O-Line Depth Chart

[ellicottraven]

This has been an issue of consternation for a while now. Will Michael Oher be LT or will he be moved to RT. Will Jah Reid start at RT? Will Gaither be resigned and move back to his original LT position? Will Yanda be resigned and move back to OG? Will Chester be back? Will he back up Birk at Center? Who is available at LT in free agency that fits our regime? All these questions and more with few answers.

Give me your ideal O-line positions and the likelihood of that happening. Also, state who will be your wild card on the O-line.

[Blex64]

LT - Gaither
LG - Grubbs
C - Birk
RG - Yanda
RT - Oher

I think this is going to be the consensus you'll get from pretty much everyone.

Everything revolves around Gaither. Does he want to come back? Does the FO want him back? Are they going to give him a contract he's going to accept with his questionable status?

Assuming he leaves, we'll either sign another Tackle in FA, or end up with Oher starting on the left and probably Reid at the right. If not Reid, then Yanda at RT and Chester at RG...which is not what anyone wants (I don't think).

Harewood has the possibility of producing as well.

[The Raven]

I want Oher at LT and Reid at RT. Yanda is a top priority to resign, and I believe that he will. Chester should be signed to a one year deal until we find a new center, and backup guards. I really do wonder why Ozzie and co. decided to have such little depth at OL. Who would have played center if Birk went down? Chester? No thanks. We need to fing depth on the interior. OL depth is crucial. I really want us to sign an undrafted center AS SOON AS WE CAN. We need a center badly.

I want the depth chart to look like this

LT : Oher, Harewood
LG : Grubbs, Chester/Moll/FA
C : Birk, Chester/UDFA
RG : Yanda, Cousins/FA
RT : Reid, Harewood, Cousins

So, in case you noticed, Gaither is not returning. I don't think we'd move up for a RT if we wanted to resign Gaither.

One idea I want to explore is the possibility of Oniel Cousins being moved to guard. I think his aggression and run blocking abilities would be well suited inside while disguising his lack of pass blocking ability.

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

[quote name='Blex64' timestamp='1309201846' post='701384']
LT - Gaither
LG - Grubbs
C - Birk
RG - Yanda
RT - Oher

I think this is going to be the consensus you'll get from pretty much everyone.

Everything revolves around Gaither. Does he want to come back? Does the FO want him back? Are they going to give him a contract he's going to accept with his questionable status?

Assuming he leaves, we'll either sign another Tackle in FA, or end up with Oher starting on the left and probably Reid at the right. If not Reid, then Yanda at RT and Chester at RG...which is not what anyone wants (I don't think).

Harewood has the possibility of producing as well.
[/quote]

This. I really hope Gaither re-signs, so much of our offensive potential is lost when he leaves the line-up. (like we saw last year)

[Blex64]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1309201873' post='701385']
I want Oher at LT and Reid at RT. Yanda is a top priority to resign, and I believe that he will. Chester should be signed to a one year deal until we find a new center, and backup guards. I really do wonder why Ozzie and co. decided to have such little depth at OL. Who would have played center if Birk went down? Chester? No thanks. We need to fing depth on the interior. OL depth is crucial. I really want us to sign an undrafted center AS SOON AS WE CAN. We need a center badly.

I want the depth chart to look like this

LT : Oher, Harewood
LG : Grubbs, Chester/Moll/FA
C : Birk, Chester/UDFA
RG : Yanda, Cousins/FA
RT : Reid, Harewood, Cousins

So, in case you noticed, Gaither is not returning. I don't think we'd move up for a RT if we wanted to resign Gaither.

One idea I want to explore is the possibility of Oniel Cousins being moved to guard. I think his aggression and run blocking abilities would be well suited inside while disguising his lack of pass blocking ability.
[/quote]

We'd move up for a RT if we thought he was worth the trade, and that he was the best player on the board. We drafted Rice with McGahee in front of him and McClain with O'Neil in front of him (just to name a couple), current personnel at the position is not the number one factor on our draft board.

Our line is its strongest with Gaither. Its ultimately his decision on whether or not he wants to play with us or is willing to work with us, but there's no question that he makes our team better. I don't think drafting Reid indicates were giving up on him, more like an insurance policy, especially with his injury concerns.

[stm85]

I'd like to see us sign Tyson Clabo, and I think we can do it. The Falcons have a number of linemen hitting free agency and only so much money with them likely to break the bank for Ray Edwards. He is a player that we can plug in at RT immediately, allowing Reid some time to develop. I think Oher will be fine at LT, people forget he is only going into his 3rd year. He may have struggled at times last year but at other times he looked very good. He just needs more experience. I'd also like to see us sign Jake Kirkpatrick from TCU at center. Here is my ideal depth chart:

LT: Oher, Cousins
LG: Grubbs, Chester
C: Birk, Kirkpatrick
RG: Yanda, Moll
RT: Clabo, Reid, Harewood

[Sunday QB]

[quote name='ellicottraven' timestamp='1309198658' post='701364']
This has been an issue of consternation for a while now. Will Michael Oher be LT or will he be moved to RT. Will Jah Reid start at RT? Will Gaither be resigned and move back to his original LT position? Will Yanda be resigned and move back to OG? Will Chester be back? Will he back up Birk at Center? Who is available at LT in free agency that fits our regime? All these questions and more with few answers.

