Whomever loses the left tackle battle...

[LinvilleGorge]

I still am of the belief that Dave misplayed his hand here with the o-line. Not that the cards he had to play were good by any means, but our OTs are a huge gamble.

Matt Ryan wears braided belts.

 

I'm not sure if we've seen him play his hand yet.  Given what decent OTs were getting last year in the free agency market, we weren't really in a position to acquire one.  Given the way the draft played out and how the rookie OTs have been performing, I'm not sure he misplayed the draft on OT either.  Some will argue that we should've signed Seantrel Henderson, but I think he was probably completely off our board from the get-go.

 

I think it's quite possible that Gettlemen knew a likely upgrade wasn't possible in free agency, wasn't available in the draft, and that we were better off going into camp and free agency letting Bell and Chandler battle it out and then hope to have a decent option fall in our laps after final roster cuts.  I have to think that we would be a very attractive option for a veteran OT looking for a job.  Not like he'd be facing much competition.  Could be a good way to get himself one last payday if he could come in and perform well.

 

As far as how the draft played out, I think we were a couple of picks away from double dipping at WR.  If Cody Latimer had dropped just a few more picks, I think we would've gone WR back to back.

[Jrock88]

in retrospect would you have traded our 4th and 5th rounders ( Benwikere and Boston) for LT Eugene Monroe.

 

the ravens made the deal instead, however .... and it appears to have worked out for them, as they signed him to a 5 year 40M extension

[SCP]

in retrospect would you have traded our 4th and 5th rounders ( Benwikere and Boston) for LT Eugene Monroe.

the ravens made the deal instead, however .... and it appears to have worked out for them, as they signed him to a 5 year 40M extension

Hmm, probably not. No.

Matt Ryan wears braided belts.

[LinvilleGorge]

in retrospect would you have traded our 4th and 5th rounders ( Benwikere and Boston) for LT Eugene Monroe.

 

the ravens made the deal instead, however .... and it appears to have worked out for them, as they signed him to a 5 year 40M extension

 

How were we going to sign him to a 5/$40M deal?

[Jrock88]

we made an offer on that bengals T

[iamhubby1]

why don't we give bell and chandler the opportunity to prove they either deserve, or don't deserve their positions before we replace them!

As much as I hate this scenario, at this point in time, it is probably our best, and only, option.

Also, one thing folks seem to forget when cuts happen. When players hit the waiver wire, they are pick in the same order as in the draft. At our position, there is no guarantee we can pick up a decent O-lineman even if we wanted to.

[LinvilleGorge]

why don't we give bell and chandler the opportunity to prove they either deserve, or don't deserve their positions before we replace them!

 

A GM's job is to assemble the best roster that he can, not avoid signing talent for fear that current players may be upset or relegated to the bench.  Even if Bell and Chandler are our starters, our depth behind them is awful, so we need to add talent at OT regardless.

[Mr. Scot]

oughta be about fit. Bell and Chandler are expected as starters. They should be fit to their strengths, not because one player is better and therefore has to be the LT. The LT isn't more critical than the overall line playing well.

My concern isn't whether either can be solid pass blockers, I'm waiting to see Chandler run block well from the outside. Williams is an OK pass pro guy, and hasn't shown that run blocking either.

LT and RT are definitely different skill sets.

I could see Chandler as an LT (skill set, anyway; ability is another issue) but Bell has always looked like a guard to me.

[CarolinaSamurai]

Affordability. It all boils down to that.

I think everyone would be shocked if we didn't pick up any Olinemen after the cuts because they will be affordable.

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[KillerKat]

Dave sat on his hands at the start of free agency and all the good tackles got signed. I blame this situation solely on him. Bell should not be a starting LT for any NFL team let alone us. The situation looks pathetic.

[JccOldTime23]

Dave sat on his hands at the start of free agency and all the good tackles got signed. I blame this situation solely on him. Bell should not be a starting LT for any NFL team let alone us. The situation looks pathetic.

And where would you have gotten the money to pay them? Remember that thanks to Marty Hurney we had no choice but to let everyone go to take bigger deals. No free agent tackle with the ability to start would have signed here with what we had to work with.

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[PhillyB]

there has to be someone after cuts that can play tackle better than the loser of a bell v chandler competition.

[Frizzy350]

I'm more concerned with the interior than OTs.  Cam is fine at evading pressure so long as it isn't up the middle.  Bell + a good interior line group will do very well in the run game as well.

 

As long as our OTs can keep edge rushers on the edge, I think we will be fine.

[Ruff]

LT and RT are definitely different skill sets.

I could see Chandler as an LT (skill set, anyway; ability is another issue) but Bell has always looked like a guard to me.

 

You're absolutely right, Bell is more of a guard than a tackle. He doesn't have the ability to handle speed on the edges, at least, that's what it looks like in the eye test.

 

Chandler is definitely more athletic. But, at this point, it's more of picking your poison. :(