Offensive Line and Depth

[The Goat]

Really nice thread Ruh! It's funny when I see a thread like this one, which should engender solid discussion and a lot of interest, and then there's not that many who toss in their two cents.

My intuition right meow is our oline probably (still) constitutes the weakest group on the team. I agree our starters are above average; however we won't know how far above until this Sunday. Has Christ lost a step since last year? Can the left side be dominant both run/pass blocking? Is Randy healthy enough to blaze a trail? Can Heyer last for several games w/o another weird injury?

Unfortunately it looks like if either tackle goes down or our underwhelming center the line will really struggle, as will the offense. That's just a recipe for disaster IMO and one that should have the FO answering some tough questions. How can a team spend $42 mil guaranteed to one player but neglect what was easily the weakest group from the previous season (I know, I know we got Dock back whee-ha)? In fact I really believe our line was the worst in football by the end of the season: slow, small and old (and always creating the shittiest penalty situations). Not sure how much that will have changed this year.

If I had to pick a single backup to take-over, like 53 said it would be Rinehart. Eventually he's got to take that spot anyway. He seems to be pretty healthy. He also seems to like blazing a trail once comfortable w/ the assignment.