Positional Breakdown: Offensive Line

[Andy]

Today's entry is about the offensive line.

This relatively new group has a lot of promise, but it's lacking chemistry, which is the most important thing when you talk about offensive lines.

Chemistry, what can you say about chemistry? It's the most overlooked part of a team. If a team does not have chemistry, it will have a hard time succeeding. The 2011 Eagles are a great example of that. They had one of the most talented teams in the last few years, but missed the playoffs. Why? Because there were no leaders. Their locker room was so quiet, you could hear a mouse tick on cotton. It proves that even the most talented teams cannot succeed without chemistry.

If you look at the greatest offensive lines in the history of the NFL (that includes the 2004-2005 Colts O-line), you just ask how close they are, and you'll get a great response. I had the great pleasure of speaking to Ryan Lilja a few years ago, and he told me that after almost every game, he and the lineman would go out to dinner. He said that almost every month, they used to have get-togethers (party gives off the wrong idea), at one of their houses. They were tight. If you look at the 2002 Bucs, you'll see one of the closest squads around. Warren Sapp said in the America's Game series that they were "tight", and they did "everything together." They also happen to have one of the best defenses in the last decade.

Get my point? Chemistry is important, I'd say even more important than talent. The 2004-2005 Colts O-line wasn't the most skilled. Two of the guys on the line were undrafted, two others were mid round picks, and another was a first round pick. Somehow they had the best line in the league. Think about that for a second.

Now, let's get to today's line. The Colts cleaned out this year, and the offensive line was no exception (although not as bad as the tight ends). They got rid of Jeff Saturday, one of the most beloved Colts in the history of the franchise, they got rid of Ryan Diemo, another veteran who's been with the Colts for a long time, and many other backups including Mike Pollak and Quinn Ojinnaka. They replaced them with several experienced starters that include Samson Satele and Winston Justice. They even got some nice depth. You could make the case that this offensive line is better than last year's. Skill wise yes, chemistry wise no.

Let's take a look at the current starters of the Colts O-line (based on my prediction, many websites predictions, and what you guys believe).

Let's start with Anthony Castonzo. The former first round pick got off to a pretty rough start last year, having a terrible game against Pittsburgh and a bad one against Kansas City. He never really got much better, but look to have gotten more comfortable as the year went on. The main problem with Castonzo coming out of college was his footwook, having terrible games against Robert Quinn (remember, it's in college not NFL). That problem hasn't been solved, his footwork is still sloppy and is a liabilty in his developement. He will get better, don't worry about that, but the thing that everyone should be watching is if his footwork improves this year, because if it doesn't, that is a bad sign of things to come.

Then there's Joe Reitz. The former tackle played unexpectedly well in his first year at guard. He had some stupid penalties, but so did Diem-O, and they kept him for 10 years! He seems to be a good fit at the left guard spot, although I personally see him as a short term solution. I hope he proves me wrong, because I would rather see him stay there, then spend a pretty high draft pick on a guard. For now, he's good to go!

Then, there's the new guy in town, Samson Satele! Satele has to be one of the most underrated centers in the league, who is just phenomenal in run blocking. He anchored the Raiders line for the past couple of years, and during those years, Darren McFadden broke through and became one of the better running backs in the league. That's not a coincidence, a big part in his breakthrough is because of the job that Satele and his lineman did for him. He has a tough job ahead of him: Succeeding Jeff Saturday.

Then there's the biggest question mark of any of these guys: Ben Ijalana. Ben Ijalana was a backup last season, and when put in the game for the first time against the Bucs, he did a pretty solid job, stopping Adrian Clayborn, who was on fire. Then, disaster struck, and Ijalana tore his ACL, one of the worst injuries you can get in the NFL. The good news was that the injury happened in the earlier part of the season, which meant that he could probably recover in time to play this season. Now, I can tell you a bit about ACL surgery, as I've had an operation on it before. What they did for me (might have changed since), is that they took a part of my hamstring and put it where my ACL would be. Then they would clean out all the pus and other crap in there, and close me up. Then, I wore a brace for 9 months, before getting back on the field. Now, Ben's a big dude, and has never been injured before so that's a good sign. If it is a 9 month recovery, then he should be ready just about now, but his knee will never be the same and never be as strong. Although he won't have to use his legs as much if he plays as a guard, that's never good to have a 100% knee. Let's see if his season is impacted by that knee.

