Starting G's

[pavemento]

I have not watch a preseason game but it seems to me from what i'm hearing why don't they stop the contest for LG between maclendon and reizt and try both of them as starting G's

so the line would look like this: AC--Ritz--saturday---maclendon--Deim or rookie 2nd round pick

have they even try letting both of those G's be the two starters?

thoughts

[doogansquest]

One, or both of them, may be really good on one side, but not the other.

Or, they are close in talent, but there are certain intangibles the coaches are trying to discover in each of them.

Or, they are situational guards. Maybe one seems to be strong at run blocking, while the other's strengths lie with pass protection.

This is why the coaches and scouts get paid. They watch these guys closely, and then re-watch them on film, and then have other guys watch them for an unbiased viewpoint, and then draw conclusions that best fit the game plan.

[indy_nick]

We are trying moving Diem to RG. He just didn't get enough reps in practice to try it out in Friday's game. I am assuming he will try RG against the Packers this week.

[jbaron04]

Lt contanzo 6'7" 311

Lg retiz 6'7" 320 or meclendon 6'3" 323

C Saturday 6'3" 295

Rg deim 6'6" 320

Ijalana 6'4" 317

Big heavy line

[natelombardi]

jbaron i like that o line....

[pavemento]

Lt contanzo 6'7" 311

Lg retiz 6'7" 320 or meclendon 6'3" 323

C Saturday 6'3" 295

Rg deim 6'6" 320

Ijalana 6'4" 317

Big heavy line

this is what it should be I think this is the best 5 and deim started as a guard. would still love to see meclendon at the other G spot with his power especially for the running plays

[GoColts8818]

this is what it should be I think this is the best 5 and deim started as a guard. would still love to see meclendon at the other G spot with his power especially for the running plays

You know I watched the line very closely last night. This is what I took away from it. Castonzo and Reitz really did well on the left side fo the line. McClendon was just okay at best. Now with that said DeVan and Pollak did not blow me away either. In fact Pollak probalby played the worst of the three IMO but he was also te one out there with the Redskins starters while the others were out there with back ups. Saturday is starting to show his age but still the leader of the line. Diem was Diem, not the player he once was but still our best bet at right tackle. Link looked like an undrafted free agent last night and Ijalana did just okay against the Skins third stringers. That tends to lend it's self to struggling if you put him out there against starters. I have a lot of faith in Ijalana and I think he'll come along he's just not ready yet. So right now I think we have four of the five starters figured out. We have work to do at the right right guard spot as no one is stepping up and winning that job yet. If in the middle of the year we are still struggling at the right guard spot and Ijalana is ready and the Colts think he's the right tackle of the future I could see them sliding Diem to guard and sliding Ijalana into the starting line up.

[noah larson]

I will have to say Joe Reitz and Brian Waters!!

Please Colts please sign Waters to a 1 or 2 year contract, i beg you!!!

Well if we don't sign Waters, I will go with Devan.

[Andy]

Mike Pollak, and Kyle Devan

[colts52761]

devan sucks

[a06cc]

LT Ben Ijalana

LG Jeff Saturday

C Jacques McClendon

RG Ryan Diem

RT Anthony Castanzo

I really think they should see what Ben offers at left tackle his natural spot. In my opinion you can't stick a rookie by a rookie. That's why I kick Jeff Saturday into a guard spot. I don't know if he can still call the offensive line plays so Jacques and him can be switched. This is just my opinion but I think Anthony would be more suited to play right tackle. I believe Jacques at center given his strength could handle a one-on-one with a 3-4 or 4-3 NT. This gives us the best offensive line in my opinion given each offensive lineman assignment. Also has Brody Elderidge played at all this preseason?

[GoColts8818]

LT Ben Ijalana

LG Jeff Saturday

C Jacques McClendon

RG Ryan Diem

RT Anthony Castanzo

I really think they should see what Ben offers at left tackle his natural spot. In my opinion you can't stick a rookie by a rookie. That's why I kick Jeff Saturday into a guard spot. I don't know if he can still call the offensive line plays so Jacques and him can be switched. This is just my opinion but I think Anthony would be more suited to play right tackle. I believe Jacques at center given his strength could handle a one-on-one with a 3-4 or 4-3 NT. This gives us the best offensive line in my opinion given each offensive lineman assignment. Also has Brody Elderidge played at all this preseason?

