Perhaps Jonathan Martin turns a corner between now and the third preseason game. Perhaps he plays great and Right Tackle is set for the next ten years. More likely, he continues to struggle. he is catastrophically bad right now, to the point where we cannot run OR pass the ball effectively. Columbo Part II. I think Jeff Ireland has to find a solution. Who is out there as a possible free agent vet, trade target or roster cut who could at least compete with Martin and Murtha at Right Tackle? (Do NOT say Marc Columbo)
I think realistically you give John Jerry reps. He was a serviceable Left Tackle last year and hes been getting right side reps all season.
The conundrum with Jerry, as I see it, is that he's kind of lost from a positional aspect. You can't put him at guard simply because I don't think he's smart enough to trust there nor do I think he's simply good in that area of the formation. However, he's not exactly ideal at tackle either due to his strong tendency to be a waist bender. There are ways to work around the latter, but maybe it's better to work around Martin's issues than Jerry's?
I don't know if I think he can do it... but always start by trying guys already on your roster, right? Perhaps he can be a Phil Loadholt type over there at RT. Has he seen ANY reps there this camp?
Well, I expect Martin WILL develop but we need a short-term stop gap that at least allows the offense some consistency in the run and a clean backfield more than 12% of the time. Do you think Jerry is better than Martin today? (We can always reassess midseason)
No one. Per Adam Caplan at TSV... Offensive Tackle Marcus McNeill (LT) Kareem McKenzie (RT) Chad Clifton (LT) Tony Pashos (RT) Stacy Andrews (RT/G) Brandon Keith (RT) Mark LeVoir (RT/LT) Kirk Chambers (LT/RT) McNeil has retired, by the way.
I would not feel safe with Martin starting the season. He hasn't shown he can block effectively in preseason.
So unretire him. Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a trade. A team who could use a QB. We wait for Garrard to return and then package Matt Moore and a pick for a decent second string OT, or older starter. If a team needs a QB, they will be willing to give up depth, or an older starter to make way for a talented younger 12nd string guy. I had thought about Zona, but Levi Brown is injured and they need their OT depth now. Who else is screwed at QB. Denver? Similar prototype linemen, aren;t they, or do they not zone block in Denver anymore?
How is Denver screwed at QB? I don't think you're going to get a solid OL via trade at this time of the year.
I was trying to make a joke but can't. Yes. He is bad right now and while time may cure that, we need someone in the interim.
Did Peyton look better in his 2nd preseason game than his first? I didn;t watch. I saw their first game and his arm looked like it had lost a lot of zip. I think he struggles this year.
Before everyone steps up to the ledge, why not let the preseason play out. Keith Sims said he had to play every preseason snap because he wasn't getting it done during his rookie year. That turned out okay as I recall.
Who said solid? Just one who does better than Martin for a few months. Like I said, if Martin makes a bit of progress in game three, we're okay, but you don;t want to wait too long to get someone practicing with the 1st team, or get someone onto the team to learn the playbook. We clearly cannot get through this season and win many games if he maintains anywhere close to his current level of play. And we haven't seen an uptick yet, so that's what we need to see.
I don't know about the second preseason game, but I didn't see an issue in his first. He was making throws into the Field without problem from what I saw.
You didn't think his velocity was noticeably lower, to the point where one goalline pass was broken up because the DB had more time to react to it?
I doubt they put anyone there at this point. They will have to live with it and scheme around him if he continues to struggle.
Fewer than umpteen sacks, hurries, tipped passes and stuffed runs I suppose. Sometimes you improve from crap to not bad before aspiring to good.
The few throws I saw in week 1 looked a lot like Billy Kilmer. Not much of a spiral but located pretty well.
Thanks. I'll check it out. Probably a moot poiint. I don't think we will feel confident enough in Garrard's health to consider moving Moore until close to the trade deadline. With luck Martin's play has improved by then, or someone other than Tannehill is becoming the turf-tasting expert.
Jerry doesn't give you a pretty option or long term solution, but you've got to wonder what the timetable on Martin is. I don't think he's hopeless but I don't know if you can afford to take lumps of the magnitude Martins play last night would give you for very long. If they had a better overall offense from a quarterbacking standpoint, I'd be more comfortable with doing what it takes to cover Martin up too.
When did I say that was said? Some have deemed Jonathan Martin crap, to use your word, and I'm suggesting we should maybe let him develop and aspire to good.
Let's hope his Stanford intelligence allows him to take the instruction he gets based on this performance and integrate it into his game much faster than would a dumber guy.
Or if we had an established, talented RG to help him a bit inside, or a great WR corps for the QB to rely upon. The cost of letting Martin improve on the field could be L's at this point. We'll know more after the next game though. Let's hope his position coach earns a big bonus this week and Martin takes a baby step forward in being more consistent with his technique.
I think they are going to try and offset their problems, anyway you slice it. They're going to do that schematically, if Mike Sherman is willing to adjust and be flexible (questions persist there, IMO), probably by throwing a ton of 3 and 5 step stuff to get the ball out early and manage down and distance. It's what Sherman basically did at A&M and how the Mike McCarthy/Joe Philbin/Tom Clements offense begins usually (that is, until the QB gets more comfortable and takes more shots, improves, etc.).
