05-24-2022, 09:00 AM
(05-24-2022, 02:47 AM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: It could be among the best. After having time to chew it over, my assessment is that they haven't gone far enough on the offensive line. It's true that they went out and got 3 decent to pretty good "starting caliber" players in FA. Karras has played well at guard and OK at center. Kappa brings some good toughness/power to RG, has some warts when it comes to stunts, but he's pretty good overall. Collins looks to be a slam dunk signing at RT. On the face of it, bringing in three starting caliber dudes seems like a surefire way to turbocharge the offense. Here's the thing: they signed three new "starting caliber" players, but they lost three of them at the same time. Spain, Hopkins, and Reiff were almost surely not as good as the three new OL, sure, but let's just discuss the QUANTITY aspect for a moment. They traded three out for three in. There is still one spot on the line that will have to be manned by a player who has not proven that they are capable of playing at an adequate level in pass protection(or otherwise). Is there a plan should none emerge? Is there any notable depth to cover for injuries aside from maybe Prince? I could see it going either way. Having an incomplete O-line would be nothing new for this team. From Nasty Nate Livings to Eric Ghiaciuc to Russell Bodine, there is a history to draw upon. Without further action, the offense may not hit the next gear(especially if Hurst fails to replace Uzomah). The good news is that there is plenty of time for them to assess whether or not some of their young players have the goods this year or not. To my knowledge all three of the other vet linemen from last year are still on the market, so there's that as well(assuming that they're healthy). I don't mean to be overly negative, just reiterating that it's currently in flux. A lot is riding on performance at OL and TE this year.
C J Uzomah had a great year. Replacing the Uzomah of 2021 not easy. On the other hand Hurst has shown he’s been better overall. I think he will be more of a threat in the passing game. Hard to tell on everything else and the intangibles he won’t.
As far as the OL PFF seems to think the upgrade was major
LT Jonah Williams: 77.1
LG Quinton Spain: 72.3
C Trey Hopkins: 51.4
RG: Hakeem Adeniji: 48.3 (Jackson Carman 56.3)
RT: Isaiah Prince: 58.0 (Riley Reiff 67.3)
Now a look at the upgraded projected offensive line and their grades from last season:
LT Jonah Williams: 77.1
LG Jackson Carman: 56.3 (or another veteran/rookie)
C Ted Karras: 72.8
RG: Alex Cappa: 74.2
RT: La’el Collins: 82.0
