Thoughts on Lichtensteiger's return?

[Mr. Sinister]

No more evil snaps

[RandyHolt]

Don't jinx us. Has one even resulted in a turnover? 

 

Sure, Gruden is keeping his decision tight to the vest to throw off Green Bay, as he should.

 

We hear from many coaches, and see weekly in every game, a preference for continuity on the OL. DL sub in and out all game, OL? Never. 

 

I will put a buck on Ribs the long shot to win a hunge he starts. I am happy with our offense across the board right now, and suspect Jay is too. 

 

I think pass pro and short yardage Ribs >>> Kory 

 

IMO it's not even close on either, and that's pretty much half our plays. Kory was inside on what seemed like years of A gap exploitation. AGE.  What's more important to our team the past 2 months, run blocking, or pass pro? 

[MassSkinsFan]

I don't want to see a change.

 

Ribs hasn't been great, but his presence coincides with Kirk's breakout. He seemed to be settling down a bit more in the Cowturds game before they put in de la Puente. He's the current starter, so unless Licht comes back to practice and blows everyone away, I'd stay with the C we've been riding to victory.

 

Despite his many faux pas, there is something in Ribs that the coaching staff seems to like, and I'm hoping it starts to show through soon.

[Vanguard]

Don't jinx us. Has one even resulted in a turnover? 

 

Sure, Gruden is keeping his decision tight to the vest to throw off Green Bay, as he should.

 

We hear from many coaches, and see weekly in every game, a preference for continuity on the OL. DL sub in and out all game, OL? Never. 

 

I will put a buck on Ribs the long shot to win a hunge he starts. I am happy with our offense across the board right now, and suspect Jay is too. 

 

I think pass pro and short yardage Ribs >>> Kory 

 

IMO it's not even close on either, and that's pretty much half our plays. Kory was inside on what seemed like years of A gap exploitation. AGE.  What's more important to our team the past 2 months, run blocking, or pass pro? 

 

Well the coaches must see something that you don't because Kory is getting the start.

[petedaddy]

i'm mixed on this, i feel kory is better for run game and ribs is better for pass game, but just too many simple errors for ribs that kory should be able to correct

 

i've never so many snaps where the center snaps and no one else moves in my entire history of watching the NFL

[London Kev]

This is a tough one. I don't think that any starter should lose his place because of an injury, if he comes back healthy and ready to play. But, despite LeRibs' erratic snaps and snap count, Kirk has got into a rhythm with him at center.

 

If Lich is ready then he plays, because he's the better center IMO. It would be devastating to lose the game because of a botched snap though.

[TimmySmith]

Well the coaches must see something that you don't because Kory is getting the start.

The real surprise is that this is a surprise to some. 

 

Of the brilliant moves the Skins FO has pulled this year, designating Lich to return may turn out to be the greatest (and the luckiest).

[carex]

for people worried about rust and all, the Skins have been going with 8 active OL so LeRib should be active to switch back if they have to

[TheGreek1973]

Thoughts?  UPGRADE.  We will not see a high snap from Steiger, and that my friends is huge when you are trying to time a pass and you still want to survey the field for better opportunities.  Also in the run game Steiger is an upgrade and since I think the Packers will do more stunts I bet he helps by calling them out.  

[Larry]

If he can get us our running game back, then it's sheer brilliance. 

 

But I'm not sure how likely that "if" is. 

[jflow78]

Lich is a better center than LeRibeus and it's not even close. Our running game has never really recovered from the time Lich was injured, so I'm glad he's back, but yeah, I worry about his rust.

 

This could either make the offense even better, just for the fact that Cousins won't have to worry about where the ball is going to be snapped, or it could look like we're missing a step because Lich isn't going to be picking up right where he left off.

 

I hope he comes in and it's back to dominating people on the ground AND now in the air.

[Tsailand]

This is one of the positions where the four missing high draft picks are hurting us.

[carex]

the running game really fell off when Lauvao got hurt though

[RandyHolt]

Well the coaches must see something that you don't because Kory is getting the start.

 

What i saw was coaches preferring continuity on their OL, from all teams for decades now. You have seen it too.  

 

So we will see if they made the right move going to the better / albeit rusty player. 

 

Maybe we plan to run more this week. GB seems a bit soft vs the run at 4.5 per. 

[Riggo'sRangers]

It's a huge deal actually.  Read the coaches, and Trent's response(s).  It could not come at a better time. He is our OL QB, and no one appreciates, or gets "it". Anybody that compares LeRibeus to Kory....well, just wow.  The TEAM is excited he is back.  Like I said, this is a big deal.  You will see.  Hail

[carex]

What i saw was coaches preferring continuity on their OL, from all teams for decades now. You have seen it too.  

 

So we will see if they made the right move going to the better / albeit rusty player. 

 

Maybe we plan to run more this week. GB seems a bit soft vs the run at 4.5 per. 

