I Still have the same Ideal about our OL

Looking at our Team and reviewing the way we run and the way our plays our designed ,,,,I still think we need to move Pouncey to LG......

The reason I say this is the counter pike is our favorite play and Pouncey is our best puller and lead blocker,,, and our 2nd. best guy is Big Doug so a move of him to RG would give us our best 2 guys doing what they do best according to the playbook..

The reason I feel we could do this is the solid play of Trai at Center yesterday,he seemed to get a good push and he seemed to make the right calls and the right reads.....

Plus the move would probably help Pouncey with his health issues not having to snap the ball and getting drove into so quickly plus he is smart enough and Athletic enough to help the LT in pass protection........

I know most will not agree ,but there is no doubt the Guard position is more important that the Center in our current scheme as both Doug and Trai have played above the line so I would like to see some above the line play from both Guard spots and the added ability to run our favorite play both directions and add some more outside lead plays both directions as Pouncey and Doug are the most qualified guys on the roster to do this with....

Also I will add this is why I like 2 RB sets as you can fake to one and fill with the FB and then pull that Guard to the outside going the other way and pull the play side Guard as well and run some double Traps ....You can get real creative and kick out,block down,block LB'S,CB'S,SS'S and really disrupt a run D with this type of stuff...

And 1 more added bonus is the Inside Trap game.....With both Guards able to pull you can run a lot of effective Trap plays which include the Trap passes to the TE'S and the TB......

 

nah I like Pouncey just where he is

 

They will fail us when they start playing playoff caliber teams
that can generate a pass rush. May God help us.

 

Hold up! Don't get impressed by this oline because they did a good job against the Rams. The Rams have the worst defensive against the run in the league. I've been overly critical of the oline for a few years now and they have not changed my assessment of them. Individually they are below average at best. Essex, Kemo, Legursky, Scott, Foster and Colon would be backups on most teams. Well, Colon is ok but I would not pay him a high salary. Legursky is good as a backup center nothing more. Starks, Pouncey and Gilbert are the building blocks for this oline. Even though Starks had a horrible game against the 49ers, he basically shut down Terrell Suggs the last game they played. I think if Starks had a half decent partner on that side he would be alot better.

What troubles me is that the organization did not address the oline this year other than Gilbert. I can't believe they thought that Scott, Kemo Pouncey, Legursky and Gilbert would surfice for them to be productive. They had Tony Hills and I can't believe he was worst than foster or Essex but maybe Essex position flexibility saved his job.

Again, two stud offensive guards, rookies or free agents will shoot this team to the top. With, Aaron Smith, Chris Hoke, maybe Ward, Mcfadden we should have some extra dollars to sign someone pretty good.

 

I agree but I hope not. Kugler "Let's go" in Cowher's voice.

 

I'm not quite as knowledgeable about the draft as many on this board. I review the picks and look for them to play, but since I really only follow PSU, I know knothing about the players coming out of college. So when Gilbert started, I was surprised to see that he was a rookie. I say this because, I recall reading posts about how the line wasn't addressed. I was disappointed with Starks showing up to camp overweight, but have been pleased since his return. I'm not sure about Colon, at some point he becomes injury prone. This is two seasons in a row he hasn't played. Will he be in football shape when he returns? It took him a long time to become worth what he was paid to begin with. Perhaps because of this team's success, they are paying players so much that the team just didn't have the room to improve the o-line once the season started. Time will tell. If they do not go out and get a FA or draft a LG, then I'll be a lead critic with everyone else.

 

The Niners have the best and when the Steelers disguised the play they ran effectively against them, remember Mendenhall gouging that top ranked defense for a 9 yard gain or more? It was after those plays where the Niners would stack against the run and stuff the play for a 1 yard loss. So I don't fully support the caliber of team argument in the assessment of how the line played as compared to the Monday night game. They utilized a well rounded attack on Saturday and got the Rams defense moving and kept them off balance. This will always help the Oline no matter what caliber of talent you play. This is why the Steelers defense shuts down the run, because then they can play the pass and pressure the QB. IF you know whats coming you can stack the line against it or play coverage and apply pressure to force the bad play. AS PWP has been saying all year the PA passing game is where they could be making a killing but it doesn't work if no one believes they are going to run or if you line up in empty backfield 5 wide sets all the time.

