(07-27-2019, 07:53 PM)The Real Marty Wrote: I wonder how much of the decline in his yards per carry, and the offense in general, can be attributed to the fact that we lost about 12 offensive linemen to injury last year.  

It's like nobody remembers this.  Columnists, fans, no one, seems to remember we lost almost our whole offensive line last year plus multiple backups.  By the end of the season, we were signing guys off the street and starting them.  Folks, that's the difference between 10-6 and a deep playoff run and 5-11.  That's it.  That's the whole story as far as I'm concerned.  

And people keep saying stuff like, "I hope our offensive line can play better this year."  Well, DUH.  We're getting 4 starting offensive linemen back.  And multiple backups.  Of course our offensive line will play better.


The media was oh too happy to start piping out I told you so articles about the teams boisterous style. The facts would only get in the way. It's no coincidence that thru week 4 the team looked like they were picking up right where they left off. You are correct in saying that losing an entire unit might have a huge effect on the W/L column however it didn't stop there. Don't forget that several running backs went down as well, including the bell cow. The cumulative affect of these injuries on a team that was built to run and hide a mediocre qb cannot be understated. The team actually stuck with and paid Blake handsomely bcuz they were counting on those pieces to be there for him to continue to just manage the offense. They knew he was not the one to put the team on his shoulders. The only thing that last year proved once and for all is that the team won inspite of Blake and not because of him the year prior.