DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 The OL was awful this year and needs a big time overhaul this offseason. Blalock and Clabo are the only locks to start in my mind.Let's look at our optionsLT - It seems pretty clear our LT isn't on the roster. There really aren't many potential FAs, just Jared Gaither and Demtrius Bell. Gaither has prototypical size but major durability concerns. Bell is smaller and I dont know much about him. Even if we sign 1 of them, we still need to take a LT with our first pick, which is a late 2nd. We would do well to trade up for our LT. I'm pretty sure we'll have to draft our long term answer hereLG - Blalock will likely return here unless we can land a blue chip player like Grubbs or Nicks to protect Ryans blindside, then we could shift him to RG where he'd be a great fitC - We definately need more size and power than McClure brings here both to move the line in the run game and keep the pocket from being collapsed in the pass game. There are some veteran C's potentially available but if we can land a quality veteran OG I think we can have a competition between guys on our roster like Hawley, Johnson and others. We could also draft one.RG - If we land a good LG we can move Blalock here, otherwise we should be able to land a good vet like Vernon Carey to give us a quality pair of guards to sandwich our C betweenRT - Clabo seems like the starter to return here. If we can both sign and draft tackles that work out we could potentially shift him in to RG or CSo an ideal offseason would start with landing an elite guard like Ben Grubbs or Carl Nicks, potentially signing a FA LT, drafting a LT with our 1st pick, and maybe moreLT FA Gaither/Bell, ROOKIE (2nd round)LG FA Grubbs/NicksC Hawley/Johnson/Baker/whoeverRG BlalockRT ClaboThen if the FA works out, when the rookie is ready one of them can move to RT to give us better pass protection on the edges, and Clabo can shift inside to C to give us more size inside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Dont just throw Svitek away ....this guy saved our collective azzes ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Dont just throw Svitek away ....this guy saved our collective azzes ........He's part of depth or can compete somewhere, but he's not our LTOur offense didnt score a point in our last game, couldnt sustain a drive and was just awfulThere's plenty of "guys" like Svitek, Hawley, Johnson, Baker, Reynolds and you imagine that someone will eventually be worth something but we cannot go into the season just hoping for a miracle. We need to at the very least sign an impact FA OL and draft an impact OL, then let competition sort the rest out.Depth is a good thing, not having enough good players isnt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 He's part of depth or can compete somewhere, but he's not our LTOur offense didnt score a point in our last game, couldnt sustain a drive and was just awfulThere's plenty of "guys" like Svitek, Hawley, Johnson, Baker, Reynolds and you imagine that someone will eventually be worth something but we cannot go into the season just hoping for a miracle. We need to at the very least sign an impact FA OL and draft an impact OL, then let competition sort the rest out.Depth is a good thing, not having enough good players isntI agree that he is best suited for the swing tackle role, but I feel he is a guy who will improve his game, he is still learning the position, and there is a good chance he will be our LT in 2012 ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 I agree that he is best suited for the swing tackle role, but I feel he is a guy who will improve his game, he is still learning the position, and there is a good chance he will be our LT in 2012 .....He could be in the competition for C in the scenario I outlined above but there is absolutely no way after that debacle of an O line performance that we move forward without addressing the spot in the draft and or FA. The ONLY way I see him starting at LT is if we bring in a NFL vet and or a rookie, and by his merit he beats them for the position. Maybe he's a future RT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 He could be in the competition for C in the scenario I outlined above but there is absolutely no way after that debacle of an O line performance that we move forward without addressing the spot in the draft and or FA. The ONLY way I see him starting at LT is if we bring in a NFL vet and or a rookie, and by his merit he beats them for the position. Maybe he's a future RTYou are blaming the wrong guy bro ..........and there is no way he is suited to play center, LOL ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfalconsp Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I think Svitek is a good backup LT/RT, grab Gaither and we're good.I wouldn't worry about the OG position, we'll either sign Grubbs/Nicks or grab an OG in the 2nd round.I think McClure would be serviceable for another year or we can use Hawley again. I wouldn't be mad with trying to upgrade that too though in the draft if we sign an OG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jah Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I said it yesterday and I'll say it again, we will be dead on arrival if Svitek is our starting left tackle next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I think Svitek is a good backup LT/RT, grab Gaither and we're good.I wouldn't worry about the OG position, we'll either sign Grubbs/Nicks or grab an OG in the 2nd round.I think McClure would be serviceable for another year or we can use Hawley again. I wouldn't be mad with trying to upgrade that too though in the draft if we sign an OG.Gaither aint going anywhere, McNeil maybe .......I said it yesterday and I'll say it again, we will be dead on arrival if Svitek is our starting left tackle