1. Why? Castonzo did just fine at left tackle vs. the Redskins and looked pretty good as a matter of fact. For that matter Reitz also looked good at left guard but I will get to that in a moment. Ijalana did alright at best vs. the Redskins third stringers. He's not ready to be a starter yet.

2. They aren't going to move Saturday from center.

3. People need to understand it takes more than being big and strong to be good in the NFL. If that were the case Tony Ugoh would still be here and we wouldn't have this problem. I know people like McClendon but if you watch him play he hasn't done that great. Reitz is about the only one of the guys competeing for a starting guard spot that has steped up to the plate and played well. Pollak, McClendon, and DeVan have all done about the same and haven't done that great.

4. As for Eldridge I know he was hurt at the start of the pre-sesaon and haven't heard much about him since.

[Douzer]

IMHO, Reitz has outplayed all other contenders for guard so far, and he's still listed as an OT. That versitility and the ways he's shined makes him a lock in my eyes.

My guess is DeVan goes to the left side with Costanzo, and Reitz goes to the right side with Ijalana. Pollak goes to the sideline with Diem for veteran leadership and in case of injury, both have the experience to step right in.

Go COLTS!

[Coffeedrinker]

I have not watch a preseason game but it seems to me from what i'm hearing why don't they stop the contest for LG between maclendon and reizt and try both of them as starting G's

so the line would look like this: AC--Ritz--saturday---maclendon--Deim or rookie 2nd round pick

have they even try letting both of those G's be the two starters?

thoughts

Neither Reitz or McClendon have seen any time at RG and Pollack has been playing well at that spot.

Reitz and McClendon both had a good game against Washington. Reitz played the entire 1st half so he played against the starters, McClendon played against the 2nd string. The thing that I like about reitz is he looks like a guard that can pull and trap very well so it could mean bring back the stretch play and then of course the PAP from the stretch. It's been so long since the Colts have done it, when the stretch play worked to perfection the Colts would bring the tackle crashing down the line to take the DT, the TE would chip the DE and force him inside, the guard would pull and destroy the first defender he saw. Then on the play action pass they would do the same thing, the tackle would crash inside to the DT and the guard would pull up and form the outside of the pocket, so the blocking for the first 1-1.5 seconds looked exactly the same whether it was the run or pass. But since Scott was excellent at that and Lilja was adequate until his knee injury. Neither Pollack or Devan are good at pulling to do it. But now Reitz showed in the Washington game that he is very good at pulling, locating and engaging. There was one play, AC didn't get a good block on his guy, Saturday didn't get a good block on his guy, Pollack didn't get a good block on his guy, Diem shield his guy and kept him away from the play, but there is Reitz, he did a trap block and drove his guy about three yards downfield.

On the right side Pollak played good at RG then did a really good job at center. Devan came in and played RG when Pollack moved to center and he did adequate. Tepper didn't look nearly as good at RG as he did the week before.

The line play, looked absolutely horrible at times, especially in the 2nd half but it can all be attributed to three players. Linkenbach, Toudouze and Richard. When they took Diem out Link played RT against the starters/2nd string and, without exaggerating, I did not see him win one single match-up. When he was run blocking his guy would push him to the ground, when he was pass blocking his guy ran right past him. It was one of the worst outings by a NFL lineman I can remember watching. Richard did slightly better, he didn't win any battles but one time I think he held his defender to a stalemate. I'm not even sure if Toudouze was really in the game, I think the Colts just put a 300lb bag of sand with a Toudouze jersey at the LT spot.

Ijalana hasn't shown anything yet to indicate he's ready for a starting position anywhere along the line. He's not bad once he's locked up with a defender but he is slow off the snap and needs some work on his footwork in pass protection.

