Team's Biggest Need

[thezerawkid]

13 hours ago, 75North said:

In all fairness, this might as well be Ced's rookie season. A knee injury for a man that large is a tough thing to overcome, I'd imagine. I also think one of his problems is that he is undersized for an NFL tackle. He just looks like he needs to put on some weight, hopefully not the Andre Smith way. I'm willing to give him a pass for this season although I think he could've/should've shown us more. I wouldn't be opposed to trying him at different spots on the line.

 

Still, round one picks should contribute meaningfully in their first season...Ced did the opposite of that. Constantly. Besides, part of rookie year struggles pertain to the learning curve inherent in learning an offense. Injured he may have been for most of last year, he was still with the team and taking it all in. Plus, oh yeah, he actually played end of last season and then had an entire off season to improve. So, no, this may as well *not* be his rookie season.

 

12 hours ago, Jason said:

Yes, Ced is far too athletic to give up on after really 1 season.  And I also think he is better suited to the other side.

 

Never intimated we give up on him. Just suggesting he might well be garbage and we should draft someone to take his spot if needed. Whit is WAY up in age, an early round tackle is a good idea regardless.

[thezerawkid]

11 hours ago, Le Tigre said:

Ced played more LT at A&M than RT. He played guard too. I am good with giving him another offseason to gain weight and strength. If he does that, and keeps his speed/athleticism, he'll be OK. Would still keep Winston around another year though.

Fisher is straight LT--although he too had some time at RT and guard at UO. He's got the stuff for the LT position, no doubt.

And...enough of this constant drone of Whitworth to guard. Boling is fine and, unless he leaves, so is Zeitler. Whitworth stays at LT for as long as he wants...he is that kind of Jackie Slater-style ageless/no loss of skills player. 

What exactly about this season instills even a modicum of confidence that this offensive line is "fine?"

 

Have you been watching an entirely different set of games?

[Le Tigre]

Look: offensive line play is more of a unit than individual play. Just a year ago, pundits and squawking heads were lauding this very same unit--sans Ced--as a talented veteran line. Same people. As a unit this year, they have been out of kilter. And yes, I do watch them: most weeks, at least 1-2 linemen have excellent games, while the rest do not. Hence, "unit" comes into clarity. You could plug any player into any spot, but if they are not in concert with each other, very little good happens.

This past Sunday, they played much more cohesively. 

[T-Dub]

23 hours ago, Le Tigre said:

Look: offensive line play is more of a unit than individual play. Just a year ago, pundits and squawking heads were lauding this very same unit--sans Ced--as a talented veteran line. Same people.

 

and I for one never bought that.  We've had a quick-passing offense that masked some really shaky interior OL play.  Dalton didn't get hit much but was constantly throwing on the run.  In short yardage situations our RB's were getting stuffed behind the line. Still, they were getting by ok. Smith may not have lived up to his draft spot but he was at least average.  Without him we were left with only one above-average lineman and on the downslope of his career.  Add to that the young guys continuing to regress under the watchful eye of Assistant HC Paul "Technically Great" Alexander and here we are.

No surprise to me, anyway.

[|High School Harry|]

I still go with one of the main problems with the offense is that it takes it so freakin' long to get a play off (not game, but the play on the field).  I miss the hurry up and no huddle stuff and think it would help a lot rather than giving the opposing defense time to look at the formation, etc. and think things out.

One downside to that is the players have to know what is going on in the first place... called "being prepared" and forget that.

[Jason]

I wonder if we are miscalculating the magnitude of the transition from a college spread LT to an NFL RT.  Moving him back to his natural side, getting him a little bigger and stronger, and giving him time to adjust to the difference I think he might actually be a good LT.

[snarkster]

A fresh coaching staff. Just saying a new HC leaves open the very real possibility (probability?) that the Browns just hire someone currently on staff (or someone who recently departed) that will just shuffle the deckchairs.  Any coaching change that leaves Alexander in charge of the OLine is a major fail, IMO.  His recent personnel decisions (Jethro, Ced, etc.) alone are a huge reason for this year's slide.  They need fresh blood (but are very unlikely to get it).