Did We Switch Oher To Lt Too Quickly?

[CNC]

I honestly don't think he's ready, he hasn't been too good at LT like he was at RT last year. I jnow eventually he was forced to the blindside with Gaither's injury. But the decision to switch him was made before that. We miss Gaither more than we want to admit,

[Moderator 3]

We really had no choice. Gaither was unreliable (too many games missed due to injury) and we needed a stable line. Putting Oher at LT was a "must". Moving Oher from right to left to right was not good for anyone as it left both sides unstable. He will get better with more experience.

[BloodRaven]

The move was out of necessity more than an indication that he was ready, Gaither was/is a far better LT but with all his injuries for all we know his best years could be behind him.

[Rinbee]

Question is, do we give Oher time to grow into the position? Draft another o-lineman next year? Sign Gaither to a minimum investment contract with incentives -- given injuries and his desire to stay a Raven? I think som of our offensive problems can be attributed to an ineffective OL, but can we fix that in house or do we need to spend a draft pick or look for FA's?

[AsianRice]

[quote name='Rinbee' timestamp='1291818644' post='567012']
Question is, do we give Oher time to grow into the position? Draft another o-lineman next year? Sign Gaither to a minimum investment contract with incentives -- given injuries and his desire to stay a Raven? I think som of our offensive problems can be attributed to an ineffective OL, but can we fix that in house or do we need to spend a draft pick or look for FA's?
[/quote]
If Gaithers didn't ask for big contract, minimal contract is good if he accepts it, but his agent will say no...

[FerrariFan87]

We've gotta keep Gaither. He should be healthy next season and he wants to be a Raven. He is really missed this season.

[ravensfan160]

Oher played left tackle in college (except for his freshman year if I remember correctly) so he's really back to his natural position.

[Twistidfunk]

Oher has done a great job I think. No player is perfect but more often than not Oher does a great job. When he doesn't it is a glaring mistake....as it goes with linemen.

[Ravensfan23]

Oher clearly haven't done as good of a job at LT as Gaither didn't in his 2 seasons there. However like was mentioned before, Gaither wasn't reliable because of injuries. That's where most fans made the mistake this offseason, they thought Gaither was moved to RT because of performance or because Oher was this stud LT. No it was because of injury concerns.

If Gaither is resigned i don't think it's a clear cut as, giving Oher time to become an really good LT. I personally think the Ravens offensive coaches will have to sit down and evaluate the LT position and maybe even have Gaither and Oher compete.

It might seem funny for me to be saying that Gaither is the better LT of the two, seeing as how Oher is one of the leading vote getters for the Pro Bowl this year. However i think the movie Blindside has a lot to do with that.

[Ravensfan23]

Oher clearly haven't done as good of a job at LT as Gaither didn't in his 2 seasons there. However like was mentioned before, Gaither wasn't reliable because of injuries. That's where most fans made the mistake this offseason, they thought Gaither was moved to RT because of performance or because Oher was this stud LT. No it was because of injury concerns.

If Gaither is resigned i don't think it's a clear cut as, giving Oher time to become an really good LT. I personally think the Ravens offensive coaches will have to sit down and evaluate the LT position and maybe even have Gaither and Oher compete.

It might seem funny for me to be saying that Gaither is the better LT of the two, seeing as how Oher is one of the leading vote getters for the Pro Bowl this year. However i think the movie Blindside has a lot to do with that.

[TSizzle00]

Seems like the entire Oline has taken a step back in pass blocking and run blocking.

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

I think we did it too soon, but it was a necessary move anyway. I think that had we moved Yanda out to LT or started Cousins, we would have taken another step back. Having Gaither back makes that line so much better.

Oher to LT was the best of a bad, necessary choice of options.

[Ravenslifer]

Well remember, Gaither had the advantage of playing behind guys like Ogden and Flynn, and 2008 was his first year as a starter. This is Oher's second year, same year Gaither switched. Gaither also had the advantage of guys like Willie Anderson and Adam Terry, guys who had experience playing in the league. The line as a whole isn't solid, so it's hard to blame one guy even if maybe he's not ready to play the positon. With Gaither in there, Yanda back at guard, and a heathy Heap, things might look different.

