-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New generation of left tackles poised to make sizable impact By John Clayton Updated: May 7, 2008 An NFL-record eight offensive tackles were taken in the first round of the 2008 draft. It was the continuation of a trend that might ultimately reshape the league's power structure. Six of the eight tackles taken in the first 26 selections play on the vital left side of the offensive line -- the side that protects the blind side of a right-handed quarterback. Looking even closer, 10 of the top 29 picks involved tackles because the 49ers and Colts made trades in last year's draft that put them in position to grab left tackles Joe Staley and Tony Ugoh. Throw in the fifth-round supplemental pick used by the Ravens last year for the massive Jared Gaither, and a third of the league made significant tackle decisions. How important is getting a Pro Bowl left tackle? Ask the Browns. Joe Thomas helped the Browns win 10 games last season, and his steady play allowed QB Derek Anderson to have a Pro Bowl season and enabled the Browns' offense to evolve into one of the most exciting units in football. For years, Browns quarterbacks had no chance as they dodged defender after defender in the backfield. What will be fascinating to study over the next several years is how the tackles in the 2008 draft class impact their teams. Even though it cost them what would have been the seventh pick in this year's draft, the 49ers still believe they came out ahead with Staley, who moves from right to left tackle this season. The 49ers believe Staley ranks behind only Jake Long among the tackles who were drafted this year. Tony Ugoh's strength and versatility make him a perfect fit for the Colts' complex offense. The Colts believe they found a gem in Ugoh. It's hard to play left tackle for the Colts. With Peyton Manning at quarterback, the Colts send tight end Dallas Clark out on most pass plays. A tight end might line up to Ugoh's left to help with blocking assignments maybe one or two times per game. Ugoh, as Tarik Glenn was before him, is on an island blocking alone. Making the job even tougher are Indianapolis' run-blocking assignments for a left tackle. Manning runs a balanced attack. The Colts run right and they run left. So the left tackle has to be athletic because he'll be asked to pull more than most left tackles. Believe it or not, Ugoh, taken in the second round of the 2007 draft, would have rated higher on the Colts' draft board than Long, the top pick in this year's draft. In the Colts' eyes, Ugoh was one of the rare athletes who can handle their left tackle job. And they got him cheap, relatively speaking. No one is going to confuse the current left tackle crop with the left tackle crops of the mid-1990s that literally changed the face of offensive football. Jonathan Ogden (Ravens), the fourth pick in the 1996 draft, has gone to 11 Pro Bowls. Orlando Pace (Rams), Walter Jones (Seahawks) and Glenn -- members of the 1997 draft class -- have combined for 18 Pro Bowls. That quartet gave their teams the freedom to send out extra receivers because they would handle an opponent's best pass-rusher without additional blocking help. With their success, those four franchises emerged as annual playoff contenders and ranked among the top offenses once the right quarterbacks were behind him. Ogden, Jones, Pace and Glenn were the complete left tackles, able to handle solo pass-blocking assignments and perform the athletic moves to help running plays. It will be hard for the tackles drafted in 2007 and 2008 to aspire to their levels because Ogden, Jones and maybe Pace will be discussed as possible members of the Hall of Fame. Glenn, with three trips to the Pro Bowl, will fall short of Hall of Fame consideration, but he clearly had a great career. Most of the current group fits into either one of the two categories for left tackles. Ryan Clady of the Broncos, Branden Albert of the Chiefs, Duane Brown of the Texans and maybe Chris Williams of the Bears fit the pass-blocking mold. Long of the Dolphins and Sam Baker of the Falcons are better fits for run-oriented systems. They will thrive in two tight-end power offenses in which they can maul defensive ends with some help on their side. Thanks to this draft, half of the league has undergone major changes at left tackle over the past two years. A year ago, the Giants gambled on David Diehl, a guard, being able to replace the oft-injured Luke Petitgout at left tackle, and Diehl helped the Giants win a Super Bowl. On Tuesday, the Giants rewarded him with a new contract. Marcus McNeill, a second-round pick in 2006, has put together two Pro Bowl-caliber seasons for the San Diego Chargers. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, the fourth player taken in the 2006 draft, struggled during his first two seasons with the Jets, but Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca is now at his side. The Jets expect big things from their highly paid offensive line. With as many as six rookie left tackles poised to become starters this fall, things should be interesting. Rookie tackles are prone to mental mistakes, which could lead to sacks. Thomas was the rare exception. He allowed only 4? sacks as a rookie. Staley, playing on the right side, allowed nine, but the quarterback situation in San Francisco was less stable than in Cleveland. Ferguson has allowed 23? sacks during his first two years, but his number likely will drop because of Faneca being the left guard. Long, Clady, Albert, Williams, Baker and Brown could be among the league leaders in sacks allowed as they adapt as first-year starters. Finally, this infusion of tackles ultimately could help the AFC more than the NFC. If these first-round tackles work out, the Broncos, Texans, Chiefs and Dolphins could resolve their left tackle issues for the next decade. The Colts believe Ugoh is their perfect left tackle. The Chargers found theirs in McNeill.
