Thomas/Jansen article

Does it sound like Rinehart could compete at RT? I haven't heard much since we drafted him.

The scouting reports I read seemed to indicate that Rinehart may take a year or two to compete for a starting role. That would make sense, given that he is not used to facing quality opponents, let alone NFL Pro Bowl DTs and DEs. I haven't heard much of anything about him since we drafted him though.

The scouting reports I read seemed to indicate that Rinehart may take a year or two to compete for a starting role. That would make sense, given that he is not used to facing quality opponents, let alone NFL Pro Bowl DTs and DEs. I haven't heard much of anything about him since we drafted him though.

Yeah that's probably to be expected. I think scouting reports also mentioned he would fit better inside at C/G in the NFL. As to him not facing quality opponents I have to agree but I don't know whether you watched video on him - dude mauled most guys he faced. In fact, it seemed like most d-lineman he faced ended up on the ground. So maybe he could have competed at division 1-A. Not entirely likely I know but maybe there was something else that kept him at the small school.

I know he wasn't a sexy pick for us but I'm just as excited to see this kid develop as Thomas, Davis, or Kelly.

I'm not worried one bit about Randy if he can stay healthy. This is the guy who Gibbs called "the heart and soul of the Redskins" when he got hurt last year. And like Buges said, he's a "spring chicken." Repeated hamstring/groin/knee issues make a guy fall under the category of injury prone. A broken fibula b/c some guy rolled up on him or a tricep tear doesn't fit that category. He's due for a healthy, beast of a season. And I fully believe that's what we'll get.

Jansen on the other hand concerns me. And not because I question his durability. Aside from the freak injuries in '04 and '07, the guy has only missed one game since high school. That's right, high school. Never missed a start at Michigan. But I do think his talent is declining. If he does stay healthy, he's an average starting tackle in the NFL at this point, IMO.

this is probably Thomas last season with the skins, if he gets injured again. we need our lineman to be able to play. and it really hurts the whole offensive scheme when one of them go down

this is probably Thomas last season with the skins, if he gets injured again. we need our lineman to be able to play. and it really hurts the whole offensive scheme when one of them go down

thomas aint going anywhere until we have a viable replacement. at the moment we do not. chad rhinehart may become that but i think its more likely that he will succeed pete kendall. if i'm not mistaken, we gave kendall a 2 year contract and so this will be the last year. that's enough time for buges to turn rhinehart into a monster.

this is the last year of (giants' guard)chris snee's (http://www.nfl.com/players/chrissnee/profile?id=SNE230934) contract. maybe we make a play for him next offseason?

Everybody seems concerned about the decline of JJ. I'm also concerned about Samuels at left tackle. Those two got old really fast. Maybe Bugel has lost a step or two in coaching ability, also.

Bugel worked miracles last year with Heyer and Fabini manning the right side down the stretch. I don't know how one could say he's lost a step or two.

Bugel worked miracles last year with Heyer and Fabini manning the right side down the stretch. I don't know how one could say he's lost a step or two.

Yeah I don't know either.

I think our OL "issues" overall have been severely overblown this offseason. With the injuries we had last year it was a miracle that we got the kind of production that we did down the stretch.

Yeah I don't know either.

I think our OL "issues" overall have been severely overblown this offseason. With the injuries we had last year it was a miracle that we got the kind of production that we did down the stretch.

Maybe it's been overstated, but the lack of depth on the O & D lines is definitely worth noting. I agree about last year, though I would add a caveat; the pass protection was incredible given the right side of the line was total patchwork w/a rook RT & a converted vet tackle playing guard, however our running game suffered greatly. We couldn't consistently run right until late in a game if and when the D was worn down.

What happened last year could just as easily happen this year to 2 different players. I woldn't be surprised if Samuels gets nicked this year as he's been so durable, it's almost simply a law of averages that he'll get hurt in some fashion. Kendall is way old & w/bad knees. I definitely think there's reason to be worried & I wonder if the front office is putting too much pressure on Buges, or has unrealistic expectations about what he can do to get a group of misfits to play as starters if someone goes down.

Let's just hope the O line returns to 06 form when no one was hurt & L. Betts was often untouched until he hit the secondary.

I don't buy the lack of depth take when it comes to the OL. The line held up pretty damn well considering the injuries last year. While I'm not a huge Heyer guy I think he's more than serviceable and he should continue to improve. Fabini is a valuable guy to have around in reserve, and Rinehart looks like he could be solid even in his rookie year.

I don't think we'll see another season where we lose 2 starters right off the bat. Of course guys are bound to get dinged up and we may even lose one guy for an extended period of time, but I think we have adequate depth to get by.