Bolts need to draft TWO tackles! Check these sack stats!

[Dha]

Seriously dont think Gaither is going anywhere. He got a lot of money and they knew all about his past penchant for having nagging injuries. What the front office needs to do is prepare better for those injuries by having better depth backing up Gaither, not replacing him. Dombrowski did a GREAT job for a couple of years doing just that until he's hurt this year. Troutman is the wild card, he's big and strong and has a great resume at Penn State. I'm through with Clary. That's where I think the high draft pick is coming in to replace (or free agency). The draft is loaded with defensive talents. If we sign a decent RT we can load up that young defense it could be one of the best in the league.

[AK46um]

Originally Posted by Dha

Seriously dont think Gaither is going anywhere. He got a lot of money and they knew all about his past penchant for having nagging injuries. What the front office needs to do is prepare better for those injuries by having better depth backing up Gaither, not replacing him. Dombrowski did a GREAT job for a couple of years doing just that until he's hurt this year. Troutman is the wild card, he's big and strong and has a great resume at Penn State. I'm through with Clary. That's where I think the high draft pick is coming in to replace (or free agency). The draft is loaded with defensive talents. If we sign a decent RT we can load up that young defense it could be one of the best in the league.

I don't think Gaither is going anywhere either. Nor should he. Realistically he's gonna give us some solid games then miss a few. For such a premium position you'd want an ironman but there's so few options available. Drafting the right OT should allow us little to no drop off should Gaither miss a game while providing much needed depth on this line. Should a new GM/Coach step in I wouldn't be shocked if a starting free agent linemen from another team gets signed as well.

[Kemp17]

Originally Posted by Dha

Seriously dont think Gaither is going anywhere. He got a lot of money and they knew all about his past penchant for having nagging injuries. What the front office needs to do is prepare better for those injuries by having better depth backing up Gaither, not replacing him. Dombrowski did a GREAT job for a couple of years doing just that until he's hurt this year. Troutman is the wild card, he's big and strong and has a great resume at Penn State. I'm through with Clary. That's where I think the high draft pick is coming in to replace (or free agency). The draft is loaded with defensive talents. If we sign a decent RT we can load up that young defense it could be one of the best in the league.

Dombrowski was good for a couple games in lieu of McNeill before he started getting abused, and then McNeill came back and we didn't have to worry about it. He wouldn't be much better than Harris has been which is why we had moved him to guard before he got hurt. I agree we should keep Gaither another year because his salary is guaranteed. But if a franchise left tackle prospect is available to us in the draft we should definitely take him. That pick would upgrade RT, give us a much better "plan B" at left tackle, and would allow us to cut Gaither after 2013 (his salary won't be guaranteed anymore so it wouldn't cost us anything).

[Dha]

Originally Posted by Kemp17

Dombrowski was good for a couple games in lieu of McNeill before he started getting abused, and then McNeill came back and we didn't have to worry about it. He wouldn't be much better than Harris has been which is why we had moved him to guard before he got hurt. I agree we should keep Gaither another year because his salary is guaranteed. But if a franchise left tackle prospect is available to us in the draft we should definitely take him. That pick would upgrade RT, give us a much better "plan B" at left tackle, and would allow us to cut Gaither after 2013 (his salary won't be guaranteed anymore so it wouldn't cost us anything).

not saying Dombrowski is the answer anywhere other than a capable fill in short term. A draft pick that would play RT and also back up at LT? too difficult an assignment for a kid to handle. It isnt that simple. Harris should be on the right side as a back up IMO.

[Kemp17]

Originally Posted by Dha

not saying Dombrowski is the answer anywhere other than a capable fill in short term. A draft pick that would play RT and also back up at LT? too difficult an assignment for a kid to handle. It isnt that simple. Harris should be on the right side as a back up IMO.

It's not unheard of. I think the top OT prospects in this class can certainly handle it. Joeckel, Lewan, and Fisher are all left tackles right now so that is obviously natural for them. If we moved them to the right in camp (like a lot of college left tackles), they could get used to playing that side before the season. And if they had to switch over to left in the case of a Gaither injury, they would simply be going back to their natural position. It woulnd't be seamless, but it would be a way better situation than we have now.

[charger1_sj]

We need 4-5 new starters on the O line period. Gaither cannot be relied on. That means we need a franchise LT. Clary's performance has gone down and he was on the average side to start with. RT has been a sore spot for the last two years but more so this year. Green and Co. are not the answer at OG. Troutman is MIA. Hardwick may retire and not sure Molk is the answer. That brings us to Vasquez who has games where he shines and games where he stinks. One of the problems with Vasquez is that he doesn't make for a good pulling guard. With PR regressing badly we need a top notch running game. I'd keep Vasquez as a backup but seek an upgrade or at least bring in competition for him.

This team is going no where and won't go anywhere until the O line is not only fixed but top notch. We will be losing some players in the off season and getting a top notch OG or T in FA should not be ruled out.

[Kemp17]

I don't see how we we're going to find 5 new starters on the line in one offseason. We'll probably roll with Gaither for another season (his money is guaranteed). We'll do the same with Hardwick unless he retires (his money is also guaranteed). A realistic goal would be to upgrade LG and RT, while finding a more viable backup option at LT.

[Dha]

Originally Posted by charger1_sj

We need 4-5 new starters on the O line period. Gaither cannot be relied on. That means we need a franchise LT. Clary's performance has gone down and he was on the average side to start with. RT has been a sore spot for the last two years but more so this year. Green and Co. are not the answer at OG. Troutman is MIA. Hardwick may retire and not sure Molk is the answer. That brings us to Vasquez who has games where he shines and games where he stinks. One of the problems with Vasquez is that he doesn't make for a good pulling guard. With PR regressing badly we need a top notch running game. I'd keep Vasquez as a backup but seek an upgrade or at least bring in competition for him.

This team is going no where and won't go anywhere until the O line is not only fixed but top notch. We will be losing some players in the off season and getting a top notch OG or T in FA should not be ruled out.

4-5 starters on the Oline in one off season? even if you draft them (and we wont), doesnt mean they all become instant starters.

[charger1_sj]

We replaced 5 O line starters from 2003 to 2004. The result was going from 4-12 to 12-4. It's been done before. Not sure we can pull it off again but that's what we need to get back to the POs.

Kemp's scenario is more realistic but I'm afraid that won't solve the whole issue. We still would have question marks at LT and Hardwick could very well retire which would be a huge problem.

[Kemp17]

Most offensive linemen drafted outside of the first round struggle for at least the first half of their rookie seasons. The only pick that stands a strong chance of upgrading a position on the OL right away is our first one.