Slauson...
Michael
said other than the time he got beat by Ngata for the sack, Slauson
had an excellent game. I saw him get destroyed by Ngata that one time
and I also saw him hold Ngata off a few times. I did not see Slauson
do anything of note as far as blasting holes. The only guy I saw that
destroyed one of the Ravens DT's on a run block was Moore. I need to
go back and watch Slauson.
John C TX
Slauson did spring someone on a run when he pulled. He just doesn't
have the feet of Faneca.
John C TX
> On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:31:14 -0700 (PDT), Michael <mjd1...@verizon.net> wrote:
A last look at last Sunday (maybe)
Arizona Cardinals update:
The Cardinals were accused of living in the past when they signed
guard Alan Faneca last spring. The conventional wisdom was that
Faneca , a 12-year veteran, was not the same player he was with the
Steelers when Ken Whisenhunt and assistant head coach Russ Grimm were
there.
While Faneca might not be the player he once was, he showed last
Sunday in St. Louis why Whisenhunt and Grimm were anxious to bring him
to Arizona.
The Cardinals rushed for 112 yards on 21 carries (a 5.3-yard average),
and Faneca had a lot to do with it. At 33, he proved he's still agile
enough to pull and be an effective lead blocker. By my count, Faneca
pulled on 9 of the 20 called called runs (Derek Anderson scrambled
once). He pulled both right and left. When he pulled left, the tight
end and tackle Levi Brown blocked down.
On those nine plays, the Cardinals gained 78 yards and scored a
touchdown. A disclaimer: I'm not saying Faneca was responsible for all
those yards. Other good blocks were made, and running backs Tim
Hightower and LaRod Stephens-Howling made good reads.
But Faneca hit someone on almost every one of those plays. And the
threat of Faneca pulling allowed runners to bounce to the back side.
In the 76-yard TD drive, Stephens-Howling followed Faneca twice. On
the next play, Faneca pulled right and Tim Hightower took the play to
the left and found open space for a 19-yard gain.
Faneca was one of the team's most consistent pass blockers on Sunday,
too. He lost on a bull rush once and failed to pick up a stunt once.
But he was steady.
Granted, this is one game. The challenge for any player, especially
one who is 33, is do it over 16 games. But it was a good start.
The weak link in the line was right tackle Brandon Keith, who
struggled to block Chris Long most of the day. Keith was susceptible
to inside moves and became off-balance, allowing Long to knock him to
the side.
But mostly, the offensive line did a solid job of protecting.
Hightower and Stephens-Howling were decent at blitz pickups. Hightower
went the wrong way once, which resulted in pressure on Derek Anderson.
The Rams were able to get to Anderson because they almost always sent
more rushers than the Cardinals had blockers. Anderson was not
accurate in most of those situations, especially when he tried to
throw to Larry Fitzgerald. Clearly, this is a scheme the Cardinals are
going to see a lot of unless Anderson can make blitzing teams pay. He
started to do that in the second half by finding Steve Breaston.
Michael
no question faneca can still contribute. though, where faneca is
going to have a harder and harder time keeping up given his age, a
young guy like slauson or vlad has it all in front of them. slauson/
vlad will not be they type of run blocker that hof g faneca is/was,
but it is a move in the right direction... who knows for sure why the
jets did not hold on to him longer. for right now, giving up TJ is
the move that lookes to have been the worst.
MZ
> inside. TJ got most of his yards, last season, after opposing defenses were worn down.
> I like Greene, but he's still a wildcard, with the fumbles & injury history.
> The problem to me, was giving up on Leon, getting next to nothing for him, and betting on
> McKnight.
> The Faneca move, in retrospect, makes no sense to me, since his replacements are gambles.
> I'd have preferred keeping Faneca, drafting Ducasse to learn under him, then next season
> moving from Faneca. But again, that's in retrospect.
As Carl has said before, gotta pick one. Keep either Washington or
Jones. Can't let both go at the same time. That appears to be the mistake.
Harlan Lachman
buRford <buR...@buR.ford.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:47:36 -0700 (PDT), Michael <mjd...@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
> I don't see TJ as a bad move. I'd rather have LT, even though he may not be
> as tough
> inside. TJ got most of his yards, last season, after opposing defenses were
> worn down.
> I like Greene, but he's still a wildcard, with the fumbles & injury history.
> The problem to me, was giving up on Leon, getting next to nothing for him,
> and betting on
> McKnight.
> The Faneca move, in retrospect, makes no sense to me, since his replacements
> are gambles.
> I'd have preferred keeping Faneca, drafting Ducasse to learn under him, then
> next season
> moving from Faneca. But again, that's in retrospect.
I liked all three moves then and now. I liked them from a value
perspective. I still like them from a future perspective. I like them
from a production perspective.
Slauson got beat once and Faneca twice although which one played the
better D team. Faneca's team got more rushing yards but we are talking
about the Rams, not the Ravens.
Harlan
MZ
Slauson got "beat" multiple times, if we include plays where he missed
his blocks or was physically dominated by his defender. He may turn out
to be a good player, but he had a bad week 1.