I think the unit that played last night is probably going to be the starting unit for the year

Castonzo

Reitz

Saturday

Pollack

Diem

[pavemento]

Castonzo

Reitz

Saturday

Pollack

Diem

[Lodogg2221]

I think Coffee is most likely right about the starting lineup.

I think it will change on the right side as the year goes on, because I think the Colts intent is to have Ijilana start at RT at some point, and hopefully he comes along quickly and can do it by mid season.

Im not sold on Pollak being in there, but there arent many that would be a huge upgrade already on the roster. Sure DeVan could fight for it, but I am pretty sure he does better on the left...CRS kicking in, but I THINK thats where he was last season (LG).

Oh, and McClendon himself said (last year) he isnt nearly as strong as he once was. So for those who talk about his power in the run game based on his ridiculous bench press, he cant do that much anymore, and technique is just as important if not more-so than strength.

[indy_nick]

I feel Devan is a solid backup. I also feel that Reitz has more potential, so he should be starting so we can iron out the kinks early in the season. Reitz makes sense at the starting LG position. Also, Diem will try to move to RG when Ijalana is ready. Until he is ready, I feel Diem will be the Rt and Pollack will be the RG.

[Douzer]

Week 1 the Colts started Linkenbach, Reitz, Saturday, Pollak & Diem - week 2 they started Costanza, Reitz, Saturday, Pollack & Diem. Coffee made a very sober and grounded list.

I was looking at the rotation they’ve been using on the left side;

OG Reitz – Rookie – no NFL starts

OT Costanza – Rookie – no NFL starts

OG McClendon – 2nd year – no NFL starts – 4 games played

OT Linkenbach – 2nd year – 4 NFL starts – 16 games played

Possibly 2 players who have never started an NFL game on Peyton’s blind side? Will they insert Don Brown or a rookie RB in the backfield at the same time too? I thought I was being bold when I put 2 first year starters on the rights side. My list must look like a mixture of wishful thinking, panic, nonsense and crazy talk, but what the heck it’s just a guess.

It’s not as big a stretch however to pose that Linkenbach, Costanza, Reitz, McClendon, Saturday, DeVan, Pollak, Diem & Ijalana are looking like the first 9 in, with Tepper, then Kirkpatrick at 10 and 11.

Side note: I kept seeing McClendon in the QB’s grill and thought he was not playing well. When I went back and took a close look at him I realized the opposite was true. He was recognizing breakdowns by other blockers, passing his guy off, crossing the pocket and saving plays from disaster. Big difference.

Go Colts!

[Coffeedrinker]

Week 1 the Colts started Linkenbach, Reitz, Saturday, Pollak & Diem - week 2 they started Costanza, Reitz, Saturday, Pollack & Diem. Coffee made a very sober and grounded list. Go Colts!

lol, that sounds exactly like something Michael would say in Burn Notice.

And yeah, I've stated before I don't think I'm offering any great insight or anything exciting. Although after the first game I gave the nod to McClendon over Reitz.... obviously the Colts felt differently.

[advanced88]

Fellers, this is my first post on this board and I don't wanna cause anyone to get upset but if you believe that Pollak is the man at guard then you are gonna be very disappointed. Some of your analysis of the OLinmen sounds like, "played pretty well" and "played really well" and "played better than." First Pollak has very slow recognition after the DL shifts. He never seems to be ahead of the curve on stunts. Some might say he is better at center but thats because his guy is almost always the nose. Pollak isn't strong. He got planted on his butt more than once last year. An average bullrusher will step on his chest almost half the time. Whoever on the Colts staff who believes he will improve alot is an *. Not strong, feet like a center (there is a reason he was a center in college) and no evidence of nastiness means he has to go. The Colts have a solid history of hanging on to team screwups in the draft. Devan is a tough guy and I admire his 'want to' but he has Arena tallent. This Reitz dude was a surprise. Gotta see more of him. He pass blocked with a decent anchor and got downfield. He didn't connect on some downfield blocks but he was down there for a guy his size. #79 has a future..reminds me of Glen...just the way he looks. My judgement is still out on our #1 pick this year. I'll say this, think about Ugho...when a speed rusher got even with him Ugho didn't have the push (strength) to take the DE deep and past the QB. #74 does, but he looks a little light to me even for a LT. I'm certainly OK with these first two picks.

