Reading the tea leaves at OLine
Kelly said that Lugg will probably move to guard before the start of the season and there would be a guard and tackle spot up for grabs. That indicates Correll at center, Patterson at a tackle and Lugg at a guard.
A few questions:
1. Does Lugg moving to guard indicate that the staff is really high on a particular tackle, because Lugg was recruited and fits the bill to be a right tackle?
2. If they are planning to move Lugg to guard because they really think a tackle is one of their best five, who is that tackle? My guess would be Tosh Baker.
3. If Lugg is playing RT in the spring but will move to RG, does that mean that Patterson will be at RT and not at left? Why play Lugg as a tackle in the spring if he would be moving to RG and a currently healthy individual will be playing RT. Doesn't it imply that someone who is currently unavailable (Patterson) would be playing that RT spot come fall?
4. I would appreciate to hear how you all read how these things are playing out and what it looks like we will most likely end up with in the fall.
Lastly, who becomes the do everything next guy in that Lugg was this past year. I only ask because it sets things up for next year. If it is Patterson-Lugg on the right side, then a Fisher-Spindler combo the next year could be possible. But I'm not sure either of them are ready to be the 6th guy. However, if the 6th guy is Dirkson or Gibbons, then it is wide-open in 2022. If the 6th guy is Carroll or Kristofic, then not playing them in 2022 gets a little harder I think.
My guess:
Baker - Kristofic - Correll - Lugg - Patterson
6th man - Gibbons
Replies to: Reading the tea leaves at OLine
After reading more: Baker - Carroll - Correll - Lugg - Patterson, 6th man Kristofic
Kristofic training at center is a decent indicator that he may be the do-it-all guy.
That being said, I'm thinking that Carroll and Kristofic might both be more ready than Baker is currently. Older and more developed, bigger and very nasty (I went back and watched their high school tape and they are nasty, nasty run blockers). I think Baker has the larger upside to protecting Coan's blind side and that is being given a lot of importance as he is a pocket passer, but I wouldn't be surprised if both Carroll and Kristofic end up on the field as guards with Patterson and Lugg staying at the tackles.
Maybe not popular, but I think Gibbons is going to be hard to beat out if healthy.
I agree with Kristofic as the 6th guy that can play any spot on the line. Haven't heard much about Quinn Carroll other than his injury was a pretty significant setback for his development. I don't think he's ahead of Baker for that reason.
With Patterson out, I think the goal of the spring is to see if Tosh Baker is ready to play LT
If he's not, then Patterson will replace him and Lugg will remain at RT. If Baker is ready, then Patterson will play RT and Lugg will slide in to guard. Lugg has practiced a lot at guard over the years, so of the guys that will be here this Spring he's the most available to slide around as someone will have to either change positions or get benched to make room for Patterson.
Not bad, no arguments from me. I would however say that if #87, can be turned into a Blocker like
#24 last year that would be HUGE and put him into a discussion of a first round pick.
Watch the Patriots/Falcons SB, Gronk steamrolled the Falcons.
You know what else they do with Gronk? Split him out and let a corner try to cover him.
I'd prefer they did that. I wish they did that against Alabama. I'd have loved to see Surtain try to cover Baby Gronk.
Well yeah and #87 is athletic enough to do that to. Again though the original post was about O Line
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Agreed. Original post about OLine and #87 would do both the team and himself well to become the
blocker he can be because the league will like that and he could be an absolute beast of a blocker for us.
I'm not understanding why you would want to take all the upside of receiving away and make him a
blocker? As is, he's a huge mismatch and Tremble was not, though a good receiving TE before turning into a blocking monster.
Blocking AND Receiving
The late 90's early 00's saw a boom in Receiving TEs, and many weren't great at blocking. Defenses caught up.
Elite TEs now have to be able to do both - see Gronk and Kittle. Kittle's blocking skills are close to those of actual O-linemen. You can't go speed on D if the TE can block you off the field, but there aren't many LBs who can cover big TEs that can run crisp routes with soft hands. It opens up the field deep for the WRs if the team has to double a TE, or use a Safety to cover.
If he's only a receiver, the team is easier to defend
You don't want to take away his pass catching skills or opportunities. You do want him to be an effective blocker so that when you aren't running a pass play he's more than just a decoy, but someone they need to account for as a blocker. Then when you do send him out on a pass play, he's more effective because they had to account for him as a blocker, so they couldn't just try and play a physical safety on him. You want the other team to have to make a bad choice and if he's an above average blocker, there is no good choice for them.
I don't think I conveyed that. Gronkowski is maybe the greatest TE in the NFL.
All I was saying was, if he is more diverse, not just a pass catcher he can help the O Line which was the original post...the O Line.
The TE is part of the O Line.
If he can block...again like #24 of last year it helps the run game.
O Line.
I took "make him like 24" to mean be primarily a blocker, as that's what 24 was last year.
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