That's a fair criticism. He was really really bad at that early on, mainly in pass protection. I think it has to be a technique thing because he's actually fairly athletic for a big man. He struggled to scoop sometimes on zone runs but that's a weakness that can be masked with less zone.
I have my theories about why the coaches didn't like him, but I think it boils down to 1. poor footwork in pass pro and 2. a feeling of commitment to Zuttah after investing a draft pick and money into him. I know that shouldn't be a reason, but that's something our team would do. Zuttah was "good enough," and we spent money on him, so we stuck with him, despite him being a liability in the run game. What's your take?