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Nice little write up E.

 

Excellent write up, very much enjoyed reading it. I would like to see Satele moved to guard only if Maser and Sparano decide Mormino is better suited (as he's certainly more experienced in his college days) to play the Center position. The main thing that concerns me is Hadnot made all the calls last year, is Satele ready to make those calls? We need those calls made by the Center IMO.

I don't see the concern about injuries based on Satele's career so far, so feel we should believe he'll play injury free. Especially in his favor is the increased emphasis on conditioning by Parcells & Sparano, which should help reduce injuries all over the team. That same program should help Satele deal with the bigger Dl he plays against, he has the right attitude and nastiness, just needs the strength. And strength is not limited by size IMHO.

Very nice write up and thread, I'm giving it 5 stars. Hope you don't mind.

 

Very nice write-up. Worthy of any Jedi, I mean VIP section.

Lee2000

 

I think Satele's weakness is that he gets a little haywire on the second level. He reminds me a little of that one crazy fullback we used to have (not the Juggernaut) who would just explode into the second level and hit anything that moved, friend or foe.

But I also think he's far more valuable to this team than Wes Welker, and so I think we benefited from that transaction.

 

Very good write up Eclay!

I've been surprised over the years on these very boards to hear many a poster downplay the importance of a good Center.

IMO, a good Center rivals the imoportance of a good LT.
I think both spots are critical and that's where you want to have your 2 best lineman in a best case scenario.

Especially in today's NFL with the increasing complexities of NFL Blitzes and the increasing size of NT's Centers have to be intelligent and physical players.

We kept a physically mediocre Center here for years based on his ability to dissect what a defense was bringing and assign the correct blocking assignments presnap in Ruddy just to show you how important the mental side is.

I think it's pretty clear Satele has the physical tools.
I don't know enough about his mental side of the game yet to know whether he'll be a great Center or not.

 

Here's an article from the June 2007 issue of Slate that supports Coral Reefer's point -- calling the Center the second most important position on the team.

http://www.slate.com/id/2156923/

 

It is not very common for teams to have pulling centers. Having a strong center really isn't that important to a good team. Having a good center is, however having a good anything is important. Left guard and right guard are more important positions on the whole.

 

Solid Post. Let's thank Randy Muellar b/c we did have a good draft last year.

 

Nice find man, really enjoyed reading that.
Thanks.

 

Respectfully I just don't agree with that.
LT and Center spots take the most skill sets to fill and if those spots are filled adequately require special players.

You can find players to fill Guard spots at least to a serviceable level much easier.

 

Centers are generally the least paid player one the line. It is generally LT, RT, LG, RG, Center.

Teams generally cannot have two really good guards due to the salary cap. When they do and have good tackles and have a decent center they have an amazing line that is one of the best in the league.

 

The most important aspect of a center is that he fart infrequently in ace formations, along with I-form.

Seriously speaking, I'd take a great C over great G.

 

I would take a great G over a C especially if there is a good tackle.

The Seahawks had an amazing line when they went to the superbowl and they had at best a servicable center. What they did have was a great G and great T.

 

Excellent write-up. Matches my thoughts and understanding of OL play perfectly. Well thought out and executed post, thanks!

 

Only thing I'd like to see Satele do is add about ten pounds of muscle, other than that I love his play and want him to stay at C for a good long while. Great Thread.

 

Also blaming the not returning to dominance on the lack of dominate center is really putting way too much importance on the Center positions.

Teams generally move a good center to guard because that position is generally more important to an offense.

 

One thing I am concerned about, and this may be the reason that they're looking to move him to guard, is that Satele didn't actually make the calls last year. Apparently Hadnot was the one making the calls; maybe Satele won't be very good at that...

 

I would expect that it would be Mormino or whomever is playing Center that makes the OL calls. We will have a new system there with Masser so everyone is starting fresh.

 

I dont study numbers or players like many do as I do not have the time. But I can say that anyone shortchanging the importance of center position isnt looking hard enough. The center is teh anchor, the stabilizer, the emotional leader, it all starts with teh center.

I think Satele will be very solid to great. He looked very good til the end of teh year and am sure it was teh proverbial rookie wall. I think he shows good quickness of teh ball, has power tho isnt the grater that some are, he can hold his own well and is superb in pass pro.

 

It all starts with the best lineman on the team. Centers are not achors or stabilizors or emotional leaders. In fact they the last lineman who actually blocks. It takes time to move snap the ball so the guards generally have to cover the center some.