Then finally, there's Winston Justice. The former Eagle came over here in a trade a few months ago. He has experience as right tackle in Phily, replacing an injured Todd Herremans. He wasn't spectacular, but he wasn't horrible and got better as the season went on. We can at least say this, he's better than Linkenbach. Now, the big problem with Justice is his footwork. He needs to get that down, or that could spell all sorts of trouble for Andrew Luck (look at my "It All Starts with the O-line" article). He's a question mark too.

Every guy on this line, even Satele, have question marks, which is something you don't want to have going into a new season with a new quarterback. They'll have to fix that, or we could have ourselves a 2002 David Carr situation, and I'm not joking.

One of the few positives on this Colts line is the depth. Ryan Grigson really went out there this offseason and got a lot of solid players including Mike McGlynn (who has the ability to start), veteran George Foster, and even drafted Justin Anderson with their first 7th round pick. They have depth, and with Ijalana's injury history and Justice being a question mark, that's always reassuring. The depth gets an A from me.

All in all this group has potential, lots of potential, but because they are all relatively new with the Colts (no one has been on this team for more than a year), the chemistry may not be there and that's scary.

Rating (Out of 5):

2.5/5

Defensive Line Tomorrow...

[Gavin]

Very well done and thought out, ezcellent job of taking your time, ther weere a few additions I would have made but you did well

[krunk]

Has everyone forgotten about this 12 sack performance by the eagles in 2007? I like the Winston Justice pick up still, but I must say he gave up a lot of sacks in this game! It reminds me of the time when Freeney straight up dogged Bryant Mckinnney on a Monday night game a couple years ago. This was a brutal game!

[Andy]

Has everyone forgotten about this 12 sack performance by the eagles in 2007? I like the Winston Justice pick up still, but I must say he gave up a lot of sacks in this game! It reminds me of the time when Freeney straight up dogged Bryant Mckinnney on a Monday night game a couple years ago. This was a brutal game!

He did allow 4 sacks, but that was his FIRST START, and he was put up against Osi Umenyiora. Have a heart. It's been 5 years and he's playing the RT spot now.

[krunk]

I don't believe that was his first start. If I'm wrong then so be it, but I know it was earlier in his career. I'm sure he has corrected those things by now hopefully, but that was one horrible game! I know he is not playing that way now.

[Andy]

I don't believe that was his first start. If I'm wrong then so be it, but I know it was earlier in his career. I'm sure he has corrected those things by now hopefully, but that was one horrible game! I know he is not playing that way now.

I'm 100% sure that was his first start. You can go to his game log on NFL.com.

[krunk]

Yes you are 100 percent right. My apologies! I got the info from wikipedia.

"His first NFL start came against the New York Giants on September 30, 2007. In the Eagles' 16-3 loss, Justice allowed four sacks. Justice was outmatched by defensive end Osi Umenyiora of the Giants in his first appearance in the NFL. In May 2008, former Eagles star Hugh Douglas had commented on Justice by saying, "if they don't bite when they're a puppy they won't bite when they're a grown dog. To me he's not even a football player."

However, Umenyiora himself was quoted in the Philadelphia Daily News saying "(Justice) is a good offensive tackle, man. He’s not a bad football player. I hate the fact that when people mention his name right now, they just associate him with having given up those sacks." Justice made his second career start against the Carolina Panthers on September 13, 2009 and played well against star defensive end Julius Peppers."

[The Peytonator]

Yes you are 100 percent right. My apologies! I got the info from wikipedia.

