NFL 2010
- Thread starter Dak
- Start date
Yep. Left tackle is more important than any other position. Even if your quarterback is Ryan Leaf. 
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
Mort Divine
Shrine Maiden of the In-Crowd
They're interchangeable really - a team could have a great QB, but with him on his ass all day it won't matter - or you could be the Browns and have one of the best LTs in the league and it not matter because their QB situation is god awful.
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
rms
Active Member
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
Because most QB's are right - handed they are vulnerable to their blindside on their left side.
skeptik
Member
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Left tackle is usually the "blind side", ie the side the quarterback has a more difficult time viewing, since most are right handed. The dominant pass rusher usually plays on that end as well.
As far as the most important positions go, it varies too much from team to team. I hardly think there's a suitable universal priority list, while also taking into account the way the game changes over the years making certain positions more or less important, like the cornerback position becoming less important now.
As far as the most important positions go, it varies too much from team to team. I hardly think there's a suitable universal priority list, while also taking into account the way the game changes over the years making certain positions more or less important, like the cornerback position becoming less important now.
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
I don't see how you can say the CB position is less important now, if anything you need more good CBs than ever before. You just can't have all your "eggs in one basket" on 2 shutdown corners.
Jimmy... Dead.
contemplative curmudgeon
If your front 7 is good all you need is adequate corners.
Stuff the run, and a good Pass rush is essential.
King Richard
Hello there
Quarterback is above and beyond the most important position in football. Unless a team's defense is otherworldly, backed with a phenomenal running game, that team probably won't win shit.
I think you guys are putting a little too much stock in the LT position. Obviously having a solid offensive line, with LT and C being the most important positions imo, is nice, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Not having a pro-bowl LT doesn't mean an offense is unable to function properly.
I think you guys are putting a little too much stock in the LT position. Obviously having a solid offensive line, with LT and C being the most important positions imo, is nice, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Not having a pro-bowl LT doesn't mean an offense is unable to function properly.
rms
Active Member
couldn't one argue the guard position is more on a QB's blindside than the tackle, but evaluating one spots importance does kind of take any effect of a 'team' sport eh?
skeptik
Member
- Feb 7, 2003
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Rule changes are what makes the cornerback a less important position than it was even a few years ago. New rules seemingly every year continue to limit what the cornerback can do against the wide receiver, which actually makes the safety position more important than it was. Like I said earlier, however, it depends greatly on the way the team is designed. There is a massive level of dropoff in terms of importance between shutdown, elite corners and merely above average corners, more so than most other positions. Obviously cornerback play is still very much essential to the way teams like the Jets and Bengals play, preventing the QB from getting the ball off before the blitz gets into the pocket, but for teams like the Saints or the Steelers, the cornerback doesn't need to have airtight coverage, so they can play off the ball more. Of course it helps that they have the likes of Sharper, Polamalu, and Ryan Clark.
As per the first point, I submit Trent Dilfer, but of course he was an obvious exception. It's obviously very rare that a team can be strong enough to sustain quarterback play at the level Dilfer was capable of bringing, but it also proves the position is not indispensable. Then you have the '05-'06 season where Roethlisberger was mostly a game manager and had a horrendous super bowl in particular.
Regarding left tackle, I agree that at times that specific position's importance can be slightly overstated, but it's still crucial and I would say is about as important as the center position. The best defenders almost always come at those two positions. But of course while those two positions are perhaps the most likely to be the most important positions on the o-line for a team, it's not always the case.
Honestly, I'm still pretty impressed with the way the Steelers were able to play for the most part two years ago with the o-line they had then, which really isn't much better now, at least not until Pouncey is installed at center. Center is still a serious weakness for this season assuming Pouncey starts at right guard, and Flozell Adams has yet to be tested here in game action, though I'm confident he'll play better here on the right side than he did on the left in Dallas last year.
