Our franchise LT has become a liability

[lukerguy]

Winning can breed complacency. It didn't for most of the team, but it did for Okung. It's the only explanation for a franchise LT turning into a below average LT in one off-season. If you told me Okung didn't do one sit up or wind sprint in the off season, I would believe you.

I do believe he will pick up his form, as he becomes in better playing shape, but if he would take his conditioning more seriously we wouldn't have to put up with sub-par play for the first 1/4 of the season.

Injuries, penalties, inconsistent play, poor conditioning...I don't see how we can afford to keep him as a nucleus of our team.

 

[kidhawk]

Winning can breed complacency. It didn't for most of the team, but it did for Okung. It's the only explanation for a franchise LT turning into a below average LT in one off-season. If you told me Okung didn't do one sit up or wind sprint in the off season, I would believe you.

I do believe he will pick up his form, as he becomes in better playing shape, but if he would take his conditioning more seriously we wouldn't have to put up with sub-par play for the first 1/4 of the season.

Injuries, penalties, inconsistent play, poor conditioning...I don't see how we can afford to keep him as a nucleus of our team.

Two things here.

1) Okung had offseason surgery on his foot. That is going to impede his ability to workout in the offseason

2) Rumor has it that his injury against Denver was a torn labrum. If true, this would easily explain his poor performance.

I think that he is injury prone and that is an issue. I don't believe for one second that he's become complacent or lazy or anything like that at all.

My biggest concern right now is the fact that our coaching staff still considers Okung our only option at left tackle even with a shoulder injury that is obviously impairing his abilities out there. That says MUCH more about our depth at the position than it says about Okung, IMO.

 

[ivotuk]

I think Justin Britt could play left tackle once he gets some time under his belt. That young man is playing amazing for a rookie who has every team's best defensive player on hiim.



Edit: Remember Porkchop Womack? He was injury prone, but he was also a road grader in the run game. Well in his contract year he got a nutritionist, a trainer, and focused on his body in the off season and had an injury free season.

I've loved Okung since his Oklahoma State days but I think the fact that he was playing against college level talent is the reason he never got hurt.

IMHO, what Russell Okung needs to do is have a complete off season, focus the whole thing on training, AND learn how to apply force without hurting himself.

I believe with some training in technique that he could learn how to play his position better, play it to where he doesn't over-extend his body and damage it in the process. This is a big, strong man, and bones, ligaments and muscle will only take so much before they give way. Okung needs to learn where that breaking point is and stop going beyond it. Maybe a course in soft tissues would do him some good.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

My biggest concern right now is the fact that our coaching staff still considers Okung our only option at left tackle even with a shoulder injury that is obviously impairing his abilities out there. That says MUCH more about our depth at the position than it says about Okung, IMO.

Have you seen what's going on around the league with injuries? We're lucky Okung's still upright.

This is the NFL, EVERY team has a huge dropoff between 1st and 2nd string. No one has the luxury of their backups being as good as the starter, for any position.

Go talk to the Chargers, they're as we speak cruising the Home Depot parking lots of the greater SD area for centers.

 

[hawker84]

i find myself quickly losing my patience with Okung. If he's injured, get him out of there because as the OP stated he is becoming a liability. Question is do we have anyone that can do better at this point? The missed assignments and flat out getting beat is one thing if he is injured, but the false starts are inexcusable. He's a vet and from what i could tell it wasn't loud there.

Unger is struggling as well in both these departments, and had a horrible game with the snap.. boy's need to dial this crap in, feels like i'm watching beginning of last season all over again with the O Line. Man i miss Big Walt.

 

[hox]

He plays pretty well when he's healthy. The problem is, he's never healthy.

That being said, we need to draft o-line and RB in the early rounds next year.

 

[kidhawk]

My biggest concern right now is the fact that our coaching staff still considers Okung our only option at left tackle even with a shoulder injury that is obviously impairing his abilities out there. That says MUCH more about our depth at the position than it says about Okung, IMO.

Have you seen what's going on around the league with injuries? We're lucky Okung's still upright.

This is the NFL, EVERY team has a huge dropoff between 1st and 2nd string. No one has the luxury of their backups being as good as the starter, for any position.

