Question...Our O Line
 

I was wondering if I could get some intelligent opinions on our offensive front this year. I really have no idea what to expect.

I know that I'm glad Gandy is gonna be getting Vick sackedd this year (or drawing holding penalties).

I like Jamaal Brown and also the new center from Cleveland.

Mort was on this morning and said we have no interior D line, no LBs, and no Oline.

I can see his point on the other 2, but I have a funny feeling our O Line may be decent this year.

Thoughts?

RE: Question...Our O Line
 

well i thought they looked horrid on sat night but that was without holland and mayberry, those guys will make a difference. j brown does not concern me although he could have looked better in the first game, jeff faine should be solid but he is no bentley!! that just leaves my boy j. stink at the tackle position, which i hope he does ok but I AM WORRIED

Nesbit makes strong push at left guard
Brees eager to play entire half vs. Cowboys

Wednesday, August 16, 2006
By Mike Triplett


JACKSON, MISS. -- At first, veteran offensive lineman Jamar Nesbit was frustrated when he was moved from right tackle to left guard as an injury replacement early in training camp.

"The curse of being versatile," said Nesbit, who had spent the offseason learning to play right tackle, a relatively new position for him.

But Nesbit has kept up his strong performance across the offensive line, and Coach Sean Payton said Tuesday that the left guard job is Nesbit's to lose, even though incumbent Montrae Holland is back from a knee injury.
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"I'm going to keep Nesbit at left guard until someone beats him out," Payton said. "I visited with Montrae about it. We're not there yet (to Week 1), but it's getting closer. We've got to see who's starting on this front five. I told Nesbit when he came to camp that he'll have a chance to compete for a starting job. I thought it was going to be right tackle, but he's at left guard right now."

It's really nothing new for Nesbit, 29, who has played guard, center, tackle and even emergency tight end for the Saints, Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars in his eight-year career.

Nesbit said he is happy with the way things are going so far with the new coaching staff, which has given him an opportunity to win both jobs.

"So far, so good. They've done what they said they'd do, and now it's up to me to maintain and get better," Nesbit said. "It's one of those situations, like I've said before, I'm going to go out there and put the best product out there that I can, and if it shakes out, I'm going to continue to do so. If not, I'll get prepared to play whatever role they want me to play.

"It's good to have an opportunity to actually go out there and compete for something. So, I'm going to enjoy it and work as hard as I can."

Holland will continue to compete with Nesbit, as well as right guards Jahri Evans and Jermane Mayberry. Mayberry has missed more than a week with a shoulder injury, and Evans, a rookie, has made strides in his place.

Holland, 26, was projected as the Saints' top offensive guard heading into the season, but the knee injury was a setback. He also missed a few months early in the offseason recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.

Story continues....
http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index...l=1&thispage=2

I'm hoping Zach Strief takes the RT job. I know he's a rookie, but this guy is a mauler. Did anyone else notice the way he just manhandled everyone in front of him? He was a big reason Jamaal Branch got off the way he did. He just kept following the enormous holes Strief made from pancaking people. Hell....put him in early next game & see how he does against 1st string competition. :wink:

I like Strief too :)

I like Strief but there is no way he is ready to start this year...same thing goes for Evans. We are very weak at O-Line and i hope Bush can make those kinds of runs every week because he will never have a crease to run through. As for Deuce, he is going to have get his yards 2 and 3 yards at a time.

Why? Because he's a rookie? LeCharles Bentley had his best year as a rookie. Strief anchored one of college's best offensive lines for 4 years. I don't think he's that far behind the curve should he be given the oppurtunity. It beats the hell out of Stinchcomb at RT!

Being a rookie is a factor but not the main reason. And him being better than anyone else we have doesnt mean he is "ready". He may HAVE to start but that doesnt mean he is ready. Northwestern wasnt one of the top o-lines last year...thats just crazy. They were able to pile up yardage against weaker competition but they didnt do those things vesrus the Michigans, Ohio States, and those guys. I do think he will be fine down the road, but you have to know there was a reason he was a 7th round pick.

Uhmmm.....actually.....they did. That OL played quite well against Penn State & Ohio State (the 2 top schools in the Big Ten). They had a QB that threw for over 3600 yds. & a RB that rushed for over 1400 yds. Those are NFL numbers with a shorter schedule. Click on the link below & then click on the camera icon next to Zack Strief's name. Watch the highlight reel & then tell me he didn't handle his business against those two top ranked defenses. :roll:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/nor

As for the "there was a reason he was a 7th round pick" comment.......there are a lot of good NFL players who came from the later rounds. Hell.....we've got one on our team named Joe Horn.

Big Ben Archibal (?) surprised me the kid look good. I saw alot of good thigs one both sides of the ball by a select few in the second half. It is not as bad as the media says it is. they always blow things out of wack all for the ratings.

I thought Strief was a guy to get excited about when we took him...i thought he could have been a 4th or 5th round guy...and to get him in the 7th seemed like a good deal. But what gives you the impression that he is NFL ready? I can use these examples because that is what i am familiar with, but LSU's offense was very good at running and passing the last 3 or 4 years. Does that make Rudy Niswanger ready to play center in the NFL? Does that make Terrell McGill ready to play guard? No, it doesnt. I think the big thing with Strief is technique. He is not physically, or mentally ready to take on the ends he will have to take on even in our own division...Abraham, Kerney, Rucker, Peppers, Rice...he is going to have to block at least 2 of those guys 4 times a year...i just dont think he is ready for that kind of jump right now.

weakest part of our team. Jammal is okay at right but pathetic at left. Faine isn't bentley, but sadly maybe the best o-lineman!

But just to sum up how bad our line is, there is a possibility that we have two rookie starters on the line...a 4th rounder and a 7th rounder...and as a whole, look at how many rookies should contribute this year...Bush and Harper will be on the field alot...Hass and the lineman are going to be either spot starters or the number1 reserves at their positions, Ninkovich, Lay and Colston all have an outside shot at seeing playing time this year. Did you guys ever think about what it would be like if Will Allen (OG from Texas) wouldnt have quit the team? He would probably be in line to start for us. Thats a shame.

I'll say it again. If we can, trade Stalls for some O-Line help. Having said that, here is the catch. Every team is having O-Line problems. The Vikings, Cowboys, Chiefs (they are begging Roaf not to retire). This should be our most pressing area to seek help....now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the explosiveness at the skill positions on offense don't mean a damn if the line can't hold it together. Brees will be dismantled before the 2nd game, and Deuce and Bush will be running for their lives. Our defense may be porous (but Gibbs will be a better schemer than Ven-suckit), but our offense has skill at the right positions to put points on the board. Can't do it if the other teams defense is making smores over a campfire in the backfield....To heck with the linebacker talk......get me an O-linemen. Now, pronto, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Please???????????? God.....Help.... :crying:

deuce and bush will be ok...our run blocking doesn't concern me..."see that guy across from you? hit him in the mouth and push his face into the dirt" cant get much simpler than that. what i am concerened about is our pass protection.

Dude......every OL in the league has problems with the guys you just named. Unfortunately, our division boasts some of the best DL's in the NFL.

hopefully, our offensive line will look like this: LT-j. brown, LG- m. holland, C-j. faine, RG- j. mayberry, and RT- z. strief.... i think that gives us our best option to protect our gazillion dollar backfield... assuming, of course, everyone stays healthy all year...

I understand that, but if Jammall Brown, who was a decorated a college player as can be, is having "technique" problems after playing very well at RT in his transition to LT, dont you think that Strief may be having problems with his technique in adjusting to the NFL? Once he hones his skills, he can be a solid RT, i just dont think the time is now.