OL News: Colon Fully Recovered Already, Gilbert to LT

According to this article, Willie Colon is already fully recovered from his triceps injury, which is great if you ask me because he can get his strength back to 100% by training camp.

It also says Marcus Gilbert has been told by the coaching staff there's a "strong possibility" he will play LT next year, as I've been hoping. He also has experience at both OT positions and says he's "very comfortable at both sides."

The last major nugget is that free agent and ACL victim Max Starks will take 7-8 more months to recover, and is "not expected to be brought back in 2012." Jon Scott is under contract for next year, but at almost $3 million should be cut or re-signed for the minimum.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2012/01/ma ... e-in-2012/


Gilbert - (1st/2nd round draft pick) - Pouncey - Foster - Colon

With another OG brought in via draft or FA to compete with Foster. That will be the best line we've had in years, and will be even better in 2013 and beyond.

 

I'm not so sure Gilbert is an upgrade at LT yet. He may get there. I wouldn't be surprised if Max can keep his weight down that he be invited to camp to see what he has.

 

I just want to be able to block for Ben...

 

I would prefer Gilbert-Legs-Pouncey-1st/2nd DP-Colon
or
Gilbert-Legs-Pouncey-Colon-1st/2nd DP

The second option is unlikely as we would have a RG making RT money, plus all the good 1st round tackles are gone by the time we draft. But Colon seems like he is much better fitted to be a guard

 

Whatever the case, I know its always a good thing when you have a healthy Colon.

 

A high fiber diet promotes Colon health.

 

There was a thread a while back asking about moving Pouncey to LG and making Legs the C. I understand Pouncey is an All Pro Center but the 16 game season seems to wear him down a bit at that position. Legs has shown he can handle the center position. If Gilbert pans out our left side could be set for years to come.

 

I'd rather have a capable Guard and an All Pro Center than a good Guard and a capable Center. The solution is to fix the Guard spot.

It's not an issue of moving the All Pro from C to LG, as if which position matters most is the only thing in question. Pouncey is only an All Pro at Center. He is just a good player at LG. We might as well put Antonio Brown at RB to get Emmanuel Sanders on the field. Brown could do damage at RB, but it's still a net loss and ultimately a crazy and lazy solution.

 

If he's not already better than Starks, he will be by week 4. By season's end he'll be better than Max ever was.

 

Why don't you think he will be an all pro at guard? The line is only as strong as our weakest link. All pro center and a turnstile at guard does nothing for us. Funny how people think we can draft a guard or find one via free agency to fill a need. If the team could do that we wouldn't be talking about fixing the line every off season.

 

A couple of things. I saw him play a lot of guard during the 2010 preseason, and he wasn't half as good as he was at center during that same time frame. He has far more experience at center, and as the call-maker on the line, it's a more important position. Not to mention the center plays more on both sides of the field, and is far more important when you're playing a 3-4 team, which we do lots of.

I also disagree with your "weakest link" theory. Of course a good guard helps a center and a turnstile is bad, but you act like having an all pro at center doesn't help us if the guard next to him isn't good. Like having an all pro quarterback means nothing if the receivers aren't good? Or like two good safeties and a corner do nothing if the other corner isn't good? The weakest link theory is a nice talking point for coaches to motivate players, but it's hardly accurate. 4 good linemen and one terrible lineman is better than 5 average linemen. By a mile.

And I don't think that our guard position is as impossible to fix as you suggest, either. It's not like they've tried everything and now it's time to put Pouncey there because nothing else works. What have we really tried? Letting Faneca go... Thinking Kemo could do it... Trading down for Vasquez and watching him get snatched up the pick before ours, and settling for Urbik... A bunch of UDFAs like Legursky and Foster, plus some late rounders like OT Chris Scott and Keith Williams... Oh, and how many free agents did they bring in to plug the hole? They haven't really tried anything more than long, long shots, and none of them panned out (surprise).

 

I have a hard time getting excited about a Tackle (Colon) who hasn't played in a couple of years. The Steelers have a hard time getting excited about keeping a player with a history of injury. If our OL wasn't in need of so much help Colon wouldn't even be remembered.

