Can our OL compete?

[wvtbred]

I don't think Okung will fall to us. I see the Lions taking him.

Ditto

[J-bomb]

i agree with authentic that mcnabb will help the line a bit, but i'm curious as to why you think they werent that bad? we had 2 scrubs off the street (one of them out of football for a couple of years with a severe weight issue) starting for us. heyer was playing hurt all year (i agree that if he's healthy he will be better). our 2 best linemen went down (samuels and thomas). somehow our center appeared overmatched most of the year, but he got a nice contract. i think dock was our only passable linemen. our tackles, according to PFF were in the bottom 7 in the entire league.

i think our line was probably the worst in the league.

I attribute the bad Oline play to terrible Offensive schemes that we ran under Zorn. I believe that MS watched the tape and seen JC as a problem and play calling as a problem those have and will be fixed. When teams know what your doing on offense its pretty hard to be successfull in this league. I tend to not follow media hype and will side with the opinion of MS/BA if they feel OL is needed at 4 then so be it but if we go QB,trade dwn or BPA then they obvious know what we need this year and they are going after it!

[DCMONEY]

I hope I'm totally wrong in my evaluation of the current O-line.

LT Okung if they draft him he'll be learning and would be a rookie.

LG Derrick Dockery has greatly under achieved for his size and potential coming out of Texas. You would've thought he be good going against Shawn Rogers and Casey Hampton everyday in practice

C Casey Rabach is average at best. And I mean barely average

RG Mike Williams is a c minus RG

RT Stephon Heyer is what he is. He's a C pass blocker and a D run blocker which makes him a D player.

So this O-line if its gonna be the one, I think its a grade D which will amount to F results.

As I've stated I hope I'm totally wrong. I've been hoping that I'm wrong going into the season for the last few years now. Without andy significant cHanges on the O-line, I don't see things changing much IMO.

[Oldfan]

So think about what's changed:

1. New head coach known for developing great offensive lines with non-premiere talent.

You are the first person I've heard this from.

2. New offensive coordinator known for the same.

I've never heard this before either.

3. A better quarterback who can avoid the rush and make plays.

This hasn't been true since 2005.

4. Likely a stud LT in the first round of the draft.

If Detroit doesn't take Okung, maybe.

5. Some free agent depth that will add to the corps we currently have.

You mean somebody they haven't already looked at and made an offer?

[grego]

The offensive line last year wasn't great obviously, but it wasn't the worst in the league. I think the O-line issues are exaggerated by the media and the over excited fan base.

Think about it:

1. We had Samuels and Thomas out the whole season.

2. Other plays like Mike Williams, Levi Jones, Heyer, etc were okay, and hurt on occassion.

3. We had a semi-amateur head coach in Zorn who was clearly over his head.

4. We changed play calling duties in the middle of the season.

5. We had a quarterback who has a slow release and sack prone by nature.

Yet we still ranked 16th in passing yards and 22in rush yards while giving up top 5 most sacks. Not great, but not the worst in the league.

samuels played a few games, but clearly when he went down, there was no replacement.

your second point i would disagree with. i think they were awful. so does profootballfocus. not saying they are the end-all for opinions, but i think theres a reason they had both tackles ranked in the bottom 7 in tackles in the NFL.

williams was much better at guard though.

exactly right, imo, in your third, fourth and fifth point.

as for rushing game, i believe if you account for campbells rushing yards, only the colts had fewer rushing yards than the skins. and they have peyton, so its no biggie for them.

imo, all of the above is why i think we might have had the worst line in the league. but- clearly, we were better when lewis was calling plays.

[alwaysaskin]

With Heyer starting, you're doing nothing but competing for another top 5 draft pick. Shanahan wants to run the ball. It's been the key to his success as a coach. Heyer is a very poor run blocker.

Our best scenario would be for someone like Rinehart to win the RG job and move Hicks to RT. Dock has LG locked down. LT will most likely be a rookie and we'd be in great shape if he excels. Rabach is still a weakness. He'll need to be replaced at some point if we want to get our OL to the next level.

