I'v been pondering our offensive line situation just like most of you. I knew going into the draft we wouldn't pick up OL depth like I thought we should. If it weren't for two fantastic picks in rounds 1 and 2, I would have been extremely upset.

With as much talent as we have on the offensive side of the ball, it is imperative we find a good combo of OL and depth. Imagine if last year Free turned out to be another James Marten? Disaster and one more year we'd have to hear about the playoff drought. But, Free was legit and we got of the schneid. However, for the second time in three years we got beat by a beatable team with a good to great four-man line. We ran extremely effectively against both, and gave up sacks in droves on 4 man rushes.

I think we can improve our line play this year and get deeper into the playoffs by adding Flo as a guard. Flo can mash when it comes to run blocking. He would be better in pass blocking in the confined spaces of a guard. He's huge, so he can handle the bull rushes of the big DT. A couple of issues with this. First, his well-documented hearing loss would make it even more ideal to play on the right side. (also so he doesn't bite Free) So Bigg could flip to the left side. Second, there is nobody in the interior whose development will be hindered by Flo playing a year as a stop-gap measure. Third, he could be the backup left tackle in the event the coaches think Brewster's skills are better suited to another position.

I conclude with the thought of Bigg at the LG, Gurode and Flo opening massive holes in the running game for Felix and TC and finally getting the push we need to get Barber his two yards on short yardage plays.

I would love to see the following:

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I have many opinions that conflict with the pet cats of many bloggers here.  Some of them may have been validated by this win:

1. SOB is the right man for the job.

I think Wade is the perfect fit for this team.  The D, more than the O, has been responsible for our foibles in recent memory.  Who is a better DC than Wade? Maybe Dick Lebeau, but not this year.  Rex has an argument, but that may be it.  Belichik's Ds haven't been good since he got caught cheating.  Wade has been an active part of player acquisition and has made this D into a force.  Now that he is no longer held hostage by the safety position and nicklel CB (suque reeves, remember him?) he can do more things to put pressure on opposing offenses.  

Wade has also done a great job of developing talent.  I see his stamp on Spencer, Jenkins, Ratliff and Ware.  To be fair, Ratliff and Ware didn't need Wade to be great.  But for a coach to get Bryce Paup to be defensive player of the year, you know Wade has made these guys better and put them in a position to succeed.  Both hallmarks of a good coach.

His in-game coaching has been good.  Throwing the flag on the interception by Sean Jones was a huge mistake at the time--or so I thought.  After watching Marvin Lewis piss away both challenges in the first half on obvious calls, I thought Wade was going to do the same.  The replay clearly proved Wade right and that was the turning point of the game.  We drove for a TD making the sequence of events a 10 or 14 point swing. 

His weekly preparation has been great.  OK, so I'm not there for all the meetings and practices.  I can just evaluate what I see on gameday.  We have been in every game this year with Green Bay as our worst outing, IMO.  One thing that stood out this week was how we contained Celek after he legitimately ripped us last week while still holding the duo of Maclin and Jackson relatively in check.  I think Wade deserves tons of credit for getting this TEAM ready to play week in and week out.

2. Jerry Jones is a good GM.  (at the present time)

He mismanaged the cap so badly for so long.  But, he learned.  The one thing I've noticed about billionaires, they can see their blindspots and make adjustments.  (Daniel Snyder notwithstanding)

Our player acquisition in the past few years has been great.  Jerry's been killed for the RW trade (more on him later), and rightfully so, but his overall body of work has been much bigger than one player.  Even this year's draft seemed blah, but I think it was exactly what we needed.  LB talent to develop for the future and special teams.  The Williams', Hamlin and Hodge will be effective backups next year and will develop into nice players in the future.  Jason Williams may start as WILB (depending on Brooking) or nickel LB.  You can never have too many good LBs in Wade's system and Jerry got guys that can be developed.  The special teams got a huge infusion with Beuhler.  His value is huge to this team.  Phillips has been a solid contributer blocking and scored our first playoff TD.  This draft helped us get to and win a playoff game and the players will only contribute more in the next couple of years.  2008's  draft was amazing.

Jerry's FA signings have been instrumental.  Miles Austin was signed and also not allowed to be stolen by the Jets--enough said.  Gerald Sensabaugh has been the rising tide that has lifted all boats on D.  His presence has allowed Wade to fully implement his scheme.  We are no longer held hostage at safety.  I used to poop myself a little every time I would see the QB dip his back shoulder for the long throws.  No more.  Igor (it's pronounced EYE-gor) had a way better season than Canty and was acquired on the cheap.  Ogletree is going to be a good player for us.  Not enough body of work yet, but he passes the eyeball test for what a good NFL receiver should look like.  Plus, he TKO'd a dude named Macho.  (I hope he's not injured)

The subtractions have been important, as well.  TO, Ellis, Tank, Thong, Canty, Henry and Pacman getting cut or traded made room for Miles, Spencer, Sensa, Igor and Jenkins.  That's a lot of addition by subtraction and way less headaches.

Our roster is stacked.  One great QB, 3 good RBs, 3 good TEs, 1 great WR, and a D loaded with talent and guys waiting in the wings.  Jerry needs to get better at getting OL.  Free is a notable exception to a long line of bad OL acquisitions.  For all the talent Jerry has put on this team, he gets a D at best for OL.  Be encouraged, we are 1 or 2 maulers away from being great for the next several years.  Jerry, adjust.

3. MBIII needs to go.  With an uncapped year and us being in the final 8, we are limited in the number of people we can sign--even more so if we are in the final 4.  We will need to cut personnel in order to sign new FA. (super-simplified version.  I imagine forthcoming analysis soon from BTB)  Cutting Barber is a great way to do this while keeping the position in good hands.  Good RBs can be found in the 3rd round or later and the ability to sign a FA OL/DL is more important than staying 3 deep at RB.   He has been great for us and I love me some MBIII, but Felix and Choice are the better choices moving forward.  The opportunity cost will be too high for us to keep him.

4.  Roy still has a part to play.  I used to be really bullish on Roy, but now realize he isn't worth what we gave up for him.  Of all our players, I think he has the most to lose this postseason.  With a strong performance in the playoffs, Roy can avoid the fate I described above for MBIII.  If he can run the right routes and catch the balls that he is supposed to catch, it will be a plus for us.  And, I got a funny feeling that he'll make a crucial play vs the purples.  Then again, that feeling maybe gas.

I'm an amateur on a blog full of pros.  Fortunately, I have thick skin so let `er rip.