Houston Texans Offensive Line Woes
By Bob Dove
When Brown returns the weakest link in the offensive line is left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo. Su’a-Filo is not strong enough to give Mancz the support he needs.
To strengthen the left guard position the Texans should slide Jeff Allen from right to left guard. Allen plays reasonably well at right guard, but left guard is his natural position. Returning him to the spot where he made his reputation will upgrade his performance.
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Brown and Allen provide the Texans with a quality left side of the line. What about the right side? Last year, in a fill-in capacity, Derek Newton performed well at right guard. Arguably he played better at guard than at tackle. So, slide him inside. That move flanks Mancz with Allen and Newton, elevating Mancz’s performance and forming a much stronger interior line.
The last move is flipping Chris Clark to right tackle. Clark is adequate at left tackle, but by NFL starter standards he would rank better as a right tackle.
Brown, Allen, Mancz, Newton, Clark with Kendall Lamb as the swing tackle is a significant improvement compared to the current offensive line. Certainly it is the best offensive line that can be assembled from the current Texans roster. Unfortunately, it probably is not good enough to win a championship.