Quote:
Originally Posted by 124
This is funny.
Some thought he was better in 2011 than he was in 2012? I think the exact opposite. After 2011 I was ready to part ways with him because he played so dreadfully at times, but coming back from back surgery could do that to a player for a year. After last season I'd like to have him back for another year if possible, because in my eyes he did improve and look more like the Moore of old especially in the ground game, but more likely than not someone will overpay for his veteran leadership/services.
Like it or not he was our third best lineman for a long time and although Austin Howard is starting to get hype again (why, I have no freaking idea), we're in trouble at both Guard spots and RT without Moore. Howard can have all the "promise" you'd like, but facts remain facts: He allowed the second most sacks of any T in the NFL last season and the guy has had three or four years of NFL experience under his belt. How much better is he going to get? And if Vlad Ducasse is the answer at LG, well then, we're screwed. He's a decent run blocker and still can't protect against the pass to save a lick, but that's exactly what the team was trying to transition to last season by giving him a quarter of the snaps.
|
Theres a few things that are important to remember with regard to some of the sacks Howard allowed.
First off, we knew he was the "weak link" on the Oline as did every defense we faced....but did we give him TE help, nope. Now part of that is because our TEs couldnt block anyway, but sparano had no clue how to "protect" a lineman.
To further the above, one of the biggest problems with our offense both under schotty and sparano is the fact that we dont run screen passes or misdirections. Much of that blame falls on sanchez as for whatever reaseon, he is terrible at it (see his multiple INTs off it starting with his first career preseason pass that was a pick 6). Screens force Dlineman to at least think about not rushing full speed. This was so evident vs SD when they rushed/blitzed mcelroy all day while playing man coverage and our only 2 successful plays were a screen to greene and a misdirection to hayden smith, and yet we only ran 2 of them. Awful coaching.
Lastly, sanchez has also never changed a protection at the line, even at the most basic level of moving the back from one side to the other if he sees a potential blitzer. It cannot be understated how important this is. Sanchez didnt need to be peyton in the sense of calling all the protections at the line, but to start for 4 years and still not be able to have an inkling where the blitz is coming from is pathetic and has really hurt the lines ability to pass protect.