Thomas/Jansen article

Samuels has to stay healthy though. If he goes down, we dont have anyone capable of handling LT.

Samuels has to stay healthy though. If he goes down, we dont have anyone capable of handling LT.

I agree that he's the guy we can least afford to lose.

If we lost Samuels for an extended period of time I think some people might finally come to realize just how good he is.

Depth aint an issue guy....it was more of an issue last year....when Wade was our all purpose backup...no one expected anything of Heyer.
The truth is Wade aint that great, which is why Heyer got a chance...we got lucky there with a 3rd stringer.

Now we've got Heyer with experience, and Wade and Fabini...who aint that bad...not to mention a solid draft pick.

The only reason Oline depth is a concern is because of 2 things:
Last year we were decimated by injuries.
Our Oline is getting older.

I am far more concerned about our Dline depth since we didn't draft anyone of note.
(imagine if we lost 2 starters there..ie Carter, Daniels)
No comparison...

O line will be fine.

I think our starting 5 has a few more years left - especially Samuels and Rabach -- maybe not Kendall or Jansen.

However as soon as next season I think we will have 1-3 new starters on the line. Between Rinehart, Alexander, and Heyer, we can fill 1-2 of those spots, but I think we will need to address OL in FA in addition to the draft.

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.

I have been banging the O-line drum for some time now. Even so, I agree that in the short term (this season and possibly next) we should be fine as long as Samuels is healthy. Over the next 2 to three years, I suspect that we will see a changing of the guard along the line.

While we may not lose two starters "right off the bat", I remained convinced that we will lose two starters for a significant length of time (more than three games) during the season. Hopefully, not in a manner that overlaps. Our line is of the age where injuries happen, even to those not previously injury prone.

With that said, I agree that Fabini makes a solid backup. In many ways, he is a 6th starter in that I don't think the quality drops too far when he goes in. Of course, he too is over 30 and not a long term solution. Rhinehardt and Heyer give good young depth and I am betting at least one OFA makes the team along the line. I agree there is no urgency THIS year. Next year, who knows.

The line is solid and maybe this year we get a break by not getting any "breaks" (It could happen, I am just not counting on it).

As sad as I am to say, I'm almost expecting at least one major injury along the line this year. It is almost a guarantee w/ this team. That is why we need more depth.

I've been reading The Warpath for awhile now and I love the passion and knowledge displayed on the site. With that said, here is my first reply to a topic.

I still like Jansen alot. To say he's on the decline is a bit premature I think. The guy got his leg rolled over. It was one of those freak plays, it just happens. If healthy (and I see no reason he won't be), he'll be back to his nasty self.

Randy Thomas is a stud. Plain and simple. I love watching him lead block for Portis. Thomas is the most athletic lineman we have in my opinion.

HAIL!!

Injuries happen plain and simple, you just have to deal with them nobody likes them.

I think that last year was a freak year for injuries on the line. Our RT, and RG got hurt for the year. The primary backup RT got hurt (Wade). Our LG was new to the team. Our replacement RG was a use to playing tackle. Somehow we still ended up in the middle of the pack on offense and in the playoffs.

What concerns me most is Jansen. Not because of his age, but because I was sitting in the stands right there when he broke his ankle. It looked terrible. It was turned all the way around. I have had friends that have had similar breaks and they lost some mobility because of it. If this is the case with Jansens ankle, he is going to have more of a problem with pass protection (less in run blocking). I'll be hoping for the best, but I'm sure he will be better than Heyer. The kid did a good job for being an undrafted rookie, but he had to have help all the time. Jansen can usually handle things alone.

one thing i want to note:

people keep using the term "freak injury". in my opinion, there are virtually no freak injuries. there are jsut injuries. this is football. players get injured. the job of the front office is to ensure that the drop-off in ability between a starter and the back-up is as insignificant as possible.

lack of depth on defense killed us in '06. lack of depth on the o-line could have killed us in '07 but do to the resliience of some tough dudes, like wade, we were able to pull through. however, it really showed in the playoff game. the right side of the line was way over-matched.

hopefully we can find another rookie free agent who can servicable on the level that heyer was last year. but don't think jansen's injury was a 'freak' occurrence that won't happen again. that, or something similar, can, and in all likelihood will, happen to somebody.