FearTheBeard
FearTheBurke
Personally I think you're reading into the whole Jake and Richie thing too much. It's easy to draw up a conclusion like that after all this had happened, but all signs point to Jake and Richie being buddies (bros if you're asking Richie). It was about money, I don't think we offered the same figures and I stand by the decision because I don't believe in spending premium money on lineman. I like the middle tier guys, because who wouldn't rather have a solid guard and tackle for somewhere around 11 million, as opposed to just one tackle making upwards of 9 per. I just think our money can be better spent when we have so many holes to fill on the OL.
I disagree with pretty much everyone so far, I don't want Albert. If I have to shell out top $ I'd rather look at Veldheer or Monroe. I'm not convinced either will make it to the market, but I think one will. But as I mentioned that's not my philosophy. Albert like he always has, failed to play a full season missing 4 games, his durability issues and the fact that he's only an average run blocker means an $8-9 million deal which he'll likely get is too rich for me. If we shell that much out, I rather a guy that I can rely on for 16 games. Albert really has never graded out as more than average as a run blocker.
The guys I'd be looking at are, I watched the coaches cam from gamepass (awesome feature) for my evaluation on guys. Not a huge sample size, just wanted to get a feel for them.
Anthony Collins, LT, Bengals
Collins is at the top of my list to fill our LT spot. He's gonna come cheaper than the top 3 guys, but he's also exactly what I think we need. He'll probably get a contract in the $5.5-6 range and excels as a pass protector having surrendered no sacks in 673 snaps, to go with only 1 QB hit and 13 hurries. Compare that to Albert who in 883 snaps surrendered 4 sacks, 6 hits and 16 hurries, I don't see the need to pony up the extra 3 million annually. Both players graded out slightly below average in the run game as well, their strengths are protecting the edge. Albert was also flagged 9 times, Collins only twice.
I watched Collins line up across from Jared Allen in the game I watched and he kept him at bay throughout the contest without much help. He allowed 3 hurries all game, none of which led to any hits or sacks. Collins has good feet and great length, using his long arms to his advantage. He isn't going to drive anyone in the run game, he's more of a finesse guy who will use angles to set the edge and open lanes. He gets caught lunging at times but for the most part he is a consistent, finesse style guy. He moves very well for his size and can seal off the edge using his long arms and foot speed to get around DEs. Those long arms make him very good at keeping pass rushers at bay and all and all he was up to the task of containing Jared Allen. He has a small sample size, having been stuck behind a solid tackle duo in Cincy, but he has always shown well in protection when called upon. Do I think he's better than Albert right now? Probably not, Albert has very solid technique and is probably more polished as a pass protector. But when I look at the 2 of them they're very similar and for the price tag Albert carries and his injury history he is not worth the contract that will be given to him. First and foremost we need a pass protection first LT, we can get some grinders on the inside but our LT mostly needs to keep our QB upright. Both would do the job effectively, but one will come cheaper and give us some more money to add a RT or another guard. Collins is a realistic possibility with the Bengals already having 2 solid OT's, so he's expendable and should reach the market.
Roger Saffold
This is an idea I've been floating a little bit. With so much work to be done across the OL, flexibility will be key. Saffold has about as much versatility as you can ask, having played LT, RT and RG this season. He did his best work at RG and I think you sign him and plug him in there first. The beauty of bringing a guy like Saffold into the fold, is it gives us a contingency plan, I'm a supporter of bringing in both Collins and Saffold, and retaining Clabo. That way we have 4 of our slots covered entering the draft. If Clabo falters, we can shift over Saffold to RT. If Clabo excels and one of our guards falters it won't be the end of the world, because we'll have 2 capable interior linemen.
Saffold's price tag is anywhere from $4-6 a year, he's another young guy too. I think you bring him in as a guard, draft a couple linemen and then decide where his longterm place on the line is. This way if we draft a tackle in the first 4 rounds and they prove their worth, we'll have the flexibility to keep Saffold inside, and vice versa. I watched a half of Saffold playing LT against the Seahawks and a half playing RG against the Bears (let me mention Saffold has graded out much better as a run blocker since being shifted over to guard). In the Seahawks game he displayed more than enough athleticism to work in our ZBS. I would've liked to see more power in his game, but like Collins he has good length which he uses to his advantage, he gave up no sacks this season at any spot on the OL. Getting thrown to the best defense in football and playing his only game at LT, Saffold was only guilty of 1 hurry. I'll focus on his Bears tape tho, where he's playing guard because I think that's his best position. He looked effective pulling, has very good feet and helped break open a nice hole on a misdirection carry that went for a 78 yard TD. He's asked to pull a lot and consistently gets his hands on guys, I think he'd be a great fit in our offense. The softness i saw from him at LT against Seattle was not there when he was playing inside, there aren't a lot of wasted steps and he shows some physicality in the run game.
Saffold is a part of my Plan A and B due to his versatility. I'd want him as a guard, but if we can't lure Collins or we decide Clabo isn't worth retaining then he could be plugged in at either tackle spot. He'd be a great get.
Those are my two favorites, I'll keep watching some more games and other guys and add to it.
Other guys I'm gonna look at that interest me:
OG Travelle Wharton, CAR (can he play in a ZBS? He's a mauler)
OG Jon Asamoah, KC (got benched this year because his backup was damn good, good athlete that would likely be a great fit here)
OG Zane Beadles, DEN (had a done year this year, but a decent track record and good athlete)
OG Shelly Smith, STL (RFA but has graded out well this year, depends on the tender which makes him a long shot)
OG Kevin Boothe, NYG (very versatile, brings a veteran into the mix)
OG Joe Reitz, IND (only 270, but one would assume pretty agile. Probably would be relatively cheap)
---------- Post added at 06:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:04 PM ----------
http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/5829/jared-veldheer
Although it's highly unlikely, still a bit of hope.
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