Go talk to the Chargers, they're as we speak cruising the Home Depot parking lots of the greater SD area for centers.

I don't expect our backups to be as good as our starters, but as evidenced last night, Okung is not as good right now as Okung should be. I believe this has a LOT to do with his shoulder injury from Broncos game. This was the worst performance he had. He obviously was trying to do all he could to maintain his blocks, but he was struggling. He appeared to be about 60% of his normal self and to say we don't have anyone able to match that is a scary thought. Especially considering how, if his labrum is torn, he's just one miscue from going out for the year. Then we will have to see the backup and if they aren't better than what we saw last night we will be in serious trouble on that side of the field, and that is Wilson's blind side.

 

[Missing_Clink]

I think all the injuries have taken their toll on Okung. The days of him fitting among the elite LTs in the NFL are over because he has just sustained too many injuries and they have impacted what he can do out there. I don't see him reversing his current career arc and all of a sudden being really good again. Even if he did, I don't think it would last for long before he sustained another serious injury.

I fully agree that an important part of this offseason will be figuring out the future at LT, because I believe it is not Okung.

 

[King Dog]

Agreed. I like Okung, and think he's a good player, but he's always hurt. Even when he plays he's hurt. I hope we don't sign him to a big deal next year and are able to grab a good LT in the draft (doubtful).

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I don't expect our backups to be as good as our starters, but as evidenced last night, Okung is not as good right now as Okung should be. I believe this has a LOT to do with his shoulder injury from Broncos game. This was the worst performance he had. He obviously was trying to do all he could to maintain his blocks, but he was struggling. He appeared to be about 60% of his normal self and to say we don't have anyone able to match that is a scary thought. Especially considering how, if his labrum is torn, he's just one miscue from going out for the year. Then we will have to see the backup and if they aren't better than what we saw last night we will be in serious trouble on that side of the field, and that is Wilson's blind side.

You're right on all accounts. Okung does look hurt, and Bailey still isn't as good as a hurt Okung. So what's your solution?

I'm saying there is no solution, this is not a fixable problem..........other than people getting healthy. When Miller comes back the O-line will become more stabilized. Until then, you're going to see what you saw last night.

 

[DavidSeven]

Okung has had some struggles, but this is too reactionary, too "sky is falling." We played half a season last year with Paul McQuistan at LT, and he played far, far, far worse. There are many worse tackle situations in the league. Unforced penalties usually heighten a fanbase's ire with an offensive lineman's play. Those are certainly legitimate concerns, but he's far better than any alternatives and even turning to the draft isn't any guarantee (#2 overall pick Greg Robinson is warming St. Louis's bench, many other linemen that people on .NET loved also can't get on the field).

Liability? No. A truly bad OT is a liability. Is he the Wilson, Sherman, Thomas, Lynch, Harvin of his position group? No. Unfortunately for him, that's the standard he has to live up to among this fanbase (along with the Big Walt comparisons).

 

[kidhawk]

I don't expect our backups to be as good as our starters, but as evidenced last night, Okung is not as good right now as Okung should be. I believe this has a LOT to do with his shoulder injury from Broncos game. This was the worst performance he had. He obviously was trying to do all he could to maintain his blocks, but he was struggling. He appeared to be about 60% of his normal self and to say we don't have anyone able to match that is a scary thought. Especially considering how, if his labrum is torn, he's just one miscue from going out for the year. Then we will have to see the backup and if they aren't better than what we saw last night we will be in serious trouble on that side of the field, and that is Wilson's blind side.

You're right on all accounts. Okung does look hurt, and Bailey still isn't as good as a hurt Okung. So what's your solution?

I'm saying there is no solution, this is not a fixable problem..........other than people getting healthy. When Miller comes back the O-line will become more stabilized. Until then, you're going to see what you saw last night.

Every problem doesn't have a solution. If I had a solution to the problem, then it wouldn't be a scary thought. Our offensive line, overall is a definite weakness, especially in depth. It's not something that there's an easy fix to and it is something that will probably cause worries throughout the season and something we definitely need to address in the off season.

 

[TwistedHusky]

Well the guy was a key part of getting us a SB.

