AFC West Watch – Offensive Line

AFC West Watch continues on BroncoTalk. Today the offensive line is under debate – and it’s an interesting story across all four teams. You have a team who has had an undersized, speedy, and very successful offensive line, but due to injuries, age, and cuts, comes into this season with questions across the line. You have another team who has never had a great offensive line until last year, where they were arguably one of the best. Another team saw Hall of Famers retire, leaving their O-Line suspect, and the last team’s offensive line was historically bad, giving up a record number of sacks and acting as the foundation of an offense that scored a historic low in touchdowns. All 4 teams have a story, but I’m not telling stories, I’m ranking the rosters. So here we go.

1) San Diego Chargers

One of the best draft picks last year had to be Marcus McNeill, the big bruising left tackle the Chargers took in the second round. Not only does he dominate his opponent both in the running and passing game, but he’s tough as nails, too, continuing to start at the end of last year despite having two broken hands. Top it all off with the fact that McNeill was never called for a single holding penalty in 2006 and you have an idea of his dominance over his enemy. What a monster.

At left guard, they have budding star Kris Dielman, who took (reportedly) $12 million less to stay in San Diego than he would have made if he had gone to Seattle. That one had to piss Mike Holmgren off. Some fans out there are higher on Dielman than I am – I think he’s good, not great, and that his breakout year last year had more to do with a much more serviceable tackle starting on his left. He is more than adequate himself though, and deserved a big payday as much as any of the other guards who have gotten such this past offseason. I’d like to see another year of solid play from Dielman, then I’d be willing to consider him higher on my lineman list than he is now.

At center they have Nick Hardwick, who made his first Pro Bowl this last year as an alternate. He and Rivers seem to have the kind of chemistry Broncos fans can only hope Tom Nalen and Jay Cutler have this year. His move to gain 15 lbs. a year ago paid off, despite my own opinion at the time, and he’s shown that he compete with the best interior threats out there.

At right guard and tackle the Chargers employ Mike Goff and Shane Olivea, respectively. Goff came from Cincinnati in 2004 and is probably the weak link of the line – which is saying something, because Goff can hold his own. Olivea impressed as a rookie 7th-rounder in 2004 and has been solid ever since.

The real star is McNeill, who turned this offensive line from suspect to solid in the matter of a year. The injury bug bit him in college, but it bit him last year and he pulled through it without a problem. If he has another season like last year, he’ll be right up near the top of my Top 10 linemen list next year.

2) Denver Broncos

Starting again with left tackle, veteran Colorado alum Matt Lepsis has been everything the Broncos could have hoped for at left tackle. Last year’s ACL injury hurt us more than anything, in my opinion, and Lepsis is hoping to be healthy enough to bounce back this year. One of the most underrated linemen in the league, Lepsis has never let his size determine his success. A snowplow of a run blocker, the Broncos offense has found its niche behind Lepsis on the left side. If he’s able to come back fully healthy, I expect big things from him this year.

Ben Hamilton complements Lepsis in his speed and agility on the left side at guard. And vice-versa – it was becoming apparent that quick blows were getting to Hamilton late last year, allowing defenders to penetrate at the left guard spot. This could be because of the absence of Lepsis. With his return, I expect Hamilton’s game to pick up as well.

Tom Nalen, one of the last “survivors” of the Super Bowl teams, has been dominant at his position for years. While the center-quarterback exchange was frustrating last year to watch when Cutler stepped onto the field, I expect this to get tidied up with a full offseason of focus for young Jay. Where blocking is concerned, Broncos fans have little to be concerned. Year after year, Nalen is solid in pass protection and run blocking. Last year his game fell off a bit, and he seemed to be showing his age, but even then he was among the elite centers in the league. Broncos fans have seen his tenacity on the field for years… it will be hard to see him go in the next two years or so.

