Offensive Line - What will it look like

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Jenkins easily had his best game of the season on Sunday.
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wab wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 8:28 am Jenkins easily had his best game of the season on Sunday.
I'm pretty confident that, barring multiple injuries, Davis has played his last snap as a Bear.
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Bears Whiskey Nut wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 8:37 am
wab wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 8:28 am Jenkins easily had his best game of the season on Sunday.
I'm pretty confident that, barring multiple injuries, Davis has played his last snap as a Bear.
I agree. I just think what they have going right now is working too well. They still have some goofs, but the line is starting to come together.
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wab wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 8:38 am
Bears Whiskey Nut wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 8:37 am

I'm pretty confident that, barring multiple injuries, Davis has played his last snap as a Bear.
I agree. I just think what they have going right now is working too well. They still have some goofs, but the line is starting to come together.
Do you think they tweak it when Bates is back? I think they will move Pryor back to a backup roll.
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Arkansasbear wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 9:04 am
wab wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 8:38 am

I agree. I just think what they have going right now is working too well. They still have some goofs, but the line is starting to come together.
Do you think they tweak it when Bates is back? I think they will move Pryor back to a backup roll.
I don't. I think they leave it alone and Bates becomes the backup at C/RG. Unless Pryor gets banged up, I'd leave him there. Bates has played like 10 snaps since camp.
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Also reading rumors of a few teams sniffing around about Nate Davis. It's mostly junk twitter and a Bleacher Report guy. Colts/Browns/Bucs are a few of the teams mentioned since Davis is strictly a RG.

Colts just lost Will Fries for the season to a broken leg, and the Browns haven't been able effectively replace Wyatt Teller. Bucs could use some competition because Cody Mauch kind of sucks.

I also think the Saints would be wise to call on the Bears about Davis. Eric McCoy is on IR, so they had to shift Cesar Ruiz over...leaving a big hole at RG.
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HisRoyalSweetness wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2024 5:47 pm A short 4 minute video highlighting a couple of great plays by Jenkins:

Remarkable to me when folks want to move on from Tev....you don't find guys with his power very often, he's our one dominant OL on the field. Gotta keep that guy a Bear!
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dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 9:50 am
HisRoyalSweetness wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2024 5:47 pm A short 4 minute video highlighting a couple of great plays by Jenkins:

Remarkable to me when folks want to move on from Tev....you don't find guys with his power very often, he's our one dominant OL on the field. Gotta keep that guy a Bear!
But he has to stay on the field and he has a hard time doing that. I’m all for bringing him back but it needs to be at a price that reflect that.
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I certainly don't WANT to move on from Jenkins. I want him to stay on the field so that they can actually justify keeping him.
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Arkansasbear wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 10:49 am
dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 9:50 am

Remarkable to me when folks want to move on from Tev....you don't find guys with his power very often, he's our one dominant OL on the field. Gotta keep that guy a Bear!
But he has to stay on the field and he has a hard time doing that. I’m all for bringing him back but it needs to be at a price that reflect that.
I could have plugged this into a "generic fan-o-meter" and generated this response. His availability hasn't been perfect but over the past couple years it's only a bit below average. I honestly feel like fans just get permanently stuck on narratives and the only way to move past them is complete perfection. But for the rest of his career, if he has so much as a sniffle fans are gonna be "oh here we go again". It's really time to move past it IMO. He's on pace to start all 17 games this season, and just gutted one out while injured and was still our best OL on the field. Credit where credit due IMO.
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dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 12:06 pm
Arkansasbear wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 10:49 am

