Who's the last missing piece? (OL)

The only way I won't throw a fit if we draft a guard in the first is if we're picking 31st or 32nd.

 

If Poutasi beats out anyone at any position, the line is in trouble.
That guy is terrible.
When he's not getting manhandled he's letting 1-2 guys breeze right past him.

I don't see how anyone would have any hope for him.

 

Unfortunately, with the way Warmack is whining like a Lil B! We may need to fill both guard positions.

 

Poutasi was a rookie playing a position he was not suited for, with absolutely no help from his HC. Whiz wanted him to win one on one as a rookie who was not suited for the position. I am sorry but that was just BAD coaching. The kid should've never been in that position. I do not see how you can judge anything about him as an OG from what he was put through last year. Yea he played horrible, no doubt. However, he played much like a guy who was not suited for the position the coach put him in.

I am not a Poutasi supporter....I do not think he is destined for great things at G. I have no idea. However, I do think he has a better chance of performing better in that spot. He is much better suited for it. I will reserve my judgment on him until we see what he does at the position.

His HC, Assistant HC, & Position Coach all really screwed the pooch with the call to start him at RT. Then pulling him (Which was the right call) and putting him back in & expecting a better outcome; just made it worse.

Let's see if he can do anything at the position he should've been playing. He may be able to salvage his career now that Whiz is gone. Maybe not. But he at least deserves a shot to earn it IMO.

 

Wow!!! Talk about strong opinions...

Second, when you say a guy is all good or all bad (frequently when i read the phrase "The worst I've ever seen...") this has become a popularity contest. I'd rather this be a performance contest. Considering we have a new HC, new OC, new OL coach and the players are using a different scheme, I don't know how anyone can really have a good idea who will play the LG position.

Short of something drastic, Lewan will be at LT and Conklin will be at RT. We know Jones most likely plays OC but he could play one of the OG positions. Warmack will be the presumptive favorite to be the starting RG but I expect quite a battle on the interior OL. The only guys I know are our OT's. After that, I expect the 2 OG spots to be between Jones, Warmack, Poutasi, Bell, Schwenke, Spain, Tretola, and Mathias. OC will be between Jones, Schwenke, and Gallik. May the best 3 play.

If any of the OL expect that OL play of last year or the year before is good enough to earn them a starting job, they might wanna take a look around. We have essentially 7-9 guy vying for 3 spots which realistically (with Jones signing to be a starter), is 6-8 guys vying for the 2 OG spots. I expect GREAT competition!!!

Warmack has the pedigree but hasn't played well. Schwenke has been up and down AND injury prone. Lewan has been inconsistent as a pass protector and weak in our run game. Poutasi had balance problems (he leans a lot) and technique problems. Playing in a phone booth will help him a lot. He SHOULD be better suited to this style run game. Bell doesn't play as well as you'd expect from an NFL OT in pass pro and doesn't run block as powerfully as you'd expect of a guy his size. He's our backup OT but we'll see how this new talent, scheme and coaching help him. Spain is probably the presumptive fav for LG right now. He played OK last year which was a big deal considering how poorly everyone else played. But if he thinks he can ride that, he's got another thing comin'! More like 5 guys comin'! Comin' for his job!!! Tretola run blocks like the guy we want. But can he pass protect well enough or would he be this year's Poutasi and get Mariota killed?

My projection is that not much will change at starter this year. Not until rookie and training camp gets underway and we can see how everyone plays together and in this system.

LT Lewan
LG Spain
OC Jones
RG Warmack
RT Conklin

 

BTW, I thought Hartwig was the worst OC this team has seen from a starter. Schwenke is light years better!

 

I honestly believe we took Conklin to play RT. However, at this point Robinson said that all the spots on the Oline were open to competition. SO for all we know Conklin COULD beat out Lewan for LT. Lewan really needs to get his stuff together. I know he has missed a bunch of time & is basically a 2nd year player going into his 3rd year. Between playing behind Roos to injuries he has really only played in 2 seasons worth of games. I really think & hope the whole Oline feels the pressure of competition. No one played well enough last year to be confident that they have a starting spot locked up IMO.

Ben Jones is an upgrade at OC IMO. I hope that Poutasi plays better at a position he is much better suited for. He is not an OT at the NFL level. Between the scheme changes, better protection calls, and better competition; I hope this team has a much better Oline on the field this year.

I could see it playing out like this to start:

LT - Lewan
LG - Warmack
OC - Jones
RG - Spain/Poutasi/ Rookie
RT - Conklin

One of the OG spots is going to be really competitive IMO. I think Warmack will get the start at one of the spots. Mularkey has talked about Warmack going back to the left side (Where he played in college) recently.

I don't think we can really predict it right now. My biggest hope is we put the best guys on the oline; regardless of draft position or pay rate.

 

I love how it's popular now to hop on the Lewan needs to get his **** together train. Contrary to popular belief Lewan is pretty good.