Max Starks

[Preacherman0]

Thought that he did an above-average job vs. Taylor last night.  Above average for him, at least.

Was Marvel hurt?  Or just replaced?  It wouldn't fix it all, but I would like to see how we played with Marvel at R and Max at L.

[Preacherman0]

And while we're at it, try Marvin P. at center and anyone else at RG.

[oblongatta]

I actually thought that Starks played really well.  I might be remembering incorrectly but I think his only gaffs came when he missed the corner fires.

 

[DCSteelers]

Marvel was injured - Back.

[blurjose]

I actually thought that Starks played really well.  I might be remembering incorrectly but I think his only gaffs came when he missed the corner fires.

To use a Cowher term, I'm "catiously optimistic" about Starks. I mean, he did a great job on Taylor, but how much of that was due to the turf?

And yes, the only mistakes I recall were on the corner blitzes. Was there a blocking back in on those plays? I don't recall that part.  

[LambertsFrontTeeth]

I do not believe there was a back blocking on the play where the corner blitzed and caused a fumble...

[Preacherman0]

I think his only gaffs came when he missed the corner fires.

Yes, he did miss on the corner.  But honestly, he didn't have a chance to get there.  IIRC, we were in an empty set and they brought 6 or 7.  Plus, it looked to me like the corner was so far outside that he had no hope of beating him to the punch.

As for "optimism," I agree about the cautious part.  I'm just remembering a game earlier in the year where Starks came in for Smith and looked really good as well.  He just looks much more at ease on the left side than he ever did on the right.
 

[Finnegans Wake]

Max looked ugly at LT in preseason, but that's not to say he can't step up.  If Marvel were healthy and we could survive a shuffle, what about everyone taking a step left?

LT - Max
LG - Faneca
C - Simmons
RG - Colon
RT - Marvel

Bad as Simmons has been at RG, he has to have more strength at the POA than Mahan.  Mahan looks like the new Chukky to me, career backup.  

And I've said it before, but if Kemo doesn't have the smarts for OL, why not try him at backup NT?  He's got the bulk and the meanness.  Rather than have him become the new Nkwenti.

[give'emthaboot]

i think his success with Taylor had more to do with the footing than it had to do with Starks' play, but i'll give him credit, he looked 10x better than Marvel has all season.

speaking of the corner blitzes, i was atleast happy to see Starks break off his block (i think he was on Taylor) and move out and atleast get a hand on the blitzing corner.  usually it seems that all of our O-linemen are lazy and dont bother to move around to try and pick up blitzes.  he didnt pick up that particular blitz, but atleast he acknowledged that there was a guy on the way to Ben and tried to do something about it.

[padgfrombf]

Max looked ugly at LT in preseason, but that's not to say he can't step up.  If Marvel were healthy and we could survive a shuffle, what about everyone taking a step left?

LT - Max
LG - Faneca
C - Simmons
RG - Colon
RT - Marvel

Bad as Simmons has been at RG, he has to have more strength at the POA than Mahan.  Mahan looks like the new Chukky to me, career backup.  

And I've said it before, but if Kemo doesn't have the smarts for OL, why not try him at backup NT?  He's got the bulk and the meanness.  Rather than have him become the new Nkwenti.

 I think Marvel's got some health issues this year.  When 100%, he's better than Starks.  Max's strong suit is his size and run blocking, which would seem to be better suited for RT.

Other than swapping Marvel and Max, though, the suggestion has a lot of appeal to it.  I've been also banging the drum about Colon being more physically suited for OG than OT.  But Finny's suggestion could be even better...

I guess the issue for me goes back to 2003, when Hartings was on one leg, and the PS were dealing with a reduced Simmons and an inglorious FordRoss right side.  The problem wasn't so much that one player was bad; it was that you couldn't compensate for two or more suckees in tandem.  

The P-G article quoted over at BSG alluded to Mahan having a problem with the NT lined straight up over OC, rather than in more typical 1-Tech position (usually the gap on Mahan's left).  The defense can simply threaten to send in the ILB on Simmons  and effectively leave Mahan in isolation.  As Dr. Phil would say, "And how's that workin' for ya?"

It's sort of a Catch 22 for Tomlin.  The PS can probably squeeze out wins against the Bungles and Rams (and/or Ravens) and likely win the division at 11-5 or 10-6, even if they tank games against the Pats and Jags to do it.  Fortunately, the Browns D is bad enough to be suspect against everyone on their schedule.  The prime goal is always to make the playoffs.  But status quo leaves them fatally flawed on the O-line with virtually no shot at a SB.

BTW, I'm admittedly not a hardcore X-and-O's guy, but geez, it's a real painful glassy-eyed experience to listen to some of the explanations of a two gap DT at the local fan club bar.  I wish that I could load up a DVD on the TV screen with something like this:

http://football.calsci.com/Positions8.html