- Joined
- Sep 9, 2008
- Messages
- 32,634
- Reaction score
- 23,169
I'll defer to Hawg but here are my impressions. There is more potential talent on this line than ever before.
They miss Vollmer. Period. Draft another big LOT in the First round, and groom him at ROT.
Canon is not as bad as some people want to paint him, but he is a backup RT. and #4.
Cam Fleming and the TE? combined to open that enormous hole for Gaffney. They took out the RDE and ROLB together.
Thuney is a starter already and with Solder that half of the line construction is fini.
RG is currently an open question because Cooper is not there to claim it.
I like Shaq Mason. He was critical contributor on every long gainer. and I thought he was OK in pass blocking. Including White's long screen pass where he threw a key kick-out block. BTW so did Aaron Dobson.
Karras is a hardass and could be one of those lunch pail heros over time.
Kline tries but it isn't enough. Halapio is invisible. So were the other tackle scrubs.
Onto the QBs, Many fans here have the infamous Murkowski virus. Recall He looked much better than Casell in 2008, and even the ignorant analyst/writers were on his bandwagon. BB cut him, kept Cassell and he was never heard from again. Brisset is 3 years away at least and would go 0-4 if called on. Meanwhile Polo was playing QB,with poor Running game; no INTs, no TDs and 65% completions rate and 9.33 yards per attempt and 15.27 yards per completion. Brisett was playing chuck at first read, open or not and not QB.
Good analysis, AZ. One area where I disagree is your assessment of Josh Kline. I think his experience and versatility allow him to make the team. As a matter of fact, I believe that he's currently the "1b" option at RG behind Shaq Mason. The potential of Cooper could change that, but with Jackson hurt as well, it may open up another spot or two. I see Kline as a swing interior lineman who will likely see rotational reps, but could certainly start in a pinch. He looked pretty good at times in the first half of the season last year until becoming injured.