I grow weary of these black and white debates. Jackson played poorly, Skura stunk last year, Kindley has slow feet, blah blah.
Conversely, Jackson was young and injured. He WILL be better. Skura WILL play like his pre-injury self.
Personally, I think the entire OL SHOULD be better. Should, but no guarantee. There are concerns across the OL, one of them being lack of experience. I don't know if any of them will be top 5 at their positions. I'd love 2-3 of them to be, but if Flo can get 5 average OLmen, the O will be MUCH better. I expect at least one to disappoint. That's the law of averages. I just hope "disappoint" means average.
Well there are definitely no guarantees of anything. I'm _hoping_ that Skura will get back to his pre-injury form. I'm just not too confident of that. I would have expected him to trend up last year not down towards the middle/end of the season. The jury is definitely out on that one.
When you think about Jackson's age, he should be a rookie this year, and we should be looking for flashes ... but he's already shown exceptional flashes, so I feel confident that he'll grow into a good solid LT. Really couldn't have expected any more than he gave last year. I'm quite pleased.
IMHO, Liam Eichenberg is a guy who divides opinions. Some rated him a borderline 1st round talent with projections in the 20's. Others had him rated as a 3rd round pick. it all depends upon how much weight you put in technique (his is impeccable) vs. how much weight you put into athletic profile (where he is good but not elite). He is big ... but not the guy with eye-popping length. He's quick, but not the uber-athlete like Laremy Tunsil. He seems to have average strength, but his technique dominates against power consistently. Some see that as a guy with good but not great size and quickness, and average power. Others see that as a guy who is in the target range of good size and quickness with great technique. He has proven dominant against elite speed and power, having played a ton of games at Notre Dame against future NFL players. He controlled every battle and won every face-off. He wasn't just consistently good, he was almost undefeated level good. If you were looking for production against good opposition ... this guy is the poster child.
When you look at productivity in the NFL, there are 3 types of OL. There are the elite guys, the inconsistent guys, and the journeymen. Most high draft picks have tremendous athletic ability, which usually includes 300+ pounds of muscle, long arms, and exceptional lateral agility. They're quick, long, and being drafted for their potential. Some guys are also good technicians, but it is rare to find an athlete like that with great technical ability. Those guys are top 10 LT's usually. The guys who haven't mastered the technique fall into the inconsistent category. Lots of guys are in that category, and every team has at least 2 of them on its roster. They'd be All-Pro if they had great technique and consistent play ... but they lack one or both. Sometimes teams waste years waiting for those guys to become good technicians, like we did with Dallas Thomas and a bevy of other subpar OL over the years. The difference between a guy who is top 10 at his position along the OL vs. someone who is 30th at his position is almost always consistency. While the dream is that we can take a super-athlete and teach him the technique, the reality is that these same techniques have been taught to him for the last decade by a bunch of different coaches ... and they still haven't mastered it. Most never will, despite the draft dream otherwise. Precious few guys actually become good technicians in the NFL. Either they got it and applied it earlier ... or they'll always be inconsistent. Liam Eichenberg is consistent, and has excellent technique.
In the NFL, the OL wins most of the battles. In fact it's not uncommon for a poorly producing OL to win 75% of his battles 1v1. But if he allows 1 sack and 2 pressures per game, that's 34 pressures and 17 sacks each year, and he's suddenly the worst OL in the NFL. People don't realize the excellence and consistency demanded of OL. So someone like Eichenberg who masters the technique, has good size and athletic ability, and is healthy represents a real gem. If he turns out to be good enough, then he'll be excellent, and playing at a Pro Bowl level or above every year. He may get beaten, but he is not likely to make many mistakes. That type guy is the cornerstone of an OL.
