Question about D-LINE...

[RashanGary]

I thought they were laughable last year, so did McCarthy with his pass pro and so did Minny with their....um.laughter.

I think they made Bubba look bad, I think they made Favre look worse than he is and even though I'm not too sad to see Green go I think they made him look worse than he was.

The whole offense sputtered becuase they couldn't do any phase of the game right and when they got in the redzone; when they had to run it because the field is shortened and there is less room to pass, they NEVER got a push. One of them would have been servicable but the fact that 2 rooks had to play every game killed us IMO.

I don't think they are doomed. If they come back and they are in GREAT shape then I think there is a chance that they don't get dominated. I get a good feeling about the commitment and work ethic of those guys so just as a gut check I think they both, if not all 3, make giant leaps.

[the_idle_threat]

With an offseason of work and a year of playing time together, this line should be good right now. Maybe it takes another year or two for them to be great, but how many teams have a line that is truly great? Perhaps we were spoiled by the great line we had 3-4 years ago. The offense can function well with guys who are servicable. You can't have Pro-Bowlers at every position.

[HarveyWallbangers]

2005 was laughable. They were serviceable last year. Not all of the blame can be pinned on them. Favre has to take some also. He's not the QB he used to be. Considering that all of the RBs averaged over 4 yards/carry, the QB was seldom sacked (some of that is Favre and some of it is protection), the fact Tauscher missed a bunch of games and Clifton was nicked up, and the fact that they had 3 first time, full-time starters, I was surprised.

[RashanGary]

I think McCArthy adjusted better than Sherm. Had Sherm put 7 guys in pass pro, I'll bet it wouldn't have been what it was.

Regardless, I think they were a major weakness. I do think they are 3 of the top 5 or 6 guys on this whole team who stand teh best chance to improve.

I think the Offense will be pretty good and the biggest reason, IMO, will be the improvement of Spitz, Colledge, Moll *depth* and Jennings. I see all of these guys as "core" guys; similar to Tauch, Clifton, Wahle and Driver like Sherman inherited. They're just starting to hit their stride. I think it could be a good year.

[run pMc]

The overall OL performance will be improved this year.
Last year's rookies aren't rookies anymore, they have a year of the ZBS under their belts, they've had a chance to play together as a unit, and they will have had an offseason in the weight room (all the coaches agreed they needed to get stronger).
I also think their play improved from Game 1 to Game 16. I'm glad TT drafted another guy here -- I think the OL depth is a little thin.

just my opinions.

[run pMc]

As far as Minny's players laughing at the OL -- well, they didn't exactly kill us with their 100 million dollar OL, did they?

Who swept who last year? Thought so.

[RashanGary]

As far as Minny's players laughing at the OL -- well, they didn't exactly kill us with their 100 million dollar OL, did they?

Who swept who last year? Thought so.

I think it backed up what common sense would tell you which is that rookie lineman are not as strong as their veteran counterparts and often struggle because they cannot physically complete with the best of the best.

I think they were pretty bad. That said, they played solid as far as technique but they just weren't strong enough to do what they wanted to do. I think all 3 are pretty good players and IF they had the off season that we all hope they had; they'll change this offense.