Even if Long walks, we BETTER not take a LT in the first round

[Gonzo]

I agree with what you're saying in principle but 1) it's too early to declare certain picks a bust. Martin is being shifted around, he was brought in KNOWING that his play at RT would be a work in progress, and we certainly hit a homerun with Pouncey.

Jake Long was playing, up until this year, like a top 10 tackle every season, sometimes looking downright dominant throughout a stretch of 6-7 games. Sadly, that Jake is injured and broken. I can't blame anyone for that.

Neither I nor the poster you were responding to were calling Martin or any of them a bust. I think Martin will do just fine as Long's replacement. Actually, I don't even consider Long a bust. To me, a bust is somebody that singlehandedly destroys a team (Leaf) and/or is out of the league within a couple of years. Long didn't have that kind of impact. He had very little impact actually, despite being fairly dominant the first couple of years before injuries took their toll. Also, Long didn't just start playing poorly this year. It began last year, so I will give Ireland credit for noticing that and drafting his replacement early. It's the first and only proactive move I've ever seen him make.

Pouncey is a great center, but I'm not going to give any credit for the pick. The only reason we even need to draft a center was because Ireland **** the bed in trading Satele and signing his annual overpaid FA bust in Grove. Further, he hasn't put any points on the board, which is what this team needs far more than anything.

The point is, using those picks on lineman did nothing for this team. Further, despite all these high round picks, we still have a mediocre line. If we're using high picks, I expect one of, if not the most, dominant line in the league. It's FAR from being that.