Gilbert Excited About Potential Move To Left

That's not a bad idea (with Ben), looks like Ben and Haley are working together to develop the offense.

 

I am really excited to see the offense and if the additions on the oline and the shift of focus between the previous Oc and the new OC affects the overall flow. I read the article on the team homepage and everyone seems to be saying the right things about Haley's offense.

 

Gilbert seems like a great guy, and willing to play anywhere along the line that we might need him. If he can be a good LT, that'll definitely buy Mike Adams some time to work his way in, either by starting on the right or starting on the bench and keeping Colon at RT and Foster at G. If Adams needs it, that is.

And I love the mental reps for Ben, too.

 

Good, with both Gilbert and Adams wanting the LT spot, it should create a healthy competition and hopefully bring out the best in both!

 

even if gilbert is the 2nd LT he needs reps there. if adams goes down he could flop to the left side. they also told essex to concentrate on learning LT as well as the other spots. having 3 guys able to step in there if needed is a good thing and i hope we won't have to see 2 of them there. it would most likely mean jon scott is gone.

i did notice jon scott looked huge in some of the video from ota's. chris scott however looked in shape. no gut hanging on him or essex or gilbert. i like it. foster never did look overly fat since he's been here. this is good, in shape breeds inshape with this bunch. this is not the max starks diet anymore where our linemen all had big guts that got bigger as the year went on. big , lean, mean and mobile makes for a perfect O-line.

 

He went on to say that he took a much earlier start to training and dieting this offseason.

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that's the way i want our players to come to camp. hungry. as i said before, this will make them all better.

 

Lets hope he doesn't need it. That's too much shuffling up front. Each guy should just have to focus on one position this year, especially with the change in playbook. Gilbert is getting a little ahead of himself. He's doing a great job on the right side. Lets build on that before we move him to the left. Switching from right to left and back again is what made Michael Oher regress. He looked great on the right as a rookie so then they moved him to the left didn't do so good and when he went back to the right he was mediocre because he confidence was shattered on the left side.

 

He went on to say that he took a much earlier start to training and dieting this offseason.

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I think this would be our ideal situation if Adams isn't ready to go. Have Essex be in there until Adams is ready that way we're not shuffling 2 or 3 guys around because of one player. He can't do any worse than Scott did last year and with the front office telling him to focus solely on the left tackle position I think that shows what kind of confidence they have in him.

 

Yes he can. How many years has he been around and he finally desides to come to camp in shape. WOW, here's your left tackle spot Trei

 

This is the first year in a very long time I am looking forward to seeing the OL. In the past I have been woried about them and saw them as our weak link. If they can live up to their potential and they keep the same positive attitude we could dominate to oposing DL for years to come!!! Finally!

 

Dude, this whole team is exciting !!! Entirely new Play action offensive base and new play caller. Are you kidding me?

The O-line as you pointed out already. With Ben healthy I might add.

The running backs with Redzone Redmen starting, a water-bug style speedster rookie, what Batch has to offer, and Dwyer and Clay with some seasoning. A full time fullback too.

Hopefully a healthy and happy young money crew. With this tall rookie and new TE.

Some seriously interesting rotation possibilities on the D-line.

A health LB group with this Spence to add some drama.

Lake having a real training camp to work with our young hopeful CB's and one who claims he's going to make the pro bowl.

The only things I don't have to watch to see what's new and going on is the safety positions.

I can't wait for training camp battles, and pre season, never mind about the regular season.

:swordsman:

 

[/quote:3iuvkvtn]

I think this would be our ideal situation if Adams isn't ready to go. Have Essex be in there until Adams is ready that way we're not shuffling 2 or 3 guys around because of one player. He can't do any worse than Scott did last year and with the front office telling him to focus solely on the left tackle position I think that shows what kind of confidence they have in him.[/quote:3iuvkvtn]
No way. That's asking for disaster. Essex was arguably worse than Scott last year at OT, and we all know Scott was absolutely unacceptable. I know Essex lost some weight, but that doesn't guarantee anything. Even thin he was never better than backup quality, especially at LT. So suppose he's exactly as good as Scott was last year. That's what we want? For what? To avoid having to change the position of someone that's a much better player with a future? Even though that was the original plan?

