Armstead's hurt, too? Geez...

 

Wait. There was a chance our starters could be injured and we didn't have good enough OL depth?

What???!!!

How can this be?

We took the OL so seriously and invested in it wisely and made sure we weren't just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

So incredible.

I guess there are some things you just can't prepare for.

 

we need 12 Starting caliber OLINE men. They always go down for portions of the season and we tend to hope and pray that our backups can manage.

 

Maybe they should have split Armstead’s money and signed two capable OL with less of an injury history.

 

Wow Armstead hurt already? That didn't take long.

 

I'm not convinced there's 50 starting calibre tackles in the league let alone enough for us to have 4 of them.

 

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports...0220915-yq3u4mju7zaqtbrxmhkrwj7lwa-story.html

 

Apparently, it was more about veteran rest than it was about the toe for Terron Armstead.

 

I worried about this with Armstead.
I thought he would last a bit longer.
Damn.

 

He returned to practice. It wasn't that serious.

 

Here’s what I don’t understand. I know players are bigger and stronger today than they were in the “old days”, but it’s still 5 on 4/5 on the LOS. Nothing has changed about that, so why are OL getting hurt so easily anymore?

I was a bit surprised the relatively low number of OL we were carrying on our roster, and I was going to make a point about it in another thread but then, I took a look at our rosters under Shula during Marino’s as well as Griese’s era and we were only carrying 8 or 9 OL…and there wasn’t near the amount of injuries then that there are now…and those were the times of BLOODY SMASHED MOUTHED football.

I need someone to explain this to me like I’m a 6 year old. I just don’t get why we always have so many OL injured all of the time.

 

Jim Otto was 6-2 and 255 pounds. Now offensive linemen are 60 pounds heavier, that is a lot more pressure on the joints. Plus the players they play against are much better athletes.

No matter how big you are and how strong you are, there is only how strong you can get your legiments.

 

Nagging injuries are one thing, being out for weeks at a time is another. There was NO WAY the OL depth wasn't going to be tested this year. I'm glad they are not waiting to add some players though, as it will take time to get them up to speed.

 

A number of teams are already really struggling with injuries and depth. The coaching staff being able to get new guys integrated and playing at an ... acceptable level is going to be big.

The Cowboys were down last week, we saw the Chargers depth tested tonight. Other teams like the Lions and Packers have multiple starters injured and possibly out. Gotta find a way.

 

In a nutshell, it's not what the offensive linemen are doing, per say, since they still block the same way. The difference is the defenders and the modern league where you can have a 255 pound man running a 4.5 40 with the agility of a RB, the burst of a FB, and moves like Jagger. It's an impossible task and the leverage simply isn't there like it used to be when 2 equally skilled warriors would duke it out. Now, the defense clearly has the upper hand.

On OL, you have to be nasty and be willing to throw down with the best of the best. Because the other guy is the better athlete, you compensate by being even tougher and meaner than ever before. It just doesn't work long-term.

The other side of that (besides the bigger, heavier OL) is the complexity of blitz and stunt packages. Teams know exactly how we'll block any given formation and you have super smart guys building out schemes to defeat that. It sort of goes back to my 1st point that linemen have to be more agile, faster on their feet....but they're bigger and wider than ever before. The math simply doesn't work for linemen to stay healthy for 17 games.

 

The 53 man roster has been in place for what seems like forever. Maybe it’s time to expand that number, especially in light of the increased number of games. This way, teams could stash an extra OL or 2 between the roster and the practice squad.

 

Yeah, I'd be all for that. Bump it to 60 and keep the expanded practice squad.

 

and get rid of inactives

 

I really do think inactives are stupid and extremely limiting.

 

I do not understand why the NFL has a policy that has players who are fully paid and cannot play.
Sure injuries can cause some players not to play, but now they have the ability to call up players on their practice squad.