The Offensive Line Thread

[Oldfaithful]

Interesting development that I actually like going forward similar to the Maxx situation.

• Harbaugh said Lewis was the one who opted to have season-ending surgery on his shoulder. He could have tried to play through the injury, but there was concern that it could make the injury worse. “Alex Lewis will be back next year, 100 percent healed and ready to go. Whereas if he would have pushed the thing back, he would have been fighting a shoulder surgery and the whole offseason rehab wise. So there’s a lot of wisdom in what he did,” Harbaugh said.-From BR.

This could help prevent future injuries on his shoulder area. I like it a lot long-term.

I mean, short-term we are still fucked with Hurst at guard, but still.

 

[Sandtown]

I'm calling it again. Sign Nick Mangold. Whether you play him at center, or at guard, I don't care. With Lewis gone, I want Jensen or Mangold at guard! Hurst is a swing backup and as of right now is the only damn piece of depth that I can (not really. But he's close enough) depend on. Keep him that way. Jensen can hack it at either the LG or C spot.

Hell, sign Mangold and then get Zuttah to be a backup. We need to make multiple moves on the oline, which should have been the priority in the first place.. Then next offseason get a guard like Andrew Norwell in free agency and triple dip on the offensive line in the draft.

Mangold has been a free agent for quite awhile now. He's either not healthy or his salary demands are too high for any team liking. Baltimore Sun Ravens Beat Writer Jeff Zrebriec may have said it best when he tweeted "I get Ravens fans are passionate but fixation on nick mangold is out of hand. He's been avail since what Feb? Prolly a reason for that no?". Mangold may end up not playing this season period but The Ravens do a good job of staying patient so maybe they waiting until Mangold lower his asking price or waiting for a guy like John Greco to get cut from The Browns

 

[Jacquouille]

How do you gather?

Just judging from the game vs Redskins and some camp report. Not expecting a Pro Bowler but Lewis was pretty much in his situation a year ago and he did OK. Physically Eluemunor has more talent qnd with all the reps he's getting, that's a good sign for his development. At worst he's aa decent backup.

 

[Sledge Hammer]

How do you gather?

He definitely has an appetite to learn. His college Oline coach that coached for the dolphins I believe commented on his intelligence. He went out on a limb and promised to Eluemunor would be a quality starter in the NFL. His raw skills is as good as it gets. He has a championship wrestling and rugby background. didn't do much pulling in college yet he was connecting Thursday night. Probable the best aspect of his game. If his aggression power and athleticism can compensate for his experience until he gets some. It is a win scenario for the Oline. Cuz he is good enough to win a job and is only going to get better.

NFL network did a predraft segment on him. He is clearly strong as a bull. But it was crazy how he did his combine drills moving around like a linebacker!! Maybe he could play RT?? Although guard is probably his best position. But I'm not sold on Austin Howard at RT. Howard could be ok at guard at this juncture of his career. I'm very confident Center and LG is gonna be fine with Jensen and Eluemunor. Maybe even Jensen and Howard. Stanley Eluemunor and Jensen or Stanley Howard and Jensen is a lot of earthmover on that side. Then Yanda is Yanda and the weak link is going to be RT unless we pull off a trade for Albert or somebody. Howard was the raiders weak link last year and really struggled. Even playing alongside mostly pro bowlers. And 350lb lineman don't get better with age. I'm confident Center and LG will be fine. Better than fine!! A bigger stronger Stanley with Eluemunor and Jensen is roughshod. But I really thought Lewis by far was the best RT on this team!!

 

[Ravensnation5220]

Well we need to go make moves. Hurst playing guard(LOL. We are so fucked) shows that we have 0 depth. Which is very concerning. I'd prefer Mangold, or Zuttah. Looks like Howard is set at RT. But I wouldn't mind Pasztor either.

Idk i think LG might work out for Hurst. Hes gotten stronger in the offseason and his weight is up. Should work in his favor. I would still like to bring Zuttah back to be a back up

 

[The Raven]

Interesting development that I actually like going forward similar to the Maxx situation.

• Harbaugh said Lewis was the one who opted to have season-ending surgery on his shoulder. He could have tried to play through the injury, but there was concern that it could make the injury worse. “Alex Lewis will be back next year, 100 percent healed and ready to go. Whereas if he would have pushed the thing back, he would have been fighting a shoulder surgery and the whole offseason rehab wise. So there’s a lot of wisdom in what he did,” Harbaugh said.-From BR.

This could help prevent future injuries on his shoulder area. I like it a lot long-term.

I mean, short-term we are still fucked with Hurst at guard, but still.

