Move Yanda to C

**Raven Werewolf** · 10-01-2013, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by GOTA

The answer isn't to screw up 2 positions.

Originally Posted by Terpsfan82

Not a fan of playing musical chairs with the offensive line, thereby weakening multiple positions in an attempt to upgrade one.

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

Moving Yanda to center weakens two positions.

This cubed.

**lobachevsky** · 10-01-2013, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by Raven Werewolf

This cubed.

OTOH Yanda could stay at RG but make the line calls. IIRC Marshall's done it before, & he says the scheme isn't all that different from what they ran last year--"a wrinkle here, a wrinkle there"--so it might not be all that hard for him. If Gino's having trouble making good calls--or for that matter, if worrying about making the best call is distracting him from making good blocks--it's worth thinking about.

**leachisabeast** · 10-02-2013, 02:01 AM

Could the latest trade mean a reshuffle along the Oline, or could it mean cutting McKinnie?

Most likely the 2nd option, but if they plan on keeping McKinnie, maybe they move him to RT, while moving Oher inside?

**bacchys** · 10-02-2013, 05:47 AM

Gino might be our "worst o-lineman" at the moment, but I don't think it's necessarily true he's the problem. Yanda is a Pro Bowl RG. Moving him to C isn't going to fix the o-line.

Right now, I think McKinnie is the bigger problem on the O-line, and that's why Ozzie has moved to bring in an upgrade at that position. Better play at the LT will mean that Osemele will be able to help out Gino more.

**GOTA** · 10-02-2013, 05:53 AM

Originally Posted by leachisabeast

Could the latest trade mean a reshuffle along the Oline, or could it mean cutting McKinnie?

Most likely the 2nd option, but if they plan on keeping McKinnie, maybe they move him to RT, while moving Oher inside?

Cutting McKinnie saves no money this year. He has more that 1 year in the league and was here week 1. That means his salary for the season is guaranteed. It probably means that Reid is cut and that McKinnie goes back to being on the bench for the season and gone in the offseason.

**JAB1985** · 10-02-2013, 06:50 AM

I think this may have become more of a chance now. Our biggest issue is the run game, as besides last game weve seemed to be pretty good against the pass against some good teams. With that said I think Mac,KO,Yanda, Oher, Monroe is better than Monroe, KO, Gino, Yanda Oher. I have no idea how likely that is, but imo what mckinnie offers in pass protection is greater than what Gino vs Yanda would equate to. harbs said before the "best five play". the best 5 that work together, and im not sure if thats without mckinnie or not.

**srobert96** · 10-02-2013, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by JAB1985

I think this may have become more of a chance now. Our biggest issue is the run game, as besides last game weve seemed to be pretty good against the pass against some good teams. With that said I think Mac,KO,Yanda, Oher, Monroe is better than Monroe, KO, Gino, Yanda Oher. I have no idea how likely that is, but imo what mckinnie offers in pass protection is greater than what Gino vs Yanda would equate to. harbs said before the "best five play". the best 5 that work together, and im not sure if thats without mckinnie or not.

Has McKinnie been better than Oher? Maybe slightly better in pass protection but I am not sure he is not worse in run blocking. Oher at G may be interesting. How hard would it be for Oher to learn the G spot and the same goes for yanda at C? I can't remember the last time Yanda played center but it certainly has not been much.

**Ravenswintitle** · 10-02-2013, 08:17 AM

I don't think they're moving anybody except McKinnie to the bench.

**JAB1985** · 10-02-2013, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by srobert96

Has McKinnie been better than Oher? Maybe slightly better in pass protection but I am not sure he is not worse in run blocking. Oher at G may be interesting. How hard would it be for Oher to learn the G spot and the same goes for yanda at C? I can't remember the last time Yanda played center but it certainly has not been much.

Mac is worse in run blocking for sure. I still think theyre comparable players with a slight advantage to mckinnie overall though. Monroe is clearly better than both. so by default hes the best LT, but in terms of OL as whole im not sure what would be best going forward. Gino has been struggling, KO has as well. I think their struggles havent helped McKinnie or Yanda much in terms of what were seeing. i think all of them are better than the result. In terms of run game Oher at RT is better, but thats not solving the inside problem where were struggling to run the ball.

**CoverD** · 10-02-2013, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by bacchys

Gino might be our "worst o-lineman" at the moment, but I don't think it's necessarily true he's the problem. Yanda is a Pro Bowl RG. Moving him to C isn't going to fix the o-line.

Right now, I think McKinnie is the bigger problem on the O-line, and that's why Ozzie has moved to bring in an upgrade at that position. Better play at the LT will mean that Osemele will be able to help out Gino more.

THIS

McKinnie is not playing well at all. I think this is a domino effect down the line and definitely shows the most with Gino.

I feel that Monroe will be a massive help to not only LT, but the whole left side in general.

**leachisabeast** · 10-04-2013, 06:53 AM

After thoroughly going through the all 22 film of the first 4 games I have formed the opinion that a larger portion of the blame should be directed at the interior of the line. McKinnie hasn't played that well so far, Oher has been up and down, but the main culprits have been KO and Gino, and even Yanda has played poorly through out the last two games. Apart from one game, McKinnie has been slightly better than average in pass protection, and had a solid game against the Bills, we all know that his weakness is as a run blocker, since we went to the pass so much last week, we played to his strengths. Oher has actually been pretty good more times than not, but has had his issues too, if he can JUST consistently play like he did against the Bills, he could get him self a significant amount of money from another team in free agency next year. Despite what people say to defend Gino, and despite the confusing scheme, I have to say that Gino has just been terrible and is barely playing at replacement level. It doesn't matter what scheme you run when you're getting pushed back 4 or 5 yards on pass plays, and let big nose tackles slip by you in the run game. KO and Yanda aren't getting bulled or dominated, they generally look confused by the scheme, and perhaps Gino's line calls aren't helping.

