AZ54 Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 I'm watching the Steelers game against Jacksonville and so far in the first half Faneca's pass protection is not impressing me. I've been on board with the idea of picking him up in FA but his performance right now isn't giving me confidence in signing him. At least twice I've seen him spun around backwards while pass protecting and a few times he's come off his man and to assist the LT and then his man ran in and hurried or sacked Rothleisberger. Of course 30 min is too little time to make a judgment on a player and he was selected to the Pro Bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Jax is kicking Big Bens Butt!! Jacksonville is going to be tough to beat, they are a dangerous team right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Jax is kicking Big Bens Butt!! Jacksonville is going to be tough to beat, they are a dangerous team right now! Oooops, may have spoke too soon, LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 I'm watching the Steelers game against Jacksonville and so far in the first half Faneca's pass protection is not impressing me. I've been on board with the idea of picking him up in FA but his performance right now isn't giving me confidence in signing him. At least twice I've seen him spun around backwards while pass protecting and a few times he's come off his man and to assist the LT and then his man ran in and hurried or sacked Rothleisberger. Of course 30 min is too little time to make a judgment on a player and he was selected to the Pro Bowl. Right, but what impresses me about Alan is his run blocking, not his pass blocking. His pass blocking is under-rated- his run blocking over shadows it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkBomber Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 He also has to compensate for the third string tackle next to him against one of the better defenses in the NFL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ54 Posted January 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Faneca kicked butt in the second half, moved his man all over the field and I don't recall him giving up any ground on any pass rush. Part of his issue in the first half was trying to help their LT but he didn't do that in the second half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Also, I wouldn't evaluate him on just one game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyyle23 Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 He also has to compensate for the third string tackle next to him against one of the better defenses in the NFL. Yeah, Pittsburgh first lost Marvel Smith, then lost Max Starks. Their O line was definitely compensating for the loss of some pretty key pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 It baffles me that people actually want to spend tons of money on a 32 year old guard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkBomber Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 It baffles me that people actually want to spend tons of money on a 32 year old guard... Hes the best available offensive lineman by a landslide. He can be brought in and have an immediate impact. Also, by watching him last night he would be able to help a rookie LT and shore up that side of the line for a few more years. Even if you only get 2-3 years of dominant play from him and he slows down after that its still worth it to not have to worry about the position for a while. For as much bitching you do about the O line and claiming that Benson is good he just needs a line where do you think theyre gonna get these young, cheap and great offensive lineman? Hes been the anchor to an offensive line for years that has the same run first mentality we have with lots of success. Theres no way we are gonna be able to draft a whole new offensive line so what better way improve than get the best guy out there. 32 isnt exactly ancient for offensive lineman either. He could play at a high level for 5-6 more years. Look at Rueben Brown. It would also be good to have him be sort of a mentor to whatever young offensive lineman we have. Adding a guy like Faneca and drafting a top prospect LT would have a much bigger impact on our offense then resigning Berrian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyyle23 Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 It baffles me that people actually want to spend tons of money on a 32 year old guard... Many things baffle us about you. Wolfe, Benson, etc. We all baffle each other Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Many things baffle us about you. Wolfe, Benson, etc. We all baffle each other Wolfe? I wish we never drafted him in the first place... but since he will likely be on the roster, might as well us his strengths, which is pass receiver. A hybrid RB/WR. Besides, it would be much smarter to sign Starks then it is to sign Faneca. Starks will be a real good RT for the next 5-7 years at a similar price to Faneca. Faneca has 2, maybe 3. Have Starks at RT and just usually shift the FB or TE over by Tait on the left side to help him out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkBomber Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Wolfe? I wish we never drafted him in the first place... but since he will likely be on the roster, might as well us his strengths, which is pass receiver. A hybrid RB/WR. Besides, it would be much smarter to sign Starks then it is to sign Faneca. Starks will be a real