Originally Posted by
trapezeus
the current line i don't think is as bad as last year suggested. I felt like they largely looked lost and not necessarily overpowered. you'd see guys just stand up and not know who to block. i put that on coaching. and the fact almost every player struggled across the line after being servicable under chan or other coaches, points to coaching more than overall talent.
that being said, it still needs upgrades and i agree, it probably makes the most sense to take the best OL available at our pick and shuffle the best guys as needed. We also need to have more talent on the line to withstand injuries. perhaps the best 5 may be good enough, but i think the drop off with replacements may be our undoing.
as for the QBs, none look like sure things and none look like busts no matter how much wagon circler hopes it to be. If we don't have a line, none of them will succeed and it'll play out like such:
Week1-4, starter is inconsistent, a win here, a loss there, turnovers higher than TDs.
Week 5-7 - via injury or just tired of inconsistency back up comes in. is ok in the wek 5 game, sees drop off until he gets hurt or the plug is pulled. they maybe go back to original starter or feel like the 3rd string guy is best by week 8
Week8-14 - third stringer looks the best of the group, mostly because of limited tape. he captures the fan base attention, but we don't really care that his stats are more or less in line with the other two who go yanked.
In weeks 8-14, the run game and d will determine if we have a chance to make the playoffs for early exit.
To avoid this scenario, we need a good line that ensures the run game has success early and that the QB has time for the 10 yard pass for YAC.
If we go QB early in draft and leave the line with minimal depth, i don't think they have the legs to make it 16 games in a tougher schedule.