Yep, that was about the time they gave Kreutz the boot, and he was replaced by De La Puenta, which led to more consistent play from the interior of the O-line, which is why the only pressure Brees felt the rest of the season was coming from the edge.

I truly feel that Nicks' superior play has made Bushrod seem a lot better than he is in reality, and the same has happened with Evans and Strief, and to some extent DLP has been the beneficiary of both of those great players.

I'm not worried about Nicks leaving since he was replaced by Grubbs who should be as close to Nicks' level as you could get a replacement, and who knows - he might even surpass Nicks in Kromer's schemes? Anyway, I think Evans was/is the better of the two guards, and that is why I don't see Nicks' departure as such a big blow when it comes to O-line productivity.


And I do get your point JP about the cost of a great LT, but with the track-record of the Saints' scouting department in finding great O-linemen, I wouldn't hesitate in using next year's 1st rounder on the best available OT or trading down to the 2nd if there was better value to be had in that move. The great thing about the new CBA is that rookie contracts are no longer "bank breakers" and late 1st rounders can be signed relatively cheap - at least relative to what they would've signed for couple of years ago. That relative cheapness of the late 1st and early 2nd rounders is why there were so many trade ups and downs in this year's draft when compared to the previous drafts.

Carl Nicks failed his first physical. See my point now? What kind of play can the Bucs expect out of him?

Seriously I am very concerned about our offensive line this year. We are going to find out how the old pre-payout nicks was integral to Brees' success.

Link? Physical or conditioning test?

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LOL

A lineman failed a conditioning by 3.3 seconds.

You know what Schiano's conditioning test consisted of?

16 110 yard dashes in a row.

Let me say that again...

16 110 yard dashes in a row.

I'm not worried about the O-line as long as they don't blow their assignment and get Brees beheaded. Grubbs I feel will give the run game a edge but the team he came from was not pass happy like us, so until I get to see him in action in the pass happy O we have it will be hard to tell, but I think he will be great , it might take a little while for the O to gel.

Well, hopefully they'll use that Grubbs' superior run blocking to call some more off the guard run plays to the left side of the line.

Wow! Thats 1 mile, sprinting.

I'm shocked that some O-linemen actually passed.

On top of joining an offensive line that is already pretty good at protecting the quarterback, I expect that Grubbs pass protection will be considered significantly better just because of the change in quarterbacks that he's blocking for.

It's common knowledge that Flacco holds on to the ball way too long and he's only slightly more mobile than the new Gleason statue in front of the Dome. That, in and of itsel,f has to make an offensive linemans life harder. By contrast, Drew has fantastic pocket presence. Sometimes he seems to have eyes in the back of his head



(if you happen to read this Roger Goodell, it was only a joke Drew Brees does NOT have eyes in the back of his head. There's no reason to suspend him)