 

I agree with your assessment. I think any oline can be successful if the defensive doesn't know the run is coming and you keep them off balance. But I pose a question. If it was 4th and one with our oline would you trust them. Man on Man. How many defensive lines in the NFL could they move off the ball? Back when Cowher was the coach...everyone knew we were going to run and they still couldn't stop it the majority of the time.

 

Thats because Cowher was a run oriented coach and they worked on t
he run all the time. Bruce Arians doesn't work on the running game. He doesn't even know how to develop a competent running game. He has no clue. All he does is pitch and catch the ball up and down the field in practice. PWP is also right about the Play Action passing game, it's non existant with Bruce Arians. BA's favorite, famous zero backfield sets, one back set and 5 wide sets are no secret. Everyone knows he is gonna pass. Are you tire of it yet?

 

TY.....And this adds directly to my point as we run to the right at least 90 % of the time,,,,,,we run the same running play at least 90% of the time.. Also our Center only pulls about 5% of our total plays.....Most of the negative runs come from the front DL as our Guards and Tackles fail to get any push they actually get smoked a lot,,,,this is Why Redman has a higher per carry average than Mendenhall....Mendy needs a crease to be at his best,,,,, so if those 2 guys are our best pullers and the Couter pike is our favo0rite play and we are a 1 sided run Team for the most part,,,,,,It makes perfect sense to get our best play working to the best of it's ability and to cut down on the predictability by being able to run to both sides....

The point of the thread is not what I would do,but rather what we should do under our current scheme....All I am saying is with our current play calling and play design Pouncey and Doug are minimized if they are at Center the tape shows that as plain as day and I could care less about the Pro Bowl at Center stuff ,,,I would much rather him never make a Pro Bowl and help us open up the run game and the PA pass with the added Bonus of getting a better Athlete in a better position to help protect our QB....The Depot has the proof as I read it a month or so back that most of our pressures come from the 3,5, and Seven hole and most of the strip sacks come from there as well....

So to me it makes perfect sense....

 

No, I would not trust them. After that goal line fail agains the Browns, I lost a lot of faith in the O-Line. And not just because they didn't score, but because of how terrible they looked while not scoring. I think Tomlin only called the 4th down run because of field position. And that paid off.

 

What we need to do is leave Pouncey at C and draft a couple studs at T and G. And not 5th & 6th round scrub players but 1st, 2nd, or 3rd rounders that can make an immediate impact. We can't afford to draft projects (like Hills) but players more like #77. :thumbsup:

 

Its hard to disguise the run when everyone knows we only run one place - up the middle. And it seems either Miller or ward are always in motion to the end of the line when we run. dead give away.

 

pwp, i know what you are saying, and even touched on it on the other board when essex had to play center before. it may actually be his calling. he does pretty well from that spot. he's big enough to handle bull rushing nt's and doesn't have to move around alot. i'd still like to see him drop 10lbs. off his gut. he played better when he came in in shape. i like a guy named joe looney from wake forest. he's a guard that moved to center this year for them. he grades out very well for them. he's mobile and may not be at the top of the guard board but his moving to center this year could be part of that. he's a very solid player at either spot. he would fit in nicely here. he is a hidden gem. he's also the kind of player kugler likes as an interior guy. pouncey,essex( with some time and weight drop), legursky and looney would make a nice interior group. they are tough, mobile and smart. most can make multiple blocks on any given play. i wouldn't mind the kid from washington ( kelemete) either drafted to add to the mix. he played alot of LT for them. another tough , smart mobile overachiever. this would seal our interior for some time to come. a good LT addition and another tackle prospect (reynolds byu) would seal the deal for the next 10 years, improve the run game and seal off some of the rush lanes in the passing game. to be honest, i'm glad they brought malecki back onto the PS. the kid showed me a nice strong base in the preseason. he didn't give up ground at all in the middle. again something to build with. all these guys are 6-2 thru 6-4. they don't need to be lumbering giants to be effective. a strong base ,smarts and mobility would go a long way. kemo, starks,colon,scott,scott could be upgraded easily with these additions. i'd also sure like to see fichtner get hold of this offense in the near future. :xmassmile5: