I was surprised to see that Cornelius Lucas at LT actually graded out higher than I thought.
Over the last 2 seasons he played 600+ snaps, in 2022 and 2021, Lucas gave up 4 and 3 sacks, and in 2021 finished with a more than respectable 75.2 PFF grade.
Those are much better numbers than Wylie while playing a more demanding position.
Lucas has always been "solid" when he played, wherever he played. He can't handle the real speed rushers well, and he breaks down. If he can go for 5-7 games, he's fine. But I don't think he can do 17.
I was SCREAMING for them to re-sign him last off-season because they so desperately needed that veteran "can start in a pinch" swing tackle, and he might be one of the best in the league at that.
But he shouldn't be considered a full time starter.
Now, if he starts the season and they work other folks in, that's fine. Also, unlike EB, Kliffy probably knows he can't just put Lucas on an island and pray. They'll use formations and play calling to help him out.
Something I keep coming back to over and over and over, Bill Walsh invented what is now known as the West Coast Offense when he was in Cincinnati as an assistant coach from 1968 - 1976, because the Bengals OL was complete trash. And the system got tweaked and perfected over the years before he ended up in San Fran as the head coach in 1979.
The entire concept of the offense was to minimize the impact of the OL. Which is where screens, quick game, short throws as an extension of the run game, etc. came from.
If the QB can execute it, you can create offensive game plans which protect the QB outside of just the OL. And I think Kliff is going to have to do a lot of that this year.
Things to focus on:
- Presenting the QB as a run threat. It might just be window dressing, but if you make the defense account for the QB, it's one less guy who's either rushing or covering.
- Be unpredictable on first down. Mix it up. Run the ball some, use lots of quick game, screens, WR screens, stretch the field horizontally so the defense has to defend sideline to sideline rather than just clogging the middle
- Move the pocket. Even if it's just a 5 yard roll-out, or tie in to a stretch-zone running play. Peyton did this so well in his early years with the colts. He would stretch out about 5-10 yards on a play action to E. James, pull the ball, and all of a sudden, he wasn't where you thought he was going to be, and bought himself an extra tick or two.
I am so interested to see what they do on first downs this year. My worst fear is they go full Scott Turner and try to jam the ball up the middle 20 times a game to "protect" their young QB. That's NOT how you protect a young QB. You mix it up and give him easy throws.
The key for a young QB, and really ALL QBs, is minimize the amount of times they are in known passing situations. If you're in a known passing situation, the chances of a successful play are just so much lower. The defense has the advantage. The OL has to hold up.
Target to get first downs on first and second down. Don't try to get into 3rd and manageable. Trust me. You'll punt a lot. And while I love Tress Way, I would love it if his stat line was 0/0 for 0 net yards punting.
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