All three interior line positions need to be addressed. It will take both FA and the draft to get it accomplished.

To get the rebuild we are suffering for this simply has to be done.  Meester has played well beyond his functional career.  Rackly had a couple early flashes and has been getting a pass from most of us based on those flashes and hope.  The reality is he is in the same category as Eben Britton, a Gene's Whiffed (again) draft pick.  Nwaneri was adequate for years but it just isn't there now, injuries, time and maybe the new ZBS, have taken their toll.  

 

If you doubt the need to replace all three just check how fast the sacks are happening.  There simply isn't time for any quarterback to go through his reads and go downfield or for receivers to run their routes.  http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/544...iders-loss

 

You don't even need a stopwatch, just give the Jag offense the eye test in comparison to other teams, pro or college.  This isn't something new to this year.  The only thing new is that it just took another big negative step and we all have had the chance to see that it wasn't just Gabbert because things looked the same with Henne.  

 

I would love to see someone like Bridgewater but I don't want to see us make that costly of an investment without giving him protection.  We have had too many quarterback injuries and failures behind this line to take the chance.  Let's not forget the consequences of David Garrard's injury for Gabbert's career.  For a guy supposed to be afraid of his own shadow he is spending a lot of time out with injuries.  We can't do this with a pick like Bridgewater.

 

We have clung to far too many barely serviceable players for years and now it is really killing us on the interior of the offensive line, and therefore the whole offensive effort.  It is time to do next year on the offensive line what was done on the defensive backfield this year.  Take Bridgewater if he is there then draft for the line.  If we can't draft three OL then sign journeymen free agents until the draft process catches up and replaces them in the future.  We simply have to get a whole new interior line.

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I'm totally over Rackley and Nwaneri.  Injuries have taken their toll and they never seem to be healthy.  I wonder if either is capable of even average performance.   They've both been absolutely horrible the past two weeks.  

 

I wonder if the newly signed McClendon is any good?  

 

Brewster is definitely NOT the answer at guard or center IMO. 

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It'll be through both the draft and free agency.  That's the obvious question.  I don't think any help is on the way for this season, and also I'm looking for the line to get a little better as the year goes on.  They switched to a zone blocking scheme this offseason and I think the transition hasn't been completed yet.  Traps and pulling guards were always the way we were so good running the ball.  That's why Manuwai was so good at LG, he was athletic enough to pull and get to the next level.  Position's been lacking since he was gone.  Uche was always just OK and I don't expect much from him.  As far as old man Meester, I think there just weren't any other options, which is a sad thought by itself.

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 As far as old man Meester, I think there just weren't any other options, which is a sad thought by itself.

 

Man, how bad must John Estes have really been.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

The backups being groomed today are G/C Brewster, G McClendon, T/G Pasztor, and G Nowak.  Unfortunately, I don't see any of these guys being the future solid answers at any of the 3 needed interior spots. The OLine has got to be fixed next year, to give any QB or RB a chance.  The good news is interior line spots can be found in free agency without busting the bank.  The top draft rounds have got to be used to find a pass rush and someone to sling the rock.  A combination of mid-late draft plus free agency can provide a fix.   

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What are we going to do at Guard/Center? Draft? F/A? Would like to hear some opinions on this.

 

 

There are NO positions that the Jaguars couldn't improve at, except maybe kicker and one of the OT positions, and even Scobee isn't nearly the best kicker in the league.

 

Every position on the entire roster needs upgrading.  Every one.

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There are NO positions that the Jaguars couldn't improve at, except maybe kicker and one of the OT positions, and even Scobee isn't nearly the best kicker in the league.

 

Every position on the entire roster needs upgrading.  Every one.

Pretty much agree with this. 

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Uche has always been iffy.  always.  he'll completely dominate one play.  whiff on the next.  his whole career.  give me a guy that doesnt dominate, but just gets in his defenders way 100% of the time over a guy that pancakes a defender one play, whiffs on the next.

 

Rackley is awful.

 

Meester, bless his heart, is just old.

 

Think about how little turnover we've had the last few years on the line and think how bad its been this whole time.  Its not a coincidence.  The talent just isnt good.  Get rid of the entire interior.  

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Scouting well is all that matters.  Draft philosophy is all fluff.

Our line in general just seems very small for an NFL line as well. 

 

Uche is listed at 310, but looks like he's 290.  I don't know if he lost weight or what, but he doesn't look anything like 310 when you see him standing next to the 49ers players during the London photoshoots.

 

Meester is like 290.

 

Joeckel is like 305.

 

Rackley is like 310.

 

Monroe is like 305.

 

And people wonder why we get driven backwards.  Monroe is built, but at 305 he's smaller than all of the top 10 paid tackles in the league by a wide margin.  They range between 315 and 340.   Rackley just sucks, and the other 3 are tiny.  Hopefully Joeckel can bulk up his upper body and gain 10-15 pounds. If not, he's going to struggle in the NFL.

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I think we can get by with Rackley and Nwaneri, they are good player but are just playing banged up.  However Meester HAS GOT TO GO!  I don't know what their plan is for center with either moving Nwaneri there and picking up another guard or just getting a new center in FA or draft but either way they cant move on with Meester under center.  If it was up to me I would cut him now, he is a huge liability but unfortunately we have 0 depth and O-Line.