good RT for the next 5-7 years at a similar price to Faneca. Faneca has 2, maybe 3. Have Starks at RT and just usually shift the FB or TE over by Tait on the left side to help him out. We dont need a RT. We need 1 guard and a LT so Tait can shift back. That solves two spots instead of Max Starks who isnt even that great and is playing a position that we dont even really need to fill if we can draft our LT. Shift the tight end and fb to Tait to help out? Are you kidding me. If it was just that simple we would have been doing that all the time. You need a LT to watch your qbs blind side and Tait doesnt cut it over there anymore. The only way to salvage him as a contributer is moving him back to the right side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 we couldn't focus on adding extra support to one side because the whole line was pretty bad. Tait had a bad 1st half but he came on strong in the 2nd half. If we sure up the right side with Starks and Garza/draftee we could leave the left side with Tait and probably Brown (team is very loyal to vets, and Brown can still be average while we develop someone. We could then focus on adding the extra support to the left side then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azbearsfan Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 we couldn't focus on adding extra support to one side because the whole line was pretty bad. Tait had a bad 1st half but he came on strong in the 2nd half. If we sure up the right side with Starks and Garza/draftee we could leave the left side with Tait and probably Brown (team is very loyal to vets, and Brown can still be average while we develop someone. We could then focus on adding the extra support to the left side then. Again if we draft a LT he probably wont be a go the first year. Get one in the draft and let him sit and learn behind Tait so signing a RT short term might be a good choice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkBomber Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 we couldn't focus on adding extra support to one side because the whole line was pretty bad. Tait had a bad 1st half but he came on strong in the 2nd half. If we sure up the right side with Starks and Garza/draftee we could leave the left side with Tait and probably Brown (team is very loyal to vets, and Brown can still be average while we develop someone. We could then focus on adding the extra support to the left side then. So have the exact same starters from opening day this year on the offensive line except Max Starks for Fred Miller? They need a lot more help than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjock Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 So have the exact same starters from opening day this year on the offensive line except Max Starks for Fred Miller? They need a lot more help than that. Drunkbomber, I agree we'd be much better with Faneca, but how much can we spend on the o-line? This 2007 we spent 15 million on Kreutz, Tait, and Miller alone. As hard as it is to find good line-men, there's a damn good chance that even Fred Miller will be back next year. As for our o-line needing a complete over-haul, I disagree that it's that bad. Kreutz is widely reguarded as one of the best in the look. Tait is good, but struggled this season with the high ankle sprain. Garza had a bad year, but should bouce back. The top guards are fetching 50-60 million. With the rising cap, it might be more then that. I simply can't see spending that much for a guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azbearsfan Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 As for our o-line needing a complete over-haul, I disagree that it's that bad. Kreutz is widely reguarded as one of the best in the look. Tait is good, but struggled this season with the high ankle sprain. Garza had a bad year, but should bouce back. I disagree with that. Kruetz is no longer regarded is one of the best in the NFC even. Can't really replace him with anything better, but to me he didn't earn his big paycheck this year. He needs to step it up. The guard play was terrible. Tait was average and better suited for RT. Our line was one of the worst in the league. We need a complete overhaul starting with LT and the guard spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkBomber Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Drunkbomber, I agree we'd be much better with Faneca, but how much can we spend on the o-line? This 2007 we spent 15 million on Kreutz, Tait, and Miller alone. As hard as it is to find good line-men, there's a damn good chance that even Fred Miller will be back next year. As for our o-line needing a complete over-haul, I disagree that it's that bad. Kreutz is widely reguarded as one of the best in the look. Tait is good, but struggled this season with the high ankle sprain. Garza had a bad year, but should bouce back. The top guards are fetching 50-60 million. With the rising cap, it might be more then that. I simply can't see spending that much for a guard. Im not saying a complete overhaul. Im saying if we signed Faneca and drafted a LT and moved Tait to RT our offensive line would go from terrible to good depending on what we get from the new LT. Im not one of the people saying we need a whole new line except for Kruetz. Im saying a top flight free agent coupled with a first round LT would do wonders for our offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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