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MJZiggy
04-08-2007, 08:21 PM
Players and NFL teams benefit in long run when offensive linemen pay their dues in college

02:00 AM CDT on Sunday, April 8, 2007

Guard Daryn Colledge brought second-round ability to the Green Bay Packers in the 2006 NFL draft. More important, he brought a first-round mentality.

Colledge arrived in Green Bay expecting to start. Why not? Colledge started every game he played in his four seasons at Boise State, an NCAA record 52 in a row by an offensive lineman. That was his selling point during the draft process.

"I'd tell the teams I started 52 games," Colledge said. "I stayed healthy. I showed up for work every day. I didn't miss any practices, didn't miss any games. I'm a longevity guy. I'm a guy who's going to be there for you today, tomorrow, every day and I'm going to keep working."

Colledge didn't start in his NFL debut, a 26-0 blowout home loss to the Chicago Bears. But he started all 15 games thereafter on a team that finished 8-8 with the NFL's eighth-ranked offense.

Nineteen rookie blockers finished the 2006 season in NFL starting lineups – and 10 were rare four-year starters in college. Colledge underscores a shift in NFL drafting philosophy in the last 14 years.

Historically, offensive linemen have taken longer to develop than other positions. Few blockers walked in and played as rookies in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. As a rule, they needed to become stronger and polish up their blocking techniques before they could be entrusted with the task of protecting a franchise quarterback.

But all that changed with the advent of the salary cap in 1994. There was no longer enough money in a team's vault to pay all of its best players. The discretionary dollars were spent on the playmakers: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, pass rushers and cornerbacks.

So players at the blue-collar positions along the offensive line have been allowed to walk out the door in free agency. Teams didn't bother anteing up to keep incumbent Pro Bowlers such as Will Wolford (Buffalo), Howard Ballard (Buffalo), Mark Stepnoski (Dallas), Kevin Glover (Detroit) and Steve Hutchinson (Seattle), so all left.

Just this off-season, guards Leonard Davis, Derrick Dockery and Eric Steinbach commanded free-agent contracts in excess of $49 million apiece, including $18 million apiece in signing bonuses. And not a one of them had been to a Pro Bowl.
No time to waste

So NFL teams no longer can exercise patience in the development of young linemen. There has been so much turnover in recent years on blocking fronts that teams have been forced to go with affordable youth.
Former Plano East star Justin Blaylock set a Texas record with 51 consecutive starts.

The young linemen who stand the best chance of survival as rookies are the ones who arrive in the NFL with the most college experience. So the four-year starters like Colledge have become premium commodities. It's a smaller step for them to take from college to NFL fields.

"The more downs you've played allow you to come in here and say, 'This isn't all new to me. I've seen this stuff before. This is football, and I've played a lot of football,' " Colledge said.

"If you've done it for four years, you have a belief and a confidence in your own ability to say, 'I can do this. It's not going to be great every single down and it's not going to be perfect, because these guys are the best of the best. But I know I can get in there and be competitive.'

"That gives you an advantage over a guy who may have done it just his junior or senior season. A guy who started four years may have more maturity, more refinement to his game."
Four-year guys a plus

The best part is NFL teams can find quality, experienced blockers in the draft and don't have to spend a first-round pick on them.

New England used a third-round selection on tackle Nick Kaczur in 2005. He started 51 games at Toledo and wound up starting in his rookie season for the AFC East champion Patriots.

Tampa Bay used a fourth-round selection that same draft on guard Dan Buenning. He started 49 games at Wisconsin and started every game of his rookie season for the NFC South champion Buccaneers.

Indianapolis used a fifth-round selection on guard Jake Scott in 2004. He started 45 games at Idaho and is in his third season as a starter for the Super Bowl champions.

"Experience is a trait you look for at every position, but especially on the offensive line," Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said. "It's an indicator of how far along a player is in his football development."

The Oakland Raiders drafted Kevin Boothe in the sixth round last April. He started four years at Cornell, then started 14 games for the Raiders last season. The Packers drafted Jason Spitz in the third round. He started four years at Louisville, then started 13 games for the Packers at guard opposite Colledge.

"If you've got four-year guys, you've got smart players," Colledge said. "They know the game, know defenses, know how it works. Those intangibles can turn a good player into a great one."
Deep draft class

NFL teams are studying one of the deepest, most experienced draft classes of offensive linemen in decades. There are 16 players on the 2007 draft board who started at least 45 games.

Four started at least 50 games. Hawaii center Samson Satele broke Colledge's record for consecutive starts by a college linemen with 53, and Texas tackle Justin Blalock set the school record with 51 consecutive starts.

Purdue tackle Mike Otto also set a school record with 50 consecutive starts. West Virginia center and Rimington Award winner Dan Mozes started 50 times in 51 games. His only non-start was on Senior Day of his freshman season. He started the 40 games thereafter.

TCU tackle Herb Taylor, Northern Illinois tackle Doug Free and New Mexico guard Robert Turner also set school records with 49 starts, and Steve Vallos of Wake Forest set a school record with 48 starts. Free kept his streak intact despite playing with a stress fracture in his right foot most of the 2006 season.

