I am concerned about how many if there are on our ol. I'll start with if age doesn't catch up with whit. if the sophomore slump doesn't hit our rookies from last year. if corbett is good enough to take over center from blythe.if havenstien can return to play like 2 years ago. if havenstien and whit have trouble can Evens or Edwards take over. if corbett takes over center who plays lg could this be a spot for anchrum or blythe. any way there are just alot of ifs to overcome just to get to a slightly above average ol. all i can do is trust in kromer coaching them up and mcvay scheming around them. oh well onward and upwards right to sb 2020
man oh man have i beat this topic to death me think me smells decompostion. am leaving this for now.
A couple of things. I think your getting the cart in front of the horse. As John Madden once said, "don't worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon". Corbett playing center was a Cleveland experiment. I'm not saying he can't play center, just that it isn't his natural position. Some of his strengths indicate he might be able to play center though.
Austin Corbett C/G Nevada 6’4 310 lbs
Corbett is a 4-year starter for Nevada at tackle. He projected to moving inside at the next level. He is the definition of a road grader, frequently battling and fighting his way to creating movement.
Corbett is an incredibly situational aware player, keeping his head on a swivel and always looking downfield. He’s a nasty, chippy player that will fight after the whistle. Corbett plays with natural leverage and functional strength, rarely getting moved and relocated off his spot.
Corbett rarely gets beat off the snap off the ball, showing outstanding mirror ability and lateral agility. Corbett has helped his RB Butler break rushing records each of the last 2 seasons at Nevada, running for over 1,000 yards each season.
Corbett lacks the ideal size and length to play outside at the NFL level.
Corbett isn’t going to impress anyone with his athleticism or raw ability but relies on good technique and awareness. When going up against guys that win the length battle, Corbett struggles to gain inside hands and will allow defenders to shed him quickly in the passing game.
Best Fit: Center or guard
I wonder if Coleman Shelton isn't above Corbett on the C depth chart. He's actually played C. And he's seen some action with the Rams although only 23 offensive snaps.
Coleman Shelton C/G Washington 6’4 295 lbs
Shelton is an incredibly versatile 4-year starter for the Huskies that has played at every position on the offensive line.
He’s the most natural at center and where he projects at the next level. Shelton has good length for the position showing an ability to latch on and control blocks. He’s a very impressive guy in the run game, helping the Huskies setting all kinds of rushing records.
Shelton is known to be the heart and soul of the offensive line. He shows good initial quickness out of his stance, quickly setting his feet and firing off the ball.
Has some bad habits, notably that he drops his head upon contact.
Shelton has some strength concerns and it got exposed quite a bit, especially in pass protection. He fails to adequately widen his stance allowing defenders to get to his outside shoulder far too easily. He’s not consistent enough with his hand placement, allowing guys inside his chest.
Best Fit: Zone center
Any of their weaknesses are coachable. They're both from the 2018 draft class. Corbett was #33 and Shelton was signed by SF. He spent 2018 on the Cardinals PS and last year with the Rams. Corbett also spent his time on the sideline in Cleveland, which is why he was tried at C. Corbett has already played G for the Rams, so there's that. I think Evans is ready to play either G or T for the Rams. He seemed to show more, faster than Edwards or Corbett. After Whitworth and Havenstein when he's on, Evans may be the 3rd best OL we have. I happen to think Noteboom is right there with him IF he's playing OT. Edwards seems to be one of our two starting guards. He improved the more he played, just not as fast as Evans. So we have Corbett for the other G spot. Anchrum might make the squad with the extra roster spots, especially if he's as good as Dabo Sweeney says he is and FWIW, I don't doubt DS as his comments were after the draft IIRC.
Lastly, this topic can be beat to death and survive because it was a concern last off season, last season and this off season. There's no lack of opinion on the subject. Ask anybody going into 2019 and OL was the first off most lips. Ask anybody going into 2020 and it's the same. So there is a lot to talk about.
in this forum.
