Offensive Line Rankings

[papabear]

I saw these offensive line rankings today at ESPN from Scouts Inc.

There's nothing ground breaking that a Texan fan wouldn't know. It just actually appears like they have watched a game or two and paid attention to what's been going on with the team. Not something you see everyday from a national source.

Here's what they have to say about us:

19. Houston Texans
This notoriously awful offensive line is showing signs of moving toward respectability. The hiring of line guru Alex Gibbs should get more out of this line than anyone dreamt in recent seasons -- particularly its run blocking. The Texans might have reached a bit in using a first-round selection on Duane Brown. Brown might take time to reach his potential, but his athletic ability can't be questioned. His acclimation to the NFL will have a lot to do with how effective this line is in 2008. Ephraim Salaam is the incumbent at left tackle, but his protection skills are suspect. Eric Winston doesn't get a lot of publicity, but he is a good right tackle and should only get better with time and Gibbs' tutelage. Houston traded for Chris Myers from Denver -- a logical trading partner, considering the similarities in schemes -- and he will start at center. LG Chester Pitts is adequate and moves well with a solid combination of size and agility. Charles Spencer is a wild card in this mix. Once looked upon as the left tackle of the future, Spencer now could add a real presence to the group of guards if he finally recovers from a career-threatening knee injury. Depth here is better than in recent memory, which doesn't say much, but there are some young, unheralded interior linemen who are pushing for playing time. This group did a fine job in pass protection last season but really struggled to open holes in the running game. Expect the run blocking to catch up in 2008 with Gibbs in charge. Whoever is toting the rock for Houston will reap the benefits.

I didn't pay much attention to the other teams, and I'm sure you could debate the ranking either way. It's just nice to see something that actually appears to have some actual research put into it. Not like an article I saw the other day that talked about how thin we were at RB, and that we should trade for Lamont Jordan to bolster our RB group of Green, Echemandu, and Leach. The worst part about it is, it was a Raiders blog.....Echemandu is on the Raiders roster now.