I don't see how the guard position is more on the blind side when the tackle is further away. Anyway, like I said before, the left tackle will more often than not be facing the most skilled pass rushers the opponent has to offer, which is why it's usually more important, aside from it protecting the QB's blind side.
Badbird
Never banned
Badbird
Never banned
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://...IoAjAB&usg=AFQjCNHhUMMYlRdcLrwhBOgTqLQv0P86eg
TUSCALOOSA -- Nick Saban isn't just talking about rogue agents being a problem in college football, he's taking action.
The Alabama coach helped organize a conference call with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, other college coaches, the president of the NFL Players Association, athletic directors and agents to discuss problems with agents that Saban called "bootleggers."
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Those problems have led to investigations this summer at several schools -- including Alabama -- to determine if NCAA rules were broken.
"We're all trying to put our heads together to figure out what we can do to level the playing field," Saban said Thursday, "so everyone in the agent community -- which some are very professional -- have the same opportunity to recruit players, and that the bootleggers out there are the guys that get punished and penalized, and the players that deal with them are going to have some of the same consequences.
"Where you have prohibition, you have bootleggers. It's always been that way. All of our problems have always been with our juniors. Guys that come out early. And why is that? Because nobody's allowed to talk to them. ... All we want is the opportunity, so it doesn't have to happen on the street corner."
The conference call Saban organized included four coaches and NFLPA President Kevin Mawae. Saban would not divulge which college coaches were included, but Florida coach Urban Meyer, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, Texas coach Mack Brown and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops were identified by The Associated Press.
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have attracted the attention of the NCAA this summer because of players' alleged improper contact with agents.
Saban has been hot since the eligibility of star defensive end Marcell Dareus came into question last month because of an agent-related party he attended in May in Miami. The results of a UA investigation have been given to the NCAA, and Alabama awaits an eligibility ruling.
Saban boiled over at SEC Media Days, comparing rogue agents to pimps. Saban, a former NFL head coach and assistant coach, went on to say he might limit player and film access to NFL scouts.
In its fourth year under Saban, Alabama has become a virtual assembly line for pro players. NFL scouts have been a common sight at practices in past seasons. Thirteen players from the 2009 national championship team have signed pro contracts.
When news broke Tuesday that NFL scouts had been banned from Alabama practices, at least in the short term, speculation about Saban's reason centered on his harsh words.
But after two days of silence, Saban indicated Thursday that the ban had nothing to do with agents.
"I don't think it's fair to our players for people to come in and evaluate our players when it's 110 degrees outside," Saban said. "It's especially hot this year."
The ban is temporary. "We told the scouts that we would open it up and give them a schedule after Aug. 25," Saban said.
But on Thursday he also focused on players, saying they should take more responsibility and suffer consequences into their NFL careers if they deal improperly with agents.
"You would think that the player would know that if a professional person who is an agent is willing to break the rules to represent him, why does he think that the guy won't break the rules if he is representing him?" Saban said.
"I would immediately say, 'That guy's not representing me. I don't want anything to do with him. I'm not even going to call him back.' We need to control that, educate that, and if the system fails, there has to be someone responsible for that as well."
NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis indicated that action might be taken against unscrupulous agents in the future.
"If we find that an agent has violated any rules and regulations that are in place then we will definitely enforce discipline upon those agents," Francis told The Associated Press. "What that is, I don't know. Decertification, suspension, fine, any of the above."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/pac10/2010-08-12-reggie-bush-apology_N.htm
LOS ANGELES — Reggie Bush apologized to new Southern California athletics director Pat Haden and expressed tremendous regret for his actions that landed the school on NCAA probation.
Haden says that in a 15-minute phone conversation the two men had last week, Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner who was found to have received illicit cash and benefits from a would-be sports marketer while starring for USC, wishes he could make amends to the school.
BLOUNT: Hout's telling 'half the truth'
"He's really contrite," Haden says of Bush, who plays for the New Orleans Saints. "He knows he made a series of mistakes. It wasn't just one mistake. It was a series of mistakes.
