Tracking the Trenches

Sounding like they trust Long more to run more of the offense.
Arie is stronger and might just need a little more time.
 
I hope Arie can break through and become a solid starter at LG
 
Stuff to consider:

Morgan Moses has not only quietly established himself as a viable starter at RT, he apparently kicked some serious ass against the Giants. It did not go unnoticed.

Redskins: Morgan Moses earns incredible rating

You’d be hard pressed to find a player that’s made a more impressive transformation as a player from their rookie year to the second year than Morgan Moses of the Washington Redskins.

The second-year offensive tackle out of Virginia graded out as the NFL’s top right tackle in Week Three by Pro Football Focus with a +4.5 rating.

In fact, he rated higher in Week Three than any other lineman in the league.

The assumption when the Redskins drafted Brandon Scherff (Iowa) with the No. 5 overall pick in the draft was that he would be the Day One starter at right tackle and that Moses would be the swing tackle for the rookie and left tackle Trent Williams.

Moses, who saw his rookie season shortened by a Lisfranc injury, forced head coach Jay Gruden and the Redskins’ staff’s hands.

“At Virginia, he was a left tackle his last two years,” said Gruden in the preseason. “He’s much more comfortable on the left side with his pass sets and even coming out of his stance.

“We tried to move him to the right side early in camp last year. It was different, it was uncomfortable for him, but I think just his comfort level being on the right side, getting the calls, it has become second nature to him. You can see him, he has a lot of confidence now over there and he’s doing much better.”

The move is clearly paying off and with Moses’ emergence, it has allowed to move Scherff inside, bolstering the right side of the line.

Although they’re young, Moses and Scherff could lock down those spots for a long time to come and with Trent Williams’ contract extended, the ingredients are there for a tremendous foundation in the offensive trenches.
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It's still just three games in, and the league will certainly take notice and start looking for cracks in his armor, but for Skins fans to NOT give serious props to this kid (and Callahan) at this point would be a shame.

It also stands as a reminder of what we hear so often ... that the biggest jump most players will make in their careers is between their rookie and second year. Hard not to look forward to seeing how Big Arie shows up next September.
 
Om said:
Stuff to consider:

Morgan Moses has not only quietly established himself as a viable starter at RT, he apparently kicked some serious ass against the Giants. It did not go unnoticed.


It's still just three games in, and the league will certainly take notice and start looking for cracks in his armor, but for Skins fans to NOT give serious props to this kid (and Callahan) at this point would be a shame.

It also stands as a reminder of what we hear so often ... that the biggest jump most players will make in their careers is between their rookie and second year. Hard not to look forward to seeing how Big Arie shows up next September.
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Cooley also gave him big props on his breakdown of NY
 
Seems like Spencer Long is going to get the nod to replace Lavaou.

We just may be seeing the evolution of our Oline happening right in front of us.

Especially if Arie takes the step up next year and Long slides to center.

To quote GnR: "All we need is just a little patience..."
 
I wouldn't mind seeing A to the K in at center either. Licht is pretty serviceable but damn can you imagine a mauler there?
 
Who started at LG today?

I'm thoroughly impressed to what Callahan brings. So much so that I could see a team trying to take him as OC or maybe higher later on.

**** that I'm stingy and want our line to develop into something great! We're on track now
 
Yep. Looking forward to reading about some film reviews on Long. Be a huge benefit to this OL if he can step in and hold his own.
 
Long did well in pass protection, but didn't open any holes in the run game like Lavao was (finally) doing. Still, I am delighted that 4/5 of the OL were homegrown and 3 drafted in the last 2 years.
 
Riggotoni said:
Long did well in pass protection, but didn't open any holes in the run game like Lavao was (finally) doing. Still, I am delighted that 4/5 of the OL were homegrown and 3 drafted in the last 2 years.
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Riggotoni - do you think Long could develop that skill (better run blocking) or is it likely innate?

I was really liking our run game for the first two weeks although we've hit a wall with the Giants and Eagles.
 
Whatever we did on the last drive to get Alf loose to the left and to the right was positive as hell, granted the Philly D was depleted and exhausted but that's the point.
Just hope it progresses to the point that we get more than five minutes of that stuff against good D.
 
TomE said:
Whatever we did on the last drive to get Alf loose to the left and to the right was positive as hell, granted the Philly D was depleted and exhausted but that's the point.
Just hope it progresses to the point that we get more than five minutes of that stuff against good D.
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Gruden did an OUTSTANDING job taking what the D gave him on that drive. They were set up for the throw and we ran it. Combine that with the fact that, as El was saying all chat long, their D did not want to tackle Alfred anymore, and we finally ripped off some nice runs.
 
Goaldeje said:
Gruden did an OUTSTANDING job taking what the D gave him on that drive. They were set up for the throw and we ran it. Combine that with the fact that, as El was saying all chat long, their D did not want to tackle Alfred anymore, and we finally ripped off some nice runs.
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I was afraid Coach Dimwit, you know, the guy that called the plays on our wasted drive before halftime. Or Capt. Scaredy Pants, who just let the Eagles run the clock down after that, was gonna call the plays on that last drive.

Said to Mrs Ax before the 1st play of that drive, "Hopefully Gruden won't panic here. We've got plenty of time. No need to pass every down. Need to keep feeding Morris."

Good for us, coach stuck with HIS plan, and mixed the run and pass. And the players, got it done.
 
bird_1972 said:
Riggotoni - do you think Long could develop that skill (better run blocking) or is it likely innate?

I was really liking our run game for the first two weeks although we've hit a wall with the Giants and Eagles.
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Well, supposedly the reason Long got the nod over Kouandjio is because he was supposed to be a better pulling guard, even though Arie K is probably a better natural talent. If that's true, then I would think Callahan could mold him pretty quickly. On at least one run where he was supposed to pull to the right side he simply tripped. If he doesn't improve, I could see Kouandjio starting to get some snaps in. Lavao wasn't much last year when we were still trying to find a way to mix in leftover Shanny ZBS with the power run game. He really blossomed when we let him steam right ahead. This was Long's first game, so let's hope he continues to develop.
 
Cooley, in his breakdown (and opinion), gave Long the highest grade...... for this game.
'He played like his job was in jeopardy'

Kinda like that attitude myself.
 
Long needed that performance. He was touted last year as a guy to watch by Gruden, but then looked awful this preseason when he was given a chance to play with the line against regulars on the other side of the ball.

ALL of the linemen are going to get better under Callahan and Lauvao is no exception. He is a limited athlete but is strong and at 6'3 and 315 fits into a power scheme. Kouandjio is bigger and a better athlete. His upside is higher. But Lauvao was getting the job done when he was in there, which gave Arie the chance to learn the pro game a step at a time rather than being thrown to the wolves as a rookie.

In the past we didn't have talent on the OL. Shanahan reached for the waiver wire and other teams' practice squads to acquire starters.

We are back to making a significant investment in the OL in the draft which is the way to go given the price of veteran OL in free agency.
 
This may shock a few people. From Mark Bullock:

Mark Bullock ‏@MarkBullockNFL · 39m39 minutes ago
Falcons ran stunts at Trent Williams and Spencer Long all game, impressed how well Long picked them up. LG job securely his now. #Redskins
 
Mark Bullock ‏@MarkBullockNFL · 48m48 minutes ago
Studied #Redskins OLine last night, here's how I'd rank them vs ATL:

1. Scherff
2. Long
3. Williams
4. Moses
5. Lichtensteiger
 
I had thought that Long might be responsible for the decline in the running game.

Maybe that's not correct.
 
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