Good article, thanks for posting it. I continue to read that Ferguson is struggling to adapt to the NFL in the early goings of his career.. it's written everywhere. I get it. What I would love to see is someone that knows what they're talking about, look at film of him and try to explain where his shortcomings have been. I know one of the first things that come to mind is lack of weight on his frame but I'm not sure that's the whole story. I must say I don't know enough about line play to really see where he is coming short but I wish someone would do an article about it.
I think Ferguson will improve more this year because of having hired Callahan to work with the Oline then having Faneca next to him though that does help as well.
Sometimes these media-heads just latch on to a statement like a pit bull and never let it go. Consider his first year he held his own for the most part, but in year two without Kendall and a decent replacement for Kendall he suffered some. Maybe Ferg will never be Gods gift to Tackles and become an immortal. Maybe he'll just be decent or slightly above average. That is not the end of the world. A lot of average talent makes up even some of the best teams in the league. We'll get a good look at Ferg this year in his third campaign and the line finally has some good coaching and talent on it to help the young guys out. It should all be good in a few weeks time.
D'brick's shortcomings so far are pretty apparent: he allows a bunch of sacks and the Jets can't run to his side. That's partly due to the hole at LG last season but it's also partly due to D'Brick really not dominating anybody from the left tackle spot. He's too light to handle the bullrushers and he's quick enough but still not dominating the speed rushers. He gets no push on running plays and so most of the runs that were successful that started left last year cut back right. There were drives when Thomas Jones did that multiple times, heading off left tackle and winding up going up the middle behind Mangold because that's where the hole turned up.
Why would Clayton watch the Jets play, when he can just say what everybody else says about Ferguson? His first year, the story was that he wore down towards the end of the season, that his weight dropped to a level that made things tougher for him. I'm not sure about last year; I don't recall seeing him really screw up much if at all, I think just nobodys willing to come out and say something positive about anybody on a 4-12 team unless there are concrete numbers to back it up, and there never really are for a lineman.
I can tell you that i've watched D brick very closely throughout his short career. He's well on his way to being a top notched pass protector. I said from the day he got drafted that's what he would end up being. He's never gonna be more than an average run blocker..but in his peak will be able to handle any pass rusher around. His technique has come a long way, he has gotten stronger, and is gaining confidence. His biggest weakness is simply consistency. That is something that comes to young linemen in year 3..so he is well on pace to reach his full potential. it should also help to have an all pro guard next to him. People need to learn to be patient w/ player development. I know it's New York..but things take time..especially w/ linemen
QFT. D'Brick has shown alot of improvement in his 2 years here. Remember how Jets fans as a whole bashed him for not having a mean streak? He showed one last year, especially against Jason Taylor and Schobel. He's only going to get better. He's 24 and already has two full seasons as a starting LT. Only thing I disagree on with you KJF is that I think he has the potential to be a pretty good run blocker. He's filled out a little every year, and his frame and athleticism could/should/hopefully will allow him to be one of the best pulling LT's in the league. I think D'Brick has the potential to be better than all of these guys in the article. I personally like him better than all those guys, including the almighty Joe Thomas. I think one of the most ignored things about Joe Thomas' success is that he plays with Steinbach and overall the Browns O-line is probably the best young O-line in the league. And just to knock the article a little bit...McNeill wasn't even that good last season.
