 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Left tackles solidify an offense
Posted: Thursday December 16, 1999 05:15 PM
It's the nature of the game, but the players who carry the ball, throw the ball or catch the ball -- the so-called skill positions -- seem to get all the media attention. That's why Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison are quickly joining Peyton Manning as household names -- at least among households that care about pro football. But what about Tarik Glenn. He's just the big old offensive left tackle who helps clear the way for James on running plays and protects Manning's backside when he drops back to pass. Without that protection, the 11-2 Indianapolis Colts don't have anywhere near the success they've had. Everybody, even your aunt Hilda, has heard about Kurt Warner of the 11-2 St. Louis Rams. She might even know about Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce, maybe even Az-zahir Hakim. But you can bet that she has never heard of Orlando Pace, who hasn't gotten much publicity outside of St. Louis since he was picked in the first round of the NFL draft in 1997. Think about the Dallas Cowboys and their so-called "Triplets," or Big Three. The Cowboys have missed at least one of The Triplets -- Troy Aikman, or Emmitt Smith or Michael Irvin -- for most of their games this season and all of them during at least one game. Yet they've continued to win enough to be in the playoff hunt at 7-6. Who's been their constant, the player who's allowed Chris Warren to rush as effectively as Emmitt, or Jason Garrett to throw almost as well as Aikman? Try Flozell Adams, the huge left tackle. There's an old adage in coaching: If you want to put together a solid offense, you need a three-part foundation of a quarterback, running back and a left tackle. A team five years removed from their inaugural season, the Jacksonville Jaguars, has done just that. The 12-1 Jaguars happen to be a team that I picked to go to the Super Bowl as did Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z. And having an offensive line anchored by the likes of left tackle Tony Boselli is one of the reasons. Boselli, a first-round draft pick in 1995, has gotten more attention than most of the big men laboring in the trenches. One reason is that he wears shoulder pads smaller than the dainty flaps worn by Denver's Ed McCaffrey, and his team is frequently on national television, where he's spotlighted shoving defensive linemen and linebackers away from quarterback Mark Brunell. Think of the formula: The Jags have a good quarterback in Brunell, two good running backs in Fred Taylor and James Stewart, and they have Boselli, a 6-foot-7, 320-pound snowplow. Having receivers such as Jimmy Smith, a former Cowboys castoff, and Keenan McCardell is icing on the cake. But the foundation is where the winning begins.
| ||||||||||||||||
