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The Offensive Line Thread

The Raven

The Raven

Veteran
Lost_In_Translation said:
Nope. But I found Flacco crying in the corner because he knows that Hurst is going to kill him this year.

Seriously, who did he kill, or what does he know within the organization to still have a job?
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I know he started out really bad but you're being a tad unfair. Considering where he started, Hurst has shown monumental improvement. His last few games in 2016 really weren't terrible.

Make no mistake -- the guy was the worst tackle in the league at first, and even for a bit in 2016. But I have a feeling he's going to be a solid backup at least this year.
 
rossihunter2

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
The Raven said:
I know he started out really bad but you're being a tad unfair. Considering where he started, Hurst has shown monumental improvement. His last few games in 2016 really weren't terrible.

Make no mistake -- the guy was the worst tackle in the league at first, and even for a bit in 2016. But I have a feeling he's going to be a solid backup at least this year.
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the fact that zrebiec and hensley have not only accepted that hurst is the leader in the clubhouse but ultimately decided that he isnt even a bubble starter/in a competition at right tackle is a little worrying - if hurst won the job then fine but he's currently the only option - nembot and wesley were supposed to be highly rated but they havent made a single wave in terms of snaps so far

hopefully once the pads come on we'll start to see if he's legit ok on the right or whether we really are going to be employing a turnstile on the right side of our line
 
A

Adreme

Ravens Ring of Honor
Im wondering if Hurst having the job is sort of the club trying to reward hard work since most reports seem to indicate that Hurst is the hardest worker in the clubhouse and by rewarding that hard work with at least a starting spot that you can lose will incentivize others to work as hard as Hurst and since they will be more talented achieve greater results.
 
The Raven

The Raven

Veteran
It's not as though Hurst is without talent. Back in college, he was a four year starter, was named first team all-ACC two years running, was once considered a potential first round pick, and held Jadaveon Clowney sackless. Clearly, there's something there. My question is why he hasn't continued improving.

Some scouting reports say he's struggled keeping on weight, which is probably it. He's never looked filled out in the NFL. You can be a 285 pound LT in college. Can't get away with that in the NFL. He also broke his leg in a bowl game, which is why he went undrafted.
 
JoeyFlex5

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
Adreme said:
Im wondering if Hurst having the job is sort of the club trying to reward hard work since most reports seem to indicate that Hurst is the hardest worker in the clubhouse and by rewarding that hard work with at least a starting spot that you can lose will incentivize others to work as hard as Hurst and since they will be more talented achieve greater results.
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You know who I could see doing something like that?....



John harbaugh
 
BloodRaven

BloodRaven

MVP
Why is over $600k a year not incentive enough to get yoked and stay that way?

Hurst is the worst overall LT the league has seen in years, Im big on production and the only thing hes produced for us is PTSD in Flacco. We might as well have kept him on the bench and sent out four linemen.
 
JoeyFlex5

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
BloodRaven said:
Why is over $600k a year not incentive enough to get yoked and stay that way?

Hurst is the worst overall LT the league has seen in years, Im big on production and the only thing hes produced for us is PTSD in Flacco. We might as well have kept him on the bench and sent out four linemen.
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It's weird though, hurst was once a potential first rounder. Before his broken leg he was projected to go second round at the latest. There has to be some confidence that he can return to that form for him to still be getting this opportunity.
 
flubberdubber

flubberdubber

Practice Squad
I remember when he was getting first round buzz, he seemed to be a lock before his injury. I absolutely loved him at that time. I have my hesitancies now, but I am not as down on him as some here. We play in a pretty tough division for OT. James Harrison IMO is still a massive matchup nightmare for most OT's in this league. Carlos Dunlap has length and production. And now Myles Garrett should provide another matchup player two times a year. I think he will be fine this year and by week 10 we likely (I hope) wont be speaking about a huge noticeable difference from Wagner to him
 
Sooky

Sooky

Pro Bowler
JoeyFlex5 said:
It's weird though, hurst was once a potential first rounder. Before his broken leg he was projected to go second round at the latest. There has to be some confidence that he can return to that form for him to still be getting this opportunity.
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Maybe there is that small chance he is actually doing well at RT? I mean he nearly killed every player on the 53 man roster while playing LT, but RT is a different game and he is older now. I wouldn't be too concerned until preseason if he is looking mediocre.
 
Truth

Truth

Staff Member
Administrator
I was personally unsurprised by Hurst's struggles. I recall debating with another member who was notably higher on him as a prospect, but I thought there were significant issues on tape during his tenure at North Carolina. In my eyes, the 1st round consideration came off as a media puff piece. He technically did prevent Clowney from notching a sack, but the report on BR about the stonewalling was off the mark. It was far from a perfect game. Aside from twice leaving him unblocked to double team inside with the LG, he had trouble containing Clowney on a number of plays (Link1, Link2, Link3). Basically a tackle on the last play. The rest of the afternoon certainly wasn't awful by any means, but it also wasn't entirely rosy. He gave up a couple of pressures and had a sprinkle of an embarrassing play or two such as the following (Link1). And this was arguably one of his most notable performances of the season. The chief concern is that the very same issues that have held him back over the past few years were the same ones that were clearly visible in college. Hurst would routinely either chest press or lean his top half downward, abandon his kick slide on either the first or second shuffle, flip his hips, and walk with opposing edge rushers while attempting to push them out of the lane. There's virtually no knee bend, balance or leverage. Instead of controlling the defender inside of their pads and staying square, it became a chase-and-shove motion. It can be effective in college, and it wasn't his only plan of attack. But utilizing it in the pros on outside moves is a strategy that is almost bound to leave you dead in the water, and it's exactly what has plagued him to date. It's why I took him off my board entirely during that FM season prior to the draft. That being said, I thought that Hurst improved somewhat down the stretch of last season. It wasn't a monumental change, but it's encouraging, and I hope that it's a step in the right direction. However, I thought his college tape was at least partly indicative of his in-league performance thus far. I didn't see him sniffing the 1st round before the injury on my personal board.
 