Roll Tide/C O L T S

[John Dee]

Fellers, this is my first post on this board and I don't wanna cause anyone to get upset but if you believe that Pollak is the man at guard then you are gonna be very disappointed. Some of your analysis of the OLinmen sounds like, "played pretty well" and "played really well" and "played better than." First Pollak has very slow recognition after the DL shifts. He never seems to be ahead of the curve on stunts. Some might say he is better at center but thats because his guy is almost always the nose. Pollak isn't strong. He got planted on his butt more than once last year. An average bullrusher will step on his chest almost half the time. Whoever on the Colts staff who believes he will improve alot is an *. Not strong, feet like a center (there is a reason he was a center in college) and no evidence of nastiness means he has to go. The Colts have a solid history of hanging on to team screwups in the draft. Devan is a tough guy and I admire his 'want to' but he has Arena tallent. This Reitz dude was a surprise. Gotta see more of him. He pass blocked with a decent anchor and got downfield. He didn't connect on some downfield blocks but he was down there for a guy his size. #79 has a future..reminds me of Glen...just the way he looks. My judgement is still out on our #1 pick this year. I'll say this, think about Ugho...when a speed rusher got even with him Ugho didn't have the push (strength) to take the DE deep and past the QB. #74 does, but he looks a little light to me even for a LT. I'm certainly OK with these first two picks.

Roll Tide/C O L T S

My uneducated opinion is that Pollak is as good as gone.

[coltsdan]

anyone seen any action of #64 jake kirkpatrick? dude won the remington award as a senior.

[Coffeedrinker]

anyone seen any action of #64 jake kirkpatrick? dude won the remington award as a senior.

He's played descent. I don't know if he'll make the 53 man roster but, hopefully, the Colts can sign him to the practice squad.

Of the guys that have played center for the Colts this preseason, I would rank them

Pollack (yes, Saturday is one of my favorite players but Pollack has done better than Saturday so far at center. I think it's because Saturday is working hard to get back into game shape because of all the work he did on the CBA)

Saturday

Kirkpatrick

Devan

Richard (I don't think Richard will survive the cuts this week. It's too bad because he showed some real promise as a rook but whatever injury he had last year and just totally wiped out any suddenness he had at the snap.)

[soco99]

What it should be.

LT Contanzo

LG Retiz

C Saturday

RG Deim

RT Ijalana

But what I think it will end up being

LT Contanzo

LG Retiz

C Saturday

RG Pollak

RT Deim

Deim started his career at guard and given practice reps should be able to move back inside. I think Retiz has shown a lot and earned the starting spot. However I think they will stick with Pollak because that seems like the colts thing to do. As for switching one of the LG's to RG understand that that's something that some people can't successfully do.

If I'm remembering correctly part of the reason Deim dropped to the 4th round was because he struggled in the senior bowl when the coaches put him at left guard. I seem to remember reading that he had never played on the left side in his life and struggled to adjust. Granted this doesn't effect everyone but it could be part of the reason they are both on the left side right now.

[GoColts8818]

My uneducated opinion is that Pollak is as good as gone.

So just ignore the fact he's our starting right guard at the moment and our back up center?

[GoColts8818]

What it should be.

LT Contanzo

LG Retiz

C Saturday

RG Deim

RT Ijalana

But what I think it will end up being

LT Contanzo

LG Retiz

C Saturday

RG Pollak

RT Deim

Deim started his career at guard and given practice reps should be able to move back inside. I think Retiz has shown a lot and earned the starting spot. However I think they will stick with Pollak because that seems like the colts thing to do. As for switching one of the LG's to RG understand that that's something that some people can't successfully do.

If I'm remembering correctly part of the reason Deim dropped to the 4th round was because he struggled in the senior bowl when the coaches put him at left guard. I seem to remember reading that he had never played on the left side in his life and struggled to adjust. Granted this doesn't effect everyone but it could be part of the reason they are both on the left side right now.

