If a lot of the bad things that have happened with this team in the last few years were roads, then all roads would lead to the offensive line:
1) Bad personnel moves -- Wade Smith for a #2 and #3 (utterly ridiculous). Taylor Whitley with a #3. Drafting people like Jamar Fletcher and Eddie Moore instead of quality offensive linemen. Letting Marcus Spriggs walk when your only other option is a rookie left tackle (Smith) who played exactly one year at a small university at one of the most difficult positions to play in the NFL. Not signing Pete Kendall this year. And dare I say it? -- spending a #1 and a #4 on a guy who can't crack the starting lineup on THIS line. Trading a #4 to move up to take Shawn Andrews would've been a better decision. If you're gonna trade a pick to move up to get a guy, the guy should be a starter year one. Andrews was starting on one of the best lines in football.
2) Personnel turnover on offense -- too many changes in one offseason to be able to put it all together in one year. Spielman had good intentions, but expecting FOUR new guys to come together in one season is, as Dr. Phil would say, "an unrealistic expectation." They said all the pressure was on Tony Wise this year, and that was an understatement to say the least.
3) Coaching mess -- Foerster is teaching a playbook that he's just now learning himself. The mini-camps this year had to look like the blind leading the blind. Not good for an offensive line with FOUR new guys on it.
4) Ricky's quitting -- blocking for a great runner brings out the best in a line, and his quitting may have had more to do with seeing this mess in mini-camps than we'd originally thought. Who in his right mind would want to be cast in the role of the battering ram behind THIS line? Remember hearing about how the D line was constantly caving in the O line in mini-camps? Yeah, Ricky was there for that too. And after the pounding he took last year, who can blame him? If you're gonna put the team on one guy's shoulders, you better be able to support that one guy's play.
5) DW's personality -- if there was ever a unit that needed to be reamed, this is it. We don't have the coach who can do it though. They say a team takes on the personality of its coach -- we have a coach who can't get openly angry at his team, so we have an offensive line that doesn't appear to be angry at anybody on the field. Instead we have doormats who play with no passion or intensity. Don't think it's a coincidence that the line played its best after McMichael blasted them.
Anyway, when you have this much mess going on, some part of the team has to absorb it most. In our case it's the O line.
1) Bad personnel moves -- Wade Smith for a #2 and #3 (utterly ridiculous). Taylor Whitley with a #3. Drafting people like Jamar Fletcher and Eddie Moore instead of quality offensive linemen. Letting Marcus Spriggs walk when your only other option is a rookie left tackle (Smith) who played exactly one year at a small university at one of the most difficult positions to play in the NFL. Not signing Pete Kendall this year. And dare I say it? -- spending a #1 and a #4 on a guy who can't crack the starting lineup on THIS line. Trading a #4 to move up to take Shawn Andrews would've been a better decision. If you're gonna trade a pick to move up to get a guy, the guy should be a starter year one. Andrews was starting on one of the best lines in football.
2) Personnel turnover on offense -- too many changes in one offseason to be able to put it all together in one year. Spielman had good intentions, but expecting FOUR new guys to come together in one season is, as Dr. Phil would say, "an unrealistic expectation." They said all the pressure was on Tony Wise this year, and that was an understatement to say the least.
3) Coaching mess -- Foerster is teaching a playbook that he's just now learning himself. The mini-camps this year had to look like the blind leading the blind. Not good for an offensive line with FOUR new guys on it.
4) Ricky's quitting -- blocking for a great runner brings out the best in a line, and his quitting may have had more to do with seeing this mess in mini-camps than we'd originally thought. Who in his right mind would want to be cast in the role of the battering ram behind THIS line? Remember hearing about how the D line was constantly caving in the O line in mini-camps? Yeah, Ricky was there for that too. And after the pounding he took last year, who can blame him? If you're gonna put the team on one guy's shoulders, you better be able to support that one guy's play.
5) DW's personality -- if there was ever a unit that needed to be reamed, this is it. We don't have the coach who can do it though. They say a team takes on the personality of its coach -- we have a coach who can't get openly angry at his team, so we have an offensive line that doesn't appear to be angry at anybody on the field. Instead we have doormats who play with no passion or intensity. Don't think it's a coincidence that the line played its best after McMichael blasted them.
Anyway, when you have this much mess going on, some part of the team has to absorb it most. In our case it's the O line.
