Battle Royal Among Journeymen on the OL

[tml6157]

As it sits right now here is how I see the OL:

LT - Trent Williams

LG - Derrick Dockery

C - Casey Rabach

RG - Mike Williams

RT - Artis Hicks

OT - Stephon Heyer

OT - Selvish Capers

OG/C - Kory Lichtensteiger

OG/C - Erik Cook

OG/C - Edwin Williams

OG - Chad Rinehart

OG - Will Montgomery

OG - Paul Fanaika

OT - Clint Oldenburg

OT - William Robinson

The thing that you have to look for in OL depth is players that can play more then one position. So IMO the OG/C and OT/OG players will have a better chance in making the team then the single position players. Also the holdover players have a longer shot to make the team then the players brought in by the new regime. Above is how I rank the backups and its just a matter of how many they want to take.

[PlayAction]

As it sits right now here is how I see the OL:

LT - Trent Williams

LG - Derrick Dockery

C - Casey Rabach

RG - Mike Williams

RT - Artis Hicks

OT - Stephon Heyer

OT - Selvish Capers

OG/C - Kory Lichtensteiger

OG/C - Erik Cook

OG/C - Edwin Williams

OG - Chad Rinehart

OG - Will Montgomery

OG - Paul Fanaika

OT - Clint Oldenburg

OT - William Robinson

Above is how I rank the backups and its just a matter of how many they want to take.

That's a total of 15 guys and Skins may wind up keeping 9. Fortunately, for the OL all of the players made it past the first cut. But, they all should now realize that being young and on the roster in prior years is no guarantee that they'll stick around as a backup. Marko Mitchell and Anthony Montgomery found that out today. Mitchell may have not had enough talent. I think the Skins felt that Montgomery didn't fit at NT because of his height (too tall causing inadequate leverage). I don't know which of the OLmen are going to find themselves in a similar situation: holdover with inadequate talent or skill set that doesn't translate to the ZBS.

[hatethe cowboys]

I definitely agree that we shouldn't be shuffling the offensive line next year if we can avoid it. If a guard goes down I think it would hurt us a lot more to move Hicks in. That seemed to be our philosophy last year and we saw how that turned out.

How are we feeling about Mike Williams? I remember Shanahan praising him early on, but for some reason his presence as a starter makes me nervous. He is a great dude, but do we think he can be successful this year?

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How are we feeling about Mike Williams? I remember Shanahan praising him early on, but for some reason his presence as a starter makes me nervous. He is a great dude, but do we think he can be successful this year?

I'm definitely worried about him. Last year was the first time he ever played Guard so he's still a bit new to the position. It's not like he's a 24 year old Center converting to Guard with some time to grow into the position. He'll be 31 this season. But my real concern is his injury history. His career as an OT was cut short due to multiple injuries (back etc) and his play last season was cut short due to injuries. Is he durable enough to last an entire season?

He might be better as a backup but he can only play one position so that presents a problem when you are trying to fit in all the players you want in the 53 man roster.

[darrelgreenie]

I'm definitely worried about him. Last year was the first time he ever played Guard so he's still a bit new to the position. It's not like he's a 24 year old Center converting to Guard with some time to grow into the position. He'll be 31 this season. But my real concern is his injury history. His career as an OT was cut short due to multiple injuries (back etc) and his play last season was cut short due to injuries. Is he durable enough to last an entire season?

He might be better as a backup but he can only play one position so that presents a problem when you are trying to fit in all the players you want in the 53 man roster.

Good couple of posts.

You make a very valid point here.

I've mentally been penciling Mike Williams in at RG because he played well there last year.

But, his age and durability projecting out for the season are a logical cause for concern/ due to greater likelihood of injury.

Which in turn would cause a lack of chemistry/continuity.

But, if Mike Williams when he's playing at his best is clearly better then Rinehart/Edwin Williams/Cook at their best then maybe gambling on BMW upside vs injury potential would be worth the trade off?

[DCMONEY]

I think this O-line is a d plus or c minus at best. That being said I think this will produce F or D minus results. 1st off the Skins O-line is in the shape its in because of the front office the past several years.

