Right Tackle and Free Safety

I think succumbing to the natural tendency to solve every roster spot in the first season is how you get yourself into trouble. Scot McCloughan has laid out a clear vision for the kind of player he wants on this team: eats sleeps breathes football, bigger is better though not the end all be all, has an incredible passion inside to be great, build from the trenches out, etc.

The last thing you want to do is bastardize that vision just because you have a need. I wouldn't just pick up the next best safety or RT to fill a hole. I would accept that in 2015 we're going to have a hole or two.

I would stay McCloughan's course. Continue bringing in free agents for visits. Continue to interview them and assess their inner passion and inner drive. Continue watching tape until I get a headache. And continue calling their high school coaches to get a sense of their character.

And if after doing all that I still haven't found a FS or RT who I think is a diamond in the rough, then I roll with Compton and Phillip Thomas.

The goal is not to make the playoffs this year. The goal is to win a Super Bowl sometime in the intermediate future.


Yes but tackle is a really, really bad place to have a hole. Especially on a team that is trying to find out who their future QB is.

I noticed a whole lot of nearly immediate interior pressure last year as well. Hard to blame the QB when they are getting hit as soon as they look up. We need more than just a RT.

We have basically been the laughing stock of the NFL for the last 20 years. People are blaming RG3 for that like the rest of the team was great watch the film he's not the only one to blame. I can wait a little longer give this guy a line then we can talk. This is my opinion and you ain't changing it.

We have basically been the laughing stock of the NFL for the last 20 years. People are blaming RG3 for that like the rest of the team was great watch the film he's not the only one to blame. I can wait a little longer give this guy a line then we can talk. This is my opinion and you ain't changing it.

Going from "nothing to do with the QB" to "he's not the only one to blame" is a change in opinion and a more accurate statement of what happened last year.

The line can get better. It is average to below average. It isn't terrible. I believe the biggest improvement the line has to make as a unit is power blocking on short yardage. We were pure crap this year picking up 1st downs on the ground. Hopefully as we get bigger, this will improve.

Almost every talking head who played for the skins, from Colt Brennan to Cooley, to Brian Mitchell preaches that sacks are 50/50 on the line and the QB. In fairness, Brunell is the outlier. It isn't QB or line, it is QB and line.

SM didn't think it was the unit in the most dire situation based on where he has spent money so far.

If the line is god awful, how do you explain Kirk Cousin's incredibly low sack rate compared to RG3 and Colt?

I would rather eat clam chowder directly off of a public bathroom floor than pay Dashon Goldson 3 million dollars a year.

I've done that. It's not as great as it sounds.

Going from "nothing to do with the QB" to "he's not the only one to blame" is a change in opinion and a more accurate statement of what happened last year.

The line can get better. It is average to below average. It isn't terrible. I believe the biggest improvement the line has to make as a unit is power blocking on short yardage. We were pure crap this year picking up 1st downs on the ground. Hopefully as we get bigger, this will improve.

Almost every talking head who played for the skins, from Colt Brennan to Cooley, to Brian Mitchell preaches that sacks are 50/50 on the line and the QB. In fairness, Brunell is the outlier. It isn't QB or line, it is QB and line.

SM didn't think it was the unit in the most dire situation based on where he has spent money so far.

If the line is god awful, how do you explain Kirk Cousin's incredibly low sack rate compared to RG3 and Colt?

Because after Cousins started taking hits, he just threw it as quick as possible regardless of whether the receiver was open. Which is why he threw so many Int's. RG3 held the ball way to long and would bail out instead of climbing the pocket when he could. KC just threw it regardless of whether the receiver was open so he didnt keep taking hits. Just rewatch the NY Giants game, he got lit up in the first half. Second half he was doing everything he could to get the ball out of his hands fast and threw 4 ints.

Its not just the line, we didnt have good pass blocking from RB's or TE's either, plus the QB's clearly added to the mistake. It was an overall break down. But to use KC as the reason to say our Oline wasnt giving up sacks is a mistake. Throwing it to the defense isnt the answer.

Also, Colts sack rate wasnt that much lower than RG3. Based on what you posted earlier, RG3 had 33 sacks while throwing 214 passes. Colt had 17 sacks while throwing 128 passes. Which would equal out to 34 sacks in 256 passes thrown. Better but not exactly a huge difference.

Because after Cousins started taking hits, he just threw it as quick as possible regardless of whether the receiver was open. Which is why he threw so many Int's. RG3 held the ball way to long and would bail out instead of climbing the pocket when he could. KC just threw it regardless of whether the receiver was open so he didnt keep taking hits. Just rewatch the NY Giants game, he got lit up in the first half. Second half he was doing everything he could to get the ball out of his hands fast and threw 4 ints.

Its not just the line, we didnt have good pass blocking from RB's or TE's either, plus the QB's clearly added to the mistake. It was an overall break down. But to use KC as the reason to say our Oline wasnt giving up sacks is a mistake. Throwing it to the defense isnt the answer.

