You need at least journemen in all five spots, and they have to gel as a unit. I can't emphasised that enough. And we don't have that, now. Among them it helps to have a leader, a very good if not great player. Two or three are better, and it helps to have two of them playing side-by-side anywhere along the line.
We had good journeymen at three spots, annd Orlando Pace at LT and Adam Tommerman at RG on th GSOT team. We had Big Whit and Rob Havenstein at tackles for out recent Super Bowl.
Right now we have two very good guards and a good rookie center with great promise, on an O line that hasn't placticed enough together to gel.
We need two serviceable tackles to compete, and 'back to basics" game planning for now with plenty of run plays that will, as we learned by negative example, wear ANY defensive front down somewhere in the second half. When we do get five legitimate starters on the field they'll need snaps in practice and playing time until they gel. Expect improvement, but not light-sout consistent play until they do.
That wasn't the plan coming into the year. Putting a starting LT on the inactive IS (individual stupidity) list at a critical time didn't help. Neither did Noteboom's predictable falling apart. Neither did Havenstein's unfortunate practice-time freak injury. Neither did two position shifts from the remaining three starters and the insertion of rookie center, again due to starter injury - regardless the performance of the rookie. WE coulda been much better, good enough for Stafford to light up any D he faced, but we ain't there now, folks.
We may get it assembled later, but for now this is what we have - and we shouldn't expect more than what we see from the players.
As to the coaches, especially the head coach: I'm disheartened to see/hear talk of execution, see Stafford taking six sacks per game, and not see much in the way of adjustments, either in prep or in-game management that doesn't put more protection for Stafford on the field.
That said, we looked good for two drives against a strong Philly defgense. I was surprised and almost giddy. Then their DC figured things out and our OC-HC didn't come up with an effective way to counter. Maybe there wasn't one.
Granted, their D is well manned and masterminded by Fangio, who has all the pieces he needs to make it work.
But still, that defeat left the Rams with a serious need for a gut-check. Will Havs come back? Will McVay use a TE or an extra back to abet our spotty pass protection? Will he ever - ever - stick to a run plan long enough to make it work? I don't expect to see great shifts in coaching perspective or exercution from the players all at once; that's not how these things work out. But something needs to be done.
We'll see what McVay chooses to do next.
