Oher/gaither

[Alexir]

Do you think we should have Mike start at LT and Jared start at RT? I saw Jared struggling a little bit whereas Oher was just dominating the line of scrimmage. Or do you think we should maybe switch them back in forth during a game to keep the defense confused and worn down?

[McBoller]

Thats also a reflection of who they are blocking. Most teams will line up their best end or LB on the LT. Notice how its usually ngata or Suggs on that side for us. Pitt uses Harrison on the LT, etc, etc.

[Alexir]

I just believe Oher would be a better LT than Jared is now. Jared gets a lot of flags thrown his way.

[Ed_Reed20]

The team NEEDS Oher at RT. He's a mauler and most runs go to the right side in the NFL.

[20ravens52]

I also believe that Gaither is the better pass blocker. That's why he is on the blindside. It is perfect the way it is now.

[MagicianCamille]

Don't rock the 38-point boat.

[Bltravens]

Ya and neither one of them are complete T's anyway, this is still only Gaithers 2nd starting season, so switching them up might hinder his development. Gaither is so massive that once he gets his kinks worked out there wont be too many guys that he cant handle. Also I dont know if it would confuse a defense scheme wise, but the DE lining up might be like what the heck is Oher/Gaither doing on my side, even then its nothing advantageous.

[Perfekt]

wow sometimes the comments i see on here amaze me to no end.

if it isnt broke dont fix it. i think the way we have it is great because we have both sides locked down for flacco.

[Alexir]

It is just that we drafted Oher, who has played Left Tackle since high school, so maybe he should get the nod or atleast rotate between the two between games or during games. It would throw off the defenses strategy too. Gaither played majority of his snaps at Right tackle in college. Something as simple as switching them from the positions would really throw off a defenses rhythm especially in a no huddle situation.

[Numatic]

we'll see whats broken when we play someone who isnt dead last in sacks and we had plenty of penalties against them then again it was just the first week

[Perfekt]

i understand where he is coming from with his question but i like them lined up they way they are right now. this team always gets penaltys and im sure that gaithers is not the only one guilty cuz if cousins was on the line we would be set back from the start.

[slayback0317]

I think there both fine where they are at. You have a 1st year starter and a 2nd year starter they will get better then they are now and there already good so pro bowls nods for both down the road in my opinion.

[Ravnet]

[quote name='Alexir' date='14 September 2009 - 02:54 PM' timestamp='1252954484' post='234821']
Do you think we should have Mike start at LT and Jared start at RT? I saw Jared struggling a little bit whereas Oher was just dominating the line of scrimmage. Or do you think we should maybe switch them back in forth during a game to keep the defense confused and worn down?
[/quote]

Switch them back and forth? I doubt that is even remotely feasible as Oher is still, and will be for awhile longer, adjusting from moving over to right tackle as he anchored the left side in college.

They should be kept at their respective positions for the entire season, and then an evaluation should be made.

That being said, if Gaither takes a big step backward, and Oher dominates his guys, then a switch would probably be appropriate come mid-season; that situation is highly doubtful, though, as Jared has put in some serious work this summer.

[samic]

Guys, we put up over 500 yards of total offense, the run game was dominant and Flacco had a ton of time to throw while being sacked only once. Nothing is wrong with our O-line. Jared had like one penalty I think. He is going to be fine. I think our line played phenomenal football, dominating the line of scrimmage. Remember it is only the first game. Let the guys settle in.

[WinnipegRaven]

Who was the guy Gaither was matched up against for most of the game?

[Alexir]

You guys keep harping about the 500 yards of offense. Its great. But we are playing the Chargers on sunday and there pass rush is completely different than the Chiefs. Also Oher, in both pre season and training camp. took snaps at both LT and RT. I really think we will have to run a no huddle to beat the Chargers defense and if we interchange our Tackles, the defense will be confused and might have to realign for favorable match ups or call an audible which would benefit our drives.

I think our O-Line did a great job and we will probably have some Pro Bowlers this year but like I said its the chiefs.

[Ravnet]

[quote name='Alexir' date='14 September 2009 - 04:28 PM' timestamp='1252960086' post='234897']if we interchange our Tackles, the defense will be confused and might have to realign for favorable match ups or call an audible which would benefit our drives.[/quote]

Have you ever seen a team ordering its players to switch positions every other series? That is a recipe for total disaster.

Just because something makes sense in principle doesn't mean that it translates into actual practice.

[mhead66]

You, of course, can't rate Oher on his first career start.

Having said that, he and Gaither did okay in pass protection, only giving up one sack - given that it was the Chiefs, who set the record for least sacks in a 16 game season last year.

The Chargers with Merriman will present a stiffer challenge, but that's part of the learning curve.

Baptism by fire.

[Alexir]

[quote name='Ravnet' date='14 September 2009 - 04:34 PM' timestamp='1252960468' post='234905']
Have you ever seen a team ordering its players to switch positions every other series? That is a recipe for total disaster.

Just because something makes sense in principle doesn't mean that it translates into actual practice.
[/quote]

It is just as similar as bringing in Willie Anderson to have that heavy left/right side we had last year.

It is just as similar as rotating out our D-line to keep them fresh.

I will actually make a wager that before this season is over, we will see this in a game.

[REEDrulesall]

As the season goes on, Gaither and Oher will probably rotate some. During preseason, Oher was basically our second-string LT, and if the coaching staff thinks it'll help the offense, they won't hesitate to do it. So far, though, all we can do is wait and see. Even though we did play the Chiefs, the fact that we could do so well offensively against anyone is a very good sign. We just have a few mistakes to mop us before we play SD.

[RavensClaw52]

I see them staying where they are. The only time I can see Oher at LT is if Gaither is injured

[PuRock]

Worse comes to worse, we could always plug in Onel Cousins if Gaither or Oher become injured. We did keep this guy around with some purpose. Although if it comes to this, I'd rather shoot myself.

We also have Tony Moll.

[BaltimoreRavens88]

I don't know if other people saw this but in the beginning of the game Cam had an unbalanced line with Gaither on the left side with Oher next to him, and heap on the right side, and they actually passed out of that formation So, don't be surprised if they move Oher around a lot, he's a beast.

[lowrider]

The Ravens obviously show a lot of confidence in Gaither at left tackle. He has a little more experience and size than Oher. I wouldn't switch Gaither and Oher this year because they would mean Gaither would have to learn the right tackle position. It's just more work than anything else to switch the two. Don't forget that Gaither only gave up 3 sacks last year. And that was against the best in the league. He is good. Very good.

[macbrak]

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Ditto on rotating them. Its nice to have some comfortable depth and two possible starting left tackles, that doesn't mean we should get them out of their comfort zone.