Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Carousel at RT?


Last season, the Eagles struggled to solidify the right side of their offensive line.  Every week it seemed as if a new player was being inserted into the line and there was never any consistency.  As a result of this, Michael Vick was forced to run for his life far too many times and took an unnecessary amount of extra hits throughout the season. And it showed.  Late in the season Vick became really banged up whether it was a thigh contusion or an ankle injury, etc. something was always prohibiting him from playing at 100%.  Winston Justice and King Dunlap both spent time at RT last season and Nick Cole and Max Jean-Gilles fluctuated at RG.  There is no doubt in my mind that Vick rarely had confidence that his blindside would be protected for the majority of the 2010 season, and solidifying the right side would increase his production tremendously.  This season, rookie RG and 1st round pick Danny Watkins is projected to be the starting RG and fill that hole in the line immediately.  Following a small absence from training camp at Lehigh after the lockout because of a contract negotiation, Watkins has looked solid at the guard position, but not without the usual rookie faults.  Overall though, Watkins should be solid enough to hold down the position (barring injury) all season for the Eagles.  The right tackle position on the other hand...not so stable. At least for now.  Winston Justice is still rehabbing and getting into game shape, but even so, is he the best solution at RT?  The team signed Ryan Harris away from the Broncos a few weeks ago and he looked good in the team's first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens but he was unable to play in the second preseason game against the Steelers because of back spasms.  The aforementioned King Dunlap  started against the Steelers this past week and by many accounts looked fine at RT.  The team is saying Dunlap is the starter as of this very moment, but the position battle is clearly still open.  I have a very hard time believing Dunlap will be the starter for the majority of the season because A) he does not fit new offensive line coach Howard Mudd's size and skill set for RT and B) he has frequent health problems.  Ryan Harris, if his back checks out fine, has much more upside and makes more sense for the Eagles to employ at RT this season.  He is a more complete tackle than both Justice and Dunlap and his size and speed are a much better fit for Mudd's blocking style.  The Eagles right side of the line will look very different once again this season, but they'll need to keep a consistent line intact if they want to protect their franchise QB Michael Vick. Especially on his blindside.

No comments:

Post a Comment