Heyer makes up for it by being an even worse pass blocker. We need two Tackles in the draft, as well as a Guard and Center as Rabach was a pretty crappy center. The thing was that Campbell never threw clowns like Heyer under the bus, when they so richly deserved it

[HigSkin]

I'm for upgrading the Oline in the draft, don't get me wrong. But i'm of the belief that a great QB automatically upgrades the Oline. Imagine how may plays Mcnabb has made in his career when the line has broken down. I'm certain the reason why Shanny went after DM because of his familiarity with the system and the fact that he's able to read defenses and get the ball out of his hands quickly, 2 attributes that you need as a WC quarterback. My :2cents:

This is on point! Good thoughts AU

[angel2]

I'm happy with the McNabb move, we have the franchise QB we've been looking for and only gave up a 2nd and a 3rd rounder next year.

But, in order to reap the benefits of a franchise QB we must upgrade the OL.

I think our OL has already improved with Heyer being healthy, Mike Williams returning in better football condition (at guard) and the addition of Artis Hicks as a challenge or insurance for Heyer and Williams.

I also think the fact that we haven't signed Levi Jones (the 3/4th worst OT in football last year) is plus.

You be the GM what's your speculation on how can we move the pieces around and improve the OL?:

Heyer is the weak link and the coach knows it. That's why the coach has sent out an SOS to Heyer, either get ready for the competition coming your way or subject yourself to being cut.

Hopefully, Heyer will catch their drift or if he doesn't then someone is going to take his place.

[jasjhughes]

We need 2 OTs and G in the draft and then we can compete. They need to be the first three picks.

[Destino]

We need 2 OTs and G in the draft and then we can compete. They need to be the first three picks.

So the plan is to draft 5th round Right Tackle and a 6th round guard that can start right away? Good luck with that.

[skins island connection]

He will surely make the line better, as well as the rest of the offense for that matter.

Not mentioned, at leat I didn't really see it, but over the last few years, every other team KNEW JC would crumble under pressure, make bad decisions, etc, etc, and at times yes the line may have broken down, but for the most part they are not as bad as people see.

Motivation and expectations go a long long way in making a player want to win, and if they see their QB out there playing to his potential, bet your bottom dollar the o-line will play better.

I would not have blamed the o-line for giving up on JC, because they knew he would always depend on them and point the finger at them for his own failure...

[Buck812]

I doubt they can compete but Im very excited to watch McPOS play behind them

[elkabong82]

If the OL looks something like:

LT: Okung, Heyer

LG: Dockery, Lichtenstein

C: Rabach, Lichtenstein

RG: Rinehart, Williams

RT: Hicks, draft pick

then I think it can be decent enough. not world-beating or anything, but manageable

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

If the OL looks something like:

LT: Okung, Heyer

LG: Dockery, Lichtenstein

C: Rabach, Lichtenstein

RG: Rinehart, Williams

RT: Hicks, draft pick

then I think it can be decent enough. not world-beating or anything, but manageable

Yeah. We'll be a decent line. If Rinehart or Williams break through, it'll get that much better since it'll relieve pressure off of Rabach.

If we don't land Okung...god help us.

[mcgraw238]

If the OL looks something like:

LT: Okung, Heyer

LG: Dockery, Lichtenstein

C: Rabach, Lichtenstein

RG: Rinehart, Williams

RT: Hicks, draft pick

then I think it can be decent enough. not world-beating or anything, but manageable

What about bring Levi back as the RT with Hicks sliding inside to compete at RG and backup LG?

[Hooper]

The line definitely needs to be addressed. Big time.

But teams knew they could bring the house against JC over and over and he would never make them pay.

That won't be the case with Donny Mac.

[wildbill1952]

30+ year old QB's do not play well after taking a pounding, week after week. I have always been a fan of McNabb as a person. He showed a lot of class in Philadelphia. I have very high hopes for him here. But before he plays a down, and before it's called an excuse, the Skins better have some other OLine in place if they expect him to play the entire season.

A "healthy and improving Heyer"? Improved over what? Last year's Heyer or the year before? The guy is ranked in the bottom 5 of all offensive tackles in the league. The only way his numbers are going to improve is if he stays on the bench for most of the year.

