Cards offensive line must hold up

[azdad1978]

Depth is lacking on key unit

Odeen Domingo
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 26, 2005 12:00 AM

Third in a series looking at Cardinals positions heading to training camp, which opens Monday. Today: offensive line.

Overview
This is the unit that will decide the offense's fate. If the line crumbles, hello, below-.500 season.



Only the starting right tackle has changed since the end of last season. The Cardinals dumped Anthony Clement seven weeks after signing eight-year veteran Oliver Ross, who started all 16 games with the Steelers last season.

Center Alex Stepanovich showed last season that he was at least durable, starting every snap as a rookie. He will have to prove more than capable of being the leader of a unit that needs to jell fast.

Leonard Davis, the team's 6-foot-6, 366-pound former first-round pick, still has to prove he can become a reliable left tackle. Coach Dennis Green moved him there from guard before the 2004 season.

It seems left guard Reggie Wells was a nice find in the sixth round of the 2003 draft. At right guard, rookie Elton Brown will push three-year veteran Jeremy Bridges if Brown can avoid the hamstring problems he suffered in minicamp.

The offensive line is as deep as a dry river. Gone are tackle L.J. Shelton and guard Cameron Spikes. Tackle Ian Allen has experience. Nick Leckey is back to back up Stepanovich. Guard Rolando Cantu (6-5, 361 pounds) and tackle Jim Newton (6-10, 338) are big but very raw.

Impact player
Davis. Stepanovich is the center and, by tradition, the leader of the offensive line, but Davis is the most imposing, most talkative and highest-paid lineman. If he plays with intensity as big as his paycheck, the rest of the line will follow.

Keep an eye on
Brown. At 6-4 and 339 pounds, he was the highest-rated guard coming into April's draft and lasted until the fourth round, partly because teams questioned his desire.

His junior varsity basketball coach, Rodney Shields, swears Brown has a mean streak once he is challenged. The next challenge is to prove other teams wrong.

Coming Wednesday: defensive line.


http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0726cardsposition0726.html

 

[duckfallas]

I thought Davis did well at LT and was reliable last year until the final couple of games.

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

I thought Davis did well at LT and was reliable last year until the final couple of games.

Really? Coz I thought he underachieved. I mean he was OK, but he needs to be dominant and try to get faster as he still has problems with speed rushers or OLB's blitzing from the edge.

If the line can at least gel as a run blocking unit, that will immediatly help their play-action passing game....But I see this line struggling in obvious pass downs. Step and Big both had games where they were dominated last year and I am not sold on Wells.

My two biggest concerns going into this season are the O-line and the D-line and in the NFL that is big cause for concern!

 

[ryanshaug]

I can see why you are concerned with the offensive line, but why the defensive line? With Okeafor, Berry, Dockett, and Davis, not to mention the depth and versatility provided by King, this line looks to be strong barring injury...

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

I can see why you are concerned with the offensive line, but why the defensive line? With Okeafor, Berry, Dockett, and Davis, not to mention the depth and versatility provided by King, this line looks to be strong barring injury...

Because the Cardinals were god-awful stopping the run last year. I know everyone likes Dockett's intensity -as do I- but he made a lot of rookie mistakes last year, and he needs to get considerably better vs. the run.

Berry is a stud and a hard worker, he is solid vs. the run but not that stout, and Okeafor has never been known as a run-stuffer.

The d-line has the potential to wreak havoc against the passer, but this team, and especially Dockett, needs to improve against the trun for this team to even consider making a run at all those lofty predictions I see floating arounds!

 

[duckfallas]

Really? Coz I thought he underachieved. I mean he was OK, but he needs to be dominant and try to get faster as he still has problems with speed rushers or OLB's blitzing from the edge.

If the line can at least gel as a run blocking unit, that will immediatly help their play-action passing game....But I see this line struggling in obvious pass downs. Step and Big both had games where they were dominated last year and I am not sold on Wells.

Step was dominated in several games but I don't remember one game last year where Big was dominated. How many sacks did he even give up the entire season? It wasn't many. On running plays he was simply dominant as I watched him take out the entire left side of a defense more than once.

He can get better but I don't think he underachieved last season at all.

 

[joeshmo]

Step was dominated in several games but I don't remember one game last year where Big was dominated. How many sacks did he even give up the entire season? It wasn't many. On running plays he was simply dominant as I watched him take out the entire left side of a defense more than once.

He can get better but I don't think he underachieved last season at all.

He did give up his fair share of sacks, and penalties, but he had a 8 game stretch in the middle of the season were he didnt allow a single sack (playing up against some pretty good DE's, some of whom were speed rushers) and the first few games he was adjusting to the LT position again and gelling with Wells, then that last games he got injured and slacked off some. This year should be a better year for Davis building on his 8 game middle ofthe season high level of play, having gained another full offseason and preseason gelling with Wells, comfort level at LT raised, and having Step with another year under his belt to be better able to make line calls.

 

[Redsz]

I saw BIG having problems at the start of the year, but about halfway through the season he 'got it' and was pass and run blocking like a top LT.

That 8 game stretch of no sacks was no fluke, not with the way he was throwing guys around.