The O Line

While reading GTripp's reports (props to the guy as they were well readable etc.), I gave thought to the O Line comments.

As I've stated before I don't follow the college game from over here as a) you don't get much coverage and b) it costs!

My thinking is that we need to be prepared for 2-3 of our OL, particularly Jansen and Samuels, to either go down injured (possibly for extended periods as with last year) or retire soon. We may even have to lose 1 or 2 because of cap issues (again I'm a bit ignorant on this one so forgive me if I'm off base).

To me, with Heyer and Rhinehart we may have some depth, but they are not, so far at least, stand outs. Beyond them I feel we only have stand ins, not true replacements.

As I see it we are faced with the possibility of replacing most of our OL within 2 years, if not immediately, and so can we expect to pick up enough talent in the draft or are we stuck with looking at 1 or 2 FA's as well/instead?

With our likely defensive needs elsewhere during the same period, are we going to be able to keep our line intact enough while we rebuild it 'inexpensively' or are we looking at either a lean spell or Snyder spending a lot on FA's again?

I think your timeframe to replace these guys is a little too quick. Rabach is 31, he could have another 3-4 quality seasons left. Kendall is definitely nearing the end at 35, but for now he's still playing at a high level, who knows he could have another 1-2 seasons in him as a starter with the way he's playing. He's at least worth bringing back as a quality backup. Jansen is 32, I wouldn't write him off just yet either. Samuels is 31, he could have another 3-4 quality seasons as a starter no problem. Thomas is 32, again maybe another 2-3 years for him.

No need to panic. We have Rinehart and Heyer in the wings as potential starters, there's time to draft and bring in free agents, and realistically the entire line won't turn over until probably 5 years from now.

You should always draft atleast 2 or 3 linemen to have Buges coach em up. A star or two will bud. Feeling good about the future baby.

You should always draft atleast 2 or 3 linemen to have Buges coach em up. A star or two will bud. Feeling good about the future baby.

Which leads to another question, how much longer will Buges be coaching?

That's a scary question. We can get Russ Grim hopefully.

As far as Buges who knows? There's no sense in being concerned about that right now.

Samuels will probably be the last of the bunch to turnover. Heyer can handle RT, and Rinehart can handle one of the Gs, but obviously, there's interior line help needed in the near immediate.

I'm not sure there will ever come a day that Heyer can handle LT, so we are likely going to have to spend a high draft pick on a tackle sometime soon. Not this year, or even next year, but when the value is right, it's a legitimate need.

We need to add a Tackle prospect in next year's draft as well as a solid swing guard prospect. I think when needed we can look to FA for a center. If we could get those two prospects then we'd have the 5 current starters plus Heyer, Reinhart and the prospects. I don't see Heyer ever being much more than serviceable. He could probably start at RT for a few years for us and we'd be fine. Reinhart could turn out a little better on the interior if one of the other 2 propsects can be dominant and we add a good center in FA then our line is looking solid in 4/5 years.

I agree with the need to look to the future on the O-line. They are playing flat-out awesome right now, and they are showing what this team can do with a (mostly) healthy O-line. That is why we need to have starter-quality young guys lined up now. Not that it would ever possibly happen, but I would hate to have a serious injury on the O-line and the team start to regress offensively. With the way Campbell and Portis are giving everything they've got, they deserve A-list guys in front of them. Kendall is playing his ass off, but he's 35 and has arthritic knees, let's be realistic. I hope Chad Rinehardt can play at some point, he has been inactive all season. And center, because of the intellectual aspect, is a position where they need to groom a guy for a few years, like they seem to be doing with Blades at MLB. Samuels is one of our best players, period, but blind-side tackle is so important, we need to have our ass covered. LT's don't grow on trees. I hope next years draft is O-line deep. I like Duke Robinson, G from OK.

I would still spend the first round pick next year on the defensive line, all things equal. That's where we need the impact body the most right now, and Demetric Evans (though I doubt he'll sign elsewhere) is a UFA after the season. Jason Taylor will be 35 next September, and it's questionable whether or not Corneilius Griffin will even return.

I think Erasmus James might be able to handle LE next year if Taylor gets hurt, but only if we add an impact body somewhere. Andre Carter is once again among the leaders in pressures and QB hits, but only has 2 sacks because he isn't getting a lot of help from the rest of the rush.