But he has to stay on the field and he has a hard time doing that. I’m all for bringing him back but it needs to be at a price that reflect that.
I could have plugged this into a "generic fan-o-meter" and generated this response. His availability hasn't been perfect but over the past couple years it's only a bit below average. I honestly feel like fans just get permanently stuck on narratives and the only way to move past them is complete perfection. But for the rest of his career, if he has so much as a sniffle fans are gonna be "oh here we go again". It's really time to move past it IMO. He's on pace to start all 17 games this season, and just gutted one out while injured and was still our best OL on the field. Credit where credit due IMO.
Pretty sure I just said he had his best game of the season, so I'm definitely giving him his due credit. And as much as you want to dismiss it as "generic" it's absolutely true...he HAS to stay healthy. It's quite literally the reason he hasn't been extended yet.
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It's true of any player, my point is that bears fans have hyper obsessed over it and take any news at all now as some cataclysmic event. We literally had people talking about replacing him this time last week simply because he was on the injury report. Then crickets when he goes out and plays hurt and dominates. No other player gets that type of scrutiny. Tev played more snaps than Braxton Jones last year, but no one has this type of uber focus on Jones. I feel like Tev could start 17 games this year and folks still won't let it go.
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couple things.
it's the bye week, does jenkins get his extension? 8m per year/3 years? gives him a chance at another payday and doesn't kill us if he is crippled.
do we still shitcan the oline coach? he was dead man walking in septermber. he gets a stay of execution for the rest of the year?
if there is some interest for davis from a few teams maybe we can get a 4th for him? if we eat his contract and he plays for free for his next team. i'd just be happy if he was gone but if poles can get a bidding war between a few teams maybe we come out with a fair pick for the lowlow price of 10mil.
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Arkansasbear wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 10:49 am
dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 9:50 am

Remarkable to me when folks want to move on from Tev....you don't find guys with his power very often, he's our one dominant OL on the field. Gotta keep that guy a Bear!
But he has to stay on the field and he has a hard time doing that. I’m all for bringing him back but it needs to be at a price that reflect that.
It's this exactly. He's a mauler, and really smart. He just HAS to stay on the field. If he can really heal up over the bye, and then finish the season strong without missing any games, I'll bet he gets extended. Not top G money, but definitely top 10.
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Bears Whiskey Nut wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 12:47 pm
Arkansasbear wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 10:49 am

But he has to stay on the field and he has a hard time doing that. I’m all for bringing him back but it needs to be at a price that reflect that.
It's this exactly. He's a mauler, and really smart. He just HAS to stay on the field. If he can really heal up over the bye, and then finish the season strong without missing any games, I'll bet he gets extended. Not top G money, but definitely top 10.
I mean....i just can't anymore. lmao.
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dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 12:19 pm It's true of any player, my point is that bears fans have hyper obsessed over it and take any news at all now as some cataclysmic event. We literally had people talking about replacing him this time last week simply because he was on the injury report. Then crickets when he goes out and plays hurt and dominates. No other player gets that type of scrutiny. Tev played more snaps than Braxton Jones last year, but no one has this type of uber focus on Jones. I feel like Tev could start 17 games this year and folks still won't let it go.
You always bring up Jones and how he played fewer snaps last season, and I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. Jenkins has started in 53% of all available games. Jones has started 85%

Jenkins is clearly the better player, I'm not debating that. His availability has been an issue no matter how hard you try and dismiss it. Poles called it out as a reason he hasn't been extended yet. It's really simple.

And to your point, if Jenkins plays in all 17 games this season, people should be pounding the table for an extension.
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wab wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 1:45 pm
dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 12:19 pm It's true of any player, my point is that bears fans have hyper obsessed over it and take any news at all now as some cataclysmic event. We literally had people talking about replacing him this time last week simply because he was on the injury report. Then crickets when he goes out and plays hurt and dominates. No other player gets that type of scrutiny. Tev played more snaps than Braxton Jones last year, but no one has this type of uber focus on Jones. I feel like Tev could start 17 games this year and folks still won't let it go.
You always bring up Jones and how he played fewer snaps last season, and I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. Jenkins has started in 53% of all available games. Jones has started 85%
I'll explain. I bring this up because Jenkins can start 85% of his games and people will STILL claim he is injury prone, because they are simply stuck on the narrative that was unfairly hoisted on him his rookie year. And Jones doesn't have that narrative, so they can play the exact same amount and folks will feel very differently about the two players. Which is exactly what happened last year and is happening again this year. Jenkins has not missed a start, he's on track to start all 17, and yet this is all people talk about with him every single time he's mentioned. It's just way over the top IMO. Here's more proof:

