Steel Trap86
07-21-2010, 03:40 PM
Since Coach Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007, the team’s quarterbacks have been sacked an average of 48.7 times per season, and the running attack has become increasingly ineffective in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Tomlin responded last January by changing offensive line coaches, and now it’s Sean Kugler who will be working most closely with a unit that everyone acknowledges will have to play well for the team to return to the playoffs this season.
As Tomlin dismissed the team at the end of OTAs in mid-June, the offensive line seemed to be a group with enough quality components to give Kugler a chance to form a unit that would allow the offense to do the things it needed to do at the stages of games when they needed to be done.
Then came the last week of June, and two pieces of news. The bad news was that rookie Chris Scott broke a bone in his foot and likely was going to miss all of training camp. The worse news was that Willie Colon injured an Achilles and following surgery would be lost for the season.
All of a sudden, the depth chart at tackle was paper-thin at a point of the NFL calendar where there’s no such thing as quality players out on the street just waiting to be signed.
Losing Colon and Scott certainly makes the job more difficult, but in Kugler the Steelers have a position coach who is familiar with the process of dealing with these kinds of situations. In Buffalo last season, Kugler coached an offensive line that started seven different tackle tandems through the course of the season and nine different offensive line combinations over 16 games. By season’s end, the Bills had five offensive linemen on the injured reserve list – two tackles and three guards – along with their two starting tight ends (Derek Schouman and Derek Fine).
Max Starks could be moved to right tackle, where he started all 20 games on the way to the victory in Super Bowl XL, with Trai Essex moved to left tackle, where all of his five career starts have come. Or, Jonathan Scott, who started nine games for the Bills last season, could step in at right tackle. Or maybe it’s Ramon Foster, who started 27 games at right tackle in college at Tennessee. Or maybe it’s something or someone else altogether.
rest of article > http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Kugler-has-experience-as-a-juggler/1335d18d-7b9e-41ef-9c08-c60bba93a372
As Tomlin dismissed the team at the end of OTAs in mid-June, the offensive line seemed to be a group with enough quality components to give Kugler a chance to form a unit that would allow the offense to do the things it needed to do at the stages of games when they needed to be done.
Then came the last week of June, and two pieces of news. The bad news was that rookie Chris Scott broke a bone in his foot and likely was going to miss all of training camp. The worse news was that Willie Colon injured an Achilles and following surgery would be lost for the season.
All of a sudden, the depth chart at tackle was paper-thin at a point of the NFL calendar where there’s no such thing as quality players out on the street just waiting to be signed.
Losing Colon and Scott certainly makes the job more difficult, but in Kugler the Steelers have a position coach who is familiar with the process of dealing with these kinds of situations. In Buffalo last season, Kugler coached an offensive line that started seven different tackle tandems through the course of the season and nine different offensive line combinations over 16 games. By season’s end, the Bills had five offensive linemen on the injured reserve list – two tackles and three guards – along with their two starting tight ends (Derek Schouman and Derek Fine).
Max Starks could be moved to right tackle, where he started all 20 games on the way to the victory in Super Bowl XL, with Trai Essex moved to left tackle, where all of his five career starts have come. Or, Jonathan Scott, who started nine games for the Bills last season, could step in at right tackle. Or maybe it’s Ramon Foster, who started 27 games at right tackle in college at Tennessee. Or maybe it’s something or someone else altogether.
rest of article > http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Kugler-has-experience-as-a-juggler/1335d18d-7b9e-41ef-9c08-c60bba93a372