The Offensive Line | Page 2 | Barking Hard

The Offensive Line

Shep said:
Really plays into Peter King's awesome article on the Browns' very defined new approach: Over a long period of time, the draft is seen as what it is, a numbers game. About half the top third of round one make it... and about half the bottom third of round one make it. The best teams are built through the draft and the best drafts are about quantity.

Take more shots and you'll hit more bullseyes. Take fewer shots, even higher up, and you'll hit fewer bullseyes.

On the line, the Browns have brought in a lot of guys to compete, not randomly mind you but based on their analytics and scouting. Erving, Bailey, Coleman, Drango, Pasztor, Bowie, and Matthews compete to replace Mack and Schwartz. That's seven guys, each with reasons you should expect them to be good or even very good.

And two guys leaving whose presence didn't end up meaning shit as far as the bottom line.
Click to expand...
I didn't see the article, but did it include the fact that the FO let All-Pro Center Mack and highly regarded RT Schwartz walk? Not these guys fault completely, but they had a real opportunity to resign Schwartz.
 
As I stated in the RB thread, the Browns went to a Power Gap late in the season and that move coincided with the running game improving greatly...and improvement by Pazstor and Erving.

I said when we got Pazstor that he was the odd man out on his old team when they went TO the ZBS...and he showed a lot of talent when the Browns abandoned it. Bitonio is a bruiser, so he fits Power Gap...JT can play any scheme...Erving played Power Gap in college...it all points to the system.

BTW...Hue is a Power Gap guy.

I think this OL is going to be just fine.
 
FYI....Barnidge got his new contract on Dec 10th...so THIS group hasn't given any raises per se...the closest to it is signing qualifying offers with several players, but no contract re-works.
 
Interesting quote from Sashi about the guys we let walk. He said they were drafting a core for the long haul. Didn't make sense to build around guys entering the back half of their careers. Schwartz was the one you could make a case for... but c'mon. He's a good right tackle, not a star. They had a number in mind and he didn't like it.
 
Shep said:
Interesting quote from Sashi about the guys we let walk. He said they were drafting a core for the long haul. Didn't make sense to build around guys entering the back half of their careers.
Click to expand...


Will be interesting what this means for our 2 not-so-avg JOES and guys like Paul Kruger.

Can we get a 4th/5th rounder for Kruges?... would like to open the position to the young guys like Orchard/Ogbah this yr...

If we keep Alvin Bailey, Austin Pasztur, Michael Bowie, AND Spencer Drango all on the 53-man this year...
we know it's a safe bet Joe Thomas is on the trade block by the in-season trade deadline.

Joe Haden will be safe at least for now, I gotta think. But maybe even he is traded by trade deadline 2017. It's possible.
 
Brownsfan1956 said:
Did he get knocked on his ass more gracefully? Slant it any way you want this guy sucks...he couldnt even block on special teams. Another farmer mistake...if he sucks this year we should cut our losses in camp and move on.
Click to expand...

It will be a fucking miracle if Erving ends up being even mediocre this season. I don't remember ever seeing someone so dominated as was he last season.
 
Brownsfan1956 said:
Did he get knocked on his ass more gracefully? Slant it any way you want this guy sucks...he couldnt even block on special teams. Another farmer mistake...if he sucks this year we should cut our losses in camp and move on.
Click to expand...

Again...CIRCUMSTANCES. He was asked, as a rookie, to learn ALL FIVE positions on the OL. But wait, that wasn't enough. He was also asked to learn TWO SYSTEMS, not only ZBS but also Power Gap. Add in the final issue of playing the ONLY POSITION he had NEVER played in college.

Hmmm...now if that is not setting someone up for failure, I don't know what is.

THIS YEAR he is back to playing ONLY CENTER, and ONLY Power Gap...which is what he did in college. My guess, exponential improvement. Oh...and it doesn't hurt having a year in the NFL strength and conditioning programs.
 
DawgFan said:
Again...CIRCUMSTANCES. He was asked, as a rookie, to learn ALL FIVE positions on the OL. But wait, that wasn't enough. He was also asked to learn TWO SYSTEMS, not only ZBS but also Power Gap. Add in the final issue of playing the ONLY POSITION he had NEVER played in college.

Hmmm...now if that is not setting someone up for failure, I don't know what is.

THIS YEAR he is back to playing ONLY CENTER, and ONLY Power Gap...which is what he did in college. My guess, exponential improvement. Oh...and it doesn't hurt having a year in the NFL strength and conditioning programs.
Click to expand...

I hope he gets better. But to make it simple, blocking is blocking and he wasn't good last year.
 
hammertime said:
blocking is blocking
Click to expand...

I disagree wholeheartedly on this one. ZBS requires that you do not directly engage, but rather use lateral movement to manipulate the position of the defender allowing the RB to 'cut back' into holes created. It is all about keeping the entire line in unison and creating a ton of movement. It also takes the OL off their base and it is susceptible to bull rushing, but it is effective when the entire OL works together.

Power Gap is a 1 on 1 or 2 on 1 scheme in which you are responsible for certain gaps. It allows each individual on the OL to key on a particular defender and to know if help is coming or if they are one on one. This emphasis on particular assignments makes it a much easier scheme for new players to assimilate into the OL.

Erving was known to need work on bull rushing, and then they put him into a scheme that is susceptible to bull rushes, and in a position he has never played. Sorry, but that changes the entire dynamic.
 
No matter how you see it this line has question marks and Erving being the guy that this line is banking on to be successful is just plain risky. And that's not even looking at the RT position.
 
DawgFan said:
I disagree wholeheartedly on this one.
Click to expand...
I'll raise your wholeheartedly with my own wholeheartedly.

Dawg, you really have to stop defending the kid's utter failure last year as a product of circumstances. He was blown up in every phase of OL play as the first interior OL taken in his class. Couldn't block on special teams; couldn't block in ZBS schemes, couldn't block in pass protection.... didn't block at all.

He was just epically bad and being concerned about inking his name as the solution to our starting center vacancy is just smart.

All that said, I hope he ends up proving his rookie year to be the anomaly of all anomalies.
 
Back
Top Bottom