4 cuts, 4 signings, and 4 picks

[fiestavike]

Make no mistake about it: Clemmings was one of the main reasons that wine was so mediocre

Tastes pretty good to me!

[84BreaksAnkles]

Schwartz replaces Phil at RT and Conklin replaces Kalil at LT. Osemele moves in at LG and Fusco moves back to RG and Sullivan at C and if Sully cant make it back I feel comfortable with Berger at C. I love Phil but he is 30 years old coming off 2 season ending injuries and makes over 7 mil a year so we go younger and more durable for about the same money with Schwartz. Conklin and Osemele are brutes and instantly give us a great left side of the line. Fusco was good at RG so we move him back there. Clemmings becomes the swing T and learns both positions and improves and becomes a very important backup in case of an injury to either Conklin or Schwartz. I would feel very confident with this O-Line and would be excited to see what Sparano could do with it. As far as Robison goes, I like him alot but I feel Danielle Hunter moves into the starting lineup opposite Griffen and we could not justify paying Robison (who turns 33 in April) the amount of money he makes to be a backup. Drew Ott is a Robison clone with his blue collar style and high motor and would be a much higher pick if he hadnt got injured early in the season for Iowa. I also havent given up on Crichton being a solid contributor off the bench.

Smart Beo, lets replace our two most important lineman with rookies in the same year, a year after our Offensive line struggled pretty seriously..
Glad you don't make the cuts...

[Beo]

Speaking of smart 84BreaksAnkles, find the 2 rookies that are replacing our 2 most important lineman in my proposed O-line of LT Conklin, LG Osemele, C Sullivan, RG Fusco, and RT Schwartz and I will PayPal you $500 ok.

[slapnut19]

i'm not going to sit here and blame clemmings for the line's problems last year. he was a 4th round pick who wasn't even expected to start. he had an up and down year, but still was on the 2nd rookie right tackle in team history to start every game.

to me the main issues with the line was the left side. kalil at his very, very best was still only average and fusco was a trainwreck. if you are going to assign blame, then i'd start with the veteran guys who have had some success in the league first.

[dead_poet]

i'm not going to sit here and blame clemmings for the line's problems last year. he was a 4th round pick who wasn't even expected to start. he had an up and down year, but still was on the 2nd rookie right tackle in team history to start every game. .

This is completely irrelevant. If we're talking performance (which we are), Clemmings was our worst lineman. He deserves some of the blame no matter if he wasn't expected to start. Of course he can and probably will improve.

If you think Kalil was worse than Clemmings last year I seriously question your offensive line evaluations.

[PurpleMustReign]

This is completely irrelevant. If we're talking performance (which we are), Clemmings was our worst lineman. He deserves some of the blame no matter if he wasn't expected to start. Of course he can and probably will improve.

If you think Kalil was worse than Clemmings last year I seriously question your offensive line evaluations.

DP, i agree to a point. I thought,, all things considered, Clemmings did ok. I think what slapnut is saying is that Clemmings was not the only problem, nor was he the biggest problem (i would say that was Fusco because of the expectations he didn't even come close to meeting). Clemmings was not good, but he wasn't the biggest issue either, imo.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[dead_poet]

I don't understand why Clemmings gets a pass for being abysmal while Fusco doesn't for playing a position he's never played before. Don't get me wrong; Fusco was bad too but at least he has proven himself an asset on the right side. Look, I get Clemmings was put in a tough spot but that doesn't absolve him from his awful play. I still believe he was unquestionably our worst lineman. But this is exactly why I'm nervous about replacing guys WITH more rookies.

[mansquatch]

I still think part of the answer is already on the roster. Replace Clemmings with Loadholt. RT done. C is already invested in as they traded for the kid from ND (Easton?) and Berger is a proven backup. So that leaves both Guards and LT. Is there a FA who we think can come in and be better or equal to Kalil? Maybe, but I have doubts on the incremental benefit. So that leaves the guards.

