- submitted by Long Ball, DOF

While the offensive tackles are protecting the outside space and often face the opposition’s best pass rushers, strength up the middle is no less important, as it forms the “bubble” of the quarterback’s pocket.  A triumvirate of center and two guards is essential to both the running game and passing attack of a pro offense.

There are differences in the blocking techniques of interior linemen versus tackles – the first is an ability to maintain a low center of gravity, from the inertia generated upon initial contact through the maintenance of the block.  This is true whether blocking for the run or the pass – guards and centers must get below the pad level of the opposing DT’s (and/or DE’s and LB’s, if pulling).  Where length and long arms are a benefit for the OT position, that is not necessarily true for OG and OC.  In addition, short, choppy steps are the preference for interior linemen (once again, whether pass protection, straight-line or cross-blocking, or pulling for a sweep), as opposed to the longer kick-slide step of tackles.

Let’s look at the guards and centers together, since there will be some overlap – we’ll start with the guards, since some of the tackles we previously analyzed may end up as guards.

The Samoan Road-Grader from Idaho, Mike Iupati (6’5”, 325 lbs), could be the 2^nd coming of Larry Allen – his strength is off-the-charts scary and he has a mean attitude.  Combine that with agility and quickness and you can see why he’s being called “the complete package”.  There’s just one problem:  the scouts discovered at the Senior Bowl that he has 35” arms, so they wanted to see him perform at tackle as well.  He struggled a bit in space against speed rushers, but could eventually end up at RT.

One of the surprises at the Senior Bowl was the adaptability of John Jerry (6’5”, 332 lbs) of Ole Miss, who came in 18 pounds lighter than expected.  Jerry stepped up his play, performing well at both OG and RT, promoting favorable comparisons to his older brother Peria (2009 1^st round choice by Atlanta).  Jerry’s translates his mass and strength (34 reps of 225 lbs) to the playing field, following up a strong first punch with either “sticky hands” in pass protection or nastiness in run blocking, often ending in a pancake.  Surprising agility and first step quickness for a man his size.

Jon Asamoah (6’4”, 300 lbs) of Illinois injured his shoulder at the Senior Bowl and did not play in the game; however, if the injury is not too serious, it should not have a significant impact his draft status.  His length and anchor make him an excellent pass protector and his body control on the line and in space make him an effective run blocker as well.  Very coachable with excellent practice and weight room habits.

There is a significant drop-off in quality after the first three prospects, as the remainder all have deficiencies to correct.  Another adaptable OG that improved his stock at the Senior Bowl was TCU Horned Frog Marshall Newhouse (6’3”, 326 lbs), consistently out-working his opponents.  The scouts were impressed with his versatility to slide out to RT (his college position) and demonstrated nice footwork and strength.

Physically, Mike Johnson (6’6”, 306 lbs) of Alabama and Brandon Carter (6’6”, 326 lbs) of Texas Tech have similar attributes:  good strength, tall for the OG position, bend too much at the waist (losing balance), and slow.  The difference between the two is mental make-up:  Johnson is cerebral, out-thinking opponents and Carter has a nasty disposition.  Either player will have to be in a scheme that does not require much athleticism out of its guards.

A couple of “dark-horse” candidates that could be had late in the draft, or even signed as UDFA’s for development are Joe Hawley (6’3”, 303 lbs) of UNLV and Matt McCracken (6’3”, 300 lbs) of Richmond.

Centers normally call the line blocking assignments and, as a result, are second in importance only to the LT position.  The best center in this year’s draft, and may battle Jerry for the #2 guard ranking behind only Iupati (not counting some of the OT’s that may play OG), is Maurkice Pouncey (6’5”, 318 lbs) of Florida.  Smart, durable and athletic, Pouncey is a potential 1^st round selection – and not only does he possess the physical attributes for the position, but is a technician at his craft.  A student of the game, Pouncey was the leader of the Gator OL, calling out pre-snap assignments.

The drop-off at the center position starts even before the guard position – Matt Tenant (6’5”, 290 lbs) of Boston College is next in the pecking order, but will have to go through a year (or two) of off-season training to add mass before he’s even ready to compete at the next level.  As a result, J.D. Walton (6’3”, 305 lbs) of Baylor may play before Tennant.  He’s a mauler, held up well against more powerful DT’s at the Senior Bowl, and is a tough, durable, intelligent OL leader – scouts love his propensity to give his all every play.

Jeff Byers (USC), Ted Larsen (NC State) and Eric Olsen (Notre Dame) all got the hell beat out of them during Senior Bowl practices.  Quite frankly, the 4^th best center this year may well be Erik Cook (6’6”, 320 lbs) of New Mexico – few players are named OL MVP, Offensive MVP and MVP on a 1-11 team.  His coaches and teammates call him a leader on the field, in the weight room and in the locker room.

Teams looking for developmental players should take a long, hard look at Kyle Mutcher (6’3”, 300 lbs) of Weber State and Austin Steichen (6’3”, 305 lbs) of Northern Iowa.

Whew!  Are ya outa breath yet?  Tell you what – I’ll take a starting offensive line of Bulaga at LT, Iupati at LG, Pouncey at OC, Jerry at RG and Saffold at RT and you can pick out any skill positions you want – we’ll make it work!  On our next installment, we’ll jump across to the defensive side of the ball and break down some more Big Uglies.

The Big Ugly Hisself,

Long Ball