@riffer-x said:

What you do is leave things as they are and insert Hadnot at RG when ready. Then you start giving St. Clair some help with the TE, which it would be nice if Heiden would get better. BTW, I kept reminding people all year of the injury he was coming back from and he was no guarantee.

In no way am I sticking up for St. Clair, but he is not going to be going up against Dumervil every game. Dummy makes a lot of guys look bad, he is a stud. They need to build more continuity, that is the key. You start swapping guys all over the place and you will see it get ten times worse, trust me.

I was about to come in and say basically the same thing....and then there was your post.

Last year, when Steiny was out a few games, you noticed JT struggle just a bit (not a lot, but a little). That is because he was having to cover for the LG position to avoid letting the inside pass rush get by.

I am saying this because Hadnot is by far the batter guy at RG. When he comes back, the is going to solidify the middle of the OL, allowing whoever plays at RT to concentrate more on the outside first step.

Also, the TE move is exaclty what Rif said it was. A reaction to the fact that ST.Clair was getting beat outside. We will line up a blocking TE on his shoulder for the initial chip....and if not needed, the TE will release into the flats.

The one thing we talked about numerous times is the fact that the OL is a group of guys that have to work well TOGETHER. If you start fudging around with them all the time, they will never settle in and you will be worse off than you are now.

Leave the left side alone....let Mack continue in his learning process...get Hadnot back in at RG...and let the TE assist with St.Claire until they gel (or always if St.Claire really can't cut it). Don't forget that Womack is also an experienced RT and may actually get moved out there after Hadnot returns.

Get a TE out there to take away the initial outside move by the DE will allow St.Clair to get set, at which point he has a chance..all he has to do is ride the guy out a bit and the qb can step up...assuming the front 3 set a nice wall in front of him.

We may see more 2 TE sets before this is said and done....though that does bring the safety up.

No, but I think he was swapped to that side for this game...something a lot of team may do. Why have your best pass rusher go against Joe when you can match them up with a guy who is a 50% blocker?

St.Clair is going to see the best every team has.

@hoorta said:

definitely disagree and am feeling mighty confident myself. except for this latest hammy injury Jamal has been convincing that he was still a safe bet. he can't do it all himself you know--you're lucky so far the right side of the o-line has sucked or you'd never make a statement like that about 750 yards.

he's shown even more speed than last year and if he can get some blocks you'll definitely be regretting you even took that bet hoort. be honest with yourself, it's more about them than it is about Jamal.

he doesn't have the ability to move the pile like Bettis or Kevin Mack did. Bettis had mass, i have no idea how Mack did it...different game then i guess. Lewis fights but doesn't get many yards after contact>>i think that role is a big mistake. he still has burst and is still being used properly IMO.

glad you're still in it w/ me.

What you do is leave things as they are and insert Hadnot at RG when ready. Then you start giving St. Clair some help with the TE, which it would be nice if Heiden would get better. BTW, I kept reminding people all year of the injury he was coming back from and he was no guarantee.

In no way am I sticking up for St. Clair, but he is not going to be going up against Dumervil every game. Dummy makes a lot of guys look bad, he is a stud. They need to build more continuity, that is the key. You start swapping guys all over the place and you will see it get ten times worse, trust me.

@earle said:

Height 6-6 Weight 308

I am good with that, and once he has it down, that may be the plan.

@restinpeace said:

I watched Steinbach play LT for the bungals and he sucked, big time

Height 6-6 Weight 308

@greythan said:

I haven't checked, but I'm sure we're near the bottom of the league in rushing so far this year.

That, IMHO, is a combination of two things-

1) other than Thomas, the o-line isn't very good.

2) Jamal Lewis is at the end of the line- he's not a feature back anymore, and should be used the way the Steelers utilized Jerome Bettis at the end of his career. BTW, right now I'm looking gold for that bet I made that JL won't run for 1,000 yards this year- I doubt he'll even get 750 unless the line drastically improves.

Also the pass blocking leaves a lot to be desired- it was galling to watch Kyle Freaking Orton tear the Browns apart when he had all day to throw.

@greythan said:

I like your idea too, but am concerned with the post in this thread that mentions not fixing what ain't broke at LT.