next year.BS ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 You are blaming the wrong guy bro ..........and there is no way he is suited to play center, LOL ......You can say I'm blaming the wrong guy all you want the OL is the worst unit on this team and played terrible in the playoffs. Our D came and forced 3 and outs to start the game, and our O couldnt get a 1st down resulting in an exhausted worn down D..If he was so great how come the pass protection was awful and Ryan clearly didn't trust his blindside at all as evidenced by him hoping around and making bad throws early anticipating he was about to get knocked out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jah Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 You can say I'm blaming the wrong guy all you want the OL is the worst unit on this team and played terrible in the playoffs. Our D came and forced 3 and outs to start the game, and our O couldnt get a 1st down resulting in an exhausted worn down D..If he was so great how come the pass protection was awful and Ryan clearly didn't trust his blindside at all as evidenced by him hoping around and making bad throws early anticipating he was about to get knocked outThis^^And someone remind me, how many yards did we have on the ground against the Giants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 You can say I'm blaming the wrong guy all you want the OL is the worst unit on this team and played terrible in the playoffs. Our D came and forced 3 and outs to start the game, and our O couldnt get a 1st down resulting in an exhausted worn down D..If he was so great how come the pass protection was awful and Ryan clearly didn't trust his blindside at all as evidenced by him hoping around and making bad throws early anticipating he was about to get knocked outI never said he was fkng great .........read between the lines, because though Svitek was not spectacular, he was solid for a guy who has very limited experience at the position .....we need to fix RG and C first ...you need to realize that we will not find a LT in the draft spot we are in, and FA options are extremely limited...Svitek has upside and he is cheap ,..bottom line, we may be stuck with him ........great LT's do not grow on trees amigo ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 I think Svitek is a good backup LT/RT, grab Gaither and we're good.I wouldn't worry about the OG position, we'll either sign Grubbs/Nicks or grab an OG in the 2nd round.I think McClure would be serviceable for another year or we can use Hawley again. I wouldn't be mad with trying to upgrade that too though in the draft if we sign an OG.Sviteks best fit is probably backing up the tackle spots. Even if we sign Gaither we need to draft a LT with our 1st pick, possibly even trade up from our late 2nd round spot. Gaithers durability is a major question mark. If he can stay healthy and the rookie turns into a player then one of them can move to RT and Clabo can move insideTheres no guarantee that Grubbs or Nicks is available, but we definately need to sign a FA OGMcClure definately isnt servicable. He's way too small and old. Did you see how many times we repeatedly failed to take an inch when we needed? Its pathetic and if you cant take an inch you dont deserve to win. Not only is he not big enough for the run game but he gets walked back into the quarterback and collapses the pocket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 I said it yesterday and I'll say it again, we will be dead on arrival if Svitek is our starting left tackle next year.Yup theres absolutely no way we go into next season with Svitek and Baker at LT and just play whoever is better.I don't see either at LT, we need to draft our LT of the future with our 1st pick in the draft, if we sign a FA great but there arent many if any FA LTsOnly way he starts is if we draft and or sign players and he miraculously beats them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Sviteks best fit is probably backing up the tackle spots. Even if we sign Gaither we need to draft a LT with our 1st pick, possibly even trade up from our late 2nd round spot. Gaithers durability is a major question mark. If he can stay healthy and the rookie turns into a player then one of them can move to RT and Clabo can move insideTheres no guarantee that Grubbs or Nicks is available, but we definately need to sign a FA OGMcClure definately isnt servicable. He's way too small and old. Did you see how many times we repeatedly failed to take an inch when we needed? Its pathetic and if you cant take an inch you dont deserve to win. Not only is he not big enough for the run game but he gets walked back into the quarterback and collapses the pocketAgain, we aint signing Gaither, LOL ....you think this sheet is EZ ? .....finding a franchise LT especially with no #1 pick ? ...man, I give up ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Gaither aint going anywhere, McNeil maybe .......BS .....Chargers OL was awful last year why do you think they want to start throwing away their best OL?And Gaither has been released multiple times and has major durability questions because of a long term back injury Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Chargers OL was awful last year why do you think they want to start throwing away their best OL?And Gaither has been released multiple times and has major durability questions because of a long term back injuryYou need to keep up on current events bro ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Again, we aint signing Gaither, LOL ....you think this sheet is EZ ? .....finding a franchise LT especially with no #1 pick ? ...man, I give up ......As I have repeatedly said Gaither has back problems. We need to draft a LT and potentially trade up to do so. Signing a FA would be nice but as I said there arent many if any