Anybody know if Clements will start with the 1st unit tonight? I heard something about Adrian Jones practicing with the 2nd unit this week, but didn't see any mention of it on this board. I HOPE Clements starts. We need a better look at him to see if he can be better than Jones. I know I want him to win the job cause I currently despise Jones. I'm not saying Jones doesn't have 'potential', but he's a danger to everyone in the backfield right now. He needs to get much better before I want to see him in the game. I still wish we were able to grab another OL, like Winston Justice. :sad:
Odds are Clement will get the start this week. He and Jones alternated at 1st team RT when I was at camp..and after Jones' performance last week surely Clement will start this week. I believe that we really need Jones to step up. Right now his biggest problem appears to be mental. He has been taking bad angles in pass protection and lacking aggression. But if he can straighten his game out(and he has the potential to do it) he will help solidify a quality, ultra athletic OL core that we can build around for years. W/ that said, I agree, that until Jones figures out his game...he belongs on the 2nd team...where he cant threaten injuries to our 1st team skill players.
Clements was a back up for the 49ers last year, so I wouldn't be buying plane tickets to Hawaii yet, but I still hope he's an improvement over AJ. My main problem with AJ is that he's always backing up. He doesn't force the DE where he wants him to go. He's just a sliding sheild that keeps moving backward. Even on running plays he just a shield, he doesn't open any holes. :sad:
Did anyone see the third string guy Blanton #78 he got into the game pretty early on and played most of the game and from what I saw he looked pretty solid.
I am curious about this Blanton kid, he is huge... I think the only thing that teams were down on him about was his lack of a "mean streak" and the fact that he is so tall that D-lineman are able to stand him up. Those are things that you can fix through coaching though... he could be an UFA steal.
Based on what I saw in pass coverage Blanton pretty much dominated anyone he was up against. He looked pretty good at run blocking as well. We'll have to see what happens, he probably played for 3 quarters because the jets wanted to see if he was a keeper. We'll see if he passed the test. Once again I was not at all impressed with Adrian Jones.
I only saw one play w/ Blanton, and he had really solid technique and footwork in pass protection. He has great size and mustve been doing something right in the running game as we ran the ball pretty well all night. When I watched him at TC he struggled alil in pass protection..but we shall see. If Mangini is truly a bellichick disciple and Blanton was as impressive as everyone says...he wont hesitate to give Blanton a shot at the RT spot.
My guess..... Blanton is the starter at RT by week 2, if not sooner.... Jnes has been almost awful, and Clement is a retread who got benched at SF last year..... he's fat and slow.
Me too. Having another solid rookie on the OL particularly at RT would be huge. Keep your fingers crossed that he pans out.