Tev started on PUP last year and missed the first 4 games. Since then the Bears have played 19 games and Tev has played 18 of them. He missed one game with a concussion late last year, since then he's been out there every week for more than a full season now. So my question to you and others is, at what point do you accept a new narrative on him? Ever?
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otis wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 12:37 pm couple things.
it's the bye week, does jenkins get his extension? 8m per year/3 years? gives him a chance at another payday and doesn't kill us if he is crippled.
do we still shitcan the oline coach? he was dead man walking in septermber. he gets a stay of execution for the rest of the year?
if there is some interest for davis from a few teams maybe we can get a 4th for him? if we eat his contract and he plays for free for his next team. i'd just be happy if he was gone but if poles can get a bidding war between a few teams maybe we come out with a fair pick for the lowlow price of 10mil.
Zero chance Jenkins signs an extension at $8m per. 3 years $40m would be a starting point I think.
"I wouldn't take him for a conditional 7th. His next contract will pay him more than he could possibly contribute.".

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(2020 update, wait, was I right...)
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otis wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 12:37 pm it's the bye week, does jenkins get his extension? 8m per year/3 years? gives him a chance at another payday and doesn't kill us if he is crippled.
$8m a year for Jenkins? There's not a cat's chance in hell he will he be signing for that.

IIRC PFF had him graded as the 10th best OG in the league last season. They currently have him ranked 18th.

Last season ESPN had him as the 19th best IOL (which also includes centers) for pass block win rate and 4th for IOL run block win rate, one of only 3 players to appear in both lists, although he doesn't currently feature in either so far this year.

The 18th highest paid OG is getting $11m a year. The 10th is getting $16.5m. Somewhere between those figures is the likely starting point for any contract negotiation.
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dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 2:43 pm
wab wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 1:45 pm

You always bring up Jones and how he played fewer snaps last season, and I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. Jenkins has started in 53% of all available games. Jones has started 85%
I'll explain. I bring this up because Jenkins can start 85% of his games and people will STILL claim he is injury prone, because they are simply stuck on the narrative that was unfairly hoisted on him his rookie year. And Jones doesn't have that narrative, so they can play the exact same amount and folks will feel very differently about the two players. Which is exactly what happened last year and is happening again this year. Jenkins has not missed a start, he's on track to start all 17, and yet this is all people talk about with him every single time he's mentioned. It's just way over the top IMO. Here's more proof:

Tev started on PUP last year and missed the first 4 games. Since then the Bears have played 19 games and Tev has played 18 of them. He missed one game with a concussion late last year, since then he's been out there every week for more than a full season now. So my question to you and others is, at what point do you accept a new narrative on him? Ever?
If he plays in 85% of the games, that’s missing 2.5games a year. Hard to pay out huge dollars for someone missing that amount of time. HRS says the 10th ranked OG makes 16.5M per year. Pay him $8-11M a year with clauses for playing time that can get him to $17M.


To not factor in his missed time seems not wise to me.
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We will see how NFL GMs value him. I’ll bet right now he’s worth more than that. $1 on it?

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Arkansasbear wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 8:44 pm
dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 2:43 pm

I'll explain. I bring this up because Jenkins can start 85% of his games and people will STILL claim he is injury prone, because they are simply stuck on the narrative that was unfairly hoisted on him his rookie year. And Jones doesn't have that narrative, so they can play the exact same amount and folks will feel very differently about the two players. Which is exactly what happened last year and is happening again this year. Jenkins has not missed a start, he's on track to start all 17, and yet this is all people talk about with him every single time he's mentioned. It's just way over the top IMO. Here's more proof:

Tev started on PUP last year and missed the first 4 games. Since then the Bears have played 19 games and Tev has played 18 of them. He missed one game with a concussion late last year, since then he's been out there every week for more than a full season now. So my question to you and others is, at what point do you accept a new narrative on him? Ever?
If he plays in 85% of the games, that’s missing 2.5games a year. Hard to pay out huge dollars for someone missing that amount of time. HRS says the 10th ranked OG makes 16.5M per year. Pay him $8-11M a year with clauses for playing time that can get him to $17M.


