From now on I'm just going to call Vernon Carey IHOP

[Shouright]

Right now I'm kind of caught between Jeno James and Seth McKinney as a weak link. I think they both are, and Frank Middleton played LG in Oakland I believe so maybe his transition would go easier if he supplanted Jeno James at LG, which allows Hadnot to play RG and try and get better at that position. It just feels like our guards are a bigger part of this offense than the Center, and so Hadnot and Middleton should be our guards, while we try and figure out a center. Then again, I think James improved significantly in the Jags game (dunno, concentrated mostly on Carey) so maybe he should stay, Hadnot should move over, and Middleton can play RG. I'm torn. I do know the Marcus Stroud sack was on Hadnot, who got bullied and bytched on the play. Seth had initially double-teamed Henderson with Jeno (which is the right move, usually you think Hadnot can handle his own), then noticed Stroud bulling in and Seth tried to redirect and hit Stroud but it was too late. Nice thing about Carey is you get the feeling if he did the same thing it wouldn't be too late, he'd probably end up saving the day :)

What about this:

LT -- Carey
LG -- Middleton
C -- Ephraim
RG -- Hadnot
RT -- McDougle

I don't know jack about Ephraim, but I'm assuming you do. All I know is, if you want to make the interior line NASTIER, this would be the way to do it. All 3 guys in there got chips on their shoulders.

 

[twohype]

Now THAT was a post worth staying up late to read. Great Job CK....
I'd like to see the same kind of eval on Seth at center...I think a lot of us assumed that Hadnot would be taking over the center postion, but Saban named Seth to start against Pittsburg. Does this meant aht Saban liked what he saw?

I hope that Saban's not starting to favor Seth at "C", since Seth is abit of a "Turd" at that position :eek:

 

[fitskin]

Impressive.

 

[phinphan4life]

I absolutely love the name IHOP. Very clever. Excellent post. I'm just happy that Vernon Carey is starting to do well enough that he has garnered a nickname that doesn't have anything to do with sucking.

 

[finsnchips]

CK, great post.

It is much appreciated.

 

[Surferosa]

:allhail:

Great news on Carey. CK, any news on Ephraim?

 

[Ohio Fanatic]

thanks CK. And notice that there isn't anymore shuffling at LT position. Carey has locked it up, which is comforting considering all the shuffling on the rest of the Oline.

 

[cnc66]

thanks CK. And notice that there isn't anymore shuffling at LT position. Carey has locked it up, which is comforting considering all the shuffling on the rest of the Oline.

I am one of those folks that believe it all starts in the trenches, that it doesn't really matter how good your skilled positions are if you can't fundamentally protect and block. From the beggining the hire of Hudson Houck has been my favorite. Linehan has to be beyond pleased. Remember our panic when our free agency and draft did relativly nothing to bolster our o-line? Remember the "doom and gloom" because virtually no one could beleive that Hudson could make last years unit succesful. How refreshing for OUR coach to lock on to a kid sitting on the bench, sullied for all time as a bust, our worse draft pick EVER, and project him into the left tackle spot, the most demanding on the line. This is like a free draft pick(and we don't waste the associated time that would be used in evaluation). We can now also pick the BPA instead by desparate need. This is an upside, that assuming continued progress and barring injury, that could pay off for years. All of our opponents and some of our own will disparage this enthusiasim as homerism. Maybe it is, but we have a solid foundation for beggining to believe. He is playing well against some pretty good DE's. Who's to fear? Freeny? By the time we get back to him our boy will be that much better, I would point out CK's comments on how he finishes the play... takes his guy out of the picture by fighting until the whistle. When was the last time the word "pancake" applied to anything except what was happening to our interior line.(Cruddy comes to mind) Best review of the preseason so far. Thanks CK

 

[SWS84]

I love the analysis! I wish we had more posts like these. Nice job, CK!

Steve

 

[suhawk]

good read man. its good to think we might actually have some time to complete the deep throws Linehan likes.

 

[FinNasty]

Great post! Appreciate you takin the time to break down the film...
Go IHOP! :fatman:

Nasty

 

[finswin56]

Great post CK. Thanks for taking the time to do the detail.

I LOVE the nickname!

 

[FinFan57]

Great post. I enjoyed reading your comments CK. A few thoughts to add. First, as you touched on, Vernon still has trouble with the outside speed rush. Because of his size, most teams will game plan with this in mind. I don't think any team is going to go through Carey (as opposed to Wade Smith), but they will use various stunts and speed rushes to get to Gus. I have this warm, fuzzy feeling though that Houck will help Vernon in this area and even the speed rush will be mastered by season's end.

Another positive development is that it sure looks like Alabi is quietly developing into a good backup at LT. He certainly has the arms, attitude, and smarts to be a good one. I think he just needs to bulk up and get smarter under Houck.

It appears that both starting and backup at LT might be secured for a long time, which is really comforting when you consider where we were just a few months ago.

 

[zach13]

I am one of those folks that believe it all starts in the trenches, that it doesn't really matter how good your skilled positions are if you can't fundamentally protect and block.

Agree completely, and I would take it one step further - If you have a great line then it does not matter who you line up at your skilled positions -they will all look better.

 

[ckparrothead]

Great post. I enjoyed reading your comments CK. A few thoughts to add. First, as you touched on, Vernon still has trouble with the outside speed rush. Because of his size, most teams will game plan with this in mind. I don't think any team is going to go through Carey (as opposed to Wade Smith), but they will use various stunts and speed rushes to get to Gus. I have this warm, fuzzy feeling though that Houck will help Vernon in this area and even the speed rush will be mastered by season's end.

Another positive development is that it sure looks like Alabi is quietly developing into a good backup at LT. He certainly has the arms, attitude, and smarts to be a good one. I think he just needs to bulk up and get smarter under Houck.

It appears that both starting and backup at LT might be secured for a long time, which is really comforting when you consider where we were just a few months ago.

I'm not sure I meant to give the impression that Carey "has trouble" with the outside speed rush. Every OT in the league "has trouble" with the outside speed rush. You have 330 pound men going up against 270 pound men built like basketball players who have speed to move forward that first 10 yards almost as fast a RB. Every OT in the league is at a disadvantage.

Where Carey has the most trouble I've seen so far, is outside-in moves. He got outright beat by Alex Brown on one such move, and nearly got beat again by Hayward except he managed to recover just in time and club Hayward into the dirt from behind.

Thanks for the compliments.