Arizona Cardinals Working In Some Changes Along The Offensive Line

The Cardinals headed back to practice on Monday after being defeated by the Tennessee Titans on national TV last Thursday. One of the biggest question marks coming out of that game was in regards to the offensive line.

D.J. Young was going to be the presumed left tackle since Levi Brown tore his triceps muscle, but that didn't work out too well. Young struggled mightily in pass protection and the quarterbacks were under duress from the left side all night long.

It appears, however, that both Russ Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt are trying some new things to fix that. If all else fails, Daryn Colledge would come in at left tackle for the team. As of now, it is just an emergency plan. This was one of a host of moves the Cardinals are trying out to help bolster their O-line.

Colledge is not completely unfamiliar with playing at the tackle position. He played the position in Green Bay for four games between 2008 and 2009. He even started one game at right tackle in that time span. He also played left tackle at Boise State. The bad thing is, his pass blocking skills were diminished greatly as a left tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.

At guard, Colledge only collected one negative rating in 2009 as a pass blocker. At tackle? All three of his starts were graded negatively by PFF. He maintained his ability to run block off of the left side, but run blocking never really was a huge issue with D.J. Young, either.

To take Colledge's spot in that situation, Rich Ohrnberger would be inserted into the left guard slot. Ohrnberger came over as a free agent in the offseason.

Right tackle has seen a change as well. Rookie Bobby Massie is going to get a shot. He has looked shaky at times this preseason, but the Cards need to begin developing him sooner or later. At this point, he might be the best option they have anyways.

Keep in mind, Colledge is not the starting left tackle. He will still assume his duties as a guard, but if the team needs someone to protect the edge in an emergency situation, Colledge would be their guy. D'Anthony Batiste is still the presumed starting left tackle come week one of the regular season.

I still think the Cardinals will/should pick up a free agent lineman once all of the final cuts are made.

So if Batiste turns out to be a disaster, does the team turn to Colledge? I am confident that he would do a fine job, but the statistics say otherwise.

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