Offensive Line

[Scooter]

i think right now the offensive line is very difficult to speculate on because we dont know what gibbs and kubiak are trying to implement into their scheme. it wouldnt suprise me at all to see salaam-pitts-mckinney-weary(?)-winston as it was last year ... nor would it suprise me if we had 5 new starters who earned spots in training camp because they fit where we're heading better than our current starters. guys like studdard, myers, eslinger, spencer (hoping), and white will be competing for spots this year and that's not including any other signings, trades, or the draft which is possible to land us a first round lineman.

left tackle is the spot most up for grabs and the most worrysome. it's foolish to assign spencer that spot because for all we know he may never play again and salaam despite his hard work and effort just isnt good enough. this is the hole and all improvement goes to the wayside unless we add talent at left tackle. center is deep atleast on the charts and i can see a guy like eslinger or white or myers being moved to guard. where center is a problem is production and still leaves our 2nd biggest hole on offense until we see what the younger guys can do. mckinney and flanagan arent good enough, myers has played in 11 games, eslinger's yet to play (i think), and white has only seen action in 6 games as a backup. myers IMO is (or should be) leading the way at center. mckinney IMO should play first backup because he fades fast but in short bursts (a game or two at a time) is very good. flanagan has lost his legs, period. weary - what is his injury and contract situation because i havent kept up? pitts' production IMO has fallen off steadily, i dont think he's guaranteed a spot but i dont like our depth at LG unless one of the young players really impresses in camp (studdard i'd like to see pushing for the right guard spot as a nasty road grader and a backup center like mckinney or white possibly pushing pitts out). winston is our only real sure thing at right tackle ... solid play from a solid player who shows improvement every game and should fit the system well.

it's hard to guess which players are going to be in, but the one thing i'm sure of is that assuming left tackle is handled ... we're going to like the 2008 texans' offense and namely our offensive line. wow that last part was hard to say.

[Scooter]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

The Texans ran predominately ZBS the last two years under Capers. They did not however believe in cut blocking.

as with stereotyping the linemen needed, i think that advertising offensive running games as primarily zone blocking is also too generalized. i'm as far from an expert as a fan can be but the ZBS isnt simply movement, space, and second level ... it's an offensive scheme that is based on design. capers and sherman were accused of running a zone blocking scheme but it wasnt one that involve the cutblocking, runningback detail, or creating holes by walling off in one direction while moving 3 or 4 in the pattern. it's a very precise series of assignements and gibbs is the premier hardass because one flaw ruins the play. the texans ran a more kubiak ZBS during his first preseason here and i think this year we'll see us take that and push it farther into how it's meant to be run. we saw glimpses of it in our stretch plays and bootlegs towards the end of the season but even they seemed to be simplified.

this is why i think it's very tough to guess who will be where on the roster because we havent for all intents & purposes ever ran the zone blocking scheme. pitts, salaam, flanagan, and weary all seemed to struggle IMO in the areas that are going to be key going into next season.

There's inside zone and outside zone.


Inside Zone looks a little bit like man blocking except...its not....

Zone blocking can sometimes become man blocking, but that's only because of what the defense is doing...but then again it doesn't really "become man blocking"...it just looks like it does...

In zone blocking lineman are pretty much taught to take their steps according to what front the defense is in and then pretty much let things sort themselves out after the snap...

You don't chase guys like you would in man blocking...

Basically in zoneblocking you're almost letting the defense dictate where the ball carrier goes...If the defense overplays most of the time there will be a clear cutback lane because of how the plays are designed...

A lot of it is timing, selling blocks, and having RB's and OL's who are intelligent and disciplined...