Jesus fucking christ could you let things unfold before whining some more about Hurst? Hurst had a good game and you're still piling on. The relentless pessimism is a bit much. You might hate Hurst more than RBates hated Flacco

I'd actually be interested to see Hurst at LG where a lot of his weaknesses would be masked and his strengths would be accentuated. He wasn't horrendous at LG last year and now, with him waking up, it could be okay. At 6'6, he's got incredible length for the position, and with the way he run blocked Thursday I'm not super concerned about that yet.

Look, we all know it's not ideal to be banking on Hurst being a starter, but give the dude a fair chance after a hell of a game Thursday. My rule is to give everyone a new chance in the preseason to see what they can bring to the table.

 

[Oldfaithful]

Jesus fucking christ could you let things unfold before whining some more about Hurst? Hurst had a good game and you're still piling on. The relentless pessimism is a bit much. You might hate Hurst more than RBates hated Flacco

I'd actually be interested to see Hurst at LG where a lot of his weaknesses would be masked and his strengths would be accentuated. He wasn't horrendous at LG last year and now, with him waking up, it could be okay. At 6'6, he's got incredible length for the position, and with the way he run blocked Thursday I'm not super concerned about that yet.

Look, we all know it's not ideal to be banking on Hurst being a starter, but give the dude a fair chance after a hell of a game Thursday. My rule is to give everyone a new chance in the preseason to see what they can bring to the table.

I thought Hurst was solid in the recent preseason game but I need to see more from him. It's one preseason game. I've grown more content with him as a backup swing tackle, but the interior is a whole different ball game. Unlike RBates, I actually want Hurst to prove me wrong.

If Hurst develops into an above average starter the next time I'm in Baltimore I'll PM you and take you to a crab cake dinner or steak dinner.... if you don't accept either.. well, then there's no hope for you . I'll eat my own (delicious) words and it'll be worth every penny.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

i dont know why mangold is still being clamored for, jensen looks to be every bit of a stud center, and it shouldnt surprise anyone. we have seen jensen play dominant in spurts, dominant as in just a tier below yanda, the problem was consistency and some mental hiccups and the occasional misstep in pass pro, his issues were all fixable things and once they got fixed we should expect nothing less than a dominant center, and if thursday was any indication then thats what he is. jensen is proving atm, there is no reason to believe he will fail because hes shown nothing to indicate he will. ready for the mangold talk to end.

also, i dont get swapping hurst and eluemenor. hurst has always struck me as a tackle, i just dont understand him at G, but at least its LG and not RG, but regardless i think eluemenor looked like he could be a force at LG with some live bullets, i saw no reason for the coaches to take him out of that spot for the next week. this is the kinda stuff that pisses me off. see what you have with austin howard and keep eluemenor at LG, put hurst in after a few drives and take note of any differences

 

[balfan23]

Mangold has been a free agent for quite awhile now. He's either not healthy or his salary demands are too high for any team liking. Baltimore Sun Ravens Beat Writer Jeff Zrebriec may have said it best when he tweeted "I get Ravens fans are passionate but fixation on nick mangold is out of hand. He's been avail since what Feb? Prolly a reason for that no?". Mangold may end up not playing this season period but The Ravens do a good job of staying patient so maybe they waiting until Mangold lower his asking price or waiting for a guy like John Greco to get cut from The Browns

No lie ... The fact that Mangold is there suggests he is in no way shape or form a viable option. IMO - it is likely the issue is NOT related to salary demands ... if that were the case, he'd have made a compromise with someone along the way and would be on a team. I have the sense we (and every other team in need of O line help) view him as someone that isn't worth bringing in period.

 

[balfan23]

i dont know why mangold is still being clamored for, jensen looks to be every bit of a stud center, and it shouldnt surprise anyone. we have seen jensen play dominant in spurts, dominant as in just a tier below yanda, the problem was consistency and some mental hiccups and the occasional misstep in pass pro, his issues were all fixable things and once they got fixed we should expect nothing less than a dominant center, and if thursday was any indication then thats what he is. jensen is proving atm, there is no reason to believe he will fail because hes shown nothing to indicate he will. ready for the mangold talk to end.

also, i dont get swapping hurst and eluemenor. hurst has always struck me as a tackle, i just dont understand him at G, but at least its LG and not RG, but regardless i think eluemenor looked like he could be a force at LG with some live bullets, i saw no reason for the coaches to take him out of that spot for the next week. this is the kinda stuff that pisses me off. see what you have with austin howard and keep eluemenor at LG, put hurst in after a few drives and take note of any differences

Totally agree on Mangold. We need help - no matter how you slice it ... whether you think we need to invest and trade future picks for someone who is a viable starter or just to get depth to replace the depleted corps ... Mangold's name should not even be uttered at this point.

