WyomingRedskin Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I've always believed in the old adage that this game is won and lost in the trenches. Pro Bowl QBs will look ordinary behind bad line play and pretty average QBs can look good behind great line play. I think we all expect our defense to improve this year. The doubts are with the offense and particularly QB. There has been a lot of assumptions that Beck is the guy. I think those people are jumping the gun. Sexy Rexy is just as likely to become our starter. In any event, both of these guys know the offense and Shanny likes them. If we provide them with a solid running game and time to throw, they stand a chance. Thus, the importance of the offensive line. I'm taking a glass in half throw approach and there are obviously arguments out there opposing what I am saying. However, I think our offensive line will be vastly improved over last year despite the minimal changes to the line. Williams has come into camp in great shape. He has a year under his belt and knows the offense now and what is required of a professional football player. I know there are doubts with Kory and Will. But they did show improvement last season. Montgomery stepping in for Rabach is simply a case of addition by subtraction. There hasn't been a lot of excitement over Chris Chester who didn't stand out with the Ravens. But keep in mind they employ a much different blocking scheme that didn't utilize his talents. Our line coach knows him and the team seems confident that his speed and agility is much more ideal for our zone blocking. Then we have Jamaal who is another year removed from his injury. He says he is healthier and that it is making a difference in his play. These guys were asked to learn a knew way of blocking last year. From what little I know about zone blocking, it utilizes much more technique and teamwork then standard power blocking when you just line up against one guy and push him back or knock him on his butt. I think our zone blocking scheme takes more time to learn and adopt to. We saw improvements late last season. I think this offseason and training camp is going to really move their progress forward. The coaches have indicated that we are going to try to run the ball more. A lot of us our excited over our group of RBs. If they get room to run, we are going to make life so much easier on our QB. It will open up the play action and we can utilize the talents of our improved WR corp. If we get good offensive line play this season, everything else should fall in place. I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Well... if offensive line = success, then I dont have that high of hopes......... UNLESS Kellen Frickin Clemens is the starter. Dude doesnt even need an offensive line, nobody can tackle him, D-linemen just hang on him trying to wrestle him down but they make no impact in tackling him. Kellen Clemens will make the offensive line play like winners, just by staring them down in the huddle. Bet on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Haha yeah the problem is our offensive line isnt that great either. It's possible Williams, Lich and Monty all take big ssteps forward, Brown stays healthy and continues to revert to his Pro Bowl form, and Chester actually proves to be a much better fit for the zone scheme than the power scheme he was average at best at in Baltimore. Or not. That's a lot of ifs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldfan Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Many say that the QB is the key. You and others say the line play is the key. I think you are both trying to oversimplify the game. I think the O-line is probably more important than the QB because it plays a significant role in both the passing game and the running game. But, the difference is not huge. I think you need both a good QB and a good O-line to produce a good offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 [madden voice]Here's a guy that still thinks it's 1987. [/madden voice] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ever202Reyes Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Our O-line has had a year to mesh and learn the zone blocking scheme. They will continue to work towards being a good unit together. We have gotten significantly younger and got rid of dead weight (cough cough Rabach cough) and we have some versatile pieces in Chester and Locklear. The QB just has to be a good game manager. Shanahan will not let these guys get out of their comfort zone (or his for that matter) I expect a lot of hand offs, screens, and slants. It doesnt matter who the QB is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyomingRedskin Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 [madden voice]Here's a guy that still thinks it's 1987. [/madden voice] Was that a Madden voice or Downtown Julie Brown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Lloyd Christmas Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 [madden voice]Here's a guy that still thinks it's 1987. [/madden voice] LOL! holy god that was hilarious. best post of the day my good man. bravo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s0crates Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I agree with the OP, the offensive line will be the key to our success or failure. Shanny has a history of putting together good offensive lines, so I have some hope for this unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iMeast Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I agree with the OP, the offensive line will be the key to our success or failure.Shanny has a history of putting together good offensive lines, so I have some hope for this unit. I am going to be optomistic and agree with you both. Shanahan finds players that fit his scheme. They may not be fit for other "power" schemes but with what he likes to do offensively they look a lot better. Either way lets be happy the Redskins don't have guys like Pete Kendall protecting our QB anymore. HTTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKM311 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Many say that the QB is the key. You and others say the line play is the key. I think you are both trying to oversimplify the game. I think the O-line is probably more important than the QB because it plays a significant role in both the passing game and the running game. But, the difference is not huge.I think you need both a good QB and a good O-line to produce a good offense. I agree with this. But, I am paying way more attention to the line this year than I am QB. No QB on our team is our future QB, therefor I dont really care what they do. Sure, if they pull a Kurt Warner, I will watch. but I am not expecting that. I am HOPING for improved line play. I will be watching that closely this year. That is going to determine for me whether 2013 is the year for us to play like a playoff team or not. That has been my prediction. 2013 is the the important year for Shannahan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MumboSauce Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 lol @ the madden voice. haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheShredder Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 OL improvement will offer a better run game and that's almost certain with how bad it was last season. There's really no reason not to expect improvement in all the offense because the offense really stunk last year. So, it would be nice to be injury free and find some cohesion. $.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Just recently, the last 5 or so years we have seen teams with great offensive lines such as the Bucs do nothing (excluding last year) while teams with suspect offensive lines win Superbowls (Colts/Steelers). You make the call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mi6 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 QB play makes OLs look good. If you have a quick release your O-linemen don't have to pass protect forever, like in the case with Jason Campbell ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyomingRedskin Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Just recently, the last 5 or so years we have seen teams with great offensive lines such as the Bucs do nothing (excluding last year) while teams with suspect offensive lines win Superbowls (Colts/Steelers).You make the call. I think that is a fair statement. The Steelers have a really good QB and a good defense. They have enough talent to overcome the shortfalls on the offensive line. The Bucs haven't had much else going for them, so it is not hard to see them spinning their wheels.I don't mean to be oversimplifying anything. You have to have lots of components on your team to be successful and I'm certainly not saying we are going to the playoffs or have a wildly successful year. I think our defense is going to be much improved, and we have added weapons at WR and RB. Grossman gives us a guy who understands the offense. There are pieces on this team that are going to allow us to improve this year and play .500 ball IF our offensive line is better. I think there is a lot of reasons to be optimistic about that group. If they do their job, the offense will be vastly improved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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