How are we replacing Dockery?

Then why has he been on the back burner? Why didn't he beat anyone out last year? Why is he not starting at the tackle position somewhere else?


This is just an atempt to answer all three of your questions: He wasn't necessarily what you would call on the back burner, he was recovering from a knee injury the year before with the Texans and the Redskins gave him an opportunity as a back-up at RT. He didn't beat out anyone because there was no one for him to beat out, Jansen was/is firmly entrenched at the RT position. He's not starting somewhere in the league because obviously he has the chance now to be a starter with the Redskins, and has decided to stay. Plus, there was not a great demand for RT's on the market this year, could be he's found a home for the rest of his career here in DC. Let's give the guy a chance and hope he works out.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect a late round guard to start. Wade will be okay, but I don't want him as a long term solution. Luckily for us, offensive linemen actually have the lowest bust rate of any position!

Why not? Wade has the talent to be a starting tackle. Tackles are more skilled than guards.

It's not that simple.

Dockery was huge, 340 pounds or whatever, and an incredible drive-blocker. Wade is 6'8" and 315 pounds or whatever. He's very athletic, I think he'll be an upgrade over Dockery in terms of his ability to get out into space and lead-block on pulls. But in terms of goalline and short yardage packages, he's a significant downgrade from Dockery. When it comes time to just line up and mash the opposition, Wade's height is going to become a problem. When you're that tall, it becomes a lot easier for a DT to get underneath you and gain leverage. Plus, Dock was just bigger and stronger.

Wade can be a decent fill in, as long as Saunders manages to scheme to take advantage of his abilities. Luckily, Saunders likes to run on the edges and likes his linemen athletic. KC's line was never all that big, and he turned them into a great running team. He'll need to get Portis and Betts out on the edge and let Wade do a lot of pulling into space. But if he relies on Wade to drive-block and expect him to do as well as Dockery, we're in for a rude awakening.

Ideally we'd find a G in the draft who is built like a big G (rather than a T like Wade is) and who is fast enough to get into space. Wade may be a solid option as a stopgap, but I definitely don't like him as a long-term solution. I want to see us trade down from 6 and secure a pretty talented G in the 2nd or 3rd round.

One thing's for sure with the line; Dock leaving has caused a significant disruption in our continuity. Samuels is going to have to learn to communicate with and play next to a new player (whether it's Wade or somebody else). We can't expect the line to begin week 1 with the same level of cohesion as they had at the end of last season. Incorporating the new G is going to take time before they're all acting instinctively as a unit. Hopefully Saunders will lean on the right side of the line on running plays and let Jansen and Randy Thomas do a lot of the damage until the left gets up to speed.

Randy Thomas is way underrated anyway. He's right behind Chris Samuels as the best lineman on the team. And when I say right behind, I mean RIGHT behind. He should have been to several pro-bowls by now.

I do think Wade will be perfectly fine in pass protection though. Physically he'll hold up real well, he has great technique. The only issue with pass protection would be on communication between Rabach, Wade, and Samuels. Early in the season we could see them miscommunicate at times and miss assignments.

I do think Wade will be perfectly fine in pass protection though. Physically he'll hold up real well, he has great technique. The only issue with pass protection would be on communication between Rabach, Wade, and Samuels. Early in the season we could see them miscommunicate at times and miss assignments.Hopefully they give them ample preseason and practice time to iron that out so its not an issue. I really don't think it will be come September.

Hopefully they give them ample preseason and practice time to iron that out so its not an issue. I really don't think it will be come September.

He'll have a leg up because he's spent some time in the offense already, just looking at it from the T's point of view instead of the G's. Hopefully you're right.

How are we ever going to find another average to above-average lineman???

He'll have a leg up because he's spent some time in the offense already, just looking at it from the T's point of view instead of the G's. Hopefully you're right.Hey, hopefully if they make one mistake in communication that leads to a sack, they go talk it over, get it sorted out, and it never happens again. We as fans would never know it even took place.

maybe worth 2 late round picks, depending on the "best player available" at the time. We need to look to the future on the o line anyway. Gibbs tried this in 04 w/Wilson & Molinaro, but it didn't work out too well. Can't expect every 5th rnd. pick to make the team though.

Is Wilson still on the roster?