Offensive Line Worries

Game 2...huh boy.

 I wanted to write a post on last week's game, but I never became completely sure of what it was I had watched, and not being able to make heads or tails of a very weird situation, I kept my trap shut.  As for this week's game, I have to say, I have misgivings, even against Detroit. 

The fact of the matter is that our offensive line is very shaky.  Jason Peters' evil twin, the one who can't pass-block and who gets called for crucial penalties, hopefully won't show up today like he did last week.  Winston Justice got beat around the edge by linebacker/rampaging beastman Clay Matthews, who then proceeded to chase down and mollywhop a scrambling Kevin Kolb.  Matthews also beat Todd Herremans right up the middle for a sack earlier in the game.  Nick Cole, who had a lousy preseason playing as the replacement center, is starting at right guard.  Jamaal Jackson, as we all know, is donezo, so Mike McGlynn will make his first start snapping the ball.  If we have problems with the line today, I believe they will be here.

How, you ask?  Simple: McGlynn will be dealing with Ndamukong Suh.  Yes, Suh is a rookie, but he's already made a lot of noise, and he's immensely talented.  His counterpart, Corey Williams, isn't terrible, and they have Kyle Vanden Bosch lining up on the right side.  Obviously, an offensive line needs time to jell, and having Jackson, the rock of the line, out is a big factor.  I'm just a little worried about the continuity of the line, and that Suh will be able to take advantage of the situation.

The upside to this is that Michael Vick can offset faulty protection by using the ol' sweet legs.  He can okey-doke a defender with the best of them.  But he can't run the whole game.  Detroit's defensive weakness is its secondary, and Cap'n Andy needs to exploit this.  Jackson, Maclin, and Celek should run around, over, and through them all day long, and the line will need to give Vick time to drop back and let plays develop.  Seriously, there isn't one name in that secondary that scares me even a little bit.  Of course, the Lions have to know this, so their defensive game plan should be to use the talent they have on their front line to keep the offensive line on its heels.  If they watched Green Bay's performance last week, they should know that our o-line crumpled under the blitz, so they'll be bull-rushing all day long.  They'll want to stuff LeSean McCoy, who won't have the blocking services of Leonard Weaver for the rest of the season.  Sacking Vick is difficult, especially when he has good blocking, so they'll want to try to isolate him and make him do everything on his own.  They'll be in deep trouble if the line gives Vick adequate time to pass.

The Eagles are vastly more talented than the Lions on both sides of the ball, so I'm not expecting them to lose this one.  But it isn't going to be as easy as it was last time we played them.  It all comes down to how well the offensive line plays.  Plus, NO INJURIES...we can't afford another loss on the o-line.