state of the team............. o-line

as promised, this is my evaluation of the o-line.

overview:
a weakness on our team for longer than I care to remember.. gone are the days when marvel smith, allen faneca and dermonti dawson anchored the best line in the league... we've become used to seeing ben run for his life and create the spectacular out of nothing.. but now there is actually reason for optimism.. a hall of fame lineman for a position coach....... munchak says this line can be special... for the first half of last season, it looked more like special ed...... a Lt that seemingly put out the welcome matt for opposing de's...... a cut block in the first game that took out our all pro c that was so ugly that it nearly looked deliberate............but then the line seemed to gel....these guys apparently got it and over the last 7 games, gave up a total of 7 sacks which included playing against the mighty lions d-line.... is it a sign of the times:

individual:
OT:
kelvin beachum: not only is he our most versatile o-lineman, he's seemingly locked down the Lt position. he has good technique, feet and hands... if he were 3 inches taller and 20 lbs. heavier no one would have a question... beachum was so effective that we basically ignored the o-line in the draft, passing on some real behemoths... is he the future at the position or will he ultimately be moved inside again... in either case, expect a high level of play wherever he is placed.

mike adams: the man everyone (coaches included) wanted to lock down the Lt spot.. instead, he appeared to be inviting de's and olb's in to dinner.... got used as a blocking te after that and started to improve his blocking technique......... he's still an above average run blocker, but clearly has more work to do in order to become an effective pass blocker on ben's blind side... far too early to write him off, and he's still a major contender for the right side... can munchak unlock his potential

marcus gilbert: started every game on the right side, and for the first half of the season, that wasn't a very good thing..... he improved immensely though, displaying better footwork and an ability to mirror the pass rusher.. at this time it's completely unknown if he's turned a corner, or if it was a lack of top pass rushers across from him... in any case, he will start training camp as the starter with mike adams providing the primary competition... I get the feeling that the coaches want to replace gilbert, so he definitely has his work cut out for him... if this is the case, then for gilbert to remain the starter, than he will need to show extreme improvement, and that would be a good thing.

guy whimper: the man I never wanted to see any field time, but last yr., he surprised me with his play in spot duty.... I'm still not a fan of whimper, and I would love to see someone step up an make him expendable, but for the time being, he seems to be much more able to handle occasional duty as opposed to being a full time starter.

Kaycee ike: extreme long shot to make the team...... undersized with not much upside... I fully expect him to be an early cut.
Wesley Johnson: last, but not least, is (in deference to mac) munchak's Johnson.. Munchak's Johnson is a little on the smaller side, but with munchak's continued work, has the potential to get bigger and stronger. the ability is definitely there. has the athletic ability to play inside or outside, and has plenty of upside...

og:ramon foster: the man the coaches couldn't bench.. no matter how much they tried to replace him, he just wouldn't stay down. he is not only an unquestioned starter now, but on a line full of 1st and 2nd rd picks, this undrafted free agent is one of the leaders..foster is a better pass blocker than run blocker, but he is beginning to show a little nastiness in his game... I look for munchak to refine his technique and make his run blocking a strength..

dave decastro: had me worried after his guided missile attack on pouncey, but improved every week to the point where he may have been our best lineman.... he should get a pro bowl nod this yr.... coming into the league, he was already technically sound... it was his strength that needed the improvement, and he appears to have made the necessary changes..munchak is gonna do wonders with this kid.

nik embernate: lost his rookie season to a knee injury in training camp, but showed enough to have very high hopes for his development.... known for his mean streak, and has more athletic ability than many think...... I fully expect him to be one of our primary back ups this season.

david snow: an early cut as he is nothing more than a camp body

will simmons: massive guard that will intrigue due to his size, but ultimately, just isn't good enough

chris hubbard: extremely smallish guard that won't make it out of camp.

chris elkins: my personal dark horse.. this kid is gonna make some noise once the pads come on..

Bryant browning: will make the coaches job tough when it comes to cuts, and will become a fan favorite during the pre-season, but will not be on the team when the season starts.

c:
maurkice pouncey: I guess it's a blessing in disguise that he had his knee injury in the first game of the season..... he should be ready by pre-season.... despite the improvement on the field by the o-line without him, we are still a stronger unit with him...now if we can only keep the friendly fire away from him....

cody Wallace: surprise last yr... played extremely well and showed a mean streak... I was very impressed with Wallace.. munchak must be licking his chops


next up: d-line

 

I think Adams is going to be one of the steelers break out players this year.

