Moving Willie Colon to guard is the right call

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The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to impress me this off season. First they cut longtime veterans who were past their prime and set to make way too much money. Then they drafted two offensive linemen in the 2012 draft with their 1st and 2nd round picks. Now they have moved Willie Colon from tackle to guard.

The news broke today via Mike Prisuta of WDVE on Twitter. The news shocks me because the Steelers were rumored to make this move in the past but have always stated that they do not like to move players around to different positions.


I don't think the move will be that drastic for Colon though, and this move comes at the perfect time. Colon's athleticism and build are better suited for guard. Colon is too short and has T-Rex arms, which are not good features for NFL offensive tackles. Colon is strong and quick which are very good features to have in the interior line.

Of course,Colon will have to learn a lot about the position, but the it is only May. The Steelers brought in a new offensive coordinator in Todd Haley and have made several changes to their roster. Rookie guard and first round pick David Decastro has been slated as the next Alan Faneca and will start at right guard.

Of course, third year Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey will start at center. That leaves the Steelers with 2nd-year pro Marcus Gilbert and rookie 2nd round pick Mike Adams at tackle. Gilbert only has 8 career starts. That is a lot of inexperience at two very important positions.

That being said I'll take an inexperienced but more talented offensive line over an experienced offensive line that sucks. Plus quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will make the line look worse at times and better at times, sometimes on the same damn play.

Although I am happy about the switch for Colon, it really doesn't matter if he can not stay healthy. Colon missed all of 2010 after tearing his achilles in training camp. Last year Colon tore his triceps in the first game of the season. You can not help your team if you are not healthy.

Looking at the line, if the Steelers feel that rookie Mike Adams is not ready to start at either tackle position, they could turn to veteran Max Starks, assuming he is healthy as well. Either way everyone in Steeler Nation should hope and pray that Jonathan Scott never has to play, actually hopefully they cut his ass.

Colon seems all for the change , but I think he is a little diluted if he really thinks the Steelers will run the ball a lot more. Steelers should be a pass-first team. They have the qb and receivers to do it. The NFL is a passing league and has bent all of its rules in favor of passing the ball. The key to the Steelers running game is quality not quantity.

Cheers to the Steelers and Colon for making this change. Shows a lot of balls and a lot of brains.