"He told me, 'If I could turn the clock back, I would. If I could give the Heisman Trophy back, I would.' "
The Saints were in Massachusetts to play the New England Patriots. Bush was unavailable to comment.
Every Heisman award generates two trophies, one for the player and one for the school. USC has removed Bush's Heisman from display and plans to return it to the Heisman Trust, which has not said whether it will strip Bush of his award.
Bush's violations were the major ones found by the NCAA, which banned the Trojans from bowl games for two years and stripped them of 30 scholarships. The school is appealing some of those penalties but not the 14 vacated victories in which Bush played from December 2004 through the 2005 season. USC could also lose its 2004 BCS national title.
USC was ordered to disassociate itself from Bush. All displays of his jersey and records have been removed from view.
"I wish I could ask Reggie to come talk to our football team. I can't. He's not allowed on the campus," Haden says. "But I think he would tell them what a big mistake he made and how sorry he is."
TUSCALOOSA -- Nick Saban isn't just talking about rogue agents being a problem in college football, he's taking action.
The Alabama coach helped organize a conference call with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, other college coaches, the president of the NFL Players Association, athletic directors and agents to discuss problems with agents that Saban called "bootleggers."
85
0
14
Share
Those problems have led to investigations this summer at several schools -- including Alabama -- to determine if NCAA rules were broken.
"We're all trying to put our heads together to figure out what we can do to level the playing field," Saban said Thursday, "so everyone in the agent community -- which some are very professional -- have the same opportunity to recruit players, and that the bootleggers out there are the guys that get punished and penalized, and the players that deal with them are going to have some of the same consequences.
"Where you have prohibition, you have bootleggers. It's always been that way. All of our problems have always been with our juniors. Guys that come out early. And why is that? Because nobody's allowed to talk to them. ... All we want is the opportunity, so it doesn't have to happen on the street corner."
The conference call Saban organized included four coaches and NFLPA President Kevin Mawae. Saban would not divulge which college coaches were included, but Florida coach Urban Meyer, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, Texas coach Mack Brown and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops were identified by The Associated Press.
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have attracted the attention of the NCAA this summer because of players' alleged improper contact with agents.
Saban has been hot since the eligibility of star defensive end Marcell Dareus came into question last month because of an agent-related party he attended in May in Miami. The results of a UA investigation have been given to the NCAA, and Alabama awaits an eligibility ruling.
Saban boiled over at SEC Media Days, comparing rogue agents to pimps. Saban, a former NFL head coach and assistant coach, went on to say he might limit player and film access to NFL scouts.
In its fourth year under Saban, Alabama has become a virtual assembly line for pro players. NFL scouts have been a common sight at practices in past seasons. Thirteen players from the 2009 national championship team have signed pro contracts.
When news broke Tuesday that NFL scouts had been banned from Alabama practices, at least in the short term, speculation about Saban's reason centered on his harsh words.
But after two days of silence, Saban indicated Thursday that the ban had nothing to do with agents.
"I don't think it's fair to our players for people to come in and evaluate our players when it's 110 degrees outside," Saban said. "It's especially hot this year."
The ban is temporary. "We told the scouts that we would open it up and give them a schedule after Aug. 25," Saban said.
But on Thursday he also focused on players, saying they should take more responsibility and suffer consequences into their NFL careers if they deal improperly with agents.
"You would think that the player would know that if a professional person who is an agent is willing to break the rules to represent him, why does he think that the guy won't break the rules if he is representing him?" Saban said.
"I would immediately say, 'That guy's not representing me. I don't want anything to do with him. I'm not even going to call him back.' We need to control that, educate that, and if the system fails, there has to be someone responsible for that as well."
NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis indicated that action might be taken against unscrupulous agents in the future.
