Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Which player is "right" for the tackle position?


Defining the starting right tackle has been an ever changing process for the Ravens this offseason. Injuries have rattled the position leaving the team with the difficult task of placing a talented player at the position

This confusion all started in the overly-scrutinized Organized Team Activites (OTA). Second year player Michael Oher earned praise for his play while filling in for the injured starter Jared Gaither last season so the coaches switched the two around putting Oher at left tackle and Gaither at right tackle in the offseason.

Not long after this move was made, Gaither got hurt and was unable to workout with the team in OTA's. The Ravens drafted raw talent Ramon Harewood in the sixth round of the draft with expectations of him developing into a contributory player years down the road.

As time lapsed and OTA's became training camp, players like Jared Gaither and Oniel Cousins were still struggling with injuries so others like David Hale, Tony Moll and Ramon Harewood were lining up with the first team.

Here we are now staring down the second preseason game. A game where evaluating the second and third team is crucial. Unfortunately Jared Gaither is expected to remain out for another few weeks because of a small tear in his back. Oniel Cousins is still improving his conditioning after missing most of the offseason workouts and about a week of training camp.These absences may cause him to miss a little more time in the preseason. This subtraction depletes the depth at the position and leave former Green Bay Packer Tony Moll and rookie Ramon Harewood as the primary choices.

Clearly Tony Moll's resume (44 games, 18 starts) communicates that he is the more experienced player between the two but Ramon Harewood's potential may lift him into a preseason start so the coaching staff and the world can see exactly what he can do against another first team pass rushes.

Tell me, which Raven will be starting at right tackle this Saturday?

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