streif is not going to start at left tackle for us....he is not better than jammal brown....if our left tackle was a problem....we would be drafting a LT

"False start, No. 70, Offense... 5 yard penalty, replay the down..."

i dont know how many times i heard this last year...

Is it a good idea to trade your probowl left tackle who protects your franchise QB's blindside? On the surface, it looks like a dumb move that doesn't even garner consideration. However, due to the rumor, we must give it consideration.

The combination of Loomis and Payton have drafted well the past two years. They have been adept at getting great value on the offensive line with day two draft choices. On Payton's first year, the biggest two questions and areas of need we had going into the season were the offensive line and LBing corp. Over the last two years, we have given up the least amount of sacks. The LBing corp is a work in progress, but we now have two bonafide stars, maybe three. When you consider Evans, Allemon, Bushrod, and Strief you can't help but notice how PHYSICAL these guys were coming out of college. The current offensive starters are mostly atheletic, but we have been drafting physical. I believe the staff wants to become more physical when players like Allemon and Strief are ready to replace players like Stinch and Nesbit. Evans is already becoming a star with his nasty play, but the other two aren't far behind. We have a glaring need to become more physical, especially when we play defenses like Chicago and Baltimore and Carolina, or fast defenses like Indy or Tennessee or Tampa. Misdirection and motions to open things up for Deuce or Pierre simply isn't effective against physical and fast defenses. We need the abiltiy to run it down someone's throat when matched up against these opponents.

That said, maybe the staff feels that Brown is more of a finesse player as opposed to a road grader. He made a very adequate transition to LT, but I do believe he is better suited for RT. He has done an admirable job, and his technique and footwork are pretty solid. Personally, I think his health concerns aren't that great. Moving him may clear the way for a Strief who may in fact be more physical than Brown. I don't know this, but I have to believe the staff knows just how competent Strief is or is not.

The last three players we thought it would hurt to lose-- Bentley, Stallworth, and Howard-- actually weren't bad. In fact, we didn't get a single compensatory pick for any of them. Its a complicated formula, but in all actuality, none of those losses hurt us; and in the case of Stallworth, we actually got a draft choice for him when if we had kept him for his final year we would have gotten an inconsistant season and nothing in return becuase he made it clear he wasn't going to resign. The point is, with the exception of Faine, we had guys on the roster already to step in. We knew about Smith, but only the FO knew how Colston was going to perform at the time they trade Stallworth, and they also did a fine job replacing Bentley. There was no noticable dropoff at any position.

I am not sure if Brown wants to resign with us or not, but I think the FO has a good idea. If he doesn't, they have shown that they do not use the Franchise tag on a player who doesn't want to be here. That does speak well to players who are considring us in free agency. You could argue the point, and I might agree that we could have franchised Bentley and trade him for less than the required two first rounders, but its kind of a moot point anyway.

The reason for this discussion is the possibility of trading Brown and 10th pick for Dorsey. I honestly belive Dorsey is the real deal and will work magic for our defense for years to come. I think the HOF DT is just as valuable as a HOF LT, if not more. You can get by with less at LT by doing things to help schematically in pass protection. A great DT affects every level of defense though, and if you don't have one, there isn't much you can do. I will not speculate on Brown's relationship with the coaches; and while I do not believe his injury concerns are serious, I have to say it is possible. Bottom line is that if this staff makes this deal, I have to believe it is the right move for a right reason, and that we will be surprised with our LT play much like we were when Colston filled in for Stallworth. The coaching staff simply knows something we don't if there is validity to this rumor.


-Written by pjgaryjr of SR.com

Just watch the two Carolina games from 2006. In one...Jammal Brown got used by Julius Peppers like a condom in Brazil. When Brown went down & Strief took his place against Carolina, he owned Peppers. Peppers had 0 sacks & 0 tackles in the backfield. I still remember saying "Holy s**t! He's throwing one of the NFL's top DE's around like a rag doll!!!!"

haha im not sure how many times u heard it....this shouldnt even be an argument....the only ppl i've ever heard of saying brown is overrated is the 5 or so ppl on here...i hate to be the cocky young gun but i just think there is not much we can do to upgrade our LT therefore we shouldnt get rid of him....i dont even know y this is an issue....the rams declined it....i just think its stupid to get rid of our best lineman

he is a lil overrated.. he gets some hype b/c he was a first round pick who has played pretty well at times..

colston deserved to go in 2006 more then brown..

y dont u just say they both deserved to go?....

while he may be suited better at RT...there is nobody on our team now that can step up and be a better LT....so until someone steps up...MAYBE STREIF...in the future....brown will start and u cant be mad about that