 

I agree. Colon hasn't seen the field for the past 2 seasons, and prior to that he was frequently the whipping boy of the OL. I dont understand why people make him out to be great even during his brief stints being healthy. He is average at best when healthy and a boat anchor the past 2 seasons. Lets cut our losses with him.

 

If I remember correctly, Colon was pretty good.

That is if I remember correctly. He hasn't played in years...

 

Maybe good compared to the other guys out there on our line but average from an NFL tackle standpoint. Remember, we had Hartwig at C when Colon was healthy. A guy who got steamrolled in the EZ causing a safety by a DT who couldn't make a roster a couple weeks later. A guy who got replaced by a rookie and couldn't even make a PS roster anywhere in the league. Thats the kind of talent you're comparing Colon with. But compared to competent OL and T talent across the league, Colon is in the bottom half.

 

Bad luck for starks.He did well this season.Maybe one of the only bright spots on the oline.So is there not anyone else that is on the current roster that can step up and play solid football?

 

Colon is a pretty good rt. He got called out on the old mb all the time from some haters, but really, he is pretty good. Remember he had the like of Stapleton and Hartwig playing next to him, which really made his job difficult.

 

I'm guessing that getting rid of Colon isn't going to happen because of his hit against the cap. Just what my buddy was saying. Anybody know his situation?

Anyway, Starks is a ? LG needs replaced. RG is a ? Colon is a ? So, put Gilbert either on the left or right, there may still be too many ? for one off season to fix. Throw in to that the Steelers already being so far over the cap. The Steelers will be saying goodbye to many long serving players. Hopefully all the youth they bring in will still be competitive while the core of Ben, Troy, Harrison, Heath, etc are still here.

 

We needed to draft a center to fill a need (pouncey) and we drafted a tackle to fill a need (Gilbert). I don't see why we can't do the same with a guard. That is what the draft is for.

 

I was Willie Colon Basher #1 in 2006, 2007, and 2008. But I'm telling you he really turned it around in 2009 and played very well. He was always a good run blocker, but his first three years he was like a ghost in pass protection. In 2009 he was much better. He became a good pass protector, while still being a very good run blocker. He totally won me over. And I hated him more than I hate David Johnson now. Not that this means anything, but I'm pretty sure he's considered a top 5 RT by the "football community." Players, coaches, writers, etc. He's generally considered very good now.

The lack of playing time sucks, but he did come back last time and played well against Baltimore and in the preseason. Now he's recovered again, so I'm not worried about the last two years.

If he had played this year, he would have easily been our second best lineman.

By the way, I think it was a linebacker that trounced Hartwig

 

Yeah you are right Snack. It was Okeafor that trucked Hartwig. Thanks for correcting me on that. Point still stands that Hartwig was our starting C on a weak OL. So when we compare Colon to the caliber of play from a guy like Hartwig, Colon looks all pro. Even if you are the king of the pigs, you're still a pig. Maybe a healthy Colon can help of we can get a decent RG and Gilbert can play effectively at LT. But I'm not sold on Colon being the second best OL if he's healthy. We'll just have to agree to disagree on that.

 

I never compared him to Hartwig or Stapleton. I'm not saying he was better than them, I'm saying he played well overall in 2009.

He would have been the second best OL in 2011. In 2012, Gilbert will be better, and we have no idea how much better. And I'm hoping he'll also have to compete with DeCastro for that title as well, but not unless DeCastro has some kind of drugs in his system come the Combine. Hmm, that gives me an idea...

 

Recovered or not, we still need to add 2 quality guards to our OL.

 

Not trying to defend our line play this year as it was mediocre at best imo, but in thier defense I would like to point out a few things.

1) BR, tough to pass block for, doesn't read defenses that well which causes him to hold the ball too long...we all know the end results that can occur from holding it too long as we watched it all season.
2) Mendenhall, tough to run block for, doesn't hit holes fast and hard, he dances through or around them and eventually into surgery apparently!
3) BA, never made any commitment to a running or passing offense in either the season or in a particular game, sandlot gameplan week in and week out it felt like.
4) Injuries, lines need to gel over time, we had way to many injuries for that to fully take place

You put these obstacles in front of other teams, most if not all of their offensive lines will look poor like ours, it was almost a perfect storm that eventually led to our exit from the playoffs.