FarNorth
Hall of Fame
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2014
- Messages
- 3,060
It will be disappointing if we can't upgrade at center.
Still, the oline could be somewhat better simply if Whitworth and the RBs can stay healthy. It appeared to me the line could not really produce consistently in the running game when Whit was out; that's a big reason they went to the 12 formation. I think Whit will bounce back to form (by his own admission he wasn't there when he came back for the playoffs.) Other guys will be more experienced and hopefully better.
Akers has to stay healthy and force defenses into alignments to stop him for the Rams to set up the passing game. Akers will take advantage of any holes the oline can give him. But whether can they block well enough to turn him into the big time threat he could be remains to be seen.
But... if we can't reestablish play action, and we can't block the rush up the middle, Stafford will be challenged to have space to step up into and time to throw on predictable passing downs.
Yes, he's got a strong arm, a quicker, more compact release than Goff, and can throw off his back foot or moving sideways. But that's not what you want your qb to have to do, except when plays break down. Forcing Stafford into a constant scramble mode imo won't produce the degree of improvement we need and are hoping for. We need the oline to really block for him... if they can.