And he got hurt because we was on the football field protecting our RB and QB.

So I get frustrated by the injuries, but I appreciate that he is clearly playing hurt - and I appreciate that it clearly is our better option or Pete wouldn't have him in.

Could have used Jean last night.

Unger is another guy that I just don't know what is going on with - but I have to accept he must be hurt too.

Our OL is just thin and to some extend porous. Makes it hard for guys that are hurt to help out, and magnifies their weaknesses. For some reason, we thought it was a good idea to just wing it with the OL - and even lost a good player (overweight or not) to I think the Browns.

I think the whole OL is a liability in pass protection, but they are what we got...so we are stuck with them, hopefully we can get some of them playing better or some of them healed up. Otherwise the 49ers are going to massacre us. Poor Wilson is getting 2 seconds if that on a lot of those pass plays.

 

[Pie Romania]

Exactly what I've been saying for a while now. We have no one that can compete for that LT spot and Okung knows this. For this reason, it just seems like he's not going the extra mile to push himself to be the best he can be. Pete preaches competition, but where's the competition on the line? I want a few O-Linemen in this next draft. Sure, we've drafted guys before on the line, but I think we need to stop letting Cable pick HIS guys...reaches and instead just let him speak his thoughts on O-Line prospects and Pete/John decide from there. The Free Agents this coming offseason are nothing to write home about, so trades and the draft will be the most likely source of talent unless there are some surprise cuts. We need to be aggressive on this and get some young talent in place to help protect our franchise QB who will likely be getting paid this offseason.

 

[DavidSeven]

I think we need to stop letting Cable pick HIS guys...

Cable's "guys" are Carp, Sweezy and Britt. Carp and Sweezy are becoming a dangerous and nasty OG duo. Britt is holding his own as a rookie, especially in the run game. Okung was a no-brainer pick in 2010 and Unger was from the prior regime.

 

[kidhawk]

Exactly what I've been saying for a while now. We have no one that can compete for that LT spot and Okung knows this. For this reason, it just seems like he's not going the extra mile to push himself to be the best he can be. Pete preaches competition, but where's the competition on the line? I want a few O-Linemen in this next draft. Sure, we've drafted guys before on the line, but I think we need to stop letting Cable pick HIS guys...reaches and instead just let him speak his thoughts on O-Line prospects and Pete/John decide from there. The Free Agents this coming offseason are nothing to write home about, so trades and the draft will be the most likely source of talent unless there are some surprise cuts. We need to be aggressive on this and get some young talent in place to help protect our franchise QB who will likely be getting paid this offseason.

If the rumor of his torn labrum is true, then I defy anyone to say that he's not pushing himself. If the labrum is torn, he could opt for surgery and nobody would say a negative word about it (except to mention that he's prone to injury). Just the fact that he's on the field with that much pain is a testament to his desire to help this team win.

 

[Sac]

Okung is clearly playing injured.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

I don't know how anyone can say an injured Okung is better than Alvin Bailey.

If Bailey was active in this game and not out with an oblique injury, I'm pretty certain he would of got a lot of playing time... and only then could you really compare such a statement.

 

[Recon_Hawk]

I don't know how anyone can say an injured Okung is better than Alvin Bailey.

If Bailey was active in this game and not out with an oblique injury, I'm pretty certain he would of got a lot of playing time... and only then could you really compare such a statement.

I agree Bailey needs to be healthy to find this answer out, but I also don't think we've seen enough of Bailey to say for certain he'd play over Okung right now.

 

[kidhawk]

I don't know how anyone can say an injured Okung is better than Alvin Bailey.

If Bailey was active in this game and not out with an oblique injury, I'm pretty certain he would of got a lot of playing time... and only then could you really compare such a statement.

Bailey wasn't even listed on the report for Wednesday, so his injury likely happened then. Pete had mentioned him as possibly getting time because Miller was out, and there was no mention of Bailey getting time at Tackle even though they'd had the entire bye week to make that call if they wanted to. Bailey was obviously not going to be replacing Okung. if they'd felt that he was better than an injured Okung, then they may not have Okung playing through this instead of getting it repaired.