We need O-Line help

[Schneed10]

The line suffered last year because, while it had talent, it wasn't well-suited to running a Gibbs-style running attack. With Gibbs' running game, you have a lot of lineman pulling around the edge, trapping, and blocking down. It takes a lot of quickness to move into position and make those types of blocks, and I don't think the athleticism was there. Obviously Jansen is a ton more athletic than Ray Brown, being that he's like 87 years old. He usually had trouble sealing off the edge. Raymer had serious trouble pulling and getting to the linebackers. He had that achilles issue a few years ago, and plus he's old, he's just not mobile enough.

Jansen returning is a plus over Ray Brown, though he's just coming off the achilles issue too, so I have to wonder about how strong his first step will be. Rabach is TONS more athletic than Raymer, he's a guy that can actually get to where he needs to be. I thought Randy Thomas played great last year, and Samuels was good given the fact that he was nagged all season by injuries. Dockery just seems OK, I don't think he's a guy you want pulling all that often. Overall, I think it's a real good line.

Also, the increased athleticism helps on the stretch plays that Portis got to run last year.

The big thing about blocking though, I don't think the Redskins had a TE worth two craps last year. Rasby was supposed to be a great blocker but he played like hell. And Cooley doesn't run people over. I'm hoping that with these two fullbacks, we'll have a bit more punch in short yardage.

As for pass protection, I don't think you can ask for anything better than what we've got on our O-line. They should excel in pass protection.