Rabach? Undersized and old. Dockery? The closest to average on the entire OL. Williams? A great story and a guy who flat out could not play OT so they made him a guard. Rinehart? The hope of the Redskins for any improvement. The blind side tackle? Oh yeah, we don't have one.

The draft? One pick in the first 100. The running game? Depends on the OL also.

Maybe there's some brillaint master stroke of genius that is about to be played out by Shanahan and Allen that none of us see comng, like the McNabb trade. I hope so. I don't care who is behind the center. I just wish there was a stellar center there.

I said I'd trust Shanahan more than Vinny. I'll wait and see.

Like I've got a choice?

[Ajamrani]

We need to Draft Okung as LT and Sign Flozell as the RT and out OLINE can be very competitive.

LT OKUNG LG DOCKERY C RABACH RG M.WILLIAMS RT ADAMS

Backup LT and RT stephon heyer

Backup Guard Artis hicks

[redskindan07]

We need to Draft Okung as LT and Sign Flozell as the RT and out OLINE can be very competitive.

LT OKUNG LG DOCKERY C RABACH RG M.WILLIAMS RT ADAMS

Backup LT and RT stephon heyer

Backup Guard Artis hicks

I am smelling what the rock is cooking....

[planter]

No way. They're still weak.

Skins definitely need a blind side (LT). Detroit's recent acquisition of offensive lineman Rob Sims hopefully increases the chances they'll draft Suh (at #2) and let us have Okung.

Skins probably need a RT as well. Perhaps Big Mike Williams will develop into a quality right guard. Williams showed last year that he's committed and determined.

[Destino]

We need to Draft Okung as LT and Sign Flozell as the RT and out OLINE can be very competitive.

LT OKUNG LG DOCKERY C RABACH RG M.WILLIAMS RT ADAMS

Backup LT and RT stephon heyer

Backup Guard Artis hicks

That Oline looks absolutely horrible.... and frankly I'm not sure if bringing an over the hill cowboy to defend an old eagle is something that I can stomach. I might puke all over the TV the first time I see it.

[TANAMAN]

I believe this question is a little premature because we still have time and potential options to help the line this year. But just with what we know, we have to believe Shanahan is smart enough to at the very least get a LT in the draft. We have Rabach, Dockery, and BMW who played well when shifted to guard in the middle of the line. The RT position is the serious question mark now.

But from what I've seen of Artis Hicks when he actually played in Philly he was a good tackle. Don't misunderstand his lack of playing time in Minnesota as him not being good, he was just on a team that had a great offensive line and just didn't have space for him. Is he dominant, no but he is good so he may be the answer at RT if we can't get another pick or two through trades to pick up anther tackle in the draft.

[dahibachi]

Does no one think Chad Rhinehart can be a good player? I mean he's 25 and was a 3rd rounder. I want him to breakout and be a good player

[Travdaskin]

LT - Okung, LG - Dockery, C - Rabach, RG - M. Williams/Rinehart, RT - Hicks

This line could compete IMO. Not excellent but can get things done until next year when some good FA Lineman will be available.

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

*sigh*

we have developed a knee-jerk reaction as a fanbase and are scoffing at good moves that may look like short-term fixes, but are actually bridges to bigger and better things. Draft Okung (or trade down and draft Anthony Davis preferably), sign Adams to play RT (not a great ZBS fit but he's a starting tackle who should play much better/have fewer penalties on the right), trade for more picks to get young backups, and get 2 or 3 years out of our Over The Hill Gang before we let them go in favor of our young guys, which should include a QB drafted high.

Buffalo had I think 2 rookie linemen, drafted in the first day. How'd that work out?

The difference between Shannyball and Vinnyball is that Vinny/Snyder saw aging vet stopgaps as long-term solutions. Shanahan sees them as aging vet stopgaps. Also, have I mentioned enough that Shanahan walked onto a team and halved their sack total while returning most of the offensive line? The only guy he added that was young was Nalen, who was a rookie 6th rounder.

Also, Heyer is a better LT than the guy "protecting" McNabb before (look it up). Jason Peters was a complete disaster.