You really think James Harrison would upgrade our pass rush? At this point, I'd say Kruger is a better pass rusher at this point in Harrisons career, he's just too old. He should retire with Troy and Whines Ward.
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All this talk on centers, and Gino looked pretty damn good against the Bengals first string D.
Gino has been very good and the Bengals have some of the best DT's in the game.
I am officially on the "we don't need a center" train right now. I think Gino will be just fine. I still think they could look at LG or LT, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them roll with Oher, Jah, Gino, Yanda, KO next year. Honestly, that may not be too bad. I'm still not in love with Oher at LT, but if they don't have a better option...why not?
Gino has actually looked shaky in the second half as the game went on, still has a lot to work on from what I've seen. His technique can be very poor at times.
They WILL draft at least one, and probably two, offensive linemen next year. The reason is simple--depth. They're going to lose 3 guys next year (McKinnie, Williams, Birk) and they need to stay young at OL. They have 2 prospects on the PS that could potentially make good depth in Antoine McClain and Jack Cornell, but I would only count on 1 of them to actually make the team and maybe neither of them do.
Thus, they need at least 2 OL. Probably an interior lineman who can play guard or center and a tackle who can possibly play LT. Look for late round guys--one guy I like who's probably a 3rd rounder is Ricky Wagner out of Wisconsin. He's a potential LT prospect who could push Oher as early as year 1 or 2.
I love Ziggy but I'm just not sure if he's that day 1 difference maker (D1DM) that I'm looking for...even if we don't resign Kruger. The D1DM guy (if we let Ed walk) that I see right now that our FO would not pass on is S Matt Elam from Florida. His value should be late 20s.
Even still, IMO... three starters > D1DM, so trios like Philip Thomas (FS) / Travis Frederick (C) / Khaseem Greene (Coverage LB), for example is a really good deal. For other examples, you can sub in Kawann Short, Kevin Minter, Arthur Brown, Will Sutton, Kyle Van Noy, Studman Bailey or Quinton Patton for a different trio.
Note: With Ben Grubbs having a good year, but not making the PB, I'm not as optimistic that we'll get a 3rd round comp for him...which may make us less likely to trade up into the 2nd round.
Watch Vandy receivers Boyd and Matthews in the Music City Bowl
That thought has been on my mind as well. Osemele doesn't quite have the quick feet that Oher does, but he looks smarter and has a better body type. If he can learn to mirror a bit better he could be a LT candidate.
If they move KO to LT, I would actually prefer them to move Oher to LG. His problems will not be fixed by flipping sides, he just can't play on an island. He'd be a much better player in the phone booth at guard.
I also think Jah Reid is a better fit at RT than LG, but I could be wrong on that. A line of KO-Oher-Gradkowski-Yanda-Reid just seems more natural with each player's skill set and body type. You'd also have a veteran on each side of the line and a young player on each side of the line, with the possibility of a pretty good wall in the middle for Flacco to step up into.