"I take a lot of pride," in the record, Free said. "You can get bumps and bruises and try to sit out games. But the true champions – the true tough people – fight through those injuries and the little things that happen every week to play each game. It's been a great run for me."

Chances are his run will continue in the NFL. The search is on for blockers with longevity, durability and productivity. That makes four-year starters easy to spot and easier to draft.

prsnfoto
04-08-2007, 08:35 PM
But he started all 15 games thereafter on a team that finished 8-8 with the NFL's eighth-ranked offense.


I realize this is a fact but I hope TT doesn't read crap like this our offense was lacking big play and red zone productivity last year. It also goes to show how amazing Brett really is I would've thought we 15-20th but 8th no way,I also realize when you are behind you put up a lot of yards.

the_idle_threat
04-08-2007, 11:08 PM
But all that changed with the advent of the salary cap in 1994. There was no longer enough money in a team's vault to pay all of its best players. The discretionary dollars were spent on the playmakers: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, pass rushers and cornerbacks.

So players at the blue-collar positions along the offensive line have been allowed to walk out the door in free agency. Teams didn't bother anteing up to keep incumbent Pro Bowlers such as Will Wolford (Buffalo), Howard Ballard (Buffalo), Mark Stepnoski (Dallas), Kevin Glover (Detroit) and Steve Hutchinson (Seattle), so all left.

Just this off-season, guards Leonard Davis, Derrick Dockery and Eric Steinbach commanded free-agent contracts in excess of $49 million apiece, including $18 million apiece in signing bonuses. And not a one of them had been to a Pro Bowl.
No time to waste

So NFL teams no longer can exercise patience in the development of young linemen. There has been so much turnover in recent years on blocking fronts that teams have been forced to go with affordable youth.

This analysis strikes me as contradictory and flat out wrong. If teams spend all their money on skill-position players and let linemen go for salary cap reasons, then how come guards are getting $50 million contracts in free agency? Many teams apparently DO find room under the cap to pay large sums of money to veteran linemen.

IMO, it's not the salary cap that causes teams to play rookies where they would have "redshirted" them for a while in the past---it's free agency. A team can't afford to develop guys for two or three years, only to get one or two years out of them and then watch them walk in free agency. Teams only have 4-5 years of exclusive rights to a player, and they want to get them on the field as soon as possible to get the most out of that time. This applies to linemen as well as to players of most any other position. Combine this with the more sophisticated level of coaching and physical training that kids are getting in college and even in high school nowadays, and you get 21- and 22-year olds that are ready to step in and play sooner than they could 20 and 30 years ago.

Partial
04-09-2007, 01:07 AM
But all that changed with the advent of the salary cap in 1994. There was no longer enough money in a team's vault to pay all of its best players. The discretionary dollars were spent on the playmakers: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, pass rushers and cornerbacks.

So players at the blue-collar positions along the offensive line have been allowed to walk out the door in free agency. Teams didn't bother anteing up to keep incumbent Pro Bowlers such as Will Wolford (Buffalo), Howard Ballard (Buffalo), Mark Stepnoski (Dallas), Kevin Glover (Detroit) and Steve Hutchinson (Seattle), so all left.

Just this off-season, guards Leonard Davis, Derrick Dockery and Eric Steinbach commanded free-agent contracts in excess of $49 million apiece, including $18 million apiece in signing bonuses. And not a one of them had been to a Pro Bowl.
No time to waste

So NFL teams no longer can exercise patience in the development of young linemen. There has been so much turnover in recent years on blocking fronts that teams have been forced to go with affordable youth.

This analysis strikes me as contradictory and flat out wrong. If teams spend all their money on skill-position players and let linemen go for salary cap reasons, then how come guards are getting $50 million contracts in free agency? Many teams apparently DO find room under the cap to pay large sums of money to veteran linemen.

IMO, it's not the salary cap that causes teams to play rookies where they would have "redshirted" them for a while in the past---it's free agency. A team can't afford to develop guys for two or three years, only to get one or two years out of them and then watch them walk in free agency. Teams only have 4-5 years of exclusive rights to a player, and they want to get them on the field as soon as possible to get the most out of that time. This applies to linemen as well as to players of most any other position. Combine this with the more sophisticated level of coaching and physical training that kids are getting in college and even in high school nowadays, and you get 21- and 22-year olds that are ready to step in and play sooner than they could 20 and 30 years ago.

I don't necessarily agree with this. If you balance your cap and draft alright, you can continually have guys groomed on the bench and ready to step in when your starters leave.

the_idle_threat
04-09-2007, 02:58 AM
Although I agree this is possible, the point of the article is that what you describe is not happening, and exploring why this is the case.

Partial
04-09-2007, 06:59 AM
Although I agree this is possible, the point of the article is that what you describe is not happening, and exploring why this is the case.

'cause teams like washington trade all their picks, overpay for players, etc.