Why We Have OL Problems

[Russ Smith]

He was also from DC so Baltimore was a good option. They should’ve taken him anyway even thought it would’ve been ugly in the beginning.

Yeah long time ago no idea if he'd really have held out but it was a big deal before the draft. At the time the Cards had a very bad rep with first rounders and holdouts so it was an understandable threat.

Simeon was a jerk but he was actually a very good player, it wasn't his fault that DL didn't pan out the injuries to Wadsworth and Mark Smith derailed that DL

I remember the talk about Ogden at UCLA is he was so athletic they actually considered moving him to defense because that's what you did, the best athletes were on defense not offense. But I guess they had some concerns he was just too tall and would play high so they left him at OL. What a great player.

 

[football karma]

the Cards are tracking to a top 10 pick, if not top 5

pull up any ranking of the top 10 college players coming out and ask "could the Cards use a really good player at THAT position?" Other than QB, the answer is YES!

Chase Young to pair with Chandler? yes!
Andrew Thomas to lock down LT? yes?
Jerry Juedy to provide a dynamic #1 WR? yes!
Grant Delpit to shut down the center of the secondary? yes!

etc, etc, etc.

 

[Dr. Jones]

So the question is this: Can we win 4 games. I think we get to 3.5 (with the tie) for sure but still will have some work to do to get to 4.

Teams who wont get to 4:
MIA, Was, Bengals

Teams who probably wont:
jets, Pitt

Teams we are fighting with:
Atl, Tampa, Denver, NYG

That's 9 teams. And we play 3 of the 4 we will be fighting with for draft positioning.

So our range imo is: pick 4 to pick 9. tons of talent in there.

 

[blindseyed]

Maybe we have O line problems because Keim sux....just saying

 

[kerouac9]

I disagree with the premise of this thread. I don't think we have OL problems, or, at least no more OL problems than any other team around the NFL. I think we have a backup playing RT who wasn't on the roster through training camp. That's a problem. I also think it's a concern that our OL is pretty old after DJ and Pugh.

We just drafted 3 WR a few months ago. Give them a minute to grow into the NFL.
We just need to spend a couple years drafting virtually nothing but the trenches. OL and DL all day. The other stuff can figure itself out. We have RB's.
We have QB. We have usable TE's. We have a good secondary once our starters are in the house.
Our linemen however, are pedestrian at all positions. All 8 of them. Get that upgraded where possible, as often as possible.

But even if Isabella, Johnson and Butler are their best selves, none of them are real #1 WRs. You still want a playmaker Murray can go to on 3rd down and to draw the attention of the opposing defense. We don't have that right now.

 

[Chopper0080]

People are focusing on the wrong Washington OLineman. We should be focusing on Brandon Scherff more so than Trent Williams, especially if we go OT in the 1st round.

Would you play him at LG or at RG?

 

[Garthshort]

Two things:
1. Someone mentioned the SF DL, and included Thomas, a former 1st round pick. I thought that they considered him a bust. Am I wrong about that?
2. Looks like many here wants us to go BPA, at least in the first round. And I guess that's a good thing.

 

[DVontel]

Would you play him at LG or at RG?

Where he’s great at, RG.

 

[Chopper0080]

I disagree with the premise of this thread. I don't think we have OL problems, or, at least no more OL problems than any other team around the NFL. I think we have a backup playing RT who wasn't on the roster through training camp. That's a problem. I also think it's a concern that our OL is pretty old after DJ and Pugh.



But even if Isabella, Johnson and Butler are their best selves, none of them are real #1 WRs. You still want a playmaker Murray can go to on 3rd down and to draw the attention of the opposing defense. We don't have that right now.

I am also of the mind that our offensive line, outside of Murray at RT, is ok. It isn't good, but I think it is closer to league average than many want to admit.

We run into an unique situation that Shipley, Humphries, and RT are not under contract for next year. We have some control over the situation in that we could franchise Humphries, if needed, and could probably re-sign Shipley, if we weren't comfortable with Gaillard or Cole at C.

Pugh and Sweezy are both up-gradable, but we only have so many resources to use in a given off-season.

If I had to rank my priorities in the draft prior to knowing who will actually be available in FA, I would rank them OT, WR, DE. What dictates this order is that WR and DE seem to easier to acquire via FA and trade than OT. That is an opinion, but one that I am pretty confident in.

Our offensive is unique in that most of the pieces are actually there. We have depth at RB and WR. We have an ok interior OL and one decent OT. The issue is we are missing some key pieces. We need an offensive linemen who is a difference maker, and we need a #1 WR. Other playmakers are great, but these two things are the only NEEDS I see.

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

People are focusing on the wrong Washington OLineman. We should be focusing on Brandon Scherff more so than Trent Williams, especially if we go OT in the 1st round.

Thought you wanted Thomas from Georgia lol?

 

[DVontel]

Thought you wanted Thomas from Georgia lol?

What?

 

[Chopper0080]

Thought you wanted Thomas from Georgia lol?

Who wouldn't want Thomas from Georgia?

 

[Sportsfan45221]

It is not coincidence when the QB stops making stupid ass mistakes then most of the O-line plays better. Everything is not on the O-line. Make sure your criticism is in the right spot.