As for Hurst v. Eluemenor - the injury to Lewis is only one day old in camp terms. The fact that they put Hurst there now is not an indication that he will be a starter there week 1. In general, the team rolls with people who have experience and Hurst (while a lot of it is suspect) has that. They are looking to give him a chance first to prove that he's potentially capable of making that transition. Whether a starter there or not, they also need to see if he could be a viable option to fill in there should there be further injury on the line. Nothing set in stone. He's still going to have to earn that spot. If Eluemenor out plays Hurst in camp and in preseason (you can bet they'll both get plenty of snaps at G in preseason games ...) he'll be our week 1 starter at LG.

 

[RavensMania]

Jesus fucking christ could you let things unfold before whining some more about Hurst? Hurst had a good game and you're still piling on. The relentless pessimism is a bit much. You might hate Hurst more than RBates hated Flacco

I'd actually be interested to see Hurst at LG where a lot of his weaknesses would be masked and his strengths would be accentuated. He wasn't horrendous at LG last year and now, with him waking up, it could be okay. At 6'6, he's got incredible length for the position, and with the way he run blocked Thursday I'm not super concerned about that yet.

Look, we all know it's not ideal to be banking on Hurst being a starter, but give the dude a fair chance after a hell of a game Thursday. My rule is to give everyone a new chance in the preseason to see what they can bring to the table.

Having a player who is 6'6" is not ideal at guard. It's one of the reasons many wanted him at RT. He would lose too many leverage battles and the same thing will happen to Hurst. Yes, he may have gotten stronger, and I want our best five out their on the field every Sunday, but we may be better off with Skura or Eluemenor, at guard, if they are the future and keep Hurst at swing tackle.

 

[29BmoreBird22]

Having a player who is 6'6" is not ideal at guard. It's one of the reasons many wanted him at RT. He would lose too many leverage battles and the same thing will happen to Hurst. Yes he may have gotten stronger and I want our best five out their on the field every Sunday, but we may be better off with Skura or Eluemenor in that position if they are the future and keep Hurst at swing tackle.

I think there's this mammoth by the name of KO who's working out mighty fine as a 6'5" guard.

Without looking up anymore (since that's a really difficult thing to look up without knowing relative size), Alex Boone was a 6'6" guard and did really well in SF, Le'el Collins is 6'5" and was considered a first round prospect at guard, Mike Pouncey is a 6'5" center and did really well in Miami (still does really well), and Andrew Whitworth excelled at LG for the Bengals and he's 6'7".

I'd honestly guess the average interior lineman is 6'4". While I'm one to prefer a guard/center at like 6'3", there is no hard and fast rule for a lineman cannot excel at guard because of his height. Writing off Hurst purely because he's 6'6" is naive.

 

[Oldfaithful]

Having a player who is 6'6" is not ideal at guard. It's one of the reasons many wanted him at RT. He would lose too many leverage battles and the same thing will happen to Hurst. Yes he may have gotten stronger and I want our best five out their on the field every Sunday, but we may be better off with Skura or Eluemenor in that position if they are the future and keep Hurst at swing tackle.

I agree 100%. Not to mention, at this point our depth is running so thin on the line that we need Hurst as a backup. We don't have another guy I could trust if(god forbid) Stanley went down, or Howard went down.

He's doing better than expected, but not enough for me to pound my fist on the table to start. I think Skura or Elumenor is going to win the LG job, and I'd prefer Eluemenor. I don't think he's going to be a stud by any means, but he could develop into a good guard down the line which goes well for us in the long run. He needs live reps, and I think with Stanley next to him he could do a decent job.

But we do need someone. Big reason I was angry about the Alex Lewis situation wasn't so much his guard play(though it did play a role), but he could fill in for Stanley if anything were to ever happen to him.

 

[The Raven]

Having a player who is 6'6" is not ideal at guard. It's one of the reasons many wanted him at RT. He would lose too many leverage battles and the same thing will happen to Hurst. Yes he may have gotten stronger and I want our best five out their on the field every Sunday, but we may be better off with Skura or Eluemenor in that position if they are the future and keep Hurst at swing tackle.

