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In the perfect world, gut the whole online and start over. I would keep paradise and pick up some size. I know the ZBS requires light agile guys, but that cut blocking is not allowed anymore. Keeping guys in their natural position may make it easier to transition to the pros.
Other than that, I like some big butts and I can not lie....
Paradis, and that's about it. At this point, there's nothing to lose in starting Turner and McGovern, they can't be any worse than Garcia and Schofield.
Not sure. In 2015, reports were that appx 3.2 Billion people were going online. How many of those 3.2 Billion people are worth keeping, who knows; its anybodys guess.
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In the perfect world, gut the whole online and start over. I would keep paradise and pick up some size. I know the ZBS requires light agile guys, but that cut blocking is not allowed anymore. Keeping guys in their natural position may make it easier to transition to the pros.
Other than that, I like some big butts and I can not lie....
The cut blocking that I assume you're referring to is not illegal, which is a common misconception. There is nothing wrong with the scheme imo, just the talent up front.
To answer your question though, I say ditch Okung and possibly Stephenson. Those two positions need an upgrade and we need to use that money for it.
Garcia, Schofield, and Ty should stay on as we have invested in them and need to continue if possible. I believe they should compete but more than likely take on a depth role. I have faith that Schofield can become our swing tackle. I think Garcia is decent depth, Ty is another story. I still believe he can be a good lineman if he can stay healthy and develop his strength. Bottom line, we need an upgrade in talent and shave off the weakest links.
Anonymity is cowardice, and cowards are not known for their wisdom.
Paradis is the only guy who should be part of future plans. The other 4 should have their days numbered, but if I were to order them by necessity of replacement:
1) Max Garcia - beyond garbage
2) Stephenson - I guess he was a bottom-rated tackle in KC for a reason
3) Okung - tremendous disappointment. Far too many backbreaking penalties, and his contract will be cost prohibitive in the future.
4) Schofield - the move to guard has made him serviceable, but not necessarily ideal for the long term. However, he would provide some depth at the position, and I suppose some versatility to be an emergency tackle in a pinch.
Just for reference, here are the guys still on the books for 2017:
Player
Cap Hit
Dead Money
Cap Savings
Russell Okung
$11,700,000
$800,000
$10,900,000
Donald Stephenson
$5,000,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
Ty Sambrailo
$1,048,897
$528,530
$520,367
Michael Schofield
$832,300
$130,300
$702,000
Billy Turner
$794,000
$0
$794,000
Max Garcia
$701,422
$172,844
$528,578
Connor McGovern
$605,975
$197,925
$408,050
So first off, Paradis needs a contract, and he's likely to command quite a bit of money. After we take care of him, Okung needs to go. His contract jumps far too high this year and we lose little to nothing by cutting him. You could argue that we could do better with the extra $3M for cutting Stephenson, but it certainly isn't a huge savings. I could go either way on that one.
After that, the rest of the players listed are cheap and/or young enough that we should keep them around for depth and competition at worst. With those cheap contracts, we have little to gain from cutting them.
Paradis
Schofield - during preseason and early in the season he substituted for Okung and played fairly well. Keep him as a backup.
Sambrailo - he spent so much time injured that he did not have time to develop. See if he can develop at L/RG.
McGovern - interested to see what he can do next season.
Paradis should be kept for now. He's a serviceable starter, but I don't see him being as good as PFF says that he is. I see a lot of mistakes. He's a RFA this year, I'd qualify him and let him prove that he's worth an extension.
Garcia should be kept simply because of his youth. He's been fairly poor for most of the season, but young players take time to develop, I'd give another year in the offseason program and make him battle for a spot in the summer.
Schofield has become a serviceable guard. So many people rip on him because of last year, but he's not nearly as bad as people make him out to be. He still has screw ups from time to time, but all linemen do. Given how he's grown from last year to this year, I'd definitely keep him, if he's the starting RG again next year it's not the worst thing in the world, and if the Broncos can get a decent RT next to him, things get solidified there quickly.
Sambrailo I would keep as well. Assuming he stays healthy the rest of the season (and since he's not playing that seems like a good bet) the will be his first chance at an offseason strength and conditioning program. Getting him stronger and having the OTA's to work on technique should help him.
Stephenson, meh, I wouldn't keep him as a starting tackle, or even depth tackle. But I'm curious if he can play guard? But if they release him, it's not a big loss.
No way would I keep Okung unless he agreed to another 1 year $5 million contract with no upfront money. If he agreed to that I'd keep him but still work to upgrade the spot.
Not sure any of the 5 (aside from Paradis) will be starting next year, but 3 of them (Schofield, Garcia and Sambrailo) are cheap and could provide depth.
If I had to guess, I would say there are 2 new starters on the o-line next year.
To me, it depends on who we can get to replace the OL already on the team. No player we have now should be safe and we should explore all potential options to upgrade each position.
Paradis should be kept for now. He's a serviceable starter, but I don't see him being as good as PFF says that he is. I see a lot of mistakes. He's a RFA this year, I'd qualify him and let him prove that he's worth an extension.
Garcia should be kept simply because of his youth. He's been fairly poor for most of the season, but young players take time to develop, I'd give another year in the offseason program and make him battle for a spot in the summer.
Schofield has become a serviceable guard. So many people rip on him because of last year, but he's not nearly as bad as people make him out to be. He still has screw ups from time to time, but all linemen do. Given how he's grown from last year to this year, I'd definitely keep him, if he's the starting RG again next year it's not the worst thing in the world, and if the Broncos can get a decent RT next to him, things get solidified there quickly.
Sambrailo I would keep as well. Assuming he stays healthy the rest of the season (and since he's not playing that seems like a good bet) the will be his first chance at an offseason strength and conditioning program. Getting him stronger and having the OTA's to work on technique should help him.
Stephenson, meh, I wouldn't keep him as a starting tackle, or even depth tackle. But I'm curious if he can play guard? But if they release him, it's not a big loss.
No way would I keep Okung unless he agreed to another 1 year $5 million contract with no upfront money. If he agreed to that I'd keep him but still work to upgrade the spot.
Not sure any of the 5 (aside from Paradis) will be starting next year, but 3 of them (Schofield, Garcia and Sambrailo) are cheap and could provide depth.
If I had to guess, I would say there are 2 new starters on the o-line next year.
Schofield put a lot of work into technique at tackle - he put a lot of work in at LT/RT during camp, preseason and covered for Okung early in the season (IIRC). I know everyone's memory of him was of him at RT last season. He looked much improved at tackle on both sides - maybe because he put so much work in the off season.
Schofield put a lot of work into technique at tackle - he put a lot of work in at LT/RT during camp, preseason and covered for Okung early in the season (IIRC). I know everyone's memory of him was of him at RT last season. He looked much improved at tackle on both sides - maybe because he put so much work in the off season.
Yep, that's what I thought as well. People are going to freak out, but I'm not entirely sure that he isn't the starting LT in September 2017. If they can't get anyone else that is.
It's not a good idea to keep guys simply because they are young - you have to see something from them to make the investment of time and energy worthwhile. Remember every guy you have in the mix occupies an opportunity that could've gone to someone else. I think the Broncos really need to be ruthless in their evaluation this offseason... there just isn't any room for dead weight.My thoughts:
Dump Okung - too much $$$
Dump Stephenson - could be depth, but probably not worth it
Dump Sambrailo - is it injuries or is he just a bust? Either way, he's terrible
Keep Paradis - our best lineman
Keep Schofield - for reasons that have been well-articulated by other posters. He has shown improvement.
Keep Garcia - but make him fight to survive, because his performance wasn't up to par this year
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