It's All About the OL

 

Let's face it. When you have a team as bad as this, it will take years to rebuild. Thank you York for giving us this lovely present. A team for which we can be so proud. Not! Sunday's performance was horrible. It was so bad, there really isn't anything that can be said. It was just terrible!

   
So I want to focus instead on the building of a championship. We have our young QB of the future who many are already giving up on. I say Smith can still be a great QB. He has the tools. But what will turn him from the second coming of Tim Couch into the next Peyton Manning? The offensive line!

   
I was reading an article in the SF Chronicle by Ira Miller, a man I have much respect for. Miller writes about how everybody seems to be clamoring for running QBs, yet if you look at those successful QBs in the league now, they are all pocket passers. The story is worth reading and is linked below:

 

 

The one thing that is not mentioned, though, is the need for a great offensive line. Let's take Drew Bledsoe as the perfect example of this. Bledsoe has always been a pocket passer and as the years went by, he has gone from no mobility to negative mobility. Yet, look at his first stop after New England. He went to Buffalo and had a great first season. But in the second season, the OL was not the same. They had some free agent losses replaced by underachieving rookies. What happened? Bledsoe got knocked around and turned into a bad QB. Flash forward to this year. He is in Dallas and finding success again. Why? While this offensive line is not like the glory days of old, it is a solid line. Supported by a running game and good coaching, Bledsoe is again putting up quality numbers. With the OL, Bledsoe gets knocked unconcious again and is probably on the IR by now.

   
The point is that for each of these great pocket passers that Miller names, each is supported by a good, if not great O-line. Roethersberger in Pitt? Talk about a dream come true for a rookie. Compare his situation to David Carr in Houston. Carr set the record for being sacked in a year. Imagine what Carr could have done if the situations were reversed?

  
It is, of course, more than JUST an OL. Dan Marino had an unbelievable quick release. Montana was able to move in the pocket. Young and Elway were able to scramble all over. But bottom line, they all ended up with solid protection. When they did not, they all got very beaten up.

  
If you look at great QBs, both then and now, they all have great supporting casts. Montana, Marino, Elway, Favre, Aikman, Mannning, Brady, etc. What would these QBs been like if they were running for their lives on every play. Just ask Young from his Tampa days as that is exactly what he was doing.

   
My long-winded point is simple. We have our QB. Who knows if he turns out to be any good. But without a good OL, we'll never find out. He will turn into the next Tim Couch, Joey Harrington or David Carr. As this season continues to descend toward hell, we will again be blessed by high draft picks. With the number one pick I would love a play-maker like Reggie Bush. But whether it happens in the first round or later, the Niners need to consistently draft two offensive linemen on the first day, and probably bring in one or two free agents as well. This OL needs to be rebuilt and rebuilt fast. Without the OL, all our dreams for Smith and Gore and the rest, are just dreams.

   
It has been said in the forum, and it is hard for me to disagree: the man the Niners miss the most is the legendary Bobb McKitrick. RIP Bobb, you have been missed more than you ever would have thought!