We May Have Found Our Center

[barrett]

I like the idea of getting Schaub out of there before he got killed any worse.
Over the last few weeks I kept saying to myself "can the loss of McKinney make THAT big of a difference? The answer is no. It wasn't the loss of McKinney, it was the insertion of Flannigan.

They pulled Flannigan at the same time as Schaub and Chris White went in (he also went in in the 4th last week). Immediately, the line got better. IMMEDIATELY. The throwing lanes opened up because White was pushing his man off the line. The running lanes opened up as well allowing even Dayne to make some plays. Joe looked good as well but the key to all of that was White. every time there was a run for positive yardage when the runner got up the first linemen you'd see enter the frame was Chris White because he had pushed his man down field. I watched him take on two guys on one pass play and he got pushed backwards but stood his ground and bought enough time for Sage to check down. I never saw him on his back, I never saw him 7 yards in the backfield after the play on his hands and knees. (When I think of Flannigan, that's how I envision him).

I know there is alot to be down about but This is one positive in it all. He doesn't look undersized to me. He looks like our starting center next week.

[TexansLucky13]

Agreed. Chris may be the future at Center, with McKinney at backup. The Flanagasaurus should put up his cleats soon.

[barrett]

I couldn't get over the lanes! I mean something happens when that position takes up space instead of being pushed back. these lanes are created either between the guards and the tackles or between the center and the guards. and that gets in the way of the linebackers so the QB has lanes to look for receivers as well as runners able to make some choices at the line of scrimmage. He really looked terrific i thought.

[Ole Miss Texan]

This is music to my ears. I wish I would have noticed but couldn't really read the players names through all my tears.

[Brandon420tx]

Originally Posted by Ole Miss Texan

This is music to my ears. I wish I would have noticed but couldn't really read the players names through all my tears.

I had a similar problem, except "tears" with "vomit". By the way, Itchyfullmantu looked great!

[rollinstone18]

I hope to see more of Echemandu and White next week.

[drewmar74]

Originally Posted by rollinstone18

I hope to see more of Echemandu and White next week.

I'm stoked about Echemandu. I had some family issues pop up and I didn't get to see White go in. But I did get to see Echo play and he gave the running game a pulse. I'm hoping he'll be another "diamond in the rough" find by Smith.

[inschaubwetrust]

I didn't notice, I was too busy trying to force myself to look at the TV.

I've been calling for Flanigan's head for awhile, he is proving every week that he does not deserve to have a spot on this roster.

[nunusguy]

I sorta lost my focus to and didn't notice when White came in the game.
But if he looked good, that's encouraging.
The run blocking has fallen off with McKinneys absense, and it must have something to do with the fall-off in talent when Flanagan came in to replace
SM. Lets hope CW is in fact closer to what we had with McKinney.

[BigWig]

I didnt notice either till Barrett broght it up and yes it was a big difference, I do hope he starts.
And I like the new rb, some say his nickname is Joe, he was a big surprise.

[Texan_Bill]

I intentionally watched Chris White once he came in... He did fairly well, but more importantly it was an upgrade over Flanagan (although thats not necessarily a ringing endorsement).

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by barrett

I couldn't get over the lanes! I mean something happens when that position takes up space instead of being pushed back. these lanes are created either between the guards and the tackles or between the center and the guards. and that gets in the way of the linebackers so the QB has lanes to look for receivers as well as runners able to make some choices at the line of scrimmage. He really looked terrific i thought.

I did not notice when White came in. But if you said that he came in together with Sage, that would be at the 2:31 mark in the second quarter. By then we were down 3-35.

We had gained 61 yard on the ground.
We did not run the ball again in the first half.
We gained 47 yard on the ground in the second half, probably with a few back-ups playing for the Chargers.

In the Titans game, I can't be sure, but it seems to me that White came in to replace Weary. I have the game film on my PC, but it's not very clear, sometimes I cannot see the number.
What I can make out is that #58 Flanagan was playing in the first half and he was wearing white gloves. And as I watched each series, I think the guy lining up at center always wore white gloves.
Does Chris wear gloves as well?