Also, Colts sack rate wasnt that much lower than RG3. Based on what you posted earlier, RG3 had 33 sacks while throwing 214 passes. Colt had 17 sacks while throwing 128 passes. Which would equal out to 34 sacks in 256 passes thrown. Better but not exactly a huge difference.


Well put.

First, I fully acknowledge that, in pass protection, the line (and RB's & TE's) had real problems last year - particularly at the right tackle position. Further, I am still pulling for RGIII to get it together and have not given up hope.

With that said, RGIII has a very long ways to go as a pocket passer and unless he acknowledges it, he will simply not succeed in this league.

While the line would provide poor protection at times, there were many, many times RGIII failed to either climb the pocket, gave up to quickly, or simply was clearly taking bad drops from the start (5 or more when it should have been a 3, etc.). On top of that, RGIII's demonstrated an inability to make proper reads and the need for receivers to break clean before pulling the trigger (ex. the T. Bay game where Cooley said RGIII's play was so bad it was impossible to evaluate anyone else). Finally, he was simply not taking coaching (Keim cited an example where, in practice, Gruden specifically instructed RGIII that, on the particular play, his read was one of three options to the right and it was intended to be a quick read. At the snap, RGIII goes left and throws an pick. Keim followed it up by saying this was just one of the egregious examples of RGIII's inability to take coaching.)

Like I said, I am pulling for RGIII. All the evidence I have seen over the last couple years, however, points to a guy who isn't ready to succeed in any timing based offense or, for that matter, any offense that requires solid pocket skills. On top of that, his apparent need to do it "his way" is a road block to any improvement in the areas that would ultimately help him be a real success in this league.

Bottom line, short of stellar line play, given his current flaws, RGIII is likely to always struggle at the position and have a high sack rate.

Keim has cited that one of the attributes Mariotta is being heralded for is his coachability -- i.e. working hard to avoid the same mistake twice. RGIII, however, seems to have a bad case of the Patrick Ramsey's -- an otherwise smart guy who was just not able to avoid making the same mistakes over and over.

Because after Cousins started taking hits, he just threw it as quick as possible regardless of whether the receiver was open. Which is why he threw so many Int's. RG3 held the ball way to long and would bail out instead of climbing the pocket when he could. KC just threw it regardless of whether the receiver was open so he didnt keep taking hits. Just rewatch the NY Giants game, he got lit up in the first half. Second half he was doing everything he could to get the ball out of his hands fast and threw 4 ints.

Its not just the line, we didnt have good pass blocking from RB's or TE's either, plus the QB's clearly added to the mistake. It was an overall break down. But to use KC as the reason to say our Oline wasnt giving up sacks is a mistake. Throwing it to the defense isnt the answer.

Also, Colts sack rate wasnt that much lower than RG3. Based on what you posted earlier, RG3 had 33 sacks while throwing 214 passes. Colt had 17 sacks while throwing 128 passes. Which would equal out to 34 sacks in 256 passes thrown. Better but not exactly a huge difference.

I agree with your points, however I do think it's safe to say that through the overall body of work, KC gets the ball out faster than Griffin does. He's much more decisive when he has time to throw. Doesn't mean he's the better QB, both have their strengths and weaknesses.

I think with any QB, when they start getting knocked around and pressured, if effects performance. It's painfully obvious we need better pass protection.

First, I fully acknowledge that, in pass protection, the line (and RB's & TE's) had real problems last year - particularly at the right tackle position. Further, I am still pulling for RGIII to get it together and have not given up hope.

With that said, RGIII has a very long ways to go as a pocket passer and unless he acknowledges it, he will simply not succeed in this league.

While the line would provide poor protection at times, there were many, many times RGIII failed to either climb the pocket, gave up to quickly, or simply was clearly taking bad drops from the start (5 or more when it should have been a 3, etc.). On top of that, RGIII's demonstrated an inability to make proper reads and the need for receivers to break clean before pulling the trigger (ex. the T. Bay game where Cooley said RGIII's play was so bad it was impossible to evaluate anyone else). Finally, he was simply not taking coaching (Keim cited an example where, in practice, Gruden specifically instructed RGIII that, on the particular play, his read was one of three options to the right and it was intended to be a quick read. At the snap, RGIII goes left and throws an pick. Keim followed it up by saying this was just one of the egregious examples of RGIII's inability to take coaching.)

Like I said, I am pulling for RGIII. All the evidence I have seen over the last couple years, however, points to a guy who isn't ready to succeed in any timing based offense or, for that matter, any offense that requires solid pocket skills. On top of that, his apparent need to do it "his way" is a road block to any improvement in the areas that would ultimately help him be a real success in this league.

Bottom line, short of stellar line play, given his current flaws, RGIII is likely to always struggle at the position and have a high sack rate.

Keim has cited that one of the attributes Mariotta is being heralded for is his coachability -- i.e. working hard to avoid the same mistake twice. RGIII, however, seems to have a bad case of the Patrick Ramsey's -- an otherwise smart guy who was just not able to avoid making the same mistakes over and over.

I'm pulling for whoever is the best guy for the job. So tired of watching below average QB play.