"If we find that an agent has violated any rules and regulations that are in place then we will definitely enforce discipline upon those agents," Francis told The Associated Press. "What that is, I don't know. Decertification, suspension, fine, any of the above."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/pac10/2010-08-12-reggie-bush-apology_N.htm
LOS ANGELES — Reggie Bush apologized to new Southern California athletics director Pat Haden and expressed tremendous regret for his actions that landed the school on NCAA probation.
Haden says that in a 15-minute phone conversation the two men had last week, Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner who was found to have received illicit cash and benefits from a would-be sports marketer while starring for USC, wishes he could make amends to the school.
BLOUNT: Hout's telling 'half the truth'
"He's really contrite," Haden says of Bush, who plays for the New Orleans Saints. "He knows he made a series of mistakes. It wasn't just one mistake. It was a series of mistakes.
"He told me, 'If I could turn the clock back, I would. If I could give the Heisman Trophy back, I would.' "
The Saints were in Massachusetts to play the New England Patriots. Bush was unavailable to comment.
Every Heisman award generates two trophies, one for the player and one for the school. USC has removed Bush's Heisman from display and plans to return it to the Heisman Trust, which has not said whether it will strip Bush of his award.
Bush's violations were the major ones found by the NCAA, which banned the Trojans from bowl games for two years and stripped them of 30 scholarships. The school is appealing some of those penalties but not the 14 vacated victories in which Bush played from December 2004 through the 2005 season. USC could also lose its 2004 BCS national title.
USC was ordered to disassociate itself from Bush. All displays of his jersey and records have been removed from view.
"I wish I could ask Reggie to come talk to our football team. I can't. He's not allowed on the campus," Haden says. "But I think he would tell them what a big mistake he made and how sorry he is."
King Richard
Hello there
I agree with this. One point though that I think you'd agree with is, yes I think the rule changes have affected the effectiveness of a cornerback, but one could argue that they are a premium commodity nowadays. This is why everyone is so amazed when a Darelle Revis comes around and completely shuts down a team's top receiver considering all of the rule changes and stricter enforcement of pass interference.
Well yeah, I was going to mention guys like Dilfer, 05 Roethlisberger, 07 Eli, etc, but as I mentioned this is the exception, not the rule. All three of those teams had lights out defenses and fantastic running games so those areas were able to propel their team to continued success.
I think I've said this before here, but if a team fits into the 3/5 rule, they have a chance to win a championship no doubt, and those aforementioned teams did. Contrast that with teams like the Colts and Patriots, where they fulfill the 3/5 rule in different areas, however I believe them to have a better combination of areas to excel in the NFL for a longer period of time than the teams who rely less on the pass, and by extension, their QB.
I stand by the Center being the most important position on the offensive line. Besides being responsible for a clean/accurate snap, he still has to block guys like Jay Ratliff, and also make presnap calls to the rest of the offensive line.
You can stick a RB or TE to help out a mediocre LT against a Jared Allen, but it's pretty difficult to overcome snap problems, or to get help blocking when a defender comes straight up the middle.
You can stick a RB or TE to help out a mediocre LT against a Jared Allen, but it's pretty difficult to overcome snap problems, or to get help blocking when a defender comes straight up the middle.
Badbird
Never banned
Here is my list of who I think are the best NFL head coaches.
Bill Walsh
Don Shula
Vince Lombardi
Bill Parcells
Bill Belichick
Chuck Noll
Tom Landry
Paul Brown
George Halas
Bill Walsh
Don Shula
Vince Lombardi
Bill Parcells
Bill Belichick
Chuck Noll
Tom Landry
Paul Brown
George Halas
Jesus christ, Belichick is third?! Above Bill Walsh, and Shula, and Chuck Knoll?! What a fucking crock of shit.
edit: I decided not to make a list. Needless to say, Belichick wouldn't make the top 20.
He is there for a reason...deal with it. Sure you could flip-flop a guy or two here and there, but not putting Bill in the top 20...now thats a crock of shit.
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