HB Blades or Stephon Heyer?

Really neither are worthy of starting, but I would take heyer because he has more starts...blades is awful in coverage but heyer us injury prone

RT is definitely more of a need. Jansen wouldn't be on the roster if it weren't for his contract. I hate that shit. Heyer is a mediocre back up at best.
I think both positions will get filled before the season. One in the draft and the other by picking up a final cut from another team. I would not rule out a small trade in preseason wuth a team that is about to cut someone due to numbers and we give them a conditional 6th in 2010. I do not see us staying pat with Heyer and Blades. Although I like Blades as our future MLB. I am not sure he is explosive enough to be an OLB. .

I'm holding out faint hope that Jansen can rebound and have a good season. That said I still hope we take a RT at #13 if one of the top guys are available.

Blades is probably better suited for a backup on the outside. Maybe we can find someone off the June 1 trash heap. If not we're probably looking at some sort of rotation between him and Fincher.

But again, a lot depends on what happens with the draft.

I'd rather go in with HB Blades starting than Heyer IF we can get one of the big 4 tackles in the draft.

I think HB is a fringe starter, but more of a backup for sure. However, I think our defense as a whole (especially with the addition of Big Al) is strong enough to compensate for HB's weaknesses.

I worry big time about the right side of our O-line with Randy's decline/injuries and Heyer or Jansen at tackle. My ideal scenario has us taking Oher at 13 and picking up a LB later on down the line in the draft.

I think we should have taken a look at Cato June at weakside. It will also be interesting to see how the Chris Wilson at OLB experiment turns out.

I like H.B. but prefer him in the middle as a starter. I think a healthy Heyer would do fine at RT. Just don't put him at LT.

I think Blades is better overall, but I think he's really out of position at OLB w/a tight end in front of him. His position is MLB & I think they really need to start getting him some reps there. I know it's a hard position to rotate since LF is an every down guy that calls the signals & knows the system. But long-term they need to see if Blades can take over at MLB. That would mean getting a decent OLB in the draft or free agency for this year at least.

Unless Heyer & Jansen make dramatic improvements prior to camp, I think (& hope) a decent rookie can come in and win that job.

Blades right now is what we one day hope Heyer can be. Heyer's pass blocking fundamentals are top notch, but he can't yet seem to consistently translate that into production on a play by play basis yet. He's got some running plays down pat and looks to be a mauler-type at tackle, but everything I love about his pass blocking fundamentals goes out the window with run blocking. He screws up his footwork, his hand placement, and his balance while run blocking. He can't even find guys in traffic. He seems to have a low football IQ.

So while I really hope we can see something from Heyer this year that shows huge leaps forward in improvement, I don't know how we can answer Heyer. He seems like he'd be best off as a project left tackle, but unless the draft changes things, he's being looked at right now as an immediate-fit RT, which he cannot be just yet.

Blades at OLB isn't ideal and he'll likely be used improperly by Blache, but I mean he's so far ahead of where Heyer is, that if we're looking it it as a "who plays tomorrow" kind of thing, Blades wins easily. Unfortunately, the answer is never that simple. Playing Blades a bit out of position because he's the best option would not be a legit reason for not drafting a linebacker in the first three rounds. We need to try to address both these needs.

Consequently, the proper answer to this question is some mix of "H.B. Blades", and "neither".

Good thread.

Great discussion everyone. I am hoping one of these two guys steps it up big next season. I think Heyer needs to step up more than Blades, given that he was given the starting spot last year (at the beginning of the season). Otherwise, he will lose that opportunity.

While I am still convinced we need 1st round talent in the o-line, if the top 4 tackles are gone, I wouldn't mind taking one of the LBs. I'm sure they could start right away.

Blades and Fletcher should be a nickel LB tandem as of right now. That's more than enough snaps for Blades in his third year.

I don't get the proposition...who would be better as a starter because we're limited to one 1st day pick at this point? I mean that seems irrelavent because it would be irresponsible IMHO to enter the season w/ Samuels, JJ and Heyer as our only roster tackles. Samuels coming off major injury, JJ injury prone and old, Heyer surprisingly injury prone for his age and still very raw. IMO we need another starter caliber OT from draft or FA (as guys like Levi Jones are cut after draft day). Per the Blades situation...he's not starting. If we don't get a starter in the draft Marcus will be brought back, or maybe a different vet, for a reasonable contract.

...so i guess the answer is neither :)