"His first NFL start came against the New York Giants on September 30, 2007. In the Eagles' 16-3 loss, Justice allowed four sacks. Justice was outmatched by defensive end Osi Umenyiora of the Giants in his first appearance in the NFL. In May 2008, former Eagles star Hugh Douglas had commented on Justice by saying, "if they don't bite when they're a puppy they won't bite when they're a grown dog. To me he's not even a football player."

However, Umenyiora himself was quoted in the Philadelphia Daily News saying "(Justice) is a good offensive tackle, man. He’s not a bad football player. I hate the fact that when people mention his name right now, they just associate him with having given up those sacks." Justice made his second career start against the Carolina Panthers on September 13, 2009 and played well against star defensive end Julius Peppers."

Man those are some harsh words from Douglas....

I love the Winston Justice signing. From what I gather, he was hurt this last year but still held down the RT spot. He's been pretty average the last couple years, but compared to the Diem/Link tandem we've been witness to, average would be a huge upgrade.

[krunk]

Yeah Hugh Douglas ripped his balls out with that comment! Brutal

[The Peytonator]

Yeah Hugh Douglas ripped his balls out with that comment! Brutal

It'd be one thing if he were an analyst, but he was a teammate. Plus, for being his first start, and going against Umenyiora, 4 sacks isn't that terrible. You can't rip your guys balls out after his first game.

[Gavin]

yeah like I said that O Line scares the crap out of me

[krunk]

Hugh was a pretty good player in his prime, but someone could have ripped him for how bad he stunk at the end of his career if they wanted to take a pot shot at him. No excuses for a new player, so none for an old player!

[jimirsaysdog]

interesting take considering you don't even have the starting 5 correct. ijalana if healthy and that's a big if will compete with either reitz. the right side is locked with justice and mcglynn. they have the chemistry from playing together in philly. two young solid veterans same with satele. those three will solidify the line for luck. costanzo will only get better. i think this line suprprises everyone if they remain healthy. justice is really good when healthy. he played 2010 on basically one leg.

[Smonroe]

I'm 100% sure that was his first start. You can go to his game log on NFL.com.

Remember that game against the Ravens about 5 or 6 years ago when Freeney made Ogden look like he was in high school? That didn't mean Ogden was a bad OT, but he was clearly outmatched and not getting the help from his coaches.

I'm not saying Justice is as good as Ogden or ever will be. But I agree with you Andy, one game does not tell the story.

[Gavin]

I saw all of Mike Mcglynn I want to see as a starter, I have been watching the first game that he started against the Rams and the guy was called for two penalties within 6 plays of each other (Holdng and Illegal use of the hands). Heck he got spun around once in a circle. a few times he got knocked on his butt, he held his ground a few times but more often he looked completely outmatched

[FightLikeSin]

I saw all of Mike Mcglynn I want to see as a starter, I have been watching the first game that he started against the Rams and the guy was called for two penalties within 6 plays of each other (Holdng and Illegal use of the hands). Heck he got spun around once in a circle. a few times he got knocked on his butt, he held his ground a few times but more often he looked completely outmatched

Yeah i'm not a fan at all. i don't think he's better than Reitz or Ijalana. I'd rather throw Hayworth Hicks in there and see how he does before McGlynn.

[Gavin]

Yeah i'm not a fan at all. i don't think he's better than Reitz or Ijalana. I'd rather throw Hayworth Hicks in there and see how he does before McGlynn.

I'd rather see Ijalana or Reitz. I'd love to see what Hayworth Hicks can do, the dude is a violent blocker but experience likely will win out and Reitz will probably start, But I have high hopes for Hicks. Im sure he will make the team. if he dont then the chances of us being able to run the ball between the tackles on the left side are not good, Reitz is a pretty decent pass blocker (he only allowed two sacks last season) but not a good run blocker

[Fx Stryker]

Has everyone forgotten about this 12 sack performance by the eagles in 2007? I like the Winston Justice pick up still, but I must say he gave up a lot of sacks in this game! It reminds me of the time when Freeney straight up dogged Bryant Mckinnney on a Monday night game a couple years ago. This was a brutal game!

You don't earn the name Winston Bustice for mothing.