 

Meester's actually the best of the three, and it's not close.  That's how bad it is.

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"You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud."

Our line in general just seems very small for an NFL line as well. 

 

Uche is listed at 310, but looks like he's 290.  I don't know if he lost weight or what, but he doesn't look anything like 310 when you see him standing next to the 49ers players during the London photoshoots.

 

Meester is like 290.

 

Joeckel is like 305.

 

Rackley is like 310.

 

Monroe is like 305.

 

And people wonder why we get driven backwards.  Monroe is built, but at 305 he's smaller than all of the top 10 paid tackles in the league by a wide margin.  They range between 315 and 340.   Rackley just sucks, and the other 3 are tiny.  Hopefully Joeckel can bulk up his upper body and gain 10-15 pounds. If not, he's going to struggle in the NFL.

 

 

Did a quick search on the tackles and theyre all in the 310-320 range. Monroe is much leaner than all of them so I dont see 5-10 lbs being much of an issue, especially because mobility is valued in a zone blocking scheme. 

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Did a quick search on the tackles and theyre all in the 310-320 range. Monroe is much leaner than all of them so I dont see 5-10 lbs being much of an issue, especially because mobility is valued in a zone blocking scheme. 

 

I'm not worried about being lean.  He lacks mass.  And it's not even him I'm worried about as opposed to our other 4 offensive linemen.

 

Top 10 paid tackles:

 

Ryan Clady: 315

Joe Thomas: 312

Jason Peters: 328

Brandon Albert: 316

Russell Okung: 310

Trent Williams: 325

Michael Roos: 313

Andrew Whitworth: 335

Levi Brown: 324

Donald Penn: 340

 

Average Top 10 Left Tackles weigh 322 pounds.  Monroe is 15 pounds underweight and he's our biggest lineman.  That's my point. 

 

EDIT:  Upon further research, Eugene Monroe is the 6th smallest starting LT in the league... Our biggest lineman.

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I'm not worried about being lean.  He lacks mass.  And it's not even him I'm worried about as opposed to our other 4 offensive linemen.

 

Top 10 paid tackles:

 

Ryan Clady: 315

Joe Thomas: 312

Jason Peters: 328

Brandon Albert: 316

Russell Okung: 310

Trent Williams: 325

Michael Roos: 313

Andrew Whitworth: 335

Levi Brown: 324

Donald Penn: 340

 

Average Top 10 Left Tackles weigh 322 pounds.  Monroe is 15 pounds underweight and he's our biggest lineman.  That's my point. 

 

Weight is not the problem for the guys at all. They're just not very good. We also run a zone blocking scheme where the players don't need to be huge there are other teams that are actually fairly successful and have guards and centers in the 290s and some in the 280s. 

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Weight is not the problem for the guys at all. They're just not very good. We also run a zone blocking scheme where the players don't need to be huge there are other teams that are actually fairly successful and have guards and centers in the 290s and some in the 280s. 

 

For those guys weight may be the issue.  They are light, but they are slow-footed and play like larger players.  Lighter offensive linemen, in theory, should excel in pass protection and zone blocking.  These guys do neither and get 0 push in the run game.  Its embarrassing to see linebackers stand up our guards.

 

Get me 320 pounders that can play as opposed to 305 pounders that theoretically fit the system.  It sounds like cut blocks will be banned within the next few years anyways.

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It is interesting how the position relevance has changed in the past 10-20 years.  In the past, the interior line was largely thought of as fairly irrelevant, except for the center making line calls, with the tackles getting the attention in keeping the pass rushing LTs, Freeneys, and Bruce Smiths from pressuring the QBs from the outside.  As the interior defensive lineman have gotten bigger, stronger, more athletic, and faster nowadays, the interior offensive linemen have become increasingly more relevant to keep these new age DL off the QB.   

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Meester's actually the best of the three, and it's not close.  That's how bad it is.

 

Unfortunately in this instance, that's like being the tallest midget.

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personally, i nver really understood the love that uche has gotten.  I was suprised when they extended him.  Rackley was a project convert from small school tackle to guard.  You would never expect him to struggle with quickness on the inside and he has frankly.   I know both guys have knees, and that's understandable but in this league playing on the interior you are going to have to play banged up and still be productive, that's life.  I think That the interior of the offensive line has been neglected for far too long.  I think that meester is the only player we have ever taken on the interior of the offensive line in the first two rounds of the draft in this franchises history (that's just off the top of my head, if wrong i am open to enlightement.)  That kind of positional neglect catches up to you over time in the form of an anemic run game and pressure in the QB's lap. 

When a player like Uche is one of you're better lineman then your team is really in trouble. He is awful and is a back up on most teams,  Rackley as well, Meester was solid rock at Center for a long time, but he's gotta go.

 

Look for the Jaguars to have their eyes on Center Bryan Stork from Florida State....This kid is a stud I wouldn't be suprised to see them take him in the 2nd round if he falls that far. The defensive line is in the same boat. Tyson Alualu is a bust, and was probably Gene Smith's biggest failure as a GM. He would be the equal to Rob Meier backing up Big Hen & Marcus yet still he's not on's Rob's level. I'm not sold on Marks & Miller but Rome can't be built in 1 draft.

 

<b>Bridgewater & Stork...lets do this thing right in 2014</b>

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