It's ideal for pass protection. DTs are getting faster but not bigger. Length makes it easier to lock them up. Run blocking is a different case but gap blocking schemes, as opposed to zone blocking schemes, make it easier to mask that "weakness"

 

[Oldfaithful]

i dont know why mangold is still being clamored for, jensen looks to be every bit of a stud center, and it shouldnt surprise anyone. we have seen jensen play dominant in spurts, dominant as in just a tier below yanda, the problem was consistency and some mental hiccups and the occasional misstep in pass pro, his issues were all fixable things and once they got fixed we should expect nothing less than a dominant center, and if thursday was any indication then thats what he is. jensen is proving atm, there is no reason to believe he will fail because hes shown nothing to indicate he will. ready for the mangold talk to end.

also, i dont get swapping hurst and eluemenor. hurst has always struck me as a tackle, i just dont understand him at G, but at least its LG and not RG, but regardless i think eluemenor looked like he could be a force at LG with some live bullets, i saw no reason for the coaches to take him out of that spot for the next week. this is the kinda stuff that pisses me off. see what you have with austin howard and keep eluemenor at LG, put hurst in after a few drives and take note of any differences

Very good? I can buy that. Stud? No, he's not at Marshal Yanda's level yet. I can buy very good/easily above average at some point next season(even his pad level looks much improved), but stud? That's a lot to say. He looked good, and looked like an ideal fit for the scheme. With Yanda and Howard on the right side, having Jensen as a potential guy who can get people off the line is going to do wonders for us on the right side of the ball. Likewise, Jensen looked good in pass protection as well(in fact, most of the line did last week). I will say this, even if Hurst starts at guard, I believe in his abilities as a pass protector if I believe in anything with him. I'd rather have Jermaine in there as I could easily see him turn into a better run blocker at the guard spot though.

 

[29BmoreBird22]

It's ideal for pass protection. DTs are getting faster but not bigger. Length makes it easier to lock them up. Run blocking is a different case but gap blocking schemes, as opposed to zone blocking schemes, make it easier to mask that "weakness"

The average NFL lineman is like 6'5", 6'6" and I'd venture to say the average guard is probably 6'4", honestly. People are getting really hyped up over two inches.

Just gotta be able to drop that anchor and be flexible enough to get low to the ground.

 

[Oldfaithful]

The average NFL lineman is like 6'5", 6'6" and I'd venture to say the average guard is probably 6'4", honestly. People are getting really hyped up over two inches.

Just gotta be able to drop that anchor and be flexible enough to get low to the ground.

Must.... Resist... Michael Scott.........

Although I do agree slightly. Hurst's pad level does look like it's improved but I'm not sure how I feel about someone who's never really played much guard at all in their life. Truth be told, I'd complain a lot less if it was Stanley-Howard-Jensen-Yanda-Hurst. I feel Hurst fits better at RT.

 

[29BmoreBird22]

Must.... Resist... Michael Scott.........

Although I do agree slightly. Hurst's pad level does look like it's improved but I'm not sure how I feel about someone who's never really played much guard at all in their life. Truth be told, I'd complain a lot less if it was Stanley-Howard-Jensen-Yanda-Hurst. I feel Hurst fits better at RT.

Ironically, Austin Howard is 6'7".

I just want to see him in there before I draw any conclusions.

 

[The Raven]

The average NFL lineman is like 6'5", 6'6" and I'd venture to say the average guard is probably 6'4", honestly. People are getting really hyped up over two inches.

Just gotta be able to drop that anchor and be flexible enough to get low to the ground.

Yup. Olinemen AND dlinemen are both getting taller every year. Months ago I did think 6'6 was too talk for guard but after reading more into it, it's not the uncommon and it's not that rough. You just gotta be athletic and flexible enough. Only concern is pulling at 6'6. Trapping is fine at 6'6 but to pull and lead block at 6'6 is a doozy. Not many can do it.

Must.... Resist... Michael Scott.........

Although I do agree slightly. Hurst's pad level does look like it's improved but I'm not sure how I feel about someone who's never really played much guard at all in their life. Truth be told, I'd complain a lot less if it was Stanley-Howard-Jensen-Yanda-Hurst. I feel Hurst fits better at RT.

I agree that I'd prefer that lineup, but more so because I think Howard projects better at LG than at RT. I have concerns about his mobility.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Very good? I can buy that. Stud? No, he's not at Marshal Yanda's level yet. I can buy very good/easily above average at some point next season(even his pad level looks much improved), but stud? That's a lot to say. He looked good, and looked like an ideal fit for the scheme. With Yanda and Howard on the right side, having Jensen as a potential guy who can get people off the line is going to do wonders for us on the right side of the ball. Likewise, Jensen looked good in pass protection as well(in fact, most of the line did last week). I will say this, even if Hurst starts at guard, I believe in his abilities as a pass protector if I believe in anything with him. I'd rather have Jermaine in there as I could easily see him turn into a better run blocker at the guard spot though.

he had moments in 2015 where he looked like a straight up stud and pff did agree, I'm not saying he's yanda level, I'm saying he has potential to be only a tier below that, also not saying that he proved that from Thursday night, just that we know his potential and seeing an upward trend from him is seriously encouraging