The offensive line

[Ex-hippie]

Word out of minicamp is that Ray Willis was impressive -- enough so that Holmgren even indicated the starting job at RT might be up for grabs. He might have been just saying that to light a fire under Sean Locklear's ass; I don't think Locklear, the team's second-best lineman, is likely to be benched under any circumstances.

Still, it's good news about Willis. When they drafted him two years ago, it was supposed to be a huge steal (he had been compared favorably to his college teammate, Alex Barron, who was a first-round pick). If he's finally good enough to become a starting right tackle, it would seem to have far-reaching implications for the line. Locklear could move to LG, forming a dominant left side of the line like they used to have. That makes Sims the RG and keeps the team from having to rely on Womack, Ashworth, Wrotto or (gasp) Chris Gray for anything more than depth.

I think that has the makings of a pretty good line, from left to right: Jones, Locklear, Spencer, Sims, Willis. Plus they have the aforementioned four reserves providing excellent depth. Especially if Gray can be a serviceable backup center for a few downs when needed, it looks to me like the failure to draft a lineman on the first day might not be so bad after all.

And, I'm sorry, I can't help noticing something else: we could be looking at an all-black starting offensive line. Has that ever happened before, on any NFL team, ever? I wonder if that will get any publicity. It's probably not quite as groundbreaking as Doug Williams in the Super Bowl or the Tony Dungy-Lovie Smith matchup of last season, but I still think it would be interesting.

[Sweezo]

Only problem is Holmgren's ruled Locklear out as a guard, and Willis is pretty damn tall for a guard. Personally, I've always thought Locklear at LG would be great, but if Holmgren disagrees then Holmgren disagrees...

[RockyBalboa]

I miss hutch

[Bulltalk]

It's really too bad we couldn't come up with a major upgrade in the off season. We're so heavily relying upon Spencer and Sims to emerge. I actually grew fond of Sims last year in what limited action I saw him in. We'll see, but I remember thinking while watching him that he just might be a potential starter for years, that is if her really works and improves.

I'm still kind of disappointed in Spencer, though I understand he played out of position a lot last year. He didn't seem like the guy who was supposedly ranked one of the best centers in recent years in the draft. I had high hopes for him. We'll see how he plays this year. Time to really step up.