To not factor in his missed time seems not wise to me.
My honest direct question that you didn’t answer though is, again, when does the narrative change for you on him? Apparently starting 18 of the last 19 isn’t good enough, so what is?
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dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 9:59 pm My honest direct question that you didn’t answer though is, again, when does the narrative change for you on him? Apparently starting 18 of the last 19 isn’t good enough, so what is?
I'm not going to pretend I know what number Jenkins' camp would accept, nor am I going to pretend I know what the Bears would be willing to offer.

That said, I guess my rebuttal is, at what point do you consider a player who was previously injury-prone (I don't think that's debatable) no longer injury-prone? (It's much the same in the draft; missing games, no matter why you missed them, is factored in.)

I mean, you can reasonably argue that Jaylon Johnson's history of missing a few games each year didn't greatly affect his contract value. You can also reasonably argue that shoehorning all the guaranteed money into the first two years of that deal was the Bears hedging their bet a little. Both, I think, are true statements.
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dplank wrote:I agree with Rich here
RichH55 wrote: Dplank is correct
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dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 12:19 pm It's true of any player, my point is that bears fans have hyper obsessed over it and take any news at all now as some cataclysmic event. We literally had people talking about replacing him this time last week simply because he was on the injury report. Then crickets when he goes out and plays hurt and dominates. No other player gets that type of scrutiny. Tev played more snaps than Braxton Jones last year, but no one has this type of uber focus on Jones. I feel like Tev could start 17 games this year and folks still won't let it go.
He's one of your favorite players

You care less then injuries then alot of people here. Similar arguments were made when you wanted that FA LT the Dolphins signed. armstead maybe?

He literally got hurt this season and left a game and you are wondering why people question.

I think your hyper obsessed with defending Teven and don't even realize it
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thunderspirit wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 10:37 pm
dplank wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 9:59 pm My honest direct question that you didn’t answer though is, again, when does the narrative change for you on him? Apparently starting 18 of the last 19 isn’t good enough, so what is?
I'm not going to pretend I know what number Jenkins' camp would accept, nor am I going to pretend I know what the Bears would be willing to offer.

That said, I guess my rebuttal is, at what point do you consider a player who was previously injury-prone (I don't think that's debatable) no longer injury-prone? (It's much the same in the draft; missing games, no matter why you missed them, is factored in.)

I mean, you can reasonably argue that Jaylon Johnson's history of missing a few games each year didn't greatly affect his contract value. You can also reasonably argue that shoehorning all the guaranteed money into the first two years of that deal was the Bears hedging their bet a little. Both, I think, are true statements.
That’s not a rebuttal bud, that IS the question I keep asking. At what point do you stop with the hyper obsession on his old injury past and update your thinking with who he is now? That’s all I’m asking. He’s started 18 of the last 19 games, for me that’s enough to turn the page. But Ibappear to be the only one. So if 18 of 19 isn’t good enough, what is?

Hurricane I’m not obsessed, I’m bored on a bye week. I’ll stop when folks answer the actual question I keep asking instead of deflecting it. I think folks are just knee jerk reacting here and if they have to say out loud what their criteria actually is they’ll realize it. Or maybe not 🤷‍♂️
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Guys, stop giving me hope that this Oline can come back for next year.

We always always always do this.

The Oline needs upgrading, don’t be fooled. :thumbsup:
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Ditka’s dictaphone wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2024 7:18 am Guys, stop giving me hope that this Oline can come back for next year.

We always always always do this.

