[mm-video type=video id=01fjynkwwcak1e5gf0v9 playlist_id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fjynkwwcak1e5gf0v9/01fjynkwwcak1e5gf0v9-e9d506223c254ffde7ba0c74b2587328.jpg]
It’s no secret that the relationship between Andrus Peat and New Orleans Saints fans is strained. The three-time Pro Bowl alternate has turned in as many highlights as low moments through his 90-game career (including 7 postseason appearances), but his reported season-threatening pectoral muscle injury should give everyone pause. He’s remained a highly-paid, entrenched starter for years for good reason. If the Saints had found someone better he wouldn’t be where he is.
So it’s going to be tough for Calvin Throckmorton to replace him, whether that means one game or a dozen. Still, the second-year pro out of Oregon has shown plenty to be encouraged about. Pro Football Focus has charted 176 snaps for him in pass protection (third-most on the team), most of them spent through five games at right guard. And he’s only been charged with 10 pressures allowed, again third-most behind right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (19) and Peat (14), who he’s tabbed to fill in for at left guard. Throckmorton also hasn’t been fouled for holding, a false start, or any other penalty so far.
He’s played about as well as you could ask someone in his position. As NFL offensive line analyst Brandon Thorn noted in an extensive Saints film study writeup for NewOrleans.Football, Thorckmorton is as technically-sound as they come. He’s been coached well enough to handle almost any assignment asked of him. The danger comes in plays that allow better athletes to work around (or through) his defenses, which is exasperated by quarterbacks who hold onto the football too long.
Unfortunately, Jameis Winston currently ranks fifth in the NFL with an average 3.08 seconds to throw. That’s a full half-second longer than Drew Brees averaged a year ago (2.49), and it explains some of the issues the Saints offensive line has had. Thorn explored this problem in greater detail, finding stark differences in the depth of Winston’s drop (which can be adjusted) and his processing speed (which may be more difficult to smooth over) that directly led to the issues the Saints’ blockers have had.
Still, we should have some confidence that Throckmorton can handle this task. He’s been well-prepared for it between owning a fantastic name for a mauling NFL guard and a streak of 52 consecutive starts at Oregon (allowing just one sack in more than 3,000 career snaps in pass protection), where he lined up all over the offensive line — including 41 starts at right tackle, 5 at left tackle, and 3 each at center and guard. Ironically, however, he’s never started a game at left guard.
But that didn’t keep him from playing well against Seattle. He’ll face a monumentally stronger opponent on Sunday against Vita Vea and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates. Fortunately he’s know lining up between two of the Saints’ better blockers in left tackle Terron Armstead and center Erik McCoy, rather than inexperienced plug-in Cesar Ruiz at center and Ramczyk at right tackle (who has had his own problems to deal with). We’ll keep expectations muted for Throckmorton, but he’s better prepared than some of his predecessors were at taking on a heavier workload.
[listicle id=53541]