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Could an O-line shift be in the works?


macaroni

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I noticed on another site that Wang is now practicing full time ... what I found interesting is he is working exclusively at Guard. So this started me thinking (always a bad thing).

 

Chan reciently stated he didn't feel that the O-line had the horsepower or weight to succeed.

 

I know Wood played center in college ... didn't Lavitre play tackle(old age, I can't remember)???

 

I know Urbik has good size.

 

and Hangman can play all the interior positions(but seems to me to get pushed back into the pocket way too much) ...

 

I know Green stinks, and even though everybody on TBD seems to feel Bell is improving, I'm just not astute enough to tell (so I think he stinks too).

 

What I'm thinking we may see a line of Bell-Wang-Wood-Urbik-Levitre after the bye ...

 

What do you guys who actually know what you are talking about when discussing O-line play think???

 

(I'm not proposing this, or predicting it will happen, I guess I'm tired about beating a dead hourse about trades we've made or should have made)

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I noticed on another site that Wang is now practicing full time ... what I found interesting is he is working exclusively at Guard. So this started me thinking (always a bad thing).

 

Chan reciently stated he didn't feel that the O-line had the horsepower or weight to succeed.

 

I know Wood played center in college ... didn't Lavitre play tackle(old age, I can't remember)???

 

I know Urbik has good size.

 

and Hangman can play all the interior positions(but seems to me to get pushed back into the pocket way too much) ...

 

I know Green stinks, and even though everybody on TBD seems to feel Bell is improving, I'm just not astute enough to tell (so I think he stinks too).

 

What I'm thinking we may see a line of Bell-Wang-Wood-Urbik-Levitre after the bye ...

 

What do you guys who actually know what you are talking about when discussing O-line play think???

 

(I'm not proposing this, or predicting it will happen, I guess I'm tired about beating a dead hourse about trades we've made or should have made)

 

Whatever gets Cornell Green off of the field i am fine with.

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Levitre played tackle in college and also played quite a bit at both LT and RT due to injuries last year, but he may not be suited for the RT spot, fulltime--- at least that's what the consensus opinion seems to be. Urbik has very little game experience, but Cordero Howard has looked good to my eyes at both tackle positions and inside as well in spot duty.

 

I'm surprised Wang is practicing at guard--- I thought one of the knocks on him is that due to his athleticism and lack of real bulk/strength he is really only seen to fit in at LT.

 

Regardless, I fully expect changes to be made as they have alluded to doing so all along as the season progresses, and the Trent release and Marshawn trade have made it evident nothing is set in stone.

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Never work as Levitre will not be succesful at tackle. Now Howard subbing for Green might be an option. While they could shift the interior, why would they? Hangartner has been named team captain in place of Trent and he honestly hasn't played that bad. The only true stinker has been Green with Wood at times. If we stuck with the run, establish a threat of a passing game to keep defense from stacking the box, and stayed out of 3rd and long we can at least be competitive. I wish they mixed in more playaction and dropback passes from under center as well as ran more from shotgun. When you run the ball fro 5 yards and the next you lineup in shotgun with a line susceptile to the blitz then you are asking for trouble. I wish they utilize McnTyre more like they did in the preseason or go with more two TE balance sets.

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Hangartner will be on the line somewhere, maybe at guard or at center. The only reason is because he was named an offensive captain (yes, so was Edwards and he got canned, but why would they nominate Hangartner one of the captains if he wasn't going to start?)

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Hangartner will be on the line somewhere, maybe at guard or at center. The only reason is because he was named an offensive captain (yes, so was Edwards and he got canned, but why would they nominate Hangartner one of the captains if he wasn't going to start?)

You seem to have answered your own question. So, he'd get cut. B-)

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RT is the only spot I see a probable change. Probably Urbik or Howard take Green's spot.

 

I also thought Wang may have been given a shot at RT too but I guess they want to start him off at G which I don't care for too much. I guess we'll see............

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Never work as Levitre will not be succesful at tackle. Now Howard subbing for Green might be an option. While they could shift the interior, why would they? Hangartner has been named team captain in place of Trent and he honestly hasn't played that bad. The only true stinker has been Green with Wood at times. If we stuck with the run, establish a threat of a passing game to keep defense from stacking the box, and stayed out of 3rd and long we can at least be competitive. I wish they mixed in more playaction and dropback passes from under center as well as ran more from shotgun. When you run the ball fro 5 yards and the next you lineup in shotgun with a line susceptile to the blitz then you are asking for trouble. I wish they utilize McnTyre more like they did in the preseason or go with more two TE balance sets.

 

I see what you're saying ... but the Wang exclusivly at Guard item started all this.

 

So ... if you plug him in at guard you have to find someplace for one of our other guards ... that's why I shifted Wood to center ... now combine that with Chann wanting more beef up front brought in Urbik (or Howard as someone else posted) leaving me to look for a possible spot for Levitre, and if he is capable of playing tackle, I'm all for replacing Green.

 

I'm just looking at ways the "brain trust" may be trying to get more horses up front.

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Wang played a little RT at Virginia Tech too so I'm a little surprised he's not practicing backing up either RT or LT positions. Maybe they are thinking after the injury it would be easier to get him up to game-speed by using him on the interior? All I know is that Howard, Urbik, and Wang are big dudes; all at least 6-4 and 300+ pounds.

 

I think a lot of stuff may be coming down during the bye-week.

Edited by DanInSouthBuffalo
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Regardless, making changes to a healthy OL in mid-season is indicative of a major issue. Remember moving Peters from RT to LT and inserting Pennington at RT during bye week 2006?

 

Bell isn't serviceable at LT, Levitre and Wood aren't playing to the level at the round they were selected (for guards especially) and Hangartner is average at best.

 

Urbik hasn't played OT since college (like Butler) and it's a shot in the dark to think he can handle the role in the NFL. They need serious help at OT on both sides. I think Hangartner eventually settles into the role he occupied in Carolina: principal interior OL backup.

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Good God, Brad Butler really screwed us...

 

Butler was a so-so player; a 5th round pick who was constantly out. I think that many games he actually did appear in he was playing hurt as well.

 

Unfortunately, he represents the organization's overall attitude toward blocking more than he does a significant loss of a star player.

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RT is the only spot I see a probable change. Probably Urbik or Howard take Green's spot.

 

I also thought Wang may have been given a shot at RT too but I guess they want to start him off at G which I don't care for too much. I guess we'll see............

 

Now Bring Edwards back and we roll

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Guys, guys, guys, come on now, Wang isn't gonna step in and start. You are reaching at straws. He is going to back up at guard and tackle. He is a 5th round pick that has missed a lot of time. Just yesterday this board was all over how many 4th rounders have even panned out, now we have this guy stepping in and starting?

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Benching Green and paying him 3 mil to back up RT is actually a worse idea then keeping Trent Edwards, besides if they bench him or cut him it would be admitting that he should have never been signed in the first place.

 

So perhaps they move Green to RG, Wood to Center,leave Bell at LT,Wang at LG, Levitre to RT, so Bell-Wang-Wood-Green-Levitre makes the most sense to me, but who knows what will work with this rag tag group. None of them seem capable when it really counts.

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