. Weak link: LG Eugene Amano or Leroy Harris. The skinny: In Roos and right tackle David Stewart, the Titans have one of the best tackle duos in the game. Roos has Pro Bowl ability right now. Amano or Harris will move in as a full-time starter for the first time, which is a concern. Center Kevin Mawae is still playing at a high level. Rating: 12 New Orleans Saints Best player: RG Jahri Evans. Weak link: C Jonathan Goodwin. The skinny: Evans plays at a Pro Bowl level and left tackle Jammal Brown is a good player as well. The biggest concern is center, where Jonathan Goodwin takes over for the departed Jeff Faine. Right tackle Jon Stinchcomb needs to revert to his 2006 form. He could be pushed for his job this summer. Rating: 13 New York Jets Best player: LG Alan Faneca. Weak link: RT Damien Woody. The skinny: They added Faneca and Woody in free agency. The Woody move will be one to watch because he's moving from guard/center to full-time tackle. Does he have the feet to handle the speed out there? The key for this group will be if left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and center Nick Mangold show better than they did last season. Rating: 14 Buffalo Bills Best player: LT Jason Peters. Weak link: C Melvin Fowler. The skinny: Peters is a Pro Bowl player and the rest of the line is solid, if not great. This is a line that should get better each of the next few seasons as they develop. The Bills spent a lot of money last year to get Walker and left guard Derrick Dockery in free agency -- and it appeared to pay off. Dockery really played well. Fowler needs to play better. Rating: 15 Washington Redskins Best player: RG Randy Thomas. Weak link: C Casey Rabach. The skinny: The Redskins line was hurt last season when Jon Jansen was lost for all but one game with an injury and Thomas missed most of the season. If Jansen and left tackle Chris Samuels can stay on the field, the Redskins have a solid line. Thomas and Pete Kendall give them two veteran guards who get the job done. They have some quality depth in Jason Fabini and Stephen Heyer, two players forced to start last season because of the injuries to Thomas and Jansen. Rating: 16 Cincinnati Bengals Best player: RT Stacey Andrews. Weak link: C Eric Ghiaciuc The skinny: The Bengals had problems on their line last season with injuries to starting tackles Willie Anderson and Levi Jones. Andrews stepped in and played well in place of Anderson, which is why the team re-signed him before he hit the free-agent market. Ghiaciuc struggled with big power players last season. Rating: 17 Houston Texans Best player: RT Eric Winston. Weak link: LT Duane Brown. The skinny: The Texans have had problems at left tackle their entire existence, but Brown steps in as a rookie and will likely start. That's a risk in a division with Dwight Freeney. Winston is underrated at right tackle. The interior will be better with the acquisition of center Chris Myers from Denver. Adding Alex Gibbs to coach this group will help. Rating: 18 Denver Broncos Best player: LG Ben Hamilton. Weak link: The right tackle spot. The skinny: The Broncos line, which has been a strong point in recent years, wasn't so good last season. That's why Denver picked Ryan Clady in the first round. He will start at left tackle. The rest of the line will see a lot of competition for jobs. At right tackle, Erik Pears should battle Chris Kuper for the starting job. Getting left guard Ben Hamilton back from injury is huge. Center will be a battle between Tom Nalen and Casey Wiegmann. Rating: 19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Best player: LG Arron Sears. Weak link: LT Luke Petitgout. The skinny: The Bucs have worked hard to improve their line and it's showing. In Sears and right guard Davin Joseph they have two guards who should be starters for a long time. Acquiring center Jeff Faine in free agency will help. He isn't strong in the run game, which can hurt. Donald Penn could push Petitgout. Rating: 20 Carolina Panthers Best player: LT Jordan Gross. Weak link: The right guard spot. The skinny: The Panthers won't have one player starting in the same position he started in last season. But the line will be better. Gross moves from right tackle to the left side with rookie Jeff Otah in as the starter on the right side. Ryan Kalil takes over at center. Vincent will try to beat out Toniu Fonoti and Milford Brown at right guard. Rating: 21 Arizona Cardinals Best player: RG Deuce Lutui. Weak link: Center Al Johnson. The skinny: This is a unit that improved greatly in 2006. And with right tackle Levi Brown now in his second season it should be even better. Lutui developed into a quality guard last season and left tackle Mike Gandy was a pleasant surprise. They do need to block better for the run game. Rating: 22 Oakland Raiders Best player: RG Cooper Carlisle. Weak link: Right tackle spot. The skinny: The Raiders bypassed the chance to take an offensive tackle and instead picked running back Darren McFadden in the first round. So who blocks for him? The best of the weak group is Carlisle, who played well last season. Left guard Robert Gallery was a bust at tackle and pretty good inside. Adding John Wade isn't the answer at center. Kwame Harris is an upgrade over Barry Sims at left tackle, but not by much. The right tackle will be either Cornell