Sandtown

Sandtown

Pro Bowler
BloodRaven said:
Why is over $600k a year not incentive enough to get yoked and stay that way?

Hurst is the worst overall LT the league has seen in years, Im big on production and the only thing hes produced for us is PTSD in Flacco. We might as well have kept him on the bench and sent out four linemen.
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Playing left tackle is different from right tackle. We haven't really seen James Hurst play at the right tackle position consistently . I know the guy has been bad in the past but with a new offensive line coach and etc it isn't out of the realm for Hurst to improve and play well .
 
Sledge Hammer

Sledge Hammer

Pro Bowler
BloodRaven said:
Why is over $600k a year not incentive enough to get yoked and stay that way?

Hurst is the worst overall LT the league has seen in years, Im big on production and the only thing hes produced for us is PTSD in Flacco. We might as well have kept him on the bench and sent out four linemen.
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Strength would probably help Hurst get to a functional RT. It is frustrating to see a player with enough skill to make the league. Then with all the money on the line. To not do everything to maximize strength and explosion makes no sense. When people do so every day after working a job that doesn't pay us to work out. But I'm more interested in Stanley finishing getting yolked than Hurst. And even Lewis who has more skill than Hurst. He could probably be a very good RT. If Lewis shows well at RT, then LG could be the bigger prob. The idea is to hope Eluemunor is somehow ready as a rookie to play lg
 
The Raven

The Raven

Veteran
Sledge Hammer said:
Strength would probably help Hurst get to a functional RT. It is frustrating to see a player with enough skill to make the league. Then with all the money on the line. To not do everything to maximize strength and explosion makes no sense. When people do so every day after working a job that doesn't pay us to work out. But I'm more interested in Stanley finishing getting yolked than Hurst. And even Lewis who has more skill than Hurst. He could probably be a very good RT. If Lewis shows well at RT, then LG could be the bigger prob. The idea is to hope Eluemunor is somehow ready as a rookie to play lg
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Yes I'm sure that it's effort that's the issue and not metabolism or biological factors yes thank you for your brilliant fucking insight. It's not like Hurst isn't routinely called one of the hardest workers on the team or like he fails conditioning tests and shit like that. You're probably right man Hurst is just a lazy bastard.

Get some help.
 
Oldfaithful

Oldfaithful

Hall of Famer
The Raven said:
I know he started out really bad but you're being a tad unfair. Considering where he started, Hurst has shown monumental improvement. His last few games in 2016 really weren't terrible.

Make no mistake -- the guy was the worst tackle in the league at first, and even for a bit in 2016. But I have a feeling he's going to be a solid backup at least this year.
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Sure, he's improved but he's still a below average player. He could turn into a solid backup, but I have 0 confidence with him in the starting lineup. It's stupid that we haven't gone to look for ANYONE to replace Wagner. As concerned as I am with Jensen, he at the very least has POTENTIAL. Hurst doesn't. I feel like at best he's a slightly below average player.
 
BloodRaven

BloodRaven

MVP
Hurst gets pumped up every year by Harbaugh but the result is always the same, most bubble guys can at least do one thing but Hurst is equally terrible at run blocking and pass blocking. He should never have been in the league.
 
Oldfaithful

Oldfaithful

Hall of Famer
I've been saying it since we figured out that their likely is a two year plan... It's a good idea in theory but it has a massive design flaw... Flacco has to stay healthy, meaning he needs adaquate protection. Stanley and Yanda are great, and Lewis is a good pass blocker. I don't know about Jensen or whoever will be starting at center. And Hurst, while no longer the worst player in the NFL, is still pretty bad. And now our QB has a back issue with the potential to linger... Sorry, with the questionability along the oline, I'm hitting the goddamn panic button. If Flacco goes down at any point in the season(would not surprise me at this point given our terrible luck and bad oline), we don't win more than 5 games. And if we have a top 10 pick, I'd honestly consider taking Flacco's future replacement at this point since I think Ozzie and Harbaugh are both canned if this happens. Ozzie more or less ignoring the offensive line has the potential to cost him his job if our $120 mil QB goes down with injury. And Harbs is probably on a very short leash due to the losing, and let's face it the injuries.

I'm beyond furious at this point. We should have made finding a replacement for Wagner a priority, if not us resigning him altogether. I don't give a fuck if he wasn't a scheme fit. I don't give a fuck if we thought he was too expensive. I don't give a fuck if he's not the best run blocker. HE'S BETTER THAN JAMES FUCKING HURST. We picked a goddamn nose tackle over a rock solid RT. I mean, Ozzie always drafts at least one defensive lineman per draft. And while some turn out not to be good, a lot of them have(Jones, Jernigan, Williams). Hell, Pierce last year looked very good when he was on the field. We made a goddamn mistake.


At this point. Please go sign Mangold. He was a good pass blocker last year. If you think that Jensen is a good player, then put him at guard next to him and please move Lewis to the right side to not get Hurst any playing time.
 
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