All that being said, the real juicy stuff on the Broncos O-Line is taking place on the right side, where camp battles will ensue for both right guard and right tackle. The inside track for these positions seem to be Chris Kuper and Erik Pears, respectively, who have both impressed during offseason workouts thus far. Pulling from behind will be free agents we’ve grabbed over the last few years – Montrae Holland and Adam Meadow, neither whom fit the “mold” of Broncos lineman in their size and girth, but add a great amount of depth and could be better pass protectors for our more pocket-oriented quarterback. I’ll be going into much more detail on these camp battles next week, so I continue…

3) Kansas City Chiefs

For years, the Chiefs had the best offensive line in football. But a Will Shields and Willie Roaf retirement later, and the unit isn’t nearly as prolific as it was a few years ago. They still have playmakers in the interior of the O-Line, but the rest doesn’t look pretty.

At left tackle they have Damien McIntosh, whom they picked up from the Dolphins this offseason. Of course, the real weakness to Miami’s team over the past several years has been offensive line, so calling that a “plus” isn’t really possible. I wouldn’t even call him a band-aid, either – he and the right side of the line are truly suspect coming into this season for the Chiefs.

Left guard is their last remaining star, Brian Waters, who has gone to three straight Pro Bowls and is the new leader of this unit. His game is solid all the way around, but I don’t think he’s good enough to elevate McIntosh’s game (he wasn’t for Kyle Turley last year). At center they have another bright spot in Casey Wiegmann, a former Pro Bowler himself who hasn’t been as stellar the past few years. He’s still far and away their best option though.

On the right side they have Chris Bober at guard and Chris Terry at tackle. Neither of them are anything to be excited about, having started a combined 24 games in the last 3 years. Last year they had 2 starts between them. If I were a Chiefs fan, I’d be more frustrated over NOT drafting Joe Staley more than anything, when he was sitting right in front of your faces. For years the Chiefs needed a wide receiver to be special, and they finally grab one AFTER their once-dominant offensive line falls apart.

Good luck Brodie Croyle and/or Damon Huard – you’re going to need it.

4) Oakland Raiders

Sheesh… doesn’t that picture LOOK like the face of pure evil… The Raiders were awesomely bad last year, and the offensive line was the biggest to blame. You would think Art Shell would be able to get THAT part of the unit right, but I digress… I’ll run through this group quickly, just because it’s painstakingly agonizing to have to do all the research for the underpeforming group…

At left tackle they have the very young, upper first round pick Robert Gallery, who has underwhelmed up to this point to say the least. He hasn’t shown dominance in any fashion in either run or pass blocking, and I’ve seen him continuously miss assignments time after time. This could be a make or break year for his career and Oakland… honestly I hope he does somewhat well so the Raiders will keep him.

Barry Simms wasn’t good enough to start last year at left guard, but he gets the nod there anyway. Who knows what that move will do. At center, they currently have tabbed Jake Grove, who has played right guard for the unit in the past. A young player with a bit of upside, Grove was a second round pick a few years back that has yet to truly pay them dividends.

Filling in the right side are Paul McQuistan, who played left guard last season, and ex-Bronco Cornell Green, whom they picked up in the offseason. After a year out of football in 2005, Green was on the Bucs and their nothing-special unit. Again, adding players off bad teams does little to improve yours. My guess is that Green will be replaced by their one and only offensive line draft pick, Mario Henderson, the OT out of Florida state they selected in the third round.

They made a lot of changes across the O-Line – only LT and C remain the same from the year before. But it doesn’t seem that the moves are necessarily upgrades, just moves for the sake of moving. As bad as they were last year, though, that couldn’t hurt either…

Average Rank So Far:

San Diego Chargers – 1.8
Denver Broncos – 2.0
Kansas City Chiefs – 3.0
Oakland Raiders – 3.2

Stay tuned next week for the defensive line breakdown, where the Chargers’ 3-man squad is among the elite in the league; the Chiefs and Chargers both have a couple of stars, and the Broncos have completely overhauled their unit (and it’s about damn time).