Having a bad center isn't good, however if you have a bad guard then you are going to have a horrible looking center.

If what people are saying was true half of the guards in this league would be centers.

 

Sorry but I disagree, center may be last to bblock but their assignments generally start before the ball is snapped, so IMO that is why they anchor the line. The best anyway. Guards can make teh calls and some qbs but when that occurs you see teams looking for a center. You have yours I have mine. I think the anchor is teh one that sets the line calls calls the blitz pickups etc. more than bruisng ability.

 

Well of course their assignments start before the ball is snapped. Generally they are given the smallest assignments.

The best linemen are the tackles, followed by at least one of the guards and then the center. That is if you want a good line.

 

I feel like Center is the most important behind LT, but for different reasons.

A player with an elite grasp of the mental aspect is the important part. The physical part, I think is secondary, and evidenced by the type of players to inhabit the position around the league. Centers nowadays are usually just technicians or not particularly talented guys.

Deion Dyer?

 

That's exactly who came to my mind.

 

I think he's talking about Darien Barnes.

 

Great job.

I also suspect that at a very subconscious level there's a very strong emotional impact provided by having a great center. The center "leads the charge" from the huddle of the largest unit on the field (the OL) numerous times per game, he has his hands on the ball before every snap, and like you said he is vocal with the other linemen in making line calls before every snap.

If the center is a great player and has some leadership ability, then at a very deep but palpable level he helps create the feel of a strong team that has a sense of dominance about itself and expects to go out and control the opposition.

I think all that can be built in large part by having a stud like Satele at an especially important position -- center -- and I think that's why he should stay there.

 

Since Uhlenhake has been mentioned, check out what was said about him his Rookie year:

"Jeff Uhlenhake, a rookie from Ohio State, took over at Center last season and and played as if he plans to say for a decade or so, . He had some of his most impressive moments late in the year as he gained experience. Already a proficient pass blocker,, Uhlenhake is a fine athlete who moves well laterally, is always in balance and adjusts fairly well to counter moves. As a run blocker he needs to add strength as he has the requisite size (6-3 290) but he needs to add additional muscle. "

Point being, I love Satele as much as the next FinFan, he does have to play games in 08 as well too though. Things can change very quickly in the NFL, three years later, he was inline to be replaced by....Jeff Dellenbach if he didn't come back from ACL surgery in time.

Just to offer some perspective on all of this.

(BTW, the 1993 edition of Heinrich has Favre as a sleeper, cool stuff indeed)

 

Athletically you are correct. But your centers better be tough and smart if you want to call them great.

Tackles are the best lineman talent and athletic wise, but a very smart center can ,make a talented line a cohesive unit that plays well.

 

This is why I like you, you can decidely say in 1 post what I tried in 3 posts to say.

 

A very smart guard can do the same thing. Guards are generally really smart in comparison to other football players. The same with centers.

If Miami can find a smart guy who is good technically and have him play center and move Satele to LG they would be much better team then if they had the other way around, a smart LG who is good technically and Satele at center.

 

Very good write up with valuable information. I for one agree with you that we should keep Satele at the Center position. He has created a nice niche there and will probably continue to develop given a couple more years.

 

nice addition Trav

 

Then again, if your biggest complaint about your center is his instincts on the second level, you're doing pretty well. Kinda like critiquing your DT for not stripping the ball on a sack.

 

Also, fascinating point about the Pro Bowl Center:Record correlation. I know the same is certainly not true of, say, WRs and RBs.

Though it could be an o-lineman correlation in general? Not for LTs as much, but it could be that good teams get the spotlight?

 

I really think that's due to the emotional impact I described above. If you have great players in positions that "lead the charge" of other players, you're going to have a significant feel of dominance about yourself that fuels the identity and expectations of your team and the way you play.

For me the center position supports that idea better than any other position. IMO there isn't any other position whose emotional impact is as important while having relatively little importance in terms of physical play.

In other words, the guy leads the charge and gets his emotional importance from that role, but he doesn't have much importance physically IMO, relatively speaking of course.

 

I'd also consider that Saturday and Hartings are really pulling up the average. It's a small sample size. I'd be very intrigued to see if it spans longer than careers (i.e., from 1990-Present). That would be more convincing.

 

True never said that it couldnt but focus on teh smart. Centers responsisbility is big, they may not all be as athletic as tackles but the great centers are smart. Also note that many centers are athletically good enought to play guard and vice versa.

 

Great Job Brother!