 

actually, going back to Kory is not continuity.  Long, Scherff and Moses have start 11 games with LeRibeus vs 5 with Kory.

In fact even Kirk has more experience with LeRibeus as his center.  His first two year Will Montgomery was at center and he only played five games last year, giving LeRib an 11 game to 10 advantage

[RandyHolt]

actually, going back to Kory is not continuity.  Long, Scherff and Moses have start 11 games with LeRibeus vs 5 with Kory.

In fact even Kirk has more experience with LeRibeus as his center.  His first two year Will Montgomery was at center and he only played five games last year, giving LeRib an 11 game to 10 advantage

 

Yep, that's why I have been theorizing they may have stuck with Ribs, even though far from perfect. 

 

Kory can call out the pickups like a QB, but things don't always go as planned. OL need reps next to the same guys so improvising comes naturally.

[Going Commando]

LeRibeus had a good game against Dallas.  But he's been bad and replacing him probably doesn't have a lot of downside.

 

Lichtensteiger was some **** before he went on IR though.  Let's hope it's because he was playing injured and the recovery time was what he needed to get back to playing well.

Kirk makes the protection calls, the decision at C can be based totally on blocking and snapping.

[KingGibbs]

It's cliche, but I trust the coaching staff will make the right decision. Not used to saying that.

[MassSkinsFan]

Yep, that's why I have been theorizing they may have stuck with Ribs, even though far from perfect. 

 

Kory can call out the pickups like a QB, but things don't always go as planned. OL need reps next to the same guys so improvising comes naturally.

 

This. The center does call out adjustments/assignments but, as you state, knowing where your Gs and Ts will be and especially where they will be when the world turns to **** is much, much more important.

 

I was hoping they'd stick with Ribs, for continuity's sake, but in Coach Callahan I trust. Good luck Kory - have a great first game back!!!

[RandyHolt]

I cant say enough how refreshing it is to have a new OL coach. While our run game has struggled, I am not sure I pin that on Cally, and the teams success supersedes that.

 

Clearly the timing of the run game tanking coincided with Lauvao going down.  Maybe its Morris stutter stepping and hesitating in more power run calling, who knows.  But knock on wood, and I think more importantly, Cousins had a pocket this year under Cally's guidance. First Kory and then Josh have been key and I think pass pro starts by firming up the gut, the foundation of the pocket. Both those guys and the guards deserve near full credit.

 

Instead of having to establish the run, to go play action, to be able to pass, we can just... pass now. That opens up the playbook, a ton.

 

It irritated me to no end that we couldn't draft an OL and have Foerester graduate him to starter. Sure Compton finally got a few snaps, but that's about it his entire tenure here. And I don't blame him for Ribs, who faced high expectations for where we consensus reached on him, and also struggled to even stay in shape. Its nice to see Cally salvage him at least into a multiposition backup.

[TheShredder]

Kory is an added bonus to have back for the home game.  He could add some extra holes for Morris.  If he doesn't, he's better at calling out defenses and an upgraded snapper above LeRibeus.  If he has any issues, you just sub him out.  It's all a BONUS for the Skins!!!

It might be just Morris needs.  Alfred is rested and healthy.  Rather have him in the starting RB role with multiple carries behind Kory.  If Jones isn't healthy, with his fumble history he should sit.  A stable running game will make it even more difficult for GB.

[PeterMP]

I'm nervously excited about Licht coming back.

 

I think many of the (potential) negatives have been detailed pretty well.  The one thing I haven't seen talked about as a potential negative is if he's really physically and mentally recovered from the injury.

 

An upside that I think people might be missing is he's going to be fresh.  He doesn't have the wear and tear on his body of going through an NFL season.

 

I'm a big believer in at this point in time people that are fresh going up against more worn down players can make a big difference  It's most obvious a lot of time with RBs.  You get the guys that doesn't play much early in the year, and then in the back 1/2 of the season gets a chance to start and just rip it up for a few weeks, and then never really do much else his whole career.

 

If none of the issues in terms of communication/cohesion with the OL and Cousins come up, and he's really physically and mentally recovered, I think he could be a difference maker.

 

I'd not be shocked if Licht does a good job of getting to the 2nd level and getting good blocks because his legs are just fresher than the opposing D.

[MassSkinsFan]

I hear a lot of people saying Kory is better at line calls than Ribs. What's the basis for this?

 

It seems to me it's the other way around. Am I missing something?

[RandyHolt]

I heard Gruden recently compliment Kory as being a 2nd QB on the field.  Ribs never received as high a praise, so maybe that is the foundation of "Kory is better at line calls".

 

I don't even know if Ribs was entrusted with that, but given how much he had to digest to convert to center this year, it would not surprise me if Cally had been trying to keep his responsibilities more limited.

 

Snap the ball, don't let Kirk get hit. Snap the ball, don't let Kirk get hit. Snap the ball, don't let Kirk get hit.