DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Steinbach at LT

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Steinbach sucked at LT thats why they made the move to the rookie LT from LSU.

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If we signed him, I would just as soon keep him at guard where he has been playing, but that is just my opinion.

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Yeah - he's an all pro center and guard, right?. Sounds similar to Bentley. Would sure provide us with some flexibility while we do the OL shuffle.....

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There is a reason he plays guard. Remember that.

We have an average LT eeer RT in schaeffer. So unless he signs as a guard, forget it.

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I'm coming more from the angle that we don't have control over who's available for us in the draft. We'd over pay for him, to be sure, but assuming he's better than any LT, OG, C or even possibly RT on the team - he'd give us a lot of options depending on how the rest of the off-season worked out.

Sure - maybe ideally he'd be a guard, but our OL is far from ideal as it is

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I am pretty sure he did. Palmer was taking a pretty good beating that game but still managed to torch us lol

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a tackle that doesnt run block well, is one year removed from a blown out knee and has short arms. That isnt exactly a safe pick lol

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I will agree with this logic, and I will trust Phil savage's decision making for his first round pick. I do think that it is time to make a statement that we are committed to fixing our main problem via the draft this year. I have no problem with NOT taking thomas if we get the BPA, but if we then turn around and go BPA for every other pick.

I will whine and cry and tell you all "I told you so" when Thomas is a pro bowler. jk

Seriously we need players everywhere, but the O-line needs a fixing more than any other area.

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I'm not as high on Thomas as many on here are, but he sure seems to be the safest pick if he's available.

a tackle that doesnt run block well, is one year removed from a blown out knee and has short arms. That isnt exactly a safe pick lol

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I'm not as high on Thomas as many on here are, but he sure seems to be the safest pick if he's available.

a tackle that doesnt run block well, is one year removed from a blown out knee and has short arms. That isnt exactly a safe pick lol

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1) RAC is on the hot seat - if he doesn't win next season, he will almost assuredly be gone.

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3) Most FA's will want to go to a stable situation with a chance of winning.

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I think money is the higher objective to most in FA - but all else being equal I agree. Depends on where they are in their career also.

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I think money is the higher objective to most in FA - but all else being equal I agree. Depends on where they are in their career also.

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That was my final point - the only way quality FA come to Cleveland is if we are willing to overpay.

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The hit parade at left tackle - NFL Insider - football draft; includes other notes
Sporting News, The, March 11, 2002 by Dan Pompei
Teams in search of a left tackle need not dispatch scouts to Saskatchewan, Barcelona and Grand Rapids. They need not set up a visit with every street free agent who fills up a doorway. They need not butter up agents of undrafted players with fruit baskets and sweet-whispered promises.

All anyone in need of a left tackle has to do is select one in the first round of the draft. As cows come from farms, left tackles come from first rounds. Last season, 20 of the league's 31 starting left tackles--64.5 percent--were first-round picks.

Left tackles aren't like quarterbacks, receivers, defensive backs or interior offensive linemen--all of which can be found in many of the same places as loose change. The elite skill of the left tackle is so clearly definable that left tackles rarely slip through the cracks. Only two of the starting left tackles in the league last year were undrafted coming out of college--Barry Sims of the Raiders and Derrick Deese of the 49ers.

There are fewer left tackle prospects than prospects at most other positions. Phil Savage, Baltimore's director of college scouting, says the Ravens start out with 25 prospects on their board who can play tackle, compared with 50 who can play on the interior. And less than half of those 25 have quick enough feet to play the left side, where players must be both strong enough to stop a power rusher and quick enough to head off a speed rusher coming around the corner on the quarterback's blind side.

"The level of excellence at guard and center is so low compared to left tackle," Savage says. "A sixth- or seventh-round guy can play on the interior, but probably not at left tackle."

The April draft will add to the list of first-round left tackles because as many as five tackles could be taken that early. Miami's Bryant McKinnie and Texas' Mike Williams are expected to be top 10 selections. Arizona State's Levi Jones vaulted into the first round with a solid showing at the Senior Bowl. Florida junior Mike Pearson might sneak into the round after a solid combine. Auburn's Kendall Simmons, who is considered a tackle by some teams, a guard by others, also could go in the first round.

If history is a guide, left tackles chosen in the first round won't be busts. Picking a tackle in the first round is like picking a hamburger from an intimidating menu--it's the safest thing to do.

In the past 10 drafts, 81 percent of the 43 tackles chosen in the first round have played like first-round picks--or in the case of some younger players, at least have shown the promise to play at a first-round level. That is a phenomenal "hit" rate compared with other positions. Only eight tackles drafted in the first round since 1992 have performed clearly below expectations--Arizona's Ernest Dye, Philadelphia's Bernard Williams, Miami's Billy Milner, Kansas City's Trezelle Jenkins, Green Bay's John Michels, Pittsburgh's Jamain Stephens, Washington's Andre Johnson and Oakland's Matt Stinchcomb.

If McKinnie and Williams are picked in the top 10 and don't succeed, they will be true aberrations. In the past 10 years, every tackle chosen in the top 10 has been a success. Eight of the 12 top-10 picks chosen as offensive tackles since 1992 have been to the Pro Bowl--and a handful, like Tony Boselli, Jonathan Ogden, Willie Roaf and Orlando Pace, could be Hall of Fame-bound.

The low bust factor can be attributed to the fact that it's easy to evaluate left tackles. Lions executive director of player personnel Bill Tobin, who has taken part in drafting seven first-round tackles (Dennis Lick, Ted Albrecht, Keith Van Horne, Jim Covert, Stan Thomas, Tarik Glenn and Jeff Backus), points out that tackles, unlike players at many positions, are gradable on every play.

As a result, there are fewer surprises. Scouts can see how quick their feet are and gauge their ability to recover when caught out of position. They can see if the players can bend their knees. It's evident if they play with power. Height and arm length are indisputable pieces of information.

After watching only a handful of plays, Savage says he realized Ogden could excel at everything required of a left tackle. Rams offensive line coach Jim Hanifan recalls the nearly effortless process of studying Pace before the Rams selected him with the first overall pick in 1997. "If you looked at more than one tape of his, the only reason was to make sure you weren't seeing double," Hanifan says.

Indeed, the Mushroom Club, the brotherhood of offensive line coaches, must be doing a good job of identifying players and selling their needs to team executives and head coaches.

"Most teams rather would not expend a first-round choice on an offensive lineman," Hanifan says. "They'd rather use it on a playmaker, a skill-position athlete or a pass rusher. But if you don't have a left tackle, you'll have to put the tight end over there or chip with the back to eliminate the right defensive end. That takes away from the offense and lets the defense dictate."

The importance of the left tackle can't be overstated. Savage says it is perceived almost as another skill position because what the left tackle does is almost as important as handling the ball. A great one like Ogden makes other players on the line better.

Another reason for choosing a left tackle early is those players tend to be cornerstones who endure. "There is no guarantee when you take one high he's going to be a player," Tobin says. "But if you get a good one, and you usually can, they come in, play early and play long."

And that's what a first-round pick is supposed to do.

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