Just an attempt to make an assessment of sorts...

LT and RT are locked down by Carey and Long. No big surprise here and no competition either. Nate Garner is getting reps at RT (as someone else mentioned) in case Long or Carey get injured. He subbed for Carey last year and can always fill in at either guard spot if need be. Nice versatile player who could start for many teams.

There is a competition at C where Berger and Grove will be getting looks. Grove is a darn good center but has trouble staying on the field. Berger was pretty good subbing for him last year and is getting reps to see if he can be the long term answer IF Grove has another injury plagued year. I am not sure if he is better than Grove at the moment and also not sure about his potential and functional strength either. Groves was praised for his ability to handle players like Kris Jenkins one on one.

Justin Smiley was another high priced free agent who was sent packing because he couldn't stay healthy. Grove could be next. Berger is 1 inch taller and 15 lbs heavier than Grove.

The biggest competition is at guard where Jerry and Incognito are competing on the right side and Procter and Thomas are competing on the left.

It would seem they decided on the position switches to have a young guy competing with a vet on each side. It would seem that Incognito would be the clear favorite because of his nastiness but obviously the FO would like to see the 3rd rounder get some time. Jerry also seems like a better fit on the right side as opposed to early reports that he would play on the left. Jerry is 2 inches taller but only 3 lbs heavier than RI.

Thomas is said to have an ability to "really move" people in the run game and would seem to be a better fit on the strong side but he has had consistency problems and is getting an opportunity on the left with adequate but unspectacular Corey Procter offering competition.

I believe Thomas will be the starter on the left come game day.

I believe this unit is the strength of the team and our second team o-line is as good as more than half the starting units in the league. Great job by the FO in assembling this unit.

So we have Long who is an All Pro, Carey who was the 4th rated RT in the league last year, a powerful road grader at LG in Thomas and mean and nasty Incognito at RG. This is one nasty bunch of players.

ratings for 09...

cream of the crop....

Long...2nd rated LT in the league
Carey...4th rated RT
Grove...4th rated C (Berger was 12th)

not so much but have potential

Nate Garner rated 51st.
Thomas rated 55th (room to improve)
Incognito rated 39th (but had to learn two new systems)

Procter played in 12 games in 09 with no starts.

So how do we get the best five on the field?

Long and Carey and Grove should start and between Incognito and Jerry we should be set on the right side.

I don't expect much from Procter on the left and Thomas will clearly beat him out unless Donald struggles with the position switch. I think Garner should be starting at LG if this is the case....and be the backup RT.

Thoughts?

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

I think you will see a healthy rotation at both GUARD spots. Just like teh d-line, we will be roatating guards throughout the game. Keeping everyone fresh.