1st off I think the Skins should've taken Okung but Trent Williams it is. Williams kinda scares me when I hear them talk about his work ethic or lack of it. He definitely needs to get stronger. His upper body strenghth is unacceptable to me.

The thing that pissed me off in the draft this yr was to see the Skins pass on Bruce Campbell in the 4th round. I'm like this kid was right there. I mean this kid was projected was as a potential 1st rounder but he dropped to the 4th rd. Why not give him a shot? You can't b a 4th rd bust. I mean once again the Skins just act like well we'll get by with this line. You just don't know in my circle I've been harping to get an adequate line and depth. I just don't see it with this line. Yeah I know the SKins have a new GM and a real coach but this oline is what it is.

[mossomo]

Capers doesn't get enough credit:

The guy is a heavy hitter, is strong, has long arms, is quick and is athletic.

Capers went from a TE (2006) in college to RT (2007). At RT in 2007 he earned himself the starter. Although he was officially RT, effectively he was the LT during the 2007-2008 seasons because his quarterback at the time, Pat White, was a lefty. 2009 he was a true RT.

2009 the Mountaineers ran over 2000+ yards on the ground and limited sacks to 19 - averaging one per game. Capers was a big part of that.

As a starter, lets see how hungry he is; we'll see how when camp unfolds.

[PlayAction]

I think this O-line is a d plus or c minus at best. That being said I think this will produce F or D minus results. 1st off the Skins O-line is in the shape its in because of the front office the past several years.

1st off I think the Skins should've taken Okung but Trent Williams it is. Williams kinda scares me when I hear them talk about his work ethic or lack of it. He definitely needs to get stronger. His upper body strenghth is unacceptable to me.

The thing that pissed me off in the draft this yr was to see the Skins pass on Bruce Campbell in the 4th round. I'm like this kid was right there. I mean this kid was projected was as a potential 1st rounder but he dropped to the 4th rd. Why not give him a shot? You can't b a 4th rd bust. I mean once again the Skins just act like well we'll get by with this line. You just don't know in my circle I've been harping to get an adequate line and depth. I just don't see it with this line. Yeah I know the SKins have a new GM and a real coach but this oline is what it is.

The OL is not the same as it was last year. Skins used a first round pick on a LT. They acquired Artis Hicks who, by anyone's definition, is at least a quality backup that can play most positions. Hicks could be a serviceable starter given the time to focus on just one position (not all pro but still acceptable). They acquired Lichtensteiger (4th round pick) who was personally drafted by Shanny for his ZBS. In addition, they added 2 seventh round picks that may be able to contribute now or in the future. We can argue about whether all of these guys are going to make the roster but there's a total of 5 new players that the coaches think suit their particular blocking scheme.

re: Trent Williams. Guys with lots of talent often are a bit lazy because they don't have to work hard to dominate their opponents. There's no doubt (based only on college experience and draft profiles) that Okung is a very good LT. But his skill set didn't match up with the Skins scheme as well as Williams. Even if Williams isn't as good as Okung he's better for the Skins offense. Upper body strength can be improved - - that's why people work out. But brute strength is less important in ZBS.

re: Bruce Campbell. Why get pissed about a workout warrior not being selected? I'd rather the Skins take the guy who produced on the field than the guy that did well at the Combine. Anyway, Selvish Capers was supposed to be second round talent and he dropped all the way to the 7th round! So perhaps the Skins got real value with that guy. The draft is a zero sum game - - you take Campbell in the 4th round and you have to give up Perry Riley. Riley may wind up being an important cog in the 3:4 defense.

[Braxford]

The whole thing is the OLine will not be fixed this year and might not be fixed by next year. I like Capers in the 7th, he has some talent even though he played bad at the Senior Bowl. As for Bruce Campbell not being selected in the 4th? I am cool with it. Even if the Skins go with a hybrid D this year, London Fletcher will have age catch up with him eventually gettin Riley in the 4th is a good pick for depth and hopefully he will develop into a quality starter.