Originally Posted by TheOak (Post 560614)

I see we do not have a lot of people that have played offensive line. Here is a little educational information that should help steer you on your mock-draft scenarios.

While Left Tackle is the most important offensive lineman for protecting the QB, there is more to the game than protecting the QB.. There is running, screens, etc... Teams starting investing high dollar in LTs when QBs because expensive.

You see, having a damn good Center takes a lot off of Drew Brees. How many delay of game penalties have we seen while Drew is making the lineman calls pre-snap?

Watch the whole video.
Is left tackle still the most important O-line position? - NFL Videos


Payton Maiining's left hand was Jeff Saturday.

Read the Roles section and think about how many LBs shoot our inside gap and get to Drew. Never picked up.
Center (American and Canadian football) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

While LT is the most important player for protecting the QBs blind side, he gets his blocking assignment from the Center... If the Center makes the wrong call, the LT is worthless.

Yes, Charles Brown is a liability but if i am drafting on draft day and not drafting BPA, I am grabbing the best Center on the board in the first round. He will make for a better Saints o-line and allow Drew to focus where he needs to.

Where do QBs go when the pocket is collapsing around them.. They step up... Cant do that when the Center is being pushed back in your face.

Originally Posted by Jack Vegas (Post 560639)

In my opinion, de la Puente is not necessarily the problem. Communication is the problem. I would argue that's as much because we are constantly shuffling 4-5 different people on and off the field on every play. For road games I would like to see the offense dumbed down a little bit and keep the same personnel groupings on the field for longer stretches.

If you're talking about offensive line strictly, I would argue that both Brown and Grubbs are bigger problems than the center. Brown has been an issue all year, and while Grubbs isn't bad, he's not that great either. Certainly not worth the $9 a year contract he's getting.

Originally Posted by lee909 (Post 560644)

We have gone from Bushrod-Nicks to Brown-Grubbs that is a massive downgrade whatever you think of Bushrod.Nicks was able to control the left side well and help Bushrod-DLP aswell as keep his own man occupied. There has been a drop in Evans game since the Grubbs-Nicks trade too imo. DLP+Strief are cheaper options and Evans-Grubbs are not playing up to there deals.

Originally Posted by TheOak (Post 560652)

We lost Goodwin in 2011, Nicks in 2012, Bushrod in 2013.

Originally Posted by TheOak (Post 560647)

We have shuffled people off and on the field since Sean Payton has been here.