It should not be that, now I'll admit it could very well end up being that in the middle of the season. I watched Ijalana vs. the Skins. He was okay at best vs. the Skins second and third teamers. He would get eatten alive vs. other teams starters right now. He still has work to do. Now by the middle of the year he could be ready and if the Colts feel he's ready and we have questions at the right guard spot still I could very well see us shifting Diem to guard and putting Ijalana in the starting line up then.

[Coffeedrinker]

So just ignore the fact he's our starting right guard at the moment and our back up center?

Come on GoColts8818 you know they are just doing that so other teams can see him then the Colts are going to trade him for a back-up QB.

[Douzer]

Each offensive series they have rotated players. This list may provide some insight as to who they are looking at.

Colts vs. Rams, LT, LG, CTR, RG, RT

1st, Linkenbach, Reitz, Saturday, Pollak, Diem

2nd, Linkenbach, McClendon, Pollack, DeVan, Diem

3rd, Linkenbach, Reitz, Pollack, DeVan, Ijalana

4th, Costanza, McClendon, Pollack, DeVan, Ijalana

5th, Costanza, Reitz, Pollack, DeVan, Ijalana

6th, Costanza, McClendon, Pollack, DeVan, Ijalana

7th, Costanza, Reitz, Devan, Tepper, Ijalana

8th, Costanza, McClendon, Devan, Tepper, Ijalana

9th, Costanza, Reitz, Devan, Tepper, Ijalana

10th, Costanza, McClendon, Kirkpatrick, Tepper, Ijalana

11th, Toudouze, Reitz, Kirkpatrick, Tepper, Bender

12th, Toudouze, Beekman, Kirkpatrick, Tepper, Bender

Colts vs. Skins, LT, LG, CTR, RG, RT

1st, Costanza, Reitz, Saturday, Pollak, Diem

2nd, Costanza, Reitz, Saturday, Pollak, Diem

3rd, Costanza, Reitz, Pollak, DeVan, Linkenbach

4th, Costanza, Reitz, Pollak, DeVan, Linkenbach

5th, Linkenbach, McClendon, Richard, DeVan, Ijalana

6th, Linkenbach, McClendon, Richard, DeVan, Ijalana

7th, Toudouze, McClendon, Richard, Tepper, Ijalana

8th, Toudouze, McClendon, Richard, Tepper, Ijalana

9th, Toudouze, Beekman, Kirkpatrick, Tepper, Bender

[GoColts8818]

Check this out, Colts are going to move Diem to right guard for Friday night's game.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-08-23/indianapolis-colts-team-report-ryan-diem-learning-new-position#ixzz1Vtrqw7jN

To me this says more about the lack of Pollack, McClendon, DeVan, or Richard doing anything to win the right guard spot than it does about the tackle spot. At least with Link he has looked decent at times at right tackle and will be a stop gap till Ijalana is ready.

[Douzer]

Check this out, Colts are going to move Diem to right guard for Friday night's game.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-08-23/indianapolis-colts-team-report-ryan-diem-learning-new-position#ixzz1Vtrqw7jN

To me this says more about the lack of Pollack, McClendon, DeVan, or Richard doing anything to win the right guard spot than it does about the tackle spot. At least with Link he has looked decent at times at right tackle and will be a stop gap till Ijalana is ready.

The plot thickens!

[Coffeedrinker]

Link was bad in the Rams game and absolutely horrible in the Skins game. Even though Ijalana has shown he's not ready to start in the NFL, I'd rather see him at RT thank Link.

It will be interesting. I still think they are doing it because they won't be keeping many olineman this year and they want to be prepared for injuries.

As it stands right now.

If AC gets injured there is no back-up.

If Reitz gets injured there is McClendon

If Saturday gets injured there is Pollack

If Pollack gets injured there is Diem

If Diem gets injured there is Ijalana.

They will probably keep Link because he is familiar with both the LT and RT positions but, IMO, he does not offer much.