-If Adams is ready, we're set. Adams / Colon / Pouncey / DeCastro / Gilbert. Everyone is good to go in this scenario.
-If he's not, we go Gilbert / Foster / Pouncey / DeCastro / Colon. Everyone is good to go in this scenario with the possible exception of Gilbert, who was already preparing for LT work and still is. That doesn't seem like such a huge shuffle to me.

I know shuffling guys around isn't good for chemistry, but I'd rather shuffle around 5 good players than keep 4 good players and 1 terrible player in the same spot every week. Especially if the terrible one is at LT. I can't justify putting Scott or Essex on the field while Gilbert/Colon/Foster is on the bench.

 

i agree gilbert should be the # 2 LT. i don't however agree with moving colon back to RT if this happens. he's got alot to learn at LG. i'd leave him right there to solidify the position. essex,scott,foster all have played pretty good at RT.

i'm also a wait and see when it comes to scott and essex. the weight loss for essex and the fact scott was playing injured last year and was injured during camp. it's easy to sit here and say they suck, when we don't know how the injury affected his play. troy sucks too when he's hurt. scott has played some decent ball for this team in the past and so has essex. they are backups and we shouldn't think they are going to outplay our starters or they would be starting.

we had a starter that had alot of unacceptable games too in starks. yea,yea, after a week or two back he brought the line together. this line stunk last year, just because he played OK for a couple of weeks doesn't make him an all-star, just the best we had at that point. most of the time it depended who was playing guard next to him too. scott had the same lame guard next to him too at times. i'm just waiting to see what happens this year and not jump to conclusions about last years performance. that was then. different group, different attitude this year.

 

I'm just Excited, everyone is Excited!

 

I think this would be our ideal situation if Adams isn't ready to go. Have Essex be in there until Adams is ready that way we're not shuffling 2 or 3 guys around because of one player. He can't do any worse than Scott did last year and with the front office telling him to focus solely on the left tackle position I think that shows what kind of confidence they have in him.[/quote:3usksa98]
No way. That's asking for disaster. Essex was arguably worse than Scott last year at OT, and we all know Scott was absolutely unacceptable. I know Essex lost some weight, but that doesn't guarentee anything. Even thin he was never better than backup quality, especially at LT. So suppose he's exactly as good as Scott was last year. That's what we want? For what? To avoid having to change the position of someone that's a much better player with a future? Even though that was the original plan?

-If Adams is ready, we're set. Adams / Colon / Pouncey / DeCastro / Gilbert. Everyone is good to go in this scenario.
-If he's not, we go Gilbert / Foster / Pouncey / DeCastro / Colon. Everyone is good to go in this scenario with the possible exception of Gilbert, who was already preparing for LT work and still is. That doesn't seem like such a huge shuffle to me.

I know shuffling guys around isn't good for chemistry, but I'd rather shuffle around 5 good players than keep 4 good players and 1 terrible player in the same spot every week. Especially if the terrible one is at LT. I can't justify putting Scott or Essex on the field while Gilbert/Colon/Foster is on the bench.[/quote:3usksa98]

Well then lets just all hope Adams is ready so we don't run into this scenario. Ideally we want the first line up on the field and not have to play the what if game. I really think the second option you laid out will bum out Colon, like he said he wants to get one position down, not be switching back and forth, also swinging Gilbert back and forth would hurt how he progresses kind of like what happened with Michael Oher in Baltimore. So lets all hope and pray it doesn't come to any of that and Adams holds down the LT spot for years and years to come. Go Steelers

 

Hmm I wonder if this is right. I haven't seen any other articles about it and in the video on Steelers.com he's being interviewed at the end talking about wrapping up OTA's. He was dressed up and seemed like he had just participated.

 

I think he had another foot surgery right around when the season ended. Fine with me if he's not participating now. I want him 101% healthy, not 99%. Rushing guys back can make things linger more and more (see Woodley in 2011). I trust him enough as a receiver to let him take mental reps all the way to September, even with a new offense.

