I think we are finally beginning to see the fruits of Howard Mudd's efforts on rebuilding our offensive line. Last night was the first time that I saw our OL able to form a strong protective pocket in a long, long time. McCoy is great, but there were holes last night that you could drive a truck through.
Of course, Peters is the key to the performance of the entire line. But, having Herremans at RT gives us a symmetry and solidity that we haven't had since the departure of Thomas and Runyan. You need two good tackles to have an effective line, and Justice never really reached the level that was expected of him. Now the opposing DL gets crunched from both sides, and McCoy is free to bounce out and cut back whenever he wants or needs.
I think if Castillo was still the OL coach, we wouldn't see the overhaul that we have seen under Mudd. Castillo would be wedded to the players he brought in or coached-up over the years. We would probably see Jackson at center, Herremans at Guard, and Justice at RT, if Castillo was still the OL coach. Mudd was not wedded to the past, so he could make the dramatic moves of installing Kelce ( who gets better every game, and completely nailed Jay Ratliff last night), and shuttling Herremans out to RT where he is going to be a force.
If we continue to get the same line play that we saw last night, we will be hard to beat from here on out!
Of course, Peters is the key to the performance of the entire line. But, having Herremans at RT gives us a symmetry and solidity that we haven't had since the departure of Thomas and Runyan. You need two good tackles to have an effective line, and Justice never really reached the level that was expected of him. Now the opposing DL gets crunched from both sides, and McCoy is free to bounce out and cut back whenever he wants or needs.
I think if Castillo was still the OL coach, we wouldn't see the overhaul that we have seen under Mudd. Castillo would be wedded to the players he brought in or coached-up over the years. We would probably see Jackson at center, Herremans at Guard, and Justice at RT, if Castillo was still the OL coach. Mudd was not wedded to the past, so he could make the dramatic moves of installing Kelce ( who gets better every game, and completely nailed Jay Ratliff last night), and shuttling Herremans out to RT where he is going to be a force.
If we continue to get the same line play that we saw last night, we will be hard to beat from here on out!
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