 

[Harry]

The problem started with the changes in college offenses. RPOs, Jet sweeps & running QBs. The blocking style taught in college changed with the offensive philosophy. Pancake blocks were no longer the emphasis and drive blockers mostly became a thing of the past, though the NFL still sought out those that could make them. Blocks in NFL offenses worked best if they were held longer. Colleges used more influence blocks.

There is much less O-line glory at the college level, whereas in the NFL the money was a good draw for O-linemen. So more oversized college players chose the D-Line.

In the end it has become more difficult to draft functional O-linemen. Could the Cards benefit from running a college-style offense? Maybe, but Murray’s likely fragility argues for a line providing outstanding protection. That said maybe the required talent lies somewhere in the middle.

Of course it remains to be seen if KK’s offense holds up. Still my guess is the Cards will lean toward agile, durable players, not just big bodies. Odd that guys like Humphries would fit that model, but he rarely plays to his ability nor does he show superior technique. FAs & the draft should tell us the answer to what the Cards think.

 

[TRW]

The team has a staff with the sole purpose of evaluating college talent. The question becomes are they that bad at evaluating line talent or is Keim like Trump, he doesn't listen to anyone else thinking he was a lineman and he knows better than the rest.

I think it's a scouting, GM, owner all combined thing. Some organizations just can't seem to consistently build winning teams and the Cards have been one of those for a long time. It's about getting good football minds in charge of those things.

But, there are a LOT of subpar offensive lines in the league. Demand may just be more than supply for athletic 6'Something" 330lb human beings. That factors into it also, I think.

 

[Veer]

Of course it remains to be seen if KK’s offense holds up. Still my guess is the Cards will lean toward agile, durable players, not just big bodies. Odd that guys like Humphries would fit that model, but he rarely plays to his ability nor does he show superior technique. FAs & the draft should tell us the answer to what the Cards think.

Actually he may stay healthy for the first time in his contract year. I hope we don't make the mistake and pay him. In theory he is an agile and quick LT that's fitting our scheme, but plays without technique. Two unnecessary, stupid block in the back penalties yesterday. Just too many mistakes. We should aim higher than Humphries for our starting LT.

 

[BW52]

OLINE and DLINE.Everybody ******* about the defense and yet people want another WR?So what if you draft a good WR and the defense can`t stop the other team.A better offensive line makes the entire offense better.A better DLINE makes the LBs better and gives the DBs some help because the opposing QB can`t sit in the pocket and eat a pizza while waiting for his WRS to get open.

 

[Ronin]

OLINE and DLINE.Everybody ******* about the defense and yet people want another WR?So what if you draft a good WR and the defense can`t stop the other team.A better offensive line makes the entire offense better.A better DLINE makes the LBs better and gives the DBs some help because the opposing QB can`t sit in the pocket and eat a pizza while waiting for his WRS to get open.

Build the trenches first. I like the way you think.

 

[Cardinal]

This upcoming draft is loaded at WR. Drafting one with our 1st pick (Top 10 presumably) would be a mistake.

 

[JeffGollin]

I thought it was a no brainer that our first round draft pick would be for an OT. Unless we traded for the Washington (Williams) OT who is demanding a trade. But now, it seems that we need a #1 WR that can grow with KM. Or a pass rusher like the OSU guy (Young). So, I admit I'm confused, since all three are valid needs, but, once again, I can see the offensive line taking a back seat. Reminds me of the time that we had to choose between OL (Ogden) and DL (sorry, brain cramp), and we went DL.

Garth - Assuming SK isn't blowing smoke, we believe in drafting the best player possible and not for "need" (unless need and BPA happen to be one and the same).

Maybe it's time to challenge the BPA approach or at least give OL prospects extra bonus-points in the BPA rankings (because they're so valuable).

 

[Krangodnzr]

OLINE and DLINE.Everybody ******* about the defense and yet people want another WR?So what if you draft a good WR and the defense can`t stop the other team.A better offensive line makes the entire offense better.A better DLINE makes the LBs better and gives the DBs some help because the opposing QB can`t sit in the pocket and eat a pizza while waiting for his WRS to get open.

If the Cardinals had a legit #1 WR, they probably win the Detroit game and maybe Carolina.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Actually he may stay healthy for the first time in his contract year. I hope we don't make the mistake and pay him. In theory he is an agile and quick LT that's fitting our scheme, but plays without technique. Two unnecessary, stupid block in the back penalties yesterday. Just too many mistakes. We should aim higher than Humphries for our starting LT.

Speaking of blocks in the back, that referee crew was a little bit over happy about calling those

 

[THESMEL]

Come on man, we ran the ball and the oline looked better, we were not one dimensional - rpo/play action worked because we did not hand the defense our play book! we got the the horses in DJ and CE with a sprinkle of KM juice. My golly sweet molly- it is impossible for the best oline to protect a one dimensional play caller against the worse defensive pass rush any given Sunday. Dallas touted oline looked bad when they could not run, niners looked great when they ran the ball this week!

We don’t have the best or the worse oline in the NFL - we are somewhere in between and I’m ok with that! Run plenty and give them a chance to succeed - and stay healthy.

We ran the ball 7 freaking times last time all doomsdayed the oline - get a grip