Ekwonu

[CarolinaLivin]

2 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I think Whitworth out there sporting a full on gray beard has skewed a lot of perceptions. I know I was surprised when I looked into those age numbers 

Correct me if im wrong. I think AQ Shiply switched from player to "player coach" his last season in Tampa Bay. Couldn't continue playing. I believe he was 34 that season.

[Mother Grabber]

1 hour ago, Gapanthersfan said:

A lineman that can backup both center and LT is worth his weight in gold.

at 300lbs, he’s worth about $13M in gold. that seems reasonable.

[Tr3ach]

2 hours ago, MHS831 said:

BC struggled a bit vs Giants--but he is a solid, valuable backup.  I liked him at C, and do not understand the Mays move--maybe a nagging injury? 

Mays is younger and cheaper is all I can think of.  BC is going to be a free agent, even though I think he should be brought back.  You can't really overvalued a player who can come in and literally play any position on the line and be solid.

[Tr3ach]

30 minutes ago, BountyHunter said:

It's amazing what a veteran presence and competent OL coaching did for players that were here last year.  Icky. BC and Mayes were trashed by some om this board last year.  Im happy however this plays out.

Yea it makes it even crazier how season before last our oline coaching was praised (even though the fact they look good was skewed by being one dimensional with the run game), then those same oline coaches seemed terrible last season, and now new coaches seem really good again.

[LinvilleGorge]

5 minutes ago, Tr3ach said:

Mays is younger and cheaper is all I can think of.  BC is going to be a free agent, even though I think he should be brought back.  You can't really overvalued a player who can come in and literally play any position on the line and be solid.

Yeah, a versatile backup who can plug in pretty much anywhere across the OL is very nice to have. Virtually a sixth starter. Anyone goes down and he's the first off the bench. Maybe not during the game, but if a starter is going to be out for a game or two or more and there's time to work him into the lineup it's going to BC in that spot. It's just that for the first time in seemingly forever we have a guy who we would prefer in a reserve role who other teams very well may see as a starter and pay him as such.

[kungfoodude]

27 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I think Whitworth out there sporting a full on gray beard has skewed a lot of perceptions. I know I was surprised when I looked into those age numbers 

I definitely remember more mid-30's guys than that. Maybe we are just in a cycle of that group getting smaller. Or maybe these guys are just not choosing to play as long?

[frankw]

Icky needs to hold down LT for the rest of the season to continue evaluating him. If he finishes strong tackle is less of a need. If he continues to be up and down then there's your answer.

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, frankw said:

Icky needs to hold down LT for the rest of the season to continue evaluating him. If he finishes strong tackle is less of a need. If he continues to be up and down then there's your answer.

I honestly view OL more as a unit than as individuals. Overall the unit is pretty strong. Definitely our overall strongest unit on the roster. Meanwhile the D is a wreck and we need a QB.

[frankw]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I honestly view OL more as a unit than as individuals. Overall the unit is pretty strong. Definitely our overall strongest unit on the roster. Meanwhile the D is a wreck and we need a QB.

Yeah as I said the other day we swung hard toward the offense this past offseason and this upcoming offseason is going to have to be a hard swing to the defense. For better or worse it's the situation we put ourselves in.

Edited 5 hours ago by frankw

[mrcompletely11]

52 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

TBH, if Moton wants to and he takes care of himself in a manner to preserve his long term health, he could play until 36-38 or even more. It's not unheard of on the OL.

Not really, the oline is a young mans game.  There are not a lot of tackles playing in their mid 30s.  I suspect Morgan and co understand this and are trying to ride out the shitty contract fitt gave him

[mrcompletely11]

39 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

There's only two OL currently on NFL rosters over the age of 34. Trent Williams is the oldest at 36. The Trent Williams and Andrew Whitworths of the league are still very much the exception and not the rule. Basically if you're not potential HOF caliber you're probably not going to remain effective well into your 30s, you're just not going to have the luxury of being able to play through losing a step or two. Moton is good but he's not at that level. I'd bet on a pretty sharp fall off in the next 2-3 seasons.

Damn you beat me to it, nice post

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, frankw said:

Yeah as I said the other day we swung hard toward the offense this past offseason and this upcoming offseason is going to have to be a hard swing to the defense. For better or worse it's the situation we put ourselves in.

It's why I just chuckle when people act like we shouldn't draft a QB. Are we ready to compete for SBs if we land a Stroud or Jayden Daniels? No. Definitely not. But the benefit of of building this offensive roster up for Bryce is that we're ready to plug in a good young QB. Yeah, it'll likely look like the early years of Cam's career where the offense was good and the D would usually find a way to give up more points than we could score but we could all see the potential we had moving forward. I'm ready to have a future we can look forward to again. Please.

[MasterAwesome]

31 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I definitely remember more mid-30's guys than that. Maybe we are just in a cycle of that group getting smaller. Or maybe these guys are just not choosing to play as long?

Yeah I think the latter has a lot to do with it too.  I don't think it's a coincidence that there are also only two o-linemen over the age of 34 sitting in free agency waiting to be signed.  O-linemen is one of, if not the most physically taxing position in all of professional sports simply because of all the weight these guys gotta carry.  We saw Jordan Gross retire and then immediately lose a ton of weight since he no longer had to maintain that kind of unhealthy mass.  We also saw a guy like Jason Kelce retire at age 36 while still elite at his position.  I think a lot of these guys are calling it quits early not because they can't compete anymore, but to avoid severe long-term health issues.

Edited 4 hours ago by MasterAwesome

[Gapanthersfan]

An old guy who is still playing at a high level is only 1 sorta major injury from retirement. Recovery time is longer for the nagging stuff.