Chitown2ATL_Falcon Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8...eo&confirm=trueFaneca could be latest guard to have big impact on new teamBy Pat Kirwan | NFL.comSenior Analyst Sometimes it feels like everyone talks about left tackles on offense as if they are the only linemen that count. Ruben Brown has been to nine Pro Bowls but he's hardly in the conversation as a Hall of Fame candidate. Larry Allen struggles to keep up with Jonathan Ogden when I pose the question about who deserves to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.Try to run the ball when you lose an elite offensive guard. Try and protect the QB without a stud inside protecting the midline.Well, the question entering the 2008 season when it comes to offensive guards is actually a two-parter: How much will the Steelers miss Alan Faneca and how much improvement can the Jets expect to have with Faneca in their lineup?To project the answer to these questions, I went back and looked at three elite guards who recently left their original teams and moved on for financial reasons. Larry Allen left the Cowboys after the 2005 season for the 49ers; Steve Hutchinson left the Seahawks for the Vikings after the 2005 season; and Eric Steinbach bolted from the Bengals after 2006 for division-rival Cleveland. The outcome of these three departures should be a good indicator of the impact Faneca will have in 2008.It may also be a hint as to what the Giants have to consider with Chris Snee coming to the end of his contract in 2008.In 2005, the last season Allen played for the Cowboys, Dallas ranked 13th as a rushing club in the NFL. In 2006, they remained the 13th-ranked rushing team and continued to rush the ball at 3.7 yards per carry. Not much of an impact on the Cowboys when they let Allen go -- but his impact on the 49ers offense was significant. The year before Allen arrived in the Bay Area, the 49ers were the 17th-ranked rushing team. Allen's first season saw the team jump all the way up to no. 6 rushing the football.In 2005, the Seahawks were the no. 3 rushing team and most of the running plays were designed to follow Hutchinson. The year after he left for Minnesota, the Seahawks dropped to 14th and the rushing average dropped from 4.7 yards per carry to 4.0. Hutchinson's arrival in Minnesota in 2006 spiked the Vikings' running game, which was no. 27 before he got to there, to 16th in his first season at guard.When Steinbach left the Bengals, they continued to be a below-average running team, but the Browns went from no. 31 in the league to 10th -- and Steinbach led the way on many of those plays.The Steelers were the third-best rushing team with Faneca sealing the point of attack either as a pulling guard on plays to the right or drive blocking on runs to the left. Can the Steelers keep up their rich rushing tradition without Faneca? The Seahawks couldn't without Hutchinson and, like Pittsburgh, they were the third-ranked rushing team when their All Pro guard led the way.It appears the Steelers will probably drop off. As for the Jets, they should expect their running game to jump from 19th to somewhere closer to 12th. Thomas Jones should have a lot more good-sized holes to run through with Faneca blocking the point of attack. The average jump in league ranking when the elite guards switched teams was 14 spots in the team ranking in the first year , so a Jets move of seven spots could be considered conservative.After reading this article, I think we need to find a real good FA offensive guard next season to cement our young offensive line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsslomotionbaby Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 WELL gee wolly wonkers dont you wonder why one of the first thing we splurged on was a running back instead of a stud lineman and then topped it off by not drafting any in the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskokas finest © Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 If Dahl is lining up as first team RG, then we need help at guard, but the teams spending money at that position are sacrificing somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Duke 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Clabo might be our right guard.We could draft another tackle nesxt year and a guard.The price of freeagent oline is to high.Drafting well should be our path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelerDawg6481 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 bigduke633 (6/18/2008)Drafting well should be our path.$$$$$$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pured-hallfan Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 muskokas finest (6/18/2008)If Dahl is lining up as first team RG, then we need help at guard, but the teams spending money at that position are sacrificing somewhere else.I agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Duke 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 pured-hallfan (6/18/2008)muskokas finest (6/18/2008)If Dahl is lining up as first team RG, then we need help at guard, but the teams spending money at that position are sacrificing somewhere else.I agreeEveryone on the team will get a shot.Doesnt mean they will start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaigle Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Why do you assume there will be FA OGs available next year that are any better than what is already on the roster now? The Falcons need to wait and see who the free agents are and compare them to the roster players and the 09 college draft class first.Currently there are many candidates Kerney, Clabo, Pennington, Quarterman, Blalock, Batiste, plus Stepenovich, Datish, and even McCoy, Dahl, Foster, and Butterworth. Have you given up on all of these already even before camp this year? Shouldn't the Falcons wait until after the 08 season to evaluate wheather or not they need OG help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCSBDirtyBird Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 bigduke633 (6/18/2008)Clabo might be our right guard.We could draft another tackle nesxt year and a guard.The price of freeagent oline is to high.Drafting well should be our path.Completely agree, and if a draftee pans out, sign them long term. I can only think of the vikings as a team that was recently able to bolster their line through FA, and they paid out the ##### for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-rod Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I'd love to get Chris Snee next year, but we'd be paying him $7mill per year minimum, probably closer to 8. I'm not sure that's worth it. We might be better off using the draft to replenish the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chitown2ATL_Falcon Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 d-rod (6/18/2008)I'd love to get Chris Snee next year, but we'd be paying him $7mill per year minimum, probably closer to 8. I'm not sure that's worth it. We might be better off using the draft to replenish the line.Ok, who's Chris Snee? Never heard of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsslomotionbaby Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 bigduke633 (6/18/2008)Clabo might be our right guard.We could draft another tackle nesxt year and a guard.The price of freeagent oline is to high.Drafting well should be our path.but the problem is we say that every year then we go after a glamour pick like a qb,cb or s,ss.and please tell me how picking up a tackle whose strenght is pass blocking resinates to a better run game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweak Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 delaigle (6/18/2008)Why do you assume there will be FA OGs available next year that are any better than what is already on the roster now? The Falcons need to wait and see who the free agents are and compare them to the roster players and the 09 college draft class first.Currently there are many candidates Kerney, Clabo, Pennington, Quarterman, Blalock, Batiste, plus Stepenovich, Datish, and even McCoy, Dahl, Foster, and Butterworth. Have you given up on all of these already even before camp this year? Shouldn't the Falcons wait until after the 08 season to evaluate wheather or not they need OG help?The Falcons didn't believe in these guys either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-rod Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 chitow2atl_falcon (6/24/2008)d-rod (6/18/2008)I'd love to get Chris Snee next year, but we'd be paying him $7mill per year minimum, probably closer to 8. I'm not sure that's worth it. We might be better off using the draft to replenish the line.Ok, who's Chris Snee? Never heard of him.He's one of the best guards in the league. He's the best lineman on the Giants.Unfortunately, he was just resigned by the Giants long-term, on a huge deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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