We've never had a viable LG since Hutchinson left. Charlie Johnson was at best OK. Fusco had one good season at RG, but other than that has been up and down, including last season. Harris was good on PFF last year, but I'm concerned. I wonder if he benefited from the fact that Clemmings was so out of his element and thus he was drawing the nastiest pressure. If Clemmings is replaced with Loadholt, then the pressure may focus on the interior. Is he up to it?

[fiestavike]

I still think part of the answer is already on the roster. Replace Clemmings with Loadholt. RT done. C is already invested in as they traded for the kid from ND (Easton?) and Berger is a proven backup. So that leaves both Guards and LT. Is there a FA who we think can come in and be better or equal to Kalil? Maybe, but I have doubts on the incremental benefit. So that leaves the guards.

I think that's a reasonable approach so long as we keep Harris to backup the RT position if Loadholt doesn't return to form, and Clemmings continues his current trajectory.

The key then is to bring in a left Tackle better than Kalil, and two guards capable of beating out Fusco/Berger/Harris for the guard positions.

Probably, it just means having to part ways with Kalil, but keeping Sullivan and Loadholt (hopefully for reduced salary). Would you support that move?

[mansquatch]

I'm fine on looking at Guard. I think LT is high risk. There is no guarantee that what we get is better than Kalil. Also if we cut him and the "new guy" gets hurt, then who is there? Clemmings?

I wonder how much of the hate for Kalil is due to 2013 and 2014 vs. 2015? I didn't feel like Kalil was our problem last year.

[fiestavike]

I'm fine on looking at Guard. I think LT is high risk. There is no guarantee that what we get is better than Kalil. Also if we cut him and the "new guy" gets hurt, then who is there? Clemmings?

I wonder how much of the hate for Kalil is due to 2013 and 2014 vs. 2015? I didn't feel like Kalil was our problem last year.

Ok, but if they address G, and then Kalil plays near/worse than his career avg. level, or get's hurt then who is there? Clemmings?

That problem persists either way, but I think it can be better addressed by freeing up 11 million dollars in cap space and signing either a LT with a higher ceiling for equal money or a LT with a higher floor for less money.

[PurpleMustReign]

I don't understand why Clemmings gets a pass for being abysmal while Fusco doesn't for playing a position he's never played before. Don't get me wrong; Fusco was bad too but at least he has proven himself an asset on the right side. Look, I get Clemmings was put in a tough spot but that doesn't absolve him from his awful play. I still believe he was unquestionably our worst lineman. But this is exactly why I'm nervous about replacing guys WITH more rookies.

I'm not giving him a total pass... but what would you have done in his situation if you had played as bad as he did? Bench yourself? I don't think he was as bad as others seem to think, but then again, I don't know much about OL play.

[dead_poet]

I'm not giving him a total pass... but what would you have done in his situation if you had played as bad as he did? Bench yourself? I don't think he was as bad as others seem to think, but then again, I don't know much about OL play.

The situation isn't the point. I'm talking exclusively about individual performance and how it relates to the unit. Clemmings was awful. He constantly needed help, which limited the offense to an extent, and when he wasn't provided help he was a major liability, allowing routine pressures and sacks. I want the unit to be measurably better. If Phil was in the lineup it would have been. I want nothing to do with Clemmings until 2017 at the earliest as he continues to get stronger and refine his technique.

[PurpleMustReign]

The situation isn't the point. I'm talking exclusively about individual performance and how it relates to the unit. Clemmings was awful. He constantly needed help, which limited the offense to an extent, and when he wasn't provided help he was a major liability, allowing routine pressures and sacks. I want the unit to be measurably better. If Phil was in the lineup it would have been. I want nothing to do with Clemmings until 2017 at the earliest as he continues to get stronger and refine his technique.

Ok, I see your point. Hopefully he will improve.

[halfgiz]

Bottom line...for me Kalil is not worth 11.5 mil. In my opinion we can find better value at that position.
If he accepts a lower contract fine. If not let him walk.
That whole unit was awful and every player on that line seemed to have break downs at different times.