potentially availableYou can keep "LOLing" to yourself all you want, if you think that Svitek is a LT or that the OL somehow isnt by far the worst unit on this team and the reason we didn't score a point in our playoff loss, you're delusional so I won't bother attempting to confer logic to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 You need to keep up on current events bro ......Uh huh and you would be well advised to know what you're talking about before you speak.Svitek is not an NFL LT, I'm sorry you're not capable of understanding that. Are you his agent or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 I never said he was fkng great .........read between the lines, because though Svitek was not spectacular, he was solid for a guy who has very limited experience at the position .....we need to fix RG and C first ...you need to realize that we will not find a LT in the draft spot we are in, and FA options are extremely limited...Svitek has upside and he is cheap ,..bottom line, we may be stuck with him ........great LT's do not grow on trees amigo .....You think you can just take a player who isn't good enough and start them and everything will be ok?You sound like people in the Soviet Union who thought they could force a plant to "evolve" to not need water by simply withholding it, aka you're delusional Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Uh huh and you would be well advised to know what you're talking about before you speak.Svitek is not an NFL LT, I'm sorry you're not capable of understanding that. Are you his agent or something?The Chargers are keeping Gaither and shopping McNeil ........as for Svitek, have you considered he never even played LT until last year ? ...yea, he gave up alot of pressures, but hardly any sacks ....the guy is raw, his technique is not developed yet ....he is a guy that can be coached up, and he's cheap ....you seem to think Walter Jones is going to fall in our lap ....or we gonna trade all our picks or Roddy to move up and get Kalil ..I live in reality brah, not a fantasyland .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 The Chargers are keeping Gaither and shopping McNeil ........as for Svitek, have you considered he never even played LT until last year ? ...yea, he gave up alot of pressures, but hardly any sacks ....the guy is raw, his technique is not developed yet ....he is a guy that can be coached up, and he's cheap ....you seem to think Walter Jones is going to fall in our lap ....or we gonna trade all our picks or Roddy to move up and get Kalil ..I live in reality brah, not a fantasyland ....When did the Chargers tell you they were keeping Gaither and shopping McNeil?I'm glad you live in reality.Please use your connection with reality to explain this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkdFvndNbNQ is it magic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfalconsp Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) You need to keep up on current events bro ......I haven't seen any news regarding where Gaither is going, so please enlighten me and tell me what current events I've missed. Edited February 9, 2012 by jfalconsp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBirdDynasty Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 I haven't seen any news regarding where Gaither is going, so please enlighten me and tell me what current events I've missed.Ya I was curious when the Chargers contacted him and told him what their teams plans were. Or maybe he's so disconnected from reality he actually expects the media to do his reasoning for him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Should the Falcons sign Marcus McNeill?1:21 pm February 8, 2012, by D. Orlando LedbetterSan Diego Chargers offensive lineman Marcus McNeill (73) is loaded onto a cart after being injured in the second quarter against the Oakland Raiders in an NFL football game Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)Should the Falcons pursue left tackle Marcus McNeill if he is waived by the San Diego Chargers?Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported the McNeill, who played at Cedar Grove High and Auburn, is expected to be waived by the Chargers in March over health concerns about his neck.For one, they will likely clear the books of $10 million by waiving left tackle Marcus McNeill. McNeill has to be cleared by a team doctor by the third day of the new league year, which begins March 13, or his 2012 salary is not guaranteed. McNeill is not expected to get a clean bill of health from the Chargers.When healthy, McNeill has been one of the best left tackles in the league. He’s been selected to two Pro Bowls.One of the Falcons’ main objectives is to improve their offensive line this offseason. Will Svitek and Sam Baker started games at left tackle last season.The Falcons have medically passed players with neck concerns in the past. Kevin Mathis, Coy Wire and Kelvin Hayden have all been cleared by the Falcons after suffering neck injuries.Last season, six teams flunked Hayden before the Falcons cleared him and he signed a one-year deal. He ended the season on injured reserve with a dislocated/turf toe.McNeil, who turned 28 in November, is massive at 6-foot-7 and 336 pounds. His neck and back injuries have led to him playing in just 20 of 32 games over the past two seasons.Over the first four seasons in the league, McNeill started 62 out of a possible 64 games. He was selected in the second round (50th overall) of the 2006 NFL draft.The Falcons’ athletic performance staff will have to make sure McNeil is healthy and then try to get a functional movement screen on him. There might be a simple weight or muscle imbalance that can be corrected to alleviate his neck and spine issues.–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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