[scrock]

[quote name='Rinbee' timestamp='1291818644' post='567012']
Question is, do we give Oher time to grow into the position? Draft another o-lineman next year? Sign Gaither to a minimum investment contract with incentives -- given injuries and his desire to stay a Raven? I think som of our offensive problems can be attributed to an ineffective OL, but can we fix that in house or do we need to spend a draft pick or look for FA's?
[/quote]

Gaither said he wants to stay a Raven, I say we sign him as our LT, move Oher back to RT....last year our O-line was much better, especially in the run game

[reediddy]

I think I was spoiled by our OL play last year.

Gaither, Grubbs, Birk, Yanda, Oher

That is one mean OL

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

[quote name='scrock' timestamp='1291837486' post='567258']
Gaither said he wants to stay a Raven, I say we sign him as our LT, move Oher back to RT....last year our O-line was much better, especially in the run game
[/quote]

The problem witht that is that we have to pay Gaither so much more money to play at LT. Oher has more upside in that his commitment and general attitude seems to show he will be potentially a much better player at LT in the long run, more worthy of the money.

[McBoller]

Oher has done a decent job at LT, but I just dont think he's cut out for it at this level. His feet arent quick enough and he's constantly cheating on pass protection. He's a little on the short side for a LT and doesnt have the reach or hand size of Gaither. I think we were set with our line last year. If Gaither could stay healthy and we put our line back to gaither-grubbs-birk-yanda-oher we'd be MONEY right now.

[Zeus]

[quote name='CNC' timestamp='1291811441' post='566976']
I honestly don't think he's ready, he hasn't been too good at LT like he was at RT last year. I jnow eventually he was forced to the blindside with Gaither's injury. But the decision to switch him was made before that. We miss Gaither more than we want to admit,
[/quote]


I would have to agree with you, I like Oher but I cant stand to see another offside. It seems that every single game he gets at least 2 offside penaltys. That is high school stuff and is unacceptable at the professional level.

[JohnJohnson]

The problem is that Gaither is always injured. If we rely on him it's likely that we'll find ourselves in this position later.

[purple.n.black]

[quote name='Ravensfan23' timestamp='1291833366' post='567201']
It might seem funny for me to be saying that Gaither is the better LT of the two, seeing as how Oher is one of the leading vote getters for the Pro Bowl this year. However i think the movie Blindside has a lot to do with that.
[/quote]
Yeah I really don't understand that. I believe he is #2 among tackles in votes. I guess having a movie about him (that was made before he ever played an NFL game) contributes to most of that. I just hope that he continues to work hard and try to progress, and not think "oh now I am a Pro Bowler, no need to get better"

[purple.n.black]

[quote name='Rinbee' timestamp='1291818644' post='567012']
Question is, do we give Oher time to grow into the position? Draft another o-lineman next year? Sign Gaither to a minimum investment contract with incentives -- given injuries and his desire to stay a Raven? I think som of our offensive problems can be attributed to an ineffective OL, but can we fix that in house or do we need to spend a draft pick or look for FA's?
[/quote]
I think an entire season of rest will help keep Gaither healthy for next season, and we have a chance to retain him. I would not be surprised though that if we had a chance to get a pretty good, much more reliable tackle without a hefty price tag that we would pull the trigger.

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

I think the best LT to go against FREENEY, is Oher. He may prove his worth in the playoffs should we get there, because I am pretty sure Manning won't let the Jags win this division. Therefore, it is possible we will eventually see them Indy Irsays!

[scrock]

If Gaither wants to stay a Raven and can get healthy, I'm sure they could work something out. Oher is on his rookie deal and once that runs out they can pay him RT money and give Gaither something that suites both sides. Gaither should get an incentive laden contract, one where is he meets certain criteria extra bonuses come into play, that way there should be no worries over his work ethic. Honestly, I never had any issues with him, he played great when he was out there which was most of the time. I can't remember any major injury other than his back this year.

Gaither has shut down Freeney before..Oher isnt the only one who can do that.

[gopurpleandblack]

I'd like to see us keep Gaither if possible. Sure, he has had injury problems in the past, but seeing as he loves the Ravens and is a local guy, I think we should give him a chance to stay healthy. When healthy, Gaither is a stud.
Also, I think we should draft another offensive lineman this year, most likely in the later rounds. It's always good to have talented big bodies around in the NFL, especially since our two future Tight Ends, Pitta and Dickson, are a little undersized for blocking.