Nice write up on FA's.............

Why do we need to sign a high price OG? We have a darn good starting OL right now. 2 of those starter have been acquired on the second day of the draft, the other in the second round, and our OL coach has turned them into starters.

We need to be grooming Olsen's replacement and Mawae's replacement but signing a high price FA OG makes no sense to me.

 

I agree. We finished, what, fifth in the league in rushing? The line needs to be adressed in the draft.

 

don't let that fifth ranking fool you. Without Vince, as other have pointed out, we're only middle of the pack or lower. Also, for us to have a darn good OL, our running game sometimes disappeared a few times this season. The most current example being the Patriots game. If we had such a darn good OL, Travis would've been still racking in the yards come the second half. He had what, 1 or so yards in the second half? That's pitifull. I'm not saying a high priced OG is going to fix that, but Steinbach is young and wouldn't command an outrageous contract.

 

What do you mean won't demand an outrageous contract? Our current OL players are getting NOTHING. They are later round draft picks.

Steinbach can play all three interior line positions, he's young, and wasn't he a first round draft pick. He'll get paid handsomely.

Sure it would be nice to have him but it wouldn't be a wise use of resources when we have bigger needs elsewhere.

 

Steinbach would not be out of the question as a consideration IMO. Really depends omn how the other positions go. OG wouldn't be my first consideration but not out of the question either. We have money to spend, we should spend it.

 

olsen is getting kind of old, and i think bell could be upgraded also. bell was hit or miss this year on any given play.

 

whoa, what are you talking about- Bell is one of out better linemen...

 

did you watch him? he isnt bad and was certainly an upgrade over piller, but he isnt stellar by any means either. i'd say he's average to above average. he needs to get stronger and play with better leverage so he wont get bull rushed so easily.

he's probably our fourth best o-lineman.

 

FYI, he was a 2nd round pick and considering that he can play three positions and was a 2nd round pick - that's amazing. I wish Roos could do that or any of our other Oline guys (excluding Bell - who, as pointed out was an upgrade, but only by so much, over Pillar). Also, I highly doubt he will command big dollars. We'll just have to wait and see, but I guaruntee you, he will not come close to Hutchinson numbers, not even the same ball park.

Also, don't forget - we have $40 million in cap space. Sure we don't need to blow it everywhere, but we can target some key positions and fill the rest through the draft. This is a position we havn't been in for a while and could shape the way our franchise plays ball for ages. Many people have pointed out that games are won in the trenches on both sides of the ball, both offensive and defensive - why not spend your money there? A guy like steinbach along with some young draftee's could improve that supposed fifth ranked rushing offense to the #1 ranked rushing offense.

Oh and another point. Our current OL is getting nothing because our center is on the verge of retiring and the rest of them are late rounders, some of whom are still in their rookie contracts. Tell me - what do you think Roos and Stewart will get, our two tackles(the most important position on a offensive line by the way), once their rookie contracts are up...hmm?

 

I don't think there is clamoring all over the NFL to steal away Roos, Bell and Stewart. We need to restructure their contracts so that they are getting NFL average OL wages for the next 6 or 7 years. This is what Philly does. Keep them together, and keep their salaries reasonable. Draft 3 second day interior offensive linemen to groom behind Mawae and Olsen for the next year or two, have them ready to step in and complete the unit.


Hutchinson is universally regarded as an all-pro guard and by most people as the best guard in the business. We aren't talking about him. However, I wouldn't be shocked at all if he got in the general ballpark of Hutchinson's per year contract. Maybe 20% less, and that's WAY too much.


Also, we may have actually been the #1 rated rushing offense, over the last half of the year. I'm not sure about that. A lot of that is Vince's rushing yards but the line blocked darn well on Vince's runs too.