From what I've seen, the main reasons why this offensive line has been among the worst in the league through the first 4 games of the season are as follows...

- Scheme doesn't play to the players strengths, and is a totally different scheme to last year.
- Bryant McKinnie's pedestrian run blocking
- Line calls by Gino (I'm just assuming this, none of us really know this for sure)
- Gino's lack of strength at the point of attack
- KO and Yanda don't know who to block half the time.

Short term solutions...

- Move Yanda to C, and let him call the plays
- Move Oher inside to RG, and start Monroe at RT for now
- Refrain from running plays that involves McKinnie having to do much more than stand and block somebody
- Go back to last years blocking scheme

This may not be very popular, as the general opinion is that McKinnie should be benched, but I don't think that would get the best out of this unit. This is getting our best possible players out there, and keeping Gino in the starting team over McKinnie (who has played much better than Gino overall) wouldn't be fair. You don't bench players for hiring a party bus. Oher could be a very good guard in this league, and I think Yanda could be a very good center, so you're not weakening positions in this case IMO. This board has been calling for Oher to move inside for years.

I think Harbaugh ends up benching McKinnie and plugging in Monroe at LT, but that's not the best direction to go in for now IMO. If you want to win games, that is what I'd go for. This line needs to get much better if we want to make the play offs this year.

Long term solutions.....

- Cut McKinnie for cap relief, and move Monroe to LT (if he gets a long term deal)
- Use a high rd pick on an OT, like a James Hurst, and have him compete with Wagner for the RT job
- Sign a veteran C like a Johnathan Goodwin, and have him compete with Gino.

**srobert96** · 10-04-2013, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by leachisabeast

After thoroughly going through the all 22 film of the first 4 games I have formed the opinion that a larger portion of the blame should be directed at the interior of the line. McKinnie hasn't played that well so far, Oher has been up and down, but the main culprits have been KO and Gino, and even Yanda has played poorly through out the last two games. Apart from one game, McKinnie has been slightly better than average in pass protection, and had a solid game against the Bills, we all know that his weakness is as a run blocker, since we went to the pass so much last week, we played to his strengths. Oher has actually been pretty good more times than not, but has had his issues too, if he can JUST consistently play like he did against the Bills, he could get him self a significant amount of money from another team in free agency next year. Despite what people say to defend Gino, and despite the confusing scheme, I have to say that Gino has just been terrible and is barely playing at replacement level. It doesn't matter what scheme you run when you're getting pushed back 4 or 5 yards on pass plays, and let big nose tackles slip by you in the run game. KO and Yanda aren't getting bulled or dominated, they generally look confused by the scheme, and perhaps Gino's line calls aren't helping.

From what I've seen, the main reasons why this offensive line has been among the worst in the league through the first 4 games of the season are as follows...

- Scheme doesn't play to the players strengths, and is a totally different scheme to last year.
- Bryant McKinnie's pedestrian run blocking
- Line calls by Gino (I'm just assuming this, none of us really know this for sure)
- Gino's lack of strength at the point of attack
- KO and Yanda don't know who to block half the time.

Short term solutions...

- Move Yanda to C, and let him call the plays
- Move Oher inside to RG, and start Monroe at RT for now
- Refrain from running plays that involves McKinnie having to do much more than stand and block somebody
- Go back to last years blocking scheme

This may not be very popular, as the general opinion is that McKinnie should be benched, but I don't think that would get the best out of this unit. This is getting our best possible players out there, and keeping Gino in the starting team over McKinnie (who has played much better than Gino overall) wouldn't be fair. You don't bench players for hiring a party bus. Oher could be a very good guard in this league, and I think Yanda could be a very good center, so you're not weakening positions in this case IMO. This board has been calling for Oher to move inside for years.

I think Harbaugh ends up benching McKinnie and plugging in Monroe at LT, but that's not the best direction to go in for now IMO. If you want to win games, that is what I'd go for. This line needs to get much better if we want to make the play offs this year.

Long term solutions.....

- Cut McKinnie for cap relief, and move Monroe to LT (if he gets a long term deal)
- Use a high rd pick on an OT, like a James Hurst, and have him compete with Wagner for the RT job
- Sign a veteran C like a Johnathan Goodwin, and have him compete with Gino.

I appreciate you going back and watching the games again. Must have been painful. You have also confirmed what I thought I was seeing and that Yanda has not been playing well either. Obviously Gino has been bad and to my eyes KO has been really bad as well. With you confirming that all three interior guys have been the culprits I now believe more than ever that guys are just not comfortable with what they are being asked to do and are hesitating. I have a question for those more knowledgeable than I. Why can't Yanda make the calls from his guard position? I am against moving Yanda even in the short term. The reason the Ravens brought in a LT probably has more to do with McKinnie not run blocking a lick and getting stupid penalties. I doubt they move him to RT for those reasons. They probably trade McKinnie for a 7th just to get the cap relief. There is a huge issue on the line and I am inclined to think it is more coaching than personnel. McKinnie is the only guy you have to worry about effort and they are replacing him. Hopefully Castillo gets this mess fixed and quick.