I usually agree about don't fix what isn't broke.....but you have to look at how it would all balance out...Joe would be way better than anyone we could put at RT..I guess it just depends on where Steinbach could be the best. Where Steinbach could play the best is the best possible fix we could come up with...at least as I see it.

For my money, he would probably be better in the LT slot over RT.

Again...JMO

@thomasw said:

Well, that plus the fact that he was incompetent.

I like your idea too, but am concerned with the post in this thread that mentions not fixing what ain't broke at LT.

@greythan said:

I haven't checked, but I'm sure we're near the bottom of the league in rushing so far this year.

No it doesn't...you just like to argue with most of what i say...which is fine.

No comment on the other proposal I made? You can only comment on what you think i implied??

This implies the run blocking to the right is good now.

I haven't checked, but I'm sure we're near the bottom of the league in rushing so far this year.

Might be better moving Thomas to the right side and put Steiny on the left flank. That might be closer to a line that might work at 70%.

@gips said:

I hate going there but this team just keeps getting worse and the offensive scheme brand and gutless coach who wont make a bold statement or give anything to the fans is really starting to take its toll...

This is exactly why Savage is gone...people are always looking for the quick fix. Not going to happen and it would not work.

@danamal said:

If you have no right side to your line dont you think defenses are aware that you might want to run to the left instead and game plan for that?

Ok. But everybody knew that on a critical 3rd and 3 the Bengals of old and the Ravens of slightly less old were going to run behind Munoz and Ogden. That's what made them GREAT. They were the rare Offensive tackles that are game changers.

Tell me who has been Peyton Manning's left tackle for the last two years. He has the most consecutive starts in the NFL and they plug in pieces around him. They had Jokeman Gonzalez as their swing tackle for a couple years.

@rprepublic said:

Let's get some perspective. For as "GREAT" as the left side of the Browns line is, I sure don't see us consistently running behind them for 4-5 yard gains. #3 overall worthy tackles (Ogden/Munoz) were guys that could handle a speed rusher on and island AND you would run behind on a crucial 3rd and 3. Thomas is solid -- and really expensive for solid. ADRIAN PETERSON IS GREAT. Ask Eric Wright about his nightmares some time.

@reddawg said:

in some cases unnecessarily so. he had all day on quite a few plays and still rushed passes or threw (lobbed) into double/triple coverage. BE's first catch was into triple and the "Nation" woulda been all over the previous QB for hanging him out there...but as i've always said it's their job to make the tough catch regardless.

the pass to Furrey in the end zone he had plenty of time and missed him by at least 5 yards because of hurrying it.

@legacy-fan said:

One positive, Fraley didn't look bad at RG as he did at center all last year. I like Fraley & I'm glad we can still use him. If Hadnot comes back this week, maybe move Fraley to RT? Or Hadnot at RT - his feet can't be worse than St. Clair's.

they put Fraley in at RG for the 2nd half, right? I caught that too.

I would agree with the OP but if they were thinking that they shoulda done it before the preseason. i was thinking it, that's for sure. Thomas, Tuck, Fraley/Mack, Hadnot, Steiny was my ideal line-up at preseason.

it would change the roster up a bit though--he is slated to back-up Thomas and if there was an injury we could be screwed cuz they trimmed down the squad ala Steiny's versatility (like we aren't screwed now lol). if guess if Joe went down they could move Steiny over to LT and St. Clair back to RT though. still, pretty thin. Tuck could still return, so that could make it a possibility. he must have really been injured cuz to pick St. Clair over him is just ?!?!?!?.

but hey, we've still got Leon Williams!!!

Most passes that were thrown yesterday were hurried. To plan against us all you have to do is contain Edwards. We can't run because of the right side, and we can't pass well because of it either.

@greythan said:

Yeah, I know, he's not prototypical for strong side tackle.

So what? We simply can't power rush on the right side anyway and Steiny probably gives up, what, one sack to Dumer-whatever today?

Thomas, Fraley, Mack, Hadnot (might be back this week?), Steinbach.

Maybe put St Clair at guard if he can make that switch.

I've seen enough of his slow feet. Alo warned us about this guy.

Ouch.