Christensen confirmed that Anthony Steen would start at left guard against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, but he added that Steen would be the first backup at center at this time. In a scenario where something happened with Pouncey, Steen would slid over to center and Jesse Davis would enter the lineup at left guard. Christensen said that Sam Young and Davis are the backup tackles, with rookie free agent Eric Smith being more of a developmental player at this time.
That scenario has had me worried this summer. If our guard is a guy that couldn't beat a backup C/G, we may be in trouble.
If I recall correctly Steen stepped in at center last year and held up pretty well. At least, the OL as a whole held up alright. This is going to be an interesting watch but I'm quietly hopeful the OL will actually do alright this year.
The OL should be decent to good, but only an injury or two away from looking like Seattle. How they handle Bosa and Ingram (along with the run blocking) will tell us a lot about how the year may go if they can stay healthy.
The 2 best offensive seasons we've had since Pouncey was drafted was both seasons in which he missed most of the games. In 2014, with Samson Satale at Center and Pouncey playing RG for half the year, we had a good offensive season, then last year, with Pouncey missing most of the games while Steen and Urbik playing OC, we also had a good offensive season. Steen and Brendel both have more experience now and should be able to play sufficiently if/when Pouncey goes back down or gets rotated out to rest during games. Personally, tired of the drama with his health and off-field antics. Need to move on from him asap.
Yes, but you have to take into account that an undrafted RG in Steen was starting much of the season for his first time ever at Center, and that later on aging vet, Urbik, had been pressed into playing OC due to Pouncey's health being unreliable. Neither were accustomed to playing OC, much less in for Foerster here. Pouncey definitely helped Ajayi with 2 of his 200+ yard games, but Urbik was the starting Center for the last one against the Bills after both Pouncey and Steen went down with injuries late in the season.
I don't have the averages right in front of me. CK posted them a few months ago. Roughly, when Pouncey was on the field, Ajayi averaged like 5.5 per carry. Over 5 anyway. With him out of the lineup, Ajayi averaged under 4. That's off the top of my head. Granted, Steen and Urbik have reasons for not being more effective, but that does not help things. There is every reason to believe IMO, that if we have to use Steen or Brendel at C this season, Ajayi's effectiveness is going to be diminished again.