The Oline needs upgrading, don’t be fooled. :thumbsup:
I don't think anyone is saying that the OLine should look the same next year. But right now, it will be interesting to watch what they can do as a unit. They just had their best game against the Jags.
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dplank wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2024 6:42 am
thunderspirit wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2024 10:37 pm
I'm not going to pretend I know what number Jenkins' camp would accept, nor am I going to pretend I know what the Bears would be willing to offer.

That said, I guess my rebuttal is, at what point do you consider a player who was previously injury-prone (I don't think that's debatable) no longer injury-prone? (It's much the same in the draft; missing games, no matter why you missed them, is factored in.)

I mean, you can reasonably argue that Jaylon Johnson's history of missing a few games each year didn't greatly affect his contract value. You can also reasonably argue that shoehorning all the guaranteed money into the first two years of that deal was the Bears hedging their bet a little. Both, I think, are true statements.
That’s not a rebuttal bud, that IS the question I keep asking. At what point do you stop with the hyper obsession on his old injury past and update your thinking with who he is now? That’s all I’m asking. He’s started 18 of the last 19 games, for me that’s enough to turn the page. But Ibappear to be the only one. So if 18 of 19 isn’t good enough, what is?

Hurricane I’m not obsessed, I’m bored on a bye week. I’ll stop when folks answer the actual question I keep asking instead of deflecting it. I think folks are just knee jerk reacting here and if they have to say out loud what their criteria actually is they’ll realize it. Or maybe not 🤷‍♂️
Here's my answer to your question (and what I think Poles is doing) - let's see how the season plays out. If he's able to play 85% (or whatever the percentage is), then you've got a reasonable track record of availability over the last two seasons.
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Perfect thx! I think this is what Poles is doing also. I'm obviously rooting for him, he's exactly the type of player I like to have on our team.
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Here's an All-22 look at the last game. The focus is on Darnell Wright, but you can watch each lineman separately. (There's also a bonus clip of Gordon's TFL!)



Frankly Wright has been disappointing. He looks vulnerable to edge players who have quick hands, has a tendency to lower his head at times and doesn't always stick with blocks for as long as he should. Sometimes with the latter he's probably just being sure he doesn't hold, but he often seems to let up too soon when the plays still alive and just an extra half second could make a difference. Folk were touting him as a Pro Bowler who would man the RT spot for the next 10 years. It's not looking like that as of now. He looks more like a decent starter-level player. It's frustrating because you can see the power he has.

I'm no expert but Braxton Jones's losses appear to me to be less about strength and more due to poor weight distribution. If he gets beaten to the punch he gets rocked back and either driven back into the QB or the rusher slips off and goes around him. When his weight is balanced he holds his ground and wins.

Jenkins was excellent in pass pro all game but did miss a few run blocks when on the move. To be fair, those are the toughest blocks for any lineman as they're trying to hit a moving target who is reacting to what is happening behind them. I definitely want him out there protecting Williams. He's always looking to hit someone and plays through to the whistle.

Pryor had a solid game. He had one or two poor plays but was generally sound throughout. At his size he's not the most athletic in space and they don't seem to ask him to be. They look to have other linemen pull or make the more difficult downfield blocks in space, which may be a sign of working around Pryor's physical limitations and why Davis and Bates were the preferred options at RG originally.

Shelton had a good game. His one failing is he occasionally gets turned when pass blocking so he's facing the sideline rather than keeping relatively square to the line of scrimmage. As a result he's locked in on the guy he's blocking and unaware if the OG behind him might need a bit of help. If he stayed more square then he'd be able to reach out a hand to provide an assist to protect the A gap or pick up a stunt. One of the unsung elements of his game has been the reliability of his snaps. Fields seemed to be constantly dealing with wayward shotgun snaps last year and has had a few in Pittsburgh this year too, but for Williams Shelton's been on the money almost every time. In fact I can only remember one off target all season and that was actually on Williams first ever TD throw where the the snap was wide to his right.
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