[Shaft75]

Originally Posted by Texan_Bill

I intentionally watched Chris White once he came in... He did fairly well, but more importantly it was an upgrade over Flanagan (although thats not necessarily a ringing endorsement).

You are right, he did pretty good. I say sit Weary and throw Studdard in too. Have a passionate young o-line in there.

Also I don't think that Winston did all that bad against Merriman.

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by Shaft75

You are right, he did pretty good. I say sit Weary and throw Studdard in too. Have a passionate young o-line in there.

Also I don't think that Winston did all that bad against Merriman.

Weary and Winston are probably the best we have at this point. Pitts is not having a good season. Maybe is has something to do with the Center, who knows?

I think Studdard is nicked up right now. If we were to give him a shot, I'd rather see him replace Pitts.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

I did not notice when White came in. But if you said that he came in together with Sage, that would be at the 2:31 mark in the second quarter. By then we were down 3-35.

We had gained 61 yard on the ground.
We did not run the ball again in the first half.
We gained 47 yard on the ground in the second half, probably with a few back-ups playing for the Chargers.

In the Titans game, I can't be sure, but it seems to me that White came in to replace Weary. I have the game film on my PC, but it's not very clear, sometimes I cannot see the number.
What I can make out is that #58 Flanagan was playing in the first half and he was wearing white gloves. And as I watched each series, I think the guy lining up at center always wore white gloves.
Does Chris wear gloves as well?

Thanks for the accuracy check. He didn't come in with Sage exactly. He ended up replacing Flannigan after an injury but it was around the same time.
You're also right that he came in last week for Weary but it was the same result, he was pushing guys off the ball. I wasn't paying attention to the time or even the yards gained by the point he was put in against the Chargers but I was just watching the trenches and seeing him moving bodies and standing his ground throughout the rest of the game. He looked really good.

[Second Honeymoon]

if White is better than Flanagan, than that is just another bad move by our coaching staff to stick with him when we had White as a viable alternative the whole time. Yeah, Flanny is more expensive but its obvious that he just can't get it done anymore. When we got him, I really thought we had solved our Center problems for at least 2-3 years. I was way off on that. Hopefully White can be the guy.

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by Second Honeymoon

if White is better than Flanagan, than that is just another bad move by our coaching staff to stick with him when we had White as a viable alternative the whole time. Yeah, Flanny is more expensive but its obvious that he just can't get it done anymore. When we got him, I really thought we had solved our Center problems for at least 2-3 years. I was way off on that. Hopefully White can be the guy.

Flanigan is nothing but fat. I understand linemen are supposed to be beefy, but I just can't see anything that represents muscle. He has a fat torso with little tiny arms. Practically everytime I've watched him he's been beat or he wasn't a part of the play. I've seen him whiff on screens multiple times (you to Pitts). Another waste of money by Sherman. Has there been a player with Sherman ties actually look good? NO!

SH, I was wrong about Green having a career year this year if healthy. Even though he hasn't been healthy I still don't think he'd be doing much different if he was.

Kubiak, look at my signature. Do it now!! You're only hurting yourself!!

[barrett]

i just listened to the monday press conference and as it turns out Flannigan did go out the same play that Schaub did. So Chris White was in for 3 quarters and 2+ minutes.... i sure hope they start him.

by the way, i don't think they screwed up by not starting him to this point. i heard a few reports where they mention that he was loosing weight and had taken a "step back" because of it. when i saw him out there he looked twice the size of Flannigan. So maybe it took a few weeks for him to put the weight on and bulk up and now he's ready to rock.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

i just listened to the monday press conference and as it turns out Flannigan did go out the same play that Schaub did. So Chris White was in for 3 quarters and 2+ minutes.... i sure hope they start him.

by the way, i don't think they screwed up by not starting him to this point. i heard a few reports where they mention that he was loosing weight and had taken a "step back" because of it. when i saw him out there he looked twice the size of Flannigan. So maybe it took a few weeks for him to put the weight on and bulk up and now he's ready to rock.

I'm thinkin White is bigger if you're counting just muscle & bone mass.
But on strictly a contest of bulk - yea Flanagan is the bigger of the 2.

[tulexan]

I thought White hasn't been playing because of an injury. Am I confusing him with someone else?