 

it's really hard to gauge these guys from last year to this year with the implementation of the ZBS. quickness will be a positive and need for it to work well.

I'm definitely not counting guys like hubbard out yet. they kept hin around last year and were teaching him the center spot too. he's bigger than his size listed on the roster and started for 4 years in college at LT. he got better at guard as the preseason went. good quickness is his plus along with versatility.

browning is slow. in the old system of big on big he would have been a good road grader, just not a fit now.

snow could have a future as the backup, backup C/G, I'm not ready to write him off just yet either with the switch about to happen. that 3rd C/G will be valuable as we have seen the past two years.

munchaks Johnson. may via for LT and he's not as weak as most make him out to be. 26 reps. adams did 19. he's got some nasty too. quickness and mobility as well as a good head on his shoulders. could fit at any spot, but LT could be where he ultimately ends up. he played well against clowney. you don't make first team SEC lineman without being good.

foster. he's an enigma. I love the big guy, but not sure he's got the feet and quickness to run and be effective in the ZBS. he has a hard time getting to and keeping up with LB'ers across the field.

whimper. same thing. he will have to show mobility.

adams. this is it kid.

gilbert. see above.

embernate. I hope he's back enough to make a showing. don't forget he can play RT too.

beachum. it's his to lose, but since he's got more experience at many a spot, they may make that switch for Johnson and move him elsewhere. I'm even thinking LG.

pouncey. I hope he's ready without any setbacks. I read awhile back that he won't be ready quite yet when camp starts. he's got a one year contract as of now. can we keep him past this?

Wallace. penciled in as the BU C/G and I love his nasty. getting up toward that age though. I like him myself.

I'm waiting to see. that's all we can do right now. with the youth we have and the coach we have, I think this thing could turn out a little different than we might imagine from last year. might be a surprise or two. good stuff B&G.

 

At left or right tackle? I think he starts the season at RT.

 

Where was Embernate playing before he got hurt? Left guard?

 

Yeah that's what I was thinking I should have been more clear.

 

I agree with you. I think he's the long-term answer at RT. I'm not a fan of Gilbert at all.

 

I know he turned some heads in camp last year, but does he have starter potential? I'm not a fan of Foster either.

 

he's still rehabbing as of now ender.

 

Will he be ready for camp? You can say that for Foster at least, he's always healthy and available every week.

 

I'm on the fence about Foster, while I harbor no ill feeling about the man I think the OLine makeover needs a clean break from teh players that accepted the fact that they weren't that good even if Ben said they were and whose play reflected that. I want guys with a chip on their shoulders who will impose their will on a defense. Please see Cody Wallace's impromptu colonoscopy to reference what type of imposing I'm talking about lol

 

You're right, thorn, he definitely plays with some fire lol. I agree with you about them needing a little nasty, but I also remember the knucklehead 15-yarders Kemouato caused us regularly for overagression. Hopefully Munch will find a good balance.

 

The challenge is channeling the nasty into play and just beating your man continuously, winning that one on one battle. Kemo channeled his nasty into fouls or would sell out to make one impact block on a tiny little safety. I hope they get that edge back but of course the league has made it so you can't but a defender on his butt without it being a holding call so it is a fine line to walk.

 

Thank you thorn. Could not think of who it was that was fisting a defensive player lol

Bman

 

I couldn't agree more. I think Adams could be a stud RT. I thought that he was thrust into LT duties last camp because Gilbert couldn't hack it at LT. I do remember hearing what great feet Gilbert had and that he could transition to the blind side, but I don't see it. I think he's reached his ceiling as a player.

 

I think you guys are giving adams way to much credit so far and I'm not sure why? what has he done to make you think those double move blunders won't happen from that side as well? both are OK run blockers but the pass rush is not their friend. this is a serious question and not just a dig on either guy. I think the team can do better at that spot. unless there has been a major change in their game, but I've not seen that yet. munch can only do so much and he doesn't have some secret coaching technique that no other coach knows about.

 

Ben only says they are good so as to encourage and motivate them. I could never imagine any QB saying their Oline sucked .. Good way to get killed lol... Think he was running around before imagine if he said anything negative about his front line guys

BMan

 

yea, if he did that he could get sacked 40+ times a year. oh wait.

 

Funny Mac but I still say you start talking **** about your Oline they step aside and let you blow by lol

Bman

 

that's pretty much what adams did before he was benched

 

Pouncey doesnt do much for me. I actually thought he was better when he played guard that one game (last season?). I really thought Beachum was terrible when he first played, but he has turned out to be really good. I also like Adams at RT instead of Gilbert.