Hey, mastering technique as an OL is hard stuff. Not a lot of guys can do it well. It's kind of sad really. So many scouts look so strongly at the measurables and not the skills. If a guy has been lifting weight all his life, don't expect him to get more powerful in the NFL. If an OL has been learning the same basic technique all his life and still has no clue how to visually identify a swim move set-up, or place his hands right, or when/how to kickslide ... he isn't likely to get it when he enters the pros. It's likely somewhere around year 13 of being taught those techniques ... and if they didn't learn them in the previous 12 years ... well, you get the idea.
Our scouts need to realize that technique is the #1 thing an OL needs, and that comes before things like lateral quickness and arm length. Another thing they need is a certain level of power ... no more Dallas Thomas/Jonathan Martin/Ja'Wuan James pillow fighters. Sure, they can get by without having fantastic power, but if they don't have 'sand in their pants' coming into the league, they never will, IMHO. A powerful punch is nice, but leverage and functional lower body power is faaaaaaaaaaar superior.
I'm not at all surprised Billy Turner was released. There comes a point where the kid just isn't going to 'get it' as far as technique. I wouldn't waste so much time waiting for it to happen.
This league does not reward developing raw players. By the time they actually become gems, they're ready for their 2nd contract and become too expensive. What we need are guys who perform immediately, or are cornerstones of our franchise.
Sure, we can take a flyer on an injured player like the Cowboys and Jaguars did with those injured LB's this past year. But preferably, those are longshots you take a bit later in the draft like we did with Jakeem Grant (size not health). And, you can't stock your roster with those guys. You need a core of performers.
Take a look at New England. Those guys plug in functional guys all the time. They're not looking for a LG to be All-Pro. They're not looking for the perfect physical specimen. They take guys who have technique and can follow direction ... then the coaches put them in position where all they have to do is their own job. Important players like Brady, Gronkowski, Collins, etc. are asked to do a lot more. But the grunts are asked to do very specific things with limited exposure and expectation. Their systems are built for doing things the way Bill Arnsparger used to do with the Miami Defense once upon a time ... the system stops the opposing team, not super-human players.
Our OL is mostly unable to do what it is asked to do. Albert does his job ... and then cannot do it because he's injured. Pouncey does the pulling part of his job, but loses at the point of attack fairly often. That's when he's healthy. James is simply not doing his job well enough. The reason we liked what we saw from Steen is that he does what he was asked to do ... which was to be decent. We need more guys who can do that. It requires technique and leverage. It requires honing their craft and consistently doing those basics.
Billy Turner never consistently did the basics. He always had raw or very below average technique. That's why he's falling out of the NFL.
I wish him luck, but his time is almost run out.