[GoColts8818]

Link was bad in the Rams game and absolutely horrible in the Skins game. Even though Ijalana has shown he's not ready to start in the NFL, I'd rather see him at RT thank Link.

It will be interesting. I still think they are doing it because they won't be keeping many olineman this year and they want to be prepared for injuries.

As it stands right now.

If AC gets injured there is no back-up.

If Reitz gets injured there is McClendon

If Saturday gets injured there is Pollack

If Pollack gets injured there is Diem

If Diem gets injured there is Ijalana.

They will probably keep Link because he is familiar with both the LT and RT positions but, IMO, he does not offer much.

You might not like it but if AC goes down Link is the back up left tackle. I would agree that would scare the heck out of me if that happens just like it did last year but hey Link held up pretty well last year when he was asked to play tackle. I agree with you that Link has been pretty bad in the pre-season this year but I would have him lose the starting job than just hand it to Ijalana before he's ready just to make sure we don't shake his confidence.

Also if you believe Chappel as it stands right now Diem is the starter at right guard, for a game at least. I think the Colts are trying to figure out which is the lesser of two evils right now, Link at right tackle or Pollack at right guard. The one plus to Link is that I do think at some point this season Ijalana will be ready and when he is you can slide him in as the starting right tackle and bench Link. Of course you could do that with Pollack and just slide Diem over but then you are making two poistion changes on the line vs. one.

[RomanianColtsFan]

Giving douzer's post above in which he listed the rotations I am not surprised the Colts did not win any of the two games.

It shows one more time what they use the preseason games for.

[coltsin06]

why not move Ijalana to right guard instead of Diem, Diem has played his whole career at right tackle and now we're moving him to guard the last year of his career doesnt make sense. Ijalana was seen as a better fit at guard than he was at tackle by NFL scouts why not at least try him there and try and find a permanent fix instead of a temporary replacement

[Coffeedrinker]

You might not like it but if AC goes down Link is the back up left tackle. I would agree that would scare the heck out of me if that happens just like it did last year but hey Link held up pretty well last year when he was asked to play tackle. I agree with you that Link has been pretty bad in the pre-season this year but I would have him lose the starting job than just hand it to Ijalana before he's ready just to make sure we don't shake his confidence.

Also if you believe Chappel as it stands right now Diem is the starter at right guard, for a game at least. I think the Colts are trying to figure out which is the lesser of two evils right now, Link at right tackle or Pollack at right guard. The one plus to Link is that I do think at some point this season Ijalana will be ready and when he is you can slide him in as the starting right tackle and bench Link. Of course you could do that with Pollack and just slide Diem over but then you are making two poistion changes on the line vs. one.

Like I said, I think Link will stick because there are no other options. Toudouze was worse than Link. Bender has played well, but it's hard to compare because he has not played against 1st or 2nd string Ds.

Plus, I have stated numerous times that I based my opinions on about 1/10th (probably closer to 1/25th after hearing Caldwell about filming practices and studying practice films, etc.) But I do not see how Link in the starting lineup is the lesser of any evil. Plus the move of Diem to RG just makes little sense to me. Pollack is good in the box at the point of attack, he's not good on the move and neither is Diem. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I still am going with a starting line-up of AC, Reitz, Saturday, Pollack and Diem. But I do reserve the right to change it.

[Douzer]

Reitz is still listed as an OT on the Colts Roster (76 Reitz, Joe T 6-7 320 R Western Michigan) His size and footwork bode well for double duty as the backup LT. Maybe not in week 1, but he slides out and McClendon steps in at LG... done. Ijalana goes down Diem slides out and Pollak|DeVan slides in at RG... done. The word is Ijalana projects well at guard too (Versatility). DeVan can play LG, RG or center. Pollak can play center (kinda). Those 8 provide versatile depth. If Reitz really can deliver at backup left tackle, they could keep Tepper or Kilpatrick and drop Link sooner rather than later. I'm just pondering out loud mind you.

[a06cc]

I honestly think they should give Ben a shot at the left tackle spot. Anthony Castanzo should play right tackle