Widespread offensive-line issues reveal trend in team building
Gone are the days of the dominating lines of the 1990s Dallas Cowboys, the '80s San Francisco 49ers, or the transcendent Hogs in Washington. Prime contenders in New York (the Giants), Philadelphia, Chicago, Green Bay, Atlanta, New England, Baltimore and Pittsburgh entered the season with questions along their offensive lines. Only New England and Atlanta have sufficiently answered those, yet Philly is the only member of this group that isn't in the thick of the playoff race.
So the evidence shows that having a good line simply doesn't mean as much as it used to.
"I think you can mask (problems) up there," an AFC scouting director said. "You definitely can. The perfect example is the Steelers. At times, it doesn't look right at all. At other times, they're blowing everyone off the ball. The constant is the guys taking the snaps. And there was no greater example than Indy last year."
"[The offensive line] was below average most of the years [Manning] was there," an AFC scout said. "By the end, it'd qualify as poor. For a lot of those years, they didn't spend a high-round pick there -- I think (2007 second-rounder Tony) Ugoh was their highest pick. For the most part, they didn't see the reason to put a premium on it. I don't blame them. The average fan is gonna say, 'You have a great quarterback, you gotta protect him.' But the truth is, the great ones don't need it."
Three of the Giants' five linemen are homegrown -- two second-round picks and a fifth-round pick. The Packers' starters on Sunday night? A fifth-round pick, two fourth-round picks, an undrafted free agent and Saturday, cast off by Indy. The Bears just benched the only lineman they picked in the top 100 (Gabe Carimi). The Steelers, meanwhile, started three different left tackles in their three Super Bowl appearances over the past decade and only recently began spending high picks to protect Big Ben.
And yet, all four of those teams are contenders.
But it doesn't work for everyone. The AFC exec emphasized that it's a matter of scheme.
Zone-heavy offenses, and clubs that base their running game off their pass game, can get by with some spare parts.
Others can't. The 49ers, for example, have three first-round picks on their line, a necessity for their downhill run game.
The AFC exec continued that he felt most teams should invest in one tackle and one interior lineman. The structure of the rest of the line is based on the setup of the offense.
But for everyone, there are challenges. Because it's the largest position group -- with five starters -- there's no way to keep a good young line completely intact long-term. At some point, decisions on who to pay, and who not to pay, will arise.
And that's when the offensive line coach becomes key. This assistant must be able to both blend players together in a spot that demands cohesion and also develop young guys in an age when personnel folks are often taught that draft capital need not be spent on the O-line. As the AFC scout said, "The philosophy I was brought in with was that, with the exception of the left tackle, we don't want to take linemen in the first three or four rounds."
So having someone like New England's Dante Scarnecchia, who was once resourceful enough to develop college wrestler Stephen Neal into a bedrock guard, can be huge. In fact, that ability to adapt and adjust up front has almost become a requirement in the salary-capped NFL.