Starks did much better than you give him credit for. I know you haven't seen my scores yet, but you might be surprised. He was embarrassing against Denver -- so much so that I'm wondering if he was already hurt before he came out, because I never really saw him get injured -- and he was embarrassing against SF. But that's two games and both against some of the league's elite pass rushers. Rookie or not, Aldon Smith is one of the very best there is. He put up those numbers as a situational player.

The rest of the time, Starks was pretty much money in pass protection. The same can't be said for Scott and Essex.

I like Foster fine as a guard. I have not had a chance to grade him at RT. I know he played a tiny bit there a year or two back (maybe for a game or less?). If he can play at starting-caliber level, I'd be fine with your plan and keep Colon at LG, giving us Gilbert / Colon / Pouncey / DeCastro / Foster. If Foster struggles out there in space, switch the two. That keeps Foster in a good place and as for Colon, he's a big boy. He can handle playing the same spot he's been playing for years for a little while longer.

 

to give scott some due, he is a much better RT. i'm anxious to see how much he did play last year, because i know he was playing in some games at either tackle spots and most didn't even know he was in the game. the year before last we finished the season with scott and he played pretty well through the playoffs for us. not perfect but we haven't had a lineman grade out in the 90% range in a long while i'm guessing except maybe pouncey. maybe gilbert last year.

as far as max. why is it OK that he got outright embarrassed in two games because the guys were real good. he's the starter for goodness sakes. we play against good players alot. how many games did scott get embarassed? 1 for sure, but why is it OK for one and not the other? even when injured. this makes no sense to me. i know he's a non factor right now but so many want him back here. i say good riddence. max was very smart and very long and i think it covered alot of his bad play. i have never seen a 360 lb. man pushed back to his qb like i did with starks on way to many occasions. the browns game alone about made me sick, after ben hurt that ankle and came back and then starks gets man handled and walked back until he steps right on the same ankle. i about went into orbit. we can do better and with gilbert and adams . as far as the 3rd or 4th string LT we could do worse then scott or essex. hopefully new and improved scott and essex.

foster? i like foster and think he has done a very decent job for us. he played alot of RT in college. of course the guy that started on the left side for them was chris scott. i've not seen him given a shot at RT yet. they have been trying to make him a guard in the past, most likely because thats what we needed the most. then there's the other rookie that i think may suprise before it's over , beachum. maybe the kid could play some tackle for us. he's an aweful smart kid. his arms are only 3/4" shorter then adams. i remember some of our best lines were made of short linemen over the years. who knows? i will end with the fact we have alot of young talent here and i believe this will be a knock down drag out fight for each spot on that line and i'm gonna love every minute of it.

 

Was dominated by Jabbal Sheard Cleveland Browns and did I mention
former Pitt player. He has aways to come before I let him protect my 102 million dollar QB
blindside.

 

Snack, why in the world would we go back to Foster at Guard and Colon back to RT? That does not make any sense. They are doing the right thing by getting the new guys right into the mix. Colon should definently stay at LG and Gilbert should stop talking that LT stuff and get it in his head that he is the RT. If Colon goes back to RT and Gilbert switches to LT, then Adams is a wasted draft pick. All the other teams put their rookies to the task but the Steelers sit them on the bench and let them watch. If Colon fails at LG, then put Foster in and play the rookies. Personally, I don't think Colon can beat out Gilbert at RT. With these two draft picks, DeCastro and Adams, I say put them out there with Pouncey and Gilbert who both started as rookies and let them learn together. They have a great position coach in Coach Koogs, so lets get it on!

 

Now see, thats what I'm talking about. I said the same thing to Snack, why would we put Colon back at RT and switch Gilbert to the left side. Wouldn't make any sense at all. Gilbert did a great job on the right side last year. Leave him their and let him build on that. As far as I'm concerned, Colon couldn't beat Gilbert out as the right tackle anyway, so why do it. I feel that if Colon can't get it done as the LG, then make him a back up swing man, but keep the young guys out their in place, Gilbert at RT, DeCastro at RG, Pouncey at Center, and Adams at LT. Keep that core group inplace and let them learn together. Two small questions are, if Adams will take the LT job, if not, hopefully Essex can get the job done and leave Colon at LG and Gilbert at RT, and can Colon make it as the LG and stay healthy.