Am I the only one not convined with this O-Line?

I've been hearing how we're going to be a smash mouth team thats going to blow people away. In fact Frank will see a return to his 06 stats at almost 1700 yards. Im not so convinced.

This Oline has the following players starting:

Staley- Is the second best lineman on the team. Young, athletic, fiery and pretty dam strong. he hasnt reached his peak as either a pass or a run blocker. Been very high on this guy since we drafted him. He should do pretty well this year

Baas- This is the main guy on the line that i feel isnt up to par. An 05 second round pick he was supposed to be this mauler. I just see him get pushed back too often fo a guy with his supposed talent. His traps and pulls have never been his strong suit. Pass blocking is average at best.

Hietman- Best Lineman on our team for the past couple of years since the great LA. hugely underrated.

Rachal- I liked this guy a lot coming outta school. however I think hes going to struggle both pass and run blocking a bit this year. I just think hes maybe another year from reaching his potential. If he does.. LA 2.0

Smith/Snyder- The third part of our line thats shaky. If Snyder starts our Oline will again be at best average. He cant get the push on runs or handle good passrushers. has too many mental mistakes. If Smith starts well we dont know how long his back will hold up, will the injury be on his mind when he plays, or how hell adjust to the right side.

Norris' addition i think is pretty great but i dont think its nearly enough to get frank to 06 levels. We had LA and Jennings destroying people on the left side to get Frank all those runs. In fact Turner was basing his run plays almost completely around LA.

Look at who we have right now. Which gaurd/tackle combo do you think gives you that JJ and LA confidence? Baas isnt the answer at LG. Rachal is still going to struggle a bit more. Smith mght break down easy or not adjust, Snyder is a joke as a starter.

So what do you guys think? We need at least one dominant run side. you think we have it?

[ Edited by ruthless49er on Jul 27, 2009 at 06:50:43 ]

Quote:
Am I the only one not convined with this O-Line?

Originally posted by krizay:

Quote:
Am I the only one not convined with this O-Line?

lol sup kriz.

Originally posted by ruthless49er:

Originally posted by krizay:

Quote:
Am I the only one not convined with this O-Line?

lol sup kriz.

My amount of call offs from work.

I think the Niners have three pieces in place. Staley and Heitmann are solid, and should play at a high level. Rachal displayed some excellent upside last year, and should improve. He is certainly not close to being a finished product, and will have some growing pains. But, I see good signs.

The two weaknesses are at LG and RT. Baas is fine going forward, but does not have solid lateral skills. This limits the Niners' ability to pull him to the right on running plays. He is on the last year of his contract, and better raise his game this year. Otherwise, the Niners are going to let him walk.

At RT, we have a couple talented players in M. Smith and A. Boone. Smith is clearly the best player, but has health issues. Boone has potential, but must stay focused and disciplined. He's got a long ways to go. Sims is backup material, and Snyder is the all-around backup across the line.

One forgotten member of the line is Jacob Bender. He has a chance to make this squad as a backup for Smith.

I'm worried about Marvel Smith's health and hoping he can stay healthy all season

We need a strong season out of baas, if he struggles early I hope Wragge is inserted into the starting lineup...

Rachal should have a much better season after being thrown into the fire as a rookie


I'm not worried about Staley and Heitmann, they will be the anchors of the O -Line, but if Smith stays healthy we should be in good shape

More than anything for me is the lack of depth on the line. We don't have very good back ups.

No, you are not alone. However, this line has the potential to be very good if.....

- Marvel Smith stays healthy
- Rachal continues to develop in his 2nd season
- Baas has a good year at LG

All that said, this group is going to be scrutinized heavily in training camp and into the season.

Originally posted by m_brockalexander:
No, you are not alone. However, this line has the potential to be very good if.....

- Marvel Smith stays healthy
- Rachal continues to develop in his 2nd season
- Baas has a good year at LG

All that said, this group is going to be scrutinized heavily in training camp and into the season.

I think your first and second points are joined at the hip. Rachal's development would be helped tremendously playing inside M. Smith as opposed to anyone else that might get thrown in at RT.

The left side of the line really struggled with the run last year. And on short yardage situations the o line never wins the battle. I think the right side will be the better run side if Smith is healthy.

No... not really worried about the OL. Only slight concern is that they stay healthy... mainly Marvel Smith. I am very encouraged by last year's play (once Sing took over) with Staley, Baas, Heitmann, Rachal, and even Snyder to some lesser degree.

I think if Marvel Smith stays healthy that our O-Line has a chance to be pretty good.

The O-Line still has some question marks, but it has fewer of them than in the past several years. Right tackle and left guard being the remaining big question marks.

Originally posted by PA9erFaithful:
I think if Marvel Smith stays healthy that our O-Line has a chance to be pretty good.

I agree. The RT position is the only piece that has a question mark over it IMO.

RT and Barry Sim still on our team worries me!

[ Edited by 9erluv415 on Jul 27, 2009 at 08:53:08 ]