Green or Mario Henderson or Paul McQuistan. Rating: 23 Pittsburgh Steelers Best player: LT Marvel Smith. Weak link: LG Chris Kemoeatu. The skinny: They've traditionally had one of the better lines in the NFL. But with the loss of guard Alan Faneca and the poor development of players like tackles Willie Colon and Max Starks, the line isn't what it used to be. Smith had back surgery in the offseason that needs to be watched. Justin Hartwig will be an upgrade over Sean Mahan at center. Rating: 24 Baltimore Ravens Best player: RG Jason Brown. Weak link: RT Marshall Yanda. The skinny: Brown is a rising star whose best football is in front of him. Left tackle Jonathan Ogden can still play at a high level if he doesn't retire, but not the way he did a few years back. There are some good, young players on this line who should get better in 2008. There will be a lot of competition for jobs. Yanda, the starting right tackle at the end of 2007, could be moved inside if a young tackle emerges. Rating: 25 Chicago Bears Best player: RT John Tait. Weak link: LT Chris Williams. The skinny: Tait moves from the left side to the right side, his natural position, and rookie first-round pick Chris Williams will start on the left side. Center Olin Kreutz isn't the player he once was and the guards are average. Right guard Roberto Garza is average at best, and John St. Clair moves from tackle to left guard. Rating: 26 Detroit Lions Best player: C Dominic Raiola. Weak link: RT Gosder Cherilus. The skinny: The Lions had major problems at right tackle last season so they will turn to rookie first-round pick Cherilus. Starting a rookie is always dicey. Raiola is the best of this line, with left tackle Jeff Backus second best. The guards are just OK. Left guard Edwin Mulitalo is a good run blocker. Rating: 27 St. Louis Rams Best player: LT Orlando Pace. Weak link: The center spot. The skinny: This line was terrible last season because of injuries. They get Pace back from injury, which is huge. He has missed big parts of the past two seasons. They also will have right guard Richie Incognito back, which is important to the run game. At center, Brett Romberg will try to fend off Mark Setterstrom. The problem is neither is good enough. Rating: 28 Miami Dolphins Best player: RT Vernon Carey. Weak link: The right guard spot. The skinny: This is a line in rebuild mode. The drafting of left tackle Jake Long with the first overall pick in this year's draft will help the improvement. He will be a good one. That move allows Carey to go back to the right side. They overpaid for left guard Justin Smiley in free agency, but he will be an upgrade. The other guard spot is open to competition with rookie Shawn Murphy in the battle. Center Samson Satele is a young player to watch in coming years. Rating: 29 San Francisco 49ers Best player: LT Joe Staley. Weak link: C Eric Heitmann. The skinny: They will move Staley from right tackle to the left side. He played the right side as a rookie, but is more of a left tackle. Look for rookie Chilo Rachal to start at guard, although he has worked some at right tackle. The inside people are average at best. Rookie Cody Wallace could challenge Heitmann. Rating: 30 Kansas City Chiefs Best player: LG Brian Waters. Weak link: C Rudy Niswanger. The skinny: The Chiefs were really bad last season up front, a big departure from recent seasons. Age and retirements set them back, so they are looking to improve. Rookie first-round pick Branden Albert will start at left tackle, which will help. Waters is still a top-flight guard. The rest of the line is so-so at best. Niswanger is a first-year starter at center, but he has potential. Rating: 31 Atlanta Falcons Best player: LG Justin Blalock. Weak link: The right tackle position, whoever starts -- if it isn't Blalock. The skinny: This is a young group in transition. First-round pick Sam Baker will be the starting left tackle and will be a good one down the road but he is a rookie. This is a unit that might be overmatched early in the season. Blalock, now in his second season, could start at either guard or right tackle, depending where he is needed. Center Todd McClure is a decent player in the middle. Rating: 32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Got to give credit to Dallas though for one thing, last season the Skins looked at Leonard Davis as I recall first -- they took a pass. The Cowboys looked at him next and signed him.Granted he didn't come cheap for them. But he was a pro bowler and I got a football preview magazine that ranks him as the 2nd best guard in the league now. I recall some on the board mocking that signing by the Boys along with Hamlin and Hamlin too was a pro-bowler last season. So they did strike gold in FA. Nonetheless, I do think this guy is underrating the Skins O'line. Rabach is a decent center. Thomas is a stud of a guard. Samuels is a constant pro bowler. Rabach and Kendall are decent. Jansen is a wild card to me, he was once good but he was up and down his last healthy season -- remember the Parcells comment about him not being the same player? And now is older and coming off a major injury. Yeah, because we all know pro-bowls are a direct correlation to how good a player is. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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