So far after two years for D'Brick, he hasn't even gotten close to getting pro-bowl consideration. Yeah, I was one of the bashers that said D'Brick did not have a mean streak and never dominated anyone in college and I was hoping the JETS drafted Marcus McNeill in the '06 draft who now has two pro bowls under his belt. I wished Joe Thomas never tore his acl during the end of his '06 season and was in that draft because he has the size and nastiness you look for in a left tackle. This is year number three for D'Brick and there is no way in hell there can be anymore excuses made for him now that he has a pro bowl guard by his side. Hopefully D'Brick can finally keep his weight up, play with a mean streak for 16+ games, and make the pro bowl. D'Brick just be the bodyguard you said you would be in year number three and beyond.
Just because you draft a guy in the 4th spot does not mean he HAS to be a Pro-bowler. If you can get at the bare minimum, average talent that can step into a role and contribute then you have won the lottery for the most part with the draft. At best Brick has proven he can hold his own on the line. Upgrading the talent around him is only going to make him better. Drafts are crapshoots. You put in a lot of research and you try and pick the guys that best fit your needs and will fit into your clubs mold, but there are zero guarantees no matter if you are drafting #1 or number #240. One part art, one part science, and 3 parts luck.
Has being "deep in Patsies land" brainwashed you? I won't even address your sig for fear of hijacking the thread. I actually agree with you that the 4th guy doesn't have to be a probowler. Probowling is what they play on ESPN on Sundays because everyone is watching football. People get voted into the probowl for no reason sometimes. However, the 4th overall pick can not be "average" (even at the bare minimum) no matter what position. LT is the most important position on the field besides QB. The 4th overall pick should be a strength of the team, a guy you can count on to go out and do his job effectively, and make mistakes only seldomly. I think that Brick will benefit, as will the entire offense. If he doesn't improve this year then we can all say "damn, we really screwed that one up...again"
Believe what you want, bub. The draft is a big ass crapshoot and you are putting far more stock into his expectations than is really necessary.
As far as DBrick is concerned, I think he's a prototypical "Lomas Brown" -- who by the way the NYJs brought in when he was drafted to help him focus on how to use his long tall frame successfully. You get the impression that it's taking some time for him to grow into his man strength from the boy strength with which he played so successfully back in college. You can't just bulk up without losing flexibility and quickness. If you're going to be able to take advantage of the weight it has to be fully integrated in the way you work so that (a) it doesn't go away when activity gets really intense during the season and (b) the heft really helps your natural techniques and tactics work better, instead of hindering them. There's no question that DeBrick was grossly disadvantaged by what somebody on TGG termed that revolving door guard he played next to last year -- he was always having somebody else come flying through that he had to also try to stop. We should see how DBrick has progressed when he's part of a line where the talent and effort are at a more consistently higher level all the linemen. Frankly, I thought he did quite well with a lot of the super pass rushers he had to face this past year -- in spite of all the disadvantages.
i usually agree with you and i agree with most of what you said, but Joe Thomas is way better than Brick right out the gate. maybe faneca makes brick look alot better but its yet to be seen. i just think Thomas is way better overall of an OL. D Brick has become much better in pass protection but that was his main asset as a prospect so thats not a super plus. But it is good hes actually progressing. in his rookie year he tended to get punched back and lacked the strength to get extension even on speedrushers. But his footwork has gotten better and i notice alot more textbook pop n set shuffling he does to keep his defender in front of him. but his runblocking is atrocious. but conversely i agree with what you said about his potential to get out in open field and throw some impact blocks. as long as he progresses some more and adds and holds another 5 to 10 lbs he should be fine. my verdict is still pending, but hes coming along and thats all you can ask for. with callahan here he should look ALOT better. so we will see.