Give me your ideal O-line positions and the likelihood of that happening. Also, state who will be your wild card on the O-line.
[/quote]

[font="Comic Sans MS"]I would like to see free agent LT Matt Light or move Oher to LT and bring in RT Tyson Clabo. Also if Yanda goes we could get Harvey Dahl to Join our O-Line. Your thoughts[/font]

[ellicottraven]

[quote name='Sunday QB' timestamp='1309227745' post='701579']
[font="Comic Sans MS"]I would like to see free agent LT Matt Light or move Oher to LT and bring in RT Tyson Clabo. Also if Yanda goes we could get Harvey Dahl to Join our O-Line. Your thoughts[/font]
[/quote]
Matt Light may be too expensive and the Patriots will keep him. While I like Oher at LT, we may be better off if we resign Gaither. The only reason Oher may not be a great LT fit is his size and arm length. Where toughness and quickness are concerned he may be our best tackle! He will be the best RT in the league.
The way I would like to see our depth chart

LT - Gaither, Oher, Harewood
LG - Grubbs, FA, Cousins, Moll/Chester?
C - Birk, Free agent, UDFA, Chester?
RG - Yanda, Cousins, FA, Moll/Chester?
RT - Oher, Reid, Harewood

[izvoodoo]

I'm kind of fed up with the gaither talk. As good as he was in 09, if he lost 30 lbs to ease the strain on his back, and then missed the entire season with a back injury, I'm not certain he'll be able to play at his 340 weight, which is where he has to be to be effective.

If he hadn't missed last season, I'd have definitely resigned him, I don't care about his work ethic, but I don't want to take snaps away from Oher if Gaither goes down again.

EDIT:
And for the last time, michael oher has longer arms than Jake Long and Joe THomas.

Clearly arm length is NOt the problem.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1309229002' post='701583']
I'm kind of fed up with the gaither talk. As good as he was in 09, [b]if he lost 30 lbs to ease the strain on his back[/b], and then missed the entire season with a back injury, I'm not certain he'll be able to play at his 340 weight, which is where he has to be to be effective.

If he hadn't missed last season, I'd have definitely resigned him, I don't care about his work ethic, but I don't want to take snaps away from Oher if Gaither goes down again.

EDIT:
And for the last time, michael oher has longer arms than Jake Long and Joe THomas.

Clearly arm length is NOt the problem.
[/quote]

Gaither told the Sun he lost weight to alleviate stress on his toe.

[Sunday QB]

[font="Comic Sans MS"][/font][quote name='ellicottraven' timestamp='1309228422' post='701582']
Matt Light may be too expensive and the Patriots will keep him. While I like Oher at LT, we may be better off if we resign Gaither. The only reason Oher may not be a great LT fit is his size and arm length. Where toughness and quickness are concerned he may be our best tackle! He will be the best RT in the league.
The way I would like to see our depth chart

LT - Gaither, Oher, Harewood
LG - Grubbs, FA, Cousins, Moll/Chester?
C - Birk, Free agent, UDFA, Chester?
RG - Yanda, Cousins, FA, Moll/Chester?
RT - Oher, Reid, Harewood
[/quote]


I see Matt Light being a little costly but we need to keep Joe upright. Other free agents I would consider for the O-line are G Justin Blalock and OT Doug Free. I really like the idea of a nasty lineman in Clabo.

[JO_75]

My Starting O-Line:

LT: Gaither- Brought back on a 2-3 Year Incentive Deal
LG: Grubbs
C: Matt Birk
RG: Yanda- 4 Year Deal
RT: Oher

I would bring in Jake Kirkpatrick or Kris O'Dowd in Training Camp and if they do good to show they can be our future Center, than keep them on the team and we won't have to worry about Michael Brewster in the 2012 Draft.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1309229354' post='701586']
Gaither told the Sun he lost weight to alleviate stress on his toe.
[/quote]
Ah, my bad.
I thought it was for the back.

Either way, if he hits the free market I expect a poorly managed team to pay big money for him. He has a chronic back problem (that one I've read), it's a big problem and makes him a big question mark.

[ellicottraven]

[quote name='Sunday QB' timestamp='1309227745' post='701579']
[font="Comic Sans MS"]I would like to see free agent LT Matt Light or move Oher to LT and bring in RT Tyson Clabo. Also if Yanda goes we could get Harvey Dahl to Join our O-Line. Your thoughts[/font]
[/quote]

I don't know about Matt Light but I like your line up if we can make it happen!

[Ravensfan23]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1309201873' post='701385']
I want Oher at LT and Reid at RT. Yanda is a top priority to resign, and I believe that he will. Chester should be signed to a one year deal until we find a new center, and backup guards. [b]I really do wonder why Ozzie and co. decided to have such little depth at OL. Who would have played center if Birk went down? Chester? No thanks. We need to fing depth on the interior. OL depth is crucial. [/b]I really want us to sign an undrafted center AS SOON AS WE CAN. We need a center badly.

I want the depth chart to look like this

LT : Oher, Harewood
LG : Grubbs, Chester/Moll/FA
C : Birk, Chester/UDFA
RG : Yanda, Cousins/FA
RT : Reid, Harewood, Cousins

So, in case you noticed, Gaither is not returning. I don't think we'd move up for a RT if we wanted to resign Gaither.

One idea I want to explore is the possibility of Oniel Cousins being moved to guard. I think his aggression and run blocking abilities would be well suited inside while disguising his lack of pass blocking ability.
[/quote]

It's one thing to have depth, it's another to have quality depth. Potential starters aren't just falling out trees.

Over the last 3-4 years the Ravens have brought in plenty of undrafted or 1st year, 2nd year players to provide depth at the C/OG position.

Names like, Robby Felix, David Hale, Daniel Sanders and some others.

I have not doubt that the Ravens will go out and bring in a couple of undrafted rookies to provide depth to the interior line.