Reason for short passes? - Clemens Accuracy beyond 10 yards for one; the spread offense they attempted to run; or my personal favorite, *shocker* No one is open! Checkdown, checkdown....
This has been on-going. Not just with Clemens and not just when they attempted the spread - which BTW they couldn't block effectively for either.
Seriously? Wells is 33 and Jake Long is 28...that's a huge difference... .
Different players heal at different rates. We simply don't know that he will be ready. They also said Wells would be ready to participate in training camp and pre-season. How did that work out?
there's no guarantee we'll start the season with Long? So, you spend the #2 overall pick "Just in case" on a LT because you're afraid the starting LT that you handed a decent 4 year contract to last year "May or may not be back in time" (Which btw they fully expect him to be back) Another words, you're drafting a player because of injury.. that'd be a waste of a #2, unless we're cutting Long. .
No you don't pick anyone in the top of the draft "just in case". You take your next stud LT and then have him play a couple years at LG where he can also give you a huge push in your running game to that side if Long IS ready to start the season.
Actually I think we have 2 starting tackles - an unknown in Jones, a RG if Saffold Stays, and we need to upgrade Left Guard. Center is an unknown to me since we don't know how Jones looks to Boudreau .
Guess we'll see in regards to Saffold and Jones. Still big unknowns - not that Saffold will be reliable for an entire season regardless.
I think it works both ways - like Martz said,if you got a receiver who can get open and separate, you don't need to protect as long. Conversely, if you don't have a receiver that can, you're going to have to have to block longer and the QB is going to have to hold the ball. I personally want to see a balanced o-line, and I know this is not going to be some "run dominant" offense that everyone keeps hoping it will be because of how the scheme changed with Clemens became the starter (what'd you expect with a QB who's dreadful past 10 yards)
I'll pass on spending a top 5 pick on a LT to play Guard for 3 or 4 years. If ain't broken don't fix it - Long was one of the best Left Tackles in the Game, and he's still young.
Martz could get away with it with the GSOT weapons ONLY. He couldn't get away with it anywhere else he went. He also got Warner and Bulger killed back there and almost destroyed the careers of both QBs.
You don't have to go run dominant in this argument. I think they will try to be balanced and exploit defenses in any way they can. But you still have to protect the QB and open up holes regardless which type of offense you run on a given week. Our O-line with mostly the parts you say we can rely on, were still woefully incapable of doing that week in and week out. Oh - with the exception of potentially three of the best players along it in Wells, Dahl, and Saffold (who apparently isn't biting on any of the Rams offers thus far).
In the mean time, you take a 6'1" 200 lb receiver who IMO isn't of the elite make-up when you have spent pretty fair resources at that position already and aside from a big FA acquisition and a 2nd rounder a few years ago (that is likely to pack his bags), you have inserted pieces off practice squads and other teams' reject pile.
And we wonder why we can't score from the two or are constantly having an aspect of our offense completely shut down - rendering us one dimensional. You really think with no running game, Watkins will or any receiver without true elite skills is going to get open on any kind of regular basis in 2-3 seconds? I don't.
